Wandering Prince
Avatar the Last Airbender, Zuko SI
16
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“…And did I mention your auras are so cute together?!”
Yue met my eyes and I mouthed, ‘I told you so.’
“You didn’t, but thank you for noticing,” she smiled at Ty Lee, even as Mai rolled her eyes.
I stretched my hands over my head as we left the forest, cracking my back and shifting my pack around to a more comfortable position. Turning towards the beach, I squinted as I spotted a big lump sitting beside my boat. “The hell is that?”
The others followed my gaze before Mai answered. “Oh, that. We hired a mercenary to guard the boat.”
“By which you mean, make sure I didn’t leave without you,” I translated.
The corners of Mai’s lips twitched as she threatened to smile. “You know me too well.”
“I mean, what did you expect, Zuzu? You’ve been running from us for months! We were getting tired of it!” Ty Lee complained. “It was starting to turn into something out of those plays where they start running through the audience.”
That was my own personal contribution to theater here, the last time we had gone to see a play as a family. I’d written out a few short skits from what I remembered of Benny Hill and the Three Stooges, found a few moments to slip away during an intermission to ‘use the restroom,’ slipped into the back rooms, and had eventually found where the theater troupe’s manager was set up before dropping the scroll off among his things. We’d never had a chance to go back, so I wasn’t sure it had even been read, let alone taken off.
“Well, can you blame me? As far as I knew, dear old dad had put the word out and every Fire Nation asset in the world was looking to mount my head to send it back to him.”
Ty Lee nodded, before pouting. “Still can’t believe we’re going back.”
“For Azula,” Mai reminded, before turning a knowing look on me. “She’s going to set off after you the moment we tell her what we’ve learned.”
“Probably,” I nodded. “Just make sure you keep the truth from her until you’re alone and far away from the Fire Nation and any potential eavesdroppers.”
“So I’ll get to meet her?” Yue perked up with a smile.
Mai, Ty Lee, and I all exchanged looks. The acrobat laughed awkwardly. “Maybe we should put that off…”
“It can’t be that bad,” Yue shook her head.
Mai raised an eyebrow. “Just what has Zuko told you about his sister?”
Yue shrugged. “He told me she could be… difficult.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Mai murmured.
“Haha, yeeeah… she’s crazy.” Ty Lee’s eyes went wide and she frantically hissed, “Don’t tell her I said that!”
“Yeah, don’t tell her that. Or call her crazy to her face,” I sighed. “Azula’s a good girl, she’s just… troubled.”
Mai scoffed. “She only listens to you, and she only keeps us around because we’re useful.”
I nodded, and Ty Lee picked up from there. “When she hears Zuzu’s engaged, Mount Azula is gonna go up! The only question is how much of the Fire Nation she takes with her!”
Blinking, Yue asked, “Why would she be upset that her brother is engaged? You would think that would make her happy.”
Mai and Ty Lee traded another of those looks before focusing on me. I let out a quiet half sigh, half groan. “Do you want to tell her, or should we?” Mai asked. I waved in her general direction and Mai nodded, before fixing Yue with an amused look. “Azula is a, what was it you called her?” she looked to me, before apparently remembering. “Brocon.”
“A what?” Yue asked, confused.
I groaned louder and Ty Lee giggled. “She just loves her big brother very much.” Yue sent her a confused look and Ty Lee emphasized, “Really loves her brother.”
“Oh.” Yue blinked, then her eyes went wide as she looked to me and blushed. “Oh! Really?!”
“Unfortunately,” I confirmed.
It was my turn to be on the end of one of Yue’s confused looks. “…I don’t see the problem? I’ll just talk to her and tell her—” Yue trailed off as Mai and Ty Lee laughed. “What?”
“If I can’t have him to myself, no one can,” Mai did her best Azula impression.
“Mai, Ty Lee! Kidnap Zuzu for me while I put this ‘fiancee’ on a boat back to where she belongs!” Ty Lee added, fighting a grin.
