Part III: Sixty-Two
Greedy hands grasped her arms and held her down. She could smell flowers in her nose, and as she screamed for help, she saw dark figures all around her, and fire and death, blood and ruin.
"FATHER!"
But her father stood back, his face dispassionate, made of frozen flames, his eyes burning like lit coals.
"You betrayed me, daughter. You will learn your lessons well," he said, and his voice burned her like a brand, searing to her soul.
"NO!" she screamed, thrashing as the hands holding her bore her to the ground. She saw faces above her, familiar and terrible. Dark eyes, lustful eyes. Kamen. Nobu. Kubra. And then, pushing through all of the rest, her brother, Rian.
"You were always his favorite. Now be a good little girl and shut your mouth," Rian said, before plunging his hands deep into her chest. She screamed and bucked upward, pain exploding in her chest as she felt his hands wrap around her heart.
Then, with a sick, slow pull, she watched in horror as Rian pulled her heart out of her chest. It beat with a steady thump in his gore-covered fingers, but as she watched, it grew black and cold, stilling.
"See, sweet sister? Your heart is as black as his."
"NO! NO!"
Cara bolted upright, gasping, clutching at her chest. The curtains were drawn over a setting sun that threw a slant of sunlight across the ceiling, illuminating a familiar room. Home. She was home in her father's house in the Caldera.
Confused, still half trapped in the dream, she looked around the room, sweat making her heavy fall of dark hair cling to her face and neck. She felt wet and clammy, as if she'd had a terrible fever that had finally broken. Everything was fuzzy and confused.
How had she gotten here?
The last thing she remembered was trying to see Suki... She had overheard her father speaking to the Grand Sage...
She had heard them say something... So many monstrous things...
She felt like she was going to be sick, but clapped her hand over her mouth. Her breathing was still coming in sharp pants, like she'd been running from something dark and terrible.
But there was no running from this.
Her father and the Grand Sage had something to do with the attack on Lady Lian. They had framed Suki for it. And Kamen... Her father knew Kamen...he'd...
Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, as a soft knock sounded on her door.
"Lady Cara? Are you awake?" a soft voice asked from the doorway, as the door slid open. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a servant, who was hovering in her doorway, looking nervous.
"Yes. What is it?"
"Your father sent me to check on you," the servant said, lowering her eyes. "He's been very worried about you the last few days."
Cara's eyes closed briefly. "A few days?"
She hated how small her voice sounded. Fear shook her and she drew in her sweaty limbs, her knees to her chest beneath the blankets.
The servant came into the room, and drew open the curtains, letting more light flood her bedroom. The sun was setting, and everything was soft and pink. She could see a chair at her bedside that had not been there before. She knew that her father had been sitting there. She wondered where he had gone.
"You fell ill in the healing ward. Your father insisted you be taken home, though the healers wanted to keep you there. You had quite the fever, my lady," the servant said, pouring her a glass of cold water from a pitcher.
The servant came over and gently handed her the water. Cara took it and gulped it; her mouth was bone dry, and the water felt like sweet relief on her fried nerves.
"Slowly, my lady. How do you feel?"
"Better, I think," she said. "Do you know what illness I have? Fire Flu?"
"No, my Lady. It is not the Fire Flu. The healers said it was just a fever, that it would break soon. But... Well, it's not my place to say, I'm sure they're right..." the servant said, her voice trailing off. She bit her lip and started to turn away, but Cara's hand shot out, grasping her wrist.
"What's not your place? Please, tell me?"
The servant glanced at the door and then back down at Cara. Then she sat down on the edge of the bed, her hands folding over Cara's in a motherly way, though she was not much older than Cara. Cara wished that she could remember the girl's name, but she was ashamed that she didn't know it. She hardly ever learned the names of the servants.
Shame welled in her. Of course she hadn't. Why would a spoiled little brat like her need to know the names of the people who cared for her every whim?
"My grandfather was a healer," the girl said gently. "He used to tell us stories about healing Firebenders, like yourself. He would tell me that sometimes high emotions and internal conflict would create an illness within the Firebender. Fevers and vivid dreams."
Cara stared down at their hands. "I'm not in...in conflict..."
But that was a lie. The illness had come upon her fast, the moment she had stumbled toward the Seneschal's door...attempting to stop her father from whatever he had been about to do. It had come against everything she thought she knew about herself.
She had always been her father's little girl. Dutiful. Spoiled. She had thought, wrongly, that she had her father wrapped around her finger. But slowly, little by little, she had begun to realize the poison that lay at the heart of her entire life. Her entire world.
She had been about to betray her father. Betray her family. Betray her world...but she hadn't known if that was the right thing to do.
If she betrayed him, what would he do? To her, to the Seneschal... To the Fire Nation?
She felt sick, staring at the girl's hands in her own. The girl was wearing a wedding band on one finger and staring at it glinting in the light made her feel ill all over again. She took a breath and snatched her hands away from the soft touch, her face burning, and not from fever.
"Silly old superstitions," she said. "The healers didn't seem to think it was serious, or they might have kept me there."
The servant stood heavily and sighed. "The healers did want to keep you, but your father insisted that you be brought back to your home."
"Is he here? Is he... Is he well?" she asked, and her voice wavered a little. She didn't want to see her father. She didn't want to look at him, now that she knew things she could never forget.
"They released him from the ward, against the healer's wishes, but he seems well enough. He tires easily. He spent most of the morning at your bedside. He returned to the palace several hours ago. There's talk of another attack. The Kyoshi Warrior was sighted."
"Ty Lee?" she asked, her voice hopeful.
"Not the Captain. She's in the dungeons awaiting trial, along with that filthy Earth Kingdom traitor. The other Warrior... Her name is a spice or a fruit or something...?"
"Tamarind."
"Yes. She was spotted with a guard. They're going to find her and lock her up," the servant said, and lowered her voice. "And if we're all blessed, they'll burn all of those painted traitors at the stake for betraying the Fire Lord. Perhaps...if they do... You might find yourself on the Fire Lord's arm..."
The thought ran cold water down her sweaty back, and she looked away, hand over her mouth.
"Please go. I don't want to hear your gossip any longer," she said, eyes squeezing shut again, as if that might block everything out.
The girl didn't say anything, backing out of the room and closing the door behind her. Cara rubbed at her sweaty face, thinking hard through the pounding in her skull.
Even the servants thought that Suki had done everything they were saying she had done. But Cara knew the truth. Suki had saved her from Kamen. Kamen, whom her father had had attack her. But why? Why had her father done something so loathsome?
She felt sure that there was a reason, some benefit for him, just another moving piece on his pai sho table. He had used her, humiliated her...
She knew what she had to do. She had almost done it, there in the healing ward, but she hadn't the courage. She still didn't know if she did.
She stared at her hands, thinking of the girl's hands in hers, and how gentle her touch had been. It reminded her too much of Ty Lee's soft fingers, callused and strong, but so gentle in hers. Promising her something she had wanted deep in her most secret of dreams. Her heart ached.
Ty Lee would know what to do, what to say, but she was locked in the palace dungeons.
So far away and yet so close.
"But I'm Lady Cara," she mumbled, throwing off the covers. "I always get my way."
She washed and dressed as quickly as she could, and waited until the last rays of the sun had sunk below the rim of the Caldera before slipping out of her window and into the shadowy courtyard. She took the streets at a run, her hair streaming behind her, avoiding the patrols of the Caldera guards. There were more soldiers than she remembered being on the streets, but then she remembered what the serving girl had said about the search for the Kyoshi Warrior. She hoped they didn't find her.
When she approached the main gate of the palace complex, she was halted in her tracks by a pair of guards, with spears drawn, though not pointed at her. She drew herself up, hoping she didn't look as pale and shaky as she still felt. Her fever had broken, but she felt weakened by her illness; every step was like walking on melting ice.
"Halt! No visitors to the palace allowed at this time."
"I'm Lady Cara. My father, Lord Guo, sent for me. He said it was urgent."
The guards looked at one another, askance. "We didn't receive word from Lord Guo of your arrival."
"He is a very busy man at the moment, Guardsman. And so am I, as it happens. I'm going to be late for my meeting, but I'm sure you'd both love to explain to Lord Guo why his only daughter was accosted by two gate guards and why he had to sort the whole thing out, leaving the Grand Sage waiting."
The guard frowned, shifting in place. He glanced at his fellow again. "You outrank me. It's your decision."
The ranking officer, who looked even younger than Cara, twisted his lips and then looked her up and down.
