1.
"My Lord, we have her."
"Good work. Fetch Princess Azula for me."
"Of course, Fire Lord."
"Get your hands off of me!" a girl hissed as she was escorted down the corridor of the royal palace, her voice raspy from all of the purposeless yelling she'd done. Blood-stained cuffs clanked on her wrists behind her back, deep cuts circling the burn scars already marring them. Her boots scuffed and squeaked as she was pushed through the magnificent place, her rags of clothes exposing fair skin to the warm air.
One of the soldiers at her side struck the back of her head, causing her to stumble. "Shut up, Gift." he snarled, the other yanking on her arm to keep her from falling forward.
She would've continued to put up a fight, but she could hardly bring herself to speak at that point. They had broken what little hope she had left the previous day, and it left her wondering why they found such things amusing.
Her being broken was in the form of a cut on her left cheek, swollen with streaks of dried blood spidering down her jaw and chin. The hateful look her eyes held would've made one think she would thrash despite how drained she was, but all she really wanted to do was collapse and wail like the frightened child she was on the inside.
A soldier laughed under his breath. "I wonder what the Fire Lord will do with 'er." He walked behind their prisoner and the two soldiers at her sides, along with the rest of the escort. From what the soldiers that brought her to the palace said, she was capable of dealing quite a bit of damage - it had happened twice over the course of the four day boat ride, one instance in which she melted through a set of cuffs and managed to burn one of the men on the boat.
"She'll probably be thrown into the harem, " another replied. "You guys know what that means." He smirked, looking at the others. The men guffawed at the thought of a new girl amongst the concubines to break further.
Her eyes widened in the slightest and she looked over her shoulder at the men, just to have her head turned forward by the soldier to her right, the gloved hand surprisingly gentle. That one hadn't made a comment since she and the others got her from the ship she was brought on, only silently kept her in-line. It made the girl wonder why she was being so kind; the others weren't.
"Come on, Kokuren, aren't you going to speak?" the soldier to the girl's left asked through his mask. "Or does this one remind you of your daughter, with those eyes?" He grinned, though no one could see through the grates on the white mask that fit to his helmet.
The girl felt the one to her right tense, and she looked at her.
"Don't you dare speak of her, " the female soldier snipped, pain underlying in her tone. Her voice constricted as she went on. "You know not to." She released the girl between them, making her halt, and stepped past her to the man. A gloved hand ignited with flame, the palm of it charring and retreating to embers. The other came to the front of his chest plate, taking hold of it and lifted him, flames licking closer to his plated face.
The girl made a face. That voice... No, no... it couldn't be. Her mother wouldn't be escorting a lowly prisoner such as herself, she was the lead of the palace guards. Besides, it would be a shame for the woman to see her in the state she was, pitifully skinny and injured.
"Yes'm, " the man squeaked as he was put down, eyes wide.
The woman returned to her place and proceeded to the Fire Lord's throne room, girl in tow. Her breathing was uneven, as if she was about to break down, just as the fifteen-year-old wanted to. After silent minutes passed, the doors came into view, at the end of a lengthy hall.
She demanded the doors be opened, voice powerful, which was obliged by the two guards posted at either side of the massive doors. They were of a deep red, almost black, bordered by gold.
The girl wet her lips as her heartbeat accelerated. The Fire Lord, someone who had ridiculed her so much before, was the first person she would be facing. From what she had heard, though, Azulon had passed and Ozai had since taken his place. Still, she was ridiculed the same by the younger of the two Princes.
The massive doors groaned as they opened. A wall of flame danced in the far back of the room, pillars standing along the walkway.
"Come along, " Kokuren said softly, pulling the girl's arm to coax her out of the halt she'd come to. The woman wasn't sure why she was being so kind to the girl. It might have been the strong resemblance she held with her first daughter, along with the comment from the man in the corridor. She shook her head and continued forward, the crackling heat of the flames, that made the Fire Lord only a silhouette, intensifying with each step taken.
Once they were to the head of the massive room, a few feet from where the Fire Lord rested, his gaze boring into the blue-eyed, inky-haired girl presented before him. The male guard on her left threw her down, her thin arm easily pulled out of Kokuren's grasp. The woman scowled at the other's action, removing her face mask before dropping to one knee to show respect to the Lord.
All of the soldiers assigned to escort the prisoner, too, dropped to show respect, masks going to their hands.
The girl hissed a curse as her knees hit the tiled floor, eyes cast down. She didn't dare look up at Ozai, fear getting the best of her. Cobalt eyes shut and she awaited harsh words to echo through the chamber.
"Look at me." Ozai commanded sternly, gold gaze piercing.
Azula sat a foot or two to his left, a smirk playing upon her painted lips. This was, indeed, the girl her brother had spoken about so kindly, the odd eye color and clothing, though ripped to near shreds, gave away the identity.
