Dai Li's Personal Spy

Chapter 2: Talk.

I walked onto the deck, noticing the land getting closer and closer. I looked to the control room, and the captain waved his arm, making a circle. The signal meant we were about to stop for supplies at the nearest coastal town. I shot him a thumbs up and walked to the rail. The water was blue, deep and confronting. It reminded me of the work I needed to do to live. The work that trapped me in a contract. I sighed, running rough fingers through my hair. I took it out because I couldn't stand the restrained feel it had. If I was going to be trapped in a job, at least my hair could roam free.

Many of the crew stared at me in awe as I did normal tasks around the ship. I sighed, knowing a woman on this ship was a rare occurrence. My mind kept darting back to Zuko, or I guess Prince Zuko. He was so different. He was always stubborn and hardheaded, but not in this severity. I saw no joy, no kindness, no spark. He didn't even remember me, and I wondered why it hurt so much to know that my childhood friend looked at me and saw nothing.

All I was now was the sharp-tongued girl, quick to fight, quick to think. I wasn't a friend, and I wasn't a foe. I was just another tool to be used and thrown away by the fire nation. His uncle was kind, which gave me a slither of hope for his nephew.

I stroked my scarred ears, checking if I could still hear the tips of my fingers brush my lobes. I could, but I feared I wouldn't be able to.

Maybe if I hadn't stepped in front of that flame, taken the rest of his punishment. I knew he was banished, and I followed suit only days after. I wonder if he still thinks about it. I did. I wondered if my great righteous morals and concerns about child abuse caused me more grief than triumph. I lifted up my sleeve to look at the red, scarred tongues of old fire crawling down my arm.

I grimaced at the intricate- no, ugly burns. Footsteps clanked loudly behind me, and I flipped away, turning my back to the deep, unknowing water. It was who I feared, Zuko. I kept my eyes still, afraid if I blinked, they'd instinctively roll. "How did you know the avatar would hide in southern water tribe waters?" He asked, eye contact strangely heavy, which was intimidating. 

"I used the reports and a piece of air nomad cloth. Also, a little common sense." He shook his head, leaning on the rale. Deep down, he himself was unsure if the avatar was out there.

"Why are you looking for the avatar? it has been 100 triumphant years for the Fire Nation. What is the point?" I asked, leaning on the railing as well, staring at his scarred face. 

He sighed, the first sign of emotion that wasn't frustration. "My father banished me after he challenged me to an Agni Kai. He said if I find the avatar and bring him back to him, he would take me back." He said, with longing in his voice.

My head grew hot at the request of fire lord Ozai, sending his now 16-year-old son on a wild goose chase. My quick tongue went before my brain. "How is that fair? He sends you on an impossible mission–" 

"–It's not impossible." He interjected. I paused, the sting of my words having a possible douse on his flame of hope. 

"Ok, hard then. Either way, your father was acting cowardly." I finished like an idiot. I forgot where I was and who I was meant to be. I should have known my place.

He stared at me wide-eyed like I was the first person to speak badly about his father to him.

Oh god, I was.

"You are just some tracker. What would you know about my father?" He said, anger pouring off of him. God dammit I should just stay in my lane. 

"Maybe I know more than you think," I said, once again pushing the limits of this ill-tempered prince. 

"What do you know then?" He rebutted. I gritted my teeth.

"I know he didn't just hurt you; he burnt the back of the girl who stepped on that stage to protect you. He had no mercy for two children and banished both because he is a coward." I said, half-spoken, half-shouted." He paused his rebuttal to think, no, realise.

"She was banished?" It was crazy talking about me in the third person. He hadn't realised I was the girl who stepped in front of him and took the burns for treason. 

"Yeah, only three days after you left." Did he seem to grow... sad? Something about him seemed different. 

"On what accounts?" He asked, now showing something different. 

"Well, her little rebellion angered the Fire lord, and he found out her secret. He used that to banish her on accounts of 'treason'," I explained, venom on my tongue as I resurfaced old feelings.

"Treason?" He asked in confusion. I rolled my eyes, surprised at the fact that he had no idea what had occurred in his own throne room. 

"She was a dual bender. Earth and fire. I don't know how he knew, but he banished her for it". I said, looking back out to the ocean, tears threatening to well in my eyes.

"Oh." Of course, that was all he could say. I just stared at the waves, watching them crash against the bottom of the ship. What I'd do to bend water. Or air. But I was stuck with the stubborn and harsh elements. I so badly wanted to light a little flame on the tip of my finger or play with the orange heat. But having any connection to my bending was too dangerous. Best to just be a normal soldier.

"Did you know her?" He said, standing up straight as he always did. 

"Yeah, and she didn't deserve it," I said. 

"What is your story?" He asked. I turned to him, and he stood awkwardly. 

I rolled my eyes. "So you care now? After our exchanged pleasantries." He looked as if any moment, steam would begin to shoot out of his ears. 

"Yes. I. do." He said through gritted teeth. I cracked a smile, being torn away from the harsh memory.

"I started out poor, born in the red light district to two parents who didn't care for me. I was donated to a middle-class family who had no care for me either. At the ripe age of 14, I was sent to the military. I trained for sea trips and eventually ended up on the northern fleet. I danced between ships a little and got hired on my last one for my navigational skills. And here I am."

He looked a little stunned at the overload of information. I smiled. "I am glad I have a purpose. I was sick of being useless." I thought for a second and decided. Holding out my hand, I said. "I am Laina Xu, at your service." He hesitated, but in the end, he took my hand and shook it firmly. I grinned, and he stood stone-faced.

I walked to the other side of the ship, leaving him rooted to the ground. The shoreline was still visible, and in probably an hour, the shore would appear on our right, leaving my old ship entirely.