Chapter Two: Visiting the Prisoner

Her deep thoughts kept her from noticing the guard that was walking towards her. She stopped, however, when he lowered himself onto one knee and bowed his head deeply for a moment. Kira stopped walking when she was right in front of him and bowed her head briefly. He lifted his head and removed his helmet, waiting for permission to speak. Kira rolled her eyes when he remained silent and waved her hand to let him know that it was okay to speak. She was beginning to get annoyed by this.

"Your Highness, we have secured the prisoner, but he demands food. Lord Ozai didn't specify if we were to keep him unfed or if we were to allow him food. What are your orders?" The soldier asked, a small hint of fear in his voice as he spoke. It was a fact that most of the soldiers in the palace feared Kira for the very reason of who she was. Kira sighed and flourished her hand in dismissal.

"That's quite alright. I'll tend to it. Perhaps I'll be able to get information in the process." Kira explained, her voice a bit distant. The guard looked at her skeptically and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he realized that he might get in trouble for speaking. Kira sighed in frustration. "Yes?" She spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Forgive me, Princess, it's just that it would be horrible if anything were to happen to you. Perhaps you would like a guard to escort you to the dungeons?" The guard offered meekly, nearly cowering under Kira's intense glare. She hadn't time for this. Kira was a princess, yes, and the youngest daughter of the Fire Lord, but that didn't mean that she was completely defenseless. Kira pushed past the guard and continued walking down the long hallways, this time heading towards a new destination. She turned the corner and walked through a large door, coming into the main kitchen. Kira sighed and ignored the questioning looks that she received from the chefs and went over to the refrigerator.

After a moment of searching, Kira piled a few items onto a tray and got a stone bowl, filling it with warm water. She sighed, placing everything carefully onto the tray and carrying the tray out of the kitchen. Kira struggled a little to keep the bowl of water from splashing everywhere, but was otherwise fine. In a matter of minutes, Kira stopped when she came to a slightly damaged door, using her back to push it open, being extra careful not to spill the bowl of water.

A sharp chill shot down Kira's spine and small goose bumps made there way down Kira's arms and the back of her neck as her soft footsteps echoed in the hollow dungeons. The dungeons was always the only place in the palace that had ever given her the chills. The fact that so many of her father's prisoners had died in here seriously made her want to cry. She loved her father dearly, but she knew the things he did were horrible. Kira resisted the strong urge to close her eyes and tried to concentrate on what she was here to do. Her eyes scanned the empty cells until she saw the warrior boy, Sokka, sitting against the wall of the cell at the end of the row.

Kira quickly scanned Sokka's still form and her eyes saddened slightly upon the sight. Sokka's head was leaned back against the stone wall with his eyes lightly closed. The cut on his cheek that he had obtained from Zhao was still bleeding, but the bleeding had slowed. His clothes, shirt especially, were ripped and tattered, with blood coating his sleeves and the bottom of his shirt. Kira guessed that he tried to clean up some of the blood with his shirt. One of Sokka's legs was flat against the ground and his other leg was bent up against his chest with his arms folded in front of him and resting on his knee.

"Um.. Excuse me?" Kira said softly, nearly afraid to disturb him. As bad as she felt for this boy, he was still enemy to her father, which meant that he was a potential threat to her. But Kira figured that if she was nice to him, he would return the favour. Sokka jumped slightly at the sudden noise and opened his eyes slowly, his head turning only slightly to glare at Kira. However, when he saw who it was, his eyes softened a little and he closed his eyes again, returning to his original position.

"Yes?" Sokka asked hoarsely, his muscles flinching a little as pain shot through his torso when he tried to shift. Kira stepped closer to the bars of the cell and set the tray down. She cleared her throat and knelt down beside the tray, sitting back on her feet.

