Heimat | Aang

EIGHT

They had gotten on the ship a short while later. At once, Tapeesa felt right at home, the gentle rocking of the waves familiar. A few members of the crew bowed at the sight of the Fire Lord and he nodded briefly at them before he turned to his friends.

"Sokka, Katara, show Aang to his room. I'll show Tapeesa where she will stay."

There was no objection and Aang sent her a small reassuring smile before he followed after his two friends, leaving her alone with Zuko. The moment they were gone, he turned to face her.

"If you'd follow me."

She nodded as he started walking away and she followed after him, half a step behind him. She made sure to remember which way they had come from, a habit she had picked up from all her time on ships that ended up being different each time. She supposed they were close to her room by now from the time they had spent walking around when Zuko spoke up.

"I wanted to thank you personally for saving Aang," his voice broke the silence and she looked up at once to find him smiling softly at her. She had never seen the Fire Lord smile before and despite herself, she couldn't help but think it suited him. "I'm ashamed some of my crew wanted to kill the Avatar and I should have never allowed this to happen. Your presence on that ship was a blessing."

"I was only on that ship because my captain meant to punish me for fighting on the deck, my Lord," she replied at once, "I'm far from a model soldier."

"Either way, Aang was lucky to have you on the ship that night," he insisted, his smile unwavering. "I was surprised when I heard in one of the visions a waterbender had saved him. There are supposed to be no waterbenders in my fleet."

"I kept my bending a secret, my Lord," she admitted, "all the world ever knew was that I was a non-bender from the colonies."

"I can't help but be grateful you were on the ship, though. Especially since you are a waterbender. Aang wouldn't have been alive otherwise. And neither would you."

Tapeesa looked up at him with a neutral expression. "You weren't bothered a waterbender was a member of your fleet?"

"Not at all, considering that waterbender was a loyal soldier and saved the Avatar when the rest of the crew wanted to kill him," he replied at once as he came to a stop in front of a door. She followed his motions as he turned to face her. "I'd advice you to freshen up, Tapeesa. I took the liberty of taking some clothes for you to change into. When you are ready, call for a member of the crew and ask them to show you the way to the meeting room. If there is anything you might need, my crew is here to assist you."

She had some trouble hiding her surprise as she nodded at him and opened the door, having never had the chance of having a person at her command before, never mind the entire crew of the Fire Lord's ship. So she bowed her head in a show of respect as she got ready to get in the room.

"Thank you, my Lord. I'm not sure I am worth all this attention."

His friendly smile remained as he nodded at her. "Any friend of the Avatar is a friend of mine. I'll see you in the meeting room."

He walked away without another word and Tapeesa closed the door as she faced the interior of her room. It was a room that reminded her quite a bit of the captain's room back in one of the ships she had been to. There was a bed, a tiny wardrobe and a door that led to the bathroom no doubt. She headed right for the bathroom.

She left her helmet and armour on the floor and undressed herself. Then, one by one, she loosened her braids until her hair fell to her back loosely. She got in the bath, the water cold as it fell on her back but she didn't let herself be bothered as she cleaned herself up. A few minutes later, she had left the shower, and with a few movements of her hand, the water was taken away from her body and hair, leaving her completely dry. She headed to the main room and looked at the clothes Zuko had left for her.