Ozai was no where to be seen but he called to her again from the shadows. Mingan forced herself over the threshold and waited just inside the door. It was surprisingly dim in the Fire Lord's chambers. Mingan's eyes quickly adjusted and she could see quite well. Afterall, she had grown up in a place where it was dark six months of the year. "Good morning," Fire Lord Ozai greeted. There he was, in the far corner, lounging in a over-stuffed chair.

"G-good morning, Fire Lord Ozai," she replied, stooping down to the floor to bow. She dared not rise until he told her to. His robes rustled as he walked closer to her. He pressed the toe of his shoe into her forearm telling her it was ok to stand now.

"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" He asked in a low voice. Ironic, considering all the curtains were drawn. She nodded. He was quiet for a long moment, as though inspecting her. "Come, let's continue our reading lesson," he said, walking to the back of his chambers where a large desk sat, a candle burning bright on the corner. She sat down on the fancy chair that had a back only rising to her waist. She thought it was fairly comfortable as she leaned back against it. Ozai took his perch behind her as she opened the book and searched for where she had left off. She liked this book, though it was a little harder to understand. It had more words and less pictures than the other books she had read. She had finished all of two pages when the Fire Lord's warm hand started to creep up her shoulder-blade. She chilled at the touch, anxiety starting to roil in her stomach. However, she kept herself well put together as she continued to read aloud. It was only a few sentences later that his palm rested on the crest of her shoulder. It's a harmless enough gesture. Nothing to get worked up about. She continued to tell herself similar things even when his fingers began to play with the soft hairs along her hairline under her ear.

Her voice shook as she began the next page. His other hand trailed along her spine until his fingers dug into the muscle of her shoulder. He worked her skin, probably intending to relax her muscles (for what reason escaped her) but instead only made them tighter. Her shoulders hunched and she could barley concentrate on the page before her. "Um..." she choked out when the pads of his fingers ran along her throat, lifting her chin when they dragged along her jaw.

"Has anyone ever told you just how pretty your skin is?" He said huskily into her ear. She shivered and tried to edge away from him. "Shhh, just relax," he almost whispered. Her heart was starting to pound hard against her chest. His hands continued their slow, back and forth pattern up and down her neck. Her blood ran cold when he allowed his hands to travel just past her collarbone. Adrenaline surged though her system with a vengeance and she leapt from the chair on sheer impulse.

"I- I don't think you should be-" she stuttered, but he cut her off when he stepped forward and pinned the small of her back against the edge of the table. He rested both muscled arms on either side of her shaking frame. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face.

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to harm you," he comforted, but his seductive voice ruined any attempt at calming her. It only made her start to panic.

"I think I should go now," she said, ducking under his arm.

The Fire Lord was fast, he snagged her wrist and yanked her to a stop. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears. It was time to leave. Right now. Her free hand shot out and tried to pry his fingers from her other arm. He jerked her close to him, so close in fact that her nose was brushing the rich robes covering his chest. His hands gripped her shoulder blades, dragging her face closer to his, only her toes touching the floor. She was flush against his sculpted chest and she hated it. She hated how she could feel every breath he took, his chest expanding and pressing against hers. "Let go of me," she demanded, shoving away from him with her palms. He slammed her little body against his, almost knocking the wind out of her lungs. His hot lips suddenly found her neck and she screamed. "No! Let go of me! Let go!" She cried, her voice growing more frantic with each word.

"You should be honored that the Fire Lord has taken an interest in you," he murmured against her skin. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst free of its hold in her chest. She struggled against his iron grip feebly, her mind frenzied in the utter shock of what was happening to her. She had never been in a situation like this before, and she didn't know what to do. All of sudden his teeth scraped against her skin and his hand started to travel down along her spine, that's when her senses came screaming back into her mind. Her hands shot up and she dug all ten nails into the Fire Lord's neck, peeling layers of skin off and drawing blood. An animalistic cry ripped free of Ozai's throat as he shoved her away. His push was enough to send her sprawling on the carpet. Mingan scrambled to her feet and made a break for the door. She was almost there when a blast of fire cut her off. She screamed in terror and stopped dead in her tracks. Tears sprang to her eyes from the sheer heat of the flames. Ozai was suddenly in front of her like some horrible monster, slamming the door shut with his massive hand. "You petulant woman," he snarled advancing towards her. Mingan turned and ran for the windows, she would break the glass out if she had to. Her mind was working fast, planning each possible escape route if the next one failed.

