Zuko's Soulmate

Chapter Five

We finally stopped at a port to repair the ship from its damages Aang had done, as we walked off the ship Zuko spoke " Uncle I want the repairs made as quickly as possible, I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail" " You mean the Avatar?" Iroh asked " Don't mention his name on these docks, once word gets out that he's alive every fire bender will be out looking for him. And I don't want anyone getting in the way" " Getting in the way of what?" We turned our heads to see a middle aged man dressed in a fire nation uniform walking over to us. " Prince Zuko" " Captain Zhao" " It's commander now, and General Iroh" Zhao bowed "Retired general" Iroh bowed back to him. Zhao turned his head to me " And who is this lovely woman?" " I'm Kala" " Kala, it's nice to meet you" he smiled at me.

" Must have got yourself quite a burn" his eyes wondered to my eye and hand " Uh yes" I noticed Zuko turn his head and close his eyes " Now don't tell me the Prince did this to you, how shameful" he teased " It was a fire bending accident" I spoke up for Zuko " I got in the way". Zhao turned his attention back to the uncle and nephew " The fire lords brother and son are welcomed guests anytime. What brings you to my harbour?" " Our ship is being repaired" " That's quite a bit of damage" " Yes you wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle, tell commander Zhao what happened" Zuko ordered. " It was incredible. What did we crash or something?" Iroh asked Zuko and I shook my head " Yes! Right into an Earth kingdom ship". " Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?" Zhao bent down to Zuko's level.

" Sorry but we have to go" " Prince Zuko, show commander Zhao your respect. We would be honoured to join you" Iroh answered Zhao. " Perfect, and Kala I'm sure we have some woman's clothing here, might be nice to dress into something more fitting" I bowed " Thank you Commander Zhao" " Not a problem" he smiled as he put his hand on the small of my back and began walking me to his ship. I watched as Zuko glared at him but followed behind us. He brought us on board and turned to a worker " Take this girl and get her some new fire nation clothes, everything will be on me" " Yes commander Zhao" the woman bowed before walking away " Go on Kala, she'll bring you to us when your dressed".

I followed the solider to a room and started looking through the different options there were, " How much clothes do you need?" She asked " I actually don't have any" I smiled embarrassed. She nodded to me before taking a bunch of clothes out and putting them in a bag, and my god there was enough clothes for my whole village. " Put this on" she said and handed me a dress " Thank you" I smiled before going behind the curtain and changing. After I finished changing I combed my hair and tied the front of my hair into two small braids and tied them to the back where the rest of my red hair flowed down my back. The solider walked me into a room and I opened the door and was stopped when I saw the three men staring at me.

" Well Kala, don't those clothes feel much better?" " Yes thank you commander" I bowed " No need to thank me, take a seat next to me" I smiled as he pulled me beside him. Zuko glared at Zhao before they continued their conversation " If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him then he is a fool" Zuko spat " Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how's your search for the avatar going?" Zhao asked, I jumped and turned to see Iroh had knocked down something and was smiling at us. " We haven't found him yet" " Did you really expect to? The avatar died a hundred years ago".

" Unless you found something to say he's alive" Zhao smirked darkly at Zuko " No.nothing" " Prince Zuko, the avatar is the only one who can stop the fire nation" he stood up and got in Zuko's face " From winning this war, if you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found". " I haven't found anything", Zhao didn't look convinced. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to his body " And what about this lovely creature, how did you come across her?" He asked as he placed his hand on my skin. " She was stuck on a sinking ship near the South Pole" Zuko answered " So your from a water tribe?" He asked me with a grin " Why would you willingly stay with someone from the fire nation?" " H-he saved me, I had no where else to go" I answered. " Your lying to me, why don't we take a look at that scar on your pretty face".

Zhao pulled the bandage from my face and smirked at me " Quite a nasty burn" I stayed quiet as he glared at Zuko " Who could possibly do this to their own soulmate?". Zuko's head shot up " What?" " Don't lie to me I can see it from a mile away, you don't exactly try to hide it Prince Zuko, the look is clear on your face". Zuko stood up and took my arm " Come on uncle, we're going", the guards crossed their spears, blocking us from leaving. " Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Price Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape". I looked up at Zuko with a worried look " Now remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?" Zhao asked.

Zhao grabbed us and pulled us into chairs, he made Zuko talk and sighed " So a twelve year old boy bested you and your firebenders. You're more pathetic than I thought". " I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again", " No it will not, because you won't have a second chance". " I've been hunting the avatar for two years, and I-" " And you failed!" He shot out fire as he turned around. I flinched back as he did and he smirked at me " Scared of some fire?" He asked me amused. " Leave her out of this, this conversation is between you and me" Zuko warned. " Capturing the avatar it too important to leave in a teenagers hands. He's mine now". Zuko shot up out of his seat but was stopped by two guards " Keep them here" he ordered before leaving. Zuko angrily kicked the table over.

We sat in silence for a few moments before Zhao came back " My search party is ready, once I'm out at sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go" " Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko asked turning to face Zhao. Zhao started laughing " You...stop me? Impossible" " Don't underestimate me, Zhao" Zuko stood up " I will capture the avatar before you". " Prince Zuko that's enough" " You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you, you're just a banished prince. No home, no allies even your own father doesn't want you". At that I stood up " Zuko is a lot more than some banished prince, he has my honour and strength than you'll ever have", " Oh really? Says the girl he burned" my eyes closed slightly. " You're wrong, once I deliver the avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honour, and restore my rightful place on the throne". " If your father really wanted you home, he'd have let you return by now. Avatar or no avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure, and a disgrace to the fire nation" " That's not ture" " You have the scar to prove it" " Ah! Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko yelled " Is that a challenge?" " An Agni Kai at sunset".