On The Edge

Chapter I: Awakening

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à la folie. ( to insanity )

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I didn't know I was drowning until I broke the surface.

And then I was being dragged ashore, and everything was a hopelessly indecipherable blur, and I could hear little else but for the waves crashing against the beach. I stared unseeingly at the pale sand, trying to focus on something-anything!-but finding I was unable to. I choked out a mouthful of seawater, cringing at the taste of salt.

I had hardly finished spitting out the last of the seawater when something jerked my body so I was laying on my back. A fuzzy figure loomed above me, and it was dripping water all over my already-soaked body. Slowly, my vision returned to me and I made out the image of a pale boy, probably eighteen or so, with black hair that was currently sticking to his face. I was startled by the sight of a scar on the left side of his face. It marred his otherwise decent-looking features.

The boy crouched down in front of me, scowling heavily. "What were you thinking?! Have you lost your mind?!"

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "I...what are you talking about?" My voice was raspy from swallowing so much seawater.

He looked appalled. "What do you think I'm talking about? Did you take a waltz off the cliff for the thrill of it?"

"I...walked off a cliff?"

"Yes!" he cried out. He pointed above him. "That cliff!"

I looked momentarily up at the cliff. It arched high over the churning waves, higher than any normal person could fall from and survive. Then I switched my attention back to the boy, puzzled once again.

"Why would I jump off a cliff?"

The boy's golden eyes were filled with irritation. "That's what I want to know!"

He grasped my wrists and tugged me up, but not roughly. I was completely confused. I looked all around me and recognized exactly none of my surroundings. I knew that we were on a beach, but I knew I'd never seen it before. This boy, too, he was unrecognizable. So why did he talk to me as if he knew me? And why did he seem so distrustful of me?

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what you're saying," I said, my voice trembling.

The boy looked back at me, hesitating. He looked like he was struggling between distrust and concern. "You really don't know? You just ran off from the asylum and jumped off the cliff."

"No, I don't!" I said desperately. "And I don't know who you are, either. So please don't take me to an asylum. I don't know who I am but I'm not crazy!"

He looked at me for a long moment, and I could see the battle of mixed emotions in his eyes. He didn't know what to do. Before he could say anything, however, there was a shout from the near distance.

"Zuko! Are you alright?" A bald boy wearing robes of orange and gold hopped over the cliff sides with impressive agility. He rushed over to me and the boy he'd addressed as Zuko and stopped a few feet away from us. "Do you, er, need any help with her?"

"I'm fine," responded the scarred boy. "But she isn't. I think she might've hit her head." He sighed, as if in exasperation. "She says she doesn't know what happened to her."

The bald boy looked startled at this news. "How can we tell she's not lying?"

"We can't. Let's just bring her to the palace for now and sort things out," said the boy called Zuko heavily. He looked sideways at me, his eyes still narrowed. "I think we should bind her wrists, though, just in case she tries anything."

"Why?" I blurted out. "If I was really in an asylum before this, why should I be treated like a criminal?"

"Because you're dangerous," said Zuko simply, as he stepped back. The bald boy came forward. I looked at him nervously and jumped when he hit the ground roughly with his foot and large rock launched itself upward. He thrust, and rock suddenly sprang open, closed itself around both my hands, and snapped shut. Now my hands were encased within the rock and no amount of tugging could release them.

A sort of panic started to come over me and the voices of the bald boy and Zuko started to fade out. All I could hear was the pounding of my heartbeat echoing inside my head. I was trembling violently and terror washed over every sense.

"I...please..." I cried out feebly. The feeling of my hands being trapped within the rock triggered a state of absolute fear within me and I had no idea why. I just knew I had to get out of this situation. I wanted to plead with my captors, but I couldn't see them or hear them any longer.

Something seemed to ignite within me, then. In that very second, everything suddenly sharpened so my senses were clearer than ever. The rock binding my wrists together instantly burst into sapphire flames, effectively releasing me from its vice. Zuko swung around, catching my wrist, but my energy had already depleted and I sagged.

"Please don't trap me again," I panted as my vision faded.

"Azula, what is wrong with you?!" Zuko demanded, glaring into my eyes.

I stared at him. "Who is Azula?"

Author's Note: Yes, this is a short chapter. The rest won't be like this. This is more of a prologue or introduction than anything, but I made it the actual chapter one because it's obviously a key event within the story.

Please leave a review if you can, it helps me write the chapters to come. Gives me motivation, you could say.

Until the next chapter!

- mari