Hey everyone, I am back again with another update, I hope that you all enjoy it.
The Two Artists - Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three
The three highborn women had finally made it to the top of the caldera pathway.
And all three of them were now in an even fouler mood after the diversion that the puppeteer had pulled with the Water Tribe slave girl over the cliffs.
Azula now plopped her bottom down on a rock as if it was her throne with her arms angrily crossed over her armored chest as she gracefully crossed her legs.
Only to turn to watch through the corner of her merciless amber golden eyes as her serving girl rushed over to her side.
Before she glanced down with a flicker of a pleased gleam in her strict eyes when the girl knelt down in a faithful bow before her with an arm held out over her chest.
She gazed down at her handmaid with a ruling gaze in her controlling eyes.
As Zoi leaned against a rock wall with her angered eyes still glaring onward.
Ty Lee sat down with her brown-gray eyes now gazing fearfully back at their enemy.
As Silah now smiled back at them before she sat down on a rock with her warrior king puppet standing like a sentinel some distance away from her.
"Princess…I await your command." Elle stated in a voice of endless devotion as she bowed with her head bent in respect to her dominant girlfriend while her princess stared down at her in approval.
'That's my girl. When everyone else defies me, you submit.' Azula thought with her authoritative amber golden eyes stared down at her submissive beloved.
She surveyed her kneeling girlfriend with a satisfied expression in her domineering eyes.
As the two noblewomen took their adopted sister's worshipful behavior in stride with their eyes still staring in distrust back at the puppeteer's ageless face as the woman relaxed on her rock.
Only for the sound of Silah chuckling to flow into Azula's ears as the princess turned to stare ruthlessly back at her.
Before the mighty woman turned her reigning stare back down to her pretty kneeling girlfriend as she found herself taking delight in the girl's adorable submission.
She scowled as she regally swept a lock of hair from her cold eyes as she possessively gazed down at the girl from above.
And as always.
Her handmaid's devotion to serve was the only thing keeping her from destroying everything in her sight!
Perhaps, today even more so than any other day to come before!
"I shall allow this exchange servant…but I will be watching for every moment." Azula stated in a supremely controlling voice as she angrily tapped her fingers along her toned bicep while she stared imperiously down at her cutely kneeling pet.
The hunter stared back at the strange couple with evident entertainment in her eyes as she watched from her rock.
"Yes, Mistress. I wouldn't have it any other way!" Elle chirped in a loyal voice as she smiled with her head still bowed in reverence while the older girl reclined gracefully above her.
The princess stared icily back at the puppeteer's ever smirking face with her eyes burning with the flames of war.
And then she pointed a greedy finger down at the girl kneeling before her while she scowled back at the amused woman.
"I warn you Silah. This one belongs to me. I am her mistress and I own her. I suggest you remember that." Azula stated in a voice of effortless menace that rivaled that of Silah's own while she glared dangerously back into humored dark green eyes.
Her young girlfriend remained bent in a kneel before her boots as she never once removed her gaze from the other woman's face.
As the captain and the acrobat also stared protectively from their positions atop the volcanic cliff.
"I have to say Azula. It never ceases to amuse me watching you use that girl to stroke your damaged ego. One can't help but wonder where your fragile ego would be without her." Silah replied with her pale lips forming a smirk while watched the princess's golden eyes look as if she wanted to tear her head off.
Only for Azula to decide that it was not worth the retort as she turned to gaze back down at her kneeling servant girl.
"You may begin now servant." Azula commanded in a voice of absolute rule as she gestured for the girl to rise with her cold eyes staring down at her little girlfriend's sweetly smiling face.
And with that Elle stood up with her amber eyes peering loyally back at Azula's strict yet indescribably beautiful face while the woman stared sternly back at her.
And for the briefest of moments both girls stared back into each other's eyes.
As the dominant met the gaze of her submissive while the younger girl smiled shyly under the older woman's conquering gaze.
Until Elle bent over to bow before the seated princess at the hip with her head bending in respect once more.
"Forever as you will Your Highness. I am yours." Elle answered in a lovably devoted voice as she arose from her bow while Azula sat with all the perfect posture of a queen on her rock.
The princess's lips almost curved into a gratified smile as she stared back at her little girlfriend in recognition.
And then the handmaid turned around to face the seated ageless woman with her hands holding onto the straps of her backpack.
While dark green eyes now stared right back into her own as she forced herself to steel her composure under the woman's uncomfortable stare.
Before she swallowed quietly as she began to pad her way over while the pale woman watched her approach as if in anticipation.
As all three highborn women stared on with watchful expressions in their eyes from their various positions that they had taken around their young friend.
Azula from where she sat on her rock.
Zoi from where she stood with her arms folded over her breasts against the rock wall.
And Ty Lee from across from the captain from where she sat on the ground observing closely.
Silah watched with a flicker of curiosity in her eyes as the young girl's lips formed into yet another one of her bewildering smiles.
In all her two hundred and one years of life.
She has never anyone like this girl before.
And if there was one thing that interested her.
It was experiences that were new to her.
The three aristocrats watched with their own measure of confusion in their eyes.
And once again.
It almost seemed as if…
The monstrous woman almost seemed to behave just a little bit nicer when she interacted with their young friend!
"So…do I just…take a seat by you?" Elle asked in an uncertain voice as she came to a stop before the immortal woman while the hunter turned to glance at her.
The eyes of all three highborn women stared on with clear displeasure over the prospect of their cherished friend sitting beside the evil woman.
"How else will I view your artwork child?" Silah responded with something akin to liking in her voice while she ignored the princess's glare.
"O-oh…right. Good point!" Elle exclaimed as she sat down beside the woman while she smiled up at her pale sunlit face.
And then she removed her backpack from her shoulders while the woman watched her intently from where she relaxed on her rock.
She began to hum as she opened it up as her friends watched like three overprotective parents on guard duty.
As she began to dig through it while she watched the woman lean down to observe her behavior.
"Would you like some candy?" Elle pondered in a sociable voice while the three highborn women nearly fell over in disbelief.
Even Silah seemed to stare down with blinking dark green eyes as if the question had taken her off guard.
And Azula hold held a hand over her forehead as she groaned into her open palm.
And both Zoi and Ty Lee sighed softly.
The girl really was far too sweet for her own good.
"Candy? Were you actually serious before? Or is this some poorly coordinated assassination attempt on Azula's part to see if I can be killed by poison because her attempts by bending proved insufficient?" Silah questioned with an arched silver brow while Azula glared murderously in her direction.
Only for Elle to blink her innocent amber eyes as she gazed back up at the woman as if the thought had never occurred to her.
"Huh? An assassination attempt? Oh, I can't take part in anything like that. I'm a pacifist. No matter how evil you are I am sworn against taking life." Elle replied with cheer in her voice as she dug through her bag while Silah stared at her in perplexity once more.
The princess slapped her face yet again as she let out an angered hiss.
And even the acrobat and the captain visibly showed discomfort over the young girl openly admitting that she will not use her power to kill the depraved woman.
"How…bewildering. So…you're actually offering me candy?" Silah commented in a genuinely confused voice as she bent over to peer down at the girl while she watched her remove something from her bag.
"Yep! Would you care to try twizzlers? Or maybe a butterfinger?" Elle pondered in a kindly voice as she gazed at Silah's taken aback face.
The princess's amber golden eyes continued to gaze on at her handmaid in ever rising annoyance.
"Twizzlers? Butterfingers?" Silah asked with perplexity in her voice as she watched the girl hand her what she presumed to be a candy in yellow wrapping.
And then it was dropped into her open clothed palm while she felt the glares of three highborn women on her back.
"It's a chocolate bar with a crispy buttery flavored center. It's not quite up to par with all of the rich people sweets here in Hari Bulkan that Azula-sama and my oneesans eat but I like it." Elle informed in a helpful voice as she watched the woman study the wrapping with a fascinated gleam in her eyes.
And to the amazement of the three Fire Nation women.
The deranged puppeteer almost seemed…moved that the girl was offering her food in goodwill!
As the hunter held the bar up before her eyes as she stared down at her with a still surprised expression in her eyes.
Only for her eyes to be instantly drawn to the foreign lettering on the face of the wrapping.
'This written language…it's similar to what I saw on some of the weapons that I recovered.' Silah thought with her dark eyes staring at the wrapping in contemplation.
And most interesting of all was the fact that the weapons she had collected almost seemed to have more than one language etched upon them.
Which meant….
That there was more than one new language for her to learn in this new world!
It was just one more exciting endeavor for her to explore and it only made her all the more eager to make the voyage over.
Only for Elle to gaze up in surprise when Silah reached her gloved hand back out to give the bar back to her.
"You don't want it? Is chocolate not to your liking? Would you…prefer something else?" Elle inquired in a courteous voice that baffled her three friends while the otherworldly woman almost seemed to crack a smile.
Only for Silah to let out a graceful chuckle that sounded less malevolent than her usual laugh.
"You really are an amusing little dear. But to answer your question. It has nothing to do with the flavor. I already told you that my body has no need for sustenance." Silah spoke in an uncannily enigmatic voice while she stared down at the young girl's awestruck face.
And just like that the three older members of Team Azula could only stare on with renewed paranoia in their eyes.
"B-but…can't you eat for pleasure?" Elle queried in a confounded voice as she watched Silah smile down at her with her angelic hair swaying lightly in the wind behind her.
As Silah leaned back with a gloved hand on her knee while she still gazed down at the girl in a strange sense of endearment.
The highborn women watched closely as they waited for the woman to reply.
Only for the reply to never come.
The puppeteer simply sat in silence as she stared back at the girl's bewildered face with a constant smile on her features.
As the two firebenders studied their enemy with looks of frustration in their eyes.
'Is she…not able to eat at all? Is that it? And yet we saw her swallow the princess's blood…did we not?' Zoi thought with her stony golden eyes considering the matter as she watched Silah intently.
Just before Elle to let out a squeak not a moment later while all three of her friends nearly found themselves leaping to her defense.
Only for their eyes to gaze on in confusion when they watched the ground shift beneath their friend and the puppeteer into that of an earthen bench.
The serving girl sunk back in the newly formed seat in surprise as she turned to watch the far older woman sit back beside her.
'Was…that a gesture of kindness? Is she actually trying to make Elle comfortable?' Ty Lee thought with her brown-gray eyes gazing on in puzzlement.
As she watched the woman lean back on the bench without a care in the world.
"Your artwork…I want to see it." Silah commanded with a gloved hand relaxing against her face while she gazed back at the girl's recovering countenance.
"O-of course. I've…got my artbook right here." Elle responded as she removed her sketchbook from her bag while Silah's eyes followed her closely.
As the two noblewomen had to remind themselves of who they were dealing with when they almost found themselves gazing on in impending amusement.
'Is she…going to show her sketches of the princess?' Zoi thought with a small trace of humor nearly making it to her eyes.
Only for it all to fade away when she was reminded of the cries she heard off the pathway.
And then the three highborn women watched in a sense of curiosity as the ageless woman leaned down when the girl opened up her sketchbook.
Silah now peered in from over the girl's shoulder with her predatory eyes watching the girl open her book to the middle pages in intrigue.
Only for her brows to furrow in genuine bewilderment at what she found herself gazing upon.
"A…drawing of Azula? She is your choice of subject matter?" Silah asked in a taken aback voice as she watched the girl proudly nod her head.
Azula found herself unable to resist smirking in gratification despite the circumstances that they were currently under.
And Zoi and Ty Lee just shook their heads as they gazed at the young girl with fond expressions in their eyes.
"T-that's so. She…she is my queen. I love sketching her. She's so beautiful." Elle gushed with a hand on her reddening cheek as she sighed dreamily.
The princess held her head high with a smirk on her lips as she sat back with all the grace of true royalty.
'The girl knows who owns her.' Azula thought with a pleased smile on her lips as she stared back at her girlfriend's pretty face while her callous eyes expressed a murderously protective glimmer.
Only for Elle to glance up in surprise when the artbook was taken from her hands by the immortal woman.
"On that we can agree. She is beautiful. As is Zoi. I find both of the dragons particularly lovely." Silah commented in a voice of admiration as she turned a page with her dark green eyes staring down at yet another drawing of the princess.
The two firebenders stared on with both unnerved and complimented expressions in their eyes.
And Ty Lee just shivered as she found herself silently thankful that the woman left her out.
As it was quite apparent that the sadistic woman liked to hunt and kill those that she considered beautiful!
"Oh yes! Zoi is so very beautiful as well! She and Azula-sama are like Amazons from Greek mythology come to life!" Elle cried out in a pure hearted voice as she watched Silah sift through her artbook.
The princess's golden eyes now sparked with a possessiveness as she turned to stare coldly back at her captain's now smugly smirking face.
"Amazons?" Silah inquired in a voice of insatiable hunger for knowledge as she stared down at a painting of the princess in fascination.
She also once again took notice of the foreign lettering at the top of each page.
"The Amazons were an all-female race of warrior women from Greek mythology who have always been depicted as tall, mighty, athletic and beautiful." Elle explained in an informative voice as she smiled while the two firebenders listened with flattered expressions in their eyes.
"I see…a mythical all-female race." Silah muttered in an intrigued voice as she turned another page in growing captivation.
"I…I see them differently though. Zoi is like a big sister to me. She…she looks out for me and she protects me. Just…like Ty Lee and Mai do." Elle remarked as she sat in her seat while she turned to gaze in appreciation in the captain's direction.
Zoi offered her a small smile from where she stood against the rock wall with her golden eyes conveying a vigilant gleam that made her feel so beloved.
As the ageless artist continued to silently flip through the artbook with her eyes seeming to express an increasingly impressed gleam.
"M-my heart belongs to Azula-sama though. She's…the only woman for me. She's…a g-goddess to me." Elle confessed with an adorable stutter while she peered shyly in her mistress's direction.
Azula's lips curved into a gratified smirk as she stared back at the young girl's quivering face with domineering amber golden eyes.
Only for all eyes to notice when Silah seemed to stop on a particular page with her emotionless gaze seeming to express a sense of bewilderment.
"Evidently so. Considering that you chose to sketch…Azula's ass and not Zoi's." Silah stated in an impassive voice as the young girl turned as red as a tomato as she sunk back in her seat in embarrassment.
Both noblewomen found themselves staring on in begrudging humor as they turned to gaze at the princess's haughtily smirking face.
"I-I…uh…I…f-forgot that was in there." Elle stuttered in an adorable voice with a growing blush while Silah seemed to study the piece longer than she was comfortable.
The two noblewomen gazed on oddly as they watched Silah stare down at the sketch of their princess's ass with more interest than they were comfortable.
And even the arrogant princess herself couldn't help but begin to feel the hair raise upon her neck once more as the woman leaned in to stare at the page closely.
"You depict her shape accurately." Silah stated in an eerie voice as she stared down at the drawing while the young girl flushed beside her.
"W-well that's good." Elle stammered in a bashful voice as the woman still surveyed the page closely.
"But it seems a strange body part to focus on." Silah remarked as she finally turned the page while the girl turned even redder.
And all three highborn women just stared at Silah incredulously with their minds all seeming to be thinking the same thing.
"You are in no position to comment on anything that young Elle draws as strange. One drawing of a woman's ass is normal. Your horror show is not." Zoi snorted in a noticeably defensive voice with her golden eyes staring back at Silah in disgust.
As Elle listened with gratitude in her amber eyes.
Only for Silah to seem to take the insult as a compliment as she smirked back at the glaring noblewoman.
And then the puppeteer turned her gaze back down to the artbook as she continued to delicately flipped through page after page before she ended up at the beginning pages of the book.
Her dark green eyes continued to shine with a rising astonishment as she took in painting after painting.
And sketch after sketch.
A great many of Azula.
But also, some that were not.
"So, Azula isn't your sole choice of subject matter after all…" Silah stated almost as if in a conversing voice as the two noblewomen stared on in curiosity.
And the princess just gazed on with coldly watchful golden eyes having already seen every piece that was in the artbook.
"Y-yeah! I like to paint mountains and forest scenery too." Elle answered with a puff of her chest while her big sisters gazed at her fondly.
"What…is this piece called?" Silah pondered with evident interest in her voice as she stared down at a painting of a foggy forest covered mountain in fascination.
"I call that one Misty Mountains." Elle informed with a margin of noticeable artistic pride in her voice as she smiled shyly while Silah still silently gazed down at her painting.
As the three highborn women listened with a growing admiration for their young friend's artistic ability in their vigilant eyes.
Silah continued to appraise the painting with an unusually captivated expression in her dark green eyes.
Until the woman finally turned the page with an increasingly absorbed clothed fingertip.
"And…this one?" Silah inquired in a strangely engrossed voice as she gazed down at the next piece.
A painting of a lake surrounded by trees at sunset with birds of some kind swimming across the waters in the distance.
The sheer level of detail involved in the girl's work was just astonishing.
As the Fire Nation women watched intently with looks of amazement in their eyes as they observed the bewildering change in Silah's personality around their young friend.
And Elle could only sit there with a growing look of bashfulness on her cheeks unused to having someone pay so much attention to her artwork.
Even if said woman happened to be a seemingly ageless killer.
It still felt rewarding to have someone take such an interest in her artwork.
And not only that.
She was also aware that any chance of getting information out of the woman was completely contingent on if she recognized her artwork.
So, it went without saying that it was relieving to see that the hunter thus far seemed to approve.
"T-that…. that one is called Sunset Over Loon Lake." Elle spoke up in a timorous voice as she sat with her hands in her lap while Silah seemed to listen attentively.
"Your painting stroke…is exceptional." Silah commented with high regard in her cold-hearted voice while the young girl stared up at her in shock.
And the three highborn women stared on with stunned expressions in their eyes over the unmistakable compliment.
"I-it is?" Elle asked in a voice of low self-esteem as she peered up at the woman in surprise.
"All of your work…from your whimsical admiration of Azula to your more momentous nature paintings are among the most detailed paintings that I have ever seen." Silah responded in a fixated voice while the girl listened in disbelief.
And the older women of Team Azula could only gaze on in a speechless state of silence.
"D-do…you really mean that?" Elle stammered in a mousy voice with a blush on her cheeks while the woman turned the page yet again.
"I assure you child. If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it." Silah stated with a scoff while Elle's blush grew even deeper.
Before she turned to glance down at Elle with her dark gaze while the girl hesitantly made eye contact with her.
"You are without doubt a masterful artist." Silah announced in a voice of upmost gravity as she stared back into the young girl's astounded amber eyes.
Azula, Zoi and Ty Lee gazed on with their mouths falling open in wonder as they found themselves unable to say so much as a single word in commentary.
Elle looked as if she was still recovering from the surprise of being given such a meaningful compliment by the ageless woman.
"A-arigatou…" Elle replied in a voice of innocence as Silah's pale lips formed a faint smile as she stared down at her.
The princess glared at the killed with a possessive gleam in her callous amber golden eyes.
"Now…with that said. I have just one critique of your artwork." Silah commented spoke in a voice that verged on obsession while Elle deflated ever so slightly.
And all three highborn women were now glaring at the woman once more over having the gall to think it was her place to offer criticism of the girl's art.
"And…what's that?" Elle queried in a sensitive voice while Silah stared down at her large artbook once more.
"It has more to do with the diversity of your choice in subject matter than the quality of your artwork itself. While your pieces of Azula are beautifully done…I would say that you focus on her too much on her and not enough on your other subject matter." Silah said in a voice of learned artistic knowledge while the young girl listened in a taken aback silence.
The two noblewomen gazed on with surprised expressions in their eyes not having expected the woman to say something much harsher than that.
And the princess's eyes narrowed into wrathful slits as she glared murderously at the woman that she loathed.
"In fact, it seems as if you stopped working on your other material altogether once you met her. Why is that?" Silah remarked in an eloquent voice while she gazed down at the girl's bashful face.
Zoi and Ty Lee listened in a sense of curiosity as they turned to gaze at their princess's glowering face.
"I-it's…because I love her with all of my heart." Elle admitted in a boundlessly love-struck voice as she fiddled her fingers in her lap while she felt her princess's pleased gaze land on her.
"Still…you shouldn't focus on only one subject matter as it inhibits your growth as an artist. You should continue to branch out with a wide variety of subjects." Silah advised in something akin to a wise voice while the girl sat there in confoundment.
Team Azula listened to the conversion with disbelieving expressions in their eyes.
And Azula could only continue to stare with venom in her tyrannical amber golden eyes at woman's porcelain sunlit face.
Zoi now found herself staring back at the woman that she has vowed to kill with a stunned look in her stony golden eyes.
What surprised her more than anything was that it was actually sound advice.
And for the first time since she met the woman, she could almost sense a glimpse of what Mava may have meant when she said that Silah used to be different.
