Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the creation of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and is owned by Nickelodeon.
Author's note: Hi everyone! I just wanted to say a special thanks to sokkantylee, DefyGravity2502, ArrayePL, Gaara's Plaything, Zutara-Fan022, and InItToWinIT for leaving reviews! You guys made my day :) Thanks to everyone else who put it in favorites or who just stopped by to read. So it's Friday, and time for the next chapter...hope you guys enjoy it. It's the first official chapter, so it's longer than the prologue. All of the chapters will be about this long from here on out. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Tyrant
Watchin' myself and I'm taking strides
But here comes the moon
and it feels, and it feels like an informer
Quick run away hide, before they see you
You know it is all, all aglow
Walking on water seems perilous now
You got my trust, and it feels , and it feels
Like sabotage when I'm pulling triggers back on myself
And you know it is all
I know, it's all I know
And it feels so real from the outside looking in
And it feels so real from the outside
From the out, from the out
Tyrant, tyrant
--One Republic, Tyrant
Chapter 1: Tyrant
Fire Lord Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose as his general delivered the report. He glowered at the man through the flames, and the man flinched under his golden gaze.
"So, what you're telling me is that a paltry group of peasant waterbenders continue to terrorize our northern supply routes, and our best soldiers cannot take them into custody?"
The man's eyes flickered up towards the throne, but didn't quite meet the Fire Lord's gaze.
"Y-yes, my lord. They hit the supply wagons at their most vulnerable moments. We have increased the number of soldiers guarding the supplies, but to no avail. Their leader – a woman – is merciless. The survivors report they have never seen anything like her. A few soldiers have defected rather than be assigned to the supply route again. We are hunting these traitors down as we –"
"Your fiercest soldiers run in fear from a woman? Of the Water Tribe?" he asked accusingly, the flames playing eerily across his face.
"Yes, your highness," the general admitted reluctantly.
"You are hereby relieved of your duties. It is time I travel to the northern provinces and deal with this problem myself. If you ever show your face to me again, you will soon be a smoking corpse. Dismissed."
Fire Lord Zuko watched in disgust as the man nearly ran out of the throne room.
"Azula!" he called.
A lithe figure melted of the shadows of the walls.
"Yes, Zuko?"
A small tendril of smoke worked its way out of Zuko's nose. His sister never referred to him by his title, and her tone of false respect was mocking. It rankled him, but he let it go.
"I need you to make sure that our friend the general indeed disappears. I could no longer take his incompetence. Make sure he ends up on a vessel that leaves the city. Or kill him. I don't care – just make sure he disappears," he said callously.
"It will be done," Azula replied with narrowed eyes.
Zuko stood up from the throne and extinguished the flames. Azula turned to leave.
"Wait," Zuko called.
His sister turned around and awaited his words.
"I'm sure you heard me say that I will be travelling to the northern provinces to take care of our waterbender problem," he began.
"Yes, what about it?"
"I need you to take over my duties in my absence," he stated. He continued in a threatening voice, "I advise that you don't try anything foolish in my absence. I assure you, you will be under close observation by some very loyal agents. Loyal to me. Understand?"
Her eyes flashed at him, but she bowed and murmured, "Yes, I understand."
Zuko sighed as his sister turned on her heel and marched out of the room. He was under no illusion that his sister loved him. He knew she was a very dangerous person. To control her, he had to be more dangerous than her. So far, it was working. He knew, though, that she would jump at the chance to usurp the throne. He would stop her at all costs if any of her plans ever came to fruition.
Funny though – despite that, he still cared about her. She was his little sister, and Agni help anyone who would dare harm a hair on her head. Such was the way of royalty.
The young Fire Lord left the throne room and returned to his personal chambers to prepare for the journey ahead.
The journey to the north would take approximately two weeks. There was no sense in travelling by sea, as they would have to travel inland regardless. The royal entourage crossed the expanse of land dividing the palace city from the region of the northern trade routes. Zuko disregarded the royal palanquin, preferring instead to travel upon his own komodo rhino. He was an accomplished rider, and his personal animal was bred of the finest stock. He wished the group could move faster, but a group this large could only travel so fast. He was anxious to deal with this problem and return to the palace before Azula formed any sort of plan to take over the Fire Nation.
As the days passed on, the air grew slightly colder, signaling that they were nearing their destination. Zuko grew tired of long hours in the saddle. His leather armor creaked as he rode, and his eyelids grew heavy as they plodded on. Finally, they reached the last place they would set up camp before arriving at their destination.
A messenger hawk had arrived earlier, informing the Fire Lord that a messenger was riding out to meet them at their camp. He would debrief the Fire Lord and his soldiers on the situation, and deliver the latest intelligence.