"Far be it from me to keep Councilman Guo's daughter from a meeting with the Grand Sage," the guard said. "You may enter, Lady Cara. Will you require an escort?"
"Of course not. I can find the Council chamber on my own, thank you," she said imperiously, holding her head up high. She sailed past them when they opened the gate, her feet unhurried, though she wanted to run before they could stop her.
She entered the palace, passing two more guards, who nodded at her. She didn't recognize them, but she was in the palace often, and they knew her. That was helpful; she was here often enough that no one was likely to stop her and question her about what she was doing.
No one stopped her until she came to the dungeon doors. It took a moment to find the doors; she had never had a reason to go to this part of the palace before and had hoped to never need to. Until now. Now her feet followed her heart, right to the doors, where another set of guards was standing. The doors behind them were made of riveted metal and locked tightly shut.
"May we help you, Lady Cara?"
"Yes, my father, Lord Guo, sent me. He asked me to question the prisoner. Captain Ty Lee."
One of the guards lifted an eyebrow. "Lord Guo sent you?"
"The Captain and I know each other. He thought our familiarity might loosen her tongue as to the whereabouts of her co-conspirator, Tamarind. He's getting weary of the search for the little traitor. I might be able to find something out from the Captain."
"Did he send a note?"
Cara rolled her eyes and deployed the same excuse she'd used on the gate guards. "He's very busy with the Grand Sage at the moment. I suppose I could go back and get a written note from him, but that will waste time, and that Kyoshi Warrior needs caught before she kills another Councilor. She may try to attack my father again! I'd rather stop that before it happens, and you're wasting my time!"
"Fine," the guard said, brow-beat by her status and the very mention of her father's name. Just as she had known the gate guards would let her pass, she knew that the dungeons guards would also let her through. "But we will escort you."
"I don't need an escort, and besides, she won't talk with you two listening in on the conversation. I'd rather not waste my time, thank you."
"She's dangerous, my Lady. The Kyoshi Warriors..."
"She's in a cell, isn't she?"
"Yes."
"Then I have nothing to fear from the Captain. Besides," Cara said, conjuring a bright ball of orange flames over her manicured fingertips. "I'm not entirely helpless. If she tries something, she'll learn what happens to traitors in the Fire Nation."
One of the guards smirked, but the other one glowered at her. "The Captain deserves a fair trial. I won't have you attacking her."
"She'll get one," Cara said darkly. "After she answers a few of my questions."
They opened the door for her, apparently satisfied with both her story, and her skills as a Firebender. Such as they were. She had never been great at the combat side of using her Bending; she had been too timid in the practice ring, preferring simple uses for the flames she could control. She used it to light candles and fires in her hearth, and illuminating her path on dark nights. Not for besting opponents in Agni Kais.
Her father, she was sure, had been disappointed in her timidity. He had told her that her being born a Firebender had been the happiest accomplishment of his life. Her father was not a Bender, but he prized the purity of her gift. He had told her that she was descended from a long line of Firebenders, that she was pure and untainted. How proud he was to be the father of a new generation of Benders.
She should have had seen it all coming, but she'd been too afraid of him to look at the terrible things he was doing for too long. She had to be the good daughter.
Or he would treat her like he had treated Rian.
She took a breath and stared down the dark, winding staircase that led into the dungeon. She didn't know what to do, but maybe Ty Lee would. If she dared to say the words.
Even if she didn't, the desire to see Ty Lee again was too overwhelming to resist. She started down the steps, using her flames to light the way, one hand on the stone wall to keep herself from stumbling.
There were no torches down here, no lanterns. These dungeons had been designed with Firebenders in mind. There were a series of mirrors, reflecting sunlight and torchlight depending on the time of day, inset in the walls in such a way that the light illuminated the dungeons. It was a dim light, reddish in the reflected torchlight, but as her eyes adjusted, she realized that she could see just fine.
By the time she stepped off of the bottom step of the stairs, a nervous sweat had started in her palms again. She looked around, and saw two metal cages side by side. Only one of them was occupied.
Cara stopped, brows lifting. The woman in the left cell was standing on her hands, with her back turned toward Cara and the door. She had her legs in the air, stretching them wide and then bringing them back to a straight position, her toes pointed. For a moment, Cara thought that Ty Lee didn't realize she wasn't alone, but then she spoke.
"I told you I wasn't hungry, so take your gruel and shove it up your big ugly butts," Ty Lee said brightly, no sign of strain in her voice.
"Ty Lee, it's me."
"Cara?" Ty Lee squeaked, her back bending, her legs dropping down to the floor. The rest of her came up with a smooth, practiced motion, her braid flying. Ty Lee saw her and took a breath, her eyes as bright as her smile. "Cara! What are you doing here?"
And then Ty Lee rushed at the bars, wrapping her hands around them, her eyes big in the light of Cara's flames. Seeing her, there, locked in a dirty cell in the darkness, but still so happy to see her... Still as warm and soft as she had been that afternoon after Kamen had attacked her, Cara felt her heart seize, but not from pain.
"I had to see you," she said, rushing to the cage. She let her flames burn out and then wrapped her fingers around Ty Lee's. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... Well, no, I'm not," Ty Lee said, a fleeting smile on her lips. "But I'm not dead, and that's something. So far. And no one has shot me in the heart with a crossbow."
"What?" Cara's brows rose, and Ty Le let out a soft laugh, but it was humorless.
"Last time I was in this dungeon, Councilman Osamu put a crossbow bolt in my chest. I just about died. I can't say I like being back down here. Lot of bad memories."
Cara remembered hearing about the incident, but she hadn't known Ty Lee back then. Hadn't felt... She swallowed and looking into Ty Lee's eyes.
"Ty Lee... I'm so sorry..."
But Ty Lee took a trembling breath and flashed her a smile she was sure was meant to be reassuring.
"It's not your fault, Cara."
Perhaps not, but she didn't feel guiltless for what was happening.
"Have they... Have they told you anything?"
"Just that they're going to hold a trial soon. They're going to charge Suki with murder, conspiracy, assassination... Anything they can throw at her. At us, I guess. Tam too. Have they caught her?"
"No."
"Good," Ty Lee breathed. "What about Zuko?"
"Nothing yet," she said, as Ty Lee cursed under her breath and then looked at her, frowning as she saw the tears welling in Cara's eyes.
"Cara, you don't believe that Suki and I... You don't believe we did the things they're accusing us of doing, do you? I know what it all looks like, but we didn't have anything to do with Lady Lian's murder. Or the attack on your father. I swear it."
"I know," she breathed, her head lowering. "I know you didn't. Ty Lee, I..."
"Cara," Ty Lee said, and freed one of her hands, touching Car's face. Cara felt her hand on her cheek, and her eyes fluttered closed, tingles rushing through her instantly. She leaned into the heat of Ty Lee's hand, stepping closer to the bars, until she could feel Ty Lee's breath against her lips. She trembled, overtaken by emotion.
Fear, confusion, panic... Desire.
"What's wrong?" Ty Lee whispered in the darkness, her thumb stroking Cara's cheek, as tears spilled from her eyes, hot and scorching. "Whatever's wrong, you know that you can tell me, Cara. I'll listen. And I'll understand."
"I want to tell you," she said, her voice breaking. "But I can't. I'm afraid."
"I won't let anyone hurt you. I could break out of this cell in a heartbeat. I'm only in here because Suki told me to comply. If something's wrong, if you need me. Just say the word, Cara. Say the word."
"I can't. You might get hurt. And you can't protect me from this. I think I know what I have to do, I'm just afraid. I don't think I'm strong enough. I'm just a stupid, spoiled little brat... I'm useless..."
"No, you're not," Ty Lee said, tipping her chin up. She reached through the bars, and cupped both of Cara's cheeks, lifting herself up against the bars to stare into Cara's eyes. "You're so much stronger than you think you are, Cara. I knew that the moment I met you. Whatever's wrong, whatever is happening, I know you can face it. I believe in you."
"Why?"
"Because," Ty Lee said, and her smile was impish, full of mischief and happiness, despite everything. There was a joy in Ty Lee that hadn't been broken. Cara felt it radiate through her, and it staggered her, made her knees feel weak as Ty Lee's eyes searched hers. "Because I saw your aura."
"You did?" she asked tremulously.
"It's beautiful, Cara. As beautiful as you are."