Her fingers had just tangled in the thick drapes when his hand clamped down on her shoulder and threw her to the floor. She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping someone would come running to see what the commotion was. She managed to kick him hard in the knee before his body towered over hers. He pinned her knees together with legs and struggled to catch her hands. All rational thought had flow from her mind when she had landed on the floor. She clawed, punched and tore at him for all she was worth, and she was actually doing a pretty good job of it too until he managed to grab her wrists and trap them over her head. "Help!" She screamed. "Help me!"

"You should save your breath, no one is going to help you. They are all loyal to me." Her mind was reeling, trying desperately to come up with a plan to get out of here. And then she saw it. Her mind flashed back to a very similar looking young man who had her pinned in the snow. Mingan stretched up and grabbed the tender flesh under Ozai's jaw and bit down. Hard. She tasted blood in her mouth and kept sinking her sharp canines into his skin. His hands flew to his neck and Mingan took the opportunity to flee. Ozai cried out in pain and scrambled away from her. Mingan leapt to her feet and nearly slammed into the door as she yanked it open. He heard the Fire Lord cry out an enraged order for someone to go after her as she tore down the hall. She wiped the blood from her lips and escaped from Ozai's apartments. Now she had free run of the entire Palace. She was lost something fierce but self-preservation would not allow her to be caught by the guard's she could heard clambering down the hall in their metal boots. She flew down on the halls and whipped around corner after corner, desperately trying to find a way to get out. She had to leave this wretched place, go back home and this was her chance. Maybe her only chance because Ozai would surley kill her if he managed to catch her. If, he managed to catch her.

Mingan went through the doors she came to in the corridors, only to have them open into more halls. But when she threw open a door and found herself outside, she nearly shouted for joy. It was an enclosed courtyard, but all the plants would make excellent cover. She shut the door as quietly as she could behind her and then turned and ran for the far corner of the garden. There were tall, thick hedges she could hide behind and it wasn't until she was crouched behind the plants that she noticed she was crying. Her body shook from fear and exertion. Her adrenaline was slowly fading away into her blood and left her limbs feeling like jelly.

The birds in the garden sung and chirped to one another as though nothing was wrong in the world. Meanwhile, Mingan hid under the cover of shrubbery, her world spinning around her. She forced her breathing to slow so she could remain quiet. If they had not found her by nightfall, she would scale the wall and escape into town, and stay hidden as best she could. She knew she was painfully different, blue eyes and dark skin, but maybe, just maybe she could hang around the docks and find a ship going anywhere but here. It seemed as though she hid for hours, her legs going completely numb as she waited. She knew it was foolish to allow them to become like this but she was too scared to move for fear of being caught. The Fire Nation sun beat down on her shoulders, sending waves of heat rolling across her skin. Her brow dripped with sweat and she had to keep wiping it away with the back of her hand.

Mingan thought she might make it to nightfall. It had been a while with no sign of the courtyard being searched. Her mouth was dry and she didn't think she had ever felt this thirsty before in her life.

Without warning fingers tangled in her hair and yanked her from the bushes. She cried out in pain and terror. She had been found. An man with red and black robes stood beside her, his hand fisted in her hair. She screamed at him to release her, fought to remove his hand from her scalp. "I found her!" He called to the garden. Mingan thought for a second he must be crazy until she saw that the door to the palace were open. How had she not heard him come in!? She clawed at his arm but he smacked her hard across the face with his other hand.

"There's the little wench! Bring her to the throne room, the Fire Lord would like to have a word with her," a man laughed, stepping out into the garden. Mingan was dragged by the hair through the palace, struck whenever she cried out. She was pretty sure her cheek was split open by the time they reached a large set of doors that looked oddly familiar. When the doors were pushed open she realized it was the throne room. It felt hotter than she remembered. The flames in front of the Fire Lord were more of an inferno than a wall. She was thrown to the ground, her skin chafing against the stone floor. She rose to her feet rather quickly, only to be pushed back down and kicked hard in the ribs. "Bow to your Fire Lord, savage!" A man yelled. Pain flooded through her system and made her groan.

"You little witch!" Ozai growled from his dais. The flames rose as he spoke. "How dare you lash out at the Fire Lord, you filthy peasant! You're lucky I did not kill you earlier. You are a slave to the Fire Nation, you have no rights here. You are nothing more than an animal to be bought and sold. And since you act like a wild animal, you will punished like a wild animal!" He shouted. Guards suddenly appeared from the shadows, stepping from behind the elaborate columns. One carried a braided whip, another's hands ignited with fire. Mingan whirled around and sprinted for the door, only to be cut off by another guard. She twisted around, desperate to escape the impending pain she was sure to endure. Her heart was pounding, her blood rushing in her ears. She felt like she was in some kind of horrible, horrible nightmare. Things like this didn't happen in the real world. At least not in any world she wanted to live in. Someone grabbed her arm and tore open the back of her dress, fabric tearing loudly, the sleeves keeping it from falling off her completely. A hand grabbed a fistful of her thick hair and jerked her head back and the other grabbed her throat. She could feel the heat from his palms and cried out when the warmth became painful. She heard metal cling together and she looked towards the sound as best she could. The man was not choking her, but simply holding her steady for whatever punishment was about to be inflicted.

