Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did, Zuko wouldn't have had to cut off his (sexy) ponytail. It's gonna take me foreva to get used to that change. (sniffles) I'm gonna miss that ponytail.
I know I said no more author notes at the beginning of chapters, BUT! First off, I just need to say that this chapter is dedicated to Anja Summers. Without her knowledge of my fave foreign language, German, this chappie wouldn't have been possible. Also, anyone who can tell me what the chapter title means... you get the next chapter dedication! FYI, it's in German.
Chapter XV: Kennen Sie Dein Feind
When Zuko entered his room, he found her diary laying open on his bed, just the way he left it. He picked it up and sat down on his bed. He flipped to some more sketches. One was of the fight between Shaiya and Zhao, in excruciating detail. It showed Shaiya in her pants and a very tight, bra-like camisole, while Zhao was in his full Fire Nation armor. Shaiya was bloody and bruised in some spots while Zhao was barely breaking a sweat.
The next picture was one of a man Zuko semi-recognized. Below it was another entry.
Dear Diary,
I'm still surprised I've kept this sucker as long as I have. I miss my father greatly. If only he were still alive. He would've roasted Zhao for what he tried to do to me. I hate him so much. He tried to rape me. I'm gonna kill him. Stab a dagger right between his eyes. And I have Zuko to thank for getting me out of there before Monkey Face got me pregnant. Zuko's so nice when he wants to be. Every time he looks at me, I feel as if I'm on cloud nine. I sincerely hope this isn't another childhood crush. 'Course, I'm not a child. So maybe this is more. Maybe it means more. All I know is that now, I can trust Zuko. He's definitely giving Onya a run for her money. Oh, how I wish he would just wake up from his trance and see in himself what I see in him. All he is is a Concrete Angel. A breathtakingly gorgeous Concrete Angel. Giggles! I can't say much more. I've said what I needed to say. Zuko is definitely the best (male) friend I've ever had. Next to my daddy, o'course. No one will ever be able to surpass my dad. Not even Onya. Oh, Zuko. If only you weren't blind to the world. I need to tell Zuko my secrets. Both of them. But first, I gotta figure out if my first is actually true. And if Zuko feels the way I do. I think I'll wait a while, and then reveal it to him. As for my other secret, only time will tell.
Love much,
Shai
What were these mysterious secrets she kept talking about? Zuko already knew one, but what of the other? Zuko flipped to the next entry, which was in German.
Lieber Tagebuch,
Zuko hat mich gefragen, in seines Zimmer su schlafen! Ich bin verzückt! Traurig war es der Machen seines Onkels. Deshalb hat er es freiwillig nicht gemacht. Ich gewinne langsam meiner Kraft weider. Dankbar, nur wissen Iroh und Zuko wie Deutsch zu lesen. Auβer meiner Mutter. Ich berfürchte dass sie eine Drehung für das Schlimmste nimmt. Zuko hat mir erzählt dass sie war nicht, als warm zu ihm heute, als sie gewöhnlich ist. Deshalb sorgt es sich mich. Ich kann nicht glauben dass ich dies sage, aber Zuko hat tatsächlich mich erschroken. Ich habe nie gedacht dass er so rachsüchtig Zhao wäre. In was er mir Bett erzählt hat, das zuerst Nacht, etwas entnervte. Und noch tröstend gleichzeitig. Ich werde ihn verpassen, wenn ich je verlasse. Er ist so gut zu mir. Ich sehe nicht warum er so mittel zu jedem sonst ist. Er handelt als ween er nie war dass zunächst bedeutet, wenn er um mich ist. Seines Vater hat ihn gedreht in was er heute ist. Ich hasse Ozai. Er es fast ebenso schlect also Wagenheberesel. Wagenheberesel is ein geverderbter Admiral der genieβt, vergewaltigend junge Mädchen. Ach ja! Ich werde sich anders leicht besinner. Wenn ich ihn töte. Er wird je versuchend bedauern mich zu vergewaltigen.
I weiβ nicht warum ich diesen Zugang auf Deutsch geschrieben habe. Na ja.
Alles Lieben,
Shai
"We need to find a way to rescue Shaiya and Onya. I know Zuko won't let me leave, but maybe he'll let you and Sokka leave." Aang said, tossing ideas around the table, mainly to Katara.
"Aang, just leave it be. You heard the letter she wrote. She clearly said not to try to find her, or Onya, and Sokka, I know how much it pains you to see Onya taken away from you, just like it pained you to see Yue taken away from you, but you have to let it BE! Shaiya made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to be followed. JUST LEAVE IT BE!" Katara shouted. She was getting fed up with the plans her friends were attempting to concoct. She knew they wouldn't work. She just had to get it through their thick skulls that the two fire benders would be okay.
"Well, Katara, I think we should go after them. Shaiya said Zuko shouldn't try to save them, she never made any mention about any of us!" Sokka shouted.
"Sokka! Get this through your thick skull! No one is going after Shaiya and Onya! Shaiya said she didn't want anyone to go after them! No one! Now will you please get a grip!" Katara yelled again.
"ENOUGH!" Iroh shouted. He was getting aggravated by all the yelling.
"Iroh, what do you think we should do?" Aang asked.
"I think we should leave it be. Shaiya said no one should follow her, so no one will. End of discussion." he said, gritting his teeth, finalizing his statement and leaving the galley.
"Well, that was helpful." Sokka mused.
"Sokka." Katara said.
"Yeah."
"Get a grip."
Shaiya and Onya were calmly waiting for dinner, running through their plan in their heads. They knew what they were gonna do.
When the guards unchained them, they would eat their dinner peacefully. When the guards went to chain them back up, they would knock the guards out cold. Then, they'd steal the guards' armor, put it on over their clothes, chain the guards up, and casually head out to the stockyard. There, they would tack up and fly off on their sujios and no one would notice until the girls actually did fly off. For they knew one thing: the guards that brought them their food were also the ones that exercised the sujios, for fear the sujios would tear down the barn. So, the girls not only had the element of surprise on their side, but they also knew their enemy's duties.
"Alright, you two. Wake up. Time for dinner." The monotonous voice of one of the guards flowed easily through the cell and to the girls. Shaiya smiled inwardly. Onya, however, didn't conceal her smile.
"What're you so smilie about?" one of the guards spat. Onya quickly wiped the smile off her features.
"Answer me, whore!" he shouted again. This time, Onya lashed out.
"How dare you call me a whore! Bastard!" she yelled. The guard came up and slapped her hard across the face.
"Oh! How dare you hit me! Where's your respect for the superior sex? HUH! Have you no respect?"
"I'll have you know that a) women aren't the superior sex, men are, and b) I don't have to show respect to prisoners." He said, his face mere inches from her own.
"Bite me." she retorted.
"Tempting offer, but I'll have to decline. Bitch."
"Jack-ass!"
"Slut!"
"Crazy fire freak!"
"Why you little…ack! I'm all out of names."
"Serves you right for dissing my BFF!" Shaiya yelled.
"NOW!" Onya yelled. Both girls grabbed the guard nearest them by the head with their feet. They flipped them over, causing them to land on their heads, knocking them out easily. The keys fell to the floor beside Shaiya's feet.
"Thank goodness for curl toed shoes!" Shaiya said as she picked the keys up. She easily flicked them up and into her hands. Swiftly, she unlocked her and Onya's shackles. The girls changed into the armor of the guards, locked the guards up and headed to the stockyard to make their escape.
As they got there, their sujios began to fuss and fidget.
"Whoa. Easy girls." Shaiya cooed to her beasts. They calmed upon hearing her voice.
"Well, at least they remember us, after…how long?" Shaiya asked.
"Um, slight over a day."
"Oh. Not as long as I thought. C'mon. Let's ride." Shaiya said as she grabbed the tack for her sujio. Both girls tacked up their sujios in silence. Then, as they were about to mount and leave, they heard a voice.
"Hey! You there! Halt!"
"Oh, snap. We've been busted." whispered Onya.
"Yup. Let's ride." Shaiya said. Onya nodded, the two girls ditched all the armor they could and kicked their sujios into a run. Then, as the guards began to shoot fireballs at them, they took off into the air.
"WE ARE THE SUPERIOR SEX! BOO-YA!" Onya yelled over her shoulder.
"Well, we're off. Do you think Zuko got that letter I wrote him?" Shaiya asked.
"Let's hope. And now, we're homeward bound. Just in case we get a letter from the Fire lord asking us to do some really random deed for him, we'll be ready. And, then you'll kill him. How do you plan to kill him, Shai?"
"Uh…dunno. Never thought about that. Maybe I should give it some thought."
"Yeah. Have a plan. And some backup plans."
"Onya, you know me. I am always prepared. Hey, maybe he'll throw a ball in honor of his son's return. Then, we'll have to go. Just so we can crash it." Shaiya said as she began to cackle evilly. Onya proceeded to do the same. And on the girls flew, contemplating what they would do when they got home, for they had gotten out sooner than they had anticipated.
Zuko was sitting in his room looking at another picture Shaiya drew. It depicted the two of them training once. Everyone else had come out to begin Music Night, and he was training with Shaiya, but everyone else had come out at the wrong time. At the moment, Zuko was lying spread-eagle on top of Shaiya with her hands pinned down above her head, their faces inches apart.
Then there was another. This one showed Zuko lying on one of the beds in the infirmary. His uncle was sitting on one side, Shaiya was on the other, holding his hand and crying silently. Must've been the night her crazed mother tried to kill me. The biz-snitch. he thought. The more he read her diary and the more he looked at all her sketches, the more he missed her. He flipped to her last entry.
Dear Diary,
This entry is gonna be about lots of random stuff. Like my fetish bear Onya won't give back! She is a really cool person, but when she steals your favorite stuffed teddy bear, it's WAR! I miss Fetish. Why'd I call him Fetish? Good question. Anywho. I have decided to leave this diary to Zuko. I have a sinking feeling that mama is gonna try something funny tonight or tomorrow night. Chances are, it'll be tonight. Well, I'm gonna go eat, then it's off to practice with Zuko a little, then…da da dum! Music Night! Yay! Ooh, man. If mama succeeds in taking me from this ship, I'm really gonna miss the crew and all at Music Night. But most of all, I'm gonna miss Zuko. I definitely know I like him as more than a friend, but I don't know if he feels the same way I do. Well, I'll just have to find out. Tonight. Tonight, I will find out. But for now, my stomach is seriously talking to me. I think I'm gonna go eat. Love much,
Shai
P.S. Zuko, if you read this, just remember everything I ever said about you in here. Not just the fact that I think you're gorgeous, but also the fact that even though you put on some tough-guy mask, I have seen right through it. Behind the tough façade, you're almost everything a normal girl could want. Newsflash! I ain't normal! You're all that and more. Goodness, what's wrong with me? I'm practically spilling my guts to a guy I've known for what… seven weeks! AAAAHHHH! Not good. Oh well. Too late now, everything's in ink, so unless I wanna start all over again, it's permanent. Permanent! Long P.S. End now.
Zuko smiled at Shaiya's final entry. He began to wish he knew where they were and how they were doing. He decided that, since he had read every entry, which, amazingly, weren't very many, he'd meditate for a while.
He went over to his meditation table, lit the candles with a flick of his wrist, and sat down.
Shaiya and Onya had just landed back at Shiroh Nagiyan. They had just gotten home when a couple of the Black Chaos Dragons came to their door. Upon answering it, the girls were blindfolded and drug all the way to the Bleeding Pig Pub.
The moment they walked into the pub, their blindfolds were pulled off and everyone yelled "Welcome Back Dragons!"
"Oh, guys! This is so awesome of you. I'm so sorry we couldn't get home sooner, but duty called, again." Shaiya answered. Then, one very handsome young man of the age 17 walked up to Shaiya, a ring hidden behind his back.
"Welcome back, babe." he said.
"Hey, Nalif. Long time, no see. What's up?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. I was just waiting for you to return. I have something to ask you."
"Okay. Ask." Nalif knelt in front of her and showed her a beautiful silver ring with an amethyst stone set in the middle.
"Shaiya, will you marry me?" he asked.
OOOH! Will Shaiya marry Nalif? Will you forgive me for the shortness of the chapter and the length of the wait? We'll all have to wait and see!
Here's the translation for the diary entry Shaiya wrote in German:
Dear Diary,
Zuko asked me to sleep in his room! I'm ecstatic! Sadly, it was his uncle's doing. So, he didn't do it voluntarily. I'm slowing regaining my strength. Thankfully, only Iroh and Zuko know how to read German. Aside from my mama. I fear she's taking a turn for the worst. Zuko told me that she wasn't being as warm to him today as she usually is. So it's worrying me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Zuko actually scared me. I never thought he'd be so revengeful towards Zhao. What he told me in bed that first night was slightly unnerving. And yet comforting at the same time. I'm gonna miss him, if I ever leave. He's so good to me. I don't see why he is so mean to everyone else. He acts as id he was never that mean to begin with when he is around me. His father turned him into what he is today. I hate Ozai. He's almost as bad as Jack-donkey. Jack-donkey is a perverted admiral who enjoys raping young girls. Oh yes! I'm gonna change his mind easily. When I kill him. He's gonna regret ever trying to rape me.
I don't know why I wrote this entry in German. Oh well.
Much Love,
Shai
Anywho, now that that's cleared up, I need more votes on my poll!
Who do you like best? (guys are who you choose from)
a) Zuko. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2 votes)
b) Sokka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0 votes)
c) Aang. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1 vote)
d) Jet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0 votes)
e) Haru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0 votes)
f) King Bumi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1 vote)
Please! If you haven't answered yet, do answer!
Also, gossip time. Can you believe Zuko cut off his ponytail! I am so sad now. I can't wait until the next episode. You can already see the Kataang blossoming. I am stuck on the Kataang and SokkaxSuki. I hope Zuko will end up with his sister and father's heads hung above... some place, and a very nice little girl of his own. I'd make a wonderful wife for him! Such a shame I'm only 13. Oh well.
Love from your loyal fanfic writer,
Raaon Teisha a.k.a. Rhinestone Cowgirl a.k.a. the insane smilie face!
;D