Dragon At Heart

Chapter 27

A/N

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/alerted this story. I really appreciate the support! And thanks to everyone who had enough patience and faith in me despite the long quiet.

()()()

27. Payback

Admiral Zhao's ship was preparing to dock at a Fire Nation Colony. From the considerable lack of things on fire or getting crushed by magical gushes of wind he knew he had arrived too late. The Avatar wasn't here anymore.

Regardless, Zhao would talk with local authorities and gather clues. With little luck the airbender was still somewhere in the vicinity and the Admiral intended to sent out search parties first thing tomorrow morning. Zhao's wondering gaze landed on one of the Fire vessels already docked. Even in the dim light of the moon he had no difficulty recognizing it.

Well well well, look who we have here. Must be my lucky day.

Zhao's lips quirked into a rare, genuine smile. Avatar or no Avatar, this would turn out to be a very satisfying day for the newly-appointed Admiral. He had been waiting for his chance for revenge and it looked like fate had decided to provide him with one.

ooo

The sun had barely risen when Zuko finally reached the Colony. He wrapped the Blue Spirit mask in the scarf he'd been wearing and hid them both under the roots of a big willow tree next to the river.

As much as the Prince didn't feel like loosing yet another mask, it wasn't wise to walk around with incriminating evidence in his pocket. Not after the show he had put up last night. His thoroughly dirty clothes, complimentary to his late night swim and the jog through the woods, were suspicious enough on their own accord.

Tiredly Zuko made his way towards the harbor, dreaming of nothing but a hot bath and a warm bed. The town was still buzzing with soldiers, but that was hardly surprising: a sighting of the Avatar always caused a fuss. Zuko had lost count of all the times he had been one of the pursuers who came to the scene of crime an hour or two late, missing all the action.

"I see we meet again, Prince Zuko", a cold voice sang from behind him. Zuko turned to meet the calculative stare of Admiral Zhao.

The Prince suppressed an urge to roll his eyes. He'd just been up all night and, although he had had a good rest before that, he felt distinctly tired and grumpy. He was so not in the mood for dealing with Zhao right now.

"Admiral Zhao", Zuko acknowledged and nodded his head courtly, attempting to appear disinterested and royal. A considerably hard thing to achieve in his battered state.

Zhao smiled a predatory smile. He looked Zuko from head to toe, taking in the Prince's unusually shabby appearance, stopping for a moment to survey his new haircut. Finally the older man concluded: "Must have been a busy night. Not by any chance did you notice where the Avatar went?"

"Um, I didn't. No. But I definitely want to capture him and..." Zuko glanced to his left, cursing internally for not having thought of a good lie before-hand.

"...but he won't get away from me next time... or something", Zuko finally stammered.

That's the kind of thing I'm supposed to say, right?

Zhao looked at him suspiciously. The Prince was a terrible liar and painfully aware of it. Still, considering he had been saying something on those lines for years, you would've thought the lie would've landed more smoothly from his lips. It wasn't like he lacked practice. However, now that Zuko was no longer dead-set on capturing the Avatar, he found himself struggling to put his 'unwavering determination' to words that didn't sound cheesy even to his own ears.