I couldn’t help but get in on the act. “Dear brother, this is for your own good. A future Fire Lord doesn’t need some water tribe hussy whispering in his ear. What would the people think?” Shaking my head, I had to admit, “That’s actually a valid argument and one she’s definitely going to make.”
Mai nodded. “The first of many. I hope you have your defense prepared well ahead of time.”
“I’ve got a few arguments handy,” I confirmed.
Yue frowned, studying the ground as she walked for a moment before asking, “You once told me she only respects strength. What if I show her I’m her equal?”
Ty Lee burst out laughing while Mai snorted. “That, I’d like to see.”
“She might actually be able to do it,” I countered, and both of my friends stopped laughing. “People say Azula was blessed by Agni, Yue is actually blessed by Tui.”
“So that’s why the spirit…” Ty Lee murmured, and I nodded.
“Then she might have a chance,” Mai hummed.
Our conversation came to a pause as we neared the boat, where the big, furry form of a shirshu lounged on the beach. Sitting atop the animal was a very fit older woman in dark leather, whose eyes sought out first Yue then myself as she looked us over as we approached. A smirk pulled one corner of her lips up and she slid down off of the animal to land lightly on her feet.
“I can see why she left home.”
“Well hello to you too,” I sent the mercenary a grin, offering my hand. “Zuko.”
“I’m June,” the woman introduced herself, shaking my hand.
“This is the mercenary who tracked us down?” Yue asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Bounty hunter, mercenary, tracker. Pretty much whatever you need done, if you’ve got a job and the coin to pay to see it gets done.”
“Speaking of,” Mai turned a look on June. “There wasn’t any combat—”
“No refunds,” June immediately countered.
Mai looked annoyed at that and I reached out and patted her shoulder. “Just give it up, Mai.”
June grinned. “He gets it.”
“If you’ll excuse us, we need to start packing and getting ready to depart,” I nodded, then moved around the shirshu and hopped onto my boat. I took a moment to cut the spot welds I’d made to the door and Yue and I headed inside. Behind us, I heard three sets of footsteps following and turned to see Mai, Ty Lee, and surprisingly June as well. The three of them looked around the interior of the cabin as I opened the shades to let in some light to see by.
“What is all of this?” Mai asked, moving over to one of the chests I’d secured to the floor with ropes.
“A little of this, little of that,” I shrugged as I began putting away dirty clothes into the box for them, to wash later.
Mai untied one of the ropes and opened the chest, revealing it to be filled with gold and jewels that shined the moment the light caught them. June whistled at the sight. “So that’s why you hit those pirates.”
“No, we hit them because pirates are assholes,” I shook my head and the woman nodded. “The spoils were just a bonus. I’d have done it for free and considered it a service to the rest of the world.”
“I wouldn’t say free, but yeah,” the woman agreed.
Yue turned around as she finished stowing her things, eyeing the older woman curiously. “Your job is finished, isn’t it? Not to be impolite, but why are you still here?”
“Color me curious,” June shrugged.
“She wants to see it,” Mai answered, and I sent her a questioning look.
The mercenary nodded. “Yup. I figured out how you two cut across land with this thing, but I want to see it for myself.”
Frowning, I closed the chest with my clothes and secured it, before eyeing the woman skeptically. “What’s in it for me? I trust these two,” I gestured to Ty Lee and Mai, “but I just met you. You’re a merc. Your loyalty is for sale, by definition. Right now, you suspect, but you don’t actually know the method. If we answer that, what’s to stop you from selling the information to the highest bidder? Honestly, the argument for silencing you permanently is pretty strong, versus the risk of the secret getting out before I want it to. So… make your pitch. Sell yourself. Convince me you’re worth keeping on the payroll as something other than a liability.”
“Heh. Alright,” June nodded, crossing her arms as she leaned against the door frame, not looking bothered in the least at me just putting it out there that killing her to keep her quiet might be on the table. She began ticking off points on her fingers, “I can track anyone, anywhere. I’ve been across the Earth Kingdom and much of the Fire Nation a few times now and I know them like the back of my hand. I know all the secret ways in and out of every Earth Kingdom city that they don’t want anyone knowing about, including Ba Sing Se. I know the secret to the tunnel to Omashu. I either personally know or know someone who knows every mover and shaker in the Earth Kingdom, on both sides of the law—and about half of those in the Fire Nation. I have friends in low places and people love to talk, so I either have or can get dirt on just about anyone. And most importantly, you said it yourself, Prince Zuko. I can be bought. I don’t owe allegiance to any one nation or group. As you said, I don’t know what you have planned, but I suspect some things, and if I’m right, you need all the help you can get. You’re going to need someone like me, with an ear to the ground and all the connections that you can’t be seen to have, especially once everything settles down.”
I considered it for a moment before nodding. “Friends in low places, huh? Alright. How much to put you permanently on the payroll?”
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“Mm, that’s going to be expensive,” the mercenary murmured, a smirk pulling her dark red painted lips up. “How about we try it on a trial basis and see how we like it, instead? Say, you pay for my services for a year?”
“Five years,” I countered.
“Three,” came the immediate counter offer. “And I’ll take one of those chests.”
I chuckled. They weren’t small chests. The smallest there was about 2’x1’x1.5’. “I’m sure you would. But I’d rather have an actual number and formalize everything with a contract.”
June nodded. “Alright.”
“Uh guys? How long is this going to take?” Ty Lee asked, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, as though the act of standing still and listening to negotiations physically pained her.
Thinking about it for a moment, I guessed, “About an hour or so.”
“You mind if I…?” she asked, jerking her thumb towards the door.
I rolled my eyes and nodded. Yue giggled. “I’ll come with you. I sat through enough negotiations at home!”
“Traitor,” I accused, and the girl stuck her tongue out as she hurried out the door with Ty Lee. Turning to Mai, I sent her a smile. “Mai. I could really use your help.”
Mai hummed, seeming to consider it for a moment, before asking, “What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll rub your feet the way you like,” I offered.
Mai scoffed. “You’ll need to rub more than that.”
“Full body massage. You’ve got a deal,” I grinned.
Sighing, Mai gestured towards the small writing desk secured to the floor. “Let’s get started.”
Perhaps an hour later, maybe a little longer, we had coin counted and filling the smallest chest and an agreement hammered out. I thought the terms were more than generous myself, while Mai thought I was giving away far too much. It was effectively a retainer contract, similar to what one would see for a hired bodyguard. Other than the pay being higher than what Mai would have liked, I’d also thrown in some bonuses—namely, agreeing to reimburse any of June’s expenses while she was actively on the job as long as she kept detailed records, along with offering her lodging when possible.
Because I was worried that my potentially being on the outs with the Fire Nation would cause her problems, the contract stipulated that it was actually Mai employing June—Mai, who was herself technically employed by Azula. It should keep any issues from arising with Fire Nation troops or the command structure. June didn’t hesitate to sign after reading it over thoroughly for any potential legal traps, quickly followed by Mai, with each of them keeping a copy for themselves and a third copy being put into my journal.
“Alright,” I stood, cracking my back. “Let’s go round up the others and I’ll take you up so you can see what all the fuss is about. Then you three can get on that cruiser and go break the news to Azula.”
Soon enough, Yue and I were unrolling the balloon from its storage container on the top of the boat with help from the others. Yue held the opening in place over the hot air pipe and the balloon quickly filled. Once it was full enough to stand on its own, everyone moved back to the rear and I got us in the air.
“Whoooa~! This is amazing!” Ty Lee yelled, leaning so far out over the railing that if it weren’t her, I’d be worried she would fall.
June whistled quietly as she took in the surrounding landscape. “Looks like I bet on the right ostrich horse,” she murmured, turning her dark eyes on me and sizing me up.
It was Mai who pointed out the obvious. “This thing doesn’t just sit in one place though, does it?”
“It does not,” I shook my head. Pulling the lever to switch the gearing over from the screw to the propeller, I settled in beside the engine and got it going, turning us back northwest and sending us over the forest as we ascended further before I leveled us out. I cut back towards the ocean after we passed the clearing with Hei Bai’s statue. Once we were over open water, I left the engine to run on residual heat for a moment before moving to the railing, where I sent a series of fireballs down into the water, where they exploded into gouts of steam.
I saw the moment it began to click what they were seeing—first with June, followed an instant later by Mai, before even Ty Lee caught on and her usually chipper attitude abruptly took a nose dive as she went still and silent. Sending the three women a smile, I asked, “So… we’re going to keep this quiet for now, right?”
“Mhmm,” June nodded.
“Yeah,” Mai confirmed.
I turned to Ty Lee, who abruptly smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zuzu! Nothing interesting happened at all today!”
“Good answer.”
I put us down in the water just off the beach from where we’d started. Sending Mai and Ty Lee a smile, I said, “Take care of yourselves.” I turned a look on June and grinned. “Try to keep them out of trouble.”
“Do I get paid extra for that?” the woman grinned.
“It’s in your contract, under ‘hazard pay.’”
“Later, boss,” the merc chuckled, before making her way to the railing and walking out until she could drop onto the sand as opposed to into the water.
Ty Lee stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. “It was good to see you again, Zuzu! We missed you!”
“I missed you too,” I squeezed her back. “If everything goes to plan, we can all meet up again soon anyway.”
“Mm!” Ty Lee nodded, before pulling herself up a little bit more and pressing her lips to my own. She giggled and let go, before running away along one of the boat’s railings and jumping onto the beach.
“It was nice meeting you!” Yue called after the acrobat, who waved back from the beach.
It was Mai’s turn next. She didn’t waste time with words and instead stepped up and kissed me—a kiss I returned as Yue giggled nearby. Breaking the kiss, Mai pressed her forehead into mine and glared at me. “You owe me that massage.”
“Next time. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” she murmured, stealing one more peck before sighing and pulling away.
“Think about what we talked about,” Yue told her as Mai followed June and Ty Lee’s example of using the railing.
Turning back, Mai considered Yue for a moment before nodding. “I don’t like it, but I’ll go along with it. I’ll try to convince Azula, but you should probably start preparing to fight for your life.” She glanced at me before turning a threatening look on Yue. “Look after him. Don’t let him do anything stupid.”
Yue giggled and turned an impish look my way. “It’s far too late for that, but it worked out last time…”
Mai left with a quiet huff and Yue moved over to sit beside me. I got us into the air but kept us just above the treeline for now, moving east and inland towards the mountains, well away from where the girls’ ship might spot us before I would climb and adjust course south.
“Your friends are nice. I like them,” Yue beamed from beside me, clinging onto my arm.
“They’re pretty great,” I agreed. Deciding to address the conversational elephant, I asked, “You’re sure about this whole ‘a wife from every kingdom’ thing?”
“Mm. I’m sure,” the blonde nodded.
“I meant Yue the woman, not Yue the princess.”
Turning her head up, she pecked my cheek with a quick kiss. “I know. I’ll admit, it’s not what I was expecting. Part of me wants to say I hate it. That I want to keep you to myself. Another part thinks, maybe it would be nice to have sisters.”
“I don’t actually want or need that in my life, you know.”
Yue nodded, before asking, “But do you hate it so much that you can’t do it?”
Blowing out a sigh, I shook my head. “I’d be lying if I said I did. I’m a man. The idea is appealing, even if I know it’s going to take a lot of work. And then there’s the practical aspect. You’re right that tying the Fire Nation to the other nations through marriage is probably the best chance we have at lasting peace. I’d be neglecting my duty if I didn’t at least consider it seriously. Luckily, we’ve got a few years before we have to make any kind of decision.”
“And we still have to find someone from the Earth Kingdom to fit that role,” Yue mused. “But isn’t it more, the Earth Kingdoms, and they’re not really unified? Wouldn’t picking a noble or even a princess from one upset the others?”
“They are. And probably,” I agreed. “It’d be a miracle to find the one girl in all of the Earth Kingdom who isn’t explicitly tied to any one kingdom but who they would all have to respect.”
Glancing at my compass and checking my journal’s map, I adjusted course slightly for our fuel stop before plotting the route I’d take to Gaoling. As I did, Yue sighed and leaned back in her seat. “What are the odds of someone like that even existing, let alone finding her?”
“About one in a few million,” I mused, closing the journal. “But we only have to get lucky once.”
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“Toph? Where’d you go, sweetie?”
Toph forced herself to hold in her sigh as she felt her mother approaching, her steps along the garden path letting Toph know exactly how close she was—and how much time Toph had to get her ‘perfect, helpless, doll daughter’ mask back on. Not to mention making sure the ground wasn’t uneven and didn’t show signs of her bending.
“Here, mother,” Toph called, once she finished smoothing out the ground.
“There you are!” her mother sighed as she rounded a bend in the trail and found Toph waiting, sitting on the grass. “Your maid just left you here?! You’re going to stain your dress!”
Toph turned her face up towards her mother, her lips pulling down as she did. “What color is grass again?”
“Well, it’s green. Why do you ask?”
Toph mimed looking down, patting the dress in question. “Did I put on the white one this morning, or the green one?”
Her mother paused, then let out a quiet, annoyed sound. “The green one. It can still stain.”
Toph pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself off. “It feels fine. As for Su, I sent her to go get lunch for us. We’re going to have a picnic in the garden.”
“You shouldn’t be so familiar with the help, dear,” her mother murmured.
Toph wanted to say that the help were the only people in the household who didn’t treat her like glass, but she somehow managed to contain herself. Instead, she asked, “Was there something you needed?”
“Oh, right! Yes. We’ll be having a few guests over tonight, so I’ll need you to look your best,” her mother said, her tone excited and her heartbeat even picking up a little at the thought, giving Toph a good idea that whatever this was, it was important to her mother and she really wanted it to go over well.
Resisting the urge to groan, Toph asked, “Is this another marriage interview?”
Her mother’s heart jumped—panic. “What? No! What makes you think that? I know you hate those boring old things.”
Your tone, Toph mentally groaned as her mother immediately confirmed her suspicion. Forcing a smile onto her face, she said, “Oh, that’s great news. I’m so glad I won’t have to disappoint someone, because I’m not really feeling well, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to come tonight. I was honestly thinking I might have to turn in early—”
“No!” her mother yelped, waving her hands back and forth as her heart rate spiked again, panic increasing. “No, no. You can’t!”
“I can’t? But I’m really—”
“It, it won’t be for long, I promise!” her mother lied, before her tone shifted to pleading. “Listen, honey, we reeeally need you to be there tonight. Everything has to go well. This is really important to us, okay?”
Toph shook her head. “I can’t make any promises—”
“I’m not asking,” her mother’s tone firmed. “You will be there, you will look your best, and you will be on your best behavior. Your father and I don’t ask much of you, and when we do, you know it’s always with your best interests in mind. So you are going to do this for us, Toph. Do I make myself clear?”
Considering it for a moment, Toph smiled. “I understand, mother.”
Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. “Good! I’m glad. Now, if you’re really not feeling well, why don’t you go lie down and have a nap before dinner. That way, you’ll be rested and refreshed for tonight.”
“I think I will,” Toph forced her smile to stay in place as her mother’s hand sought out her own and pulled her towards the house, as though she couldn’t find her own way. And as they went, she began to plan.
Looks like the Blind Bandit may be making a comeback soon. I still have my winnings hidden away from the last few times I’ve fought. Bet it all on myself, win big, then…
Cold, hard reality brought her plans up short. While she could navigate the world just fine without sight, and she felt confident that she could probably survive most threats in the wilderness or on the road, the fact was that being blind meant certain things were beyond her. She didn’t actually know how to survive on her own, for one. For another, she had no actual survival skills—no knowledge of where to find food or water, no knowledge of how to prepare meat if she actually killed something to eat, nor the knowledge of how to start a fire. She was strong, but Toph didn’t believe she could carry food and water enough to walk the distance between Gaoling and wherever she decided to go.
Then, there was the problem of actually getting anywhere she wanted to go. She would be almost entirely dependent upon strangers for kindness, and Toph knew better. She left the Beifong estate grounds alone frequently and had learned the hard way that if people saw what they thought was weakness, they would absolutely try to take advantage. She couldn’t count the number of times people had tried to scam her out of paying the right amount, giving her back her change, giving her the wrong thing—and those were the cases where people just tried to get away with petty shit. She’d been stalked through the streets before. Followed until she lost her pursuers. Surrounded and attacked by sore losers. Some creeps even thought she was naive enough that she either wouldn’t understand what was going on or wouldn’t fight back if they suddenly dragged her into an alley and went to pawing at her tits—those might actually still be wandering the sewers below ground where she left them, for all she knew or cared.
It was just so frustrating, having so little control over her own life. She hated feeling weak and helpless, especially when she actually wasn’t in most ways. She hated having to rely on others for things other people took for granted. She hated that, as much as she told herself that she wasn’t some fragile princess in need of protecting, she kind of was in a lot of ways.
Shaking her head as her mother dropped her off at her room, Toph flopped onto her bed and huffed out a sigh. Moping about it isn’t going to change anything. So. How badly do I want to run this guy off?
Toph had the feeling that whoever it was, this was someone fairly important—at least in her parents’ estimation. That meant she couldn’t ruffle too many feathers here. She kind of wanted to though. Maybe embarrass her parents enough that they stopped trying to marry her off.
I’m only fourteen! Can’t it wait a few more years, at least?! she yelled in the privacy of her own mind, thumping a fist down into the bed in irritation. What if I don’t want to get married at all, huh?! Ever think of that? No! Of course they didn’t!
Well, it wasn’t as though she didn’t have practice driving off potential suitors. Shift the floor under them to make them uncomfortable even on a cushion, bump the table or tilt it just enough to spill something when her parents weren’t looking, crack a teacup to spill hot tea in someone’s lap—earthbending gave her a lot of options. Even if Toph preferred the brash, jump in fists first approach, she’d had years to perfect a more subtle touch. Things that could be brushed off as clumsiness on someone else’s part, coincidence, or even just bad luck.
Eventually, Su came and found her, some time before dinner. “Young miss, the bath is ready.”
“Sure. Thanks, Su,” Toph sighed, making her way to the bathroom, where another of the maids waited to help her scrub and wash her hair. Not too long after that, Toph found herself being stuffed into one of her more complicated dresses as Su helped put it on and the maid from earlier combed out and styled her hair.
“So, who is this guy they’re trying to throw me at this time?” she asked, knowing the servants wouldn’t report it back to her mother.
There was silence for a few moments as the two older women turned their heads towards each other and somehow had some sort of silent conversation. Toph still wasn’t entirely sure how normal people did that, even after all these years. Eventually, Su answered, “The young master is the son of a wealthy businessman. I believe the father owns several mines across the Earth Kingdom, which sell iron, coal, and other materials.”
“Uh huh,” Toph murmured. It made sense why her parents were pushing for this one, then. Being a family who made their wealth in the mercantile industry and became pretty much the merchant family of the Earth Kingdom, the Beifong family stood to gain much from this deal—both families, really. It was a good match, on paper. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t fault her parents for trying with this one. There was a lot of money riding on this.
Too bad I’m not interested in being the linchpin of some deal between our families.
She knew her parents would probably try to find a way to force the issue at some point in the future, but it wouldn’t be today. So, sitting quietly as the maids applied makeup to her face and scented oils to her hair and body, Toph felt out the house and the surrounding grounds as she fought to keep her freedom just a little longer.
Spotting a pair of men coming up the drive, one of them taller and fatter than the other, she shifted faintly in her seat and thumped her heel on the floor. Outside, the soil of the path loosened and the stepping stone atop it turned brittle. The men stepped onto it at the same time and it gave way, causing them both to slip. The fat one fell face first onto the path, while the shorter one screamed loud enough that the whole house heard him as he twisted his ankle and began to curse.
A smile ghosted across her lips. Let’s fuckin’ gooo!