The guard had not lied to her when he said sunrise - Kaia was awoken that morning with the banging of metal doors.
Two guards stepped through the door of her cell-on-wheels, their heavy boots made an ominous thudding sound as they strode towards her. They grabbed Kaia by the arms and hauled her semi conscious body to her feet. She didn't protest, but was anything but thrilled at the sudden wake up call. Apparently, her guard had learned a thing or two from last night and wasn't going to take her anywhere by himself.
She fought back for control of her body, trying to pull her thin arms out of the guards' firm grip. It didn't help that her feet were barely touching the ground, but she could make that work for her. She kicked at them as they pulled her out of the jail-cell-on-wheels, though it didn't do much more than annoy the two men with her constant barrage of taps against their shin plates.
Her feet did not touch the earth when she was brought outside; the guards were not giving her a chance to fight them. That's what they thought they were doing, at least. Kaia closed her eyes; alert to her surroundings through her other senses. She felt the cold pre dawn chill touch her face; the stench of smoke and ash filled her lungs; the wind carried the faint scent of the fires that had burned in the forests last night; she felt the dirt that coated her skin and the faintest touch as her bare feet scraped the ground. She focused on the fact that the earth was still all around her.
The movement stopped, the guards who were carrying her had paused in their walk. She didn't open her eyes to find out why; she just slammed her fists shut in the simplest maneuver possible. The earth at the feet of the guards crumbled and they lost their footing, dropping Kaia.
Kaia's eyes flew open as she landed on the ground. Sudden heat behind her cast into sharp realization why the two guards had stopped walking: they had been gathering a few more men. Kaia opened her palms, and the earth molded back into its original form beneath the guards' feet.
"I'll walk." She said gruffly, straightening herself up between the soldiers.
"Good." The voice behind her was familiar, but Kaia did not give him the honor of her glance to find out who it was. "I will take the Earthbender to Captain Sheng." The harsh voice behind her informed the two soldiers, "You two make the," he paused, searching for the proper word, "preparations."
"Yes Sergeant." And the guards at her sides took their leave in the opposite direction.
"Start walking." He touched the base of her neck with his hand, and Kaia felt the heat that could easily become a fire. She walked forward, her shoulders squared and her head held up, that so-called Captain Sheng would be getting his answer all right. He might even be surprised with it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Captain Sheng sat in the large red and gold tent, his dark eyes closed in meditation. In his mind, he knew the Earthbender would accept the offer. She had surely seen what the Fire Nation Army could do to a village, with or without defenses. She would know better than to refuse his offer. He had no worries about that.
His only worries were what to do about the other men. Only a few of them were in on the great plan, the great treason they were about to commit. Those that had been in on it had been in on it since the very beginning, not a year ago when their leader had begun making the arrangements. Many men in the Fire Nation believed that the Fire Lord Ozai was losing his touch, and of course, many of them had thought that his weakling of a son was to blame.
Well, they no longer had to worry about him, he was in exile now. On a fool's errand, chasing after the Avatar, a mythical being that hadn't been heard from in almost a hundred years. That boy no longer had claim to the throne of the Fire Nation, unless he actually managed to find the Avatar and bring him back to the Fire Lord. None of them had any desire to follow a boy still wet behind the ears, even if he did manage to bring back the Avatar.
His thoughts were interrupted when the guard brought the Earthbender in. "Thank you, Keahi." He said, his eyes focusing on the girl behind in front of him. "Stay a moment, if you will."
"Yes sir." The guard, Keahi, nodded and backed up to the corner of the large tent.
Kaia took a breath, expanding her chest for a moment before she let it out slowly. Captain Sheng watched it's rise and fall with a sadistic smile. "Well, Earthbender," he began, "have you made your decision?" he asked, folding his arms as he watched her.
She nodded, "I have." The rasp was not gone from her voice, it even cracked through her effort to remove it. Yet, even though her voice was raspy and quiet, the confidence was clearly there, and the strength behind it could clearly be heard. That quiet strength worried Captain Sheng, and at the same time it relieved him.
"Your answer?" he pressed her, his voice pried at her.
Kaia lowered her eyes to the floor for a moment, making the Captain unsure of her answer. Was she reconsidering? He kept his mouth closed, but did not let up on his intense gaze. It seemed like it took forever before her eyes moved up and met his again. When he saw them this time, he saw in them a fierce intensity not worthy of Earthbending scum.
"I accept your offer."
