Daughter of the Moon - Book 1: Water

Chapter 23: The Big Bang

- Elara -

Zuko had dug himself into a bit of a hole since his last attempt at capturing the Avatar had failed, and if Aang and the others had stayed true to their word, they would've reached the North Pole by now. That would certainly make it to be a hundred times more difficult for Zuko to even be in the same room as him, let alone capture him due to the fortified nature of the northern tribe. I was fairly certain that the prince knew this well because it seemed like he had given up on ever being able to find him again (at least for now).

Almost as if the impossibility of capturing the Avatar caused some kind of ripple effect in the prince's life, Zuko went about his daily tasks without the gusto that he used to. He yelled at the crew members less, his training sessions had less spunk, and he spent most of his free time brooding in his room. Okay, maybe he wasn't acting that different, but I could tell that the spark he used to have was missing.

Since the prince had failed to give the crew members any comprehensive orders on what to do next, we had decided to dock the ship until we were ready to continue. This allowed us to conserve resources, but more importantly, it allowed the crew members to relish in the feeling of solid ground (being at sea for extended periods of time didn't do too well for team moral). However, everyone always made it back to the deck each night to live through another one of Iroh's shenanigans, no matter how ridiculous they were.

That night, Iroh had decided to host a musical bash, whether the crew members were musically inclined or not. Iroh was—without a doubt—more related to the latter case. As lieutenant Jee played the opening phrase of the song on a stringed instrument, Jusun dragged me to the dance floor and led me in a simple waltz just as Iroh began to sing.

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
Four Seasons; Four Loves
Four Seasons; Four Loves

"That was wonderful, Iroh," I complemented the General at the conclusion of the performance, bowing respectfully to my dance partner. "Absolutely moving."

"Thank you, Elara. As I always say, one does not need to be blessed with the voice of an angel to express the messages woven into a song," Iroh replied with a grin.

"You got that right!" Jee hollered from his seat, sparking a wave of chuckles from the other crew members. "What do ya' say, Iroh. How about an encore?"

Iroh rubbed his head sheepishly, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly at the man's remark. "I don't know, Lieutenant. These vocal cords aren't what they used to be."

"Would you like me to fetch you some tea to help with that?" I offered.

"That would be delightful. Thank you, Elara," Iroh replied as I started towards the kitchens to fetch some ginseng tea (I was no Iroh when it came to making tea, but I hoped that my years spent watching him use a kettle and a tea pot would have taught me something).

As I entered the bridge, I heard the clatter of footsteps as a group walked up the gangplank. I thought nothing of it at first, casually sneaking a peak at our visitors before disappearing into the belly of the ship. However, what I saw made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. I started running, the panic setting in almost immediately. I knew I needed to hide—unfortunately, there weren't too many places to hide on this ship, so I ran to the first place I could think of.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zuko yelped in surprise as I barreled into his room without being invited. "Did you never learn to knock?!"