C A T H A R S I S
a world can't rebuild itself after all.
{maiko}
a/n: because watching people die is apparently romantic. i think i've been too into european history at the moment. everything weird suddenly seems normal. huh.
drabble title: valley deep
word count: 446
pairing: MaiZuko
prompt: "dissent eradicated like clockwork."
disclaimer: you know how it is.
valley deep
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.
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From across a valley, Mai and Zuko watched as men willingly sold their souls for "freedom."
"And history books will regard them as martyrs," Mai scoffed. She stood on the top of a hill with an upturned nose, the height of nobility. Her shiny hair cascaded down her shoulders like the picturesque goddess she was, adorned in silk and gold. The sunshine did not flatter her pale skin though—rather, gave her the sickly hue of an oxygen-deprived newborn.
"History is all opinions," Zuko said, wrapping an arm around her waist. His spirit grew that day—from hesitant to omniscient; he reached for the skies, wanting to ascend at last. But not like a phoenix; that would make the poorest of analogies.
Mai dismissed the issue with a wave of her unblemished, half-gloved fingers. "They're all idiots, fighting for nothing. We can crush them."
The Imperial Army stood majestically, on komodo-rhino back or on foot, benders rocked into stances, and the armed poised to attack. They harbored no hopes, dreams, or fears. They knew their job, and they knew it well. Strategy was branded on their brains. They did not accept defeat.
And Zuko and Mai stood and watched as the Independence Movement was squashed into little more than a scattering of fleas. Ash coated the valley then, like new snowfall. The smell of burning stung neighboring nostrils. In the Palace City across the way, the people shut their blinds with force.
"Infamy," Zuko said simply to Mai. The battle was ended before it begun. Rebellion never stood a chance, like blood against arsenic. The Fire Nation royalty just could not be extinguished; a spark fire, they grew at contact with air and water and weakness.
Mai nodded. "This will not look good for us. I expect a second rebellion movement to begin no later than tomorrow."
"Would you like to bet on it?" Zuko joked.
"You can't bet on the inevitable," she said humorlessly.
He sagged, pulled her closer. The smoke was getting thicker. Wildfire spread. Zuko made note to order Restoration Effort to reverse damages. "Our time isn't up yet. Agni has faith."
"So it would appear."
"That's good enough for me." He nuzzled into her hair, so ignorant of the contrast between public displays of affection on the summit, and charred corpses in a sort of death valley. Even spirits pretended to overlook an easy mistake.
She kissed him on the cheek and pulled away. "Pray for misguided souls. We can't afford darkness in an era of peace."
She left him for a lonely forest that afternoon, while he still stood atop the damned mountain. Unmovable, invincible, young, and dead-wrong about the world.