Fire & Rain: Book 1

The Blue Spirit

Zuko's POV
Dressed in black with a blue mask and my duel swords mounted on my back, I watched from the roof as Commander Zhao was denied his request for the Yu Yan archers to join him in his search for the avatar. Colonel Shinu told him that his search was nothing but a vanity project, and turned him down despite Zhao's efforts to persuade him of the importance of his mission.

A messenger hawk flew in, carrying a letter, Zhao had been promoted to Admiral, and upon learning this, he changed his request to an order. Meaning that he had the Yu Yan archers with him to capture the avatar, I darted away, returning to the ship.

I tried to sneak back on board but to my surprise, Y/N was waiting for me at the entrance. I has already removed my mask but it seemed that she had already realised what I was doing,

"So... where were you?"

I scratched the back of my neck,

"I- uh- went for a midnight walk... I like the light that the moon gives, don't you?"

She raised an eyebrow at me,

"I saw you leave, I saw the mask, it's from a play, love amongst the dragons..."

"Oh, uh- yeah, I took it from my mother when we were younger... why are you even up?"

"The night is the best time to practice water bending, you left the ship right as I tried to leave. Where did you go, Zuko?"

I sighed, there's no use lying to her,

"I went to spy on Zhao, he's been promoted to admiral now... he has the Yu Yan archers to help him hunt the avatar."

She rubbed her temple, deep in thought.

"We just have to get the the avatar first then, come on, you need your sleep, we should leave at dawn."

I nodded and began walking back onto the ship before I stopped and asked,

"About what you saw..."

She smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder,

"I won't tell a soul."

I returned the smile and thanked her before retreating to my quarters. I'm glad it was her who saw me, I don't trust the crew anymore, not after the way they betrayed me at Zhao's harbour.

The next morning we set sail before the sun rose, we had a map spread across the table and the lieutenant reported to me:

"We haven't been able to pick up the avatar's trail since the storm, but if we continue heading north-east..."

He was interrupted by the dark shadow cast over our ship by Zhao's,

I growled at the sight of it,

"What do they want?"

My uncle, who was happily playing Pai Sho with some of the crew suggested,

"Perhaps, a sporting game of Pai Sho!"

I turned to Y/N,

"Y/N, you should go below deck, we don't know if Zhao even saw you on the day of the solstice, he might not have even realised you joined me."

She shook her head,

"I've done nothing wrong, I was sent to be a guard in his harbour before I got transferred to the battle field when I turned sixteen because I requested to do so, by serving you and joining your crew, I am still technically carrying out my military duty. I am not guilty of any wrong doings, so I will not hide."

A few members of Zhao's crew climbed on board and opened a wanted poster with a drawing of the avatar and a description before explaining:

"The hunt for the avatar has been given prime importance. All information regarding the avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao."