I feel extremely guilty… I know I should be working on the next chapter for "Open Doors", as there is a high demand for that, but… I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS THING, I CAN'T SEE STRAIGHT! :DDDDDDD
Ah, the suspense continues. What is Tenma's purpose? What does the symbol on Tenma's knife stand for? Is Aang going to save Katara? WHO IS THE PRISONER GIRL, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD? I'm sure all of these questions buzz through your head… which is my purpose. *ninja glare*
On to the story!
Xxx
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
The Unknown Elements; The Spirit in Azula
Chapter Six: The Girl with Golden Eyes
They gripped her forearms, pushing her down a long alleyway, full of prison cells. They held a knife to the side of her neck, its sharp blade cold against her dry skin.
Katara's wide, scared eyes flickered from cell to cell. Some were filled with trembling, desperate women, even a couple with thin little kids not even four, others empty, and… ones with dead bodies, corpses rotting from not being picked up.
A pang of anger and hurt for the people stung her heart. Why were they doing all of that? It certainly wasn't described like this in the prison reviews sent regularly to Aang.
A guard pushed her forward, making her stumble a little over her ripped red silk dress. "Keep moving, and look straight ahead, filth!"
Katara could feel tears coming. They swam in her eyes, threatening to pour down her cheeks; but she swallowed them, and looked ahead. She couldn't act weak now. If they saw her cry, she had a feeling they wouldn't feel very sorry for her.
Finally, she scraped up the courage to speak. "What- what are you going to do to me?" she asked. Her voice was raspy, and quiet, and so… un-Katara-like.
Their meaty hands gripped her arms harder; she winced. "Shut up, and quit asking questions!"
She licked her cracked lips. "But…"
"I said to shut up!" The guard yelled in her ear. She could feel the knife at her neck slice through her skin, a white-hot sensation that sent her crying in pain. The tears that she had tried to force down came then; they cascaded down her cheeks, leaving clean, salty trails on her dirt-incrusted face.
Katara could feel the guard's hot breath on her ear, moist and rancid-smelling. "Now, move along, so I won't have to do that again." He brushed her jaw with one thumb teasingly. "Don't want to ruin that pretty face, now do we?"
She grimaced, and forced her eyes closed, turning away from him. Her stomach lurched painfully, and she tried her best not to gag.
He jerked on her arm once more, a jolt that felt like it was being pulled from its socket. "Now, hurry up! I don't want to spend all day dragging you around!"
They made their way down a long hallway, and stopped at a large metal door, patrolled by two hefty soldiers, spears at the ready.
She looked up at the iron entryway, dotted with chains and levers. Her heart stung with fright, the pain radiating through her chest.
The guard noticed her expression. "Ah, scared now, are we? You should be. But for now, we won't kill you. This is where we take our more important prisoners… or prisoners that haven't cooperated." He signaled to a soldier standing outside the massive plank of steel, who turned and began to turn dials and click locks.
Katara's throat started to close up on itself as the door swung open, to reveal a dark, damp room. Mice skittered across the floor, and rotted planks of wood and clay dotted the stone ground. Torches lined the walls, aflame with fire but providing little light, sending eerie shadows across the cell.
The guard shoved her again. "Quit gaping and get on inside!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders and jolted her forward; she went tumbling to her hands and knees with a gasp, the hard rocky floor scraping her palms.
She looked up to the looming man standing over her. He was grinning widely, as if he knew a secret. "No water for you, Little Miss Waterbender. Not one drop of liquid in sight… besides your own blood." He coked an eyebrow. "And I've heard you've had some trouble with that. "
Katara narrowed her eyes up at him, a cloud of anger swelling up inside her chest.
He strutted toward the doorway, and began to swing it closed behind him… until he stopped. He popped his head back in, smirked, and said, "Can't waterbend, hon. Dry air is pumped in… and tonight isn't the full moon. Don't get any clever ideas." And with that, he stepped out and shut the door closed with a slam.
Katara sat for a minute, staring at the exit. She felt total disbelief. Why would anyone do this? Not just to her- to tons of mothers and fathers and children? Families? What did they deserve?
She suddenly sensed the all-too-familiar stinging behind her eyes. They swam with tears, blurring her vision. She felt… empty. Almost no hope at all.
The only little sliver that kept her going was that maybe Aang would make it here by sundown.
How they would kill her, she didn't know.
Her heart nearly at the breaking point, she crawled into the corner of the dank room, and curled into a ball. She sobbed quietly into her knees, soaking her already-stained dress.
She wiped tears away with the back of her hand. "What am I going to do?"
"Huh. Looks like I'm not the only one that's so unsure." The voice echoed on the stone walls, soft and a bit raspy, but proud nonetheless.
Katara's head shot up, and looked around her in alarm. Shock and dread washed through her- there was no way she could be this unlucky. "Who's there?"
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. You've been tortured enough already." The voice was definitely female. It sounded familiar.
Really familiar.
"Show yourself!"