Cara stared at her for a long moment, her heart beating like mad. It wasn't like the nightmare that had awoken her though, filled with pain and fear. This was something else, and it stirred her, breaking through her confusion with a soft wrench of longing. Longing she had been trying to ignore since the first time she had seen Ty Lee smile.
She let out a soft breath and then leaned in, her heart in her throat, adrenaline coursing through her on a mad rush of desire. Her lips touched Ty Lee's, her face pressing against the bars, for one blistering moment.
It felt like fire rushing through her head, through her body. She could not bend it to her will, could not control it. She could only burn in the heat of it, a living candle.
And through the elation, the rush of her heart, came one thought and another terrible rush of emotion. Poisonous. Fearful. Ashamed.
He'll kill me if he finds out.
Cara gasped and backed away from Ty Lee, fingers jammed against her tingling lips. She shook, in shock at what she had just done.
Ty Lee met her eyes for a moment and there was understanding there, soft and welcoming.
"Cara, it's okay..."
"No... I can't do this..." she said, backing away. "I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ty Lee. I can't. You don't understand what he is, what he'll do to me..."
"Cara..."
But she turned on her heel, tears blinding her. A part of her wanted to go back, to kiss her again, to feel Ty Lee's understanding hands in her hair, in her arms...
The other part of her was sitting at her father's feet, listening to the terrible things he would say about people like Ty Lee. The hatred and shame, and the rage. The mere memory of his disgust drove her up the spiral stairs, with Ty Lee's echoing voice calling out to her desperately.
She had ingested all of that rage and hatred as a child. Only now could she see how poisonous it was, how his obsession with the purity of the Fire Nation had led him down this path. Had twisted her into being the good daughter. Into someone too afraid of her own heart, disgusted at herself.
She didn't know what to do, what to think...
How could she turn on her own father? But how could she not, when he was planning to harm the unborn heir to the throne? When he was framing the Seneschal for murders Cara knew she hadn't committed? When he would hate her for what she was, if he ever knew...
Could she just sit back and pretend she knew nothing? Pretend that she was some vapid, pretty doll?
Or could she be brave and beautiful the way Ty Lee thought she was, and act before it was too late? Could she stop her father?
Did she dare?
Suki paced her room in the healing ward, feeling like the walls were closing in on her again. She was getting very tired of being cooped up in the ward, with guards on the doors. It was better than being in the dungeon, however, where poor Ty Lee was currently trapped, and probably safer than wherever Tam was holed up.
Are you kidding me? Tam probably already seduced Piandao and that guard into a three-way. Some girls have all of the luck, Suki thought sourly, reaching over and pulling a sprig of mint off of the plant sitting on the bedside table. Nam-Kyu had brought her the mint to help soothe her stomach, but it hadn't helped much.
It did give her something to do, however. She chewed thoughtfully, pacing back and forth, back and forth, her hand straying to her stomach again.
She tried not to think about Zuko, and failed. Again and again, she failed. She couldn't help it. There was still no word about what had happened to him in Ba Sing Se. As far as she knew, Iroh hadn't sent another letter, and neither had the Earth King. She didn't think that was a good sign.
Duke Ru had left three days ago. Surely he had arrived, or would land sometime tonight. She tried to think of the journey by airship to Ba Sing Se. If they didn't stop anywhere, the airship would arrive tonight... If they stopped, just to supply, they would arrive in the morning...
If... If... If...
She made up a thousand scenarios in her head about what was happening outside of the palace walls. It was better than focusing on what was happening inside of it. She felt powerless, trapped, and at the mercy of her enemies.
She didn't even know who her enemies were, but she had a few suspects.
Bai, certainly. He was a slimy toad, and that punch to the belly had let her know that he was no ally. But was he the man behind all of this? She doubted that. Bai was a coin-counter, the type of man who thrived at someone's side, but not out front. He could be bought, certainly.
Bai had summoned Grand Sage Luzhuo to the palace before they had found out that Zuko had been taken. Perhaps he had done it in response to the attack on Guo, and Lady Lian's massacre. Or perhaps it was a power move, a coup... If it was, it had worked. The Fire Nation was his, until Zuko returned, or they named another heir.
But all three heirs to the throne were in Ba Sing Se. Iroh had said Azula had been taken too. Who knew if something had happened to Iroh? Perhaps that was why he hadn't written again? All three heirs. In the same place. At the same time.
