Chapter 7: Will to Survive

Will had no idea how long she had been there.

Imprisoned.

Underground.

In a cage that even stymied her formidable lightning powers.

In a place where her other power, to talk to electrical devices, was of no use.

Because a land with no electricity had, of course, no electrical appliances.

Not only that, but the food tasted funny.

She suspected her captors had put things in the food they gave her.

Things to make her talk.

And that, combined with the loss of her Heart, had made Will sick to her stomach.

No, more than sick.

Will was in bad shape.

Real bad!

Body and mind.

But no matter how bad she felt, Will knew she couldn't tell them anything.

Because she couldn't allow the power of Candracar to fall into the hands of such devious men.

No matter what.

"What is your name?"

"Will Vandom."

"Where do you live?"

"Heatherfield."

"Where did you study fire-bending?"

"I attend Class 3A at Sheffield Institute."

At least, not anything important.

"It is always the same!" the frustrated interrogator said to the leader of the Dai Li, Long Feng, out of earshot of Will, as he showed Long his notes. "The firebender will not talk! It is always this nonsense about a 'Heatherfield' and a 'Sheffield Institute'!"

"Perhaps it is the name of the military academy she attended?" offered Long Feng.

"Then why do we have no record of it, sir?" said the exasperated interrogator, who was also Long Feng's longtime aide. "I do not understand! Why do we not send her to Lake Laogai as we do with every enemy of Ba Sing Se?"

"No." rejected Long Feng. "That would erase all of her knowledge. And I need to know all she knows."

"But why, sir?" asked Long Feng's assistant.

"Our agents in the Fire Nation have learned the Fire Lord is forming a secret alliance." revealed Long Feng.

"What? But everyone hates the Fire Lord! Who want ally with such as he??" said the disbelieving aide.

"I do not know." replied Long Feng. "But it weighs upon me."

"Ah! I see! And you think our mysterious captive is involved!" said the interrogator.

"Possibly." said Long Feng. "There is something odd about her. She does not seem like a typical fire bender at all!"

"The report from the constable was that she bended lightning in her hand." said the aide.

"Yes." added Long Feng. "Without releasing it. Very curious."

"Our methods have kept Ba Sing Se safe for many years." continued Long Feng. "But there may come a time when that may not be enough, when we may need something more. She could be the key to our continued survival."

"Go about your other duties." said Long Feng, dismissing his aide. " I will talk to her."

"So, fire bender…", said Long Feng to Will. "You appear to be under some distress. We have physicians. If you cooperate, we can help you."

"I seriously doubt that!" replied Will. "Why don't you let me out of here? I'll show you how sick I am!"

Will put up a brave front, but, realistically, even if she were free, she didn't know how long she could last in a fight. Not in the condition she was in, anyway.

"Ha! You know we can not allow that! Not under the current situation." commented Long Feng. "But, if you were to pledge your loyalty to the Earth Kingdom, its vast riches and much, much more would be at your disposal."

'Sorry." said Will. "Not interested."

"Then I will let you think about it. For however long it takes." said the irked power behind the throne.

"In other words…', elaborated the angry Long Feng, "…You can stay in these catacombs until you rot!"

The earth bending guards then closed the opening in Will's underground prison, and Will was left alone in the dark.

Meanwhile, in the city of Ba Sing Se, the youngster who stole the Heart of Candracar was suffering almost as much as Will.

The boy had never felt this sick before!

Not even in the orphanage!

As if that wasn't enough, the Heart wouldn't let him forget what he had done.

It constantly called out to be returned to its mistress.

The nonstop trilling was driving the boy crazy!

Nnnnnnhhhh it sang and sang, in a very high-pitched tone.

Even worse, the boy's Fagin (the criminal ringleader of his gang of urban orphans) was in jail, meaning the child had no way of getting paid for his ill-gotten booty!

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of the noisy jewel.

He told himself it was because he needed to get something for it, like any proper thief.

To do otherwise was stupid.

However, he suspected it held more than monetary value to him.

Which meant he was slowly going insane.

"Hey, what do you have there, youngster?" asked a passersby, upon seeing (and hearing) the Heart of Candracar.

"It's mine!" screeched the boy, hiding the Heart away.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up, kid!" pleaded the man. "I'm not going to take it from you! But it is fascinating! A singing jewel? I could do something with that! How much?"

"It's not for sale!" said the boy, who couldn't quite believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"Tough negotiator, eh?" said the man. "How about 10 gold pieces?"

"I, uh, 20 gold pieces!" insisted the dirty-faced urchin.

"That's a bit steep!" replied the street hustler. "How about 15?"

"Okay. Fine!" said the boy, holding his sides, as he was wracked with pain. "15!"

"Kid, are you OK?" inquired the man.

"Do you want it or not?" demanded the boy.

"Well, sure!" said the man, reaching into his moneybag. "Uh oh. I only have 12 gold pieces and 3 silver pieces. I can owe you the rest…"

"Look, just take it, alright!" said the boy, the pain driving him to tears as he handed the Heart of Candracar to the Ba Sing Se 'entrepreneur'. "Please!"

"Hey, you got it, kid!" said the man as he took ownership of the Heart of Candracar, happy to score quite the deal on the mean streets of Ba Sing Se.

The place: The crystal catacombs of the old city of Ba Sing Se, where time itself stood still.

The person: Will Vandom, onetime Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, and now, literally, Heartless.

From the claustrophobic confines of her pitch-black prison cell, Will recalled the last time she was stuck down a dark hole.

It was shortly after she became a Guardian of the Veil.

Except, then, she had someone to share the captivity with.

Caleb.

Thinking back on it now, although both of them projected very tough exteriors, it almost seemed as if Caleb liked her.

She'd never thought much about it before (Cornelia had sunk her claws into Caleb as soon as she saw him, after all, and one does not make a play for a friend's boyfriend. If one wishes to keep that friend, that is!). But, there was definitely something there!

Or maybe it was the delirium talking.

"The quiet darkness is very good for thinking, is it not?" said a calm voice.

"Who's there??" asked an anxious Will, who until this moment thought she was all alone.

Next:

Cornelia!

The Kyoshi Warriors!

Toph!

And a surprise guest appearance!

(CorneliaxCaleb lovers are gonna hate me!)

Here's the title: Earth Girls Are Easy

Notes

In the W.I.T.C.H. novel, When Lightning Strikes, Will says the Heart of Candracar "can't be taken. The Heart can be given and accepted, but if you take it by force, both the taker and the one it is taken from may be destroyed."

When Cornelia tricked Will into letting her 'borrow' the Heart in the Season 1 episode The Mogriffs to pay an impromptu visit to Elyon in Meridian, the magical jewel protests by making a curious sound. Later, that same sound gets Cornelia's attention when the Heart shows her an image of Will.