I AM FORCED . . . TO EAT LUNCH

"I never worry about action;
only inaction."
-Winston Churchill

I grinned down at my cousin, pulling her up by the arm, but gave her a very clear warning gaze. We were in a danger zone, here. She promptly pressed her lips together, but her electric-blue eyes were excited.

"Just start working again," I murmured quietly, so that no one else would be able to hear. "I'll copy whatever you do."

Leila gave a nearly indiscernible nod, then bent over the floor, tossing me a wet rag and avoiding my eyes at any cost. I mirrored her image, stooping over on my hands and knees and scrubbing at a nonexistant smudge on the cool, marble ground. I supposed I had gotten lucky that the fire soldiers watching over us didn't choose to remember any particular faces or names of the servants. The man who had been yelling at Leila never asked why he'd never seen me before. Any and all suspecting eyes passed unknowingly over our ragged forms as we pretended to be focused on our work.

"I can't believe it," I heard Leila whisper, but kept my eyes on my right hand.

"Trust me, Lei, neither can I," I replied quietly.

And, the truth was, I really couldn't believe it. Not only had I managed to sneak my way into the fire nation undetected, but I had managed to find half my missing family in an unbelievably short amount of time. What had once been an impossible feat had recently dropped down a level. Now it was a nearly impossible feat. There was a time when that wouldn't have been much of an improvement, but at the moment it was the best gift ever. My morale was suddenly triple what it had been that morning and a million times what it had been just a month or two ago. It seemed that, for once, fate was choosing to be my advocate, and I wasn't about to let that slip.

Leila looked like she didn't know whether to be excited or frightened that I was there. I supposed that in her mind I had no clue what I was doing. In truth, I couldn't deny that there were some very unfilled voids in our plan, but what I did know was rock solid thanks to Iroh and Zuko. No doubt, had I'd tried to pull this plan off by myself, I would have quickly realized that I knew next to nothing about the inner workings of the fire nation. It was all because of my two unlikely companions that I had any idea what was going on.

"How on earth did you get here," Leila pressed, her soprano voice dripping with astonishment. I considered that while quietly smirking at her disbelief. I remembered that even as an eleven year old and her at the age of eight I had always managed to worry my cousin with my not-so-smart activities. I'd climb too high in some tree, fall out and it would be Leila who would have to pull me back to our village, sniffling and bleeding, while she lectured me, despite the fact that I was older.

"It's . . . a very long and complicated story," I settled, not knowing how to sum it all up without taking hours. "Tell you what. I'll give you the whole story after we bring this place down, deal?" Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Leila smile.

"Deal."

A harsh whistle sounded, the noise ringing up my ears and setting me back on edge. I grimmaced, realizing that I had almost forgotten where we were. Out of nowhere, all the girls in the workroom picked up their rags and buckets. They were like walking dead as they filed over to a corner, dropping their cleaning supplies, then shuffling through a door near the back of the room in a mindless sort of way. Leila tugged on my arm.

"What's going on?" I asked her, trying to seem inconspicuous.

"Lunch break," she replied softly, not letting go of my arm for a few long moments as she stared into my now-conflicted face.

I hesitated, my eyes inexplicably finding the entrance I'd come through. Somewhere, on the other side of that thick, wooden door, Zuko and Iroh were out there making sure I didn't die. They were putting their lives on the line to assure that our plan worked out, and now I was headed in the complete opposite direction. I bit my llip hard, wondering what they would do if I didn't meet back up with them on time. Walking through that door could jeopardize the entire mission just as much as not walking through it could.

My stomach involuntarily twisted in warning, but there didn't seem to be a choice. It was either eat lunch, or get killed, and I could not afford to die there. I took one last look back at the freedom I'd once had, and I never would have thought that I would want to run back to where Zuko was so badly. Hating the fire nation even more, I grudgingly played my part and went alongside my cousin, despising every waking second of it.

After a short walk through a stone-grey hallway, we let out into a kind of giant courtyard. The sun filtered past the broken clouds and into the open, spaceous area, hitting my face like a warm sheet. As our group diffused out, people slowly began to talk with one another in hushed voices. It might even have been pleasent if it wasn't for the enormous, ugly wall lining the extensive perimeter, with brutish-looking firebenders prowling around giving everyone threatening glares. They sort of killed the mood.

Leila led me to a cramped, but secluded table in the far corner, and I followed, trusting that she knew the area and people there far better than I did. She sat down and motioned for me to copy, her cobalt eyes darting around to make sure nobody was going to try listening in. While we waited for the crowds around us to die down and settle in, I took a moment to look over my younger cousin again. This time, I got a much better picture of how she had changed.

She definitely looked a lot older than she had the last time I'd seen her, three years ago when our village was raided. At the same time, though, she was so much younger than a lot of the others around; only just twelve years old. Her corkscrew hair was longer, now down to her waist, and wild to the point of being scary. She was covered in filth from head to toe, and her palms were scraped up.

Then came the things that were not so physical. She looked exceedingly tired - both physically and mentally - and there was something distinctly hardened about her face. It was like being there for the past three years had made her stronger, while simultaneously breaking her down. She had learned to deal with and put up with much more than she had back in the village. No one there had tried to beat or hurt her, after all. She hadn't had to be on guard twenty-four-seven.

She had definitely changed, but underneath it all she was still my baby cousin.

Leila's eyes flashed violently, alerting me to something I wasn't aware of, before she quickly reigned it in and began to fidget distractedly with her fingernails. My eyes narrowed, but I understood as a firebender made his rounds by our little, meeting table, leering at the both of us then sauntering off to the next group. Right. I had already forgotten about the excess guards prowling around and getting into other people's business. They would pose a problem.

"This won't be easy," Leila frowned, worry diffused in her azure eyes as they clung to the bender's retreating form.

"We'll talk quickly, then," I amended, as if it would really be such a simple task. Regardless of my flawed resolve, though, Leila nodded, pulling her gaze back to me. I waited to see if she would speak first.

"You . . . you shouldn't be here, Kaida," she informed me, the hesitation in her voice letting me know that despite the fact that she believed what she was saying, there was a part of her that was overjoyed at seeing me there in front of her. I shook my head, nonverbally dismissing her statement.

"I'm never where I should be," I clarified. "So, what's the deal here?" Leila's face puckered as she watched another bender drift annoyingly close to our table before answering my question.

"There's not much to tell. We eat. We sleep. We work," she stated, running dully through the list that her uneventful days was composed of. "It's not like anyone ever tries to break out. You're insane for even coming to this place."

"Even with the access they give you to water?" I asked doubtfully, ignoring the part about me being insane. I had been surprised that they were allowed within even a hundred yards of any running liquid, much less permitted to use it on a daily basis. The fire guards must have severely outmatched their captives in order for them to give the prisoners of war that much freedom.

"It's not like we're all waterbenders here," Leila replied sadly. "Only a few of us are, and we're not crazy enough to try anything." She sighed, fiddling with her dark hair.

Suddenly, there was a deafening crash as two armour-clad soldiers thundered through the back door without warning. One of them held up a trifling slip of paper, calling out a name foreign to my ears.

"Uh, oh," Leila muttered.

A woman with straight, brown hair stood up stiffly, her eyes devoid of fear. She looked to be in her twenties and her body was hardened from what could only have been years of laboring for the fire nation. She stepped up to the footmen, her expression that of solid granite as they took her by the arms and led her out. There were no words involved in the exchange, but that didn't make it any less intense. The group she stood near watched as she was led across the clearing, their mouths hanging open in shock and horror. The door slammed harshly behind the trio and the courtyard suddenly became very tight-lipped. For a short moment, everyone was still.

"Who was that?" I asked my cousin, eyeing the door the woman had been taken through. Leila's eyes were somber as she explained.

"Kimiko. She's always been defiant, but last week she threw a searing cup of water into Commander Zhao's face after he tried to grab her wrist," she informed me softly, glancing around to make sure we weren't being listened in on. "She'd been asking for it for a while. It was only a matter of time before someone important got fed up with her behavior and took Kimi into custody." My cousin's voice was sad, but it was clear that she thought that this Kimiko had had it coming.

"Where are they taking her?" I questioned, as if knowing would somehow make a difference.

"Probably to the main prison house," Leila answered, shuddering a bit. "Every now and then, the guards will have to come in and take someone out if they start to cause too much trouble. That's where they all seem to end up afterward. They're terrified of a revolt, so they lock the questionable ones away."

I didn't say anything, but some part of my mind had to wonder what the difference was. What made going to prison any worse than staying there? Either way, they would be watched by someone at all times, forced to participate in a set schedule and work when they weren't eating or sleeping. Maybe that was right in line with what this girl had been thinking. After all, if she was going to be forced to do the same grueling thing regardless of where she was, then I supposed that it probably felt good to show up the authority a little before they took her out.

So, that was what the world had come to, I realized. As long as you're going to kill me anyway, I may as well show you that you can never truly control me. That was the mentality of the fire nation's slaves.

Another snooping guard passed by our table, forcing the two of us into a tense silence once again. My mind tugged me back to the palace hallway. No doubt Zuko and Iroh had already left that place and were working on their part of the plan. It was as simple as it was deadly: lead as many guards away from the slave's quarters as possible. I internally wondered how many people they would be able to lie to before somebody noticed what was going on. If someone higher up - a lieutenant or admiral - realized that there were spies amongst them, then things would get heated up pretty fast. I was on a time limit, here.

"I know where Grandma is," my cousin whispered, her voice barely audible, even in the already-hushed courtyard. I leaned forward unconsciously, noticing that she had purposely waited for all the guards to be on the other side of the clearing before speaking about why I was really there. I was stopped short at her sudden admission, having to regain my train of thought before answering her.

"Where?"

