Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 18: Honorable Victory

While the ship continued its slow journey towards the shipyard, the absence of Chiara's presence bothered Zuko more and more. He tried not to think about the emptiness of the main deck where he would watch her work or stare out at the sea while her hair flowed gently around her, or how lonely the upper deck seemed in the evenings when the stars began appearing again and there was no one to share it with. There was only so much meditating and course planning he could do, and he did not realize how much spare time he had when there were no card games or Pai Sho to keep him distracted, or even sparring with swords on the deck, an activity no one else on the ship would practice with him, save Chiara.

She obediently never left her quarters, and she spent her time stretching and exercising, meditating, waterbending, and doing any sewing that Iroh brought to her. He also brought her meals since she would not leave even to eat in the mess hall. In the evenings, he would always bring his own dinner and they would eat together, something that bothered the prince as he picked at his meals by himself in his room below.

"You should go outside, Chiara," said Iroh as they ate their dinner on the floor of her cabin. "I doubt Zuko will say much about it."

It had always been clear to her since their trip began how little the crew respected the prince due to his ill temper and obsession over his mission. She refused to do anything that might cause even more tension between them. "If I disobey his order, it'll make him look weak in front of the crew."

"Maybe not as much as you think. Being a beautiful, young woman, I think that's a weakness any one of the crew would succumb to," he said with a little smirk.

She raised her eyebrows, surprised and unamused by his implication. "That's going to get me locked up below deck."

Iroh chuckled. "Well, the crew also sees you more as his family than his subordinate, so you can get away with it."

She stared down at her teacup. "I don't want to upset Prince Zuko."

"You'll really stay confined here for as long as we're at sea?" he asked.

"If that's what he wishes."

"You could go out late at night when he's in bed," he suggested softly.

She smiled at his suggestion, but she shook her head. "I won't disobey his order. It's his ship; if he confines me to my quarters or even the brig, he's within his rights to do so."

Iroh was frustrated by her obstinacy, but impressed by her obedience.

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With the increasingly warmer temperatures as they sailed north of the South Pole, the crew gathered outside on deck for music night. Zuko stood out on the upper deck to watch as he often did, but he was disappointed that Chiara was not singing or playing. He was sure she would have left her cabin to join the group. He did not stand on deck listening for long. Without Chiara's sweet voice or the sound of her erhu, the music sounded empty to him and he went to the bridge where he busied himself over the maps.

Later that evening long after the music had ended, Zuko returned to the upper deck where he gazed at the constellations he and Chiara would point out together. His heart gave a little start when he heard the door to the bridge open. The familiar footsteps were not the light, almost silent ones, he was hoping for, but the heavier steps of his uncle who joined him at the rail staring up at the stars that had been temporarily absent at the pole.

"Chiara didn't play tonight?" Zuko asked, breaking the silence.

"You ordered her confined to her room," said Iroh simply. "She refuses to leave her imprisonment."