A man dressed in all black appeared with a long metal rod, something round at the end, and glowing red. It was a branding iron, she had seen them used on fox-sheep in the South Pole. She tried to break away from her captors' grip, screaming and lashing out with her feet. She used her free hand to try and claw the their eyes out but her arm was restrained. She could see the red iron now. The symbol at the end was a copy of a ring Zuko owned... something called a signet ring. A Fire Nation flame encircled by licking fire and a single letter under the Fire Nation insignia. The man with the iron moved behind her back, out of her line of vision. She could feel the heat coming closer to her skin. "Stop! No, please don't!" She screamed. Agonizing pain seared against her left shoulder-blade and then spread to every nerve and fiber in her body. She had never experienced such pain before, even falling in the icy water was a better fate than this. Tears streamed down her face she thrashed wildly, her movements successfully snubbed by her captors. She remembered pain after that, not as bad as the burn on her shoulder. She even seemed to remembered loud cracking sounds but she was unsure of what it was. She prayed she would black out but darkness never came. But, her mind was hazy and she felt as though the events that took place in the throne room were from a half-remembered dream. It was better that way.

Zuko kneaded the spot between his brows. This had been a long, uneventful meeting. Nothing had been accomplished, mostly just reports about the things Ember Island needed fixing. He would leave tomorrow morning and he was very glad of that. He was worried about Mingan. Something about this whole trip left a bad taste in his mouth and the feeling that something bad had happened kept niggling away at his mind. He tried to convince himself that nothing was wrong. Mingan would be enjoying most of her time outside with the turtle-ducks, maybe even having her lunch there. When he arrived home, she would be curled up on the sofa with a children's book, practicing her new skill. Everything was fine, he needed to quit worrying. He spent the rest of the meeting nodding as though he were listening and then ended with the vague announcement that he would let the Fire Lord know of their requests.

Ember Island was not far from the Capital, only three hours by boat. It was a relief that it was not a long journey and that he could spend that time by catching up on his workouts. When he arrived in Caldera City, the crowds greeted him, waving and calling out to their Prince. It was not a large welcoming party but it was noisy none the less. His stomach growled and he couldn't wait to get back, get something to eat and bathe.

He arrived home after an annoyingly slow palanquin ride and peeled out of his heavy formal robes. Mingan was no where to be found and the curtains were drawn in the sitting room. He dropped his robe onto the arm of the sofa and went to see if she was outside. Oddly enough the door to courtyard was locked. Surely it was not so early in the morning that she was not awake yet. In fact, it was probably close to noon. He knocked softly on the study door and when no answer came he stepped inside. The room was dim, the drapes drawn and no candles were lit. He peeked around the rice-paper screens and saw her curled up on her belly. Zuko almost chuckled, the silly girl really was still sleeping. Well, she lived in the Fire Nation now and the least she could do was get up before mid sun. He approached her quietly, not wanting to startle her awake. Her hair covered her face in a tangled mess but that was fairly common for her.

"Mingan," he said quietly. "Wake up. Sleeping until noon can't be good for you." No answer. He went to push her hair from her face when his fingers brushed a clump of stiff hair. He lit the candle chandelier and leaned closer. If he didn't know better he would say it was blood. He pushed her hair back and gasped when he saw her face. Her lip was split open and swollen, a skinny trail of dried blood tracked down her chin. Her cheekbone was bruised purple and a tiny cut was scabbed over just below the bone. His eyes skirted frantically across the skin exposed from the silk sheet that had been tossed over her. Her neck was red and inflamed, maybe even a burn. His heart pounded in confusion and rage when he saw the white bandages around her fingers. On each hand, her ring and pinky finger had been broken and then buddy-wrapped. Thinking only of her health he tore the sheet back and stumbled at the site. Her pretty, flawless back was marred by three, angry, infected lacerations. He had seen those marks before on the backs of slaves around the palace. They had come from a overseers whip. The candle flames burst upwards, nearly scorching the ceiling in some places. Mingan was in nothing but her bindings and her left shoulder was wrapped in white linen Prince was beyond furious, beyond animalistic rage.

