Firewood
The long awaited chapter 8 has finally arrived!
Title Reason: Zuko gets himself into a bit of a jam…
Disclaimer: When pigs fly (a lot of shit is gonna go down) I'll own A:TLA.
Rating: T for violence and language
Thank you all for your wonderful reviews 3 They mean a lot!
Firwolf77: All in due time, friend, all in due time.
XxXxXxILuvNicoDiAngeloxXxXxX: I heard that, too. 'Soak-ah' haha I don't think so, movie. I'm glad I didn't see it and spoil my opinion of the series. And WHAT? Ozai CARED about Zuko? What sort of madness is this! OUTRAGE! And I'm glad that you like my story. Haha the disclaimers are always fun to write. They tickle my crazy sense of humor.
Animalvr11: ….no promises. :)
AnnaAza: Zuko has lots of practice xD And read to find out!
VampireInDisguise: -shrug- I guess I don't mind too much, but posting more frequently is kind of nice cuz I seem to get more reviews that way, haha. And oh, you know boys. xD Both vying for poor Katara's attention.
AmieBean: You're going to find out… but not for several chapters still. There's quite a lot of drama coming up here soon. As for fluff… weeeell I gotta build up to that. It comes in heavily later.
More reviews = Faster updates. Simple as that. ;)
It turned out that Sashain's changed plans meant that Zuko was to speak with her. After he'd been prodded awake, the sandbender had guided him towards the opposite end of the sailor. The firebender wished the man would stop poking him in the back with the butt of his spear…he would've walked without the abuse. Hadn't they figured that out already? He was cooperating…mostly. Unless…they're about to tell me something that might make me less compliant… the thought was not a welcome one, but, given the situation, it was all too real a possibility.
The sharp sound of wood hitting wood brought Zuko out of his thoughts; his sandbender escort was no longer jabbing him in the back with his spear. This was because he was too busy pounding it against their leader's door.
"Sashain!" he called in gruff voice, "The prisoner is here!" They were received with silence. The guard stood in an "at ease" position and waited. For a moment Zuko was tempted to melt the shackles off and take the sandbender down, but he realized there was more than a few problems with doing that, one of which being that he couldn't melt the iron shackles without severely injuring his hands and wrists. He exhaled his frustrations through his nose and lowered his eye lids. His lack of sleep was catching up to him, of course, considering it was the worst possible moment. He cursed his paranoid musings from earlier. Don't bother hiding it, you weren't paranoid, you were being protective, his conscious hissed; You were pretty determined to make sure none of them bothered Katara… He ignored the voice in his head. It reminded him far too much of Uncle for his liking.
When the door finally opened, Zuko had to look down to meet the grey eyes of Sashain. She was unexpectedly shorter that he was; he hadn't noticed it before, probably—he figured—because he was on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness most of the time.
"Come in," Sashain said cordially. Zuko squirmed under the smirk playing across her face. She stepped to the side to allow him entrance. "Tsu'ger, stay out here." She said, dismissing the guard. Behind the exiled prince the guard nodded and moved to stand to in front the entrance.
The door shut with an ominous 'thunk'. Zuko narrowed his eyes and stood in the center of the Spartan room. Excluding a desk, two chairs and some decorative swords on the walls, the wooden room was completely empty.
It was also completely flammable.
Of course, if he burnt the place down he'd probably go down with it…plus, if he firebent, he risked the comfort and protection he had afforded himself as being a patient of Katara's. Stop thinking of escape and deal with the situation at hand! He chastised; he needed to stop losing focus. To his side he heard Sashain moving about, he stood perfectly still as he listened to her. She was stalking around slowly, reminding Zuko of a feline.
"You look remarkably healthy for someone who's supposed to be spending the next four days in the infirmary," she said thoughtfully. The exiled prince said nothing. "Why the little waterbender would hold you back, I can't imagine?" the chieftain mused. "Did you threaten her, maybe? No, she seems too comfortable around you for such a thing… did you maybe know her prior to being captured?" Zuko's muscles tensed with nerves, and his jaw tensed with anxiety. He made his mind blank, hoping that Sashain hadn't noticed the subtle movements. "Or maybe you two are simply…friendly" she glanced at him and saw his tensed posture. However, she didn't realize it because of one of her earlier questions. She moved into the prince's line of sight, a smirk plastered against her smooth features.
