The Girl No One Knew

Chapter 29

What does one do when they're on a warship that is attacking their sister nation? Well, in my case, they keep their mouth shut as they stand behind the admiral, watching as the anticipation tears them up inside. Iroh stood next to me, holding my hand like the scared child I was.

It had only been a few hours since Zuko got his headstart.

I wasn't sure what I was more worried about: Aang and his friends being captured by Zuko, or them being captured by Zhao.

"It's daybreak at last," Zhao said as the sun sat in the pale yellow sky. "Let's make history..." He called out for his captains to take their advance on the water tribe. The sky was darkened as the ships billowed black clouds of smoke. Every one of the hundred warships then moved forwards as their anchors were reeled in. The ends of the ships punctured the barrier of the city, lowered into a ramp, and spilled out hundreds upon thousands of soldiers.

"The water tribe can try to resist the inevitable," Zhao muttered, his back still to us. "But their city will fall today."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Iroh gave my hand a squeeze. When I looked at him, he shook his head at me. Don't say anything.

"I don't need to remind you that we have a time limit," Iroh had said a few hours later, wearing a cloak to keep himself warm. "If we don't defeat the water tribe before the full moon rises, they will be unstoppable."

"I assure you that everything is under control," Zhao smirked smugly. "I intend to remove the moon as a factor."

"Remove the moon?" Iroh asked, astonished. "How?"

"He's going to use his inflated ego to float up to the sky and demand that the moon remove itself from the sky," I mocked, crossing my arms over my chest. Iroh looked at me as if you say, "I told you to control your tongue!" Zhao was not in the least bit amused. Before he could give a sadistic threat, a group of soldiers ran onto the balcony.

Except, these guys weren't soldiers at all. They were wearing armor that hadn't been used in nearly a century. One of them yanked off his helmet, aiming his spear. "Admiral Zhao! Prepare to meet your fate!" He charged in our direction. Iroh and I stepped to the side, and the boy was swiftly tossed over the edge. I looked back at his crew, who'd already fled.

"As I was saying," Zhao stared straight, as if the encounter had never happened. "Years ago, I had stumbled upon a great and powerful secret: The identity of the Moon spirit's mortal form. I was a young lieutenant serving under General Shu in the Earth Kingdom. I discovered a hidden library — underground, in fact. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them held a detailed illustration, and had the words moon and ocean. I knew then that these spirits could be found and killed, and that it was my destiny to do so."

"Zhao!" Iroh growled. I'd never seen him get angry until then. "The spirits are not to be trifled with!"

"Yes, yes," Zhao chuckled. "I know you fear the spirits, Iroh. I've heard rumors about your journey into the Spirit World, but the moon and ocean spirits gave up their immortality to become a part of our world. And now, they will face the consequences."

"This man is completely off his rocker!" I shouted, pacing back and forth. "He's insane! A psychotic sociopath!"

Iroh sat, his demeanor as calm as ever. "Saki, I understand that you are upset. But you must r—"

"Don't you dare tell me to relax!" I pointed an accusing finer at him. "Don't tell me to relax, or to respect him, or any other word that starts with an R that was going to come out of your mouth. I don't wanna hear it! This is my sister nation, and I'm just sitting here like a turtle duck as they're being attacked!"