"The infirmary," Leila replied, her pace picking up a bit as my mind began to reel once again. So, she wasn't so doubtful of my plan after all. "Small children and the elderly work there because it's easier."

"You think we could get to her?" I asked intently, grimacing as she bit her lip, looking as if she regretted speaking so quickly. Of course she didn't think that, or she would have gotten out by then. I looked around casually, willing my mind to make itself useful. Apparently, my mind was willing to comply with my demands that day, because an idea wiggled its way into my consciousness.

I looked over at my cousin briefly, the edges of my mouth twitching slightly. Spirits, she was going to hate me for this.

"Come with me, Lei," I said, not meeting my cousin's eyes as I rose purposefully from the table and took a hold of her thin wrist.

"Why?" Leila demanded in a non-threatening way. She never was very threatening. "What are you going to do, Kaida?" Despite the fact that I wasn't looking at her face, the dread couldn't have been clearer in the waterbender's voice. I slung my arm over her frail shoulder as I guided her in the direction of a group of guards.

"Kaida, answer me," my cousin prompted, trying to push my arm away. I didn't answer but held tight to her like a snare. I knew how bad Leila's acting skills were. Her reaction would only be believable if she didn't realize what I was planning.

I leaned heavily onto the waterbender, putting almost all of my weight against her shoulder. She stopped unknowingly, struggling to keep the both of us vertical. I moaned loudly, pressing my palm to the side of my head and making sure everyone noticed what was happening . . . or what I was pretending to make happen. This was one of the times that it helped to be so unnaturally pale; I could feign being sick, even when I wasn't. Leila stumbled, unable to keep her balance with me adding to her burden.

I let myself fall shakily onto my knees, laying the theatrics on thick. There were mutters and shushes from the other captives as they looked on, obviously trying to figure out what was wrong with the new girl. From the dim corner of my eyes I saw Leila bend over next to me. And I couldn't be sure, but I could have sworn that I saw a flare spike over the courtyard wall. Not a good sign.

"Kaida," my cousin hissed in my ear. "You're out of your mind. No one is going to believe you, whatever you're trying to put on." She pulled me halfway back onto my feet, her arms shaking a bit from the effort. I let her. By that point, a few of the firebenders had begun to drift in our direction; not quite close enough to appear to care, but still close enough to have given them away. I rested my chin on Leila's shoulder, closing my eyes as I dropped even more of my weight onto her thin frame.

"Trust me," I whispered very slowly, before completely passing out onto the twelve year old girl. Leila let out a startled cry as she attempted to catch me but only ended up toppling over as well. Thankfully she didn't drop me, though, or it would have been a trying project to keep my 'unconscious' act up.

"What's going on here?" a woman's voice interrogated harshly, as if she had far better things to be doing than babysitting a bunch of war prisoners.

"I - she p-passed out," Leila answered, not sounding quite as believable as I had thought she might. Instead, she sounded like she just wanted to get the words out of her mouth before she had the chance to say the wrong thing. They must have been relatively sincere, though, because I was soon being lifted off the ground by someone far stronger than myself while the woman guard huffed in annoyance.

"Whatever," she answered my cousin in an irritated tone. "Happens sometimes. Just have to send her useless-"

"You again?" someone cut the woman off, and there were the scrapes of footfalls as whoever it was who had interrupted her approached.

"I'm s-"

"Don't start with that, again," he intervened, and this time I recognized the hardened voice. It was the officer who'd been yelling at Leila before. "Agni, I knew this 'replacement' one would be just as useless as you." It took a surprising amount of willpower for my body not to tense up at this. After all, I hadn't fought my way all the way into the fire nation just to listen to my cousin get treated like garbage.

Be quiet, dummy, I instructed myself. You're not awake, remember?

"I ca-" Leila tried again, only to be halted a second time.

"No," the man said curtly, as if he were having a difficult time controlling the tone of his voice. "I don't want to hear it." There was a small, feminine sigh of defeat.

"Yes, sir-"

"Hush," he replied, quickly dismissing the waterbender's words of submission. "In fact, just go to the infirmary with her. You're completely worthless right now, anyway. Maybe they'll fix you."

"Yes, sir."

I held my breath. The relief in Leila's voice was almost something to be suspicious of, but, once again, the guards were all but oblivious to what was going on. It seemed they had already occupied themselves with arguing over who got to butt into the other's conversations without permission. My limp body rocked back and forth with the bender who had me uncomfortably in their grip.

The murmurings and loud whispers became even more promenant as we neared the door, rising in volume and becoming almost a buzz of voices until the footmen told them to shut up and eat. They obeyed without question, but I could still feel their wary gazes on both Leila and I as we were escorted out. With a brass click, the door was wretched open and held for a moment as we passed through the ominous barrier.

Slowly - ever so slowly - the panel creaked as it swung back into it's spot. I waited, breath bated, for the telltale thump that would let me know that the door had finally closed. Maybe it was just me, but the world had gone cold silent. The squeaky door became louder as it fell backward, then finally . . .

Thump.

I smiled. Now, the plan begun.