Prisoner of War

Bounty Hunter

Rhea darted into her room and quickly belted her sword around her waist. Grabbing a knife or two she dashed out into the courtyard where the fight had already begun. She pulled the mask hanging loosely around her neck over her face and plunged into the battle.

The woman, a bounty hunter no doubt, remained astride her beast.

Zuko went after Aang.

Rearing, the beast, a Shirshu, knocked Sokka and Katara limply to the ground.

Rhea lunged and summersaulted over to the pair's paralyzed bodies. Holding Sokka under the arms, she dragged him over to the wall. Then, she returned to get Katara clear of the the chaos.

The women of the abbey immediately got to work, helping the pair return to full strength.

Rhea dashed forward and slid along the pavement beneath the Shirshu, slashing it across the back of the leg.

The beast reared and stomped wildly before turning on Rhea and lashing out with its long stinging tongue.

The fleshy tentacle struck Rhea across the chest and she dropped helplessly to the ground, unable to move. She struggled against the venom, but couldn't make her body cooperate.

Soon, Sokka and Katara joined the fight.

Katara bent the perfume and soaked the Shirshu in the scented liquid.

Unable to find its prey and overwhelmed by the different smells, the blind creature went feral, lashing out at anything and everything. It wasn't long before both Zuko and the bounty hunter were on the ground.

Aang approached to help Rhea up, but froze when he saw her masked face. "You." He took a step back. "You're the girl from the forest."

Rhea could only look at the Avatar guiltily. "I'm sorry."

Katara walked up to get Aang and stared at Rhea in disbelief. "You." She grabbed Aang's arm and pushed him behind her. "Was this just some sick trick to get your hands on him."

"Why would I do that?" Rhea pleaded. "I let you go."

Katara glared at her. "Maybe you wanted him all to yourself. Maybe you knew you'd get another opportunity." She dragged Aang away and the trio flew away on Appa.
————
Rhea stood on the beach, staring out to sea. She'd screwed everything up and now everyone hated her. Well done Ozai. She thought. You got what you wanted. I'm completely alone.

She dropped to the sand, curled up in a tight ball.

After regaining her mobility, she had left the abbey. She didn't want to deal with Zuko, not after what she'd pulled.

Her crew still hadn't returned. She was getting worried. It didn't take this long to resupply. She knew something had happened. Maybe they'd abandoned her like everyone else. She rested her head on her knees. It looked like she was stuck here.

A grinding metallic noise made her look up.

A ship was pulling up to shore, but it wasn't her boat.

Admiral Zhao stood confidently at the prow of his ship as it ran aground on the loose sandy shore.

Rhea stood to face the power-hungry admiral. "Zhao, to what do I owe the 'pleasure'?"

He smirked as he descended the gangway to the ground. He stood before Rhea, his shoulders drawn back to make him look more intimidating. "I have an opportunity for you." He started pacing in front of her, kicking up sand. "The Avatar is headed for the North Pole."

"I'm aware." Rhea crossed her arms and stared at the admiral. "Get to your point."

He paused in his walk and met her gaze. "I would like your aid in taking the North Pole."

Rhea scoffed. "You're insane. The North Pole is too heavily fortified for even your forces to take."

"Don't speak too soon." He gestured to the horizon where hundreds, maybe thousands, of ships had sailed into view.

Rhea's eyes widened. "No." She didn't so much as breathe the word, but Zhao heard her.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why so horrified? You should be celebrating the impending victory of your people."

She glared at him. "They're not my people." She turned and walked towards the ship. "But you don't seem to be giving me a choice."

Zhao smirked. "Now, you're catching on. At least your time in the Fire Nation taught you something." He followed her onto the boat and they cast off to meet up with the armada.

A/N
I am SO sorry for the wait. This took me WAY too long to write. I wasn't sure what to do between these two events. Anyway, it might take me a while to get the next part out. I apologize in advance for that, but we'll see.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
-Cheshire