Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Avatar the Last Airbender or its characters
Opame stared off in the distance, a little distracted though she knew she needed to hurry and fold up the linen that had been hanging on the line outside. Not that she was actually in a rush; this was a never-ending job, one that Ms. Akuri loved to make her do. Her fingers were going to be permanently wrinkled after a while.
Please forgive my family.
Ash. Smoke. Burning.
Opame knew she dealt with it well, but there was an anger and a sadness that filled her heart any time she had to enter the palace, any time she saw a portrait of Sozin or Azulon or Ozai. . . .
She didn't get those feelings with Iroh though, and certainly not with Zuko. Forgiveness was still far off but maybe Iroh had a point. Maybe it was up to her to fix the hurt generations of Air Nomads had felt before her.
Now, she just needed to figure out how.
It had been a week since she and Zuko had snuck around the Fire Nation, learned about his heritage. When they had seen each other again, the atmosphere between them felt slightly different, in a good way, as if the secret they now shared bonded them even more. What was it that kept drawing her back to him? It had only been a month and a half since they had started sharing these little moments. Opame couldn't recall ever feeling as – well, as close as she did with anyone else besides her family.
It was scary . . . but also, exciting. . . .
She slapped her hands against her cheeks at the thought of being so close to him that night, the feeling of his robe under her fingertips, his hand covering her mouth while her hand was pressed against his chest. Her face felt hot. What was she even thinking about?! Zuko was a friend, a good friend, but nothing more.
It's not like they could ever be 'more' anyways. She was a commoner.
Not that she wanted 'more'!
Spirits, her head was spinning.
"Opame!" The girl looked up in shock as Izuma came running towards her. Shaking her head, Opame went back to her folding. Izuma never seemed to be with the Princess, even though that was her main role. And she worried about Opame losing their jobs.
"Izuma, are you on another 'break?" Opame asked, smiling to herself.
"You need to come with me." Opame met her cousin's eyes, the smile falling from her face. She had never seen Izuma this serious . . . or this scared.
"What's happened?" Opame asked, scrambling to her feet. "Is Ceba okay?"
"Yes, this isn't about him. You've been summoned."
"By whom?"
"By the Princess, of course." Izuma grabbed Opame's hands, pulling at her. "She wants you in her sitting room immediately. She requested you, by name."
"Have I done something wrong?"
"You tell me. Have you been avoiding the Prince?"
"Of course," Opame lied easily. "I've been keeping my nose down. . . . What about the laundry?"
"Someone else will get it! We need to hurry."
Hand in hand, the two cousins walked as quickly as they could, practically running. Izuma didn't say anything else and Opame took the time to compose herself. Everything was fine. She was good a keeping a straight face and an even better liar; she had to be after all these years. Whatever Princess Azula wanted, she could handle it.
When they reached a wide door, Izuma turned to Opame, straightening the younger girl's tunic, brushing off invisible dirt before she looked at her with a forced smile. "It's probably nothing . . . but remember the rules."
Opame nodded and Izuma knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Princess Azula looked as fierce and as beautiful as ever, lounging on a chaise lounge, her legs crossed at the ankles. She was examining her long, sharp nails as Opame and Izuma hurried inside, getting on their knees quickly, lowering their foreheads to ground, arms stretched out in front of them. It mind-boggled Opame that everyone was terrified of this fourteen-year-old girl, but she honestly couldn't blame them.
"I've brought Opame as you asked, Princess Az –"
"Leave us," Azula interrupted.
If Izuma wanted to stay, she, quite rightly, didn't say anything. She got to her feet, bowed and left the room, closing the double doors behind her. Opame sat up, keeping her back straight, hands in her lap, head bowed . . . waiting.
From her peripheral, she saw Princess Azula's slippers lower to the ground and then the girl stood, walking towards her. "Well, you don't look like much," she muttered, walking around Opame.
Opame didn't respond, didn't really know how to. Why was she here? She could practically feel the delight coming off the Princess in waves, with an edge of malice.
Princess Azula stopped in front of Opame, though the other girl didn't look up, keeping her eyes trained somewhere along Azula's knees.
"Hmm," Azula hummed. "My sources tell me you and my brother have been spending an odd amount of time with each other."
No emotion.
"What do you have to say to that?" The Princess asked, leaning down.
"Nothing, Your Highness," Opame responded.
"So that wasn't you sneaking around the prison with Zu-Zu? What were you two up to? Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Taking a deep breath, Opame looked up to meet the Princess' eyes, keeping a neutral expression. Azula met her gaze with a cruel grin. "Visiting that fat, traitorous Uncle of ours?"
Ash. Burning. Smoke.
Opame nearly clenched her fist in her lap. When she didn't respond, Azula chuckled, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips. "I've asked around about you, you know. You're quiet. You come, do your job and leave. No one knows much about you, including your own cousin. You're a mystery. Why is that?"
Zuko had called her mysterious as well. Opame watched as Azula walked back to her chaise, laying down gracefully. "I'm just a colony girl, Princess. There's nothing else to me."
"We'll see," Azula sung. She smiled at Opame, that vicious smile. "From now on, you work for me. You stay by my side wherever I go. I'm watching you," she added, grinning. She looked back to her nails. "Go tell that Akuri woman that you are mine now."