"You're not big on talking, are you?" she asked. It was obviously a rhetorical question. She leaned back against her desk and studied Zuko in that analytically thoughtful way which annoyed him so easily. "What's your name?" she asked bluntly, shocking him. The question was rather out of context. He narrowed his golden eyes and fixed them on her storm-cloud greys.
"Prince," he said before thinking. Way to let your arrogance get the better of you, he thought snidely to himself. What if Sashain took it as more than a simple nickname? What if she realized he really was the banished Fire Nation prince and turned him in to his father? Stupid, stupid stup—
"Interesting name," she said, her voice like silk. "But rather melodramatic. The only thing you're the prince of here is manacles and shit," Her eyes moved up and down his body again and Zuko revised his earlier thought. She wasn't like a big cat. She was like a viper. "Although, where such unabashed pride came from I don't know. Considering your face I can't imagine that you were too popular during your time in the Fire Nation, either." As she spoke she moved closer to him and reached a hand out to gently caress the scar on Zuko's face. He ground his teeth and jerked away from her touch. She just smirked.
"I know that your real name is Kuzon." Boon! That little bastard!
"Then why did you ask me?" he questioned calmly, raising an eyebrow. He may have been frustrated on the inside, but he managed to maintain an almost bored façade.
"I was interested in what you'd say," she replied, shrugging her shoulders casually as she moved to lean against her desk once more. "I think Prince fits you better than your real name. It, at least, matches your haughtiness," Zuko narrowed his eyes at her again. You're one to speak, he thought, wishing he could say the words aloud without having to face the repercussions. "So, Princey, about you and the watberbender: she's always been kind to her patients, but you seem to have really found a place in her heart, and I can't help but wonder why? Not that you're unattractive or anything," He hated that smile on her face, that sparkle in her eyes. Still, it did not stop him from keeping his spine straight and his chin up. He would hold himself like he deserved respect. He had to. If he allowed any crack in his armor these people would find it and exploit it.
"Y'see, Prince, I don't particularly care how you and your opposite manage to get along so well. I just want to know if it's you rubbing off on her… or her on you?" she was moving around the room again, making Zuko feel uncomfortable. She seemed to enjoy making him nervous. "She is a model prisoner. If she keeps up her behavior we will release her and she may choose to stay with us, or go free. And if you behave yourself, maybe you'll get a few more benefits, as well. But if you're corrupting her, well then, we'll have a problem." She was behind her desk, leaning forward. "If I discover that you've been plotting with her, Prince," she hissed with malice, "you'll suffer like you've never suffered before and she'll suffer like you've never suffered before." Bitterness rose in the Zuko's throat and his heart dropped and the thought of the latter.
"So what I'm saying is: if you follow our rules and play our little games, then your time here might not be a total, hellish nightmare." She had moved again and was now standing right beside the exiled prince. "But if you cross me…" she leaned in so that her breath tickled Zuko's ear as she spoke. "you'll beg for it to be as easy as a hellish nightmare." With that she leaned back, a smug look on her face that made his palms itch with anger and spite. Instead he met her stone gaze with hooded eyes, his face as stoic as it had been the entire time.
"Good luck in the arena, Prince," she said, a smirk still on her lips. "You're going to need it." And then she waved her hand, indicating that he was dismissed. He turned around and headed for the door, his mind whirling.
"Hey," a soft voice said just above her ear. She moaned in annoyance. She was tired. She didn't want to have to get up. "Hey, Katara," the voice came again, rough and kind of raspy. She moaned again, this time more loudly and shifted her head away from the source of the noise. For a moment there was silence. She was relieved that the opportunity to sleep was still intact. That was, until she felt a soft touch at her chin.
