Soliel was roughly grabbed and escorted to a preparation room where she was bathed and clothed in the finest silks and satins. Each piece of clothing accented her curves and played into her skin color, and every stitch was blue. She stood before a wall length mirror and blushed at her reflection. Her stomach was bared as were her shoulders and back. A sheer blue fabric wove its way around her hips flowing to the floor and held together by a sea shell clip. She felt lost in the swirling blue silk, it became her eyes beautifully but did little to reflect her heart. I am not a water bender nor am I water tribe. She looked longingly at the red silks all around her, why couldn't she wear one of those?
"Can't I wear red? To represent the Fire Nation?"
"Red? No, the whole point is for you to be exotic, a rare treat for the Prince. If he wanted a Fire Nation girl he would have simply gone down stairs."
With a final glance Soleil was taken from the room and down to the Prince's chambers. She stood before two massive doors inlaid with gold flames, taking a deep breath she straightened up and hid behind a mask of cold indifference. The doors were flung open to reveal a very opulent and yet very empty chamber. The guards took a step in and then pulled Soliel over to a chair and forced her into it.
"Did the Princess say if the Price was home yet?"
"She never mentioned it, so what do we do with the girl? Should we take her back?"
"No, we were told to leave her in the Prince's chamber, they didn't give any conditions. She can fend for herself...some servant can tend to her we've got more important things to do."
"Right, Stay here and don't make any trouble or it's the dungeons for you!"
Soliel crossed her arms and looked away pointedly. She was not going to respond to a reprimand better suited for a child. The guards exited and slammed the doors behind them. Immediately Soleil jumped up and tried to open the great doors but they wouldn't budge.
"Figures. Ok Soliel think. How does one escape a heavily guarded Palace without being seen or caught? Leaving without my bending is out of the question...maybe the Prince will return and finds that he hates women and wants to pursue a life of silence and become a temple monk! Yeah and maybe the Spirits will realize how dull the Spirit World is without me and will invite me to live with them!"
Soleil pressed her back against the cool metal and slid with a thud to the floor.
"What am I going do?"
As her eyes swept across the room they landed on a large mahogany wardrobe.
"I may not be able to get out of this place but I sure can get out of these clothes!"
Soliel ran over to the wardrobe and yanked open the doors smiling at the sight of red and black and no blue.
"Well considering I'm supposed to be sharing his bed, I doubt the Prince will mind my sharing his clothes as well."
After rummaging around for a bit Soliel found a pair of black training pants and a loose tunic that was held closed by a belt. She hurriedly ripped off the blue garments and shrugged on the pants. Frowning at their length, Soleil ripped the excess cloth and tied the ends just below her knees to hold them in place. Then she pulled on the tunic wrapping the belt around her waist several times. Once she was finished she turned to inspect her reflection.
"Not bad Soleil, it's ten times better than what you were wearing before. Now that I no longer look like a tramp, I need to ensure I don't become one..." Tossing the discarded clothes in the corner, Soliel walked about the room and looked at the various scrolls, trinkets and ornaments scattered around.
"Well the Prince certainly has a habit for collecting things now doesn't he?"
There were books and tapestries all over the room accompanied by various figurines. After making her way around the room she came to a stop in front of a large dresser. Looking up her eyes widened,
"Are those Dao Swords? Wow! They must be ancient I haven't see handy work like that since I was a kid! I wonder how he got them...they're not typical swords that get handed down as a gift. At least I know I'll be able to protect myself should the need arise. Now to figure out how to get these stupid cuffs off, Onigata said they could only be taken off through fire bending. All I have to do then is find a willing fire bender and I'm free as a bird. But who in their right mind would go against the Fire Lord's orders and help out a slave? " As the hours progressed the Fire Prince failed to show. Soliel grew increasingly bored and impatient. "I wish that stupid prince would just hurry up and get here so we can get this whole thing over with! Azula made it seem like he couldn't wait to get his hands on me, he's probably gay or something and the Fire Lord did this to cover the whole thing up so as not to shame the royal family! I wouldn't put it past them." A knock interrupted her pacing and Soliel froze: This is it Soliel get it together.
"Come in?"
"I bring a message from Prince Zuko, he says business calls him away and will not be returning to the palace until the end of the month. You are free to do as you wish only remain within the palace walls and stay away from the Princess and Fire Lord. He said you are to have every commodity you need if you can ensure you will stay out of trouble."
"So I can do anything I want till he gets back?"
"Yes, My Lady and he has also instructed his servants to care for you in his absence."
"Wow, you'd think I was his girlfriend rather than concubine. Very well you can start by telling me what goes on here in the palace."
"Mainly political dealings and military instruction. The army's Elite team will be here in a little more than two weeks and will be training new recruits."
"New recruits huh? What is it that this Elite Team does?"
"They personally ensure the safety of the Fire Lord, Prince and Princess as well protect the Palace against siege and go on special missions as directed by the Fire Lord."
"And can anyone join this Team?"
"By no means My Lady! Only the strongest and most talented warriors can even pass the recruitment tests and even then many are rooted out by the Commanders. Unless you're a prodigy you're not likely to get in."
"But do you have to be able to fire bend?"
"You mean can a non bender join? It's happened before but it's not very likely they will last. The Members of the Team are constantly pitted against one another to keep them ready for what ever comes. In order to stay in the squad you've got to remain in the top 15 until the next recruitment period. If you fall below you are replaced by a rookie and made to either join the corps or go through training all over again. After three times you're out for good."
"But there are no rules against someone who wasn't able to bend?"
"No My Lady, none that I know of. Is that all You need miss?"
"Yes, thank you...what's your name?"
"Linus My Lady."
"Nice to meet you I'm Soliel."
"A pleasure Lady Soliel, feel free to call if you require anything."
"Thank you, the service here is impeccable!" ...Only the best can join the Elites huh? Well seems like I'm going to be here for a while so might as well make myself useful. I'll probably be able to pick up some new techniques I can bring back to the tribe! Soliel walked out onto the balcony and looked out over the court yard. Servants were running about, generals walking pointedly gesturing towards this and that but even with all the bustle the court yard was quiet and even a little bit soothing. She scanned the buildings hoping to get a better sense of what buildings were but even after watching the people below for several minutes she had no idea what lay behind any of the buildings.
"Well maybe I should learn my way around this place before I start training, I can't rely on servants to take me everywhere especially once the Prince gets back." Soliel walked over to the door and pulled the scarlet cord she assumed was used for summoning the servants. Sure enough in a matter of minutes Linus appeared.
"Was there something you required My Lady?"
"Yes, I was wondering if there was a map or layout of the Palace I could look out to gauge my surroundings. I'd like to know my way around before the Price returns."
"I would be happy to take My Lady wherever she desires."
"I appreciate that Linus, I know how busy you must be, but I'm not some member of the nobility or anybody of importance. I'm a servant just like you, only my duties are... postponed until the Prince returns. I'm going to be seeing to all of his needs and will need to know where I am and how to get around in order to do that."
Linus looked carefully at Soliel. He stood there looking at her for several moments before answering.
"The guards assured me that you were more trouble than a saber toothed moose lion on cactus juice, and yet here you are seemingly compliant and accepting of your position. I'm having a hard time believing you."
"Is it my fault I want to be independent? I've already had my freedom taken from me as well as my bending, what do you want me to do? Stay in this room all day? I'm sorry but whether you help me or not I will be leaving this room and finding my way about the Palace. I am not some exotic bird to be kept in a cage for the rest of my life. I will be productive and useful in whatever way I can find."
Linus nodded and walked over to the Prince's desk. He pulled out a sheet of paper and a brush and began drawing a rough sketch of the courtyard.
"I admire your spirit although I fear It will cause more harm than good in the long run. But the Prince did say you could move freely about the Palace so long as you stayed out of trouble. This is only a rough outline but it should be better than aimlessly wondering about the Palace. Be sure to stay out of the way of the Nobles and especially the Royal family. Speak only to the servants or not at all. We as servants are meant to serve not to be seen or heard, got it?"
"Yes, I understand" Soliel could barely contain her excitement, he was actually going to help her!
"I'm glad there is someone here kind enough to help me out, thank you Linus I won't be any trouble I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep Miss Soliel. If something happens just come find me. I live here in the servants hall, ask anyone there and they'll tell you where to find me."
In a moment of joy Soliel hugged the boy who she figured was not much older than herself. As she pulled away she didn't notice his shocked face, but went and immediately began examining the map.
"Is there anything else you need Miss?"
"No Linus you've given me everything I need for now, Thank you again!"
"Very good My Lady, lunch will be brought up in an hour."
With that Linus was gone and Soliel left to ponder over the map and try and decipher the buildings from her perch on the balcony railing.
Zuko tossed and turned in his bed, his body refusing to give in to sleep. Frustrated he stormed from his bed and onto the deck. His men eyed him warily but left him alone. Is it really too much to ask for just one day, a single 24 hour day, to go right for me?
"Prince Zuko, the men and I were wondering if we might drop anchor for the night in a local town in order to blow off some steam..."
Zuko's glare intensified as he turned around to face the captain.
"You would risk loosing the Avatar to simply blow off some steam? The only time we will dock is when we need more supplies or fuel!"
"But Sir, we've been sailing for three days nonstop. The men are tired as is the ship. If we could just rest for a little while..."
"There will be no stops until we absolutely have to is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir."
Zuko turned back towards the water his fists clenching the railing. To them this is just a pointless chase, they don't care if we find the Avatar or not. It's not their honor on the line...its mine. He looked up at the black sky cursing the Avatar and his companions.
"INCOMING!"
Aang whipped around and sent the large boulder over his head and into the side of the mountain.
"Not bad Twinkle Toes, but do you seriously think you'll have a mountain to slam that boulder into? You've got to crush it, make it turn to dust. Not only will it keep you from smashing some civilians but that will ensure that you're opponent can't use that boulder against you. Now do it again."
Aang took his stance and faced Toph who was lounging on a stone chair. Toph raised a boulder from the ground and just as she was about to send it flying Aang was knocked off his feet by a boulder from behind.
"You really are an air-head aren't you? I practically told you what I was going to do! Shesh!"
"Sorry Toph, I guess I'm just having a hard time focusing..."
"Well get it together before you get squashed like a bug! I'm going to go see what Sugar Queen's got to eat, I'm starving!"
Aang nodded and watched as the little earth bender walked back toward their camp. He shrugged his shirt back on and walked over to his glider. With a jump he was up in the air soaring towards the top of the mountain, Momo not far behind.
"You know Momo, I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong...I don't know what it is but I'm almost positive something's up. We haven't seen Zuko or any Fire Nation Soldiers in over a week and yet I feel like someone I love is in danger."
The little lemur chattered and handed Aang a nut before scurrying off to find more.
"Haha thanks buddy. Maybe I am over thinking everything."