There was an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay. Sorry." There was a slight shuffling, and a face came into the torchlight. "Like I said; I'm not going to harm you, I promise."
Katara's eyes widened. No. No, no, no! This is not happening! Dread washed through her entire being, soon accompanied with fright when she realized she had not one drop of liquid anywhere.
"A-Azula? What are you doing here?"
Xxx
Aang gripped Appa's reins tightly, his knuckles almost white.
Tenma had taken Katara.
He should have seen this coming. Oh, how could he have been so blind?
Katara had been defenseless, as the water pouch she always wore was restricted in the "dress code" for Mai's wedding.
He decided then and there to have Suki teach Katara her style of martial arts.
They sailed through the clouds, the puffs of white whisking past them and into the endless blue abyss. Beams from the setting sun beat down on them; they had exactly one night and one day to get Katara. Twenty four hours. Aang truthfully didn't know if that was enough.
The note was still in his pocket, resting right beside that beastly dagger. It pricked his thigh with jolts of pain, but he hardly noticed. Aang was too obsessed with the matter at hand. Not only was he furious, but his heart ached for Katara. What torture they must put her through!
Revenge was a wretched, awful thing… but it sounded awfully good.
He could hear shuffling through the wind in his ears. "Aang, get some rest. You need it." Sokka's voice cut into his thoughts unwelcomingly.
"No."
There was a scoff from behind him. "Have you seen yourself lately? You look like you've haven't had any sleep for a week."
"I don't care."
Sokka sighed. "Aang, it will be fine. I have complete confidence in Katara. She can deal with Tenma."
Aang watched his fingers wring the reins in his hands. "That's not what I'm worried about." He averted his eyes back up to the endless azure sky in front of them. "I'm worried that she has to deal with Tenma so much that… that she'll…"
"Stop trying?" Sokka suggested.
"No. She'll… crumble. It would be too much for her to take." Aang's eyes narrowed, an orb of hatred forming in his gut. "She's probably getting tortured; whipped, or burned or something. She's probably in pain."
Sokka was silent for a minute; which was quite a feat for him. But, considering the circumstances, Aang couldn't blame him.
Xxx
The girl looked miserable.
She was in a fancy dress that would be pretty if it didn't have so much dirt and blood and rips. Her long, curly hair was disheveled, and tear streaks lined her dirty face. Wide blue eyes looked sad, scared; and really, really angry. She was a really pretty girl; but she was suffering a truly ugly experience.
She had a huge cut on the side of her neck; it was bleeding horribly. Sure, I've gotten cuts and scrapes from my little "meetings" with the warden, but they were practically nothing compared to the one she had. It was already clotting over and looking sort of scab-ish-… even if she did get someone to heal it, it would still scar.
She looked even more scared when she saw my face. "A-Azula? What are you doing here?"
What? Who is Azula? "My name isn't Azula."
She swallowed. "It's the insanity. You don't know who you are anymore."
"Trust me, I am perfectly sane."
She forced herself closer into her corner. "You're supposed to be in an institution. Under complete surveillance. How did you get here?"
I crawled over closer to her, the light from the flaming torch burning my eyes slightly. "I remember no institution. And I'm not crazy, I can assure you."
Xxx
They neared Yunsei Prison.
It was nearly midnight; a dark, star-speckled blanket enveloping them in an abyss of black. Appa showed numerous signs of slowing down, as they had flown nonstop all day and for most of the night. Aang kept pushing him, focused fully on rescuing the girl he loved with no hesitation.
Aang fought with sleep. He wanted to concentrate on getting there in time, saving her, and escaping. He was debating on whether or not to actually meet Tenma; she expected them to get there at exactly sundown. But if they arrived early, maybe Aang didn't have to go to the trouble of fighting her.
Though he desperately wanted to. He wanted to make her writhe and beg for mercy.
Which is a lot coming from him, he knew.
But no one hurts Katara.
No one.
Xxx
When the girl crept farther into the torchlight, Katara saw that she did, indeed, look like Azula; but there were differences. Her hair was a different length, with side bangs that swept across her forehead and her shoulder-length dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Azula's eyes were a rusty bronze color; the girl's eyes were golden amber. They were shockingly very familiar, though she didn't know why.
There were other comparisons, as well. Her lips were little fuller, her skin a bit paler. She was pretty, but not intimidating like Azula was. She gave off more of an aura that was tough, but worn with sorrow and heartache. She looked skinny and boney, though Katara suspected it was from being in this dreadful prison.
Finally, words emerged from Katara's mouth. "You're not Azula."
Xxx
Sokka looked across the saddle at Aang's rigid figure. He hadn't left that spot since they began flying.
Sokka sighed, and crawled up to the front. "Aang, you seriously need to rest. This isn't good for you. We can't have you on the verge of exhaustion when we bust into a prison to save my sister."
The airbender's shoulders slumped a bit.
The tribesman climbed onto Appa's head beside his friend. "Here. We still have a ways to go. I'll wake you up when we get near it, okay?"