Every bone in Opame's body was telling her to run. She wanted to dash to Ceba's school, grab what little they had and leave the Fire Nation as quickly as possible . . . but she knew they couldn't do that. If they ran now, they would come looking for them for sure.
Nowhere would be safe.
Nodding, Opame got to her feet, trying to control the shaking in her limbs. She bowed to the Princess and turned, heading to the door, feeling Azula's eyes on her back the entire time.
Quickly, the siblings' way of life changed. That same day, three guards from the Palace followed Opame home to help her and Ceba move their things to a vacant home next to the wall inside the volcano. She and Ceba had had to pack so quickly and so fast, she worried what had been misplaced, what would be found by the new owner and had checked under their beds more than once. They were nearer to Izuma now, who couldn't be happier. They had dinner that night and the older girl had practically been glowing.
"Who could have imagined?" she gushed as she served dinner to her husband, Opame and Ceba. "Just a little less than two months in and you've gotten such a great promotion! I can only imagine it was due to my recommendation."
Opame didn't have the heart to tell her cousin that she had done nothing; shamefully, it was her own stupidity that got them there. She should have never gotten so close to the Prince, should have never thought as him as a friend. Now, the Princess was always going to be watching her and poor Ceba had to start a new school, one closer to where they lived where he would have to make new friends and reinsert himself.
So she just smiled, like she always did. She lied, like she always did.
She was growing weary of the lies, even if they were ones she told to reassure her brother.
"Everything is going to be fine," she told Ceba when she tucked him in to bed that evening. "And how amazing is this! You have your own room now. You don't have to listen to me snore."
"You're not that loud," he muttered, pulling the covers up to his nose. He looked up at his sister, those big eyes fearful. "I don't like this. We're too close. I don't like being so close."
"I know," she said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "But don't you worry, little brother. I've got you. Nothing is going to happen as long as we're together. Get some rest. Tomorrow is a new day."
Later that night, Opame woke up to find Ceba curled into her side, clinging on to the side of her nightgown. She turned, wrapping her arms around her brother, holding him close. Tears slipped out of her eyes but she quickly wiped them away before they could drip into Ceba's hair.
Something was coming and she couldn't escape the feeling that it was going to be bad.
Zuko snuck another glance at her before looking back down at his tea.
Opame stood behind Azula, head bowed, hands folded in front of her. Her long hair splayed down her back, the top gathered into a traditional top knot. From what he could see of her face, she was doing a very good job of staying neutral, but her hands kept clinching every once in a while, as if she were trying to hold herself together.
"Distracted Zuzu?" Azula asked, smirking.
Zuko looked up at her, noting that Ty Lee and Mai had been watching him as well. The four of them had met up for tea, a normal day and when he had walked into Azula's sitting room, Opame had been waiting for them. She served their tea and then took her place behind Azula where she had been standing for the last half hour. As soon as he noticed her, he looked to his sister, who had been watching him, that look on her face, the one that said 'got you'. "There's nothing," he muttered, though he knew that wouldn't be the end of it.
"Oh! Where are my manners? Opame," she said and the girl came forward to stand on the side of Azula's chair. "This is my new handmaid. You may greet them," she added, looking up at the older girl.
Opame bowed. "Lady Ty Lee. Lady Mai. Prince Zuko. It is my honor to serve you."
"She's so polite, isn't she?" Azula crooned, with a mocking smile, as if Opame was some new pet she aquired. "Can you believe she's from the colonies?"
"What happened to your other handmaid?" Ty Lee asked.
Azula waved her hand flippantly and Opame returned to where she had been standing. "She's around here somewhere. I had just heard so many good things about this one," she said, smiling at Zuko. "She's such a hard worker, isn't she, Zuko?"
Ty Lee and Mai turned to look at him again. He breathed in through his nose and set his teacup down. "So I've heard."
Azula seemed satisfied with herself and so she steered the conversation towards a different subject. Later, the four of them were walking in the gardens, Azula and Ty Lee in front, Opame trailing behind them, and Zuko and Mai in the back. Zuko, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't keep his eyes off of Opame and he was sure she could tell but she was much more disciplined than he was.
"What's going on with you?" Mai whispered.
Zuko glanced down at her. Since coming back to the Fire Nation, he and Mai had become much better friends. She was good to talk to and gave pretty good advice. He knew his father was thinking about matching the two of them, something he supposed, if it had to be anyone, he wouldn't mind. But –
His eyes drifted back to Opame, watching her hair swish against the back of her tunic.
He hadn't told Mai about Opame and his growing friendship with the servant girl, though he wasn't sure why. "Nothing."
"Obviously it's something," Mai responded in that dry tone of hers, folding her hands inside her sleeves. "Who is she?"
"No one."
"Hmmm. . . . Azula is sure going out of her way to make you uncomfortable over 'no one'."
"She's –" Zuko stopped when Opame turned slightly, her eyes meeting his over her shoulder. For a moment, the world around them seemed to slow. She gave him a small smile, as if she were trying to assure him she was fine. When she noticed Mai watching her as well, she started, turning back around just as quickly.
"No one," Mai finished, a slight smirk on her face. "Understood."
Zuko cleared his throat, nodding. "Exactly."
Though he knew that Opame would never be 'no one' to him.