Zuko groaned as he opened his eyes. His head was pounding as if he'd spent the night drinking, which certainly was not the case he
thought looking around the confines of his prison. A shock went through him, momentarily relegating his headache to secondary concern as he realised that the
pallet on the far side of the room was empty of Toph.
The guards were also reduced in number, with only two of them present: one by the door, the second watching him from but well out of his
reach. Neither of them looked as if they were going to be particularly forthcoming, but he wasn't overwhelmed with alternatives: "Where is Toph?"
he demanded as politely as he could.
Two pairs of eyes tightened but neither of the white-faced warriors said anything. Zuko dragged on the chains, trying to find enough slack to
stand. "Answer me!"
The door opened and Suki entered the room. "Stop shouting like a hog monkey," she ordered him, glaring and then looked over at the
nearest guard. "June, unchain him from the wall. He and I are going for a little walk."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where Toph is," Zuko insisted, drawing back to block access to the pins that secured
him to the wall. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he was being childish, but at the same time, it was the only bargaining tool that he
had.
The look that Suki directed at him was eloquent in how unimpressed she was with his attempt to negotiate. "You have exactly two
choices," she warned. "You can co-operate and walk out of here, in which case you'll get to see Toph today. Or you can continue to make a fool of
yourself, in which case you'll be dragged out of here to the nearest cliff and thrown off, in chains the whole time. Well?"
Zuko stared up at her for a few moments and then grudgingly moved aside. One of the guards - June, presumably - disarmed herself and moved
closer, watching him as if he were wild animal that might turn and bite her at any moment. She unlocked the chains one at a time, legs first and then arms,
ensuring that his ankles were still secured to each other, with just enough slack to walk; and his wrists although chained in front of him were loose enough
for comfort but not far enough for him to use more than a few of the easier firebending forms.
She saw him test his limits and her lips curled unpleasently before she propelled him towards Suki with a hard hand at the small of his back.
This close he realised that the make up disguised what would otherwise be prominent facial burns. "You aren't the first firebender I've had in
chains," she told him. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I don't know exactly what you can pull off with that much slack."
"Once burned, twice shy?" Zuko shot back and the extra force when she shoved him revealed that the needle had struck
home.
"Play nicely or you won't get to play at all," reprimanded Suki, although Zuko wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to
June.
Zuko blinked in the sunlight as he was escorted out of the building and he felt himself relax slightly, a tension that he had barely been
aware of fading at the gentle warmth. There were two more of the white-faced soldiers waiting for them and the squad paused to reorganise itself - a pair in
front of him and a pair behind while Suki walked beside him. None of them seemed inclined to say anything to him or to each other and Zuko took the time to
look around as they followed an uphill path.
The trees and other vegetation didn't seem very different from those near Chin Village so it would seem that he wasn't all that far
away. He'd been concerned when he guessed that he had been drugged - there was no way to know if he had been carried half way around the world as he slept
- but there was a good chance that search parties would find this place if it wasn't too far. Much as it would gall Zuko to require a rescue, it was
certainly preferable to some of the alternative outcomes. He hadn't seen any of these warrior women bending, other than Toph, and judging by their
movements he suspected that none of them were. If it weren't for the chains, five of them might not be impossible odds.
As the path wound its way through the trees Zuko saw glimpses of the sea. Coastal or an island then: even better. Most of the remaining Earth
Kingdom territory was inland, harder to attack without the fleet to provide logistical support to an army. That could be harder to escape from, but if he could
make his way to the water then it would be difficult for any earthbenders to contest with him. Of course, he was being marched away from it, but the
possibility remained.
"So what's the story with the face paint?" he asked after the silence began to become oppressive.
Suki looked sideways at him. "It's traditional amongst our warriors," she said shortly.
"So Toph's one of your warriors?" he asked. "Even in the Fire Nation, no one is called to military service until
they're fourteen."
The young woman glared at him for a moment. "Joining our number is an honour," Suki told him. "Not something that anyone is
called to except by their own heart. Toph's heart simply called rather louder that most's."
Zuko's gaze dropped to the floor, remembering Toph's laughing face as she practised in Omashu... and the tiny body laid on a pallet
opposite his prison. "Yes," he said when he was sure that his voice would not break. "It always did."
.oOo.
Although Zuko would have died rather than admit it, he was weary when the little column halted at the top of the hill. More than a week
chained to a wall with no chance to exercise had dulled his condition and he was painfully aware that it would probably take him twice as long to regain his
edge.
There was a simple building of stone and wood on the summit, its isolation speaking far more of its importance to these people than any
grandeur of design. Another village was visible in the distance, connected by another snaking path, and the sea was visible in that direction as well. Either
an island or a penninsula then.
Suki looked around the clearing and then pointed at a pine not far from the crest. "That will do," she said calmly, and peeled off,
heading for the building. The other four warriors led the captive prince over towards the tree, spreading out to watch him from all four directions.
"What are we here for?" he asked. "I thought you were taking me to Toph."
No matter which he looked at, impassive faces met his questioning stare, even June not smirking at his question. Turning towards the
building, he saw that Suki did not enter, instead pausing at the doorway and then stepping back to allow Mai to walk out and join her. The fire maiden was
wearing a well worn red and black outfit that Zuko recognised as the clothes she had worn when they fought Jet; and carrying a simple spade, clearly a
peasent's tool. Only as she came closer did he see that her eyes were red-rimmed although her composed face gave no other indication that she had been
crying.
Maybe she does feel guilty after all, he thought. Good.
Suki did not say anything as the two rejoined the group. Instead she took the spade from Mai and started marking out a rectangle on the
ground underneath the tree, perhaps three feet wide and - after a speculative look at Zuko - just about twice as long. She then returned the tool to Mai who
marked her own rectangle with what appeared to be less confidence than the auburn haired girl - not quite as wide and well over a foot shorter, no more than a
long stride from the first.
"Now," Suki said, holding the spade out to Zuko, handle first. "Start digging."
"You said you were bringing me to Toph," he replied, not accepting the tool. "Where is she?"
Suki scowled and he saw Mai turn her face away from them. "I told you that if you co-operated, you would see her today. Unless you would
rather take that final step I mentioned, in which case there is a suitable drop only a few minute's walk here. Over deep water, so once you sink no one
will ever find you."
They matched stares for a moment and then Zuko lowered his gaze, reaching out to take the spade. "So what, you want me to mark out
another rectangle?"
The women looked at him as if he were cretin. "No. Dig out the ones that we carved," Suki ordered. "I'll tell you when
they are deep enough."
Zuko frowned. What did they want a pair of pits for? And why make him dig them? Had they run out of men to boss around here or something?
With a grunt, he drove the spade through the sod and rapidly cleared the overlayer from first one rectangle and then the other. With that done he looked at
Suki but she gave no indication of satisfaction so he shrugged and started to dig deeper. He hadn't really thought that she'd be satisfied by
that.
It didn't take long for him to build up a sweat, but he stubbornly refused to rest. The sooner he was done, the sooner they'd take
him to Toph and he could find out what this was all about.
The smaller hole was waist deep when Suki called for him to stop digging. "That's deep enough," she told him. "Make the
other one a little deeper."
"And then what?" he asked. "You want me to do your laundry as well?" He scrambled out of the pit and then lifted the
spade again. "What do you need these holes for, anyway?"
The girls looked at each other and Suki sighed. "I'd have thought you would have remembered, Prince Zuko. This is the Earth Kingdom.
We bury our dead."
Zuko stared at the grave he had just dug in utter horror, realising the significance of its dimensions. His gorge rose at the thought of the
girl dead, of her cold body lying in it as earth was piled over her, food for worms. It was only after he was on his knees, dry heaving, that a second thought
struck him: 'if Toph does die of her wounds I'll be burying you next to her'
'you'll get to see Toph today'. The second, longer
grave would be for him.
"No."
"No?" Suki asked with malicious mildness. "Is something the matter, Prince Zuko? Your
accomodations not to your liking?"
Zuko looked up pleadingly. "I don't care what you do to me," he offered. "But
don't bury her. Toph was a firebender. Let me give her the rites she has earned."
"You are not in a position to bargain, your highness," Mai said coldly. "You struck
her down with lightning, which ended any rights you have towards her."
"I'm not bargaining," the Prince of the Fire Nation clarified, still on his knees,
lowering his face to the ground in supplication. "I'm begging you. Let me do her this one service before I die."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
thought looking around the confines of his prison. A shock went through him, momentarily relegating his headache to secondary concern as he realised that the
pallet on the far side of the room was empty of Toph.
The guards were also reduced in number, with only two of them present: one by the door, the second watching him from but well out of his
reach. Neither of them looked as if they were going to be particularly forthcoming, but he wasn't overwhelmed with alternatives: "Where is Toph?"
he demanded as politely as he could.
Two pairs of eyes tightened but neither of the white-faced warriors said anything. Zuko dragged on the chains, trying to find enough slack to
stand. "Answer me!"
The door opened and Suki entered the room. "Stop shouting like a hog monkey," she ordered him, glaring and then looked over at the
nearest guard. "June, unchain him from the wall. He and I are going for a little walk."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where Toph is," Zuko insisted, drawing back to block access to the pins that secured
him to the wall. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he was being childish, but at the same time, it was the only bargaining tool that he
had.
The look that Suki directed at him was eloquent in how unimpressed she was with his attempt to negotiate. "You have exactly two
choices," she warned. "You can co-operate and walk out of here, in which case you'll get to see Toph today. Or you can continue to make a fool of
yourself, in which case you'll be dragged out of here to the nearest cliff and thrown off, in chains the whole time. Well?"
Zuko stared up at her for a few moments and then grudgingly moved aside. One of the guards - June, presumably - disarmed herself and moved
closer, watching him as if he were wild animal that might turn and bite her at any moment. She unlocked the chains one at a time, legs first and then arms,
ensuring that his ankles were still secured to each other, with just enough slack to walk; and his wrists although chained in front of him were loose enough
for comfort but not far enough for him to use more than a few of the easier firebending forms.
She saw him test his limits and her lips curled unpleasently before she propelled him towards Suki with a hard hand at the small of his back.
This close he realised that the make up disguised what would otherwise be prominent facial burns. "You aren't the first firebender I've had in
chains," she told him. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I don't know exactly what you can pull off with that much slack."
"Once burned, twice shy?" Zuko shot back and the extra force when she shoved him revealed that the needle had struck
home.
"Play nicely or you won't get to play at all," reprimanded Suki, although Zuko wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to
June.
Zuko blinked in the sunlight as he was escorted out of the building and he felt himself relax slightly, a tension that he had barely been
aware of fading at the gentle warmth. There were two more of the white-faced soldiers waiting for them and the squad paused to reorganise itself - a pair in
front of him and a pair behind while Suki walked beside him. None of them seemed inclined to say anything to him or to each other and Zuko took the time to
look around as they followed an uphill path.
The trees and other vegetation didn't seem very different from those near Chin Village so it would seem that he wasn't all that far
away. He'd been concerned when he guessed that he had been drugged - there was no way to know if he had been carried half way around the world as he slept
- but there was a good chance that search parties would find this place if it wasn't too far. Much as it would gall Zuko to require a rescue, it was
certainly preferable to some of the alternative outcomes. He hadn't seen any of these warrior women bending, other than Toph, and judging by their
movements he suspected that none of them were. If it weren't for the chains, five of them might not be impossible odds.
As the path wound its way through the trees Zuko saw glimpses of the sea. Coastal or an island then: even better. Most of the remaining Earth
Kingdom territory was inland, harder to attack without the fleet to provide logistical support to an army. That could be harder to escape from, but if he could
make his way to the water then it would be difficult for any earthbenders to contest with him. Of course, he was being marched away from it, but the
possibility remained.
"So what's the story with the face paint?" he asked after the silence began to become oppressive.
Suki looked sideways at him. "It's traditional amongst our warriors," she said shortly.
"So Toph's one of your warriors?" he asked. "Even in the Fire Nation, no one is called to military service until
they're fourteen."
The young woman glared at him for a moment. "Joining our number is an honour," Suki told him. "Not something that anyone is
called to except by their own heart. Toph's heart simply called rather louder that most's."
Zuko's gaze dropped to the floor, remembering Toph's laughing face as she practised in Omashu... and the tiny body laid on a pallet
opposite his prison. "Yes," he said when he was sure that his voice would not break. "It always did."
.oOo.