"Zu-!" but when her blue eyes flew open the waterbender realized that it wasn't Zuko whom had touched her chin, but a sandbender. Boon. Her cheeks immediately flushed at the guilty look on his face. "Oh, Boon, I'm sorry, I thought you were—"
"Zuzu?" he finished, and she couldn't help but think she sensed there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Yeah…" she said softly and pushed herself off the sandy deck. "Where is he, anyway?" she looked around and held a hand above her eyes to create a visor as she scanned the area for him. (Boon watched her and decided against telling her the visor that hung around her neck might be more useful than her hand)
She was worried about the Fire Nation youth. Last time the two had been in the same room Sashain had kept giving the prince this… predatory look. The girl was worried. If Zuko lost his temper around the sandbender chief, the consequences would be dire, and this time she wasn't around to mediate.
"I think he's speaking to Sashain," Boon said grudgingly and drawing Katara from her thoughts.
"Why? He's supposed to stay with me," she responded, displeased. Sashain had agreed to let Zuko stay under her care for a full week.
Boon shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I guess she thinks he's healthy enough to go with the other prisoners now." He paused a second, but when Katara didn't reply he took the opportunity to escape talk of "ZuZu". "I just came over here to let you know we've arrived and I'd be happy to help you unpack."
She turned and smiled at him, brightened by his off.
"Oh! Well thank you, Boon. That's going to be a huge help since…uh…Kuzon isn't here." She said, only forgetting Zuko's temporary alias for the briefest of moments. Boon didn't even notice. He just shrugged and smiled slightly, like it was no big deal.
"It's no problem," he said casually as he kneeled beside her and began to untie the knots.
While he worked on the ropes she stretched out of her grogginess: bending down to touch her toes before reaching up. She pulled one arm across her; then repeated the motion with the other. She was relieved and grateful that Boon had offered to help her, but part of her was still worried about Zuko. He hadn't been on his own since they'd first brought him in… He's fine Katara, she said to herself. He was banished for two years before you even met him. I'm sure he's been on his own before… he'll be alright. And yet she still couldn't shake her paranoia. The firebender easily let his temper take control. What would he do without someone there to hold it back?
"It's a shame they make you sleep on this hard deck," Boon said suddenly.
"Hmm? Oh, I don't really mind," she replied absently. After travelling with Aang for so long she was used to sleeping on the hard ground. A wooden deck wasn't really that much different.
"So you care about keeping all of your stuff clean, but you're perfectly happy to sleep on a dirty deck?"
"It's different," she frowned a little, although she wasn't really mad at him.
"Man! These ropes are… insanely tight," he stated irritably. Katara looked down at him. A smile snuck onto her face before she even realized why she thought it so funny. "Why are you smiling?" Boon asked, apparently irritated at her amusement.
"I am? Oh, sorry…" she paused suddenly as she thought of an excuse. One came easily enough. "I just find it hard to believe that a sandbender who has spent most of his life around ropes can't untie some knots that a fire nation boy made," she grinned at the statements affect: a reddening face and a frustrated glare. Poor Boon, he was so easy to tease.
That, of course, was an extremely good thing for her. If he wasn't then might have realized her mind had been in a completely different place: she was back alongside the river, with her back to a tree trunk and her hands bound with tough knots. The Fire Nation may have been drowning with industry, but as a sailor Zuko could tie rope like no other.
"Ha! I got it!" Boon's victorious voice brought her out of her memory. She smiled, reflecting the grin on the older boy's face.
"Good job Boon! Now… let's find somewhere in these ruins to unpack."
When he exited the room Zuko immediately noticed that Katara was not next to the crates where he had last seen her, but then the crates were missing as well. Most of the sandbenders had already unpacked and vacated their sailors. He could see a couple of stragglers grabbing a box here and there or lifting one last bag or dragging a supply of weapons; there were a couple guards lounging about during the calm. Whoever they were meeting up with, these sandbenders didn't trust them.
"Less staring, more moving," he heard the rough voice of the sandbender—Tsu'ger—behind him, along with another rough jab to his shoulder. He growled with annoyance, he was beginning to hate that spear.
"Where is she?" Zuko asked impulsively as he took a step forward, his eyes locked on Katara's previous location.
"Who?" The sandbender grunted. From the tone of his voice, Zuko could tell that he didn't really care; he was just humoring the prince, trying to get him moving.
"The girl…Your healer? She was sleeping when you woke me." He took another couple of steps forward, off of the sandsailor and towards the crumbling ruins.
