Chapter V- Hell
I can't believe my eyes. Is the person standing in front of me really who I think it is? Xang. He chuckles again, which sounds more like a sinister laugh. I guess he may be the evil one after all. Unless Xang and Ozai are both evil.
"I knew my cousin told you about me," Xang said.
"What did he tell me?" I asked, pretending like I don't know what he is talking about.
"You know all about how Ozai is my little puppet and how I make all the decisions."
"He didn't tell me anything about that." I look into his eyes and see the reflection of the flame in them.
"Liar!" Xang yelled. He grabs something, but I can't tell what it is. He makes the flame on his hand grow larger, then lights the thing on fire. A whip? Why would he be lighting a whip on fire?
"You're not going to lie to me!" Xang yelled, moving closer to me, hanging on to the whip.
"What makes you think that you can get the truth out of me?" I asked, knowing he won't get me to spill.
"We'll see…" Xang said. He moves his hand toward my shirt, then lifts it up to reveal my stomach.
I gasp. "What are you doing?" I asked, fearing what he will say.
"We'll just see how much you can take," Xang said chuckling, then moves the whip backwards.
A blood curdling scream. I don't know who's screaming, but then I realize that it is myself. Pain is shooting through my stomach and I feel nauseated. Tears are spilling out of my eyes and dripping off my chin. Xang moves the whip backwards again, it cracks against my stomach again. More screaming.
"Please stop," I said, merely in a whisper. I feel like I can't breathe.
Xang whips me again and again. Finally, he stops. I look up at him through blurry eyes and see that he is sweating. He reaches down to my top and pulls it up further. Luckily, I am wearing a bra, but to my disbelief, he pulls my bra up revealing me.
"No," I said, "please don't." More tears are running down my face as I brace myself for what is to come.
Xang moves the whip back, it seems like it is moving in slow motion. Finally, it cracks against me. I don't scream, for I can't. The pain is just too much. Luckily, the whip hit me along my collar bone, instead of lower. Xang moves the whip, ready to hit be again, but he stops. He looks back towards the door, then extinguishes the fire on the whip. He walks toward the door, opens it, and walks through it. I breathe a sigh of relief, but I feel as though I may vomit. I can't control the tears coming out of my eyes and I feel something wet on my stomach, probably blood. I hear someone struggling outside, but I can't see. I hear something, almost like a bolt of electricity, then nothing. I hear footsteps, but I didn't get to see who it was, because I blacked out.
…...
Zuko
I walk towards the light, then come to an opening in the forest. There is what seems to be a hut. There is a torch near the door that is aflame. I walk towards, wondering if Katara, or someone else might be there. I feel a pit in my stomach. Anything could be in there. I decide to take the chance, for I don't want to be a coward. I stop at the door when I hear a scream. The scream sounds like it's coming from a girl. I open the door and step inside. I can make out someone saying something, maybe a plea for help, then I hear a crack of what I think is a whip. I don't hear a scream this time. I move towards the direction I heard the sound come from, not worrying about being able to see. I hear someone walk, so I freeze. I hear a door open, then someone walking towards me. I can start to make out a silhouette, so I decide to attack.
I shoot a bolt of lightning at them and they fall to the floor, unconscious. I use a flame on my hand to see, then look down at the person to see that it is my dad's first cousin, my second cousin Xang. Why is he here? I see an open door and I hear someone quietly crying. I walk towards the door, then the crying stops. I can't hear anything. I walk into the room and see that there is someone laying on a bed. I get closer and I notice that it is Katara.
I do a double take. She is lying there, her shirt pulled all the way up, revealing her. I would stare at her longer, but I notice that there are cuts all over her stomach and close to her collarbone. There is also blood on her stomach, coming from a wound that is deeper than the others. I pull down her shirt, then notice that she is chained to the bed. I look around, then find a key hanging on the wall. I grab the key and unlock all of the handcuffs. I move my head close to her mouth to hear if she's breathing. I feel breath against my ear and the sound of her breathing. I pick her up gently, then walk out of the house. I'm carrying her like a baby, figuring that it would be the most comfortable for her and easier for me to carry.
I run as fast as I can through the forest, dodging branches so I don't injure her anymore than she is already injured. I'm out of the forest and now near the walls surrounding the palace. Surprisingly, she is lighter than I thought she would be. I reach the gates, and the guards notice me, so they open the gates. I run through and I reach the door. Another guard opens the door, not questioning me.
I'm now inside the castle. I run to the doctor's office that we have in the palace. I go to his room, but he isn't there. I swear to myself, then go upstairs to see if I can find help. As I reach the top of the stairs I see my uncle Iroh walking down the hall.
"Uncle!" I yelled, trying to get his attention. He stops and turns to look at me, his eyes widening.
"What happened?" Iroh asked, his eyes widening.
"Xang, he did something to her, I think he may have whipped her. Some of the wounds are deep, so they need to be sewn up."
"I'm afraid that Doctor Kung is not here tonight, for he is ill," Iroh said, shaking his head, "you're going to have to do it yourself."
"Why can't you do it?"
"I don't have very good eyesight anymore and my fingers are not nimble like yours," Iroh said
"Fine," I said, "Could you get me some supplies then?"
"Sure," Iroh said, "I assume that you will be in Katara's room?"
"Yes," I said. I walk towards Katara's room. I open the door and walk in the dark, trying to find the bed. I find it, so I lay her down their. I light some candles, then I set them on the bedside table. I took off her shirt, and tried not to stare at her. I examined her wounds and saw that a lot of them needed to be sewn shut.
Iroh opened the door, carrying supplies. I got up and grabbed them from him. "Thank you uncle," I said, then walk over to Katara as Iroh left the room, closing the door behind him.
I first clean the wounds and I notice something weird about them, they aren't just whip marks, but they are also burns. Impossible. I carry on cleaning her wounds, then I got some medical thread out and a needle. I put heat up to the needle making sure that it is clean, it's always better to be safe. I let it cool down, then I start to sew her wounds up.
After about half an hour, I'm finished sewing up the wounds. I disinfect them again, then pull her shirt down. I look down at Katara's almost motionless body. I never noticed how beautiful she was. Her face looked like it was carved from stone and for some reason I couldn't stop looking at her face. Her hair lay beautifully on the pillow in smooth, gently waves.
Stop it Zuko. Why are you thinking this? She's just a peasant, but even worse, she's from the Southern Water Tribe.
But I can't help myself. My eyes keep going back to her face, no matter how many times my mind tells me not to.
I move over to the bed and sit down on the edge of it. I look towards Katara, then my hand moves to her face. I gently brush her left cheek. I didn't notice it before, but there should have been a burn there from Ozai. I look at her right cheek, but there is nothing there either. I am befuddled over this. How could of the burn disappeared? My hand moves over to Katara's hair. I move my hand along her hair. Her hair is smooth as silk.
I can't do this. What would my father think of this? Why do I care though? I don't care what Ozai thinks. He's done nothing but harm me. But still, I can't do this. I want to love her, but I hate her at the same time. We hate each other.
My mind is racing with all sorts of questions. When I finally clear my mind, I realize that I am lying next to Katara, running my hand through her hair. I lean toward Katara's face and gently kiss her on the lips. One little kiss won't hurt, she will never find out about it. I move my head back to the pillow, I close my eyes, and I fall into a dreamless sleep.