An Unspoken Bond
Chapter One: The Silent Escape
Four years it has been. Four years since the long-awaited conclusion of that dreadful war. But all of that is a mere memory now, just a memory. Everyone has moved on since then: Aang and Katara set out to Ba Sing Se to aid Iroh in the great city's long, yet effective, recovery; Zuko and Mai sat on their gold-trimmed thrones, yes, still ordering servants around, as they watched over and ruled the Fire Nation; Sokka and Suki are now married with two children living out on Kyoshi Island; Toph is staying at one of the royal houses near the Fire Nation's palace, generously given to her by Zuko as both an act of kindness and an act of friendship after her bitter encounter with her parents.
Despite the extremely short distance and the heartwarming act, they have not talked much over the years. They have always kept to themselves, two characters that one would expect to do so. Sure they did some things together, like gathering around with the rest of the group on Avatar Day, which had become increasingly famous after the end of the war. Other than that, it was a silent relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. And this is where the silence is broken; this is where our story's origin takes place. It takes place with, coincidently, if one believes in such things as coincidence, an act of silence. A silent escape.
Little to anyone's knowledge, the Fire Nation's past problems have not disappeared. Most of the damage left by them remains, and some incapable of being erased, such as Zuko's scar, such as all of the people lost in the fire, and with fire comes one who starts it. Azula was, and still is, contained in a prison cell. The thought is very disturbing indeed, to lock someone with all of that hate and madness in her veins. One would think she would have broken out by now, but no. She sat there…silently…for four long years up until one day when she could finally break free.
On this day, Zuko ventured out into the town. He walked down its streets looking as proud as ever. It was Mai's birthday, and he was looking for something he could buy her. Step by step he marched throughout the town, but on one step, he found himself falling down to the ground. He quickly shot his arms to catch himself, but then his arms sank into the earth and he went down, his chin slamming into it. He grunted as he glanced to the right to see two dirty feet residing next to him. He leaned his head slightly more, looking up.
"Toph?" he said as his lips motioned into a grin, no, a smile. Her head was blocking the sun, but the Fire Nation Prince could always make out a friend.
"Well if it isn't my favorite firebender!" she replied grabbing his shirt and lifting him out of the ground, his arms slipping out easily. He stood up straight and wiped his shirt free of the debris. He got a good look at her, and her hair was down all the way, reaching halfway down her back. He noticed that her voice hadn't changed much at all though, but who was he to talk, neither did his.
"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked.
"You're asking me?" she laughed.
"Heh, yea, you're right. I'm here to find a gift for Mai, it's her birthday today. You wouldn't happen to know anything that I should get her, do you?" she chuckled again.
"You're asking me?" she asked again, laughing even more, this time Zuko laughed with her, "Well, I don't know what to get her, but I can probably show you some good spots."
The prince nodded, hoping she could 'see' him nod, but she just stood there. All of a sudden she raised her arms to her shoulders.
"Well?" she asked.
"Oh, um, yeah sure. Thanks." He said. Apparently she didn't notice.
They navigated their way through the town, Toph showing him all of the shopping areas, encountering many shopkeepers who were just as weird or strange as their merchandise. Zuko found himself nervous in his own city.
"Are you sure she would like something from here?" he asked.
"Beats me. That's for you to decide Mr. Fancy Pants," she chuckled at the nickname she gave him. He looked down at himself, slightly lifting his arms so he could see. With all that detail and all of that cloth and silk, I guess even a blind girl can tell that he was heavily accessorized, or as the earthbender put it, fancy.
As they scurried through the town, Azula sat there quietly in her cell. She awaited the guard to bring her food and most importantly, a cup to drink from. She was ready to make her escape, one that she could have made a long time ago, but timing was important as well. She had to make sure that the guards weren't as stiff and worried as they were four years ago. That way, she could take them by complete surprise and break out stealthily.
All this time, she had been picking at her linen clothing so that she could get a strong and long enough string of linen needed to make her escape. The guard then came with the plate full of food and the cup of water. He watched as she ate and drank. What he didn't know was that she tied the string to the cup's handle as she drank it.
"Stand back!" the guard ordered as he went to pick up the remains. His unfortunate mistake was to pick the cup up by the handle and grasp firmly on it. It was a dark room, and the string was nearly the same color as the cup, making it almost completely unnoticeable. As the guard turned his back and took his first step, Azula pulled hard on the durable string making the guards arm reach backwards, and she ran towards the bars keeping her in so that she could grab his arm tight, the plate falling on the floor with the guards outside hearing it. When the two clueless men walked inside, they saw their fellow guard locked in the cell Azula was contained in, knocked out on the floor.
Azula then stepped out from the shadows of the corner and kicked them both inside with him. They all groaned in pain as she shut the door in front of them, sealing it shut.
"Well, boys, I'd love to CHAT, but I have some VERY important business to attend to!" she said with a hint of anger and madness in her tone as she stormed out of the building with an evil grin and her hands glowing with a blue flame. She gladly took down any guard in her way while exiting that dark prison, heading for the Fire Nation palace.
Meanwhile, Toph and Zuko were still picking at and poking merchandise as if each one was going to explode. Zuko turned his head to see a woman dressed in armor running frantically towards him. He stood up and faced her. Toph stood up next to him and looking a bit worried. She could tell that the woman was stressed.
"What's wrong?" Zuko asked her.
"There's been a break out, sir! And…" she paused.
"What is it?" He squinted his eyes a bit.
"It was Azula. She's the one broke out…"
Zuko's eyes widened and one though immediately went into his head. Is Mai all right? He quickly rushed to the palace, Toph following him.
Meanwhile at the palace, Mai was braiding her hair in her room in front of her mirror when she noticed a slight breeze. She looked to the side. The window was open, and the red curtains were blowing in her direction. She squinted with suspicion, her comb still in her hair. When she turned back to see herself, she saw more than her hair. She saw a face, a face that was shaped in a certain way to show that it meant nothing but evil. It was the face of Azula.
She jumped up and turned around grabbing two knives from her side.
"Azula! How did you get out?!" she said bringing the knives next to her cheek, ready to throw them.
"What, no 'Hey, Azula, how've you been?' You're lucky Zuko's not here. But I guess you'll do," she mocked, laughing.
Immediately, Mai threw her knives, but Azula jumped in the air, dodging it and started to dash toward her. Mai retaliated by moving backwards and throwing more knives at her, but each attempt to hit her was futile. She ran out of knives. Azula went so close as to be face to face with her, only inches away. Mai reacted by closing her eyes and shielding her face. Azula then flipped over her, unsheathing a dagger and cutting her left shoulder. Mai grunted as she fell to the ground, her right arm covering her wound.
"What-what did you do to me? I-I can't m-move…" she declared in a weak voice.
"Poison, it works wonders on the human body. Sometimes it can paralyze the enemy, sometimes it can make them very, very weak. In your case…heh. Let's just say you won't need to braid your hair any more. Guess I was right, again," she said grinning even wider, "YOU should have feared ME MORE!"
Zuko and Toph ran towards the room, but Toph had already known the sad truth. She knew that Mai was down on the ground. When they opened the door, Azula had been long gone.
"Zuko I-…" she stopped herself, it wasn't the right time to speak. Zuko just crouched down beside his lover's body, grasping her cold hand, tears overflowing down his cheek.
"No…" he whispered to himself so silently that only Toph could hear him. Toph wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, a tear running down her cheek as well.
Mai was dead. And Zuko was hurt so much, he might as well have died too.