Chapter Four

A Blackmailed Promise

The Fire Nation held executions at night. Flames are most beautiful in the dark, went their reasoning. They made their murders into events, publicizing them and profiting. It was entertainment and warning both, the former for the nobles, the latter for the slaves.

I spent two days in the prisons, waiting for them to kill me. I'm sure there's a way to make peace with your life and accept your death. But I could not find it. As far as I saw, I had done nothing with my life, and all I was leaving behind was an unfulfilled promise; I would never avenge my family and home. But it did not matter. When night fell on the second day, they came for me nonetheless.

They did not have to drag me. I walked along with them. Though I had not found peace, I would not show them my fear, my pain. I would not give them the satisfaction. Together, the guards and I came to the city square.

My stomach churned when I saw the stake in the center of the square. They would set the fire in the hay around me and let the flames lick up and down my body, slowly making my skin bubble and burst.

I looked around to distract myself.

It didn't help. Because I saw what the merchants were doing.

They were selling fire flakes. At my execution.

And it was this, of all things, that made me start to cry.

Tears poured down my cheeks as the guards tied me to the wooden pole. People were murmuring around me. It was not the angry murmur of a mob. No. It was the cheerful murmur of an excited crowd. There were a few silences here and there from the other slaves. They stared at me, but it was not pity or compassion in their eyes. It was fear. They didn't care about me, not really. All that mattered in their minds was that this could happen to them if they stepped out of line.

I wanted to think of my family in my final moments, but all that would come to me was hatred. Hatred of Shun for betraying me like this. Hatred of Gorou for buying me. Hatred of the Fire Nation and its phoenix king for enslaving me in the first place.

My breathing quickened when I saw the executioner approaching me. I knew what he was from the mask he wore: a flaming demon. He stopped right in front of me. A man before us announced my "crime," and quiet fell around us.

The executioner raised his hand to light my pyre with his bending.

"Stop!"

A voice from the crowd rang out.

Too late.

The executioner's fist shot forward and spewed its flames at the straw around me.

The blast of heat was immediate. I closed my eyes.

I opened them again when I heard the executioner yell. Someone had pushed him out of the way. The stranger jumped up towards me, thrusting his hands out and splitting the fire as a knife splits flesh. He drew two swords from a sheath across his back and struck the chains from my wrists. He grabbed my shoulders, and we jumped away from the flames.

The stranger straightened up. His face was hidden behind a cloak, but he now threw back the hood.

He had black hair; amber eyes; and a sharp, proud face. I didn't recognize him.

But the others did, as they all fell to their knees and bowed as one.

"I order you to stop in the name of my father, the Phoenix King!"

I stiffened. Father? Father, the Phoenix King? Then this must be…

"Prince Zuko!" The captain of the guard, who had not moved since the start, now came forward. "What is it? This slave is sentenced to die."

"I'm un-sentencing her," he said. "Let her go."

"But why? She has stolen from her master, My Prince. She must be punished, according to Fire Nation law. If we let her go, the other slaves will think they're free to—"

"Slaves aren't koala sheep, Captain," the prince said. "They won't follow someone they know almost got executed."

"But, Prince Zuko—"

"Are you arguing with me, Captain?" The prince's voice grew quiet, so that everyone focused all their beings on trying to hear him. "Would you like me to go tell my father—?"

"No, no, My Prince!" the captain said. "Of course you are entitled. I am your humble servant. I—"

"Thank you, Captain," said the prince. He put his hand to my waist and pushed me forward. We began to walk into an alley. "I'll tell my father you are still a loyal citizen."

"Yes, yes, Prince Zuko! Thank you!"

The prince led me away. When at last we were out of earshot, he took his hand off me.

I hated myself right then. This was one of the men who had destroyed my home, conquered the world, killed my family, and enslaved me. And all I felt towards him was gratitude. After all he'd done to me, I wanted to thank him.

The tears kept falling. He stopped walking.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

I would kill him. I would kill him. I would kill him for making me feel like this. Him and everyone he loved.