He felt her forhead searching for fever. She was far too warm, infection had already begun to spread. He breathed fire through his clenched teeth and stormed out of the room. He flung the door open to the corridors, puffs of fire coming from his nostrils every few words. "Get the royal physician now!" Several servants that were in the grand hall jumped out the skins and the started scurrying about like mole-mice. He wanted to scream, to burn everything in site, but somehow, he managed to control his temper, threatening only a few people he saw moving too slowly. He swept into the washroom and filled a basin with cool water and a clean washcloth. He set the items down on her nightstand and grabbed a cushioned stool to sit on. He dunked the towel into the small basin and wrung the excess out. He wiped the trail of blood from her mouth to her chin gently, the dried fluid becoming lividly red again. He dabbed at the cut on her bottom lip gently. Mingan moaned and her eyes flickered open. "Zuko?" She asked, her voice thick.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered quietly. Mingan could suddenly feel her entire body screaming in pain. All her muscles burned and felt horribly stiff. Her head pounded with a pain she had not felt in years (when she had gotten a head bump rough-housing with her friends). She could feel the searing burn of all the little cuts on her body, crying out for relief. She felt a dull, throbbing ache in her hands. She moved to inspect why her fingers hurt so much when a agonizing pain burst forth from her shoulder. It caught her by surprise and she actually cried out, tears pricking at her eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?" Zuko asked, suddenly sounding panicked. Pain had seared her jaws shut and she could not answer him. Her eyes were screwed shut, tears leaking down her bruised, fever-flushed cheeks. Just then the doctor rushed in panting. "Tell me what happened!" Zuko snarled.

"I-I-"

"Stop stuttering!"

"She was brought to me two days ago with burns, laceration, and four broken fingers," the physician told Zuko hurridley. "I treated her wounds but the Fire Lord sent strict instructions to do the bare minimum and then send her back with the guards that brought her to me."

"Who did this to her, Ling?" The Prince asked.

"I'm not sure, Prince Zuko. I was not told." Upon seeing Zuko's scowl, Ling added, "But the servants have been gossiping about an altercation with the Fire Lord in his bed chambers."

"WHAT!?"

"B-but it's just gossip, sir, i-it could mean anything..."

"Get to work, I will be watching you," he warned. The nervous physician checked Mingan's pulse and Zuko couldn't help but wince when she flinched away from his touch. Zuko scooted the stool over with his foot and sulked in the corner of Mingan's make-shift room. Mingan buried her face in the pillow as the physician started to unwrap the bandages around her shoulder and loosen her bindings. Zuko heard the Ling murmmer a soft apology as he let the linens pool at her sides. Zuko could now see that the slices the whip left in her back extended across the expanse of her brown skin almost to the base of her neck. He followed the scabbed line of one of the cuts until he eyes landed on her shoulder. The physician lifted the bloodied gauze from her skin and the smell of burnt, rotting flesh reached Zuko's senses. It was all too familiar to him. Behind his closed eyes, flashes of a fiery fist hurling at him and unimaginable pain seared from his memories to the forefront of his mind. He shook the thoughts and opened his eyes to see what injuries his absence had inflicted on Mingan.

His heart stopped beating when he saw his family crest burned into her skin. Guilt sunk his heart into his stomach and he felt like the lowest human being that ever lived. This innocent girl was marred for life all because of him. And worse, with his crest. The symbol he wore, even now, on his middle finger. He almost lost all self-control when he saw her shoulders jerk in a sob as the doctor rubbed aloe and other salves over the infected skin. He could see her un-bandaged fingers curl against the rich fabric of the sheets as she tried to choke down a sob. He remembered the agony of getting bandages changed and his burn seen to.

As he scanned her once-flawless back, he noticed that her skin was littered with purple and blue bruises. The royal physician re-wrapped her wounds and tied her bindings again. "Other than superficial wounds, there are no other injuries. She's fatigued from fever and infection. Give her this in her morning tea, and she'll be fine," he said, handing Zuko a little velvet bag of herbs.

"You're dismissed," the Prince said waving the man away. When he left, Zuko turned to speak with Mingan. "What happened?" He asked quietly. The young woman rolled away from him, as though she hadn't even heard him. He sat on the edge of the bed by her hip. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head. In actuality, she had not been given anything to eat or drink since the morning Zuko left for Ember Island. The burning thirst had dulled and the nagging hunger had numbed over the last three days. She had no desire to eat. She was still trying to recover from almost being... taken advantage of... and being beaten in punishment. She didn't understand what she had done wrong. She had protected her honor, like any woman should. She didn't understand why all these awful things had happened to her. Was she so weak that she was seen as an easy target? Why had Ozai done this to her? What had she done to deserve this? She had been ripped away from her home, ridiculed, advanced upon, beaten like a unruly animal... Mingan just couldn't process it. She didn't want to face what had happened, she just wanted to sleep so she could get away from it. She would sleep until the pain went away, if only she could.