A single boat floated restlessly. It was dark, and the sea was calm. The boat, miniscule yet sturdy against the elements, drifted on the warm wind. And on this single boat a revolution would start.
"My Lord," a woman panted. She was skinny, beautiful, and elegant. Her black hair blended in with the moonless sky. Her skin was the strange light brown tan of sand. She wore a simple brown dress. Her eyes were hidden by shadows. "Is the ball in motion?" She asked.
Her master's sitting form shifted. He spoke in a soft and quiet, yet deep voice, "Yes, Tazu. The ball is in motion." The mysterious man stood up. "It's amazing what one letter can do," He added.
Tazu faltered. "And will it work?" She searched his eyes hopefully.
"Do you doubt me, Tazu?" He asked. "The letters will reach the girl. It will start. Trust me," He held her hand.
Tazu grinned eerily. "They'll all pay," She seethed.
The mysterious man glanced at the madwoman in front of him, but returned to his work. "Yes," He replied. "They will."
Sokka grimaced at the situation before him. On one side, there were the prison guards and Azula and her friends, and on the other side was freedom, but the gondola stopped halfway because the prison guards stopped the gondola with one of their swords. And below them was imminent death. Boiling water hissed and bubbled, making the air hotter than it already was. And since they were in the Fire Nation, where the climate is hot enough already, they were sweating buckets. The jagged cliffs of the caldera's outer rim looked much more friendly. And behind them, the flat island looked the friendliest. The gondola was packed with Sokka's friends and family- his father, his girlfriend, Zuko, Chit Sang, and the tied up warden.
"Is this it?" Suki asked rhetorically. "All we worked for, and we're going to be roasted alive?"
Zuko looked sullen. "Maybe we can climb the lines," he offered. It didn't lighten the mood.
"We aren't all skilled as that one crazy girl," Chit Sang said glumly. He was referring to Azula, who had just jet-propelled herself to the gondola to fight them, and then back to dry land.
Zuko frowned even deeper, and muttered something about how Azula always lies. The gondola creaked.
Sokka looked around at the sorry group, just sitting in the metal contraption waiting to be scalded to death. He was too miserable to make a joke. Or make a plan. Or even insult Azula. He looked over at Azula, and he scowled at her smug expression. Could she really be pleased that everyone on this forsaken tin can would die in only a few minutes? Her golden eyes could cut the line by themselves. She had her arms folded, and she was smiling menacingly.
Ty Lee, the pink acrobat, stood by her side, lost in thought. She had her head in her hands and she looked to be on the edge of tears. She still remained by Azula's side, like a shadow. At least she looked remorseful.
And then there was Mai. She looked enraged, and she stood behind Azula. Mai was deathly pale, and her eyes were directed towards Azula. She stood in a half-ready position, like she was thinking about killing Azula in cold blood, without warning. Her hand reached for her knives, and-
The gondola plummeted.
Mai never got the chance to throw a knife. Ty Lee was a blur of fists and kicks, all the while babbling and crying. Azula was jabbed in all the key areas. She fell down to the ground, and Mai just gaped at the scene before her. Azula looked in serious pain, almost all of her chi paths blocked. She lay face down on the ground. The guards stood motionless.
"Azula," Ty Lee finally exclaimed, her tears dried and staining her clothes. Ty Lee's face was one of utter disgust. "Why would you kill your brother?"
Azula grunted in reply, her once grandeur clothes dirty from the volcanic soil. If she could talk, the thing Azula would have said would be, Because what use does he have to me? Mai thought.
"Murder!" Ty Lee screeched. The guards still stood rigid. "You almost got away with murder! And that's all you want! All you want in life is to murder your family!" Ty Lee screamed emotionally. "Isn't it?" she said softly.
Azula looked shocked. Little Ty Lee, the one she could walk all over, was now screaming. And it looked like Azula didn't just shrug it off. Ty Lee's words looked as if they struck her deep in the heart. Azula grunted in reply. Yes, Mai thought. That's what Azula was trying to say.
