The Girl No One Knew

Chapter 22

About two weeks had gone by before we had possession of a new ship. It wasn't an easy week. We trod through the endless woods, enduring Iroh's endless complaining for three days. We eventually rested in a small village. Of course, I had to do all of the talking. We found a cottage that housed a poverty-stricken family of farmers. I had convinced them that I needed a place to rest for myself, my grandfather, and my brother. The farmer and his wife graciously offered us a resting space in their barn.

"This is ridiculous," Zuko huffed, kicking a bushel of straw. "We've resorted to living amongst animals."

"Then it should be no different from living with your soldiers," I replied, seating myself in a pile of hay that he had yet to take his frustration out on. This got a snicker out of Iroh.

"This isn't a joke, Saki," he sighed, plopping next to me. "This is just another delay in my quest for the Avatar."

"I get that, Zuko. But right now we need to focus on ourselves. We need to rest. We've been walking non-stop for three days straight."

"Saki is right, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he petted the family's ostrich horses. "You need your rest; we all need to rest."

Hours later, the moon had replaced the sun and we were falling asleep on beds of hay. Except, it was only Iroh that had fallen asleep. I was absolutely restless, and, apparently, Zuko was too. I sat up on my makeshift bed and hugged my knees to my chest. Everything seemed awry. I thought about what could've happened if I had gone with the others when I had the chance. Maybe things would be better. Then again, Zuko would've been more hell-bent on catching them, convinced that they had kidnapped me or something.

"Can't sleep?" Zuko asked, sitting next to me. When I shook my head, he sighed. "Neither can I." We sat in silence. There really wasn't anything say. Well....maybe one thing:

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

Caught off guard, Zuko looked at me. "Sorry? For what?"

"For being no help to you," I shrugged. "It's like I'm doing the exact opposite. I'm just in the way all the time, just a distraction."

"Don't worry about that." Zuko shook his head. "You're not in the way. A distraction, maybe. But in a good way." I didn't say anything, and Zuko drew out a long sigh. "Soon, I'm going to catch the Avatar. Then we can go back home to the Fire Nation, and everything can go back to normal."

I didn't bother reminding him that the Fire Nation wasn't my home. Or that, while he'll be welcomed back with a celebration and a grand parade, I'll be greeted with hostility and harassment. Just like when we were children. No matter how long I lived with Fire Nation citizens, I'd still be just the lost little Water Tribe riffraff that didn't belong.

Now here we were, two weeks later, out at sea again on a new ship and searching for Aang all over again. Zuko was looking through his telescope, Iroh was standing by his side, and I leaned on the railing — feeling strangely ill. Almost nothing had changed.

"There is a storm coming," Iroh thought aloud as he breathed in the salty hair. "A big one."

"You're out of your mind, Uncle," Zuko replied, lowering his telescope. "There's not a cloud in sight."

"A storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."

"The Avatar is traveling north, so we will do the same."

"Prince Zuko," Iroh urged. "Consider the safety of the crew."

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" The banished prince shouted a bit too loudly, catching the attention of the ship's Lieutenant, Jee. Zuko approached him, a harsh tone in his voice. "Catching the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety."