Hey Everybody! Its the 3rd installment. Thank you to everybody who reviewed, faved, and/or signed up for alerts. I've actually had this chapter done for a while but the next one was kicking my a-double scribbles, and since this was so short, I wanted to post them together as a thank you for your patience! So without further adieu....
BTW, I don't own Avatar, k?
When I came to I was lying on a thin mattress in a small, dark, damp room. It certainly wasn't comfortable, but I had endured worse under Azula before…
The room Mai found herself in was small, no larger than a Third Class Seaman's cabin on a Fire Navy vessel. There were no windows in the room, just a door less than 10 paces to her right outlined by a faint glow behind it. Despite the lack of windows, Mai knew that she had been transported out of the Capital City and closer to the Harbor because of the thick, humid air that clung to her body. The air in the Capital, which was built in the crater of an inactive volcano, was much drier and somehow cooler than here despite the heat. As Mai's eyes adjusted to the dark she could see that beside the mattress there was a bucket of water with a dipper placed on a low stool. Recognizing her thirst for the first time since waking up, she ran her tongue over her lower lip to feel the dry crust of blood and the metallic taste returned to her mouth. Mai remembered the pain in her skull and when she touched her temple she winced at its tenderness.
Just then the door creaked open. The dull glow of fire light spilled into the room and Mai used an open palm to shield her eyes. Someone appeared in the door way and paused there momentarily. Mai squinted to see clearer, but her eyes had become adjusted to the dark and all she could see was the outline of the dark figure. Whoever it was was slightly shorter than average height, of slim but muscular build, and hair of at least shoulder length.
"I think we're getting a little old for this Azula." Mai's voice was low and coarse after going so long without speaking, but the more she spoke the more agitated her tone grew. "Kidnapping? That screams predictable. I think you're losing your touch." The figure moved into the dark and the closer it approached the clearer Mai's vision became. It wasn't Azula at all. It was a young boy maybe twelve or thirteen dressed in the uniform of a palace servant. He dropped a tray of food on the floor and turned to leave without a word.
Mai scrambled across the floor and grabbed the hem of his tunic. "Hey kid wait!" He turned over his shoulder and looked down at the Fire Nation's Queen on her hands and knees bloodied and bruised. She was never one to beg and she wouldn't start today but she needed answers and she needed them now. "Just tell me what she wants and when she wants it and it'll be done." Despite her position, her voice was strong, regal, and unwavering. The boy, however, batted her away and freed himself of her clutch. He smirked, spat at Mai and continued out the door. Mai's eyes grew wide and her nostrils flared. Her breathing became deep and ragged but she did not retaliate. Instead, she returned to the mattress, dipped the ladle in the bucket, and cleaned the blood, sweat, and now spit from her face.
Um, yeah. No A/N. Just, please review...thanx ;-)