Avatar Chapter 49
I do not own Avatar the Last Air Bender
Mai was falling, it was pitch black and her arm throbbed but she still managed to draw her biggest knife and jab it into the wall which was thankfully loose dirt and not solid rock. It didn't stop her but she slowed enough to notice the faint light she was falling towards. She fell out of the dark shaft and into a room lit with strange glowing crystals, and a lot of green clad soldiers.
They seemed surprised she had landed on her feet without breaking a leg but none the less they looked ready to attack. Mai looked around, she was surrounded, the light was dim and worst of all she was underground, the worst place to fight Earth Benders. "Well at least this will be new."
She raised her hands above her head. "I suppose I surrender."
The ring of soldiers did not move, Mai wondered if they were waiting for her to do something amusing before she felt a thud against the back her head and her vision went dark.
Azula did not like crying, she of course never cried but a lot of people around her seemed to. Ty Lee was crying, Mai's mother was practically wailing and her husband was trying unsuccessfully to comfort her with tears running down his face.
By some miracle the baby was not crying but maybe he understood the weight of the situation… or he was just a stupid little twerp who Azula was giving way to much credit. Mai had been captured, that was the situation and Azula was not happy. She did somewhat admire the rebels tenacity, going after the governors family two days in a row but now they had interfered with her business and she was not going to let that stand.
"Governor, why don't you and your family retire for the day, I will take care of retrieving Mai."
The man looked at her with bloodshot eyes. "B-but Princess, I could never let you dirty yo-"
"Don't make me repeat myself." Azula glared and the man quickly nodded, he started to shuffle his still crying wife out of the room when Azula remembered something important. "Actually Governor before you go, retrieve for me something of Mai's"
The man looked confused. "What do you need Princess?" He seemed to know better than to question her, which was a good step forward.
"Anything really, but it should be something she would have kept close to her at all times." The man had a thoughtful look when a flash appeared in his eyes. "Right away Princess."
As soon as the governor and his wife were gone the crying lessened but did not disappear, Azula sighed and walked over to Ty Lee, who was seated on a large chair sniveling into a handkerchief.
Azula was never sure how to handle these situations with Ty Lee, usually burning something or someone helped but that was not going to help right now.
She put a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. "There there, I am certain Mai is still alive at the very least."
The acrobat mumbled something and then seemed to cry harder. "Burn it! I was certain that would help."
In the past whenever Azula could not get Ty Lee to stop crying through destroying or explaining something she resorted to her back up plan, pawn her off onto somebody else, which unfortunately was usually Mai.
But Mai was Agni knows where and Azula knew Ty Lee would be inconsolable until she was safe, the Princess hauled her consort to her feet and looked her in eye.
"Ty, go to our room and wait there, I will get Mai back, one way or another." Ty Lee blew her nose and hugged her. "We all just back to together." She mumbled.
Azula awkwardly pat Ty Lee's back in case anything she said caused more sobbing and then remembered that though Mai was gone she had a new tool at her disposal.
"Kori!" The colony girl who was standing with her parents, who had arrived not an hour ago, nearly jumped, bid a quick goodbye and raced over. "Yes your majesty."
"Ty Lee is upset, escort her to our quarters and be comforting to something." Azula pulled a royal seal out from her pocket and handed it the girl, who cradled it like was made of glass. "Use that to get her whatever she wants, jewelry, clothes, performers anything to make her stop blubbering, understand!"
The Earth Bender clutched the seal and bowed low. "Yes Princess."
As Ty Lee was lead out of the room Azula felt something like regret, she should be the one comforting Ty Lee but Mai needed to be recovered and Azula was not sure she wanted Ty lee to know the details until everything was over. "If I have to break some people I will, just as long my Ty Lee does not see a thing."
On a side note she was impressed with the colony girl, loyalty was such a rare thing and there were so many substandard kinds. The Governor here was loyal mostly out of fear, most generals were loyal due to ideas like honor or duty, the faithful were loyal because the Fire Sages told them to be and people like Lord Xizan were loyally only as far as they could further their own interests. And then there were people like Kori, individuals whose loyalty to the Fire Nation was a pillar of who they were.
Li and Lo taught her about these kinds of people, they could be the most effective servants one could have if they could be kept from descending into fanaticism. Azula would keep an eye on Kori, now though she had to find Mai in his dirt heap of a city.
