To all of the readers: I'm sorry! I couldn't do it! Please forgive me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Chapter 8: 'Prison'
Zuko and Aang were rendered completely speechless; what had come over Azula? She always seemed to be hell-bent on catching both of them and bringing them back to the Fire Nation for her own glory, but after she's heard some 'rumors' she now wants to 'watch'?
Forgive their, if it could be called that, prudent minds, but that was just wrong!
"You're sick." Zuko hissed at his so-called sister. Azula only grinned wickedly.
"I know." She said in pure delight; as if she was actually proud of it.
Without warning, she pushed her hand into Zuko's pants; and raised an eyebrow at what she found there.
"Maybe you really are family after all, even if you obviously aren't Ozai's child." She always loved to torment him with that fact, but this time Zuko didn't take heed to it.
"And everyone knows you are not related to the royal family whatsoever." He retorted coldly.
He had studied the Fire Nation Royal family's history and found that females in the family via royal birth were exceptionally rare, there hadn't been one in the last 20 generations. There was an old legend that the woman 20 generations ago committed a great crime and shamed the family. As a result, it was said that the gods cursed the family to only have sons; which, considering the raging sexism among the royal family, wasn't exactly a bad thing.
It was also said that Ozai's Firebending skills were almost nonexistent—why else would he only leave Zuko with a scar when he should have done so much worse such as deform his head, burn off a limb, or anything else like that; just like the general outcomes of an Agni Kai—and as far as Zuko and Azula knew, their mother could not Firebend at all.
Azula only clucked her tongue at her 'half-brother'.
"Remember who has control here." she replied smoothly.
The two on the bed only glared as menacingly as they could at her.
"I refuse." Zuko snapped; squeezing Aang's thigh hard enough to signify that he did not want him to talk right then.
Surprisingly, Azula did not go into one of her 'control-freak' fists and start screaming; on the contrary, it seemed as if she had been expecting that answer and had something else in mind…
Without warning, she tackled her brother and, after binding his hands to the nearest bedpost with some leather strips she found beforehand, and pulled out a silver dagger.
"Don't worry, you'll like it." She said in a frighteningly sweet tone.
Slowly, she dragged the knife through the air; as if unable to decide what to do with it.
Zuko's mind was already formulating what she wanted to do with it. Plunge it through his chest? Cut off all of his fingers? Castrate him?
Azula brought the dagger down onto his right breast; inches below his nipple.
A swift horizontal motion and a few seconds later, his blood began to pour from the fresh cut and Aang watched as Zuko's body tensed in obvious pain and surprise.
'Keep silent.' Zuko instructed himself; he would NOT let Azula win this mental battle.
She cut him again; on his right side this time, and again; a few inches down from his collarbone, and repeated on different parts of his torso.
She changed the angle of the blade, making it perpendicular to his body, and pressed the tip of it over his left breast; right where the heart was supposed to be.
At once, Aang grabbed her wrist; this had gone far enough.
"I won't let you kill him!" he declared to the Fire Princess.
For a moment, she looked surprised. Then, her eyes shown of nothing but rage and arrogance. At once, the guards rushed into the room and seized Aang before he could react.
"Take him away." Azula said angrily.
The last thing Aang saw before he was taken from the room, it was that Azula turned back to her brother; that look of perversion back in her eyes.
"What happened to him?" Katara asked after Aang had come back.
Everyone else in the prison cell seemed to have been unbothered; a little worried, but nothing worse.
"I—I don't know." Aang lied; not wanting to tell of what Azula was probably doing to her brother…if she hadn't killed him already.
He looked around the prison cell; Toph and Sokka seemed to be asleep and Iroh deep in thought.
It was hopeless; all they could do now was wait and hope for good news.
Time later, their necks began to hurt from having to hold up their heads for so long, the door opened and an almost lifeless body was tossed into their cell.
Working together, Aang and Katara pulled the still form of Zuko to lie on his back and found multiple still-bleeding cuts.
"Where's some water when you need it?" Katara said to no one in particular; they had taken her canteen, along with any kind of water-storing container the group had, from them and left nothing for them to drink.
As if by a miracle, the small door that food was pushed through opened up and a small bowl of water came into view.
"Are you sure it is alright if we give them some, princess?" the guard asked Azula; remembering that one of the prisoners was a Waterbender, and also experienced, judging by how well she was able to defend herself with a small amount of water on hand.
"It is; she will use it all to heal dear Zuzu." Azula replied frankly.
"But—." One of the Dai Li began, but Azula silenced him with a glare.
"Do you dare challenge my decisions?" she said; her tone growing colder and more threatening.
"N-No, of course now, your highness." The man replied very quickly; quick enough for Azula to see that he was obviously lying.
But, as much as she needed to take out more of her energy and how perfect of a target for her misplaced aggression would be, she had other matters to attend to.
"You are dismissed. For now." She told him and watched as he ran.
They all ran; like little mice after facing a very scary, large, and potentially dangerous cat.
"She would do something like that?" Katara demanded; her hand ghosting over the mark almost directly above his heart.
"The real questions is would she not do something like that." Zuko replied sardonically; wincing at the wounds as he tried to bend his abdomen in order to sit up.
"That's true." Katara remarked; remembering Azula's twisted personality.
The cell was silent for a long time after that.
"Do not feel demoralized by Azula's actions, Zuko; she is only trying to play mind games. She likes control, just like Ozai, and she hates defiance in any manner." Iroh suddenly spoke up; startling the three awake teens.
Zuko had rarely heard his Uncle speak like that; much less in such a serious and cold tone. Sure, he expressed distrust for Azula on many occasions, but he never spoke venomously of his niece before.
"But there has to be some means of escape." Aang said, but after having hours to observe their confinement cell, the only way in or out was via the heatproof and steel-reinforced door.
"We will find it." Katara said firmly; remembering how morale was also very important when planning an action of any kind.
Aang tried to touch one of the unhealed cuts, but Zuko swatted his hand away; preferring to let it bleed.
His sister had him under her thumb again and, unless risking the safety of the others who have reluctantly put their trust in him, there was no means of a violent escape.
Strangely, the cuts still lightly oozing blood seemed to numb his emotions; allowing him to, if only for a moment, not care.
No, Zuko isn't going emo.