Captain Sheng nodded, hiding the wicked grin that wished to cross his lips, "Very well." The tension in his muscles released, "Please, sit down." He gestured to a pillow closer to where he sat.
Kaia's cryptic gaze pierced him for a moment, then she slowly moved towards the pillow and set her body down. The Captain marveled at the control she demonstrated in her movements, he may have made the right choice in choosing this girl, but that was not for him to decide. That would be demonstrated later, if she ever proved her abilities.
"Keahi, remove the Earthbender's chains." He quipped, his snakelike voice was almost conversational as he addressed Kaia again, "Earthbender, Kaia, wasn't it?" he asked her, "How long has it been since you've eaten? You look starved." He didn't expect her to respond, so he was not surprised when she didn't.
Keahi walked over, Captain Sheng noted with indifference the way his movements seemed almost stiff in comparison with the Earthbender's show of effortless control.
Kaia nodded a brief thank you at the guard before returning her attention to the Captain, her dark eyes holding stiff eye contact with him.
"I admire your audacity, Kaia." He said calmly, continuing on in his conversational tone, "Were you injured last night? I see that you have accumulated some burns. I will have one of our physicians look at you. There is no need for your health to suffer now. You are, after all, working for us."
Kaia seethed, she drew breath again, "Just get to the point." She said calmly, the tone of her voice suggested that she did not have time for the Captain's useless conversation. She had no interest in his false show of compassion; she was here to find out what he wanted from her.
In the back of the room, Keahi smiled.
"Very well, Kaia." The Captain nodded, "These are the terms and conditions of our arrangement. You will be part of the Fire Nation Army. You will be treated as a soldier of the Fire Nation. You will be fed, you will receive medical attention, you will be trained, and you will follow orders." He watched as Kaia nodded, "Then, you will travel to the Capital City as a messenger. You will travel with the Fire Nation Navy, under Commander Zhao." He watched the Earthbender, her face was indifferent, "Once you are there, you will go into the palace, and you will kill the Fire Lord."
Kaia could no longer hold her features, her eyes opened wide, and her mouth dropped open. "You want me to kill the Fire Lord?" she repeated incredulously, unbelieving of her ears. She seemed unsure of her senses.
"Yes."
Kaia swallowed, no wonder they had wanted her for this job. No self respecting Fire Nation citizen would attempt to commit such an act. Though, she could not say that the task was not to her liking, there wasn't an Earthbender who didn't despise the Fire Lord. "Why?" she asked smoothly, keeping her tone level despite her shock.
The Captain nodded, "Keahi, guard the door." He said, then redirected his gaze at Kaia, "Let me tell you a little story, Earthbender." There he went calling her 'Earthbender' again, he'd need to break that habit soon, "Not six months ago, a young prince of the Fire Nation was disgraced by his father in an Agni Kai, and banished from the Fire Nation. He was always weak, it was inevitable. The Fire Lord would not want a weakling taking up after him, the boy might end the war." He said, looking at Kaia meaningfully.
Kaia remained indifferent, "So, why do you want me to kill the Fire Lord?" she asked again.
"Because we are tired, this whole world conquest thing has gotten out of hand." His silky tone weaved through the room, "We are tired of this. Killing innocent people; burning villages; being away from our homes; being away from our families; Kaia, you surely can understand what war has done to your village, to your home, your family. Haven't you ever wished you could stop it?"
Kaia remained silent, but the look in her eyes told him that he had broken through to her, whether or not she believed him, "With the Fire Lord out of the way, the Prince will return, and being the boy that he is, he will stop this war. His peace loving uncle will see to it."
Kaia did not believe the Captain for a moment, but his offer was tantalizing. Go out and kill the Fire Lord, there was the promise of a new beginning in it. There was the smallest possibility of the empty dream of peace coming from this. All she had to endure to achieve a dream was a nightmare.
"All you have to do, Kaia, is sign this paper." He said, carelessly handing her a small bit of parchment.
Kaia's eyes flicked over the characters on the page, "What of my family?" she asked, not removing her eyes from the parchment.
"They will be sent a fraction of your pay. They will know that you are safe, being cared for, and" he paused, "that you are still on their side." He smiled.
Kaia nodded, then picked up the pen Captain Sheng had handed her and wrote her name at the bottom of the parchment: Kaia Niyati.
Captain Sheng smiled, "Keahi! Please take Miss Niyati to the physician." He said calmly as Keahi walked quietly into the room.
"Yes sir."
"Then return here for the remainder of your orders."
