Two's Company
This is my take on what happened to Mai and Ty Lee while locked up in the Boiling Rock.
They are locked in the deepest regions of the Boiling Rock. A place so hot that the coolers would seem like a relief. Their cells are watched by at least two guards at all times, and someone is always checking in on them. The prison was warned of both of their abilities, and has adjusted to make sure neither will be able to exhibit their craft. Ty Lee's arms are pinned to the wall, her legs to the floor. Her hands and feet have metal boxes around them so she will never be able to attack a guard or block their chi. Mai is stripped of all her weapons, and her long fingernails are even chiseled down. She isn't chained, but she always shows less resistance than the other, anyway. They are much less worried about her than the other girl.
Their cells are next to each other. Sometimes Ty Lee can hear Mai moving around, changing her position on the hard floor. Mai never hears Ty Lee, except late at night when her cries float through the metal barrier in between them. She feels sorry for her, being strapped down. But she shouldn't show any weakness. Her uncle likes that.
Mai tries to be strong enough for both of them, even though Ty Lee isn't as weak as she seems. She will just have to learn. Mai knows the prison and all it's workings from her uncle's stories when she was little. It frustrates them if you show nothing, if you silently disobey them. Showing emotion makes them happy. Luckily, she has been skilled in hiding her feelings for a long time.
The girls waste days in their cells, waiting for something, anything. Azula had meant to keep them there forever, but if she was defeated, surely someone would let them out. All they had to do was wait. Wait until Zuko became the Fire Lord. Then they would be free. It was just hoping. They had to hope for the future.
But the future seems fairly bleak, staring at the walls in the dark prison.
…
After about a week of sitting in the dark, Mai's uncle comes to visit.
He glares at his niece, standing over her. Feeling nothing.
This is your own fault, he says. You're a traitor.
She doesn't look at him. She keeps staring at the floor, her eyes fixed on heated metal.
Don't bother to try to escape, or get on my good side. It won't help you.
She still doesn't stir.
He scowls, and turns his back
Both of you are staying here. Until someone comes to free you.
The door slams, and her hand clenches into a fist. Because she knows that no one is coming.
…
Her uncle has taken a liking to Ty Lee. Mai hears him enter her cell in the middle of the night. After that, she closes her ears, ignoring the ripping of clothes and the thumps against the wall. She tries to picture when they were little, and Ty Lee was happily doing cartwheels across the courtyard while Mai fingered the knives in her pocket.
When it's over, she hears nothing.
After that night, she never hears Ty Lee cry again.
…
After they have lost track of time, Ty Lee hears that Mai got a letter. She sits up slightly in her cell, as much as she can when her arms and legs are immobilized. The guards read it to her; she isn't trusted with something as simple as paper.
You're not our daughter anymore. You are a traitor to the Fire Nation.
You're not our daughter anymore. Ty Lee hasn't been the daughter of anyone for years. She left her parents and her six sisters behind long ago. Besides, the day she left they told her she could never come back, that she wasn't theirs anymore. They wouldn't have a daughter who was a freak. A circus freak.
We hope you learn your lesson. If you ever get out, don't come home. You are no longer welcome.
I hate you. Ty Lee remembers when her little sister uttered these words to her. She went to the circus with some of her friends, not knowing that it was the same circus Ty Lee preformed in. She saw her dance across the tightrope and balance high in the air. Ty Lee saw her in the crowd, saw her face full of anger, and was sad. After the show, her sister gave her a rose and then whispered to her. I hate you.
I hate you. I wish you were never born.
She wonders: Will Tom-Tom someday say the same thing to Mai?
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Ty Lee hangs her head, wishing Mai didn't have to hear that. She never acts like she cares, but Ty Lee knows that inside she does. Inside she is breaking.
She herself never receives a letter. She didn't expect one. But an effort would've been nice.
…
In the darkness of this never-ending hell, Mai wishes she was pretty.
Not for her own sake, but for Ty Lee's. If she was pretty, maybe all the guards wouldn't hurt Ty Lee as much. Maybe they'd hurt her, too. They'd do more than just beat her, mock her. She'd get the same treatment as her friend. And then Ty Lee wouldn't suffer so much.
It has to be because she is ugly. Her uncle would never restrict the guards from touching her; he doesn't care for her anymore. He never really did in the first place. The men have no reason to be afraid him. So it has to be because she is ugly. Because she is ugly, depressing, weak. All the reasons Zuko left her.
Usually everyone wants to be pretty. And Mai is no exception. But here in the prison, everything is twisted. Ugly is a blessing, and pretty is a curse.
…
After a long night of one torture after the other, Ty Lee lays naked on the floor. Her clothes are tattered in the corner, torn off her body. She is unchained, but can't enjoy the feeling of moving her hands, or seeing them for that matter. She just stays curled in a ball, staring blankly at the door in front of her.