"Why us?" Ty Lee asked, getting louder. "Why did you want us to go with you? On your murder-spree! Why did you want us?" She was now back to screaming again, but now she was in Azula's face.
Azula's jaw loosened a bit. "'Ecau' 'er 'y oi'y 'eh'," she replied.
"Because we're your only friends? Why is that, Azula? Would it be because maybe you thought I was too stupid to notice you were pulling the strings that controlled me the whole time? Because you could walk all over me and you thought I wouldn't care?" Ty Lee asked.
Azula looked ashamed. Her eyes were now watering up. For the first time ever, Mai was seeing Azula cry. Azula was desperately trying to hide it, Mai noticed. She looked like death now.
"You don't use friends for your personal gains, Azula," Ty Lee said. She was now quiet again, but with all of the same intensity. "And I won't take it, Azula. No more."
Mai and the prison guards were still as paralyzed as the Fire Nation Princess on the ground. Mai noted that Azula was moving her mouth again. Ty Lee kicked Azula in the stomach one more time, and stepped over her and walked away from the scene.
"Guards," Azula croaked. The former stone men launched fire blasts at Ty Lee, who simply walked on, the flames missing her. Two finally gained their senses and grabbed her from behind by the arms, dragging them back to Azula. She was still as frightening as she was before. Azula, her mouth now moving fine, stated, "Put her somewhere to die." Azula was now fully crying, but it didn't affect her speech. She was held up by two guards like Ty Lee, her feet and legs still chi-blocked.
"I'd rather be imprisoned than be in a world with people like you," Ty Lee spat.
Azula looked morose. "And I mean die." The guards carried her off to, presumably, a jail cell. Azula's eyes were puffy and red, and her tears ran down her face in streams. The salty taste of tears filled her mouth. The princess seemed to not notice. "And Mai," Azula stated. "Kill them all."
Mai looked at the gondola, now up to the other side of the caldera. The men had merely cut a single strand of the iron cable, dropping the gondola down lower but not all the way into the lake. Mai didn't want to. She didn't want to murder Zuko and the others. She could see them, as wide-eyed as she. They had obviously seen Ty Lee betray Azula. She didn't want to kill the innocent people. They had families just like she did. She didn't want to think about how Tom-Tom or her mother might feel if she died.
But she obeyed anyways. "Yes, Azula." Ty Lee's words truly stung right now.
She walked towards another gondola, to get to the top. She climbed on the rickety contraption, and waited for it to pull her to the other side. The wind pushed and pulled it, making creaking noises as it swayed. A messenger hawk flew in the window, perching on Mai's shoulder. She untied the note and read it:
To Ty Lee:
The evil receive their punishments, and the obedient receive salvation.
I am pleased that you are obedient.
The messenger hawk squawked and took wing back to the east, from where it came.
Hi. My first serious story! Yay!
So yeah, this will be a Maiko story, with some Mao. I just love Mao. There will be violence. And bloodshed. And maybe character death, I'm not sure yet. It's a Tragedy story, but its not all depressing-like. Hopefully.
And on a totally unrelated note, somewhere in the story a person wears curtains. You have been warned.
Oh, and Spry beta'd the next chapter, which I'm not posting until tomorrow, 'cause, you know, it's supposed to be posted then. I just felt like giving everyone a heads up, because when Spry betas it tends to be hilarious. So yeah. It's a tragedy story, but it has curtains and Spry.
It may be more funny than I thought.
I'm going to do this every chapter-
Chapter Title- Leaves from the Vine
Title Meaning- Correspondence (Think 'I Heard It On the Grapevine')
Title Significance- It's the first line of 'Leaves from the Vine', of course!
Also, this was beta'd by the illustrious Forever Fyre! May she have much cereal!
Note that I have no idea what illustrious means (I may have just insulted you), and we ran out of cereal months ago.
And this was inspired by her. Inspired-By-Fyre!
So if you like it, leave a good review!
And if you hate it, leave a bad review!
And if you read it…just review…