Keahi nodded, "Please follow me, Niyati." He said quietly, the tone of his harsh voice still had not changed.
The Captain held back his elation as the Keahi led the Earthbender out of the tent. Step One was completed. He settled down to write his success to his friend, the Commander.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Zhi!" Keahi called outside of another rather large tent.
Kaia continued to hold herself in that stick straight posture, as of now, she no longer needed to act a part, but she would not let herself down for any reason. She was still in awe at the size of the Fire Nation camp - it was enormous, and so easy to see. It was just like the Fire Nation to flaunt itself, and the bright red of the tents just went to show that they feared no ambush.
"ZHI!" Keahi called once again, "Zhi, get out here! I have a patient for you." He growled impatiently.
A few moments later a short little man came stumbling out of the physician's tent, "My, Keahi, must you shout? This is a physician's tent, not a soldiers' cathouse! I'm busy. What is it?" The little man glanced at Kaia, "What happened to you, dear? You look as though you've been through a battle zone? Oh, what am I saying? This whole place is a battle zone!" the old man jabbered, "Let me guess, Captain Sheng wants me to take care of her?" he asked, sending his brown eyed gaze towards Keahi.
"Yes, if you don't mind, Zhi." Keahi responded.
Zhi nodded, "Of course I don't mind. Just go inside, dear." He instructed Kaia, who slowly responded to his quick jabbering, "I don't know what you put her through, Keahi, but don't do it again. Go on now, I have work to do!"
A few moments later, the short man reappeared inside the tent. Kaia was standing with her arms folded, looking around the partitioned room. There were cots, tables, and a few water basins, though not too many of those.
"Have a seat, uh, what did you say your name was?"
"Kaia. Kaia Niyati." Kaia replied, taking a seat on the hard looking cot. To her pleasant surprise, she found that it was quite comfortable, and relaxed just a bit.
"Very nice name." the man responded, "Earth Kingdom, I suspect?"
Kaia's eyes shot open a little wider, "Yes. From the Shadow… from Nishimura." She said, sounding a little surprised.
"I suspect they'll all end up calling you Niyati." The man said as he began examining her. He started with her arms, examining the old scars and the new cuts and bruises as he went along, "They'll do that, try and make you forget who you are, you know." He continued, "They'll want you to forget about the Earth Kingdom. Going to be a soldier, yes? I expect I'll be seeing a lot more of you. You certainly do seem to have a lot of injuries, nothing too serious, but certainly a lot of them." Zhi continued to chatter absentmindedly, and Kaia didn't mind that, for once, she didn't have to think about anything.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Keahi sighed as he walked back to his tent. The Earthbender girl had taken the bait, as far as he was concerned, and that was good. His job was now to make sure that only a certain number of people knew of her existence, and make sure that her people thought that she was either dead, or had completely abandoned them. It didn't really matter which one the people thought, as long as they didn't pay her disappearance any further attention.
He calmly stripped off his uniform and folded it up inside his rucksack, then he took out a rough green shirt and some rather itchy brownish pants, Earth Kingdom clothing, and put them on. He looked like he could have been an Earth Kingdom peasant, if it wasn't for the rest of him. He reached up and pulled down his top knot, letting his black hair fall around the rest of his head and face.
He knew his amber eyes would be a dead giveaway, but he had always simply stated that the Fire Nation had invaded his village before he was born. It usually worked. The Fire Nation didn't have a very good reputation, and that was often times a blessing. He left his tent and made his way towards the village the girl had come from.
Dawn had broken long ago, the skies a definite grey, the smoke the Fire Nation Army produced would linger for a while after they departed. He walked through the woods; scorch marks covered the ground where they had trapped Kaia the night before. A small trace of a grin passed over his lips, that girl had put up quite a fight. She might be what they needed to finish this scheme.
The earth tore at his bare feet, he grimaced, unaccustomed as he was to walking around barefoot on cracked earth. He looked around, his eyes resting on the arrows sticking out of the burned trunks of the trees. He could remember what the sight had looked like last night; it didn't look the same under the glow of the sun.
He walked a few yards more before he heard the pad of feet behind him, he turned to see a bedraggled young man holding a scythe and an armful of edible plants, "Identify yourself." The young man demanded, his green eyes focused harshly on Keahi.
"Zev." Keahi stated without hesitation, "I'm part of the resistance in Ba-Sing-Sei." He said quickly, "Can you tell me where I am?" he asked in earnest.