And there was only one way to do that. I thought again about what Shun had told me. We women need to be cunning to get what we want.

I turned to look at him. "Thank you," I said. I was still crying. It added to the effect.

He gave me an awkward nod, then took a step back.

"You can go now," he said. "You're free."

Freedom? No, that was not what I wanted. Not now. I was not free. No matter what, I would always be a slave to my desire for revenge.

"Go where?" I asked.

"Anywhere." He turned and started to walk away.

"I have nowhere to go."

"That's not my problem."

I couldn't help it; I laughed. He was confirming everything I knew about the Fire Nation. And then I felt the hatred pour into me. My tongue seemed to move on its own.

"What a hero!" I shouted after him. "Why save me in the first place if you're just going to make me die in the streets? Free? Ha! There's no life outside of slavery and prostitution for a Water Tribe girl in the Fire Nation!"

He whirled around and strode back towards me.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

My eyes met his. I would not back down.

"Take me to the palace. Let me be a servant."

"I can't."

"You're the prince!" I said. "You can do anything you want!"

"No, I can't. What I just did—saving you—that was illegal. My father will be furious when he finds out!"

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because I wanted to do something good for once in my life!"

We were screaming at each other now.

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but abandoning someone to die isn't a 'good deed.'"

He was shaking with rage, his teeth clenched. Then all the fight appeared to seep out of him.

"Fine," he said.

"What?"

"Come with me. But if Father finds out, it's your funeral, not mine."

"Fine." I shot his own word back at him.

He started to walk off towards another, wider street, and I followed him.

When my anger cooled, I berated myself. This was not how I wanted to begin our relationship. I needed to get close to him to kill him. So I bit back my pride and said, "I'm sorry."

"No you're not," he said. "And if you are, it's only because you got what you wanted."

"I'm not apologizing for trying to survive," I said, my annoyance surging up again. "I'm apologizing because I shouted at you."

He shook his head. "I don't care."

After a moment of silence, I asked, "Why did you think that saving me would be doing something good with your life? According to your laws, I'm a condemned criminal."

He scoffed. "Because it's wrong and cruel to execute someone for stealing."

"I didn't steal."

"It doesn't matter. No one deserves that."

I almost spat at him. How could he believe that and yet turn a blind eye to my family's death? Hypocrite! He was the son of the Phoenix King, one of the conquerors, and he thought himself noble for "saving" one girl!

I decided to change the subject.

"What will my position be at the palace?" I asked.

"You'll be a servant."

"I know that," I said, trying to keep myself from rolling my eyes. "There are different kinds of servants, aren't there?"

"Can you cook?" he asked. "Sew?"

"Why do you just assume that that's all I can do?" I said. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't keep my anger from controlling me. "Cooking and sewing aren't the only things girls are good for." I almost added, you sexist pig, but just managed to bite that part off.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Sorry," I said again.

"You'll probably just help around."

"Right."

We walked in silence for a while. But I filled that silence with my thoughts. What could I do to get close to this boy and his family? The answer was obvious: I needed to seduce him. But how? He didn't seem to like, let alone love, anything but himself. I looked at him. He was around seventeen, I knew. A man in full. And, despite my attempts to deny it, he was handsome. I couldn't even imagine how many women, beautiful noble women, must throw themselves at him daily. And he hadn't accepted any of them. Somehow, I had to be different. So I would not throw myself at him. I would play hard to get. In other words, I would be myself. Could it really be that simple?

And then we were at the palace gates. I had never seen them before. But we did not go through them. Indeed, we gave them a wide berth and continued walking right.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Isn't that the way to the palace?"

"There's more than one way to the palace. This is one is quicker and safer."

"You mean you don't want to be seen," I said. Then it dawned on me. "You're not supposed to be out here at all."

He stiffened.

"I see," I continued. "You're sneaking out at night because you've gotten sick of staying there all your life. So you dress up as a commoner and leave."

"Stop laughing," he said.

"I'm laughing because I think it's great!" I said.

"You do?" he said, looking at me as though I had gone insane. "You think something's great?"