If someone wanted to destroy the Royal Family in one fell swoop, and take power for themselves, it would be so easy.
Except for one problem. One thing her enemies couldn't have anticipated.
Her hand spread on her stomach. She was pregnant with the future heir to the throne. Zuko's child. The future Fire Lord.
She was in danger. If this was a power grab, they would never let her child live, and she knew it.
Suki chewed on the mint, but the sour taste didn't leave her mouth. She paced, thinking of who else her enemy might be. She kept coming back to the one person she had always known hated her.
Guo.
But Guo had been attacked before her very eyes. He had told her to run. He had seemed annoyed with the Grand Sage becoming Steward, but perhaps that was because he had wanted the Stewardship for himself?
She had no reason not to trust Guo.
Except that she didn't. She could feel it in her gut, a sour taste that had nothing to do with the baby currently upsetting her stomach.
The problem was, it was just a feeling. She couldn't prove anything. Not about the Grand Sage, or Guo. Or even Bai. She had nothing.
Tam and Piandao had sneaked into her room the other day and told her that they suspected Viz of being involved too. He had planted the evidence; Tam had seen him do it herself. The Grand Sage had increased her guard after that and she hadn't seen Tam or Piandao since. She hoped that they were okay, that they had found out something, anything. She couldn't put her hopes in that, though, and she knew it. Tam was a wanted woman, and Piandao was one of her few allies in the palace she knew she could trust.
She felt like she was in a holding pattern, as useless as "tits on a lion-turtle," as Nam-Kyu had put in her usual harsh way earlier that day, before she had been summoned out of the ward by a medical emergency. Suki wondered what kind of emergency would draw the healer out of the ward. She had a feeling it couldn't be good, whatever it was.
She was still stewing on her dark thoughts when the door opened unceremoniously and the Grand Sage walked in. Just seeing Luzhuo standing there, looking regal and imposing with his stupidly tall red hat, and his glistening white beard, made Suki want to throw up on his robes. For once, the baby didn't oblige her.
She turned toward him and stood in a pose that looked deceptively at ease, but would launch her into a fighting stance at a moment's notice. Luzhuo didn't know that, and took her nonchalance with a little frown.
Clearly, he had wanted to surprise her, take her off guard by his arrival.
He closed the door behind him, leaving them alone together. She saw with a start that he had a tray with two cups of steaming tea in his left hand. Steam rose up and wreathed around his beard. Her eyebrow rose at that.
"No guards? Aren't you afraid I'll go rabid and slit your throat?" she said, her voice full of sharp edges and dripping with derision.
"You're smarter than that," Luzhuo said, but something in his voice made Suki sure that he was being sarcastic. "And we both know I could set you on fire in a heartbeat."
He waved his fingers and the shuttered lanterns on the walls guttered and went out, plunging them into darkness. Then they ignited again, flooding the room with brighter light than before.
"I am not the Grand Sage for nothing. And I came with a peace offering," Luzhuo said, taking one of the cups of tea off of the tray and holding it out to her. She looked at it skeptically. "Go on. I put honey in it. I hear honey tea soothes an upset stomach, and I've heard your pregnancy has been especially hard on you. Please."
"I didn't know you were so concerned about my pregnancy."
"The heir is my topmost priority. Please, you would honor me."
Suki hesitated, and then reached out, taking the tea with both hands. She didn't want it, but it seemed rude not to take it. The cup was scorching hot in her fingers, but she liked the heat, cupping her hands around it. She breathed in the smell of the honey, and looked up at him.
Luzhuo put the tray down next to her mint plant, and then took a sip of his own tea.
"There. Now we can be civilized. And we can have a discussion, you and I."
"Can we?" Suki said, head tipping to the side. "What would you like to discuss, Luzhuo? The weather? Bit hot outside. Your turn."
"You really think that you are clever, don't you?"
"As clever as you think you are. Tell me something, Luzhuo, just between us girls," Suki said, her voice pitching down low. "Did you push the old Grand Sage down the stairs yourself, or did you get someone else to do it?"
Luzhuo's face hardened over his cup of tea, his eyes narrowing at her. "I beg your pardon."
"Zuko and I had a bet. It's okay, you can tell me. I won't tell."
The Grand Sage's lip curled. "What happened to my predecessor was a tragedy. But someone such as yourself would probably see treachery and malice where there was none. It's how you got where you are today, is it not?"