"You are in Nishimura." the man standing across from him said. Keahi noticed that this man still hadn't lowered his scythe, he would remember to tell Captain Sheng to be wary of the farmers in this village - some of their tools could be used as weapons.
Keahi smiled in relief, "An Earth Kingdom village, yes?"
The man nodded, his green eyes narrowing, "Yes."
"Good, I'm going the right way then!" he said, relief in his eyes as well, "I just got away from the Fire Nation… they have a camp not too far from here, you know." he explained, "I'm trying to go home." he grinned, "Thank you for your help." he said, and turned to go.
The man stopped him, "You came from the Fire Nation camp?" he said, "Were there any others there from the Earth Kingdom?"
Keahi stopped and bit his lip, thinking, "Yeah, there was." he said, "There was a girl that got picked up some time last night." He shook his head sadly.
"Was her name Kaia?" the man pressed.
"Kaia? Yeah, that sounds about right." he said quietly, "I didn't get to speak with her for very long, threw her in and took her out," he snapped his fingers solemnly "just like that."
"What happened to her? Is she alright?" the man was getting excited, anxious it seemed.
"I don't know. I didn't see her after they took her out." He looked at the man, watching his expression sadden, "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. Was she...?" he asked, looking at the man curiously.
He shook his head, "No, nothing like that. She was a very good friend of mine." He smiled weakly, "She was a key member of our village. Did a lot for people." He said simply.
"I see." Keahi nodded, "What's your name, friend?"
"Boaz."
"Thank you for your help, Boaz. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more." Keahi said weakly, offering his hand.
Boaz shook it, "Just remember us back in Nishimura when you've made some headway at Ba-Sing-Sei." He said, then turned and walked down the hillside, towards the village. He was so stunned at the news of Kaia's apparent death that he didn't even notice that the man who had given him that information had amber eyes, or was unusually well fed for a prisoner of the Fire Nation.
Keahi smirked, that had been far too easy.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kaia had been instructed to get some sleep after Zhi had practically covered her with salve and talked her into oblivion. Kaia's only request of him was that she get a piece of paper and a pen, she just wanted to write a letter to someone. She'd told him it was to her mother, but it was really to her friend Boaz, a bender from her village. He was one of the others who opposed the Fire Nation. Of all people, he was the one who she trusted the most to keep a secret, and the one she knew she could count on to help her.
She pulled the table over to her and slowly began to write:
Boaz,
By the time you find this letter, I will probably be halfway to Omashu. I am sorry to do this to you, please do not think I am abandoning our cause. I have been granted an opportunity with the Fire Nation Army, and I mean to use it to our advantage. They do not know of our Refuge, or how many of us there are. Do not worry, they never will. Remember Boaz, there must always be hope.
Kaia
She read over her letter carefully, then folded it up and tucked it away and out of sight. She planned on hiding the letter for Boaz to find, if he ever got around to looking for it. They had used this method before, write a letter, hide a letter, find a letter, read a letter, burn a letter, write a letter… it had worked once before.
As soon as she had finished tucking the letter away, Captain Sheng walked into her partitioned room of the tent, "Ah, Niyati. I thought you would be in here." He was carrying a tray of some foul smelling Fire Nation food, "You need to eat." He said calmly, placing the foul smelling tray on the table, on top of the extra paper that Zhi had brought for her.
"You understand how things will work?" the man asked, sitting on the edge of her cot.
"Not entirely." Kaia responded, poking at her food with the utensils before determining that it was probably safe to eat.
"Your interaction with the soldiers will be very limited." He explained, "Unfortunately, not many of my men are as accepting of other cultures as we would like them to be." He shook his head, "You will train with them, eat with them, but you will travel in that cell." He held up his hand, "I know, it seems unfair, but it gives you more time to yourself, and you will be free to do whatever you like in there. Such as, practice with your weapons."
Kaia's eyes lit, "Weapons?"
"Yes. Did you think that we would send you on a potentially dangerous mission without any proper weapons training?"
Kaia felt her cheeks turn a bit of color, "No." she said, "Of course not."
"You will also be allowed to practice your Earthbending." He smiled, watching her eyes light again, "The men you will be with have agreed to spar with you so that you might learn how better to fight against Firebenders."
"Thank you, sir."
Captain Sheng stood up to go, "And, by the way." He trailed his hand around her bony shoulders to her neckline, "No letters." He snatched the corner of her correspondence to Boaz, "Don't worry, I won't read this one." he ripped it in half, "But consider that your only warning."
