Hey everyone. Just wanted to give Chapter One an update.
So this one is new. I have finalized all my notes on this one
and the story has come out really well.
Please read and review.
Thanks.
/New Fire/
...Chapter One...
Equals
I could look back on this one and see now where I made mistakes. I can see where I slipped up and where I misjudged. I can't tell you if I regret it, but the memory is
history, and my future is set. I know now I have everything that I ever needed, but nothing I thought I wanted. My name is Azula and now…I am no one.
I guess there was no need to put me in chains. Not now anyway…
I breathed heavy as fatigue still strangled my every muscle. I screamed and moaned and thrashed but it was no use, I couldn't move. It felt like trying to wake up
from a bad dream, trying desperately to move just one muscle but my body felt like it weighed a ton; I just couldn't fight back.
"Let me go…I order you to let me go, NOW!" I slurred. I couldn't believe how weak I was. The hulking men on either side of me didn't say a word. They just did their job.
I was somewhere in the prison. I couldn't tell exactly where I was, but it was dark. I didn't travel these halls often, maybe once or twice; they actually all looked
the same to me. We passed dark corridor after dark corridor until we finally came to a stop. I slouched up against the guard to my right. There was a moment
where the guard on my left unlocked the door to my cell. My hand twitched…
One strike to the ribs. Weaken his grip. Pull free and snap the neck…
But… the moment passed.
Too weak.
I was suddenly ushered into the cell and the door was shut and locked behind me. I didn't turn around and I could feel their eyes on me. I waited for them to
leave, listening to their metal boots scrape the floor as they shuffled out and down the hall until there was only the sound of my shaky breathing in the darkness.
I stood there for a while with my back hunched and my fists clenched and my eyes closed until I suddenly sank down to the floor, even though I could have swore
that it rose up to me. I lay still for quite some time, but I really had no idea; it could have been several minutes or several hours.
Then it came upon me. It crept up on me; it liked to do that.
I couldn't get the memory out of my head. I couldn't get it out…
And there he is…
His shadow looms over…
The blinding light…
My head…
My heart…
My lungs…
My arms…
My legs…
Every fiber of me…
Invaded.
And then…blackness. Weakness. Emptiness.
Suddenly everything was white as fire. I could have been screaming my lungs out or ripping apart the bedding in my cell. I might have been yanking out my hair or
beating my bare fists against the steel bars. Whatever it was, it was painful and numbing all at once. And when it was over, I crashed to the floor and fell into
subconscious.
I awoke abruptly. I must have been asleep for ages, judging by the three bowls of rotten food by the cell door. I shifted on the dirt floor and immediately winced;
my whole body was stiff and sore. I gingerly pulled myself up into a sitting position and tried to flex my fingers; I couldn't. They were so stiff and bruised, they
weren't broken but they were bad. I slowly scooted across the floor to the wall on the opposite side. I let my head hit the stone, resting against it. I closed my
eyes. I didn't slip into sleep again; I just listened. I didn't really know what I was listening to, but I had nothing else. Everything I am, everything I had been, was
stolen from me. My eyes suddenly shot open. I had just heard something. Something that I shouldn't have…
"Who's there? I know you are there, I heard you cough!" I shouted into the dark.
Stay silent. Wait. Let your prey come to you…
I did as my instincts told me and sure enough I heard more movement in the darkness. Even though it was difficult, I stood up silently and made myself flat
against the wall. The sound seemed to come just around the corner to my right, as if there was another room or open area behind the wall. I held my breath.
Then suddenly someone spoke as if they were standing right next to me.
"Princess Azula…" The voice was quiet but sharp. It carried weight and I detected a history behind it. There was also accusation in it. But at the sound of it, and to
my surprise I jumped and fell to the floor. I landed hard on my hand and gave a shriek of pain. And in the midst of my writhing, I heard laughter.
"The great Princess Azula," the voice chimed. "The grace and beauty of our nation! Oh how mightily her enemies have fallen!" My brain started to buzz as the
familiar chant filled my ears. But this was no song of praise. My brain started to buzz and my brow to furrow as the mockery hit me like knives; I clenched my
teeth.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU FILTHY PEASANT!" I roared, flipping around on my back and holding my crippled hands close to my chest. I was biting my tongue trying to
keep myself from shouting in pain again.