As soon as he was ensconced in his crimson and gold royal tent, Zuko heard the noise of a komodo rhino running into camp. Soon a voice sounded from the entrance to his tent, requesting permission to enter.
"Come in," Zuko ordered.
A young, wide-eyed messenger entered somewhat hesitantly. He bowed low.
"I have news, your highness," he said. Zuko had to give him credit. He kept his voice steady.
He nodded for the man to continue.
"We have intercepted a message. They are planning an ambush on a supply caravan as it passes through the canyon just to the east of the village of Kashiya. They are to split into two groups, one on each side of the canyon, and attack from above." He indicated a small village just to the north of their camp on a map spread on a wooden table.
Zuko smiled, the expression not quite reaching his eyes. "Very good. We will be ready for them. You are dismissed."
Katara sat by the water's edge as she readied herself for the coming ambush. She wore all black, and tied her hair into a low wolf's tail. After binding her hair, she secured her blue wrist wrappings. She touched the pendant of her mother's necklace, and assured herself that it was safely around her neck.
She wasn't sure why she had an uneasy feeling in her stomach about this particular raid. This was the first time they were coordinating with another rebel group. The messenger hawk had been a little slow in returning, but other than that, there was no evidence the message had been intercepted.
There was no reason the raid shouldn't go as planned, but she couldn't shake the uneasiness. It was too late to call off the attack – their comrades would be waiting on one side of the cliff. There was no way to get word to them on time, nor did she have a reasonable explanation.
Katara started as a voice behind her spoke. "What is it, Katara? You seem troubled."
"I don't know, Akna. I just have a bad feeling about tonight. There's no reason to feel that way – everything has been planned carefully. Maybe it's just because the moon is new tonight. We really shouldn't raid during a new moon, but we have strength in numbers tonight. This supply caravan is too valuable to pass up."
Katara looked at Akna as she sighed. Akna had been a steady companion since leaving the North Pole. Until the day came for them to depart, neither had known that the other was a bender. Katara was overjoyed to find another female waterbender. Most of the warriors in their small group were men.
"I have felt uneasy about it as well. Perhaps you're right and it is the new moon. We will have darkness on our side though. Depending on another rebel group is a new thing for us too, so I am sure that's part of it. We will be victorious, and the Fire Nation will lose more of its precious supplies," Akna replied with a mischievous smile.
Their small rebellion enjoyed continued success during their raids. Katara, as the leader of their group, was becoming legendary among the local villages. At first, their opponents had scoffed when they saw that a peasant waterbender woman was at the forefront of the attacks. They soon learned that the waterbender was not one to be trifled with – she fought with great skill and was ruthless when it came to battle. Now, during their raids, they saw fear written on the pale Fire Nation faces.
While Akna and Katara knew the dangers they faced each day, each woman hoped their efforts would pay off in the end. Any harm they could cause the Fire Nation would be counted as success.
Katara stood up and bent her element into her water skins. "Okay, it's on then. We don't have a choice. Let's gather the men."
An hour later, under cover of darkness, the small group of Water Tribe warriors slunk along the hillside. Not all of them were benders. Some were skilled with the boomerang, some with the spear, and some with the sword. The other rebel group they were working with tonight was a similar band of warriors, also hailing from the Water Tribe. According to their leader, they had two benders among their ranks.
They signaled their presence to each other using quiet bird calls. The supply caravan was now in sight, but still a ways off. They would sit and wait for another quarter hour until the Fire Nation supply train was closer.
As the caravan neared, Katara's uneasy feeling grew stronger. There was something not right. The moment for attack grew closer, and just before she gave the signal to commence the attack, bright flame cut through the night.
Oh no. It was a trap.
The young waterbender quickly switched battle strategies in her head from offense to defense. Her face paled as she saw their sheer number of soldiers they were faced with. Usually her group attacked from the forest, where they could run and blend into the shadows, frustrating the Fire Nation soldiers. Out here, though, they were exposed. If they descended into the canyon, they would be trapped.
There were no trees near enough to escape into. Their only water source the benders had were the water skins at their sides. They were quickly surrounded. Katara gasped as Akna fell to the ground, struck by a firebender's attack. She couldn't afford to look down to ascertain Akna's condition. She heard no sound from the girl though, and feared the worst.
Katara used her dwindling amount of water with needle-like precision. She ducked and rolled to avoid a fire ball, and bent her water into a sharp ice blade. She skimmed the blade across the firebender's neck, and he fell to the ground unmoving.
"Akna!" she yelled. Dimly she realized that Akna was not responding, and the rest of her warriors were either captured or dead. The night was thick with the smell of blood and smoke. She could figures littering the ground around her whenever the flash of a flame would illuminate the darkness.