They used to call you Silah the Wise! Now you are nothing more than a demented killer!
She still surveyed the otherworldly woman with a stoic thinking gaze as she mulled the old hermit's words over.
'Is it actually possible that she had once been more than a twisted killer?' Zoi thought with a contemplative stare in her eyes as she leaned back against the rock wall.
Only for her golden eyes to form a coldly focused stare as she clenched her fists over her chest.
It didn't matter either way.
'I am still going to take her head in the name of my comrades all the same.' Zoi mused as she glared at Silah with vengeance in her golden eyes as she kept a watchful gaze on her adopted little sister.
"I…I understand what you are saying. But I am not looking to win worldwide acclaim. I…I just want to paint the girl of my dreams." Elle confessed in an adorably infatuated voice with a blush on her cheeks as she fiddled with her school uniform.
Azula's lips almost curved into a pleased smile once more as she sat back with her legs elegantly folded upon her rock.
And both Zoi and Ty Lee stared at the young girl with expressions of fondness in their eyes.
Just as the sound of Silah letting out what sounded to be an amused chuckle flowed into the air as she finally closed the large artbook.
"Even so…. continue to paint your mountains, lakes and streams. Because they are just as beautiful as your depictions of Azula." Silah spoke in a voice that almost sounded sociable as she handed the book back to the numbly nodding girl.
Elle took her artbook back into her taken aback hands.
As she now sat back with her amber eyes now gazing back at the otherworldly woman with a pensive expression on her features.
As all three highborn women now exchanged a bewildered look over how mellow the woman almost seemed to become in the young girl's presence.
"Can…can I ask you something Silah? Have…you created any artwork that…isn't made out of…the remains of dead bodies?" Elle asked a nervous voice as she stared up at the ageless woman's face while her silver hair swayed behind her reclining head.
Silah turned to gaze back down at the girl with a still present smile on her lips.
The Fire Nation women stared at Silah with revulsion in their unnerved eyes once more.
Only to find themselves gazing on in surprise when the woman nodded her head in affirmative.
"Of course, I have. I just told you that an artist must branch out in order to grow did I not? My citadel is full of nearly a thousand works of art that I have created. The human puppets are simply what I use for battle." Silah answered with undeniable pride in her voice while the young girl gazed up at her in awe.
And Team Azula could only stare on with eerily fascinated expressions in their widened eyes over the number of works of 'art' that the woman claims to have created.
"Wow. Nearly a thousand? Do…do you have any here that you can show me that aren't constructed out of corpses?" Elle pondered in inquisitive voice with her amber eyes watching as Silah tilted her head in surprise over her.
Silah's lips pulled into a proud smile as she nodded her head once more.
As the Fire Nation women stared on with distrusting expressions in their narrowed eyes.
And if they didn't know any better the twisted woman almost seemed gratified that the girl was requesting to see her artwork.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Do you wish to a see a sample of my artwork?" Silah questioned in reply with an eagerness taking over her dark green eyes while she paid no heed to the hateful glares of her three enemies.
"I-I would. Just as long as it isn't anything gruesome." Elle responded in a gentle voice as Silah held a thoughtful gloved hand under her chin.
The trio of aristocrats gazed with heavy skepticism in their eyes over the mere prospect of the woman creating anything that didn't qualify as gruesome.
"I could show you one of my smaller pieces. I suppose it is only fair that I do. After all you did show your artwork to me." Silah commented in a voice of deliberation as her clothed hand fell from her chin while a smile graced her lips.
Team Azula glared on in suspicion only for the sound of a hole in the earth breaking open before them to resound into the air.
All the while as the serving girl turned to gaze at the opening hole in the ground with uncertain yet curious amber eyes.
Only for all four members of the team to stare on in surprise when a small puppet bird fluttered into the air over their heads attached to a barely visible string.
The contraption now flew about in the air above them with the pale woman operating its movements as she curled her clothed fingers before her smiling face.
As Elle now stared up in fascination with her eyes expressing a sense of innocent wonder that almost seemed to make the puppeteer's smile grow even larger.
"That's…so amazing!" Elle exclaimed with a genuine smile on her lips while Silah turned to gaze back at her as if in surprise.
"Really? I consider it one of my more mundane pieces." Silah asked in an almost bored voice yet at the same time she couldn't deny that she relished in the praise of her artwork.
"It's…it's beautiful Silah." Elle insisted in an honest voice as Silah stared at her with her brows furrowing in consideration.
Azula, Zoi and Ty Lee watched the puppet bird flutter overhead with a sense of captivation of their own in their eyes.
No matter how depraved the woman happened to be.
There was no denying that she was a genius when it came to building her vast array of contraptions.
"I suppose it has its charm. But it really is nothing compared to my ultimate work of art." Silah commented in a voice of limitless confidence as the bird dropped down from above before it landed on the back of her gloved hand.
Elle still stared at the puppet bird with amazed amber eyes as her highborn friends watched protectively from around them.
"What's…your ultimate work of art? J-Jaran?" Elle inquired in a voice of hesitation once more while the puppeteer chuckled softly as she shook her head.
The Fire Nation women stared at the lifeless warrior king with returning disgust in their unsettled eyes.
"No. Although I do consider Jaran to be a coveted masterpiece." Silah responded in an eloquently-spoken voice as she stared down at her small puppet as it rested upon her gloved hand.
"Then…what is your ultimate work of art?" Elle questioned in an oddly captivated voice as she stared at Silah's smiling countenance.
And then the hunter turned to gaze up into the sunny sky over the caldera rim with an expression of tremendous pride in her dark green eyes.
"Me." Silah stated in a voice of boundless credence that rivaled that of even the princess's ego while the young girl stared up at her with amusedly confused amber eyes.
And that was all it took for the three highborn women to stare at their enemy with incredulity in their eyes.
"Y-you?" Elle stammered in a baffled voice while a smirk of undeniable pride formed onto Silah's pale lips.
"That's right. Me. My perfect body is the pinnacle of not just my artistic achievement but the very essence of art itself. I do not rot, wither or fade…I am eternal." Silah declared in a tone of endless self-assurance as she sat up with her dark green eyes gazing up into the clouds overhead while her audience listened in an unnerved state of disbelief.
It was all the three aristocrats and their young friend could do to stare at the woman in shock over the arrogance of her boast.
Even Azula found that she was caught off guard by Silah's conceited claim.
Until she regained her composure as she rolled her own arrogant amber golden eyes in her enemy's direction.
"Please. I wouldn't go that far Silah. You are far from the ultimate work of art." Azula scoffed in a conceited voice of her own as she stared frigidly back at the puppeteer's face while Silah turned to arrogantly meet her gaze.
"Oh, really Azula? Then what is the pinnacle of artistic achievement if not immortality? Go on. Enlighten me royal one." Silah responded in a derisive voice as she folded her arms while she stared coldly back at the princess's hatefully face as amber golden eyes pierced her skull.
Zoi and Ty Lee also glared back at the depraved puppeteer as a moment of silence took over the air around them.
And the handmaid could only sit in a bewildered quiet with her amber eyes gazing between her angered mistress and the hunter's smirking face.
"That's what I thought. From my point of view, you are just as much a child in comparison to me as your little servant. You probably never even thought about art until you met her. I presume that you turned your nose up to anything artistic as being unworthy of your time when you were growing up. I can't say that surprises me given how insipid your culture is." Silah chuckled as she sat back with her puppet bird atop her gloved hand while her smile only grew when she took in Azula's lividly glowering face.
All three aristocrats stared in loathing in her direction as she turned to the young girl seated beside her.
"It must be difficult for you being the only artistic one in your group. How do you ever put up with them?" Silah asked in an oddly cordial voice as she bumped the girl with her elbow while she smiled down at Elle's skittish face.
As the three highborn women never ceased glaring back at Silah in growing unease over how she seemed to be taking a liking to their young friend.
"I…like my friends just the way they are and I wouldn't have them any other way." Elle answered in a sweet voice with her hands in her lap while her friends listened in appreciation as they gazed fondly gazed at her.
Before Azula turned to the ageless artist with her regal lips pursing into a ridiculing sneer as she glared venomously in the woman's direction.
"It's comical. You claim that I am just putting up an illusion of sophistication when in truth you are the one who is pretending to act civilized. When in all reality, no matter how old you are…you are nothing more than a beast with a penchant for collecting corpses." Azula sneered in a voice that was laced with a disdainful mockery while she stared imposingly back into Silah's cruelly amused dark green eyes.
The two noblewomen still stared coldly back at the far older woman as their young friend sat in an uncomfortable silence.
Only for Silah to let out another one of her disturbing chuckles as the three highborn women glared in hatred at her from their various positions atop the caldera rim.
"You are just insecure because it is finally dawning on that pretty head of yours that you are nothing more than a tool to your father. You are starting to realize that the one person who you admired and looked up to for all your life doesn't love you anymore than your mother did. In fact, he doesn't love you at all. You mean nothing to him and that horrifies you." Silah taunted in a monstrous voice once more with her sadistic eyes while she set her puppet bird puppet aside.
She took great delight in watching Azula recoil with a spark of long buried torment in her marginally widened eyes as she glared furiously back at her.
And both noblewomen could only listen in concern as they stared at their princess's unusually taken aback face.
Before they turned to glare back at the cruelly smirking Silah.
As the serving girl gazed on unhidden worry at her mistress's tormented countenance.
"I'll always love you Azula-sama." Elle spoke in a gentle voice of boundless devotion while she gazed affectionately at the princess's stonily recovering face.
And that was all it took for Azula's ruthless amber golden eyes to calm down as she stared back into her young girlfriend's adoring amber eyes.
Ty Lee and Zoi directed appreciative stares in their little sister's direction.
Only for the sound of Silah chuckling yet again to flow into the air as the three highborn women stared in contempt back at her.
"Like I said Azula…where would your delicate ego be if you didn't have her…" Silah mocked in a wicked voice with a clothed fist against her cheek while the princess's eyes pierced her forehead.
The captain glared at the ageless woman with her golden eyes still reflecting a watchful big sisterly glower.
"There is something that I want to know. Why would you join forces with Fire Lord Ozai if you consider him to be unworthy of your respect? What do you have to gain by aligning with him?" Zoi demanded in a hardened voice with her steely golden eyes gazing back at the woman's porcelain smiling face.
While Azula stared on frigidly from where she sat in her seat with her amber golden eyes never straying from Silah's face.
As Ty Lee stared on with unnerved brown-gray eyes.
And the handmaid gazed on with her amber eyes widening in concern as she began to understand just why her princess was so furious.
"Haven't you figured it out yet Captain?" Silah answered in a chuckling taunt while she gazed back into Zoi's glaring golden eyes.
Every member of Team Azula except for Elle stared in unrivaled disdain at Silah's smirking lips.
"Then I'll tell you. I did it…because I could. Because I have more power than you do and of course because I wanted to fuck with Azula's head." Silah admitted in a sinister voice as she curled her gloved fingers through her hair while the princess stared murderously back at her in unfathomable outrage.
Zoi also stared back with her golden eyes growing wide in her own rage.
And Ty Lee found that she was once again unable to fight the chill of terror that was shooting down her spine as she gazed back at the devilish woman in horror.
"You want power. I'll show you power." Azula hissed in a voice of tremendous royal wrath while blue flames burned over her mighty fists.
"That's it? You caused a scene of terror and nearly trampled many people to death parading your monstrosity through Hari Bulkan just to fuck with us?" Zoi snapped in a rightly infuriated voice while she smashed her fists at her hips.
"That's it. That and I knew that like any other tyrant…that as long as I presented myself as a valuable war power that Ozai would view the soldiers that I killed, and my attempt on his daughter's life as secondary to his pursuit of power." Silah purred in a voice of unmatched cruelty as she stared hauntingly back at the princess as her proud amber golden eyes widen in torment.
The three highborn women listened in an unsettled silence as their young friend stared at the woman with a disturbed look in her eyes.
And what truly unnerved them more than anything else was that they all knew that Silah was right!
"You should have seen the look on your face Azula when I told your father that he could be immortal. After all, what purpose would you serve if he becomes eternal." Silah stated in an almost demonic voice that was a stark contrast to her tone not even a minute before while the princess trembled in rage with her amber golden eyes just glowering back at her.
And then she began to chuckle softly once more while her laughter echoed into the ears of the three vengeful aristocrats as they glared in hatred back at her.
And just before the princess or the captain could so much as speak a single work in retort.
Their attentions were diverted when the sound of their young companion nervously clearing her throat resounded into the air.
"Um…Silah? Since you said that you liked my artwork does that mean that you'll accept my challenge?" Elle inquired in her best effort at a bold voice while Silah paused as she turned to gaze back down at her.
As Zoi stared at the young girl with looks of understanding in her stony golden eyes.
It was obvious that the girl was trying to distract the monstrous woman from pushing her princess too far.
"Hm? Oh, yes. You've managed to pique my interests. However, I require you to entertain me for a while longer before I give you, my answer." Silah replied in an amused voice while the young girl stared back at her in confusion.
And just like that the three highborn women were now staring back at the hunter with even greater anger in their eyes than before.
Only for the captain to push her back off the rock wall as she placed one furious boot forward with her golden eyes glaring daggers back at the woman in fury.
"Entertain you? Now, just a minute you bitch. You told her that you would speak to her if you approved of her artwork. Quit playing games with her! You can play games with us but don't you dare fuck with young Elle!" Zoi bellowed in a violently protective voice with her hand on the hilt of her sword while her fellow aristocrats seethed at Silah in agreement.
Elle shook in appreciation as she turned to smile at Zoi's loyal face as the older woman made reassuring eye contact with her.
Only for Silah to simply stare back into Zoi's furious eyes with unintimidated dark green eyes as all three of her enemies glared at her.
"I don't recall asking you for your opinion Zoi. If I say that I want to be entertained then I will be entertained. Unless of course…you would prefer that I go seek entertainment elsewhere?" Silah answered with unmistakable menace in her merciless voice while she stared back at Zoi's enraged countenance.
The princess also stared on with long fading patience in her amber golden eyes at her enemy.
As Ty Lee shuddered with fear in her brown-gray eyes as she watched her young friend hurriedly move to appease the murderous woman.
"W-what kind of entertainment? Do you mean that you want me to serve you or something like that?" Elle pondered in an uncertain voice as she bit her lip while she tried to ignore the dark aura that was radiating from where her princess sat across from her.
'She has some nerve to come into my Capital! Insult me! Conspire against me! Threaten my people! And then demand my handmaid serve her!' Azula thought with her nostrils releasing a puff of blue fire in her royal fury while she glared on with a possessive stare in her narrowing amber golden eyes.
"Yes. But not in the way that you're thinking. I am not entertained by meaningless comforts like foot rubs and cherries. I have more of a taste for the artistic pleasures in life." Silah explained in a conceited voice with a wave of her gloved hand while the princess's glacial gaze still glared her way.
Zoi let out a dismissive scoff as she turned to share a look with the princess.
Azula rolled her eyes from where she sat on her rock with her eyes remained fixated on her young girlfriend's bewildered face.
"Artistic? You want to see more artwork? I have already shown you my artbook and that means that you have seen all the painting and sketches that I have on me. I…I have poems but you won't be able to read them because they are in foreign writing…" Elle spoke in a thinking voice while her friends still glared at the woman from their positions around her.
Azula's eyes took on an even more furious gleam over the mere prospect of the girl reading her private romantic tributes to her to the depraved hunter.
Only for Silah to grace Elle with what seemed to be a humored stare that once again flashed with a flicker of endearment that unnerved all three highborn women.
"Show me something of interest from your homeland…preferably something artistic." Silah commanded in a voice of overwhelming presence with her eerie eyes staring down at Elle's amusedly thoughtful face as the girl chewed on her lip.
"Do….do you consider music to be art?" Elle queried in a pensive voice with a hand under her chin while Silah shrugged her shoulders as her companions gazed on in comprehension.
"It depends on the melody." Silah responded in a more casual voice than she used with the others while she watched the girl quickly open her backpack once more in mild interest.
Only for her silver brows to furrow in puzzlement when the girl held out a small black device before her face.
There seemed to be two wires of some kind attached to it with a small circular piece on each end.
"Then you'll like my music player!" Elle exclaimed in a cheerful voice once more as she beamed up at the far older woman's now curious face.
Just as the princess let out a cold scoff as she tapped an angered finger along her well-muscled bicep.
"I am not charging that for her." Azula snarled with her regal lips pursed in a terrifying glower while her serving girl quivered momentarily under her domineering glare.
"This…little device is a music player?" Silah questioned in a suddenly intrigued voice as she leaned down to peer at the foreign item in curiosity.
"It is! It has over ten thousand songs from over five hundred musicians stored in its data banks!" Elle declared as she proudly held the device up before Silah's blinking dark green eyes.
The three highborn women stared on with bewilderment in their eyes over the change in the woman's behavior once more.
"Over ten thousand songs? You invented this? I wasn't aware that you were both an inventor and an artist." Silah commented with genuine astonishment in her voice while her dark green eyes surveyed the device.
As the Fire Nation women shared a look with each other as their young friend sat uncomfortably close to the dangerous woman.
"Well…um actually while I could lie to you and say that I am. I'm…not an inventor. I am just an artist. This was invented by someone else long before I was born." Elle answered in a bashful voice as she rubbed a hand on the back of her head while Silah rose a brow as she stared back at her.
The princess rubbed the bridge of her nose with an irate fingertip as she groaned in annoyance.
'You really need to learn to lie Elle!' Azula thought with her callous amber golden eyes glaring at the girl from where she sat on her rock.
Both noblewomen stared at their little sister with vigilant stares in their eyes.
"M-my mother always taught me to be honest…and I can only hope that counts for something." Elle muttered in a quieter voice while the puppeteer eyed her in contemplation.
Only to find herself gazing up in surprise when the woman almost seemed to smile over her honesty.
"It does. I would have found out eventually had you told me otherwise anyhow. Now…tell me how this device works." Silah spoke in a conversing voice as she stared back at the young girl's smiling face with an interested gaze.
All three aristocrats gazed at their young companion with fascinated expressions in their eyes once more.
'Incredible! Elle is somehow able to have an effect on even a monster like her just by being her normal sweet self!' Ty Lee thought with her astonished eyes gazing at her adopted little sister from where she sat watching the interaction.
"You put the headphones over your ears and then you select the song that you want to hear! And hit play!" Elle explained in an innocent voice as she held out the headphones for the bewildered woman to take into her clothed hands.
And then the puppeteer took the headphones into her hands while she still gazed down at the music player with piqued dark green eyes.
Just before she raised the headphones to her ears while she slid them on with her gaze never leaving the device.
As she watched in amazement as it lit up with a bright glow while her mouth parted in awe.
"Here…I'll show you how it works. You push this…" Elle instructed in a kindly voice as she leaned in while Silah listened in captivation.
The princess and the captain shared another look as their cautious eyes turned to stare at the now distracted woman.
Before their gazes swept over the face of the lifeless warrior king standing silently behind the seated artist.
'There is no way that she will be that simple to attack even with her ears covered…' Azula mused as she stared on with a calculating gaze like a dragon scoping out her prey while a regal scowl adorned her lips.
And doing so would destroy any chance that they had of extracting any useful information out of the woman.
And not only that…
It wouldn't do to carelessly risk her servant girl's life in such a reckless manner.
'The girl is my most loyal servant…and my lover as well. And that means that her safety is of only the greatest level of paramount importance.' Azula thought with her icy eyes staring on as she crossed her mighty arms over her armored breasts while her dominating gaze stared back at her pet's pretty face.
Only to find herself torn from her reverie not even a second later when a loud music abrupt split into the air.
And then the three highborn women watched in puzzlement when the seemingly unflappable killer recoiled with a startled expression on her face.
The trio snorted in amusement as they took in Silah's comical facial expression as music blared in her annoyed ears.
They arched their brows in humor as they watched their little friend bob her head in excitement.
"Black sun morning. Coming up to greet the dawn. Black sun morning. Coming up to greet us all. To greet us all." Mark Lanegan sang in Silah's ears as she scrunched up her nose in unmistakable distaste.
"What is this cacophony! This isn't music!" Silah exclaimed in a souring voice as she turned to eye the smiling girl oddly.
"Simple peasant. For once I agree with that wretch." Azula snorted in a snobbish voice as she rolled her pompous eyes.
Both noblewomen just rolled their eyes at their leader over the way she acted like the girl was unworthy of her time.
When they both knew that couldn't be further from the truth.
"Speak for yourself Princess. I like it." Zoi commented with a slight smirk while her princess turned to scoff at her.
"You would Zoi. You have no class." Azula scoffed in a haughty voice as she turned to gaze coldly back at her girlfriend while Ty Lee almost smiled.
And yet she couldn't help but find herself somewhat surprised by this side of her girlfriend.
She wouldn't have taken the girl to be into such wild unruly 'music'.
"You don't like Screaming Trees? Hold on. I'll find you something else." Elle stated in a chipper voice as she changed the song while Silah glared down at the device.
"No. I do not like 'Screaming Trees'." Silah remarked in a voice of chilling menace only for another foreign sound to flow into her baffled ears.
Team Azula observed with bewilderment in their own eyes as their young friend happily began to snap her fingers to the music as if she wasn't sitting by an unstable killer!
"We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher, leave them kids alone. Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone. All in all, it's just another brick in the wall. All in all, you're just another brick in the wall." Pink Floyd played in the perplexed woman's ears and into the surrounding air of the caldera rim.
Only for Elle to quickly take note of the frown on Silah's lips as she swiftly moved to change the song again.
"Not into Pink Floyd? Naoki likes Pink Floyd. That's alright. We'll find something else." Elle quipped in a sweet voice as she pressed the button while Silah sat in silence beside her.
The three aristocrats weren't surprised to learn that the emotionless assassin was into music that focused on themes of rebellion.
"Naïve girl. I'll give you more thought control than your little mind can ever handle…" Azula spoke in a smug voice with a dominating smirk on her lips as she lounged like a queen in her seat.
The two noblewomen shook their heads before turning to watch Silah's face closely.
Only for all three of them to find themselves unable gazing on begrudging entertainment when the monstrous woman backed away in disgust over what was playing in her ears.
"Sunday, Monday, happy days. Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days. Thursday, Friday, happy days. Saturday, what a day, rockin' all week for you. These days are...won't you be mine? (Oh, happy days) These days are...oh, please be mine (oh, happy days) Hello sunshine, goodbye rain..." The Happy Days theme song sang in the puppeteer's aggravated ears as Silah glowered down at the music player.
She turned to glance back at the young girl with a bewildered expression in her eyes while she observed Elle beam as she nodded her head to the noise.
"Ooh. I like that one Azula. It's super pink." Ty Lee stated with a grin as the princess rolled her eyes before turning to gaze back at her little sister's beaming face.
Only for Azula's mild annoyance over her servant girl's choice in music to give way to concern when she took in the expression on the woman's face.
She narrowed her callous amber golden eyes as she breathed fire through her nostrils once more.
Zoi stared at Silah's contorting countenance with her golden eyes conveying a stony watchful protectiveness.
As Ty Lee stared on with a returning unnerved expression in her widened eyes as she took in the violence in the woman's eyes over something as simple as music!
"Change that Elle." Zoi advised in a vigilant voice as she glared at the woman in loathing as she observed dark green eyes flash with a glimmer of emerging bloodlust.
'That girl is far too innocent to be around such a beast!' Zoi thought with her teeth bared like a dragon's fangs while the young girl speedily pressed the button again.
She could tell from the look in her eyes that Silah had no qualms with killing someone over something as trivial as disliking a song.
And while it was unlikely that the woman would be so with her adopted sister if she truly desired to use the girl's power for her own gain.
It didn't make her feel any better about the girl sitting next to such a monster!
"R-right! No Happy Days…p-perhaps something different." Elle stammered with returning fear in her voice as she took in the dark expression in the far older woman's eyes.
While dark green eyes stared coldly back at her as she hurriedly cycled through to another song.
Only to find herself inwardly cringing when it was yet another rock song that made Silah scowl down at her.
The three highborn women watched the puppeteer with narrowed glares in their eyes as a silent warning not to harm their companion as the girl frantically cycled through the songs.
"H-here uh…let me turn down the volume a little until we find something that you like…" Elle stuttered in an intimidated voice as she gulped while switching through the songs in search of something softer.
Something…classical.
Silah stared down with heartless eyes as she watched the girl switch to song after song.
The concept of the device appealed to her.
But suffice to say the sounds did not.
Only for the serving girl's amber eyes to widen with a spark of brilliance when she saw a famous name pop up on the screen.
Beethoven!
And then Team Azula stared on with a fascinated expression in their eyes.
When they watched the puppeteer's facial expression suddenly lose all of her anger when a hauntingly soothing instrumental melody began to play.
"You…you like that one?" Elle asked in a quiet voice as she stared at the woman while a smile reappeared on her pale lips.
"What is this melody?" Silah pondered in an almost spellbound voice as she listened with a delighted expression in her eyes.
"That's…Piano Sonata No. 14 also known as the Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven…he is one of the most famous composers in the history of music from my lands. He…died a little over two hundred and seventy years ago." Elle explained in a revering voice while Silah's eyes stared down at her music player in astonishment.
The three aristocrats also stared on with amazed looks in their eyes as they listened to the lovely song.
And even Azula was astounded over how such a technology allowed the man's music to live on so long after his death.
"It's beautiful… Ludwig van Beethoven…" Silah whispered in an entranced voice as she smiled in contentment as it flowed into her ears.
"This man…he has achieved immortality in name. He will always be remembered…as long as there is someone around to listen to his music. He…is immortal." Zoi stated to herself in a transfixed voice with her golden eyes staring on in admiration.
Azula gazed at her warrior as she considered the noblewoman's words as her fascinated ears faintly listened to the soft music.
Ty Lee sat with her brown-gray eyes staring in in astoundment as she too listened to the music emanating from the headphones.
About fifteen minutes later…
Azula glared on as she began to tap her fingers over her toned bicep once more while her gaze never left Silah's aggravatingly blissful face.
As the puppeteer sat happily listening to yet another soft melody.
She wanted nothing more than to wipe the look of joy from the vile woman's face!
'Who does she think she is to experience any pleasure of any kind from my servant after coming here to my home to ally with my father just so she can play her twisted games with me!' Azula thought with a look of royal outrage taking over her rapidly infuriated eyes as she glared through Silah's skull.
Both noblewomen stared on with similar feelings in their eyes as their little sister gazed at the hunter's overjoyed face.
"Y-you…. enjoy opera?" Elle pondered in a mousy voice as she watched in amazement while Silah contently sunk back in her seat.
"I do child." Silah responded in a deeply engrossed voice as a grin formed onto her captivated lips while her held out her gloved hands before her face.
And then the three Fire Nation women could only stare on with incredulous expressions in their eyes when they watched the woman begin to move her hands about in rhythm with the music.
While Elle sat in a speechless silence as she gazed on as the artist moved her gloved hands as if she were conducting the music herself!
'What a lunatic!' Zoi thought with her golden eyes glaring at the puppeteer in revulsion as she swung her gloved hands about in an excited fashion.
And as the joy in Silah's face continued to grow to even higher heights.
Azula's glare continue to grow colder and colder as blue fire still blazed from her furious fists.
Until it reached a point that her face had contorted into that of the monstrous stare of a tyrannous conqueror!
If it wasn't for the fact that the music player belonged to her servant girl.
She would burn it to ashes just to spite the bitch!
'But I can't! Burning the damned thing would make…her cry! So, I have no choice but to sit here and watch this filthy freak delight herself at our expense!' Azula mused with her seething amber golden eyes nearly exploding from her eye sockets in her royal rage.
Elle still gazed up at Silah with a stunned expression in her eyes as the woman listened to the opera song play in her ears with a pleased smile on her lips.
Just as her eyes were drawn to the screen of her music player when she noticed that the song was about to come to an end.
As she let out an audible gulp over the fear of disrupting Silah's joy with something that would anger her!
The three highborn women took notice of their young friend's unmistakable fright of potentially choosing the wrong song.
Twenty minutes later…
Team Azula now glared on with complete and utter incensed stares in their aggravated eyes as the puppeteer listened to yet another song while she stared up into the skies above.
An enraptured smile adorned Silah's lips as a particularly peaceful melody began to resonate from the headphones once more.
As both firebenders eyes had long since narrowed into dragon-like slits as their dark glares never strayed away from Silah's infuriatingly joyful visage.
"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the dreams that you dare to dream. Really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star. And wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops. Away above the chimney tops. That's where you'll find me." Judy Garland sang in Silah's ears as she gazed on with an enchanted expression in her eyes.
The young girl sat in a still quiet as the ageless woman developed a stunningly serene expression in her ruthless dark green eyes.
And that was when she saw it once again.
A fathomless loneliness that ran as deep as the ocean's waters.
The three highborn women turned to their innocent friend's face in disbelief as they caught the look of sympathy that the girl was giving the woman!
"Somewhere over the rainbow. Bluebird's fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can't I? If happy little bluebird's fly. Beyond the rainbow. Why, oh why can't I?" The song played with a tranquil melody as its conclusion flowed into the transfixed puppeteer's ears.
And then it died down into silence while the artist quietly removed the headphones from her ears at long last.
As she wordlessly reached out to hand them back to the young girl seated beside her while the taken aback handmaid grasped them into her hands.
A haunting smile still adorned the woman's lips as she still stared up into the clouds overhead with a momentarily subdued expression in her eyes.
The three aristocrats stared at the woman with stunned looks in their eyes over the stark change in behavior.
"What was that?" Silah questioned in a voice that verged on serenity as the young girl peered up at her with recovering amber eyes.
"T-that…that was Somewhere Over the Rainbow…it was from a classic movie called the Wizard of Oz…it was made almost one hundred and sixty years ago. And the voice that you heard singing the song…was the lead actress in the production. Of course…she's long dead. Almost one hundred and thirty years ago I think." Elle spoke in a bewildered voice with her amber eyes gazing up at Silah's beautiful face in sadness while Silah smiled in captivation.
The trio listened with sparks of amazement overcoming their eyes.
As they all marveled over how the seemingly young woman's voice that they had just heard singing the song had died so long ago!
And yet…her voice was preserved all the same!
"Ah. How magical. It was delightful." Silah stated in a still softened voice with her dark green eyes staring up at the clouds above.
"Well…I am glad…that you enjoyed it." Elle murmured in a gentle voice as her sympathetic eyes watched Silah turn to glance down at her.
"Thank you…for letting me listen to it. Elle." Silah remarked in a voice of perplexing appreciation with a smile on her pale lips while Elle stared up at her in disbelief.
The three highborn women gazed on with astounded looks in their eyes to hear the deranged woman not only say words of thanks.
But say their young friend's name!
"O-oh well y-you're welcome." Elle stuttered in a stunned voice as Silah's lips curved into a large smile that had all three of her friends glaring back at her.
"You have earned my recognition as a fellow artist. You are the only person in Hari Bulkan that I have a semblance of respect for." Silah informed in a genuine voice with her gaze staring down into the young girl's awestruck amber eyes.
The Fire Nation women gaped on in a sense of shock with their eyes conveying their disbelief.
"W-wow. You…respect me but not the Royal Family? Not the Fire Lord? But…I'm just their servant girl." Elle sputtered in a stunned voice while the puppeteer let out a derisive scoff.
The princess glowered at the hunter's disrespectful face with wrathful amber golden eyes.
As Ty Lee stared on with her blinking eyes still expressing her astoundment.
"I bet your father would love to hear that one." Zoi snorted with a hand over her mouth while her princess turned to glare at her through the corner of her eye.
And then without any warning whatsoever Silah abruptly stood up from her seat to tower over the seated girl.
Her dark green eyes took on a terribly imposing stare once more as she gazed down at Elle's still perplexed face.
"No. You are the Component and I accept your challenge Elle Turner." Silah announced in a chilling voice once again with her intimidating gaze staring down into widened amber eyes.
Elle stared back up at Silah with her hands resting on the earthen bench as they gazed back into one another's eyes.
As the hunter's lips curled back into yet another wicked smirk while she gazed back into the young girl's astounded gaze.
The three highborn women stared on with recognition in their fascinated eyes to see that the ploy to persuade the woman into a game of exchanging information was about to begin!
Elle steeled herself under Silah's predatory gaze as she stared back with determination into the ageless woman's menacing dark green eyes.
'To think that showing her my artbook and my music player actually worked! Now, I'll see what information I can obtain from Silah the Dark Sage!' Elle thought with her motivated amber eyes peering resolutely upward to meet Silah's unnerving stare.
She'll do it for each and every life in this world and the next that this mysterious entity was threatening.
Mava.
Saro.
Jiao.
Nako.
Naoki, Katsu, Kane and the rest of Naoki's crew.
Mai.
Ty Lee.
Zoi.
And she'll do it for her mistress…her princess…. the woman that she loves.
Azula-sama.
AN:
Reggielacey2, thanks, Merry Belated Christmas to you as well.
I'll keep this afterword short. Silah strongly hinted again in this chapter that she does not have to eat and that she may not even be able to eat at all.
For those that are curious, the named songs that played on Elle's music player are the following:
Black Sun Morning by the Screaming Trees.
Another Brick In The Wall Part Two by Pink Floyd.
The Happy Days theme song.
Piano Sonata No. 14 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland from the Wizard of Oz.
Elle's statements on how long it has been since Beethoven and Judy Garland died, and how long it has been since the Wizard of Oz was made, indicate that her world is further into the future than ours
Silah has respect for Elle because even though she is a psychopath, she places a high value on artwork and artistic pursuits. She respected how Elle proved her worth to her as an artist, instead of just showing off brute force to her like most other people would have done. She also respected how Elle was honest, Elle could have claimed that she invented her music player, but she didn't.
I enjoyed writing the interactions between Elle and Silah in this chapter, this is one of my favorite chapters in this arc. I am still in the process of writing the next arc. I haven't gotten to writing the next meeting with Team Avatar because it is taking me much longer to write due to my health, but I am trying to get there.
I am going back to be admitted into the hospital for more inpatient ketamine headache treatment on January 31st, I probably won't update again before that. So, the next update will likely be after I get back.
Anyway, I am going to leave it at that for now.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter one hundred forty-four! The Rules of the Game!