Princess of the Fire Nation

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Lian started intently at the Pai Sho game in front of her as Iroh and Zuko watched on. She began to move a counter but a loud cough from her father next to her made her decide that it probably wasn't a good idea. Snickering at the glare the crewman gave her father, Lian moved a different piece before smiling innocently at her opponent. While the crew could never beat her father, they had much better luck at beating her unfortunately.

Her father, deciding it was best to let her continue the game alone, turned his focus to his nephew who sat beside them bored. Pouring himself and Zuko some tea, her father speaks up: "Ahh! See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental wellbeing."

Zuko raises the cup to drink but a shock towards the front of the deck causes the tea to splash over his face. Zuko wipes it away before standing and angrily storming to the cause of the sound, followed by Lian and her father. The trio reach the front in time to see a young, dark haired woman appearing on the deck riding a massive and hideous monster. Members of Zuko's crew scatter as the monster climbs the railing and onto the deck, apparently looking for something.

"Get back! We're after a stowaway" instructs the dark-haired woman.

"There are no stowaways on my ship" argues Zuko, annoyed with the disturbance.

Lian stares intently at the women – for some reason she looked incredibly familiar. Her eyes widen as she finally realises where she knew this woman from.

"June?" she questions. The woman turns to face her and Lian knows then that she was right "I can't believe it's you June!"

June smiles but is distracted as her monster, a shirshu, proceeds to rip out a chunk of deck plating and sticks its head into the gaping hole. An unrecognisable man attempts to crawl from the hole, away from the monster but the shirshu quickly whips the back of his neck with its tongue causing him to fall onto the deck, conscious but paralysed.

Lian, Zuko and her father watch on in amazement. "He's paralysed" questions Zuko in wonder.

"Only temporarily. The toxins will wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money" replies June, picking up the man and throwing him over her shirshu.

"But how did you find him on my ship?"

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away"

"Well, I'm impressed" says Iroh, still amazed to what just happened. "Very impressed." Lian shudders, unsure of whether he was talking about the beast or its owner.

"Lian" calls out June, getting back on the shirshu "It was good to see you again." With that, June cracks her whip and the shirshu bolts off the ship and down the dock.

As the sight of June and her monster fades into the distance, Zuko turns to face her accusingly "How do you know she a perfect scent tracker and fail to tell us."

"I meet loads of people during my travels" responds Lian defensively "besides, last time I saw June, her monster was half the size and incapable of tracking anything. How was I meant to know it was going to be able to track a stowaway onboard a ship?"

Zuko just storms off, a plan forming in his mind while Lian returns to her game of Pai Sho eager to at least win one game today.

Later that evening as Lian was preparing for bed a knock is heard on her door.

"Come in" says Lian, not moving from in front of the mirror where she was performing her normal skincare routine.

"Get ready cousin" demands Zuko, entering the room "We're going to go find your friend."