A/N: What happened to Zuko? Where is Tienayu? And why did the earthbenders capture them? We have a lot of questions to answer, don't we?:) Well, I guess that you'll have to read to find out! And review if you want more chapters. For all of those wonderful people that reviewed and participated in the survey, offer yourself a trip to the beautiful Serengeti of Tanzania! A big applause to all those faithful reviewers who have been keeping up with all those bumps along the way: storm-of-insanity, fresh air9, BioDragon, Lionessmon, arisu's smile, and TheDarkenedPhoenix. And we can't forget the new reviewers as well: Lt. Commander Richie, and Evanescence Wannabe! You are all wonderful!

Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…sigh.

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Chapter VIII: The Words of a Captive

Silence resounded through the training arena, spreading into the depths of the afternoon. The non-existent wind whispered through the air, wrapping around the two lonely figures. The sun shone down heavily on the boy and girl that stood on opposite sides of the fighting ring, their identical amber eyes never losing contact with each other. The girl smiled coldly, as she walked casually around the ring, her red lips turned upwards into a malicious smile.

"You are a fool to think you can beat me," she taunted, her eyes narrowed.

The boy paid no head to her words, his feet set solidly into a steady stance, and his lean body tense as he waited for her attack.

A ridiculing laugh came from the girl's lips, "I am a firebending prodigy, and you, you struggle to learn the basics."

Once again the black haired boy was deaf to the younger girl's words, his feet gliding fluidly on the sandy ground as he moved to keep himself opposite of the walking girl.

"I find it humiliating to have to fight you, dear brother" the girl added, her voice degrading her brother.

'But, if I do, I guess I'll have to do it properly," she finished, her voice falling to a content hiss.

She launched herself at him, her figure obscured by the white hot fire that lashed from her hands and feet. The boy blocked the onslaught, trying to maintain his stance as he waited for an opening to begin an offensive.

But it never came.

His sister gathered all her strength about her, compressing the power into a tight ball of pure energy in her hand. The blue electricity outshone the sun, making the training arena reflect its eerie blue light. With a final smirk the unleashed the power on her brother, who was forced to fall back out of the circle to avoid the crackling deadly blue flames.

"How pitiful," the girl spit as she stood over her brother, a victorious smile on her face.

The boy looked up at the cold girl, his amber eyes determined.

"Again."

Zuko was thrown unceremoniously to the hard concrete floor, the unforgiving earth coming up to meet him. The Fire Prince was startled into consciousness by the reverberating noise of a large door slamming shut behind him. He groaned at the sudden pain that sparked up at the back of his head and shut his eyes tightly, trying to remember why his head was throbbing. The firebender emitted a quiet growl of frustration as it all came rushing back to him.

He had fought.

And he had lost.

Zuko growled again. It hadn't been a fair fight; there had been more then two, and he hadn't seen the other. He hadn't been given a chance. His thoughts were interrupted by slight, almost imperceptible vibrations on the concrete floor. Footsteps. Someone was coming towards him. He attempted to move, but found he couldn't. Tightly tied ropes were coiled around him, restricting his movements.

"Don't try to move, it'll only make the ropes wrap around you tighter," a soft voice instructed him.

Tienayu.

He opened his amber eyes to find her slender fingers untying the many ropes fixed around him. She looked up at him, and he noticed that she sported a shining bruise on her temple. Anger rushed through him and the sudden desire to burn the person who had done that to her to a crisp implanted itself in him.

She smiled softly at him, wincing slightly, "I see you noticed the kind greeting our earthbender friends gave me."

"What happened?" Zuko asked, trying to bury the odd anger inside him.

Tienayu frowned as she looked for a way to untie the knots around him, "They came out of the trees, throwing stones and boulders at me. There were at least five of them. I tried to keep them at bay, but I guess someone knocked me out from behind."

Zuko absorbed the information, his gold eyes clouded.

"What on earth did you do?" Tienayu suddenly exclaimed, dropping the knot she had been working on, "These knots are impossible!"

Zuko could help but feel happy that they had deemed him such a threat, "I fought back."

Tienayu looked up at him, a grin on her face, "I guess you're someone to be reckoned with."

She looked back down at the many knots and tucked a loose strand of her straight dark hair behind her ears as she plunged back to work on untying him. Zuko felt useless; with his hands held back there was no way he could help her undo the complex bonds. He let his eyes wander around the small dark cell they were held in. There were no windows, and the only light that illuminated the humid black of the cell came from the small opening on the door, an opening crossed with hard iron bars. There was no escape. The walls were as smooth as the concrete floor and there were no cracks or holes visible. Irritated at the idea of being kept in a cell by a couple of incompetent earthbenders, he turned his attention back to Tienayu's progress at undoing his bonds, vaguely noticing that his shirt had somehow been placed on him again.

"Did they tell you why we're here?" Zuko suddenly asked.

Tienayu shrugged, managing to undo a large knot, "No, I can only guess."

Zuko felt a cold feeling invade him. Azula. She had found him. But why would she associate with earthbenders?

"Done!" Tienayu exclaimed, as she let his hands free.

Zuko pulled all the ropes off of him and stood up, stretching all of the cricks out of his body. Tienayu leaned back on the smooth grey wall, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"There is no way out, I already looked," she told him, her voice resigned.

Zuko acknowledged her words, walking towards the door. He looked out through the bars, only to make out a long dark hallway lined with many flaming torches. The torches around him flared as he snorted; aggravated at his predicament.

Tienayu spoke up again, "It's an Earth Kingdom prison hold; a public judging by the scale of it. This must be the lower level of the prison, because the air is weak and used. The only way out is the door. The door can only be opened by earthbending, performed by one who happens to be the largest earthbender I have ever seen, which certainly does not encourage any attacks towards him."

Zuko sank down beside her, impressed by her quick analysis of the situation.

"But, I think we have a very good chance at escaping," she finished, giving him a winning grin. She winced slightly at the strain and rubbed her bruised temple, trying to alleviate the pain.

"How?" Zuko asked, his amber eyes questioning her.

"If this is a public prison, which I am sure it is, as no private prison would posses such a large number of holding cells in this state, then they must at some point take us out of this cell to give us a fair trial, as is custom in the Earth Kingdom."

Zuko immediately caught on to her trail of thought, "You expect the court to be an open court."

Tienayu nodded, her cobalt eyes twinkling, "And, if it is an open court, then there has to be large windows for the people to see into, and a door or two."

"We'll attempt our escape after the charges have been pressed, then the guards will feel more comfortable to let us be, as they will feel that we will be the court's responsibility after that point," Zuko set forth.

Tienayu nodded, "We'll escape to the right; the window will be closest to us there."

"The rest we'll have to do as we go along," Zuko finished.

Tienayu looked up at the bare ceiling, "Yup."

A comfortable silence fell down upon them. Tienayu hummed lightly as she undid her long straight hair and ran her fingers through it, taking out all the tangles with her slim fingers. Zuko found he couldn't take his eyes away from her, his thoughts a mess of feelings and questions. He tried to sort them out, but he just couldn't. She was just such a puzzle, a mystery. One moment he thought he had her figured out. And then she would look at him with those indigo eyes of hers and he would be lost again, lost in their many facets and veils that hid who she really was.

The young man leaned stiffly on the side of the iron ship, his face set in a scowl as he looked up at the clouded night sky. The stars were hidden from sight, and the moon's face wasn't visible in the night. The young man's scowl intensified and he angrily threw a flaming fireball into the black sea beneath him.

"I wouldn't do that, nephew. Throwing fire at the sea won't make the skies clear," a smiling older man leaned on the railing beside him.

The gold eyed youth glared at the sky.

"Hey, maybe that should be a proverb," the grey haired man muttered under his breath, chuckling slightly.

"I don't need your proverbs now, uncle," the young man snapped.

"If I actually listened to what you say, nephew, I wouldn't have an opportunity to say any proverbs," his uncle stated, an air of indignation about him.

The youth said nothing, but just stared out to the undetermined horizon, his eyes losing their anger to fade into an ever-present sadness. His uncle's smile vanished to be replaced by a fatherly look of concern.

"You carry too much responsibility for a 16 year old," the uncle sighed, "You should retire; you need your rest."

"I don't need sleep, uncle," the youth stated.

Just then he wavered, and almost fell back, to be caught by his uncle, who raised his eyebrows.

"Everyone needs rest, and apparently you most of all," he said firmly.

"But what if the Avatar flies by? What if I miss him?" the youth struggled to get up again.

"I'll stand guard. Now, go and get some rest before you fall overboard," the older man assured.

The young man didn't smile, but his grateful eyes were all his uncle needed to see.

Tienayu sighed, tapping her fingers on her knee in impatience, "They sure take a long time around here in giving someone a trial."

Zuko opened one of his eyes to look at her, and smirked slightly. "The fattest worm always goes to the patient bird," he quoted.

Tienayu grimaced, "What a great incentive."

"It should be," Zuko stated.

Tienayu shot him an indignant smile, "Are you making fun of me?"

"I wouldn't dare."

"You're just bored and have nothing better to do," Tienayu said triumphantly.

Zuko gave her an insulted look, "I have a lot of things to do."

"Really? Then name one."

Zuko glanced up at the ceiling and Tienayu looked at him, an eyebrow raised in waiting, quickly wincing at the caused pain.

"I have to mentally prepare myself for our escape," Zuko invented.

Tienayu snorted, "What are you going to do? Meditate?"

"Actually, I am accustomed to meditating two hours a day," Zuko shot back at her.

Tienayu looked at him, incredulous, "You're pulling my leg."

"Why would I?"

"You mediate two hours a day? And I thought it was bad when…" suddenly she fell silent, a lost look taking over her features.

Zuko frowned and moved closer to her, "When what?"

She raised her dark blue eyes to him, "Nothing…it's just…"

Zuko waited patiently for the rest of the words.

