Here is chapter 4. Sorry it took a couple weeks. Basketball takes up my life sometimes :/.
Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA
~~~Zutara~~~
If the outside of the palace looked ominous, the inside was even worse. To a Fire Nation citizen, it looked positively elite and upscale. To anyone else, me especially, it was a prison. The Fire Nation insignia was draped all over the place, along with dragon paintings and lion turtle statuettes. There was even a fountain inside, but Ai told me plain and simple that if I even tried to use the water, I wouldn't see the sun – or the moon – ever again. I'm taking that threat to heart, at least for now.
As Jaiyi led us around the palace (Ai had left us in her care to go do her more important duties), full realization of where I was hit me. I was going to be a servant in the Fire Lord's home. If Aang ever found me, I could probably give him loads of useful information that he might need. I might even get to be in his office or wherever they hold their meetings. There's bound to be some sort of document I can lay my hands on.
Wait a minute. If this is where Ozai lives, then doesn't –
"And this," Jaiyi gestured towards a door, "Is where The Fire Lord's daughter, Princess Azula, rests. I believe Ai told me that one of you is going to be her personal assistant."
I groaned. For the love of Waterbending, I will not be her servant. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will make me serve that beastess.
Jaiyi heard my groan. "Is there a problem?" she asked.
I held my head up. "Of course not," I said. I didn't want her to know I had a…problem…with the beloved princess. If I could, I would keep myself out of Azula's sights. She's bound to recognize me, and she'll just do something to get me into trouble. If I lay low, and out of her way, I could probably search her room for something. I don't want to go back to Aang and Sokka and Toph empty-handed.
Speaking of the princess…isn't there a prince? Zuko was the Crown Prince, until he was banished. I have no idea what happened to him after Ba Sing Se, though. He might have gone home with Azula. Or maybe he was thrown into prison. I voiced this question to Jaiyi, to see what she would say.
"Yes, we do have a prince. Prince Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. When the Fire Lord resigns or dies, the Prince will take his place. He and the Princess are at a meeting I believe, but they will be back later. Now, let's move on." Jaiyi led us away from Azula's room and down another hallway.
So Zuko's living at the palace again. He's probably ecstatic. Finally, after all these years, he was back where he wanted to be. He's probably basking in the glory of being a prince again. And he's attending meetings; people now value his opinion and presence again. I bet people simply fawn over him and Azula for 'killing' Aang.
It's really weird to think about this, but all my more personal Fire Nation enemies – Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Tylee – were all teenagers just living their lives here. Seeing me here, as a servant, will immediately cause suspicion among them. They all know my face pretty well, seeing as they all relentlessly hunted down Aang, and I happened to be there with him. I can't wait to see their reactions when they see me.
While I was thinking of all of this, Jaiyi had finished the tour. She walked us to another room she called the servants' quarters. It was a pretty big room. There were dozens of beds; I would probably get my own, and have to share a dresser. That wouldn't be so bad. There were about five bathrooms (it looked like there were a lot of slaves), so that won't be a big issue. A couple women and children (there was another boy, so the boy in our group won't be totally alone) were in a corner of the room folding clothes. They didn't look too unhappy.
Jaiyi pointed to the available beds and told us to pick one. I picked one near Xueman, so I wouldn't feel so alone. "Your uniforms are in the dressers", she said, "Except for you two." She pointed at me and the young girl who was singled out earlier. "You two are going to be personal assistants, so you'll have different outfits so we can tell you apart. There are a few hanging in the closet back there; go pick one out that fits."
The young girl and I walked toward the closet Jaiyi was referring to. Gingerly, I pulled an outfit off the rack. The girl was behind me and hesitant to do so. I looked down at the garment in my hands.
No way am I wearing this.
It's not even a full outfit! It's like a metal bikini! My stomach will be completely exposed, as will my arms and most of my legs. A single red sheet dangling from the center of the bottom half of the bikini is my only real coverage. The shoes aren't that bad, though. They're brown boot-like things. At least they're not sandals, or worse, heels. Along with the outfit are several bracelets and bands. The whole thing is gold.
The girl behind me took one look at my face of horror and ran out of the closet. I stepped out behind her, slowly, the 'uniform' still in my grasp. I looked at Jaiyi. She seemed to be smirking. "I…can't wear this." I told her.
"Too bad; you have to. No complaints. Now, you and the girl get changed, I have to give you your assignments." Jaiyi told us sternly. The other women gave us pity glances as we reluctantly stepped into separate bathrooms to change.
It's not that I looked bad wearing this. On the contrary, I looked great. But it wasn't great as in beautiful, it was great as in…not a good-girl kind of thing. I looked like a skank. I was reminded of Jun, that girl with that weird bear thing with the snout and paralyzing tongue. Oh, god, I do not want to resemble her.
"Very pretty." Jaiyi smirked when I stepped out, the twelve-year-old coming out seconds later. She looked positively mortified. I felt so bad for her; she was young. She was only Aang's age, if you took away his extra hundred years.
"Now, girls, follow me to meet your new masters." Jaiyi walked swiftly out of the room.
I didn't like her use of the term "masters". I hoped whoever I got had at least a shred of kindness in them. That'd probably be asking for too much though, if you're talking about the Fire Nation.
The little girl was dropped off at Azula's room, and I felt even more badly for her. That is the worst luck you could have. If I see her again tonight, I'll school her on how to act around the demon princess. Azula apparently wasn't home, however, so the girl had to go inside and wait for her. I could only imagine Azula's reaction when she came into her room and saw a little girl in a metal bikini waiting for her. She'd probably be happy when she found out the child was her slave.
I was led to another room on the other side of the palace. If we had stopped by here on our tour, I didn't remember it. My new boss wasn't home either, so Jaiyi told me to go inside and wait, and then she left me.
The room was beautiful. Gold and red wallpaper and tapestries hung all over the walls and from the ceiling. Hanging above a dresser was a pair of broadswords, in good condition. Paintings were all over the walls. One in particular was beautiful; it looked like a tribute to a woman who had passed. I did not recognize her, though I had the feeling I had heard about her somewhere. A small statue of a lion turtle stood on a pedestal in the corner. In the middle of the room was a giant bed with a red canopy. From the window you could see the palace garden, blooming with flowers and trees and decorated with fountains and statues. It was a very pretty view.
As I was staring, I heard the knob turn. I brushed myself off and got ready to introduce myself to my new 'master'. I rolled back my shoulders and held my head high, to prove I had some dignity (even wearing this outfit). You never get a second chance to make a good first impression, as they say.
The owner of the room didn't even look at me at first. He just took his hair down and let it fall into his eyes. The red scar on the side of his face was plainly seen from my angle. My heart had already started beating faster. I reached behind me for something to hold on to, because I was losing my balance, but there was nothing behind me. I fell backwards into the wall.
Zuko looked up at me in shock. His eyes widened as he looked at my face.
"Um, hi," I said awkwardly, "I'm your new servant."
~~~Zutara~~~
The idea for the metal outfit is from "Katara as Leia" on DeviantART. Go check it out. It's a star wars parody of princess Leia.
Okay, little heads up here: I have no set schedule for updating as of now. Basketball playoffs start, as is softball (for some strange reason, we start now), and all my stuff for my new school next year is happening now. So, it may be a couple weeks between chapters. Thanks for reading so far, though!