Dai Li's Personal Spy

Chapter 1: Reassigned

A/N: Thank you, even if you considered having a look at this. I know this won't gain traction, but I like writing so perhaps ill keep this up. Ty to any readers who have simply had a look! I apologise for any grammatical mistakes or typos, this is loosely edited. 

Update: I realised I've been spelling Dai Li wrong this whole time so Im sorry for that 😭 Part 5 will have the correct spelling

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I walked out onto the deck and stretched my arms up. I felt weighed down by the red protective armour seemingly everywhere on my body.

My hair flew free in the sea-cast winds as I began to walk. The metal floor creaked lowly as I approached the middle of the large deck. The small cluster of tables and stools stood half empty. I sat down beside a crewmate, slurping loudly on a bowl of noodles.

I looked out to the sea, an island approaching in the distance. My brows furrowed. I glanced around, and a few others noticed, too. I charged back across the deck to the captain in his small rectangular room. Picking up a stray rock, I threw it up at the window.

He turned around and opened the window. "What now, raven?" He grimaced. I scoffed. 

"It's Laina, you nitwit! Why are you steering the ship to the island? I gave you the path and the coordinates. What is so hard to understand?" He rolled his eyes, wrinkly features exaggerated.

"New orders from General Zhao; he has asked us to dock for a storage pickup", I scowled and waved my hand. He closed the window and continued to steer. I eyed the other crewmates as they looked at me with disdain.

"Will you get over it? So what if I overtook you as a female and a teenager? Accept that I'm better," I said slyly, watching their ears practically burst with angry steam.

I returned to my table and sighed, taking a nap in the warm sun before we docked. My eyes lolled shut, and sleep overtook me.

***

A blaring horn sounded and woke me right from my sleep. I rubbed my eyes and noticed we had docked. I yawned and got up, tying my hair back with a small red ribbon. My hair was thick, and even in a ponytail, it reached mid-back. I traced the scar that travelled across the left side of my lip, pale and healed.

I ran over to another crewmate and helped lower the drawbridge. It creaked, reminding me of all the metal in these large ships. I peered down and saw the broad-shouldered General Zhao saunter up the ship. I refrained from contorting my face into a frown. Instead, I kept it blank, reminding him I'm not easy to smile. Smiling was reserved for people I liked.

"Ah, Miss Laina, a pleasure to meet again.' he said, something pretentious in his voice. I just nodded, my voice locked away until absolutely necessary. "Oh, Captain Lee, pleasure!" He called out to the Captain behind me. They mumbled something, but I didn't listen. Even if I tried, they were too quiet for my slightly deaf ears.

My ears; red and scarred.

"So, Laina, I'm afraid you will be transferred to a different ship," Zhao said in a nonchalant manner that caused me not to catch what he said at first. 

I jumped and looked into his cold, flaming eyes. "What? But I'm stationed on this ship, and I run course. Do you know how hard I worked to get this position!?" That wasn't the real reason I was hesitant to leave.

The Dai Li hadn't gotten my finished report for this fleet, and they needed to know what seas the fire nation would track next. So far, we hadn't gone to Ba Sing Se yet, but I'd been getting orders suggesting we were moving closer to the Earth Kingdom capital.