While her head was turned, a huge plume of fire burned by her side. Immediately gaining her attention, she turned to look at her attacker. Her mouth nearly fell open as she realized precisely who it was. He was tall, and he wore fine armor emblazoned with the Fire Nation symbol. A harsh scar slashed across the left side of his face. His raven hair was pulled up in a topknot, and a golden crown sat proudly atop his head. She recognized his face from statues and posters that had been placed in every occupied town around the world.
The Fire Lord. Fire Lord Zuko himself had come to put an end to the raids. She supposed she should be flattered.
Fury gripped her, and she taunted him.
"So, the Fire Lord himself has to come stop us! I suppose we eluded your elite soldiers a few too many times? Some were better than others, to be sure, but in the end, we bested them," she said flippantly.
Her heart pounded in her chest as he filled his palm with fire.
"You are beaten, and yet you still mock the Fire Nation? I must say, I admire your spirit. In the end, though, you will be defeated, just like the rest of your people," he said, a sneer curling his lips.
"I am not defeated yet!" Katara screamed as she flung her last drops of water at him. She molded it to her will, and the drops became needle-sharp points. He brought up his defenses in time, and a fierce wall of fire melted the ice before it reached its mark.
In the meantime, several soldiers wrestled Katara to the ground as she kicked and fought.
"No! Just kill me here! I will be no prisoner of the Fire Nation!"
She let go a guttural yell as she raked her nails across the face of a Fire Nation soldier. The man immediately cuffed her across the face. She fell in a heap to the ground.
"Stop!" the Fire Lord yelled at the soldier. "That was unnecessary, you fool! Get out of my sight!"
Katara looked up as the young man stood over her. "You will be coming back with me. I have a feeling you will try your hardest to escape. I will ensure that you don't, and trust me, if you try, you will regret it."
The waterbender felt her hands roughly grabbed and jerked behind her. Cold steel manacles were placed around her wrists.
The Fire Lord gripped her arm and dragged her to her feet. "Come, we start back tonight."
A few hours later, Katara reflected in horror upon her current position. She was sitting atop a komodo rhino, her hands still bound. That was bad enough. The ultimate insult, however, was that she was currently seated in front of Fire Lord Zuko.
She shifted uncomfortably, and tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid touching him. His arms rubbed against her as they held the reins of the beast. She could feel the warmth emanating from the firebender's body, and she quickly grew hot.
"Stop touching me!" she growled.
"I think you are hardly in a position to be giving orders. Besides, it's a bit difficult not to touch you when we're riding the same animal," he stated, a hint of mocking in his voice.
"You're disgusting," she hissed.
"I've been called worse," he replied lazily.
She suffered in silence for a few hours more, and was immensely relieved when he called for the men to set up camp. They dismounted from the komodo rhino. She fell to the ground, as she had chosen to jump with her arms still bound rather than accept any help from him.
She finally had a chance to look around at the other prisoners. They had been riding at the head of the group all night, and she hadn't been able to turn around to see the other prisoners. She desperately sought Akna's face, but didn't see her friend among the captives. She fought back tears. Akna was dead. She had seen so much death that she was surprised she still had tears left.
The Fire Lord gripped her arms once more, and secured her to a nearby tree. A small bubble of panic overcame her. Did he really intend to keep her tied to a tree all night? She needed to relieve herself. How in the name of Tui and La was she going to ask about that?
He turned away, and started to enter his tent.
"Hey! I think you forgot something!" she shouted.
He turned back to her. "What?"
"Me. I need to…relieve myself."
To her eternal amusement, the man actually looked embarrassed.
"Very well. But listen carefully, if you try anything, you will be very sorry. You may go behind those trees over there."
He unlocked the chains securing her to the tree, and she walked over behind the trees he had pointed to. She took care of business, and as she finished, her eyes darted around. She knew he was watching the trees like a hawk, but perhaps she could make a run for it and disappear into the trees. She didn't know what she would do once she escaped, especially considering her wrists were still bound, but anything had to be better than being the Fire Lord's prisoner.
She took a deep breath, then sprinted for the nearest cover. She gasped as fire blossomed at the stand of trees she was about to enter. Suddenly she felt him beside her, and his still-hot hand grabbed her arm.
He glowered at her. "You will pay for that little escape attempt."
He dragged her back to camp, and immediately had her ankles chained as well. There would be no running. He chained her to the tree once more, and entered his tent. A short while later, the smell of food assaulted her nostrils. She was very hungry; she hadn't eaten in hours. She watched jealously as a servant entered the Fire Lord's tent with a steaming tray of food.
Zuko exited the tent a short while later, and spoke to the servant. The servant removed the nearly empty tray, and to Katara's horror, he brought it over to her. So that was what he had instructed the servant to do.
She shouted at the Fire Lord. "You expect me to eat your scraps?" her voice shrieked.