Mai had a headache, a blow to the back of the head apparently did that to you. She had woken up in a metal room likely made for earth benders but it held her just fine. Her hands were shackled and chained to the floor as were her feet, the holsters for the knives on her wrists and ankles were gone as were the knives hidden in her sleeves. Thankfully she had a few pointy objects tucked away in special pockets in her robe, they must not have thought she was trouble with her arms and legs bound.
"When I get out of here I am taking a nice long bath, eating a good meal, and so help me of I find the cur who hit me I'm going to feminize him with my bare hands." Mai was not usually so… Azulaish, but the large lump on the back of her skull made her irritable.
She did not know how long she had been out, though her internal clock told her it may be near evening or maybe just past dusk. The only light came from one of those weird glowing crystals outside her cell door, whose light was hitting her right in the eye.
She tested out her restraints, she had never been captured before but she had been taught that the best time to escape was as soon as you could, before hunger and fatigue took over. "Being a political prisoner is supposed to be interesting, locked away in a palace, playing mind games with some perverted noble, not isolated in a hole in the ground."
Luckily for Mai lock picking was something she had picked up over the years, she often amused herself by breaking into her mother jewelry box and hiding pieces in strange places, like her bothers diaper.
It was difficult but Mai managed to get her hands next to one of the hair buns on her head, she hid a few small picks there in case of emergencies.
Mai really did not have a plan for after she got these cuffs off, the door looked a bit more daunting and she assumed she was still underground. She did not think it likely she would be able to sneak her way out of here even if she was well armed and without minor head trauma.
But it was something to do, maybe should could blindside the unfortunate individual who drew the short straw and had to feed her, if they even planned to feed her that is.
Mai has just plucked a lock pick form her hair when she faintly heard footsteps and muffled voices in the hall.
She quickly hid the pick in her sleeve and listened carefully, she could just make out the conversation of the approaching group.
"Here's where were keeping governors daughter, you still want to go in? She looks plain but believe me she's dangerous." A harsh voice spoke.
"I do, she may know where Bumi is." And much lighter voice caught Mai of guard.
She heard the first man sigh. "Alright, for all the good it will do you try to get something out of her, won't change the fact that we're alone down here."
The door was unlocked and light spilled into the room, Mai could imagine quite a few different people walking through but three kids younger than she was were not on her list.
The youngest was some baldheaded pipsqueak with a big blue arrow on his head, Mai had seen the wanted posters and knew who this might be. Then again there were quite a few imposters running around these days, people wanting attention or with weird fetishes.
The other two were Water Tribe, dark skin, blue cloths, the boy looked on the verge puberty and the girl looked like she had eaten a sour fruit.
Mai sat and stared, not moving or even blinking, that always seemed to unnerve people.
Finally the awkwardness was too much and the bald one spoke. "So… you're the governor's daughter… that's sound nice."
Mai just stared blankly, if this was the Avatar she was not impressed.
"My names Aa-." He was cut off by the water tribe boy, who made a bunch of weird hushing noises before whispering into the bald ones ear, though not a quietly as he should.
"Aang you don't give the prisoner information, we gotta be ruthless here, follow my lead." He swaggered over and kneeled down in front of her, he gave a strange look with an eye that seemed on the verge of popping out of his head before pulling what Mai assumed was a weapon from his pack.
It took her a second to realize the 'weapon' was a boomerang.
"Now, Miss Fire Nation girl, you have some information we need, and it would be in your best interest if you tell us now." He gave a very dramatic pause. "If you don't, we have ways of making people talk." He waved the boomerang in front of her face.
"We do?" The bald seemed genuinely surprised.
"Yes, we do!"
"Ohhh, I get it." The bald one looked like the understood the ruse, though how Mia caught on before him baffled her.
"Well, are you going tell us where King Bumi is or are we going to have to get violent." He gave her a look that she guessed was supposed to look crazed but just made him look constipated.
"Wait! Sokka we can't use violence, she can't even defend herself." The bald one now looked horrified.
"I told you we would have to be ruthless Aang!"
"I thought that meant ruthless negotiations, I'm sure we can convince her to tell us."
"You don't 'convince' prisoners to tell you stuff, you convince them you're crazy enough to, to, umm." It was apparent even he had no idea what he was potentially, maybe, planning to do to her.
Mai was not sure what kind of good, evil dichotomy act she was being put through right now, though half of her suspected the two in front of her were morons.
