"This will be your home for the next week. You will train here and when the week is up, you will use the skills you've acquired and already have knowledge of to face what we put you against. The training will be rigorous, but if you have the stamina and the will, you'll make it out unscathed," Lieutenant Jin smirked. We were standing in the warm sunlight, outside the recruitment center in a large, fenced-off yard; the top of the fence was lined with barbed wire. By we, I mean the Lieutenant, the three others who made it through the arena, and myself.
To my surprise, Makoto was one of the four others in the yard. Huh, so he'd made it through too. As I walked up to them I gave him a smug smile and winked, feeling a bit victorious when his neck went slightly red and his jaw set.
The Lieutenant continued. "Let's get started, shall we?"
"The sword you hold in your hand is no longer a weapon, but an extension of your arm once you pick it up. I know, you've probably heard that expression several times, but you need to learn the true meaning in the next seven days. Only a true swordsman," Lieutenant Jin looked at me, "or swordswoman, can understand and maneuver their sword correctly. You must be graceful, alert, and light on your feet. If you aren't," he crouched and swung his silver sword at Makoto's legs, effectively knocking him off balance. "Your enemy will get the better of you. Partner up. We're going to practice disarming your opponent."
I looked down at Makoto, who was having trouble pulling himself up into a standing position, and stuck my free hand out. "Partners?"
"I don't know," he paused, taking a grip on my hand. "Are you going to try and kiss me again?"
"Don't count on it," I said, starting to pull him up, but then let go halfway, so he dropped to the ground, landing on his back again.
Taking me by surprise, he kicked up from the ground, sword in hand, and positioned himself in a fighting stance. "Trust me. I'm not."
I had to admit, the boy was good. I'd been able to disarm Makoto twice before he memorized my attacks and was able to turn them against me. I thought that maybe I would be able to get the better of him again, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult for me to find a hole in his defense.
We were evenly matched. His brute strength was enough to keep me back, but I was quicker on my feet. After numerous jabs, swipes, and lunges, we were standing with the flat sides of our swords pressed against each other. He pushed all his weight against his sword so I had to take a step back and regain my footing.
"You fight like a girl," he sneered.
"You know, I wouldn't have expected that since, you know, I am a girl.What's your excuse?" Over his shoulder I could see the entrance to the training yard. Lieutenant Jin was talking to someone, and when he took a step to the side I could see it was the Fire Lord. I tore my gaze away quickly, determined not to get distracted. Why was he here?
I couldn't help my curiosity, though. I looked back again and they were both watching Makoto and me fight, watching to see who would disarm the other first. I could almost feel their eyes on my face as I pressed harder against Makoto's sword. I needed to get closer to the hilt of his sword; that would be the only way I could possibly knock the sword out of his hand. I let up a bit, stepped backwards, and let the hilts of our swords meet. Then, I stepped toward him, yanked upward, and watched as his sword flew out to the side and clattered to the ground.
"Yield," I said, my sword point at his throat. He glared at me over the blade, his jaw set stubbornly. "Oh, come Makoto. There's no need to be a sore loser."
"And what gives you the right to be a sore winner?" a voice asked from behind Makoto. I sighed, realizing it was Fire Lord Zuko who had spoken, and dropped my hand down to my side, the sword digging a trail in the dirt. Makoto turned to see who had asked the question, and upon the sight of the voice's owner, he bowed deeply, his left hand standing straight up on top of his right fist. I repeated the gesture hesitantly, not really accustomed to what was expected of me in front of royalty.
"Well, your majesty," I addressed him with an almost mocking edge to my tone. "I did best him in that spar. Perhaps you didn't watch close enough." Or perhaps you were too busy admiring yourself in a mirror.
"Fire Nation soldiers are dignified and respectful," he countered, sounding slightly agitated. I wanted to slap him. Respectful? Is that what you call invading an innocent tribe and killing civilians mercilessly? Is that what you consider taking over dozens of colonies and wiping out an entire element? "In the face of victory, we are proud, but not self-congratulatory. Our honor as a nation is reflected in the attitudes and actions of our soldiers."
I averted my eyes from his, feeling a blush creep up the back of my neck. I felt like a small child being scolded by my father for pushing Sokka into a snow bank. I'd be forced to apologize to him, and five minutes later, Sokka would hurl a snowball at me and the fun would begin again.
Only this time, I don't think I'll be forgiven as easily.
"Makoto, is it?" Zuko directed his attention to my sparring partner.
"Yes, your majesty."
"Your forms have improved tremendously. But, it helps to look for weakness in your partner. For example," he said, sweeping a leg out under my ankle so fast I almost didn't see it happen. I started to fall backwards, and then his hand shot out and gripped my arm, catching me mid-fall. "Katara, here, has a weak ankle. She shifts her weight over to the right most of the time and when she moves her left leg, she hesitates."
I openly gaped at him. He'd gotten all of that, just from watching me spar with Makoto? As much as I blatantly disliked him, I was impressed. He'd belittled me, spotted my weakness, and caught me off guard, all in less than five minutes.
"Oh, uh, thank you, your highness," Makoto said and bowed deeply again. Zuko just nodded his head, and then realized he was still holding my arm. He let go, took a step away, almost awkwardly, then gave us a small bow, turned and walked back toward the entrance, leaving us with Lieutenant Jin.
"Well, that was informative," I said flatly.
"Yes, very. Though, maybe if you'd acted more like a well-mannered citizen than a headstrong teenager, he would have gone a bit easier on you."
"I'm sorry that he seems so intent on insulting me. I get that we're inferior to him and all, but he could listen to his own advice and show some respect for other people."
"It's his job to put you in your place," Lieutenant Jin said with a shrug and walked toward the other two men sparring.
"Yeah, well someone needs to pull him down from his narcissistic pedestal and show him there's more to life than being adored by thousands of people and admiring your own reflection."
"Ouch," Makoto murmured from beside me. I didn't care if I was trash-talking the precious Fire Lord. There was no way I would bow down and be lectured by someone who probably doesn't even dress himself.
The next few days flew by, but as promised, were full of black, blue and red. I was battered and bloody, my body full of blossoming bruises and cuts. Looking in the mirror had been difficult at first, but after a few days, I seemed to become more accustomed to the new scratches and discolorations. My muscles were tender after a day of sparring, ached after an intense session of weight lifting, and screamed in protest after completing the obstacle course. The men seemed to be faring a bit better than me, but I could still see the fatigue in their sluggish movements.
After about four days, feeling was steadily returning to my limbs, and I had full control over them again on the fifth day. The new skills I learned, from the instructors and the other men, made me a better and more educated fighter. My moves were sharper, my movements more fluid, and my attacks were harder. Instead of having to retreat and take up offense, now, I could hold a defensive position.
Every once and a while, I would catch a glimpse of the Fire Lord watching our training sessions from the yard entrance. Still slightly embarrassed, but more infuriated, I would turn my back to him, cutting off any chance of catching his eye, and train harder, bent on getting as much out of the instruction as I could. He could look down on me all he wanted. It didn't matter in the end. I wasn't his subject and I never would be.
"So, where did you learn to fight?" Makoto asked me as we sat down to eat in the mess hall. We'd learned to be less hostile toward each other and a bit more amiable. It wasn't easy, but we both knew that the other was just as stubborn, if not more. Once we got past antagonizing each other, we could actually hold a conversation. Of course, what was said on my part was mostly a lie.
"My father was training my older brother to join the army, family tradition and all that. At first, my dad wouldn't let me practice with them because I was supposed to be a dainty, poised young woman. So, I would watch them during the day and at night, I would take one of my father's swords and practice out in the fields. He caught me, told me that I shouldn't have gone behind his back, and then I said if I could beat my brother in a sparring match, that he would have to let me train with them. Determined, I won the match, and he had to let me practice with them."
The lies just came so easily now. I'd fallen into character, playing my part in the production, Katara, the girl from the small farming island, intent on making her father proud and keeping the family tradition strong.
"Where did you learn?" I asked Makoto.
"I was in a gang," was all he said. I waited for him to speak again, for him to explain why, but he didn't. I tried not to ask him more about it, but my curious nature betrayed me.
"Why were you in a gang?"
He looked at me sideways, all emotion wiped from his face. "Recreational purposes."
It took me a second to realize he was being sarcastic. "Be serious, Makoto. Why did you join a gang?"
"Things aren't too great for my family financially. The war is hard on us. My father died in battle a few years ago, so we lost the small amount of money he made. We were poor and we needed protection." I could tell from the way he talked about the war that he resented its existence.
"Have you ever…killed someone?" I asked quietly.
"No," he said strongly, like he had to make sure I heard it. "I didn't want to kill anyone. That's why I came here with my family. We scraped up enough money and bought tickets to Caldera. I'm hoping to make it into the Task Force so I can support my family, so we can start over again."
I didn't pry further, and he didn't say anything else. We finished our meals without talking, not really ignoring each other, but just sitting next to each other in a comfortable silence. It was odd, making friends with someone I should consider the enemy, but I couldn't help but realize how much we had in common. Makoto was here to help his family, and I was here to help mine.
Well, I was here to help my people win the war, but I was beginning to think that what I was doing here could benefit more than one nation.
So the seven days of training passed by, and now I was changing into a new uniform given to me for my final task. The entire outfit was black, probably for camouflage purposes. Tight leggings, a fitting long-sleeved shirt, and a short-sleeved robe that hit me mid-thigh in the front and was slightly longer in the back, reaching the back of my knees. It tied around the waist, just a simple black robe that gave me enough breathing space and room to fight in freely.
I was also given open-fingered gloves, which I pulled on after securing a weapons belt around my hips. I had a sword, the knife I had strapped around my thigh in the arena (returned to me by Lieutenant Jin, who was not happy at all about that), and a few packets of powder (completely useless to me; I had no idea what they did).
I pulled my hair back, two strands of hair from the front secured to a bun above a ponytail in the back (my "hair loopies" as Sokka called them). I looked in the mirror and was reminded of the day I had put on my red Fire Nation garb aboard the Water Tribe boat.
Things were different now, I realized as I looked into the blue eyes staring at me from the mirror. The look of fear was gone, now replaced by a bright burning fire. There was a fierce, determined woman staring back at me, not a small, afraid little girl, traumatized by her mother's death.
I was no longer naïve, believing that the war would end by itself, my people and the enemy forming some sort of peaceful agreement. No, I knew that action had to be taken, or else this war would last forever, more lives ended, more families torn apart.
And now, standing on enemy soil, I finally felt like I was doing what I was always meant to do. I was helping the people I loved; I was giving them a chance to live in a world that wasn't plagued by warfare. I was giving them a chance to hope again.
"Well, I hope you've all had a very educating experience in training, because what you're about to face is going to prove to us just how much you paid attention to instruction. We like to call this test 'The Labyrinth" for reasons you will soon see," Lieutenant Jin said to the four of us. We'd been led down a few staircases, and from the dampness of the air I could tell we were very far underground. Fire Lord Zuko himself had come flanked by two guards, I guessed, to insult me once more before I proved him wrong. "Your highness, would you like to add anything?" Jin asked politely, one eyebrow raised.
"Good luck, to all of you. You're all very talented," I could tell it killed him to say it. "Of course, there are a few flaws to be worked out. Attitudes, for example, will not help you in this task, so leave them at the door," he looked to me as he spoke. What do you know, I was right. He did come here to insult me. I just gave him a sweet, innocent smile that seemed to say, who, me? He blinked and looked away, completely unaffected and continued. "Do not be dejected if you fail. But do not be proud if you succeed. Win or lose, you will still be of great importance to our nation."
How touching. I wanted to laugh. In fact, I'd started to, but Lieutenant Jin began talking, so I shut up. "You will all enter The Labyrinth from different locations, but you will all be aiming for the same destination: the center. Be conscious that it will not just be the four of you in there. There will be animals, guards, and traps around each twist and turn, so stay light on your feet. Don't hesitate. That could cost you precious time." He called out a command and four guards in black outfits similar to ours walked up and led us each down different hallways. "Good luck," he called out before we were led away.
I stayed a few paces behind my guard, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.
"It isn't really that bad," he called over his shoulder. "From what I can remember."
My head snapped up. "What?"
"It's not that bad. I had to go through it a few years ago. Almost lost my hand, but I made it out alive."
"You're part of the Task Force?" I asked as I stepped up beside him.
I could see his features dimly outlined in the flickering flames of the light fixtures. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, with black hair tied up into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. There was some stubble on his chin, and he had dark brown eyes. He reminded me of my father.
He nodded. "I enlisted about three years ago." We reached the end of the hallway and stopped, our footsteps still echoing off the walls of the long wing. We stood in front of an intimidating thick, steel door. I took another deep breath.
"When do I go in?"
"An alarm will sound. That's when I'll let you in."
We waited for a few minutes, and then a blaring alarm went off. The guard pulled the latch of the door up and it creaked open, revealing a long cave tunnel that grew darker and darker as it progressed on. "Good luck," he said as I stepped over the threshold. I walked a few steps in and heard the door creak shut, and then the groan of a lock put in place.
Darkness enveloped me, and I fought back a sudden urge to bang on the door and beg the guard to open it.
A/N: So, I hoped you like it :) It's fun to finally start incorporating Zuko in these chapters. I just wanted to thank everyone who left a review, it really means a lot that you guys like the story so much. Your opinions and input really push me to write more, so I just want to thank you for that!
Keep tuned and I'll have the next chapter up soon, hopefully!