[untitled]

Chapter 4

 

            It had been three days since I had left Zhi Shou- in that time, I had seen men that I had known since I was a child brutally slaughtered and had been turned into a prisoner on my father’s ship- Azula’s orders were followed strictly. I had yet to be let out of my room; all my meals were brought to me, and there was a bathroom connected to my bedroom for any personal needs I might’ve had.

            However, I was not a happy camper. I slammed a fist on my door making as much noise as I could. “Azula! I know you can hear me, let me out!” I had been doing this for about ten minutes. Finally, I just gave up, resting my forehead against the metal door as I realized that my all-around noise making wasn’t doing anything but wearing me out. For someone who hadn’t been able to do anything in three days except lounge around, I certainly didn’t have much energy. I walked back over to my bed and laid down on it, my back to the door, and tried to make myself comfortable enough to go to sleep.

            Then the door opened and I shot up into a sitting position. My eyes narrowed as I saw who was standing in the doorframe. “Azula sent me down here to tell you to shut up.”

            “You’re taking messages now?” I scoffed. “All right- tell Azula where she can shove it for me. She’s holding me prisoner on my father’s ship; I’ll do whatever I damn well please.” I snapped, standing. Daggers slipped into the spaces between my cousin’s fingers.

            “Sit down, Aril.” Mai ordered. “I may not be able to kill you, but I can still make you suffer.”

            I sat down, knowing full well that Mai would live up to her threat. “Mai, what happened to you? You were so sweet when we were kids… granted you did have a slightly unhealthy obsession with anything sharp and pointy, but we were friends. We’re cousins, family. Doesn’t that mean anything to you anymore?”

            Mai tucked the daggers back up her sleeves. “Not really.” She said impassively, turning to walk out.

            I looked away, chuckling sullenly. “She’s poisoned you.” I muttered.

            The slight figure in my doorway paused, a hand on the metal frame. “What?”

            Mai was looking over her shoulder at me, confusion plain on her usually detached face. “I said ‘she’s poisoned you.’ It was the first thing I said when I saw you after you came back from the Fire Academy.” I closed my eyes, remembering the day. “We were waiting for you- me, my parents, your parents, even Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa and Zuko.” I looked down at my lap. “I don’t even think you heard me. I had run up to give you a hug and…” My eyes closed. “And you turned and looked at me, and your eyes were so… so cold. You grabbed my arms and pushed them down to my sides and said ‘don’t.’ Then you just walked straight past your parents and over to Azula’s side.”

            Mai didn’t say anything to me, just turned away and stepped out of my room, pulling the door shut behind her. She stopped when there was only a crack left between the door and the metal frame and looked back in at me. “That day… I did hear you.” She said softly before the door shut and the lock clicked.

            I leapt off the bed seconds too late. “Wait, Mai- what do you mean? Mai! Answer me! I know you can still hear me!” I yelled, pounding on the door. When I didn’t get an answer, I gave it one more frustrated kick and curled back up on my bed, burying myself in the soft sheets.

            No matter how strong the poison, there was always an antidote. But Azula was a poison stronger than I’d ever seen, and she’d had her hooks in Mai for years- what if it was too late for a cure? Or worse- what if there never was one?

--

            The next day, I learned something.

            Azula’s patience had its limits, and I’d gone far past them. That was why I was now in the underbelly of the ship, in one of the rarely used cells in the brig. Azula wasn’t sparing any expense with me now- my wrists were shackled together and held over my head by chains, and another pair of shackles chained my feet together.

            Not to mention the heavy metal collar around my neck that was also chained to the wall.

            I couldn’t help wincing when I stretched out my cramped leg muscles. Sitting in the same position for almost two days does that too you. I hadn’t been able to feel my hands since before I woke up, and when I tried to flex my fingers, pain shot down my arms.

            Needless to say, I’d stopped trying that particular exercise. My head was also throbbing from where Azula’s guard had hit me hard enough to knock me unconscious. I could already feel the bruise forming across the left side of my face.

            I hadn’t been happy to find that, when I woke up, my necklace and sonate shell had been taken- I didn’t have to think twice to figure out who by. However, I didn’t even want to consider what Azula was going to do with them.

            All in all, I was started to get a little pissed off. Any trace of the aristocratic manners I once displayed were now gone; the more colorful vocabulary I’d picked up from the sailors in Zhi Shou’s docks began to spew from my lips more and more often. The on duty guards had taken to not talking to me, or in front of me.

