The Other Airbender

12

Sometime during the night, the boat had started forward, awakening me from my troubled dreams. Once I had opened my eyes, I couldn't fall back to sleep again. My whole body ached all over from the fighting, and from sitting in the cramped room in chains. I could feel my body trembling, even though it was far from cold on the ship, in fact I could feel the sweat seeping into my clothes from the warmth and humidity of the place. It was fear that was causing the shivers down my spine. Fear of what could happen to me. What would happen to me. I just knew I was in trouble, the question was how deep.

There were no windows in the room, the only light source being a singular torch, which didn't do much. It was dim, and the light coming from outside the door was brighter, and it poured through the crack below the door. It only made my chains more noticeable as they glinted in the light, as if they were mocking me. After my sorry, desperate attempt at escaping, they had tied my ankles down with chains, too. I could feel the blisters forming whenever I moved, causing me to wince as I tried to ignore them. There was a single soldier stationed beside me, who barely moved. I knew they were a firebender because they didn't carry any weapons. I didn't dare try anything.

Occasionally, I would catch on to distant conversations, my hearing sharpened by my lack of sight. Sometimes, I thought I could recognise the gruff, angry voice of the prince... Zuko, or the softer, almost... kinder voice of his uncle, Iroh.

The scent of food was becoming increasingly stifling, sharpening my desperate craving to satiate my hunger, and slowly weakening my body. I hadn't eaten for what felt like years. I knew the smells originated from the kitchen, which I was almost positive was above me, as I had noticed the piping on the ceiling, and the sounds of pots and pans in use. My mind began to think of dishes, each one more mouth watering than the last. I was mentally cursing at my brain for making my stomach growl fiercely.

This was the son of the Fire Lord's ship. The food that was served just had to be fit for a king. Surely they wouldn't go out of their way to cook food for a single, measly prisoner? So... perhaps I would get leftovers. I knew I was getting my hopes up, I knew I was. But my unfed stomach was now growling like mad, and I didn't get a chance to tell myself to stop. I was about to ask the soldier for food, when the door opened, causing me to jump and wince as the chains bit into my skin. I blinked at the sudden change in lighting, and my eyes watering slightly. A silhouette approached me, and I shrunk back against the metal wall behind me, fear overtaking my senses at the sudden interruption of my thoughts.

"Here, eat." The familiar voice made my ears prick up, and I realised it was Iroh as my eyes adjusted to the light. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding, but I didn't relax completely, distrust still evident on my face. He offered me a small smile and bent down to place a tray in front of me, the smell of food hitting my nostrils at full force. I offered a nod towards the man, before eyeing the food. There was a plate with steaming rice, and a slab of fish placed carefully on top. Beside it was a cup of tea, its floral scent rising upwards in ghost-like wisps. Half of me wanted nothing more than to stuff everything down my throat at once, but the other half was filling my head with all sorts of possibilities stemmed from my distrust towards the man, or more specifically, the fire nation. What if it was drugged? Poisoned? Don't be stupid, Miko, why would they do that?

Cautiously, I picked up a pair of chopsticks lying on the tray, my chains clinking with every movement. I hesitated, my chopsticks hovering over the tray as I contemplated what to do. My stomach growled, as if telling me to hurry up, and I hurriedly placed a piece of fish in my mouth. I let out a small grateful moan as my lips touched the food, engrossed in it, before freezing, detecting movement out of the corner of my eye.

The prince stood at the doorway to the storage room, resting against the frame with his arms crossed as he studying me. His eyes met mine, and we both stared at each other, frozen. I couldn't read the expression that flickered over his face, but I could feel the strange tension that filled the air. His eyes narrowed, and but I didn't look away, blood pumping in my ears as the room seemed to get a couple of degrees warmer. I swallowed hard as he shifted his weight off the doorframe, walking towards me. He placed a hand on Iroh's shoulder, and I realised he was still in the room.

"Uncle, you're needed out on deck." He said roughly, maintaining eye contact with me. For some reason I couldn't tear my eyes away. I could see them clearly now, his eyes. They were gold, like pools of honey, but they certainly weren't sweet or inviting. There was something about them, something in the way they looked at me, that made me feel tiny, and want to let the floor swallow me whole. They seemed to hold with an emotion I couldn't seemed to read. It reminded me of a thunderstorm; cold and threatening, with constant flashes of white-gold lightning. Deadly.

He turned his head, his gaze leaving mine, and I felt my shoulders relaxing and my heartbeat slowing as I watched their retreating backs, the Prince's hand placed protectively on the old man's shoulder as he closed the door behind him, leaving me in the dim torchlight, alone except for the single soldier. I let out a shaky breath, before spooning the food hastily into my mouth. It didn't taste as good as it did earlier, but my stomach gladly accepted it. Soon, the plate was empty, and I mournfully picked up the last few grains of rice, wishing there was more.

Suddenly, I heard shouts, before the ship lurched forward into a faster pace, causing me to jerk backwards and bang my back against the wall, my chains tugging forcefully at my limbs and clanking loudly. I winced, sending silent curses towards the prince. The ship shuddered, and I could hear clanks reverberating below me, followed by more shouts. A soldier burst into the storage room and ordered the soldier in front of me to come outside. Not this again. This situation was awfully familiar. What on earth was going on?

"Run the blockade!" I heard a clear voice call out from outside. It sounded a lot like the prince. Blockade? What blockade?

And then there were explosions. Loud, deafening explosions. They sounded like fireworks, but bigger and louder. I could hear them plunging into the water and bursting, rocking the ship violently. I jumped at every explosion, getting more and more confused each time. I could hear the water splashing with each explosion, and there were more shouts.

Something cold and wet touched my toe, and I flinched, attempting to stand up on instinct, which only made me yank at my restraints. I yelped in pain again, my damaged, bruised skin on my limbs aching badly. I realised it was seawater. Oh no. Were we sinking? Did they lose? What is going on? What on earth is going on? I pressed myself against the wall behind me in an attempt to stay away from the water, but I could feel it seeping into my clothes. I shivered as it made contact with my skin, and I grit my teeth in frustration. Where was that Fire Nation soldier now? Would someone come and get me? Or was I going to be stuck here? Again.

Without any warning, the whole ship shook, the metalwork creaking and groaning, as though it was straining against something. The sounds were almost deafening, before a loud boom reverberated from behind me. Before I could even register what had happened, the wall I was resting on burst open, sending my flying. Shards of metal, nails, and shrapnel were blown forwards with me. I felt them slicing into my skin, like thousands of claws raking into me at once. The force of the impact on my back sent me straight into the floor, head first. I let out a small groan, pulling my face out of the seawater and coughing up the salty liquid.

I pushed myself to my feet, dazed. My ears were ringing, and I tried to wrap my head around what just happened. My skin felt like it was on fire, and the unmistakeable smell of smoke was clogging my nose. My chains clinked at my sides, weighing my arms down, and I realised they had come undone from the wall in the explosion. I thought I could hear distant shouts, but everything seemed to fuzzy I couldn't comprehend anything.

I stumbled forwards, my feet sloshing in water with each step. My ankles were stinging from the saltwater mixing with the blisters, and with each step I could feel them chafing. The door was locked, or stuck, and I pushed at it hurriedly, growing more desperate to get out. Something clicked in my panicked state, and a small amount of common sense rushed back into me. I stepped back from the door and held my hands up to the lock. I sent out a large gust of wind, and it swung open. I sighed in relief, before stepping out, another desperate thought coming to mind. This is my chance to escape.