Although Zuko would have died rather than admit it, he was weary when the little column halted at the top of the hill. More than a week
chained to a wall with no chance to exercise had dulled his condition and he was painfully aware that it would probably take him twice as long to regain his
edge.
There was a simple building of stone and wood on the summit, its isolation speaking far more of its importance to these people than any
grandeur of design. Another village was visible in the distance, connected by another snaking path, and the sea was visible in that direction as well. Either
an island or a penninsula then.
Suki looked around the clearing and then pointed at a pine not far from the crest. "That will do," she said calmly, and peeled off,
heading for the building. The other four warriors led the captive prince over towards the tree, spreading out to watch him from all four directions.
"What are we here for?" he asked. "I thought you were taking me to Toph."
No matter which he looked at, impassive faces met his questioning stare, even June not smirking at his question. Turning towards the
building, he saw that Suki did not enter, instead pausing at the doorway and then stepping back to allow Mai to walk out and join her. The fire maiden was
wearing a well worn red and black outfit that Zuko recognised as the clothes she had worn when they fought Jet; and carrying a simple spade, clearly a
peasent's tool. Only as she came closer did he see that her eyes were red-rimmed although her composed face gave no other indication that she had been
crying.
Maybe she does feel guilty after all, he thought. Good.
Suki did not say anything as the two rejoined the group. Instead she took the spade from Mai and started marking out a rectangle on the
ground underneath the tree, perhaps three feet wide and - after a speculative look at Zuko - just about twice as long. She then returned the tool to Mai who
marked her own rectangle with what appeared to be less confidence than the auburn haired girl - not quite as wide and well over a foot shorter, no more than a
long stride from the first.
"Now," Suki said, holding the spade out to Zuko, handle first. "Start digging."
"You said you were bringing me to Toph," he replied, not accepting the tool. "Where is she?"
Suki scowled and he saw Mai turn her face away from them. "I told you that if you co-operated, you would see her today. Unless you would
rather take that final step I mentioned, in which case there is a suitable drop only a few minute's walk here. Over deep water, so once you sink no one
will ever find you."
They matched stares for a moment and then Zuko lowered his gaze, reaching out to take the spade. "So what, you want me to mark out
another rectangle?"
The women looked at him as if he were cretin. "No. Dig out the ones that we carved," Suki ordered. "I'll tell you when
they are deep enough."
Zuko frowned. What did they want a pair of pits for? And why make him dig them? Had they run out of men to boss around here or something?
With a grunt, he drove the spade through the sod and rapidly cleared the overlayer from first one rectangle and then the other. With that done he looked at
Suki but she gave no indication of satisfaction so he shrugged and started to dig deeper. He hadn't really thought that she'd be satisfied by
that.
It didn't take long for him to build up a sweat, but he stubbornly refused to rest. The sooner he was done, the sooner they'd take
him to Toph and he could find out what this was all about.
The smaller hole was waist deep when Suki called for him to stop digging. "That's deep enough," she told him. "Make the
other one a little deeper."
"And then what?" he asked. "You want me to do your laundry as well?" He scrambled out of the pit and then lifted the
spade again. "What do you need these holes for, anyway?"
The girls looked at each other and Suki sighed. "I'd have thought you would have remembered, Prince Zuko. This is the Earth Kingdom.
We bury our dead."
Zuko stared at the grave he had just dug in utter horror, realising the significance of its dimensions. His gorge rose at the thought of the
girl dead, of her cold body lying in it as earth was piled over her, food for worms. It was only after he was on his knees, dry heaving, that a second thought
struck him: 'if Toph does die of her wounds I'll be burying you next to her'
'you'll get to see Toph today'. The second, longer
grave would be for him.
"No."
"No?" Suki asked with malicious mildness. "Is something the matter, Prince Zuko? Your
accomodations not to your liking?"
Zuko looked up pleadingly. "I don't care what you do to me," he offered. "But
don't bury her. Toph was a firebender. Let me give her the rites she has earned."
"You are not in a position to bargain, your highness," Mai said coldly. "You struck
her down with lightning, which ended any rights you have towards her."
"I'm not bargaining," the Prince of the Fire Nation clarified, still on his knees,
lowering his face to the ground in supplication. "I'm begging you. Let me do her this one service before I die."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.