"Ah hah I got it! Tell us were Bumi is or Katara will freeze your feet!"
"What! Why would I do that?" The girl did not seemed amused to be dragged into this 'interrogation'.
"Because having cold feet is really uncomfortable, remember when you froze mine that one time?"
"That was an accident, and what makes you think that will work, she could be a Fire Bender."
"Nonsense you heard the captain, she just throws knives and stuff." He waved her off.
"Sokka that still sounds like something I can't condone, she might not even be involved in this." The mini-monk seemed very uncomfortable.
"Oh come on, look at her, she's totally evil."
"We can't assume that, judging a scroll by its end piece is not right."
"Is that an Air Bender thing?"
"It's a decent human being thing Sokka." The girl seemed to be losing her patience.
"Aright, alright she's an innocent pampered noble's daughter, she could still know stuff."
"Then let me ask her, I'm sure we can find common ground."
At this point Mai was wondering if she could bash her head against the Water Tribe boys hard enough to make him bite his tongue off.
The monk sat down in front her and smiled, much like Ty Lee's and Mai wondered if it was just as dumb.
"Hi, sorry we got off on the wrong foot, my names Aang, what's yours?"
Mai just stared, she had not moved a muscle since they came in, she really had no reason she just liked unnerving people. She actually did know where the former king was, she may have even told them if she was in the mood but she was still peeved about this whole prisoner thing and it turned out she was a very vindictive person.
"Can you hear me? Do we even know if she can hear or talk?"
"See! This is why we should try the freezing thing, or how about we drop water on her head, I heard that works."
"How would dropping water on her help us?" The girl was now tapping her foot.
"I don't know, I heard some guys up north talk about, you drip water on someone's head for a few hours and they go crazy."
"That sounds crazy! And even if it didn't we don't have hours Sokka, it took us all day to even get into the city."
"It wouldn't have taken all day if we used Appa for my bisonapult idea."
"That's crazier than the water dripping!"
"Guys, we're not getting anywhere."
Mai was contemplating if it was physically possible to sleep with her eyes open, she probably was not getting anything to eat today and she might as well rest up if these rubes were going to keep on… doing whatever this was.
It turned out she could not sleep but she could zone out while still appearing stoic, she sat there for Agni knows how long while the brats debated the best way to extract information out her. Ironically by the time they left, they decided to call it quits when the boy suggested using his dirty socks for something, she had more information than they did. Aang, Sokka and Katara, the monk was the Avatar, maybe, the girl was a Water Bender the boy had a big mouth.
Mai stretched out her stiff neck, Azula would just love to know their greatest enemy was a pacifist, pre-pubescent twig of a boy. She took the lock pick out of sleeve and got back to work, those three may have been inept but she imagined there was someone in this underground hive capable of proper interrogation.
It did not take her long break out of her restraints, they were loose on her anyhow, so she walked over and examined the door.
It was solid, except for a grate up top and a flap near the floor for meals, it was a big hunk of iron. Mai examined the lock, "I would need a bag of lock picks and a lot more time."
She tapped her foot and looked around, beside the door it was basically a metal box. "There isn't even a beam I could hang myself from, that should be the absolute minimum for a prison cell."
Mai walked to the hinged side the door and sat down against the wall, at this point she was forced to wait for something to happen.
Azula looked at a 'map' of this city, it was crude and showed practically nothing but it was the best they had.
General Ouken had a plan to expunge the rebels but it did account for a hostage, they would have to get Mai out before he could rid the city of pests.
"I have men trained for this Princess even underground they should be able to do the job, in fact I believe they would rather enjoy a stroll in the dark." The general's almost playful demeanor was strange but most Generals had quirks.
"I'm sure they are but these insects have irritated me, Mai will be retrieved before dawn." Azula turned to look at the corner where she knew her 'agent' was waiting.
"Arkrez, come." The massive beast shimmered into site and stalked over, Azula picked up the item the Governor had retrieved. She had to admit he knew his own daughter, a spare holster for Mai's plethora of knives, it was well worn and even had a few specks of blood from small cuts.
She held it out to her pet, Arkrez's serpentine tongue lashed out and examined the item, memorizing its scent.
"Now… Retrieve." The great beast reared up and his fur stood upright, he made for the open door to the balcony and leapt out into the night.
"My my I haven't seen one of those in years, it will certainly the trick."
"That he will General, and once he completes his mission you will be free to do yours."
"It will be my pleasure your majesty."