She took a deep breath, "My teacher. She used to tell me to meditate."

NO! DON'T KILL THEM!

Her teacher was dead. Zuko felt his soul constrict at the sad and forlorn look in her eyes. And he once again felt hate and anger towards those who had done the act. Who had disgraced their Nation. Who had killed. Who had caused her so much pain.

"Let's meditate," he suddenly spoke up.

Tienayu turned to look at him, a surprised look in her eyes. Zuko sat cross legged in the middle of the room, and motioned Tienayu to sit opposite of him. She kept his eyes on him, but mimicked his motion and situated herself on the grey concrete. Like a rehearsal, she instantly shut her eyes tight and tightly shut her hands into fists, placing them together in front of her. Zuko almost laughed out loud at her tense state. A very odd feeling as he couldn't really remember the last time he had truly laughed. He could only remember laughing way back, when the pirate's ship had been taken away under their very noses. Of course, that humor had been cut close when he realized his own ship was being taken away under his very nose. Shaking his head, Zuko moved across the space between him and Tienayu and placed his fingers over her eyes. They flew open and stared at him, startled. So blue. He felt the shock of electricity run through him, but ignored it, storing it in the back of his mind to mull over it later.

"Don't shut them so tightly," he instructed.

Tienayu relaxed her face, letting her eyes close gently, her dark eyelashes caressing her cheeks.

"You're too tense," Zuko told her, "Your knuckles are white."

Her hands detached themselves, loose and calm.

Zuko retreated back to his position and sat cross-legged, observing her from underneath his eyes. She was calm, but every time she breathed she seemed to struggle, as if she were fighting something. Something unseen.

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

And then exhaled.

The small boy ran through the fields, the wind wrapping itself around him. The sun shone down from above, lighting the delicate gardens with its light. The many flowers turned their faces towards its glory, smiling shyly behind their colored petals. A strangled shriek escaped form the boy as the beautiful woman who had been chasing him pounced on him, wrapping her arms around him as her clear laugh rang into the warm noon air.

"I caught you! I caught you!" she laughed, raising the boy into the air.

The black haired boy laughed contently and hugged the woman close.

The woman smiled and kind smile and kissed her son firmly on the temple. The boy yawned and leaned his small head on her shoulder, his small hands clutching his mother's finger tightly inside them.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear.

The boy smiled in his sleep.

Zuko's hand reached out quickly to catch the approaching hand. He exhaled as he opened his eyes, to be faced with Tienayu's apologetic face.

"I'm sorry," she smiled weakly, "It's just that; you've been meditating for three hours straight."

His hand was wrapped around her wrist. Zuko felt cold invade him. Her wrist. Her wrist, marked with the angry burns. Just like his face. He instantly let go of her wrist, and found he had trouble getting his breathing normal once again. She was marked. He was marked. By angry fire. And he was a firebender.

"Are you okay?" she asked quizzically, looking at him through worried eyes.

He didn't answer her. Standing up, he stretched and then proceeded to walk around the small dark cell a few times, getting his blood flowing after meditation, trying to shake away the disturbing thoughts from his mind. Tienayu sat down, her back against the wall, and blew a piece of hair out of her face. The still air of the cell resounded only with Zuko's pacing steps.

"This is a lot better than last time," she whispered.

Zuko stopped, and turned his gold eyes to her slim shape in the shadows.

"Last time?" he echoed.

Tienayu looked up at him, her face covered in shadows, "Yes, last time."

He could move. His feet were rooted to the ground, and his eyes couldn't detach themselves from her shadowy face. Her eyes, marked with emotions he couldn't decipher. Emotions he couldn't tell apart from each other as they swirled together in a violent tornado of memories.

"Have you ever been held prisoner?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his.

Zuko looked away, his face hidden from her, "You could say so."

There was a still silence.

Her voice was as silent as the night breeze, passing quietly through the dark grass, "They tortured me. They held me for days, weeks, maybe months. I thought I was dead."

Zuko swirled around to look at her, his eyes widening and his face opening at the pain and suffering in her words. The fear that was still held in them.

Tienayu let her face fall into her hands, and her long straight hair fell forward, hiding her from the world. His feet walked by themselves. He didn't know why he did it; if anyone asked him, he wouldn't have been able to explain why. But he sat down beside her, hesitantly resting his hand on her shoulder. Tienayu didn't tense. She looked up at him, her eyes locking with his. Gold and blue.

"It's so hard to forget," she whispered.

"I know."

"They're always there."

"I know."

"Thank you."

"For understanding," Zuko whispered back.

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Survey: We still don't know what Tienayu is, and so the suspense builds. Here is a tally chart of all the votes for the last chapter:

Water: 4 ----- Earth: 0 ----- Fire: 0 ----- Air: 2 ----- Non: 3

So we have a close tie between waterbender and non-bender. No fire, but no earth as well. Hm…Well, I guess you'll just have to read and find out! Don't forget to review, and do include if you changed your mind on Tienayu's bending skills, and finally, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

AneleTiger