The girl did as told, despite her reluctance to do so. If she didn't, her sentences would be far more severe than they already were. She wasn't quite sure what would be done to her, but the soldiers' earlier speak of the harem sent a chill up her spine, despite the sweltering heat of the flames roaring between her and the Fire Lord.
Ozai nodded slowly, looking over the girl. "Your name is Setsuna, am I not correct?" he asked coolly, eyes flickering to the woman to the girl's right, the head of the Royal Guard. She seemed nervous, he could tell by the glimmer in her molten brass eyes, that something was bothering her about this girl.
"No, " the girl couldn't help but chuckle lightly. That was an alias for her stay in the Earth Kingdom, so the wanted posters of her that circulated wouldn't direct any attention to her or her sister. "That is a lie, Fire Lord."
Azula frowned at her words. Zuko lied about her name? Ozai looked at her briefly, and she blinked. "That's what I was told, Father." she defended quietly, scowling in the girl's direction.
The Lord nodded, "So what is your name, my girl?"
Kokuren's breath caught in her throat as the girl took a deep breath, sparing a glance in her direction, before speaking.
"Xaia, my Lord. Setsuna was an alternative name."
Ozai hummed, looking at the woman to one side of the girl. "Looks like we've found your daughter, Kokuren." he said a bit darkly. "Too bad she's wanted, and requested by my daughter. Otherwise you'd have her back."
Said girl blinked, looking to the woman to her right. So it was her mother? That was heart wrenching; four long years had passed since she'd seen the woman last, and it seemed that time had taken its toll.
The woman fought to hold back tears, eyes cast down. "It seems so." she said in response to Ozai's first words. She didn't want to respond to, let alone think about, her daughter being owned, losing her rights as a human being.
"Well, Xaia. It seems that you've quite a bounty on your head. If you weren't requested by Princess Azula, you would be up for execution." Ozai said, looking down at the girl, who was now sitting up.
"What will come of her?" Kokuren asked suddenly, before her daughter could say anything in return. If the girl was anything similar to how she was as a child, she definitely had a mouth. Back sassing the Fire Lord would not end well.
He looked to Azula. "It all depends on what Azula has to say." he said with a sigh.
The Princess smirked once more. "I have something divine in stock for her." she said, examining her pointed nails. "The servants in the spa will clean her up, tame that ratty hair of hers, and she'll be presented to my dearest brother, Zuzu."
It took all of her will for Xaia not to voice her disagreement with that. 'Ratty hair?' she thought with a scowl. She would've gladly given the Princess a piece of her mind, if it weren't for the chains binding her arms at her back.
"You're kidding me, " Kokuren breathed, looking at the girl beside the Fire Lord ridiculously. Her daughter was going to be given to some teenage boy who was just given his 'honor' back.
All of the soldiers made small sounds of disinterest, slowly rising to crack their backs, just to resume the hunch.
Ozai made a face, before shaking his head briefly. "As you wish, Princess." He looked to Kokuren. "Men, you are dismissed. Kokuren, escort your Agni forsaken daughter to the spa."
"Of course, my Lord." the woman said, rising and replacing the mask into her helm as the men shuffled out of the chamber. "Come along, now, " She pulled the girl to her feet and directed her to the door, bowing to Fire Lord Ozai before exiting. Her hand found the chain at the back of Xaia's cuffs and held it.
"The servants have already been instructed on what to do, " Azula called after the two, a devious look taking her features.
"Kokuren..." Xaia murmured, once they cleared the doors and got a distance down the corridor. Her blue eyes set on the woman for a moment.
Her mother was caught off guard by her speaking. She thought the girl hated her, since she'd run away so long ago. "Yes?" She looked over at Xaia, whose eyes were now flickering around the hall they were in.
"..can you take these cuffs off of me? My wrists are raw from having them on for a few days." she asked, face twisting in thought. She never expected to be speaking with her mother again. Her plan was to never get caught, but she didn't know how she was in the first place. She was just... taken.
"Unless that isn't allowed."
Cobalt hues narrowed momentarily.
Her mother wasn't the best when she was still living with her, and it didn't seem like she was, even still. Always left alone with her sister, Tsukiko, or dumped off with her cousin. Demanding and careless when she was around, it seemed as if she didn't care when the sisters were younger. Xaia's grudging trust of the woman was understandable, in a way.
The armored woman paused. "Of... of course, dear, " she said, unclipping the single key at her hip and easily releasing the metal on her daughter's wrists.
"Thank you... But... don't call me that..."
And that's the chapter :D I've been itching to get this out for a few days. It isn't as long as I'd hoped it to be, but the chapters will get progressively longer. It'd be appreciated if you dropped a review telling me if you liked it, or disliked it and what, etc. So yeah. I'll have another chapter up next weekend, maybe even sooner, if I have a good week.
Broken Blackk Dahlia