Dark.
I can't see a thing.
The smell of rope and sweat and sand, ugly in my nose, stinging in my eyes.
Everything is enclosed around me, like some tight wrap. It pulls and slackens all over.
Good god, I'm in some kind of body bag.
Ha.
Ha. Ha.
It's escaping from me like water from a leaking bucket, a drawn-out, eerie laugh.
I laugh some more, my face twisted into a contorted smile, teeth gleaming.
I can't stop now. It hurts my ribs and my stomach. My head is reeling.
Hahahaha….
Suddenly the steady pace at which I was moving halts. I drop, my back slams onto a hard surface. It erupts some more laughter, then it calms down back into a girlish laugh, one that I can trace back to my school days.
A single drop of water dampens the cloth around my neck. Another. They're falling faster now.
I reach up. My fingers are shaking. They brush a hard fabric and scramble to open it.
I pull it downwards towards my trembling chest, still laughing like an undignified girl.
Light!
Light. Hahhaaha.
It hurts my eyes. I close them. I open them again.
Let's register my surroundings. A face.
Haha! A face. I know this face.
Golden eyes, smooth black hair. A topknot. That's a crown. This is the fire lord! Haha! The fire lord. Ridiculous. Hhahaaha…
The fire lord is crying! I laugh some more.
His face is perfect. This can't be the real fire lord. He's perfect. I reach out to him.
He holds my hand.
'Stop,' he whispers. His shuddering breaths make me laugh. Daddy won't believe what a spectacle of his predecessor is making out of himself.
Hahaha! Ha.
Ha…
My cheeks are wet. I scowl, and wipe my eyes quickly. No one saw except for this wreck above me.
I'm angry at this man. I can't sit up. I try to, and fall.
I hate him!
'Zuko.' A voice. Someone is calling.
The man gets up. He is still crying.
I laugh some more. Hahaha!
'It hurts, Azula,' I hear him whisper. Then he disappears.
--
I open my eyes.
He isn't real. Why!? How!? HOW!??
I scream. No!
Tears. Lots of them.
They drip off my face like rain.
I don't stop them.
No!
More screams. I hear a twist of metal.
He walks in. I keep screaming.
'Azula,' he whispers. The same tears pour down his face like earlier. One eye is different, though. Tarnished. I stagger to the bars, clasp them tight. His face is near mine, his breath shaky.
'Zuko,' I whisper. Angry.
'ZUKO!'
It's a scream now. A yell, an accusation, a question, an insult. I spit at his feet.
'ZUKO! ZUKO!'. The same yell over and over. Tears. Sobs.
He stands there. He puts up with it, face almost touching mine.
'You still know me,' he says, in wonder. 'You still know me,' he repeats.
How could I forget?
Ha. Ha.
Hahahahaaa….