Low and Behold! Chapter fourteen! Enjoy, my friends! (:

Chapter Fourteen

Scarred Illusions

Darkness. Darker than the night with no moon, darker than the night with no stars. Alone, confused, hurt. Scared. Scarred. Unsure. Pain worse than the night she was burned, the night the scars came to her wrists and her ankles. Love. Love more than the feeling she is beginning to have for him. More than how he makes her feel. Alone. Alone in this dark, inky black place. Scared. Where is everyone? Where is he? Scarred. Scarred from the pain, the loss. Unsure. Unsure of her feelings, her emotions, of everything.

Memories that she didn't even know she had played in her brain, from the moment she was bore. The light hitting her eyes when they opened, her vision fuzzy as she struggled to concentrate. Seeing her mother, clear and beautiful, sweat drenching her hair, her gray eyes wide and her pink lips curved into a beautiful smile, her laugh coming out quiet. Her lips pressing against her forehead as she murmured into her ear.

Looking at her father, laughing. Calloused fingers holding hers gently, tickling her. Her father, green eyes bright and gleaming as he held her. His lips rough yet loving as he kissed her goodnight, held her when she cried, when she laughed.

Her brother, small and confident, poking her in yet a wonderful and playful way, teasing her and defending her, always there. Her reliable brother whom she always knew would have her back, always there for her with quick comebacks when the other children would make fun.

Her grandmother, intimidating yet her wrinkles spilling stories as old as the ground, passed down through generations.

Her mother singing.

Her brother laughing.

Her father smiling.

Her grandmother storytelling.

And then she saw little memories, tiny ones. Some more future than the past. With her brother walking through the market. Watching with tear-filled eyes as her brother was dragged to hell knows where to fight as a solider. Hunting even when she hated it. The thrill of bending, the adrenaline which moved her alive, her instinctive movements. The hurt, pain, and screams of the flame on her skin, marking her forever with a scar of fire. Showing that she had been claimed by the inferno. And the same fire engulfing her only one she knew that was close, murdering her in the fire.

The better ones. The steady thud of Aang's heartbeat, the reassuring smile and his gentle hands when he picked her up, carrying her away from her past. His eyes, which she loved, his lips, which smiled, his laughter, which floated softly into her ears, making her heart swell. The love she had for him and couldn't admit it, how much she needed him. Aang was her reliable force, the one who was there with his smile, his knowledge. Aang encouraging her, helping her discover that she could airbend. Him laughing, teasing, falling onto her. How serious he was, how amazing he was, how funny and playful he was. How soft his lips were with hers, almost as if he needed her as much as she needed him.

The thought of Aang brought me back to my senses. Only to be knocked out again.

I sat, motionless. My body was sore. My throat ached. My mouth was dry, my breathing shallow. I had this weird, almost sense that I was watching my body instead of living it. It made me panic, but I wasn't going to open my eyes only to be knocked unconscious. Every part of my body hurt terribly bad, but if I reminded myself that it wasn't as bad as being burned, wasn't as bad as having a knife go through you. I could survive.

After a long time, I peeked through my lids. My vision was dotted with blackness and I suddenly felt dizzy. I closed my eyes tightly, fearing that I might pass out. Stupid…attacking…people…I hate…Ba Sing Se…ugh. I cursed inwardly. I exhaled softly, urging myself to open my eyes again. And once I did, I black out.

Open. Eyes. Ugh. Hell. Shit. Did they drug me? Where am I? It's cold.

I commanded myself. I had no idea what made me feel so…blah…but I instantly hated it. My body wouldn't do what I wanted for a long period of time. Finally I got my eyes to open, and stared for a while above me. Thoughts buzzed through my head, causing a sudden headache. As I started to make out what I was seeing, I was immediately surprised and breath taken.

Light green crystals surrounded above me in different displays. They protruded from the ceiling everywhere I could see, and as I looked to my left, I saw more scattered throughout this place. I furrowed my brows in frustration. Where was I?

It appeared to be a very, very large cave. With lots of crystals. I didn't know how I got here. I had to get out, though, and get back to my friends, to Aang-

I didn't have time to finish my thought, as I heard voices. I tilted my head to my right and saw Katara, unconscious. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a body dropped down, landing with a flop.

The man - boy - whoever, looked to be dismantled for a second before collecting himself. While he was doing so, I struggled into a sitting position, ignoring the cries of protest from my joints. What did those warrior people do to me? I growled mentally in distaste.

The guy looked up, his eyes widening as he saw Katara and I. He stared a moment longer before pulling himself to his feet. An array of black hair fell over his eyes, and he turn his face away from me.

Awkward silence consumed us. Finally, I sighed, "Do you know where we are?"

He looked up. He looked strangely familiar. A scowl came upon his face, "In the Crystal Catacombs." He muttered, looking at me. "Why are you here?" He looked familiar…

I shrugged, wincing slightly. "I don't know." He glared. "Seriously," I put my hands up, "Anyway, I'm Vinca." I introduced myself lamely.

He studied me, only facing me with half of his face. "Zuko."

I let out a tiny laugh, "That's cool, I guess. You were named after Prince Zuko." And by 'cool' I meant lame and shameful because I hated anyone that could bend fire/was a Firelord/related to/anything basically. As you can tell, I was in a real shitty mood after being drugged by the freaking warriors or what not.

Zuko made a face. "I am Prince Zuko."

I stared at him quizzically. He turned his whole face towards me, and my eyes took in his features. He was who he claimed to be.

The Prince glowered at me, throwing up his hands and turning away. "Stop staring at the scar, you lowly peasant." He growled.

"I wasn't staring," I shot back, irritated. He turned slightly back around, "Anyway, it's not bad."

He laughed loudly, "Not bad?" Prince Zuko repeated, raising an eyebrow. A sad smile curved on his lips as he looked down. "It doesn't bother me anymore." He murmured with a sigh, "It's part of me." His amber eyes met mine and I instantly felt chills down my spine.

I observed him, and a smile reached my own lips as I chuckled, thrusting out my wrists, "Yeah," I muttered, staring at my own scars, "'Part of me'." I echoed, closing my eyes, "Right."

I felt his eyes on me and opened my own. He had moved closer, and he took my wrists in his hands. I jumped backwards, letting out a quiet gasp, but he held on tightly. "How did you get these?" He asked, his facial features hard.

I managed to pull away my hands, hiding them behind my back. "None of your business." I said.

He stepped back, nodding towards my ankles, "You have more." He commented. "Tell me. How did you get them?"

I winced, biting my lower lip before speaking. "I-It's a long story." A blush crept to my cheeks as I stammered quickly.

Prince Zuko sighed, motioning towards his own scar. "Yeah. I've heard that a lot." He muttered, "It can't be that bad." He turned away, "Your own father didn't give it to you, did he?" His voice dropped as his lips set into a firm, almost angry seeming line.

I stared at him, feeling a strange mixture of sadness and sympathy. I reached forward, resting my hand on his scar. He winced, lurching away. My hand dropped. "I'm sorry." I said.

"For what?" He scowled.

I shrugged, backing away. "For your father…for being so stupid to give his own son a scar." Sounded better in my head. I thought, wrinkling my nose.

His eyes narrowed as he laughed a bitter chuckle, "I never said anything about my father giving it to me, did I, peasant?" He growled.

I raised an eyebrow, putting my hands up again, "No. But it was obvious."

Prince Zuko frowned. "Just drop it." His hands fell to his sides. After a moment of silence he said, "How did you get yours?"

"Stupidity."

"Oh?"

I laughed sadly, "Yes." I paused looking at the ground. "I was caught, blah blah blah…burned," This time my laugh was bitter, sorrowful. Painful. "And here I am."

Zuko looked like he wanted to say more, but thankfully didn't. We sat in silence. I studied the crystals around us, and even reached out to touch one. They were smooth. I looked back at Zuko. He seemed nice. Too nice to be the son of the Firelord. I wondered why he wasn't in 'Team Avatar'.

I was about to ask him why not when Katara woke up.

review, my friends.

special thanks to Mastermind416 for all the help that you have given me during this story. I really appreciate it! (psshh, go check Mastermind's stories, because they be spectacularrr. pssshh)