Disclaimer- I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters used in this story.
Summary: A phrophecy was spoken. A destiny was revealed. But the outcome of the war still hangs in the balance. What will decide who wins? Zula is the only obstacle the Avatar might not be able to beat, but perhaps that doesn't mean that Zula will determine the outcome. Maybe instead it be an innocent nobody who accidently overheard the seer's words. I guess this could be considered slightly AUish since I am making up my own beginning since I start before when the series starts. My fanfic will also probably take a totally different course than the show. I promise I won't do anything to conflict with the fist 13 episodes, though.
Warnings: death and violence
Pairings: You have to wait and see (muhahahahaha...), but romance will be nonexistant till later chapters.
Chapter 1- An Unwelcome Listener
Lady Yatou could feel the life slowly draining out of her. She was going to die; the birth had just been too much for her frail body. It had been a miracle enough when she survived the birth of her first child a year ago, but this time she was not so lucky.
Yatou laid on the bed in the darkness staring at the crib beside her. The crib that contained the child she had given birth to, the one that was the reason she is now dying.
The large drapes in front of the windows blocked any sunlight from entering the room. Candles throughout the room were lit and gave off an iridescent glow in the room that flickered across the walls. Save for the child's small whimpers and Yatou's own labored breathing the room was quiet. Only she and the child were in the room. She would die alone.
Everyone had left her. Yatou's husband had stormed out of the room when he had found out she had born a girl instead of the hoped-for baby boy. He had wanted another son, not a weak little girl. The doctors also left her when they realized there was nothing they could do to save her.
So now she found herself facing the terrifying aspect of dying by herself. No one was there to comfort her or at least give her the reminder that there was life somewhere instead of just the death that she could taste. Maybe her husband will come back. Maybe Ozai will forgive her in time to be with her when she died. Maybe.
The door to the room creaked open and Lady Yatou could hear footsteps. She expectantly looked up. It wasn't Ozai. No, instead the person she heard entering was an old woman that was hobbling into the room. The old woman moved in slow, painful steps that betrayed she had long since left the prime of life.
The old woman's head was held high even while she was struggling to walk. An air of importance seemed to hang around the woman that would command the attention of anyone near her. Yatou noticed with a shiver that the woman's eyes seemed to glow in the dark room.
"Who are you?" Yatou asked of the stranger. What prompted this woman to come here? To the room with a dying nobody that once was a proud Lady and an unwanted child. Had she come to gawk at the girl, to see the failure of the royal family?
"My name is Manilae and I was sent here."
"Who sent you and why?"
"Who sent me isn't important, but I was sent to look into your child's future. I am a seer."
Yatou nodded to show the woman she heard her and began once again to stare in the darkness. Death was approaching. The seer began to walk; not towards the crib as expected, but rather to the bed with the dying woman.
"You are very upset. Why do you insist on leaving this life with such sadness?" asked a quiet voice beside Yatou.
"Does it matter?" Lady Yatou did not want pity, especially from a forgotten seer sent on an unexpected errand to prophecy for the royal child.
"Very well," the old woman told Yatou as she turned to look inside the crib instead. A few seconds passed and then the Lady heard a sharp intake of breath from the seer. Had the old woman not known the royal child was a girl? Did she just now realize Yatou's failure?
"Yes, the child's a girl. Not a glorious son to make the royal family even stronger, but rather a weak girl," Lady Yatou spat out.
The seer heard the bitterness in the Lady's voice. It was not the gender that had surprised her. Perhaps she should tell the Lady was had actually shocked her, what had really come to her as such a surprise. No, it was best kept a secret. The seer turned to look at Yatou.
"The girl will grow into a woman with ambitious plans and devious schemes," the seer began to prophecy to Yatou, "But I feel no happiness in her life, onlypain and hate instead."
So her child was destined a life of pain. Yatou began to feel pity for the little girl she would never get to see grow-up, but shadows from the past created pity for herself that soon overwhelmed her. The girl will lead a life similar to mine, cursed to live as lonely as I did. Yatou felt bitter against the hard blows life dealt her, and soon became lost in memories of her hard life. She will be forgotten and pushed aside like I was, probably be married to whoever is the best match instead of for any love. She will become a useless trinket whose only purpose is to bear boys to help carry on a family name.
