1"Enough."

There was a low clatter and the cuffs snapped from Sokka's wrists; he hit the floor with a crash that echoed, mockingly, through the iron-coated room. He did not move from where he lay. His body was beaten, bloody mess, his hands shaking slightly from the frequent waves of pain, his breathe shallow and strained from the bruises on his chest. The earth bender thudded to the floor beside him in equally terrible condition. He ground his teeth loudly and clutched his ribs before his temple touched the floor and he fluttered from consciousness. Zhao gazed at them in confused disgust; fires lit his arms and licked his skin, still greedy for flesh eve after hours of burning broken bodies. The Admiral kicked Sokka where he lay and the warrior rolled to the side of the stone basin, his broken arm thrown askew from its sling.

"Not a sound," hissed Zhao, his gaze glimmering with fury. Four hours, and not a sound from their lips. He lavished in the screams of his tortured, replayed them in his mind when he lulled himself to sleep; how could his blood thirst be quenched if they didn't shriek to satisfy his demons? The thought enraged him. His fists shook, smoking, and lit to white flame. The guard beside him gave one decisive shriek before his neck snapped.

The lifeless body crumpled to the floor beside Sokka and the warrior cast a faint glance to it. He turned his gaze back to the basin almost instantly when the dead man stared up at him, his neck crooked in a revolting way. Zhao thundered from the room, a howling bonfire of pure rage, his guards practically shivering with fear beneath the demon's great shadow. The door shut with a loud slam that rang painfully in Sokka's earlobes and threatened to through him into unconsciousness. For a long while, both Haru and Sokka dare not move. They hardly breathed, hardly dared to implore there mind to the act of thinking. Each movement caused the warrior more agony than he ever thought he could've endured. His head pounded mercilessly in a constant thump, his arm screamed from the very marrow of its broken bone. The fresh wounds pulsed agonizingly as he lamented over his flesh, which was shredded to the muscle and burned with hell fires.

Haru was more accustomed to the torture than Sokka was, and he lifted himself first. The action made his abdomen scream and he clenched his teeth instinctively; if he screamed, it would draw back the attention of the Admiral. He suspected that several of his ribs had been cracked, but then again he had suspected that for the past few days. Or was it years? Haru didn't care to remember anymore. He tried to move over to Sokka but the attempt doubled, tripled his already acute senses and the pleas of his tortured body became unbearable. He stumbled down to the floor and stooped there on one elbow, until he willed his arm to drag his beaten body closer to the fire.

His back fell hard against the side of the stone basin and he sat there for a moment, his chest heaving in short, quick breathes, his arm wrapped around his stomach. Scars from varying degrees of burns tore through his skin, his chest black and bloody, his breathing more difficult with each inhale. Sokka saw him from the corner of his eye and tried to stir, but his arm screamed defensively at him and he stayed where he was, beside the dead body of the guard. Haru took in several deep breathes.

"You're...Katara...her brother..." he said slowly. Each word was forced from his lips with ten times more energy than usual. His body was weak, tired, and beaten to an excruciating degree. Sokka was in like condition; he attempted to sit up but his windpipes closed from the effort and he stumbled onto his elbows, wheezing.

The warrior managed to nod and Haru laid his head back against the basin, heedless of the flames that stirred within and threatened to grab his black locks. He winced suddenly as his abdomen convulsed but attempted to smile nonetheless.

"Heh...nice to...see you again...I guess..."

Sokka laughed shortly but his ribs seemed ready to cave in from the effort. He swallowed and grabbed the basin with his free arm, bringing himself to his knees. His throat was sore, he guessed, from the hot smoke of the fire, and his voice was hoarse.

"Funny...ha ha..."

He slumped against the basin and breathed as deep as his beaten lungs would allow. He took a second glanceat the dead body but quickly turned his gaze in Haru's direction, who was clutching his stomach again and trembling with each movement. Sokka summoned whatever energy he had left and forced words from his throat.

"Haru...we've got to get out. If they don't come back for awhile, we can heal...we'll take some things off the wall an try to...overpower them..."

"It's useless, Sokka," said Haru after a great effort. The earth bender cast an eye towards the door and a flicker of anger sparked through his eyes. "They come back every night...I can't even remember...how long I've been here..."

Sokka pulled on his sling and, after tremendous effort, wrapped it around his broken arm again.

"Why are you here, Haru?" he asked. The question had been in his mind ever since the beatings began. He had naturally forgotten it, however, when Zhao had drawn a red-hot chain from the fire pit...Sokka flinched at the memory and barely heard the earth bender speak.

"I was a recruit, in a small army...we had been summoned here because...some of the Water Tribe had seen the Rebellion. We were attacked in the night...I was captured, and my friends...one of them was my fiancee, she was taken to the Fire Nation camp with the rest of us...I've prayed, as long as I've been here, that she got away..."

Sokka remembered the bodies in the pit but dare not mention them. They hadn't seen a female among them, but the warrior could only assume the worst. His hope, however, caught up with him and he struggled to smile at his friend.

"Don't worry...I'm sure she's fine. But we've got to get out, Haru..."

Haru shook his head hopelessly at Sokka's suggestion. He tried to smile as Sokka persisted with his escape plans, but his stomach gave another great heave and is face turned to an expression of defeat and anguish.

