Disclaimer: I do not own Prince Zuko or any other Avatar characters. I do own Aya, however, and her almost to be fiancé.
The first person I asked about the Avatar was Yoko. We met after lunch and were taking walk outside the palace walls, a rare occurrence in my case. It was very quiet as we walked along the water's edge so it was a perfect place to talk.
"Yoko, how much do you know about the Avatar?" I questioned. We were not allowed to show our affections for each other in public so I was walking a few steps away from him. His hands were clasped behind his back, a soldier's stance, and his brow was furrowed in thought.
"Aya, you and I both know about the Avatar. Must I repeat the same information?" I shook my head and pulled out my fan. It was a very warm day and the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky.
"I mean this one, the one the Prince has caught. He's an Airbender, right?" Yoko nodded and stroked his chin. I smiled, watching him think.
"Yes, he is. I think he's about twelve, or so I hear. Actually, if that were true, he would be 112. He was gone for 100 years." I stopped walking after the second sentence. Yoko turned around and put a hand on my arm, noticing my shocked face.
"Only twelve? A twelve year old boy? And here I really thought he was an old man." Yoko took his hand away and we resumed walking, though more slowly. There was silence for a few moments as I mulled this over.
"Have you talked to the Prince at all?" I asked.
"Once or twice. He practices with the soldiers sometimes. He's nearly beat me a few times when we practice firebending." He looked at me. "Why do you ask?" I shrugged my shoulders and we lapsed into silence once again. The birds were chirping rather loudly in the trees and in the distance I could hear the shouts of the sailors on the ships. The water lapped the shore rhythmically with our steps. Yoko was the first one to break the calm.
"The Avatar has to be guarded all the time, I know at least. I'm going to be on one of the afternoon shifts so I won't be able to see you until after dinner." I shook my head, feeling sorry for the poor Avatar, only just a young boy.
"Have you ever seen him? The Avatar I mean." Yoko nodded his head tightly, his mouth becoming a grim line.
"I saw him when they first brought him in. He didn't look too good. They must've beaten him to make sure he didn't try to escape. Most likely they broke his hands and arms. That would've made it easier to travel with him." I sucked in breath but Yoko was still talking.
"There were also two others they brought in. Two teenagers from the water-tribe, a girl and a boy." His face turned thoughtful. "The girl, I think, was a waterbender. They took her away with the Avatar." I took a deep breath, reminding myself that these people were from the Fire Nation that I was from the Fire Nation that this is what they did.
"What about the boy?" I couldn't help asking.
"They made him a servant. He's going to be sold at the next auction in the marketplace. Today maybe, sometime soon."
"Are they going to kill the Avatar?" I asked, clutching the fan tightly, my knuckles white.
"No, Aya. He would just reincarnate himself and that wouldn't help the Fire Nation any, would it?" He smiled at me, his face a little sad. "It's almost certain they will kill the girl though. She put up an admirable fight as they were coming off the ship. She would be a threat if they left her alive." I sighed.
"I could help the boy. I feel like I should be doing something. I can't just stand around and watch the war anymore. But, what could I do?" I pleaded and my voice got high. I mentally slapped myself for acting like such a fool. Yoko looked forward as we approached the market.
"I wish I could tell you, Aya." He pointed. "They are auctioning off servants today. Look, there's the water-tribe boy." His finger stretched casually over the people standing on a raised deck. As we got closer, the crowd got larger and I could make out the blue clothes of the water-tribe. He stuck out considerably from the rest, all of whom were wearing red and maroon. I noticed he looked worse than the others; his arms were bruised and he had a large black eye. Yoko and I stood a ways back listening to the voices crying out the prices of the sales. I watched helplessly as the poor boy stood there, his shoulders drooping. I reached for my purse and Yoko noticed.
"You're not serious? Do you even have enough? You're parents will be extremely displeased." I glared at him.
"This is my one chance," I hissed. "I could save him from death and if I have to use the money from my dowry, so be it. This is one thing I can do right." Yoko watched me and sighed.
"I can loan you some right now if you don't have enough." He said, reaching for his own money. I smiled gratefully.
"Thank you. You don't know how much…" I was cut off as the sales for the water-tribe boy started.
"Twenty gold pieces! The starting price is twenty gold pieces!" The auctioneer yelled out over the heads of the crowd, looking for better offers. No one wanted the boy; everyone thought he looked like he could be trouble. The man frowned as he scanned the heads of the throng. I raised my hand, waving it to get his attention. He saw me and smiled. The water-tribe boy raised his head.
"Any more offers, for more than twenty gold pieces?" Someone else shouted, but it was too hard to make out.
"Ah, and offer for twenty-three gold pieces! Any more offers for more than twenty-three?" I quickly counted my money. Only just enough and there would be none left over for a long time. I raised my hand again.
"Twenty-five!" Yoko's strong voice carried higher than mine. The man nodded.
"Twenty-five, any more than twenty-five? No? Sold then to the lady in the back!" I barely contained my joy as Yoko guided me to the front to collect the boy. As Yoko was negotiating with the auctioneer, another soldier appeared at my side. He bowed and I bowed back.
"Lady Aya?" I nodded. "The Fire Lord wishes that you return to the palace immediately." I began to grow worried and my stomach clenched.
"Thank you, sir." We both bowed. Yoko looked at me, a worried look in his eyes. I smiled at him reassuringly.
"I'm sure it's nothing." He didn't quite think so.
"I take care of this Aya. You don't want to be late."
"Don't worry, Yoko."
The boy was starring at me intently and I felt like I should say something, a heartening word of some sort. I smiled.
"Yoko will take good care of you." I finally said, looking at him in the eye. He looked down and remained silent, watching his feet. I turned away and nervously made my way back to the palace with the guard.
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There was a cluster of girls outside the entrance hall, all of whom were whispering loudly, ears pressed against the door. I saw Ren and walked over to her.
"What is going on?" I asked quietly. She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. Her eyes were wide with surprise but she was smiling.
"They're having an argument in there." She pointed towards the closed doors. Faintly, I could hear shouting voices.
"Who's in there, Ren?" I whispered.
"The Fire Lord and his brother." Her eyes flicked back and forth as a loud noise came from inside. "They're arguing about Prince Zuko. I don't think Lord Iroh is happy about…" The door suddenly swung open and the girls hushed immediately as Lord Iroh walked out, looking unhappy. He passed by without saying a word and ignored the fact that everyone was watching him. Most of us remembered to bow though some later than others. After he had gone, we looked inside the room. The Fire Lord was seated on his throne beckoning us in. He was smiling and my stomach fluttered.
"Ah, ladies. Please come in." We kneeled on the floor and stood, waiting for him to speak again. There was a moment of silence as I held my breath.
"My son," he gestured but I didn't dare turn my head. None of us even made the slightest glance. "My son will be seventeen soon. In thirty days, he will have a bride." The Fire Lord spoke slowly, showing no emotion whatsoever. I stared at the floor.
"One of you. He will be meeting with each of you; each day, then he will make his decision. I suggest you do your best to impress because thirty days is not a long time. Dismissed." The Fire Lord sat quietly as the hall emptied. I was one of the first one's gone.
………………………………
"He's quite talkative, your little friend." Yoko said as he brought the water-tribe boy to my parent's house. "Couldn't keep his mouth shut on the way here. Can't see why you'd want him." I stared at both of them, one dressed in a red soldier's uniform, the other in a simple blue outfit. The boy was quiet now. I couldn't tell whether Yoko was being sarcastic or not.
"What's his name? Did you figure that out?" I wondered. Yoko nodded and put a hand on the boy's shoulder, pushing him forward a little. The boy glared at him, barely inching towards me.
"His name is Sokka, I think. I couldn't understand over all the swearing he was doing. He has a fairly interesting vocabulary." I raised my eyebrows.
"Really?" I examined the boy, Sokka. He watched me with steady eyes. I noticed they were blue. "You should both come in; Kiku will make us some tea." Kiku was our only other servant and once my nurse. She was fairly old but extremely friendly. I found her in the kitchen.