            Not that they were my only visitors- Ty Lee would come sometimes, and I could manage to have a decent conversation with her, but only because she was so chipper and perky all the time and it was a change from this room. Azula had come in- twice- to gloat. I tried to block out as much of it as I could and wouldn’t talk to her.

            I hadn’t even seen Mai since that last time in my room.

            At least, not until now, when she came in with Azula, Ty Lee, and a mess of armed soldiers. She refused to look at me, instead focusing on the ground at my feet. I wasn’t sure to be proud of this or upset. Then the movement of one of the guards caught my attention- more precisely, the movement of his hand, which had a key in it.

            I didn’t move as he unlocked the shackles around my ankles, freeing them, but only removed the chains holding my arms over my head, letting my wrists fall into my lap. The feeling of blood rushing back into my hands was painful. I heard the clink of chains and felt a slight tug on my neck as the chain connecting the collar to the wall was unhooked… and put into Azula’s waiting hand.

            My heart stopped beating for a moment as Azula smiled down at me, then gave the chain a sharp tug that sent me sprawling forward onto the floor. I winced as my muscles protested the sudden movement, pushing myself to my knees with my still cuffed hands.

            Azula smirked at me when I glared up at her. “You know, that’s a good place for you Aril. On your knees- it suits you.” I could feel my face burning from anger and humiliation. I felt a guard grab my shoulders and pull me up, shoving me forward and nearly into Azula. The princess smirked at me again and turned, walking out of the cell and giving me no other choice than to follow behind her.

            I curled my fingers around the chain connecting my hands. Well, maybe not NO other choice.

--

            “So, what are we gonna do now?” Sokka asked as he looked over the edge of Appa’s saddle at the large Fire Nation ship anchored below them. “Just rush in without thinking?”

            “Uh, well…” Aang scratched his head.

            Katara cut the stuttering Avatar off. “There’s movement on the deck.” She said, pointing.

            Zuko leaned over the front of Appa’s saddle and tapped Aang’s shoulder. “Can we get any closer without them seeing us?” The airbender nodded and tugged Appa’s reins lightly, sending the Sky Bison to hover lower.

            “Can you tell if they have her?” Katara asked Zuko.

            He shook his head. “We’re too high up, I can’t make out anyone.” He looked back over his shoulder when someone tapped it to see Iroh holding out a spyglass. Zuko smiled slightly and took it, putting his eye up to it and focusing on the deck below. Not surprisingly, he saw Azula searching the sky for them, Mai and Ty Lee behind her, and Mai was holding a dagger to the neck of a fourth person.

            “Is it her?” Toph asked after a moment, focusing her sightless eyes on Zuko’s back, her hand splayed flat on Appa’s saddle. “Your heart’s pounding.”

            Zuko was too distracted to even think to be embarrassed by Toph’s comment. He lowered the spyglass, frowning slightly. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen Aril in years…” Zuko blinked as the spyglass was plucked from his hands by his uncle.

            Iroh frowned sadly. “Look again, Zuko.” He said, handing it back after he’d looked through. Zuko put the telescope to his eye again and almost dropped it. Azula had yanked the girl’s head back, and he could clearly see the smoky grey eyes that were glaring at his sister.

            “It’s her.” He said, the emotions in his voice confused.

            “Then let’s go!” Aang said, grabbing Appa’s reins back up. “Appa! Yip-yip!”

--

            “You’re sure they’re out there?” Azula asked the watchman coldly as we stepped out onto the deck. The sudden change in light and temperature threw me off for a moment, making me lose my concentration on what I was doing- the heat I was forcing into the chain in my hands faltered momentarily before I got my focus back.

            “Ye-yes, Pr-princess Azula.” He stuttered, obviously scared out of his mind.

            Azula’s eyes scanned the clouds, looking for something. I didn’t even have a chance to look up to see what she was searching for when the chain around my neck was jerked, forcing me backwards and violently cutting off my air. As the red that had exploded in my vision from lack of oxygen and pain, I felt the weight on my neck disappear.

            Why had Azula removed the collar?

            Then I felt something cold and sharp press against my throat. I turned my head slightly to see Mai’s black eyes.

            “I don’t think Zuzu really believes that it’s you down here, Aril.” Azula said, circling me like a lion shark circling its next meal. I grit my teeth together in pain as Azula grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back. I glared at her as she smiled sinisterly. “Why don’t we give him a little show to prove it?”

            Whatever Azula’s plan was, she didn’t have a chance to follow through on it as one of the soldiers shouted a warning. “It’s the Avatar!”

            Everyone on deck looked into the air as a large white shape broke through the clouds. Azula’s grin couldn’t described as anything but malicious. “Perfect.” She laughed, then turned to the soldier next to her. “As soon as they get close enough, fire the catapults.

            My eyes widened and I struggled in Mai’s grip, my mouth opening to shout a warning, but I stopped as Mai’s dagger dug deeper into my neck. “Do it, and I will kill you.” She warned me.

            In my hands, I felt the last links of the chain grow soft in my hands. “I’m sorry, Mai.” I said softly before spinning around in her grip and bringing my arm up to hit the side of her head. She stumbled back, dazed, and I slammed my elbow into her face. Mai crumpled to the deck, blood pouring from her nose.

            It was about then that the soldiers realized that I had broken free. I made a down stroke with my hand- hitting an unaware Ty Lee and three soldiers with a wave of flame that sent them flying across the deck. I turned to the ones trying to jump me from behind and sent the melting remains of my shackles flying onto their masks. They let out loud yells of pain as the still melting metal made its way through the slits in the masks and into their mouths and eyes.

            Then something flew over the top of my shoulder and sent an electrical jolt through my body. I turned to see Azula, lightning crackling around her fingers, shoot another bolt at me. I let myself fall to the ground, the shot going over my head.

            I scrambled back to the railing, trying to pull myself up, but Azula beat me to it. Grabbing the front of my shirt, she hauled me to my feet and backhanded me- right across the bruise her guard had left days ago. Every nerve lit up in pain as black exploded across my vision.

            Before my vision came back to me, I felt Azula push me, hard, backwards… and straight over the railing. I hit the water like a rock, and the pain came back twofold before I simply felt myself black out from it.

--

            “No!” Zuko cried in shock as Azula shoved Aril over the railing of the ship.

            Sokka’s eyes widened. “She won’t last in that water. It’ll drop her body temperature to zero in no time fla- no you idiot!” He yelled as Zuko leapt off of Appa’s saddle.

            Katara turned to Aang, gripping his shoulder and pointing down at the now submerged firebenders. “Aang, you have to help them.”

            “On it!” He shouted, grabbing his staff and leaping off, his glider opening mid-air.

            Beneath the freezing, black water, Zuko looked around frantically, the salt water stinging his eyes. Finally, he spotted the sinking body several yards away. Swimming over faster than he thought he knew how, Zuko wrapped his arms around the slim frame and kicked toward the surface. Shock set in as his muscles began to become unresponsive, and Zuko realized that they were freezing.

            Gasping as his head broke through the water, Zuko pulled Aril tighter to his chest with one arm using the other to stay afloat as he tried to warm his legs back up- a task soon deemed unnecessary as he looked up to see a yellow-orange blur speeding toward him. Lifting his hand out of the water, he grasped it tightly around Aang’s outstretched wrist, nearly losing his grip as he was consequently jerked out of the water.

            Aang dropped his two passengers in quite the messy heap in Appa’s saddle as he himself landed gracefully on the flying bison’s head, quickly grabbing the reigns and directing the bison higher just as a volley of catapults fired their flaming ammunition at him. But it was too late.

            Azula let out a scream of rage. Aril had completely ruined her plan, lived through her murder attempt, and now Zuko and the Avatar had slipped through her fingers again! She stormed below deck, sheets of ice melting into boiling puddles as she passed. Ty Lee glanced up for a moment before she pushed herself off the deck and ran over to look at the now conscious Mai.

            “Here, let me see.” She said, gently prying her sullen friend’s hands away from her nose. The blood flow had slowed, but the front of her face from nostrils to chin was covered in the red stuff.

            “I’ll get her for this.” Mai muttered angrily, swiping at the blood with her sleeve before shoving Ty Lee away and stomping below deck.

            Ty Lee sat there, surprised for a moment. That was the most emotion she’d seen Mai show since they had graduated from the Fire Academy. She worried her lip. “All this anger is killing my aura.”