"You don't get it, Sokka," said Haru in one last effort. "Even if there was a way out, we'd never get off the ship alive...what help would we be? We have no one to go to..."

Sokka shook his head and struggled to grin at the earth bender, who looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah we do. We have the Avatar."

"Slow, Kami. The Prince is nearly at pace with us," said the priestess cheerfully as Okami bounded towards them, enjoying the fine new snow. Zuko was still clutching the Elk's neck and repeating prayers in his head as he was tossed about, quite uncomfortably, on the buck's bony back.

I hate Elk, I hate Elk, I hate Elk... he repeated bitterly to himself as the flying snow stung his scarred eye and soaked into his clothing. He was just wondering whether he should grab the Elk's antlers and give him an uncomfortable ride when Okami stopped short beside the priestess. Zuko was caught off guard and his nose slammed into the Elk's neck before he toppled off the great beast. When he blinked and opened his eyes, he was lying knee deep in the snow and Kami was trying to eat his ponytail.

"Hey! You -" his hand flamed and he swung a red warning in front of the Elk's face. Kami seemed uninterested and merely sneezed idly. The priestess allowed herself a smile before she, too, dismounted - a little more gracefully than Zuko.

"Come, Prince. Bring the necklace. I feel her presence, and that of an old friend."

She patted Kami and the Elk followed her away as she began to disappear into the snowstorm. Okami trotted after them and Zuko stumbled through the snow, struggling to see the outline of the priestess.

"She's - she's alive? If - if you -"

His teeth were chattering wildly and the priestess pretended not to hear the beginnings stammers of his threat. She could see the dark entrance of the cave a ways off and tested the snow gingerly before taking her next step; she knew that, while most of the ice was frozen several feet thick, there were occasional faults that she would need to be wary of. She felt Zuko's spirit flames stumble up behind her and he caught sight of the cave in the distance.

There was a stooped, cloaked figure standing between the icicles, his coat drawn up over his nose and his eyes watering from the stinging winds. The priestess smiled at him as she approached but eh returned none of the warm greeting. He glared, fixedly, at the Fire Nation Prince beside her and huffed, turning his nose up.

"I knew you would come, Ariana. I did not know you would bring an enemy so close."

"Peace, Hiero. He is the one she searches for. I know you have felt the rivers in heart seek the warmth; even now she draws near to the fire."

Zuko looked between the two, impatient and confused. Were they talking about Katara? Was she in the cave? He wished they would get their conversation over with so he could learn about his love's fate. His impatience grew to a simmer of irritation and a stream of smoke escaped his palm. The old man noticed it and cast a wary eye on the Fire Nation Prince.

"She draws to the fire because she is nearly frozen to death. And here we are, standing in a storm like mindless snowmen! I do not wish to be bitter to you, Ariana; many years of solitude have made me it. It seems I have bonded too well with the frozen end of my element. Come inside and see the girl - I am sure both of you will be welcome in her eyes."

Zuko heart gave a tremendous leap but he dared not hasten before them. The two old benders walked regally in front of him and into the depth of the cave, where the faint flicker of a dim fire lighted briefly on the stone walls. For a long moment he saw nothing, unaccustomed to the darkness of the cave, his eyes darting constantly towards the light of the fire. After his eyes relaxed and he could see more, he searched desperately around the room but remained where he was. The priestess glanced at him with a smile and she caught his eye. Nodding, she gestured in the direction of the fire.

Zuko's chest seemed to burst. She was lying close to the flames, her face as heavenly as it had ever been, the red light silhouetting her features in the most beautiful, glorious, wonderful way; her eyes were closed and he feared, for one dreadful moment, that his hopes of her survival had been dashed. But when her chest lifted slightly and she let out a soft breathe, his happiness came bounding back in full strength.

He did not to wake her, still overwhelmed by the mere fact that she lived. He lowered himself gently beside him and she sniffed a little. Subconsciously her body felt the heat of Zuko's inner fires, flames she was more drawn to than the light of the burning wood in the midst of the cave. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and rested his back against the cave wall, muttering prayers to the gods. As she buried her head groggily into his shoulder, He let himself cry.

"Thank you, thank you..." he whispered slowly to the priestess. She smiled softly and bowed her head gently towards him as Katara, still indulged in her dreams, muttered something in her sleep and relaxed again. Hiero, the old man, gave a quiet huff.

The two turned away from the Prince and his love and Hiero bent over his simmering fish soup, taking it up in a ladle and pouring it into a bowl for the priestess.

"They do not know what lies ahead, Ariana," he snapped, but quiet enough for the joyful couple not to hear. Ariana took the soup and sipped it.

"Let them have this time, Hiero," she said gently asZuko's chin rested on Katara's head. Hiero shooke his head and began to pour himself his own bowl. The priestess' smile faded as her predictions came back to haunt her, but she shook them from thought.

"Their trials will not begin until tomorrow. That is many hours away. Come, Hiero. We shall take a night ride and let her awaken to her love. There is no better way to end your dreams."

Hiero sighed and looked at her with a reluctant grin. He shook his head at her sincere smile and stood, gulping down the last of his soup.

"I will not ride Kami. He has tried to eat my beard several times, Ariana..."