"Ha! Wow, because you can order me around now! Sure, I will keep my mouth shut. I will keep to myself, look down, bow and sing the great hymns of our
victorious Princess. The one who concurred Ba Sing Se! The one who killed the Avatar!" she sang. I just squeezed my eyes shut. She continued, adding her own
verses now.
"Now she is darkened. No light will surround her. Her blue flame and electric has been put out and she is just the shell that her father has shed. She will not
conquer the greatest of those enemies! She will die in her black crypt!" her voice floated creepily into my dank cell. I couldn't take it.
"SHUT UP IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" I roared at the top of my lungs. And in my rage, I tried to firebend. But soon I began to panic. I felt my lungs
and abdomen begin to tighten as I tried to force oxygen to combust into flame. I doubled over in pain. I screamed and screamed, trying desperately to let out the
fire I once had but I couldn't. All I could do was cough violently as my body rejected my attempt to firebend. I was becoming light headed as the oxygen to my
brain was getting cut off. I could hear my neighbor shouting something to me but I could only understand bits and pieces.
"…DEEP BREATHS!" she shouted.
I could barely hear her through my heaving.
"…HAVE TO BREATHE! DON'T PASS OUT…"
I tried to listen but I couldn't. I wildly tried to breathe. It wasn't unlike being under water, and I dreaded the thought. In a last-ditch attempt, I got up and threw
myself over the edge of the metal frame of my bed. The force seemed to do it, because I gasped louder than I ever have and my lungs filled with oxygen. I fell
sideways to the floor, trying not to land on my hands and did a sort of roll, until I landed on my back, gulping up air like a new born child.
When I finally calmed down, there was a deafening silence. It was a long time before she spoke again.
"Do you miss it?" she asked in her quiet voice. I didn't answer. I didn't want to give her another reason to disparage me especially after what just happened. And
how dare she ask such a question? I was well aware of what…happened…what happened when he…
"Because I know I miss myfirebending…" she said. I held my breath. So, this one's bending was also stolen. Then why did she mock me so harshly? Unless she
had some sort of vendetta towards me, but I didn't think that was the case. Suddenly she answered as if she had just read my thoughts.
"I was a soldier, well, not of your father's armies. I was what you would call a…rogue. Of course I always liked being called a soldier. It gave me purpose. You
see, I was in an assassin group called Black Flame. I'm sure you heard of us."
Actually I hadn't. And this intrigued me even more. How could some esoteric, firebending assassin group slip past my contacts? They would have been an amazing
asset to my forces.
"You know, you were my idol!" she blurted out. "You were the greatest firebender in the world! How could you be defeated by the boyAvatar?" she asked and I
detected sincerity in her voice this time. I didn't have an answer. The "boy Avatar" was always my supreme target. But I…
"What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar? Unless somehow the Avatar was actually alive."
I sat in silence. I would have defeated them all. I would have ruled them all.
"They said you went crazy. Something about the power went to your head and you cracked." I could hear the question in the statement.
I didlose it, didn't I? I broke…But now it doesn't matter. My bending is gone…
"They say that your brother defeated you. Right here. In the courtyard of the palace. They say that he somehow survived your lightning. Is that true?"
"No." I said quietly.
"Then what happened?" she asked harshly. I didn't answer at first. I just let the memory bubble up.
"WHAT? NO LIGHTNING? AFRAID I'LL RE-DIRECT IT?"
"I'LL SHOW YOU LIGHTNING!"
"He was…a coward. He brought someone else with him. I didget him. But…she was a waterbender and a healer." I said as the scene continued to flash through
my mind.
"I'D REALLY RATHER YOU LET OUR FAMILY PHYSICIAN LOOK AFTER LITTLE ZUZU, IF YOU DON'T MIND!"
"I knew that Katara was there. Some didn't believe me, but I knew…" she went off, mumbling. I felt my brow furrow. I felt that pang of…failure. It rose up in me,
suffocating me…
"Are you done? I don't have time for this anymore!" I began but she cut me off.
"You don't have time? Oh, is there some place you need to be this evening? I don't know if you realize this yet Princess, but you are stuck here in this cell just like
me." she said with a sick chuckle. I knew that. Of course I knew I was stuck here. I just… I was feeling myself becoming increasingly angry. It was awhile longer
before either of us spoke again.
"So…how did Katara beat you?" she asked bluntly. I was about to shout again, but I didn't. I didn't really know why I was answering this filthy wanderer's
questions, but I really had no one else and entertaining this low-life was just as good a way to kill time as any.