"Kiku, we have some visitors." Her brown eyes sparkled as she saw me and she came out to meet Yoko.
"Hello, hello, and who is this?" She asked, noticing Sokka. Yoko glanced at me and I narrowed my eyes.
"He's a new servant. He'll be working with Aki, with father's rhinos. His name is Sokka." I said, trying to smile at the boy. He looked away and I thought I saw tears. Kiku clucked her tongue.
"He'll need some new clothes and a bath first. Even though working with a rhino is no clean job." She bustled into the kitchen to get us some tea. I looked back at Sokka, still standing solidly in the middle of the room in front of Yoko. I beckoned him over with a wave of my hand. Hesitantly, and with a nudge from Yoko, he walked in my direction.
"I'm not going to hurt you, you know." I said, trying to encourage him. His blue eyes filled with distrust and some hate. I sighed and looked at Yoko helplessly.
"You can get another pair of clothes from Aki. He's a few years older than you, but his clothes will fit, I'm sure." He still wouldn't look at me. I became aware that his hands were tied together. I shook my head.
"Look, I know that you don't want to be here. I know that you want to most likely kill all of us in the Fire Nation. I'm trying to help you by keeping you from the people in the Fire Nation who would kill you. It will go so much easier if you just listen to us and work here in the house." I watched him with insistent eyes, knowing that this would not have happened had he been a real servant. Anyone else would've beaten him. There were a few moments of silence in which Sokka looked between me and Yoko, as if deciding whether or not to trust us. Finally, he nodded.
"I…I will." His voice was hoarse. "I will." His blue eyes rested on me. "Can…can you help my sister? If…I…If I help you?" He wanted a deal, one that I wasn't sure I could hold up. Yoko was warning me with his eyes, but the poor boy looked so desperate.
"I can try." It was all I could do. I put my hands on his bonded ones and felt him tense. He looked down, as if taken aback that I could show sympathy. I put a hand underneath his head and lifted it up so I could look into his eyes.
"There's only so much I can do. I can help you right now, but you're going to have to trust me. Not everyone from the Fire Nation is bad." He jerked his head away and I stepped away from him. Yoko came and stood next to me.
"Untie his hands. I'll take him to the stables." I said to Yoko. He stepped around Sokka and pulled out a knife. The boy stepped back and almost fell over our tea table. His eyes widened in fright as Yoko grabbed his hands and cut the rope. Then he put the knife away, smiling slightly. I gave Yoko a heated look and he shrugged his shoulders. I grabbed the boy's arm since he didn't look like he could move. I pulled him to the back of our house passing Kiku on her way with the tea.
"I'll be right back!" I called over my shoulder, still dragging Sokka along. We went around Kiku's garden and into the stable area. By now, Sokka was resisting and trying to wrench his hand from my grasp. I was older, so a little stronger, but if he pulled any harder, I would lose him. Eventually, we got to the rhinos, shuffling slightly in their large stalls. I let go of the boy and he stood very still in the middle of the room.
"Aki, where are you?" I called quietly, not wanting to upset the beasts. One of the stall doors opened and a man walked out, his maroon clothes stained with dirt. He smiled and bowed his head slightly.
"My lady, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked starring at Sokka. I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I've brought that help you've always been asking for. He needs some clothes though. Besides the one's he's wearing. I was hoping he could borrow a pair of yours?" Aki nodded and inspected Sokka.
"Have you ever worked with animals before, boy?" He asked, eyes narrowed. Sokka shook his head but stopped.
"I know about…" He halted and looked skeptically at us and his voice grew quiet. "Giant bison and a lemur." He mumbled. Aki threw back his head and laughed.
"Well, I guess that counts for something, doesn't it?" He said putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. Sokka nodded and shrugged faintly. Aki shook his head, throwing a look at me. "I think I'll find some use for him here." I smiled.
"Just…be nice." I said before I left.
Author Time: Even though I haven't gotten many reviews, I would like to thank everyone who has read my story. Also, I've been having trouble deciding what to do with Katara as I really don't want her to die. If anyone has any suggestions about her fate, please let me know! Thanks again!