Katara thought her head would explode when he had the nerve to laugh. "It's better than nothing, isn't it? I was going to give you some bread, but then you pulled that little escape attempt. I told you that you'd be sorry. Even if you refuse to eat it now, I imagine the scraps will begin to look tasty after a few days without food."
The waterbender weighed her options. She could stoop to eating the Fire Lord's scraps and fill her empty stomach, or she could starve and keep her pride intact. Her hands were still bound, so her only option to eat was to lower her face to the food and eat like an animal. Her decision was made. Her stomach complained, but she would go hungry.
She leaned back against the tree, and sleep finally overtook her.
In the morning, Zuko left his tent to check on his prisoner. Her eyes were closed, but sleep was obviously not peaceful for her. Her eyelids were closed tight; her muscles were tense. He sighed as he looked at the tray of food scraps. She hadn't touched them. She would in time.
He prodded her with his boot to wake her up. "Time to get moving." He knew she would need to relieve herself again, but this time he called a female soldier over to supervise.
As soon as camp was packed, he and his prisoner mounted his komodo rhino. They rode hard all day, and Zuko was relieved that the waterbender said not a word. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her complaints. He suspected hunger had something to do with it, as he could hear the growls of her stomach above the noise of their travel.
The days continued much the same, and the Water Tribe girl remained quiet. Of course, if looks could kill, he would have been dead a thousand times over. Each time they set up camp, she was secured to a nearby tree, and offered the scraps from the Fire Lord's dinner. Each night she refused to eat, although she drank the paltry amounts of water they offered her.
On the eighth day, he did begin to worry as she seemed to grow more listless. The warrior still hadn't eaten anything in the days since she had been imprisoned, and had only swallowed scant amounts of water. She began to sway more in the saddle in front of him. At midday, she slumped over as she lost consciousness and slipped through his arms to land on the ground.
Swearing under his breath, he signaled for his soldiers to halt. He picked the girl up in his arms. "We camp here for the night," he announced.
As soon as his tent was set up, he brought the girl in. A healer was close behind. The healer brushed a wet, cool cloth over the girl's forehead, and her eyes fluttered open.
"She needs to eat, my lord. She is dehydrated as well. She won't be able to travel in this condition," he informed Zuko matter-of-factly.
Zuko sighed. Fine, you win this round.
"Very well. Have a tray of food brought in, as well as a small amount of water. I think she is too weak to bend, but we must be cautious. She's a fighter," he said as he sent the healer off.
The girl came to as he sat waiting for the food to arrive. She looked at him blearily, then seemed to suddenly remember to glare. Her eyes narrowed even as she struggled for consciousness.
"You win this one. I didn't think you'd refuse food that long. I'm having a nice meal sent in for you," he said grudgingly.
"You could just let me die, you know," she said vehemently.
Zuko sighed.
The food arrived, and he adjusted her bindings so her hands were in front of her. She could at least feed herself, albeit awkwardly. She started to inhale the food, but he stopped her. "You shouldn't eat so fast. Take your time, or you will make yourself ill."
Katara thought he might actually be concerned about her well being until he continued. "I don't want you to get sick in my tent."
She sent him a withering look. He suspected she was tempted to make herself sick in his tent just for revenge.
She continued eating, but to his surprise, she took his advice and slowed down. As she finished, he spoke.
"I suppose I should ask your name, as we've spent several days together, and I haven't yet asked."
The girl appeared to be trying to come up with a rebellious response, but then seemed to deflate as she gave up.
"Katara. Of the Southern Water Tribe."
"Ah. I suppose I can see why you're so angry, as your people don't exist any more," he said plainly.
He watched as rage clouded her face. "Your nation has killed off my entire family – nearly my entire people, and you speak of it so callously! You bastard," she said, her voice dangerously low.
His eyes narrowed at her. "If your people had just surrendered when it became clear they were defeated, they would still be alive. I suppose they were all like you though – they just kept fighting, even after defeat."
"What else would you have us do?" she shouted. "Just lay down like a rat-dog before its abusive master? Continue to live through raids and have our benders slaughtered? Keep living in squalor, wondering who will be the next to die?"
She swayed a bit – the effort of yelling had taken much out of her. She cursed herself for using all her strength just because the Fire Nation scum had baited her.
Katara watched as the man's amber eyes narrowed at her. "Each nation was given a chance to surrender. If they had sworn fealty to the Fire Lord, they could have continued to live their lives in peace. The only reason anyone lost their lives was due to the fact that they kept on fighting! Remember, Fire Nation soldiers have been killed too."
"Yes, killed in war they shouldn't have had to fight!"
The two benders glared at one another for a moment. Finally, the Fire Lord spoke.
"You should get some rest while you can. We will be returning to the palace city in just a few days. We ride before dawn."
Katara's vision swam before her, and she fell back onto the dirt floor of the tent as she once more lost consciousness.