"I brought you fresh clothes for you to change into later." Kira said as she motioned for Sokka to come closer. Sokka hesitantly obeyed, with a little difficulty caused by the pain in his stomach. Also on the tray was a small white cloth, bandages, and, much to Sokka's delight, food. "I also thought you might be hungry." Kira added with a smirk when she saw Sokka eying the food. He nodded and settled himself Indian-style in front of the bars, but looking at Kira carefully.

"Why are you doing all this for me? I mean, I'm just a peasant, right?" Sokka said, his voice becoming a bit cold. He was starting to wonder if he could trust Kira. Sure, she seemed nice, but what if it was just a trick to get information? He couldn't risk it unless her was completely sure he could trust the young princess. Kira shrugged and sat down on the other side of the tray.

"You can't survive without food, can you?" Kira looked up at Sokka and saw the look of distrust in his eyes. "I don't want information about the Avatar, if that's what you're thinking. I, unlike my father and my sister, don't wish for this war to continue. And if you don't believe me, that's your problem, but I'm telling the truth." She added coldly, removing the bowl of water from the tray and placing it closer to her. Sokka sighed and held one of his wrists outside the bars as Kira instructed him to.

"I'm sorry, okay? But you can't blame me for being cautious." Sokka said as Kira picked up the cloth and dipped the corner of it into the water. She gently took Sokka's hand and carefully dabbed the wound with the wet part of the cloth. Sokka winced slightly and bit his lip.

"No, I suppose I can't, but how am I to know if I can trust you? I mean, killing me would make it much easier for you to escape, since everyone else is in bed." Kira said, looking at Sokka skeptically. Sokka actually had thought about that, but he would never do it. He couldn't kill another human being unless it was out of defense.

"Don't you think if I was going to try and escape that I would've done it already?" Sokka asked, watching as Kira wrapped his wrists in gauze. She snorted softly and moved to clean Sokka's other wrist. She had to admit that he was very clever. Kira finished wrapping Sokka's wrist in gauze and then sighed. She put her hand through the bars and place it underneath Sokka's chin, moving it to the side so she could clean his would easier.

"Okay, this might hurt a bit." Kira warned as he brought the cloth up to Sokka's cheek and dabbed it lightly. Sokka winced and instinctively pulled away. Kira sighed in frustration and held onto the back of Sokka's neck to hold him in place with one hand and continued to clean his cheek with the other hand. "Men are such babies." She muttered to herself.

Sokka huffed irritably and crossed his arms over his chest. When Kira was done cleaning the wound, she place two small pieces of medical tape vertically over it to keep it from opening. "Alright, now about that bruise.." Kira pointed to the bruise that was forming on Sokka's stomach where Ozai had kicked him. "There isn't much I can do for it since it's a bruise. But this cream will help speed up the healing process and stop it from hurting as much." She said as she picked up a small cup filled with a dark brown substance and handed it to Sokka.

"Thanks." He said, taking the cup and looking down at it. His face scrunched up in disgust slightly, and he set it down beside him. Sokka took this opportunity to look at Kira a bit more carefully than he had before as she gathered the spare scarps of gauze and cloth off the floor around her. It was true that Kira was a very beautiful girl; Her golden eyes shimmering like the purest gold in the dim light that peaked through the window, her silken black tresses that covered her forehead and framed the soft milky skin of her face and neck. Sokka wondered for a brief moment what it would be like to touch that skin, to run a hand through that hair. It reminded him somewhat of Yue, although he wasn't sure why. He lowered his head slightly, ashamed of his thoughts. Kira was a Fire princess; Yue was an Ice queen. There was no possible way they were alike. A loud bang startled them both, and Kira looked towards the dungeon door where a few guards were dragging in another beaten prisoner.

"I'm sorry, but I must go. I don't know when I'll be able to return, so this might be goodbye." Without a response, Kira rose and walked swiftly out of the dungeon, leaving Sokka alone with his thoughts. He couldn't understand why the princess was treating him so nicely. Or why he didn't want her to leave. He sighed silently and returned to his previous position against the wall, soon drifting off to a restless sleep.

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Okay, so there's chapter 2. Comments make me happy!