The pressing pain, however, of the approaching death soon jerked her back to reality. Strength was leaving her. She glanced beside her and saw that the seer was standing next to her, just standing there and looking at her with those glowing eyes.
"So I'm to die giving birth to a no-name girl?" Yatou asked of the old woman. The seer paused and began to wonder is she should perhaps tell the mother what else she saw in the child's future. Maybe it would help the Lady die more peacefully and there was no one the dying woman could tell.
"You will die shortly, but the child you gave birth to is not a no-name. In fact, before everything is over I can guarantee most of the world will know her name."
"How is that possible? Did you not see what my child is? Even my husband is angry that the child I born is a weak girl."
"Just because she is a girl does not mean she will be weak. She will grow up to become even stronger than her older brother. In fact, she will become more powerful than anyone else in the Fire Nation. This girl Fire Lord Ozai is so disappointed in will be the only person who can stand against the Avatar."
"The Avatar? The Avatar is gone. Who cares is she can defeat a long gone entity?"
"The Avatar is coming back and will be sent to defeat the Fire Nation. He will have the ability to bring the greatest nation to its knees. Only this girl can stop him. The outcome of this entire war rests with your child."
Yatou's eyes widened as the magnitude of the prophecy began to sink in.
"It will be hard for the girl, however. Life will not smile easily on her. Pain and hardships will flock around her and hate will begin to consume her."
"Is there no hope for my child?" Yatou whispered. The seer paused to try to think of something that might help. She wanted to give the dying woman the comfort of knowing life would go easier for the child. The seer unclasped the necklace around her own neck and tied it around the child's tiny wrist.
"Perhaps this will assist her during the hardships. I cannot do anything to help with the rest."
Yatou weakly nodded and could feel that death was moments off. Pain was beating through her and tormenting her every waking moment. Yatou would never had guessed death could hurt this much. She just wanted to let eternal unconsciousness claim her, but she needed to hold on just one minute longer. She had one last thing to do.
"Do me one favor—tell Ozai… the name I picked… for the child." Yatou was finding it harder and harder to breathe, let alone talk.
"I will."
"… tell him… the name… is… to be… Zula…" The Lady whispered as the last of her strength seeped out of her into the darkness. The seer watched as the Lady Yatou drew her last breath. The pain was finally over.
There died the only person the seer had told about the prophecy. The secret was safe. The old woman looked one last time at the sleeping baby and then slowly walked out the door. She needed to tell the Fire Lord the child's name.
The seer was wrong, however. The secret had not died with Lady Yatou. Hidden deep within the shadows was a small figure crouched in the darkness. The dangerous words of the prophecy had reached their ears; words they would never forget.
The small girl crept out of her hiding place after the old woman left. Timidly, she looked at the bed where the dead woman laid. Guilt consumed her and she was sure that everyone would find out what she had overheard. She cringed as she considered that her thoughts were perhaps whispers that found their way into every ear. They would all know that she carried a deadly secret, somehow they would know.
Perhaps the woman lying on the bed will jerk to life to tell everyone. The woman would point her finger at her and accuse her. The dead might come back to life to tell of the little girl's horrible deed. She did not mean to overhear anything. She had hid in the room before the birth took place so she could see the newborn royal infant.
Fear kept her in her hiding place after the Fire Lord and doctors left; the fear that the Lady would be mad that a servant's daughter had snuck in the room. So she remained in the shadows even as the seer entered the room. She knew such a powerful seer would know someone else was in the room. She had known the old woman would detect her and find her hiding place, but the seer never even glanced her direction. The old woman had not sensed anything at all about the little girl hiding in the room.
The young girl tip-toed over to the crib to see the baby. She peered inside and looked at the infant. She marveled at how such a small thing could grow so powerful as to be able to defeat the Avatar.
A small glint made the girl turn her attention to the necklace wrapped around the baby's wrist. It was a small pendant of an ornamentally carved dragon. The dragon had small rubies for eyes that flickered blood red as the candlelight reflected in it. The moving flames reflected in the rubies created the illusion of life behind the dragon's eyes. Fascinated, the girl stared at it.
The baby opened its eyes and stared at her. The stare broke the girl's reverie and suddenly she remembered her fear. What if someone learned of what she did? She had to get out of the room before someone found her.
The girl snuck out the door leaving the room behind her, and with her she carried a secret that she would dare not tell anyone.
8 Years Later
A sharp jerk on her hair made Zula whirl around to face the perpetrator. Her brother stood in front of her with a huge grin on his face.
"Hey! What was that for?" Zula demanded of him. What made him think he could do that to her? Zuko momentarily frowned and then a big smirk grew on his face.
"Well, someone's mad today. What's the matter? Get in trouble for accidentally catching the furniture on fire again?" Zuko said tauntingly. Zula was in no mood for jokes. In a fit of anger she threw a small fireball at her brother. The small flame hit his hand and he yelped as it made contact with his skin. Zula was proud to see slight burn on the back of his hand.
"Serves you right. You should know better than to not pay attention, but you were too busy being a jerk," Zula pointed out to him.
"You shouldn't do that, you know."
"Do what?"
"Firebend. My friend Lekto says girls shouldn't firebend."
"Nu-uh."
"He did too! He said it isn't proper."
"What would Lekto know about proper?"
"His mentor told him. Girls shouldn't firebend."
"So? Father doesn't mind that I do."
"If he even knows…"
"What's that supposed to mean? He cares enough to pay attention to what I do!"
"Don't get so defensive, I didn't say that."
"Yeah right! I know what you meant—get away from me!" Zuko shrugged and followed Zula's command. What was she so worked up about?
Zula watched him leave and fought back the urge to call him back. Maybe she did get too angry over nothing. After all, she didn't get to see her brother much, but then again he was being just plain irritating today. Mentioning how distant Father was toward her was a low blow.
Angry at herself for getting so easily hurt by Zuko's comment, she stormed out of the room and began to wander down one of the hallways. She was unsure about her destination, but she really didn't care. Anywhere was fine. All she cared about was distracting herself from her foul mood.
Perhaps it was her anger that made her pause in front of that particular doorway, or perhaps it was her terrible mood. Whatever the reason, Zula stopped in front of the doorway nevertheless. Beyond the opening, half-hidden by a curtain, was a set of stairs. Stairs that led down.
Curiosity began to feed on Zula as she wondered what the stairs led to. She knew they led beneath the palace, but she did not know what was down there. Zula never had a reason to go down there her entire life and she never bothered herself with it. However, as she was standing before the stairway an urge to go down them suddenly gripped her. The urge to discover the unknown behind the curtain started to become irresistible, and Zula decided to seek out the mysteries of what the stairs led to.
Zula began to descend down the stairs, down beneath the surface. Since this lowest part of the palace was underground, there were no windows to shine light into the stairway. Torches glittered along the walls and Zula had to rely on their feeble light to make sure she did not fall down the stairs. The stairway was small and closed in on either side of her. Zula began to feel uncomfortable and wondered if perhaps exploring down here had been a bad idea.
The stairway ended shortly, however, and Zula saw before her a vast hallway. Curiosity filled her once again and she started the long trek down the hallway. Small clanks and bangs echoed down the metal hallway. Dampness clung to her in the humid air and a musty smell hung in the air. Doorways lined the hallway, but they were closed and Zula dared not open them.
Moans drifted down the hallway and Zula paused listening to the sound. Venturing farther she discovered one of the doorways was open and that was where the sound was emanating from. She peered in. Two guards stood in the room with the Firebender masks on and were holding either arm of man dressed in a brown uniform with subtle highlights of green interwoven into the fabric. A small insignia in the center of his shirt captured Zula's attention. It was the Earth Kingdom symbol.
So the man was once an Earth Kingdom soldier. As she glanced at the bareness of the room as well as how the door to the room was constructed, she realized this was a cell. This once-proud soldier was a prisoner of the Fire Nation. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, his tattered clothing was in shambles, and he could barely stand. Zula was dubious as to where or not she liked the cell and began to back out of the room, but her back hit a solid object. Something was blocking her way out.
Zula turned around and looked-up to see what had obstructed her path. It was a towering man with elaborate robes with small flames dancing upon them. His powerful stature was intimidating as well as his irascible moods, and had always been for Zula. It was Fire Lord Ozai—her father.
Ozai glanced down at the little girl looking-up at him. Her eyes were wide and she kept glancing back at the prisoner. Stupid, weak little girl. Did a feeble prisoner scare her so much that she wanted to leave? He grabbed one of her arms and dragged her towards the center of the room. She needed to learn how to face fear, how to not back down. Fear only hindered people from becoming their strongest.
He shoved her in front of the prisoner so she could get a good look at the source of her fear. To his surprise she stood tall before the prisoner, refusing to show the fear he knew she was feeling. Even at only eight years old she understood what he was trying to do. So she learned fast, but that did not guarantee strength.
"The prisoner is ready for the interrogation, milord," one of the Fire Nation soldiers said. Interrogation? Now Zula understood why the prisoner looked so wretched. From what she gathered from whispers of gossip, the session before an interrogation was almost as bad as the interrogation itself. What happened during these sessions or the interrogations themselves, though, no one spoke of. The information the man carried must be important if the Fire Lord himself was conducting it. Ozai stepped forward and glared superciliously at the insignificant prisoner.
"I will not ask you more than I need to—why has an entire battalion of troops been sent to such a remote location as the Neyila Forest? Nothing. The prisoner was determined not to talk.
"What is the Earth Kingdom planning?" Still nothing.
"Answer me!" Silence.
The lack of response angered the Fire Lord, and he lashed a flaming fist forward to punch the prisoner in the stomach. It hit the man full force and he doubled over in pain, but still silence greeted the Fire Lord's ears.
"I warn you, you do not want to incur my wrath." Still no response. Ozai grabbed the man and easily threw him against the wall. There was a sickening crunch as the man's body slammed against the metal and he slumped to the floor. Zula winched. The Fire Lord towered over the prisoner and repeated the question once again.
"What are they planning?"
"… I… will… never… tell…"
"Very well." Zula stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before her. Ozai jerked the man back up by his arm and the man screamed in pain from the intense heat of Ozai's hand. The Fire Lord was angry. The heat burned through the cloth and began to feed on the prisoner's skin. Ozai had no doubt it would leave an ugly mark on the man's arm. Ozai pushed the man toward the Fire Nation soldiers and they grabbed the prisoner. Ripping the man's shirt off, they tied his arms to two columns in the center of the room. Time to make the prisoner talk.
The Fire Lord stepped back so he stood beside Zula. This would be fun to watch. Zula, on the other hand, was getting increasingly nervous. She knew her father could be harsh, but suddenly she was seeing a heartlessness in him she had never seen before. There was a side to her father she did not know. One of the Fire Nation soldiers grabbed a whip lying against a wall. Positioning himself behind the prisoner's back, the soldier flicked his wrist and the whip shot out, biting into the prisoner's skin. A short yell issued itself from the prisoner's mouth as the pain hit him, a sharp unyielding pain. The prisoner would relent before the pain would.
Several more waves of pain hit the prisoner as the whip continued to beat against him. Zula could see long lines of red on the man's back where the whip hit him. They looked like jagged cuts left from a predator's claw trying to prevent its prey from escaping. A predator filled with an animal fury bursting with the lust of blood. The blood of a sacrifice.
Incessantly the beating continued. The man could no longer feel anything but the unceasing blows of the whip against his back. The pain, the unbearable and unspeakable pain! It was flooding his awareness as he struggled to keep his resolve to remain silent. The pain! Would it never stop?
To his amazement the blows did stop. Deliriously he lifted his head to look around him. The Fire Lord stood before him, but there was no mercy in his face. Ozai produced a flame in his hand and brought it close to the prisoner's face. The flames leaned toward the prisoner and seemed eager to devour him. Fear began to creep into the prisoner. There was no earth to bend, no reassurance of a way to smother the flames if they were loosed upon him. No way to stop the fire that wanted to destroy him.
"What are they planning?" a low menacing voice asked him. The Fire Lord's other hand gripped his throat and began to squeeze. The lack of air added to his fright as the flame was brought closer to him.
"I suggest you start talking."
"…setting bases…hidden among the trees… wanted to be able to ambush… when Fire Nation came…"
"Excellent job. As a reward I'm going to return you to you country alive."
The hand around his throat let go as the flame near his head was extinguished. He gasped for air and wondered if the Fire Lord truly meant what he said. Zula smiled. Watching the man being hurt was torturous and she struggled the entire time not to show her discomfort to her father, but now the man was to go free. Her father did care. The two Fire Nation soldiers stood still a moment in confusion on the Fire Lord's promise, but then moved to release the prisoner from the chains.
"Wait." The Fire Nation soldier paused at hearing the command from their liege.
"He needs to be in those chains just a second longer. I want the Earth Kingdom to fear the Fire Nation. They need to be taught just who they are have been attempting to try to win against." Ozai reached for an item lying on the floor. Zula strained to see what it was. Surprise jolted through her as she recognized what it was—a branding iron. Ozai began to heat the metal with his other hand and Zula's stomach began to churn. Surely he wouldn't do it. The metal began to glow red hot and the Fire Lord advanced toward the prisoner.
"No, please, don't! I beg of you- reconsider! Don't! No!" the man pleaded as the Fire Lord drew closer. The Fire Lord circled the man so that he faced the back of him, and then firmly pressed the hot metal in to the middle of the man's back. A deafening scream filled the room after the soft hiss sounded of heated metal coming in contact with cool skin. Zula covered her ears as she fought the urge to be sick. The Fire Lord pulled the iron back and the mangled skin on the prisoner's back was clearly molded into the outline of a flame—the symbol of her nation.
The man fainted and Ozai motioned to the soldiers to release him. They began to carry the prisoner out of the palace, where they would board him on a ship destined for the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation would keep its promise. Ozai walked out following the soldiers and did not see the trembling girl in the corner of the room. Zula just stared at the area where the prisoner had been chained after they left.
Shakily, Zula gathered enough courage to walk out of the room. She slowly walked down the hallway towards the stairway and started to dread what might be behind the doors she never opened. Perhaps it was more prisoners with flames burned into their backs. She climbed the stairs back to above the darkness of the lower level and returned to the lit hallways of the palace. Hurrying down the corridors, she walked to her room. She had spent longer than she meant to in the lower level and sleep was fighting to overtake her. Usually she was in bed and asleep by now. Reaching her room, she entered and saw a nanny standing in the center of the room.
"Ready to go to bed?" the nanny asked the princess. The little girl nodded and the nanny thought the princess almost looked upset. She gently grabbed the girl's hand and led the girl to her bed. The princess crawled atop the bed and buried herself under the covers. The nanny manually extinguished the candles in the room so that it was dark. She quietly exited to let the princess sleep.
Zula was glad when the nanny left so she could be alone with her thoughts. Why did her father do something so awful? Zula didn't want to believe he was as cruel as to do such a thing without a good reason. That meant it had to be necessary. The Earth Kingdom needed to be shown that they are wrong to fight the Fire Nation invasion. The act had been totally justified. Relieved, Zula began to drift off to sleep. Totally justified. What else could it be?
That night Zula dreamed of burning whips, cold chains, and outlines of flames embedded in human flesh.
Notes:
For those of you wondering why I made Yatou devistated from giving birth to a girl, its because from what I understand this story is based on 14th Century feudal China. People were very sexist then, so I am working on the assumption the Fire Nation is too.Also, I have yet to see a female Fire Nation soldier in the show.