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Chapter 7

Darkness. A dimly lit cell, the only light source the watery sunlight that slipped between the cold, iron bars of her cell, illuminating the layer of grunge on the floor. The scent of multiple bodies' sweat and bodily odors mingling with the sickly sweet scent of cleaning supplies. Her head was spinning , a dull ache present from where she was slammed into. Yuki tentatively reached a hand up to touch it, feeling a sticky sensation and a lump forming from the sharp blow that had struck her. She winced involuntarily, immediately jolting her hand away when she felt an electric shock of pain shooting through her skull. Glancing down at her hand, she found that it was covered in shockingly crimson liquid, warm and sticky. Blood. The metallic scent filled her nostrils, mixing with the various odors surrounding her. What a mess she had gotten herself into. All because of that one fateful day back in Jang Hui. If she had stayed there, she might be sparring with Ming right now. Or she could be sitting down to a warm meal with her parents. Yuki started to blink back tears, but what was the point? Why not cry? Who would see her weakness? She was alone in the world now; no one would know. Tears began to stream down her face, a sign of her failed struggle. She had wanted to make a difference for the better, and she had accomplished nothing. This was worse than square one.

She wanted to scream so badly, to rattle the iron door that barred her into that horrid, claustrophobic cage. Yuki felt trapped, like a fish entangled in the woven nets she had seen back home, dripping muddy water and flailing their fins helplessly in a futile attempt to escape. Escape, dive to the bottom of the murky water, hoping, praying to never be caught again. The tears continued to stream down her cheeks silently, the lump in her throat huge. She had to resist the urge to flat-out sob out of frustration and disappointment on the grungy, cold floor of her cell. Her vision blurred, swimming with tears as she looked down upon her tattered, dark crimson jumpsuit, marking her for what she truly was. Yuki was a prisoner, a traitorous and disgraceful child to the rest of the nation. On the bright side, she was still alive. At least for now. This was a very high security prison, though. She wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Other hardened criminals would look down upon her for being a traitor... She shuddered at the thought of being shunned in a place of outcasts and criminals. Where did she belong if not with the fire nation, if not here, if not in Jang Hui? Was she forever destined to be sent from one place to another? Would she be sentenced to death after a biased trial? The number of lives she had caused to be lost was large... Perhaps she deserved this. It was possible that the spirits were punishing her for all her past mistakes. And she had done everything to deserve it. She deserved every last bit of this. The sticky, crimson liquid that coated her hand, the metallic taste that lingered in her mouth, the bars that held her in the cell like a caged bird. The dull, throbbing ache in her skull intensified, and she raised her fist, anger boiling inside of her like bubbling lava. She slammed her fist into the concrete wall, ignoring the stabbing pain in her knuckles as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. She was trapped for voicing her beliefs.

Firebending had always been her solace, but now it was her curse. It symbolized her cruel, bloodthirsty nation that she had betrayed. Though, had she really betrayed it? She had always been a most patriotic individual, and she truly believed this was the best course of action. Perhaps this would benefit her nation over time. If not her action directly, then her thoughts and ideas. Then she would have led her nation to a better place. The steel doors opening in front of her snapped her out of her thoughts. Of course. The prisoners were allowed out of the ring. Must be time. She walked out and was immediately shoved back into her cell by a passing prisoner rushing out. She got back up, and was able to not get knocked down this time She somehow managed to squirm through the crowd, and she was outside. It was hotter outside than inside, maybe because of them being closer to the water. It was loud and crowded, with prisoners socializing as if this was just a normal day for them. She felt tiny in the large amount of people around her. This was unlike any place she had ever been, because she was utterly alone. There was not a single friendly face to comfort her fears. Only once had something like this happened to her, and fate had decreed that an earthbender would rescue her that time. For a moment, she felt a pang of resentment toward the earthbender for causing her to go down this path; she shook the thought aside, because everything had been her choice. Suffering, however, did not seem to be a fair consequence. While contemplating, she had gotten distracted; she suddenly realized two men were standing in front of her. Big, strong, scarred men. "You're that girl who betrayed that commander Zhao, correct?" They asked.

They were a bit too close for comfort, and Yuki wanted to correct him and say "Admiral" but no words came out. They pushed her up against a wall, the man's face inches away. He smelled horrid, and he was unkempt, dirty, and smelled of sweat and old clothes.

"Took a lotta guts to do something like that. Wanna know what we do to traitors here?" He asked.

Yuki swallowed, her mouth was dry. If she wasn't pushed against a wall, she would have backed away. Her golden eyes flashed with anger, and she managed to spit out a string of clear words.

"Let. Me. Go." She scanned them, her eyes narrowed as her heart raced. 'This isn't good.'

On her smallest finger, Yuki summoned a small amount of flame for security and— "Stop! Firebending is against the rules! To the cooler!" yelled a nearby guard.

In what felt like half a second, she was thrown into a cooler and the door slammed in front of her face. She knew it would be cold, but not this cold. Her body quickly became numb, and she wished that she could use her fire breath, but the temperature was far too cold. She slowly began to lose consciousness, though she was attempting to resist. It was too much. How would she recover from this, how sick would she get? These were her last thoughts as the world blackened around her.

The next thing she knew, the cooler door was opening, and she fell to the ground with a thud. Her amber eyes shot open. Although her vision was blurred, she could see the scowling face of a guard standing above her. He nudged her in the side with his pointy boot. "Get up," he snapped. His glare was so intense that his eyebrows, slanted downward, were crinkled and almost tangled together. Yuki stood up, shivering in her thin, orange jumpsuit. How long had she been in there? Was it minutes? Hours? Yuki didn't have any concept of time whatsoever. She could only assume.

Author's Note: Kind of a slow chapter, but the next one will be more interesting. Please review so that I can know how to write the next chapters. Any suggestions are welcome.