"If you must know, she defeated me like anyone who knew me would. She must have found out that I have had a fear of water my whole life. In the end, in my
blind rage…I messed up. I made mistakes. And…and…IT DOEST MATTER ANYWAY!" I shouted.
"Whoa! I didn't say anything! I was just curious!" she cut in. I let myself calm down as the memory of that water tribe peasant danced across the cell walls.
"It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past. Why would I care what that filthy peasant did." I said, coughing again.
"You like to use that word, don't you?" She said annoyance in her voice again. I took a deep breath. I didn't want to become angry again.
"Yes. I am only aware of the status of others. I am the Princess…" but she cut me off again.
"Ok. Look, maybe in here I might still call you princess, but out there, they couldn't care less. To them, you are just another prisoner. Lower than a peasant." She
said, bluntly. I just blinked.
A wave began to crash over me. I just sat still.
"So…you were saying you have always had a fear of water?" she asked suddenly. I pulled myself back, shaking my head a little to clear it.
"Yes, I've had a fear of water my whole life. I never learned to swim." I said, recalling memories of my childhood.
"I guess that would give her an advantage. But I don't think she could possibly know that."
"My saint of a brother traveled with them long enough. It could have come up in conversation." I said, closing my eyes. The memory of those last moments was
suffocating.
"She used a water cocoon. She surrounded us both and froze it. She had a chain and she tied me up." I recalled. I let the rest of the memory come and go. I
started coughing again.
"Are you alright? Remember you must try and control your breathing." she said as I continued to cough violently. I nodded, wrapping my arms around my chest.
"Yes. I'm not sure why this happens when I try to use my firebending." I said in between violent coughs.
"It has to do with the fact that your body is still drawing from your chi sources. You haven't adapted to not being a bender yet. Your body still needs to release
that energy." She said knowingly. I guess she went through this before me, making her some kind of expert. I finally finished coughing and we stayed silent for a
while longer. I knew what question was coming next and I decided to answer it for her.
"So I suppose you want to know every detail about how the Avatar took my bending away?"
"No." she said, "Remember I had my bending taken away as well."
"Right, well I think I deserve to ask some questions now." I said, but suddenly the door at the end of the hallway opened.
"Get back." She whispered. But my instincts kicked in.
Lay down. Be patient and don't let them know you are hurt.
The man came down the hall. He was one of the men that had brought me in here. He was carrying a tray of food and water. I sat still against the wall, hiding my
hands.
"So you didn't eat? Well, here is some water." He said and put a large pitcher of water down next to the door.
Grab his wrist…
"I can't. My hands." I said stupidly.
"What? What is the matter with you? Let me see your hands." He demanded. I just sat still. He suddenly illuminated the room with a hand full of flames. My eyes
shot to it. It had seemed like ages since I'd seen it. I must have pulled my hands out in an attempt to firebend, because he gave a start.
"What have you done?" he said. I was in a sort of daze, but then I looked down at my hands. I gave a loud gasp. They were pretty messed up and looked exactly
how they felt. The fingers were black and yellow with bruises and my knuckles were completely cracked open. There was dried blood all over them. I guess I really
did try to punch my way out of here…
"Don't do anything else. A healer will be here tomorrow to fix your hands." He said fiercely and he put the tray with food on it on the floor and turned and walked
out, letting the large metal door slam shut behind him.
"Well, he certainly was friendly and caring." My neighbor said sarcastically. I sat in silence. Why would he be so concerned for my wellbeing? It's not like I was in
the finest prison in the Fire Nation; I was in the high security one near the palace.
"Well, if you don't mind I would like some of that water." She said suddenly. I broke myself out of my daze and moved over to the pitcher and placed it over to
where I thought she was. Suddenly I saw a pale hand come around the corner and grab the metal pitcher. I turned myself around and let my back hit the wall,
resting my head against the cold stone and closing my eyes.
"So, are we equals now?" she asked after awhile.
I opened my eyes, letting the question linger, but I didn't answer and she didn't say anything else for the rest of the night.
Eventually I dozed off. I dreamt of being covered in an ocean of water; the waves crashed over me in an inescapable prison. I awoke to find a thick sweat
covering me. I lay back down, tossing and turning the rest of the night.
Well that was the new Chapter One. I hope you liked it. Please read and review. And I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed the old chapter one. It means a lot to me.
I will be updating soon, so stay tuned.
Thanks again.