Author's Note: I'd like to say thank you to the few people who left me reviews – you know who you are. You guys rock! Thanks for the support :) So, now that we've got Katara introduced into the story, we can get back to Zuko! Please enjoy this dark and rather sickening (and lovely) chapter ;) Comments/suggestions are welcome and appreciated, thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.
Zuko awoke to the blaring alarms that signaled the Rising, when the prisoners were expected to wake up. He groaned, feeling as if he had not slept a minute. Slowly, so as not to reopen the wounds he had received on his back the night before, he rose off of his uncomfortable bed. His bed, which was low to the ground and held up by rusty metal chains, provided little comfort at night. The itchy straw dug into his skin while he tried to sleep, and he would sometimes wake to find that it had scratched him deep enough to bleed.
He nearly jumped out of his damaged skin when Rafael appeared at the window in his cell door.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he taunted through the bars. "Don't want to be late for today's meal, now, do we?"
Zuko glowered at him, a wave of hatred making his hands tremble. This man had made his life a living hell since he had arrived beneath Lake Laogai – he would hunt him through the corridors, waiting for the perfect moment to seize him and drag his body to the torture chamber, sneering as Zuko screamed insults and curses at him. He would pass by Zuko's cell in the middle of the night and whisper his name, making the teenager feel as if he were being haunted by ghosts. Nothing would have made the former Fire Nation prince happier than to see this man dead, Rafael's body broken by the same devices used on his own. This sickened Zuko; he had always avoided inflicting harm unto others unless it was absolutely necessary, but it was different with this man. He wanted to watch him slowly crumble to the ground and wither away, lost in a sea of his own blood.
Have I become so distant from myself? Zuko wondered hopelessly. Thinking such vile thoughts about a human being…it isn't right. What would Uncle say? He thought, his lips turning into a frown. He would be ashamed.
"My nephew, all human life is sacred. We are all brothers…to wish death upon someone else is to wish death on yourself," Zuko could imagine what his uncle would be saying to him at this moment. "Zuko…Zuko…"
"Zuko!" Rafael screamed, throwing open the cell door, not even blinking as a loud bang thundered when it clashed against the wall. "Stop dreaming and move your ass!" he snarled, striking Zuko across the face with the back of his hand.
The former fire prince nearly fell to the ground with the impact, clutching his cheek with his hands. "Fuck you…" Zuko whispered to the monster standing above him.
"What did you just say to me?!" Rafael demanded, grabbing a fistful of Zuko's shaggy black hair and yanking his head up.
This was idiocy, Zuko knew. To taunt a man already one step from insanity was surely declaring his death. But he didn't care anymore; he had nothing left to lose save for his life, which he almost wished to be rid of.
"Fuck you!" Zuko repeated, spitting into Rafael's face a mixture of blood and saliva.
"Agh!" the man stumbled backward, dragging Zuko with him. Rafael's black eyes locked on Zuko's golden ones, and they held a promise in them. I will make you wish for death, they said. But you will not get it.
The prisoners passing by on their way to the refectory watched with dead eyes as Zuko was dragged from his cell, grimacing as Rafael's nails dug into his pale skin. His body disappeared down a dark corridor, but it was no mystery to anyone what was lurking in the darkness; that hall was home to the torture chamber.
Zuko's heart dropped as he was pushed through the heavy doors of the chamber. This place had become all too familiar in the six months he had been here; not a week had gone by that he wasn't hauled into this awful, dark room that smelled of blood, sweat, and fear.
The former Fire Prince was expecting to be strapped to the wooden post, like he always had been before, but this time Rafael led him to the opposite side of the room. Zuko's eyes widened as he saw a single wooden post running from the floor to the ceiling, stained dark red from the blood of its previous victims. There were two metal rings sticking out of the floor on either side of it, and he didn't want to imagine what purpose those served.
He was suddenly flipped around to face the monster who kept a firm grip on his arms, and Zuko felt a thin sheen of sweat cover his forehead as Rafael leaned forward to place his mouth next to the boy's head. "You're going to love this one, my prince," Rafael whispered into his ear, sending shivers of fear down the teenager's spine. To Zuko's dismay, he felt the slick wetness of the man's tongue on his ear, nearly making him heave up bile from his thin stomach.
Before he had time enough to spit an insult, Zuko's battered back was slammed against the pole and he suppressed a cry of pain as he felt blood start to run down his back. His reopened wounds stung like a thousand bee stings, and he hardly noticed Rafael tying his hands behind the pole, before gripped each one of his legs and spread them out so each of his feet touched the metal rings protruding from the rock floor.
"What the hell are you-"Zuko's demand was cut off by a sharp blow to the gut by Rafael's fist, and he gasped for air as he tried to catch his breath. His weakened bones in his abdomen ached, and he struggled to bring oxygen into his lungs.
The man reached into the back pocket of his dark red clothing, and produced two ropes, one of which he began tying around Zuko's left ankle. He secured the end to the metal ring, leaving not the slightest bit of slack for the former Fire Prince to move his leg. Rafael made quick work of the second ankle, while Zuko was distracted with his fight for air.
As he finally caught his breath, Zuko struggled against the ropes, attempting to pull his legs free out of their bonds. Terror coursed through his being as he fought the restraints, and he felt so weak, so worthless. Here he was, the crowned prince of the Fire Nation, and he couldn't even defend himself from the monster that was named Rafael.
"That's almost perfect," the black-eyed brute purred, running his large fingers that were wet with blood along Zuko's pale face. They left a dark red trail in their wake that glistened in the low light of the chamber.
Rafael narrowed his eyes. "Almost," he snarled suddenly, gripping Zuko's shirt and ripping it down the center, exposing the bare chest of the teenager. Zuko gasped as his top was shredded, and it now hung off his shoulders with long ribbons of cloth hanging loose at the ends. The man stepped close to Zuko, so close that the former Fire Prince could hear the hot breath expelled from his nose, and ran his fingertips down the teenager's cold skin.
Zuko fought back harsh words as he felt Rafael's calloused hands run along his stomach, touching what was not his to feel.
"Stop it," Zuko muttered, rage making the edges of his vision bleed red. "Stop it!" he screamed, his throat burning from the outburst. "Leave me alone!"
Rafael laughed, a booming sound that echoed off the walls and sent chills through Zuko's weak body. "I just want to take care of you," the man whispered, suddenly leaning down to kiss the top of the teenager's head. "I'll protect you," he told Zuko, so quietly that the boy hardly heard him.
Zuko's hands trembled behind his back as he squeezed his eyes shut. This man was insane. A lunatic with a bloodlust and unstable mind that lived for one reason; to torture Zuko. To hunt him in the night and make him tremble in fear in his cell.
Hot tears slid down Zuko's cheeks as he felt his heart break inside him. Was this his future? To live at the mercy of this monster, rotting away in this god-forsaken prison? What have I done to deserve this? He despaired. I've tried to lead an honorable life – and this is where it has gotten me. His father's words spoken so long ago played in his mind over and over:
"Your sister was born lucky – you were lucky to be born."
He was right, Zuko realized. I've never been anything but a worthless, pathetic brat.
…I deserve this.
The exiled prince saw a blurry image through his tears of Rafael raising the all-too familiar whip above his head, before the searing burn of the lash left a bright red stripe across his chest. Zuko cried out as countless followed, coloring the front of his body and the floor in glistening, dark red blood.