Chapter2- Degrading

Uncle Iroh walked up to Zuko who was now on the ship, facing the wind. He stood next to him, not saying anything. But he soon spoke in his usual tone, "I see you've brought a young woman on board. Tell me Prince Zuko, what is it you have planned for her? She wears war paint on her face…this means she is a warrior and will hold loyalty to her people. Nothing you say or do will change her mind. Being a warrior means she is stubborn, she is like a stone and will not bow to any power. She has fight in her eyes, so what is the use of her here? What are your plans?"

"I will have her executed." Zuko spoke. "If she disobeys me once, she will lose her life."

"Prince Zuko, you have already taken away everything from her! She will not bow to your whim. Do not be heartless."

"She made the mistake of challenging me, and she will pay the consequences."

"I am guessing she beat you."

"I will not tolerate your jokes, Uncle!" Zuko barked at his uncle. "Besides, she went down in the end. I will make sure she knows her place." Zuko turned and walked over to the other side of the ship where the girl was tied up to a pole. She struggled to get free.

"What do you want?" she growled at him.

"What is your name?" he questioned.

"None of your business!" she barked and spit at his feet!

"Told you." Iroh stated from in back. Prince Zuko whipped out a knife and put it to her neck! He sneered in her face!

"Tell me your name, or I'll slice your throat!" there was no answer for a moment.

"My name is Aiori." She stated.

"Do you want to die here, Aiori?" Zuko asked her.

"You do not scare me, scar-face!" she hissed. He lowered his knife.

"Remember out deal, you do exactly as I say, or I will kill you and then everyone in your little village." The girl was silent. "That's what I thought. Men, take her down and get her washed up, I want her nice and tidy to scrub the deck." And some men untied her and dragged her down to the lower level of the ship. As they did, she turned and glared at the prince. He laughed to himself.

The next morning, the crew was eating breakfast. However, Aiori was scrubbing the deck floors on her hands and knees. The hardness of the floor hurt her elbows and knees as she scrubbed with her bare hands and a rag at the messy floor. She felt humiliated. The night before, the crew had given her a small tub of cold water and put scrapings of soap scum in it to let her bathe. She could barely fit in that tub, she had to scrunch up her knees to her chest and it still only came up to her waist. Then they tossed her some sacks with holes in them to sew together as a dress. So she was up all night to finish that dress, because they took away her other dress and tossed it into the fire pit. She had no shoes, but she planned to make some moccasins that night. Due to the brutal nature they had shown, she used an old scarf to wrap around her face, hiding her features. Only her eyes were visible, and her hair was swept up into a messy bun.

She stayed quiet as she watched people pass by, not noticing her or giving her any generosity to move out of the way. She was bumped carelessly to the side, like a doll. Then the prince walked by. He stopped and glared down at her. She glared back up at him.

"Afraid to show your face?" he taunted. She growled. Then he kicked over her bucket and laughed as he walked away! She stood up and lifted up some water, getting ready to send a jet stream at him, but stopped and dropped it when she heard a voice.

"You water bend." The oldest man on the ship spoke from behind her. She turned to face him.

"Forgive me." She said and got back down onto her knees.