The girl was thrown onto a rough cotton bunk inside the prison cell. The crewmen stared curiously at her as they locked the iron door to her cell behind them, leaving the room quickly. As soon as the door snapped shut, the thief opened her eyes wearily.
"Well, this is quite a predicament…" She murmured and looked around. Her jail cell was scant and bare, the bed being the only piece of furniture. There were thick iron bars separating her from the rest of the room, and everything seemed to be made to keep her in.
Too bad she was no good with iron bars.
Even though the thief was still tired and fatigued from her fight with the sea, there was one more battle to be fought. She stood weakly from the cot and tripped over to the iron door after fishing a small pick from her pocket. She wrapped her arm around the iron door and fit the pick into the lock and got to work.
The lock didn't budge.
"What's wrong with this thing?" She complained in a raspy dry voice. She jiggled the pick roughly and felt her stomach drop when she felt a snap. Frowning, she discarded the broken lock pick and crawled back to the rough cot. "Stupid lock…"
The girl stared at the ceiling until sleep quickly consumed her weary, haggard mind and rested her tired body. She dreamed she was holding a long golden scepter and wearing a matching crown, while pounding the daylights out of her least favorite Fire prince.
Iroh walked down the hall the next morning, already noticing the increase in morale after the storm passed. He walked carefully down the hall, making sure not to drop the item in his hand.
Eventually, he got to the door he was looking for and opened it quickly with his keys. As he pushed open the door to the 'brig', two things caught his eyes. One was the prisoner curled up with her back to the wall, her face hidden in her arms. The other was the fragments of a broken lock pick in the lock and on the floor.
"I knew you were going to be a handful." The ex-general chuckled and pulled a chair up to the bars, sitting noisily. "Not here for one day and you've already got my nephew in a fluster and attempted to escape."
"Just wait until my real escape attempt." She mumbled and clenched her fists.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. My nephew runs a tight ship." He replied, grinning. Iroh reached through the bars while holding a tall clay cup. "You're probably thirsty. Knowing my nephew he most likely locked you down here with no water."
The girl looked up as he said this and stared at the cup, a hungry gleam in her eyes. She stood from her seat on the cot and crossed the short distance, taking the water from Iroh carefully so as to not spill a drop.
The old man shook his head, smiling, as the girl drank the whole cup of water in a matter of seconds. She set the glass down, wiping her mouth on her sleeve, and gave him a confused look.
"So, what's up with your nephew? He's a little harsh. And coming from someone in my line of work, that's saying something." She stated indifferently.
"Ah, Zuko has a lot on his mind." Uncle nodded curtly. "He's obsessed with catching the Avatar, and he's proving to be a handful as well." The white haired girl stroked her chin thoughtfully, leaning against the wall. Iroh smirked.
"Now it's my turn to ask the questions. What's your name?" He asked quickly.
She smiled gently and straightened up. "My name's Kai."
"Kai? Is that short for something?"
"Yes. But no one calls me that name. So now it's just Kai." She explained. Kai looked around the small cell, sighing. "So, how long will I be locked up in here?"
Iroh shrugged. "It is up for my nephew to decide."
Kai sighed. "Could you possibly tell me if prisoners get bathroom breaks?"
"What?" He blurted, then he flushed. "Oh, yes, of course."
She remained silent as Iroh unlocked the door, and placed wrist irons on her before leading her out into the hall. It was a short walk to the bath room, and when they got there, Iroh had to lock the door behind her.
As soon as the door shut, Kai looked around the bath room for something sharp. In a little chest she found a few tooth brushes and a wooden comb, which she quickly pocketed. She also found someone's razor blade and that, too, went into the folds of her tunic.
She knocked on the door and heard the jingling of keys as Iroh unlocked it. She smiled as he walked her back to the brig.
"I'd really like to thank you for treating me so nice." Kai said softly. She really did mean it. Conversations were hard to come by. Especially without being spit on.
"Haha, no need to thank me." He replied and opened the door to her cell. Iroh shut and locked the door to her cell and left her for the night. Kai pulled out the razor blade and began sharpening it on the flattest stone she could find amongst the junk left in her cell. Her eyes flicked over to the small port hole in the side of her cell, waiting until all she could see was pitch black.
She stood up and broke the teeth off the wooden comb, sticking it into the lock. She realized how lucky she was that they didn't take away her black clothes when they made her their prisoner. It was a shame that she lost her hood; running around on the deck of a ship with white hair could be considered a large disadvantage. But she would have to make due.
The lock came open and she walked over to the door to the brig, quietly testing out the knob. She rolled her eyes when she found it was unlocked.
'They mustn't get a very high class of criminal' she thought as she slipped out the door and down the hall.
Her progress was very slow. Moving carefully and quietly and freezing when she heard the sound of voices. She found herself at the large iron door she assumed lead to the Prince's rooms. Knowing the Prince, he would've taken the scepter to his chambers while contemplating what to do with it.
Kai sucked in a breath of air and opened the door, pulling out the razor to make sure the room wasn't occupied. Luckily for her, it wasn't. She entered the room as quietly as she could, making her way to the large table with maps covering it. She peaked through a large, ornate trunk before spotting a desk across the room.
She stole across the room towards the desk and quickly saw the large bottom drawer requiring a key. Kai saw herself with two options: unlock the drawer and possibly compromise her freedom or leave without the scepter.
Unfortunately, a trait common amongst thieves is greed. This is also true with Kai. Despite the amount of time spent already, she stayed and attempted to pick the lock. She quickly saw that the lock was going to be very difficult as it was for a very tiny key. She bit her bottom lip and used one of the small and fragile teeth left on the comb to pick it. If it broke inside, there'd be no second chances…
The drawer opened and Kai released the breath she'd been holding. On top of a pile of papers was the container with the golden scepter safely inside. She grabbed it and walked out the door, trying to remember the way to the deck.
After a few close calls and one or two wrong turns, she finally found herself at the bottom of a flight of stair that she knew led to the deck. She had just touched the first step when an alarm began to sound.
"Shit!" Kai whispered, running up the steps, flinging open the door, and sprinting across the deck. She heard the sounds of many footsteps behind her as she ran towards the side of the boat, where she remembered seeing a life boat.
It was then that a fire ball went past her head out into the open sea. Kai pulled out the razor blade, holding it against her arm and ready for an attack. She almost lost her nerve when she saw the amount of Fire Nation soldiers-a good two dozen-and at least a third of them were Fire Benders.
"Back away from the life boat or face the wrath of the Fire Nation!" A soldier yelled. Kai felt her knees shaking. She had heard what that wrath was; it was told to little kids all throughout the Nations to make sure they did as their parents told them. This was the first time that she had ever been faced with it.
She took an involuntary step back. The Fire Nation soldiers took a step forward, making Kai rethink her options. Drop the scepter, jump for the boat. Keep the scepter, jump for the boat, possibly die.
Kai dropped the scepter to deck and kicked it towards the crowd. She didn't look back as she jumped towards the edge of the boat, but was pulled back by her collar and landed on the deck floor. The Fire Nation thug that grabbed her immediately found a foot in his face as she scrambled to her feet.
Another lunged forward and she brought her knee up to meet his stomach and pushed him back into the crowd. Kai figured she would attempt to inch her way back to the boat while attempting to keep them at bay.
Then, from the back of the crowd, the Prince shoved his way to the front. Flames surrounded his fists and it was obvious he was furious. Kai weighed her options.
She dropped the razor blade to the ground and kicked it towards a soldier, holding her hands in front of her. Handcuffs were immediately placed on her as two guards grabbed both arms and began to lead her away.
"See to it she can't escape this time." The Prince growled.
Kai blinked away her tears and looked up at the sky; she had a feeling she wasn't going to see it for a very, very long time.