Kaia swallowed, "Yes sir."
Zhi hurried in as Captain Sheng left the room, "I am so sorry, Kaia. If I had known that you weren't allowed to send letters, I most certainly wouldn't have given you the paper. Did you get enough rest?" he asked her, busying himself with clearing up the ink and the papers, "The soldiers should be tearing down the camp now. We should be moving in an hour. Were you supposed to wait for anyone?"
Kaia shook her head, "I don't know."
"What are you doing joining the Fire Nation Army anyway?" he asked her.
Kaia smirked, staring at the floor, so now she knew what Zhi had been wondering this whole time, "Trying to make a difference."
"For who?"
"My village." Not just for her village, for the people in her village, for herself, and possibly even for the Earth Kingdom. Yet, if the truth was told, she didn't know what she was doing in the Fire Nation Army other than trying to stay alive.
"Really? That's not why I think you joined the Fire Nation. No self respecting Earthbender joins the Fire Nation Army without a very good, very specific, cause, unless they're caving to a threat." He looked at Kaia, his white hair and dark eyes reminded her of the old village Elder Keb, "And Kaia, I think you joined for a good, specific cause." He smiled reassuringly, and patted her back, "My! Look at the time! I have work to do. I had better not be seeing you here too soon, Kaia."
"Thank you, Zhi." Kaia smiled, "I'll try not to be back soon." She said, and then left through the tent flap, out into the smoky heat of the noonday sun.
She closed her eyes for a moment, holding her breath as the sun hit her face. It made her feel good and guilty that she was standing there now, breathing the smoke filled air in the middle of the Fire Nation Army's camp. It was good because she was alive, she was going to do something that had never been attempted before, she was going to help her village, she was going to contribute something to this hundred year war. But, it made her feel guilty, because she knew that many of her people had been in those same circumstances and not lived to see the next day's sunrise. It was more than likely that her friends in Nishimura, the Shadowland, would not ever know what really happened to her, unless she was able to find a way to contact one of them.
She opened her eyes again, and started trying to find her way back to her jail-cell-on-wheels. That thing would be her home for the next few months, so she figured that she might as well get used to it.
It took no time at all for Kaia to get herself lost, an Earthbender amongst the chaos of a well organized camp ground. Tents were being torn down, soldiers ran around with massive packs on their backs, animals were being saddled and loaded up. Not many of them paid much attention to the lost woman wandering in and out of the tents looking for where she was supposed to be.
"Niyati!" a voice rang above the clanking and noises of a camp being torn down, "Niyati!" the voice called out again. "NIYATI!" someone's hand grabbed her shoulder.
Kaia spun, her hands in an attack position, glaring down a Fire Nation soldier, ready to attack, and then she realized that it wasn't her job to do that anymore. She shrugged his hand off of her shoulder harshly, "What?" she demanded, "Who are you?" the man who had put his hand on her shoulder wasn't Keahi, Zhi or the Captain.
"Hakan." He said, flashing a smile her way before he realized that this woman was the all-business type, "Keahi sent me to look for you. Our platoon is getting ready to move out." He informed her, "And we need to get you back to your… to your…." He slowed down and stopped talking for a moment, "Have you been to see Zhi yet?" he asked her, staring at her face.
"Yes. I have." Kaia snapped, thoroughly perturbed by this man.
"Good, good… I was worried because, you know, your face is kind of… well. Nevermind. We need to get you back to the, uh, your… living quarters." He finished, seeming to be proud of himself for being able to find a more pleasant name for the cell-on-wheels.
Kaia sighed, "Alright." and turned to follow Hakan to the cell-on-wheels.
On the way back, Kaia listened to Hakan jabber on about the other the other three men she would be associating with. From what she could gather, she was in for slightly more than she bargained for. Hakan didn't seem to ever shut up, and she already knew that she didn't like Keahi.
She stepped up into the cell-on-wheels and Hakan closed the door, but not before telling her that if she needed anything at all, all she had to do was bang on the door and he would be right there, and he meant he would be right there.
She looked over at the metal slab she had slept on the night previously, and found that her little jail cell had been somewhat refurbished. For one thing, there was a pillow, and there was also a small pile of fabric sitting on the bench.
She walked over to it, lurching a bit as the cart started moving, and read the note on top of it, "To Niyati, from your friend Zhi."
She shuddered reading the note. Would the word 'friend' really be how she came to think of these people in the end? She hoped not.