"I hear the Painted Lady has returned."
"She doesn't exist."
The two soldiers walked on, while I waited, floating underneath the dock. As they turned a corner I swam out, pulling myself up and waterbending myself dry. My bare feet kept the noise down to a minimum as I skirted along the edges of the huts. It had been two days since my friends had left. It was time to make a difference.
The waning moon was making things difficult, and my normal ability to sense where people were by their blood was dulled. I managed to avoid most of the guards and make it to the main fort. I glanced up at the factory. That was my next target.
"Have you heard from the Omashu battlefront, sir?"
I froze.
"Sounds like Zhao's cornered pretty tight."
"That won't be a problem for long." The high, female voice cut through the soldier's mumbling. "Once the three of us go over there."
"So you are only passing through, princess?"
"Yes. We are only here to investigate the rumors of the Avatar's sighting. A glow and a windstorm was reported."
"Most of the men seem to attribute that to a spirit." The male addressing Azula coughed slightly. "Superstitions, mostly from the recent unfortunate occurrences."
"I see . . ." The princess's voice was smooth. "So, tell me. Are these unfortunate occurrences the result of mistakes? Or an outside source?"
"I am . . . not sure . . ." The man sounded terrified.
"There should be no uncertainty among the ranks of the Fire Nation soldiers." The familiar roaring sound of fire filled my ears and I backed up, diving into the water and bending myself far away. By the time I reached the shore, I was trembling and gasping. My plan was to destroy the factory, but with Azula, Mai, and Zuko present, it seemed like a near impossible task.
A day passed. I slept and prepared myself. Night drew near, and I began applying the red war paint that was part of the Painted Lady's costume. I left the hat and veil behind, as they would only get in the way. Darkness cloaked me as I skimmed across the water, bypassing the village and heading straight for the factory.
The guards patrolling the entrance were on high alert. I drew myself on a wave, careful to keep it contained so that no splashing sound would be heard. Once I reached the roof, I landed on my toes, drawing up the water with me. I would need it.
A quick search, and I found the roof entrance. Freezing and breaking the lock with my normal technique would have been too noisy, so instead I carefully bended water inside the cracks and keyhole, freezing and unfreezing so that the metal buckled under the strain of its expansion. I pried the lock away.
Thankfully, the building was empty at night. I prepared everything as silently as possible, freezing key components and waiting to bend all the water from the pipes until the very end of my mission. I reached the main boiler room and paused, wiping sweat and some paint from my brow.
"Oh no, it looks like the Painted Lady walks again!"
A burst of blue fire forced me to twist away from my goal, and turn to face the Fire Nation scum.
"Huh, I thought spirits were better looking," Mai said loftily, handling a deadly-looking shuriken.
I had avoided looking at Zuko, but my eyes finally found his. They were emotionless, and I turned back to the other two, shoving away all feelings except for anger.
"I have some unfinished work here. So if you would kindly leave," I said with a forced smile. My hands behind my back, I took control of the water in the boiler, preparing to freeze it. My one worry was that I wouldn't be able to block any fire from the trio. Or daggers.
"Zuko, would you like to take this one?" Azula turned to her brother, and I saw Mai's gaze also trail over to him, something in her eyes beyond the normal glance of a fellow soldier. I forced myself not to dwell on it, and while they were distracted, froze the water in the boiler. It exploded violently and sent me to the floor. A large shard of metal had caught me across the arm, while, as the steam cleared, I saw that my enemies had been uninjured because of their armor.
Cursing my ridiculous costume I stumbled to my feet, bending some of the remaining ice with my good arm and directing it towards Azula, but I was surprised by the ferocity that came from Mai as she sprang towards me, dagger raised. I managed to turn my head as I fell with her on top of me, and instead of stabbing my eye, the blade gave me a deep gash in the forehead. My head made contact with ground. Dazed, I stared up at the girl.
"That was for Ty Lee," she hissed. "And this-" she dug the knife into my wounded shoulder, "-is for stealing Zuko from me."
"Now now, Mai, leave some fun for later," Azula laughed. I felt Mai's weight leaving my stomach, but was unable to move, much less fight the three of them. As someone dragged me away, part of my costume ripped, leaving me even more vulnerable.
One thought kept haunting me. The whole time, Zuko hadn't said a word.
"I am tempted to leave her to Mai. I've never seen so much emotion from her before." Azula's voice came from around the corner. I heard water beneath the wooden floor, but stayed inert to avoid drawing attention.
"So you've drugged her?"
"Oh yes. She won't be able to bend for a couple days, at least."
I almost groaned aloud, but held it back."
"Azula, what are you going to do with her?"
"Please, Zuko, tell me you don't still have feelings for her."
There was a slight pause. "I was just wondering."
"She's a prisoner of war. She will be treated as such."
The new moon drew close. With the darkness also came my weakness. I was visited daily by Mai, but hadn't seen Zuko once.
"You know, Ty Lee taught me a lot about the human pain threshold. How about we find yours?"
"Does this make you feel better?" I asked, watching the girl as she prowled around my position. My hands were tied onto the wall by a short amount of chain, leaving me in a vulnerable sitting position. "Will it make Ty Lee come back?"
"What I feel doesn't matter . . . it never has," Mai growled.
"This is war. Feelings never do," I murmured.
"Mai."
I whipped my head around, seeing Zuko standing beyond the bars. His eyes were avoiding mine and remained focused on Mai.
"Oh, Zuko dear," Mai purred. I saw her eyes look spitefully at me for a moment, and then refocus on Zuko. "Would you like to help me?"
"We need to go."
Mai slid out of the cell and then wrapped herself around Zuko seductively, pressing her mouth against his for far too long. I couldn't help stirring, my chains clinking as I tried to look away. My lips were pressed tightly together, and I forced myself to separate them, letting out a quiet breath.
I heard Mai's low laugh, and by the time I looked up, I saw that they was gone. I didn't have the strength to stop my tears.
A/N: When I first got on , I saw practically every author saying stuff like "review!" and "more reviews and I'll do _"
I thought it was bogus, but now that I actually have stories, and reviewers, I see the appeal. Reviews really make me want to write more and give you more stuff!
So BigTimeLive, thank you for the nicest review I've ever gotten! and ArrayePL, thanks for the review, and in answer to your question as to whether or not they are in the Fire Nation now, I'd say they're in territory taken over by the Fire Nation. I know this probably doesn't match exactly to the original, but geography-wise, I think it'll work for this story. I haven't been too precise . . . sorry ^^
