The Other Airbender

9

I huffed in annoyance as I let myself get dragged onto the Fire Nation ship. I felt helpless. I couldn't walk properly because of the burn on my foot, and I was so drained from sitting in a cell without food or water for a day that I could feel my vision blurring slightly.

The dangers of airbending right now were too great, and it would be me against an entire ship. And if I bended then people would know of my existence, and I would probably be slaughtered and join the rest of my fellow Air Nomads. Also, these people had rescued me, even though they were just using me for information and probably some other ill intentions, at least I had gotten out of that damned cell, and they were healing my foot. But they were Fire Nation, at least, as far as I knew, and I wasn't about to trust them. I could just slip away later, once my foot is healed.

The guard hauled me into a room, and I sighed in contentment when he finally placed me down, but my face fell when I gathered my bearings. Oh great, thank the spirits! Another cell. The guard strapped my arms to some chains, as I protested in confusion.

The cell itself was a lot better than the previous one, there was a thin mattress on the floor, and it was slightly larger, and somehow it felt more comfortable. But it was still a cell. The guard left me to my thoughts but soon was replaced by another guard, who carried a box, which, when opened, revealed to be full of an assortment of bandages and medicines. I was surprised, to say the least, most people wouldn't be able to afford half the medicines in that box, and to have them carried around on some simple Fire Nation ship too. Who exactly are these people?

The guard approached me and I pushed myself away from them against the wall uncomfortably. The guard began rubbing an ointment on my foot, causing me to wince in pain and squeeze my eyes shut. They then proceeded to wrap a bandage around my foot, which seemed to be a painfully slow process. I held back a whimper and grit my teeth hard. 

"Tea?" A calming voice asked. The smell of ginseng tea filled my nostrils, and my eyes fluttered open. An old man stood hunched at the door to the cell, a tray with two teacups held delicately in his hands, and somehow he managed to keep all the tea in the teacups, considering this was a moving ship. The guard left after finishing bandaging my foot, leaving me with the old man, who was draped in Fire Nation robes. 

"Um, thank you," I mumbled, extending my arm towards the tea. He smiled at me, and somehow I felt somehow safe in his presence, even though I was on a Fire Nation ship surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, and he was dressed in Fire Nation robes. I took a sip, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it was the best tea I had ever had. 

"Wow, this is really good." I offered him a small smile, before realising how thirsty I was and chugging the rest down my throat, not caring how hot it was. 

"Easy, slow down," the man chuckled, taking a sip of his own tea, "What is your name, child?"

"You first." I mumbled. Maybe I felt safe in his presence, but I wasn't stupid enough to blindly trust strangers I had only just met. They were Fire Nation, after all. Fire Nation meant danger. It always meant danger. This couldn't be any different. He chuckled, pouring me another cup of the steaming tea.

"Iroh," He answered, watching me gulp down the tea, "Your turn." His name sounded somewhat familiar, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I decided telling him my name wouldn't hurt. There are probably loads of other people who have the same name as me. 

"Miko." I responded meekly, feeling small next to him.

"Tell me, Miko, why were you the only person left on that ship?" Was I? That probably explains why they took me in so easily. And I hadn't seen anyone else, either. The truth was, I didn't know, either. I guess everyone had escaped, but where had the Fire Nation soldiers gone? I didn't really know anything.

"I-I was in that cell the whole time, so, I'm not really sure." Miko, stop stuttering.

"See, I told you we should have just left any prisoners behind, Uncle, she's no help at all." A familiar voice interrupted the conversation and I jumped in surprise. I hadn't noticed the figure leaning against the cell wall.

It was the person who let me out of the cell. I could see his figure more clearly now, and I allowed my eyes to travel up his body slowly. His clothing was fancy, those that only a person of higher class could afford, and the Fire Nation emblem was fastened around his waist with a belt. I could tell he had muscles underneath the clothes, and the way he stood, leaning against the wall was almost intimidating. But my breath hitched in my throat when my eyes met his. The left side of his face was completely burnt reaching his ear, and the scar that was left was crude and rough. His hair was pulled back into a really high ponytail, revealing his whole face. 

"You- you're the banished prince." I breathed, my heart pounding. What was I doing on this ship? Why was he here? I needed to get out of here right now. The stories about him were endless; rumours, legends, about broken prince, a disgrace. He was an urban myth, and he was the Fire Lord's son. And he was standing right in front of me. 

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," He scowled, "Now, what happened on the ship?"

"I already told you, I don't know, all I heard was a bunch of fighting, earthbending and firebending, and then everything was quiet." I exclaimed exasperatedly, "I don't even understand how that information would help anyone at all."

"So you heard earthbending and firebending, but, did you happen to hear any other types of bending, say... airbending?" I froze. He was still scowling at me, and it was sending chills down my spine, and not in a good way. What was he implying? Did he somehow know about me? What was that supposed to mean? How much trouble had I gotten myself into?

"What is that supposed to mean, um, aren't there n-no existing, uhh, airbenders?" I asked, my heart pounding in my ears with anticipation. I gave him a small, but disbelieving smile, and his eyebrows- sorry, eyebrow, furrowed. 

"She's, hiding something, Uncle, I can see it on her face." He stated, turning to Iroh. Uncle... that means he's the Fire Lord's brother. Oh my, Miko, you're in deep, deep trouble. Iroh gazed at me thoughtfully, and I felt like he could see through everything.

"I'm not." I shouted, a little too loudly. The both stared at me, trying to read me. My breathing was laboured, and I took deep breaths, trying to control it. Usually, I would just be able to use bending to control my breathing, which was unnoticeable and easy, but I didn't dare even move when both their eyes were on me. The prince pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, before looking at me again.

"I'll put it simply for you, did you or did you not see the Avatar?" My eyes widened. The Avatar? He wasn't- wait he was. The bison, it belonged to the Avatar. So that's what this was about, not my airbending. Thank the spirits.

"I um, I saw his bison? I think." I responded quickly, relief washing over me. I relaxed, realising my muscles had tensed up. My vision was going blurry again, and I realised I hadn't actually slept for over a day, and I felt terrible. My burn was stinging, my head was pounding, and even after all the tea my mouth was still dry. And worst of all my stomach was completely empty. 

I leaned my head back against the wall, blinking. My eyes felt heavy, and the prince's voice grew to a distant echo in my head. The room faded to black, and maybe if I had still been a bit more conscious, I would have felt a pair of arms lift me onto the mattress.