"And where I am? I'm a prisoner, wrongfully accused of a crime I didn't commit. I should be out searching for Zuko, and instead, I'm here, talking to the snake who is trying to usurp him. When Zuko returns..."
"If Zuko returns, he'll thank me for protecting the Fire Nation from your machinations. I promise you that, whore."
Suki took in a sharp breath, her eyes closing. Hearing that word thrown at her yet again was one time too many. She licked her lips, and swallowed the mint in her mouth.
"I am really tired of that word. Tired of hearing it. Tired of having it thrown in my face."
"But you are a whore, Suki. I see what you are. The whole of the Fire Nation will see exactly what you are. A whore. A common. Dirty. Filthy. Little whore. You seduced your way into his bed, spread your legs, and when you got what you wanted, you disposed of the Fire Lord. You're nothing but a whore. And a murderer."
Suki felt cold chills run down her spine, but it wasn't fear she was feeling. It was rage. As icy as the winds of the South Pole; the rage ran through her, stilling all of the anxiety and worry for Zuko, for herself, for their child.
She met the Grand Sage's eyes and saw him flinch at her rage.
"You think you can demean me with that word, Luzhuo. You think you can throw it in my face, make me lesser. All I've been hearing is that word thrown at me, ever since Zuko and I started dating. Actually, even before that, when those rumors about us were spreading far and wide—rumors that weren't true, not that you care. I've been called that word by you. The Council. The court. Lady Shura loved throwing that word at me. I thought it was just... Simple misogyny, you know?"
"Misogyny?" His voice arched with amusement.
"Yeah. You know, you Fire Nation types are pretty progressive in some areas. Lots of women in the military. Top brass. You come off so enlightened about things like equality. But when you dig a little deeper... It becomes very obvious that people like you are shit-your-pants terrified of women you can't control. Who refuse to 'know their place.'"
"Do you think so?"
"I know so," Suki said softly. "You can't control me. Can't frighten me. You label me a whore, because you think that takes away my power and you are desperate for power. It makes you feel strong, superior. You can't control me, and I just refuse to know my place, don't I? I'm an Earth Kingdom commoner who dares to marry your Fire Lord. I'm a threat. And that makes me a whore in your eyes. Lesser than. Beneath you. Beneath him."
"You are beneath him."
"Zuko doesn't believe that. And he'll never believe the lies about me. He knows me. He loves me. And you? You're just a pathetic little man, Luzhuo. And we both know it."
Luzhuo's cheek twitched.
"Whore."
Suki lifted her tea in a toast and winked at him. "And proud of it."
"You think I can't control you?"
"You can try," she said, lifting the tea to her lips.
Luzhuo smiled as she did so, and she immediately stopped, her throat closing. Suki's face drained, and she lowered the cup instantly, staring down into it. "The tea... Did you do something to it?"
"Of course not," Luzhuo said, clucking his tongue.
Suki didn't believe him. She threw the cup against the wall, shattering the porcelain into pieces, and splashing hot tea across the wall. She turned back to Luzhuo, and caught the alarm and rage on his face for the briefest of moments, before he locked the expression down, and turned on her with a disapproving look.
"I tried to be kind."
"You tried to poison me," she said with surety.
"Don't be dramatic. I don't need to poison you. We have all of the evidence against you that we need. You're going to be put on trial in a week's time. You will be found guilty."
"I'll never confess."
But Luzhuo's smile was soft beneath his beard, his eyes lowered to half-mast. He approached her slowly and Suki felt dread roll down her skin.
"You will. By the end, you will, Suki. You'll be begging on your knees for my mercy. And perhaps..." Luzhuo said, reaching out and touching her chest with one fingertip, caressing down toward her breasts. Suki shrank back with revulsion and shock. "Perhaps I'll be merciful."
"Touch me again and I'll break your hands."
Luzhuo smiled and walked toward the door. He stopped, and looked back at her. "You think I can't control you? Oh, my darling little whore... Perhaps you should watch what you eat or drink from now on? We wouldn't want any...tragic accidents. Do we?"
He walked out the door, leaving Suki standing there shaking, her heart in her throat. She closed her eyes, tasting mint lingering on her tongue.
"Zuko... Where are you?"
