Hello everyone! My apologies for the space between updates, but here's a really long one, so please enjoy and tell me what you think! Thanks to the many new views and all my new followers and favorites!
Training like this went on for weeks. Nearly every day, the Captain would send his housekeeper to wake me before the sun came up. I would quickly get dressed and do lengths up and down the courtyard with Etka, who I still struggled to keep up with, until the sky finally began to lighten and we would pause for breakfast. Etka hadn't lied when he had told me training wouldn't be easy, and at the end of each day when, exhausted, I would slide into a warm bath to relax, I could tell I was gaining muscle. My body was getting stronger, my endurance increasing, and I was making great strides in my training. Etka had taught me how to project my flame, and he was trying to teach me now how to block an attack. It was hard work, and I had begun noticing blisters on my hands and fingers, at the end of a particularly demanding day.
One day, I was surprised to find the sun already streaming through my windows when I awoke, and startled, I scrambled out of bed, thinking that I had drastically overslept the housekeeper's wake up call, and quickly got dressed and bolted outside.
Etka was sitting beside the pond, calmly watching the fish swimming around with a cup of tea in his hands. He looked up when he saw me, and I bowed hastily, before hurrying over to him. "Sir, I'm so sorry, I must have overslept..." I managed, but the Captain raised his hand, silencing me.
"Relax, Anahi," He smiled, setting down his cup of tea and standing. "I wanted to let you sleep in. You've been working very hard." The tension in my shoulders eased, and I sighed in relief.
"Thank you," I replied.
"I was thinking that today we could take a break from training," The Captain said amiably. "I want to take you to see an Agni Kai. I think you're ready."
"An Agni Kai, sir?" I asked.
"A formal duel," The Captain explained. "We'll go into the city."
"Really, sir?" I struggled to contain my excitement. This meant leaving the house, something that I had only done a handful of times. And a break from training was welcome any day.
"No, now I take it back," Etka smirked sarcastically, and laughed. "Come on, we'll grab breakfast along the way."
Excitedly, I grabbed my shoes and we set out together through the city. Even though it was no longer new, the novelty of going out hadn't quite worn off, and I knew without Etka, I would be totally lost. We ate fresh fruit along the way, and suddenly Etka leaned in closer to me. "We're going to be entering a rougher side of town," He said, his voice low. "Stay close to me." I nodded and watched as we neared a small building, with quite a lot of people moving in and out of it.
"This is where duels are held?" I asked skeptically. The building looked way too small for even one person to practice bending in, and Etka chuckled.
"It's a passageway that leads underground," He said, wedging himself amongst the crowds to get in. I had to push and shove some others to follow him, and craned my head to hear him above the others speaking loudly. "The arena is in there."
I followed Etka down a flight of narrow steps, struggling to stay upright amongst the throngs of people pushing around me. The Captain reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a row of bleachers. A duel was already in place, and I watched the explosions of fire flash from the two men below. Etka and I sat down, and I leaned over and watched intently, fascinated. Both men were shirtless, with thin red bands around their forearms. I saw one with a completely shaved head take blow after blow, cutting and breaking the flames shot at him as Etka was teaching me now. And yet, no one made a sound, except when executing an attack.
"Some people do it for sport," Etka explained to me in a low voice. "But most of the duels you'll see here are of a personal nature. People will settle arguments and conflicts in arenas like this."
"Doesn't that seem a little extreme, sir?" I asked. "Why would people fight like this instead of resolving things peacefully?"
"You misunderstand," Etka replied. "These types of duels are not because of someone light offense. For a fight such as this, their honor - or someone's that they deeply cared about - had to have been jeopardized. That's the difference of an Agni Kai."
I remembered how Etka had spoken about honor before, and I recognized the importance of maintaining one's reputation in the Fire Nation society. I focused my attention on the duel below us, and watched as the bald man delivered a strike so powerful I could feel the heat from my seat. "Why don't they cry out in pain?" I asked.
"Crying out is a sign of weakness," Etka explained carefully. "It is better to endure suffering quietly than to make it known to others. If one of those men were to cry out in pain, he would bring shame upon his whole family."
"Has anyone ever died?" I asked softly, watching with worry and unease. If I were on the receiving end of one of those blows, I knew I'd be in agony.
"The officials - see the men in uniform over there? They will usually intervene if someone is badly losing and can no longer fight. That's how it usually ends. Sometimes they'll resolve on their own, but it's not typical."
I was deeply impressed. I wanted to try out the moves I had seen right away, and watching the strength and skill of the firebending was entrancing. With a huge roar, the man with the shaved head raised his arms and clapped his hands over his head, then swung them down like an axe. A huge arc of fire descended with his hands and knocked his opponent onto his back. He didn't get up.
The crowd burst into cheers and I leapt to my feet. "Is he dead?" I exclaimed in horror and shock as several officiants hurried onto the field. Etka stood up alongside me, taking my arm.
"No," He said quietly. "Just wounded. What they don't show here is the long time it takes to recover, even for the victor. Burns take a long time to heal."
"Have you ever been in an Agni Kai before?" I asked, as the Captain and I began to walk out of the arena. A grim look passed over his face, and Etka sighed.
"Yes," He replied. "It was years ago, but it's something that I'd never like to repeat. I wanted to show it to you though. It's time that you knew, just in case someone...challenged you."
"Thank you, sir," I said solemnly, but still curious about what had caused Etka's duel, and if he had won.
"There's something else too," He added. "I can't stay at the house all day anymore. I don't have to go back out to sea yet, but I will have to report to the military base on a more regular basis. You'll be home alone a lot more often, but that doesn't mean that the lessons stop." Etka smirked, clearly trying to lighten the mood after what we had just seen. "So don't burn down the house."
"I'll try my best, sir," I replied, smiling at my feet.
It was a strange sense of freedom I had now. Etka had never forbidden me from leaving his house, but as I was a complete foreigner to the city, I hadn't wanted to venture alone without him, and I was always too shy to ask. Due to the Captain's regimented training schedule, I had become accustomed to rising early and practicing, albeit now by myself. Etka's housekeeper usually made me breakfast and lunch, and before dinner, Etka would come home.
I didn't want to be a burden on him, but I knew that I was. He had long days at the barracks, and then came home to teach me. He never complained, never admitted his fatigue, but I saw the heaviness in his eyes and the weariness in the way that he walked. I was his ward, completely dependent on him, and he never asked anything of me, only that I continued to train and practice harder and harder.
I decided early on then that I would do my best to help out around the house, running errands for the housekeeper, helping around with chores when I could. Etka didn't know, and I'm sure if he did, then he would demand that I stop, but I didn't mind. And I liked going out and exploring the city while buying spices or fruit or whatever we were making for dinner that night. It was a stark difference from my tiny fishing village back at home.
Every time when I went out alone, I always found myself drawn to the dueling arena. My first impression hadn't waned, and I found myself deterring from the market stands and slipping inside, watching the moves of the opponents and practicing them later during the day when Etka wasn't around. My evening training was all about the basics, blocking, breath control, stances. I was better than that, and I was ready to advance, but Etka insisted.
I was at the arena one day, watching alone and trying to ignore my conscience that I should be getting back home to practice. Today's fight was between two women, and their ferocity, the speed at which they moved around the arena, striking relentlessly was enviable. I watched in awe, slowly moving my hands and imitating their movements in my seat. I barely noticed a group of young men and women sit down close to me.
"Hey," My attention was diverted from the fight when I saw a young man slide into the seat next to mine. I saw him watching my hands, and hastily hid them in my lap. "Are you a Firebender?"
I didn't know what to say. Given where we were, if I said yes, could he challenge me to a duel too? I was already uncomfortable with him sitting so close to me.
"I saw you imitating their movements," He added. "I was just curious."
"Lucan!" One of his friends called out teasingly. "She's not interested!"
"No, come on!" Lucan retorted, turning back to me. "We were just talking, right?"
"We aren't," I said firmly, getting up. "Goodbye." I made to move past him, when I felt a hand close around my arm. I spun around, my anger rising and saw Lucan's hand enclosed around my wrist. "Let go of me," I glared at him.
"Let me try again - "
"No!" I demanded, breaking free from his grasp by jerking my hand upwards, sending a flare of fire up dangerously close to Lucan's face. "Please," I said breathily, trying to calm myself down. "I don't mean any trouble, just leave me alone."
"Don't ever..." Lucan was beginning to seethe, and I began to back up, my heart pounding. "Try and attack me - "
"You attacked me!" I retorted angrily. "This wasn't my initiation at all!"
"Lucan, calm down," A woman in his group placed a hand on his arm, but the young man brushed her off angrily. Had he been drinking? Was that why he was so aggressive?
By now, our dispute had attracted a small crowd, and with everyone's eyes on me, I was afraid to back down just yet.
"Leave me alone," I said sharply, my heart racing inside my chest. "I'm going."
"Backing out like a coward," I heard Lucan mutter under his breath, and I froze, slowly turning around.
"You are mistaken," I spat. "The coward here is you. Control yourself."
"You're asking for it," Lucan snarled, clasping a fist in his palm.
"It would be unwise to argue with me," I tried to keep my voice from shaking as I used my last resort. "I have connections with the military - "
"So you can't fight on your own?" Lucan retorted, and I was surprised to see the crowd nodding in agreement with him. "Do you need to call someone in to do the work for you, princess? Is that it?" I was panicking... If only the Captain were here...
"I can fight on my own," I said slowly, staring at him firmly in the eye. There was a heavy silence, before Lucan spoke the words I feared most.
"Then I challenge you to an Agni Kai," He said, and my blood ran cold. "And if you have any honor left, you shall accept."
My jaw twitched with anger, and I nodded fiercely, knowing that I had no choice. "The only honor that has been lost - and will be lost - today, is yours." I spat, before the crowd swarmed around us, separating me from Lucan and leading me down the bleachers and into the bowels of the arena. The air deep underground was cool and moist, and only added to my sweating palms. My stomach was churning, and I glanced around in fear, trying to find at least one way out of here. I was brought to a room and was given a deep red shoulder garment and arm bands by a boy who looked barely ten years old.
"Can you do me a favor?" I asked him, kneeling down earnestly and fishing around in my pocket for a few coins Etka's housekeeper had given me. "Do you know where the navy barracks are?" The little boy nodded, and I swallowed, pressing the coins into his hands. "There is a Captain there by the name of Song Etka. You need to find him, alright? Tell him that Anahi is in trouble. Tell him to come down to the arena right away."
"Right away," He repeated, taking my money and hurrying off. I sighed, trying not to throw up because my threats towards Lucan were empty. I was going to die tonight, and my honor would be tarnished.
"Is this your first time?" I looked up to see an older woman standing outside my room. Above us, I heard a scream of pain and shivered.
"Yes," I answered, trying to conceal my fear.
"Take off your tunic and stay only in your undershirt and pants," She explained. "You'll start the Agni Kai kneeling and facing away from each other with the shoulder cloak on. When you begin, try to stay out of the line of fire."
I bowed my head, taking off my tunic as she had said and rolled the armbands up my biceps. "When the pair now are finished, you'll go up."
"I didn't start this," I told her earnestly. "He wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't want to fight him."
"But you cannot back down now," She said somberly. "That would be an insult to your whole family. You must go through with the Agni Kai; keep your honor."
I bowed my head and sat down, my heart pounding as I waited to be called to fight. I prayed for a miracle, for Etka to hurry in and put a stop to this. I was terrified that he would be too late, or even worse, if he never came at all, and I was left to burn at the mercy of Lucan. At least an hour passed where I was alone like this, until I was sent for.
"It is time," The same woman returned, and I swallowed, taking up the shoulder cloak and following her into the arena. I knelt down, with my back to Lucan, and the red garment was placed around my shoulders. I tried to recall every defense maneuver Etka had taught me, every block and stance, but my heart was racing so fast that I could barely think. With trembling legs, I slowly stood up, allowing the red cloth to flutter to the ground, and turned to face Lucan, who was glaring at me, his shoulders braced and rigid.
"Begin." A cold, collected voice boomed over the arena, and Lucan rushed at me with a loud cry, fire burning from his fingertips. I inhaled sharply through my nose, and lunged forward, sending a powerful blast towards him that he cut in half with a block and a step back.
I attacked again, slicing a flattened hand through the air and knocking him off of his feet with a jet of fire. The crowds roared and I stood, my arms braced, with a ball of fire in my hands.
Lucan was lying on the ground, and I wondered for a brief second if I had knocked him out, if this fight was already over. I took a step closer to look, and he suddenly spun up in a low stance, whipping his leg in a sickle-formation and sending a painful lash of fire towards me that I narrowly dodged by leaping up in the air.
My fear had begun to subside, and was replaced by adrenaline, and I rushed towards him for a counter strike, shooting balls of flame at him as I bolted towards him. Suddenly, Lucan leapt to his feet and lunged at me, tackling me mid-stride and lifting me over his shoulder before slamming me to the ground behind him.
I gasped for air, my breath gone, as pain blossomed all throughout my body. The crowd was roaring and my ears were screaming, and I knew that if I didn't stand, I would die. I tried to take in air, and as I slowly got to my feet, Lucan hit me from behind, a blast of fire knocking me down again. Pain and anger bubbled up inside me, and I had to do something, I had to attack him with the force I had used on Etka's ship, so long ago.
My anger was slowly replaced with rage, and I leapt to my feet, sending an arc of fire throughout Lucan's end of the arena with a guttural roar. My fury, my emotion was fueling my strength, and with that, I could gain the upper hand. I send waves upon waves of fire at Lucan with such speed that he barely had time to defend himself. "Surrender!" I screamed at him, my whole body rigid with this intense power. I leapt and kicked jets of fire that whipped down on him like a lash, I shot down balls of flame against his bare chest. I didn't see the spectators, I didn't hear their screams. It was only Lucan and I.
I roared with anger, lunging forward and executing a final blow, before suddenly collapsing, my body striking the dirt. I tried to conjure a flame again, but it was weak, and I realized that I had done exactly what Etka had warned me against, using all of my strength at once and ignoring the basics. Lucan raised his head, and a triumphant smirk crossed his face upon seeing me on the ground.
"Who will surrender now?" He sneered at me, and I grit my teeth, my hands forming fists as I struggled to stand. Lucan advanced towards me, but instead of attacking me with fire, kicked me straight in the face so hard that it knocked me onto my back. I felt blood rise in my mouth and nose, and I scrambled to my feet to the booing of the crowd. They hadn't liked Lucan's foul move.
I had barely enough time to stand before Lucan was throwing fire at me. I cut through his attacks, trying to at least stand up straight, but when I looked down at my hands, I saw burns carving their way from my arms to my exposed stomach. Lucan knocked me down again, this time with a jet of flame that hit me in the side of the head and sent me sprawling in the dust. I cried out in pain, and with a storm of shame, remembered what Etka had said about crying out. I had dishonored him.
My strength was gone, and this time, I couldn't bring myself to get up. Even pressing down on the ground with my burned hands sent agonizing pain up through my arms. I couldn't fight. I had lost.
Lucan was looming over me, one arm drawn back to deliver the fatal strike. I looked up at him, my eyes pleading with him to show mercy. My honor had been sacrificed long ago.
"Enough!" I heard a familiar voice roar, and I dropped my head into the dust, watching as Etka leapt over the walls and stormed onto the arena grounds, his expression livid. "How dare you?!" He thundered, throwing a huge burst of flame that caught Lucan off guard and threw him against the opposite wall, several yards away. I watched in shock. I had never seen Etka this angry. "Get up!" He roared, as Lucan struggled to his feet. Etka's topknot was coming loose, long strands of hair hanging down his face. "Where is your honor? She is a foreigner, a guest in my house!" Etka hit him again and again, with fire so strong I could feel the heat from yards away. When Lucan lay motionless on the ground, unable to get up again, Etka strode over to him and spat in the dust beside his head. "Get out of my sight," He seethed. "Never show your face in my city again."
I closed my eyes, trying to fight off the waves of burning pain that were splitting every nerve under my skin. I heard face paced footsteps running towards me, and I felt Etka's hands gingerly slide underneath me, lifting me up carefully into his arms. I groaned in pain, and I heard him call for a carriage as he carried me out of the arena. He had won my Agni Kai, beating Lucan to save my honor. I rested my head against his chest, and let my consciousness leave me.