"I don't know…Around." The firebender wanted to press the man for more details, but he knew that it would be useless. So instead of trying to draw words out of the guard he just allowed the sandbender to guide him off the sailor and towards the crumbling buildings ahead.
After a certain point, the sun disappeared behind a stone-face; however, the shade the structure provided offered relief from the relentless heat. The sand began to ease into stone as they neared; the new sensation was a respite to Zuko's scalded feet—it wasn't ideal to parade around on burning sand without shoes. He wished they'd give him shoes…and a shirt. He was sick of walking around shirtless, he felt exposed… and he was convinced his shoulders and neck were stained red from the sun's burn yesterday, when he'd been helping Katara pack. The light really was relentless... he'd only been out briefly at twilight before the moon had risen and still he'd managed to burn his skin. But he shouldn't have been surprised; he was rather pale.
The sound of wood smacking wood drew Zuko from his thoughts and to his surroundings. He was walking through the high ceilinged halls with his guard. Everything was made of stone and sand was incidentally scattered across the floor. Once elegant pillars were crumbling into the sand under his feet. For the most part the walls were still intact, but the details carved into their faces had been destroyed. Sun fell in through the many courtyards they passed and, occasionally, it fell through the cracks in the ceiling. There was no furniture. The place was dark, ancient and deserted but it was somehow peaceful. Zuko felt at home in the ruins of this once great monument.
Another annoying jab—this time in his ribs—caused anger and irritation to burn through the firebender's veins.
"Pay attention," growled Tsu'gen. Apparently he had noticed Zuko staring at the old structure. "You're going to need to be on your toes where you're going," The prince desperately wanted to say 'I'll show you 'on my toes' and take out the sandbender, but he knew Katara would never forgive him and for some reason the idea of that hurt far more than any satisfaction of taking out a guard would've brought.
They came around a corner and Zuko saw where the previously distant sounds of wood-on-wood and the soft grunting were coming from.
Behind a door made up of thick metal crossing bars; he could see the shapes of people…fighting. He stared, a slight scowl forming on his face. Was this supposed to be training, or was this the real thing? Were they really just going to throw him in there? His heartbeat picked up and adrenaline began to race through his veins. Was he really going to be forced into battle like this? Half-naked, sun-worn, exhausted, and weaponless?
Before he had the chance to ask one of the sandbenders that were stationed on either side of the door it was being opened and Zuko was being prodded in the back again. This time, however, he was caught off guard by the force—it was stronger than any of the previous jabs—and fell forward and into the arena.
The gate shut behind him with an ominous clang.
"Have fun training," Tsu'gen said in a mocking voice. Zuko glanced around just in time to see the guard disappear down the hall. Frustration burned in him. He hated being man-handled like this. He turned around and pushed himself off the sandy floor. His feet were burning again. All thoughts of his feet flew out of the window when he saw that all the other people in the rectangular courtyard had stopped fighting and were staring at him.
They were all fire nation. They were the prisoners he'd first seen when he'd woken up.
"…Hi." He said awkwardly. A couple of them glanced at their sparring partners with a look that seemed to say, 'is he serious?'
"Hey," one of the older men said after a moment. He was tall, and though grey was already streaking through his hair he seemed fit enough to be a general. He was one of the few who actually appeared to be strong and in relatively good health. Most of the men didn't look very fierce. There were a few who could've been farmers, but most appeared like they'd lived a fairly pampered life before they'd been taken.
"What's your name?" the same elder man asked.
"Just call me—" Prince…but then they'd know who he was. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the people. Was it possible that they didn't know who he was? It didn't seem likely. But what would he do if one of them threatened to reveal his identity to the sand benders?
"Well?" One of the others asked, clearly annoyed by Zuko's silence.
"Hey," someone said, drawing in the exiled prince's attention. "Doesn't the banished Fire Nation prince have a scar just like that? On his eye?" the three dozen or so men in the arena all seemed to straighten at the same time. Several of them had a dark gleam in their eye and the others looked suspicious and concerned. These people wouldn't hesitate a moment to tell the guards they had Prince Zuko in their midst if it meant they could go free. He wasn't really their Prince, after all; he was banished. If Ozai eventually got his hands on the boy and punished him… it was all the better for the nation.
This kid was about to be in a hell of a lot of trouble.