Daughter of the Moon - Book 1: Water

Chapter 20: Storms and Stories

- Elara -

I'm not entirely sure how he did it, but Zuko had somehow managed to carry me back to the ship all on his own after he had found me washed up on the riverbank. I guess I was in terrible condition from almost drowning in that stupid boat, so I was taken immediately to Ushma, who fixed me up real quick. The crew was ecstatic to have me back (none of them caring that I had been working with the Avatar for weeks on end), and they threw a celebration for me as soon as I was strong enough to go crazy. Life had returned to normal, for the most part, the only difference being the tension that had grown between the prince and I.

I didn't understand what I had done to hurt Zuko, but he hadn't spoken to me since I had returned to the ship (well, maybe it was the fact that I had ditched him for the Avatar, but that was not the point). The only thing I heard from him was that he wanted me locked up in another cell so that I wouldn't run away again. Luckily, Iroh was there to defend me, but that just landed me on sanitation duty for a week. When I shared my concerns with the retired general, he had insisted that Zuko was extremely concerned about my well-being, having panicked uncontrollably when he had realized that I had sailed off the waterfall. Additionally, Iroh reported that the prince had pined for me non-stop while I was away, which I didn't believe for a second, of course. Zuko was physically incapable of worrying about anyone other himself and the Avatar.

The only problem I really had with returning (besides Zuko, apparently) was that I had to be interrogated as soon as I had regained consciousness. Since I had spent several weeks with the Avatar—the bane of Prince Zuko's existence—I had to share everything I knew about his future plans. It was very awkward being interrogated by Lieutenant Jee while Zuko sulked in the corner (as per the usual), but I did my best to give them information without actually giving them anything important.

Unfortunately, even though I had been trained by the Moon Warriors to do many incredible things, I was never taught how to withstand an interrogation (meaning that I popped like a tin of fire flakes). I let slip that Aang was traveling to the North Pole to find a waterbending master to teach him, and Zuko immediately set a course for the Northern Water Tribe (although, I think he hoped to capture Aang long before we got there).

That was what would eventually lead us right into the eye of a storm. But if course, almost no one could've predicted that.

That morning was beautiful. The sky was clear, the air was crisp, and the boat rocked ever so slightly as small waves lapped gently against the side of the boat. It should've been a perfect day, but something always had to go wrong when things were content and peaceful.

"There is a storm coming," Iroh muttered ominously as he watched Zuko study the sky (searching for Aang's bison, no doubt). The old man then tilted his head up as he sniffed the air before nodding in confirmation. "A big one."

Zuko lowered his telescope and turned to his uncle in disbelief. "You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There's not a cloud in sight."

"The storm is approaching from the north," Iroh continued, ignoring his nephew's protests. "I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."

Zuko snarled and marched up to his uncle menacingly, paying no attention to me even though I was sitting right next to him. "We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same."

"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew," Iroh advised and I couldn't agree more. At least, the part about keeping the crew members safe. I still was having a hard time believing that a storm was approaching as well, but I learned long ago never to question Iroh's intuition. Besides, the way the burns on my hands seemed to ache with the supposed change of the weather only seemed to serve as a further testament to Iroh's words (although, I had never been one for superstitions).