Aang's tired eyes looked down at the reins in his hands. Then he looked back up at Sokka with a sad, sorrowful expression on his face. "Promise?"
Sokka looked at him comfortingly. "I swear it on my seal jerky."
Aang gave a small smile, and handed Sokka the Appa's reins before climbing back to the saddle to accompany Toph, Suki, and Zuko, who both had been fast asleep since the sun had fully set earlier that night.
Sokka looked out into the endless sky ahead. He remembered the events that happened just before they left; the huge argument and fits of tears.
"I'm going."
Sokka shook his head, looking at his girlfriend. "No. I can't risk your life. My sister is already in danger; I can't put you in the same situation."
Suki eyed him, her lips pursed into a stubborn line. "I. Am. Going."
Sokka narrowed his eyes. "No."
"You guys need me, Sokka. You know it."
Mai stepped forward, looking pointedly at Zuko. "Same here. I can't just let you stroll in alone."
Zuko groaned, and set his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Mai, we already discussed this. You have to keep everything in order at the palace; you're the only one I can trust."
Sokka looked at the two girls seriously. "Appa can't handle that many people. Toph's going because she can bend metal, and hopefully get Katara out of her cell, or wherever she's at. Zuko's going because he could have some authority over the warden and guards. I'm going because she's my sister. And Aang is going… because, well…" He looked back at the airbender, who sat on Appa's head, looking straight in front of him. "Because he's the Avatar." He couldn't say the real cause for the boy being inexplicably in rage.
Mai's expression softened, much to Sokka's surprise. "I will agree to stay… because Zuko has a good reason." Then her face hardened. "But Suki can take care of herself. Let her go."
Sokka groaned. "But-"
A voice spoke up from behind him. "Let her come with us, Sokka."
Everyone turned in surprise. Sokka looked defeated. "Aang, what are you-"
"Let Suki come." The seriousness in his eyes increased. "We need all the help we can get."
He was extremely nervous. His sister, his girlfriend, his best friends were all in danger. They had no idea what to expect… they didn't even know Tenma's capability to fight, or if she was a bender. Maybe she simply used the knife on Katara to cover the possibility of her abilities.
Sokka didn't know. But what he could do now was hope for the best.
Xxx
They sat side-by-side, listening to each other's problems as if they were lifelong friends.
The girl beside her told her of her life, and what happened, and how she got here.
Katara's eyes widened when she finished her story. "So, you're fiancé was killed, but he's alive?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "How is that possible when you witnessed his death?"
Her companion shrugged. "I don't know. But they say he's essential to finding someone that they need." Her amber eyes drifted down to the stone floor. "But they say Yuna knows where he is." Her hand ran through her dark hair. It was obvious she was really stressed. "I'm so confused."
Katara smiled comfortingly at her. "Well, you're not alone. I feel your pain; it's obvious, from what I told you."
The girl looked back up at her, admiration crossing her pretty, exhausted face. "I still can't believe you know the Avatar."
"Yeah. Aang is great." She sadly looked back at her newfound friend. "But I have no idea if I'll get to see him again. And that's a lot coming from me, since I'm pretty much hope-obsessed."
The girl studied her for a moment, saying nothing. Finally, she spoke. "You love him, don't you?"
Katara felt a heat rise to her cheeks. "Is it that obvious?"
She shook her head, looking at her thoughtfully. "No. I'm just a people person." The girl smiled, and looked down at her feet. "Though, I just can't figure out what's going on around here. Usually, I'm good at reading someone's emotions…" she shuddered. "Now it seems they have none at all."
"You mean the guards?"
She nodded. "Yeah." Her feet shuffled, and she studied a piece of chipped pot on the floor. "It's strange. Suddenly they go from drunken nitwits to serious, empty shells of nothingness." She grimaced. "It's weird."
"Hhm."
There was a moment of complete silence. Awkward, but nice nonetheless, they pondered over what they had recently confessed to each other. How she was so comfortable around the girl only after about an hour, Katara had no idea.
Then she realized something. "Well, since you know just pretty much everything about me, I might as well tell you who I am." She held out her hand for the girl to shake. "My name is Katara."
She looked down at Katara's awaiting hand, and then back up at the waterbender, her golden eyes wide, and a bit suspicious.
But when she saw Katara's kind expression, all the worry washed from her face, and he looked a bit relieved.
The girl smiled, and she took her new friends hand, and gave it a meaningful shake.
"I'm Akuri."
Xxx
I bet you guys are like, "FINALLY! We know the prisoner girl's name! HALLELUJAH!"
I apologize for no Tenma scenes, or Iroh, Mai, and Ty Lee clips. I just needed to clear up a few things. There are still many questions to be answered, and I will get to them. And I am seriously lacking in Toph's POV, but I will include that as time passes.
There was a bit of confusion on why Katara didn't freeze Tenma to the wall or something when Tenma tried to capture her, and I apologize for not adding this in at first. Katara was in a bridesmaid dress; she didn't have her water pouch with her. If she did, I don't think Mai would have liked that.
Update soon; but in the meantime, REVIEW! (: