When All Hope Is Lost

Not So Bad

Zuko and his crew stood on the deck of his ship. They weren't far from the eye of the storm now.

"There's someone in the water!" One of the crewman then called.

The prince ran over to the railings, expecting it to be someone from his ship. When he spotted orange and yellow clothes however, his hopes rose that it was the avatar. He couldn't possibly be this lucky. "Quick! Pull him up!" He ordered. The crewmen made quick work of grabbing a rope and tying it around one of their waists. When the man was secured and ready, he jumped into the water. Zuko and the rest of his crew grabbed the rope to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere.

After the man made it back up to the top, he layed the girl on her back. Zuko furrowed his brows. "The avatar's sister." He mumbled out the obvious.

"She isn't breathing!"

Prince Zuko didn't realize what he was doing until he was starting compressions on her chest. He had no idea what he was trying to do, but it clearly worked when the girl started coughing up the water in her lungs. Iroh quickly knelt down next to her and turned her on her side, rubbing her back gently as she let it all out.

When she was done, she layed back on her back and looked up at everyone. Her vision was hazy, but she couldn't mistake the red blob that stuck out on pale skin. "Zuko?" She asked, her voice hoarse. Before anyone could say anything else however, she fell back unconscious.

Zuko frowned, standing back up. "Take her inside." He ordered. The men did as they were told. The door to the interior of the ship closed only moments before Appa flew over the Fire Nation ship.

*

The first thing Auretta noticed when she woke up, was that she was in a cell.

The second thing she noticed, was that she was wearing different clothes. Meaning, someone must have changed them for her. That's... awkward.

Though, her memory may be a little hazy at the moment, she did remember her clothes being wet, so she appreciated them changing her into dry ones.

Granted, these were clearly clothes meant for a man, or at least a boy since they weren't terribly baggy, but they still worked just as well. If anything, they were more comfortable with their extra weight.

Auretta sat up slowly, holding her head when the room started spinning. Then, an amazing aroma hit her senses, and she turned toward the source. Next to the bed she was layed in was a small table, on top of that was a fresh cup of tea. She gently lifted it to her nose, taking in a long sniff. "Ginseng tea." She sighed with a smile, her shoulders relaxing. "My favorite."

As she sipped her tea, she could hear footsteps every few minutes, going up and down the corridor on the other side of her cell's door. She wasn't sure who had her, but she had a feeling they were Fire Nation by the look of the metal work in the room. Sokka had told her enough about what he knew about their ships during long rides on Appa as they went between towns.

Well, the Fire Nation insignia on the painted on the side of her tea cup also kind of gave it away.

After she finished her tea, she sat the cup down and walked over to the door. She stood on her toes to peak through the little slot in the door, spotting two guards on either side of it. "Hello there." She said, making the guards jump. "Did one of you make that tea for me?" They shared a glance and shook their heads. "No? Well, if you know who did, would you thank them for me? It was delicious. Ginseng is my favorite."

"A fellow ginseng lover! I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Auretta perked up when she saw the old man from a few weeks ago walk down the corridor. "Iroh!"