There is nothing left. Her aura is now black, as dark as the prison. Hopelessness has consumed her. There is nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
A guard opens the door, throwing new clothes to her. At least they're kind enough to give her something to wear. She doesn't expect that. They've taken so much from her already, why not just take her clothes as well and call it a day?
Get up and put them on, he says roughly. She doesn't move.
I said get up!
There is no movement. He might as well not even be there. She just looks ahead, her eyes drooping.
The guard scowls and stomps out of the room, mumbling something about her being a crazy bitch. She still isn't responsive.
Eventually, she will put her clothes back on. But right now she doesn't see the point. There is no point to anything anymore. No one cares what happens to her. It's about time she stopped caring, too.
…
The war has been over for months. Some cheer, others sulk. Fire Lord Ozai is dead. Fire Lord Zuko is in power now. The world is at peace.
Except for their world. Their world will never have peace.
The prisoners of war have all been released. Some guards quit to go home with their families, to relax now that the turmoil has ended. Everyone who was put in jail wrongly or has changed is set free.
The war is over. Yet they are still here.
So it's true. No one really cares. And no one remembers.
Pity, isn't it?
…
She doesn't understand how Zuko could forget about them. They saved his life. Surely, he owes them a little more than this?
Guess not.
Ty Le doesn't understand how the guards can just keep them here, without even checking first to see if they belong somewhere else. Is there no justice anywhere?
Guess not.
…
The time comes when the guards decide that the two traitors have been here long enough. One of them travels to the Fire Nation Palace to speak with Fire Lord Zuko. They are not allowed to kill any prisoners without the Fire Lord's permission.
Fire Lord Zuko. There are two prisoners kept in the deepest part of the prison. We'd like your permission to execute them.
Who are they?
No one remembers their names anymore. They've been there for almost a year.
What's your reason for killing them?
They're unresponsive most of the time. Stopped eating, too. It seems like they've given up on living.
I'd give up too if I was in that place. Do you remember why they were sent to prison?
Something about betraying the Nation, I think. One girl has a braid and could attack pressure points. The other has long black hair and long fingernails. She was a master of weapons.
The Fire Lord sits for a minute, processing this. Then his eyes grow wide, and he sits up.
Let them go. And bring them to me.
What? But Sir, why-
Just do it.
…
The door opens. Guards come in and hoist them to their feet, dragging them along the hallway. They're too weak to stand up on their own. They watch in bewilderment as they are taken upwards, out of the Boiling Rock and to the light.
They both squint when they reach the outdoors, seeing sun and fresh air for the first time in a year. As they look at each other, they see how horrid they have become. Mai's hair is limp and tangled, and her skin is paler than before. She looks so out of place, uncomfortable without her weapons to soothe her. Ty Lee is no longer the same happy girl they once saw. She is pale and fragile, covered in dirt and bruises. Worst of all, the happiness that used to float around her, the air of innocence, is gone. It's long gone, and has been replaced by pain and emptiness.
The guard stares at them, and says, You have been pardoned by the Fire Lord. He wants to see you in his palace.
The girls stand in shock as they are dragged onto the gondola. He chooses now to rescue them, now when they are almost dead?
Well, better late than never.
It just disappoints them. That saving two lives from a fate worse than death isn't at the top of his priority list.
…
They stand in the Fire Lord's throne room, seeing that the man they once knew as a friend and troubled teenager has changed. He is now strong and seems to be at peace with himself. He even looks right, sitting up above them. Like he belongs there.
But after being below the throne so many times himself, Zuko isn't a person who talks to others as if they are beneath him. He stands up and is directly in front of them. And then the Fire Lord does something very strange.
He goes to his knees and bows to two filthy girls, just free from prison.
Get up, Zuko, Mai says, her voice cold. I'm sick of seeing people on the ground.
I'll beg for your forgiveness if I have to, he says, and stands up as he was told. I'm so sorry.
I'm sure you are, Ty Lee replies. No one ever thought they'd hear her with such cruelty in her voice. But she isn't the same person she once was. Neither of them are.
I really am. I never meant to-
Never meant to abandon us? To let us die?
He hangs his head.
I know. I'm sorry. I understand if you can't forgive me.
Mai looks at Ty Lee and she nods. They've been together so long, sometimes they can just agree with each other without speaking.
We'll forgive you, Fire Lord Zuko. But we won't trust you.
Zuko looks up sadly, and nods. Thank you.
Mai and Ty Lee turn around together, and walk away. Maybe someday they'll be back, but now it's too soon. They can never have back the time that was wasted in prison. They can never erase the things that happened there. It will take time to heal, and it will take time to be able to trust again. Right now, all they have is each other. And all they can do is rely on each other to make it. But did anyone expect anything less?
There it is. Kind of long, and I didn't think that was much of an ending (it was okay, but not my best), but I really wanted to get this up before the season finale tonight. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!
Molly