"Yes," I said. "I want in."

He groaned. "I should've known this was coming. Let me guess: if I don't bring you with me whenever I go out now, you'll tell my father about it all."

"Good guess," I said.

"This is blackmail," he said.

"Yes it is," I agreed.

"Why do you want to come?"

I took a deep breath and looked away, at the moon. "I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I've only been here a year, and I don't know anything about this place. I want to learn. I want to learn the good things, as well as the bad. I want to be able to have a home again."

It was a lie, of course. Nothing would ever let me call this place home. I was doing it to get closer to him. He was not the sort to want a porcelain doll who would just agree with everything he said; I knew that now. I looked back, and our eyes met.

He sighed. "Fine."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

We came to a statue of a beautiful woman by the wall. There was a red and orange jewel set in a ring on her finger. Zuko moved towards her and glanced around for witnesses. Then he sent a small stream of fire at the jewel.

And the statue moved.

It swiveled and turned in a circle, revealing a hole beneath it.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zuko jumped down into the darkness. A muffled thud came from the pit as he landed. I stepped closer and peered over the edge. I couldn't see the bottom; it was completely black.

"Prince Zuko?" I hissed.

A light appeared, illuminating the hole. He had conjured a ball of flame in the palm of his hand.

"Come on," he said. "When the statue's jewel loses its heat, the door will close. Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid!"

"Then jump," he said.

I took a deep breath. To hesitate now would be to surrender.

I closed my eyes and jumped.

A feeling of weightlessness made my stomach shoot up into empty air, and I let out a noise that was half shriek, half laugh. The skirts of my dress blew up, revealing my legs. But what did it matter? I let them show.

He caught me before I hit the ground. His right hand pressed into my back, his left to my bare thigh, holding me close. My eyes met his, but I looked away, as though I couldn't hold his gaze.

"Thank you," I said.

He let me go with a nod.

I glanced around. There were five different tunnels leading away from where we were. I couldn't see more than ten feet by the light of his fire. They all looked the same—shadowed gray stone without cracks or dirt.

"It's this way," he said, pointing to the middle tunnel.

We began to walk.

I would not try to talk to him, I decided. There would be time enough for that later. No need to force the issue. I would speak when I had something to say. He didn't look the type to enjoy mindless chatter. Thoughts of Sokka came spilling into my head then. Mindless chatter was pretty much all he knew how to do. But he was gone now, taken from me. I wondered if I would ever see him again. No. I would not. If I succeeded and killed the royal family, I would be executed. And if I didn't succeed and stayed alive, we would still be slaves.

Soon enough, we came to the end of the tunnel. There was nothing there but a wall. I looked at him.

"What—"

But then he pushed against the wall. To my surprise, it swung open, and Zuko walked through into the hallway beyond. I followed him, carefully stepping over the threshold of the hidden door.

And, just like that, I was in the palace.

It was more peaceful than I had imagined. There were no skulls or iron spikes or towers of red flame. It was just a long corridor—dark, true, and lit by torches, but not sinister, not exactly. Normal.

Zuko turned to me.

"I leave from here every Monday at midnight."

"Sounds good," I said. "I'll meet you here next Monday then."

He grunted and started walking away, down the hall, letting the hood of his cloak fall as he went.

"Hello?" I said, letting out an exasperated huff. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I wish." He looked back at me. "The servants' quarters are that way, down the stairs, and the first door on the left."

I tightened my lips in surprise. How did he know where the servants' quarters were? I'd assumed such a pompous prince would never take the time to learn about his underlings. But maybe I was wrong. Or maybe he just liked exploring.

"And I'm supposed to just say—what?—'Hi there, I'm the new Water Tribe servant you know nothing about, sneaking in here at midnight! Don't mind me, everyone!'"

"Talk to Makon," Zuko said. "She's been getting new servants every day lately."

Again, I was surprised. He knew the servant mistress's name?

"Thank you." I bit my lip. "And…sorry." I'd apologized a lot that night, but this was the only time I meant it.

He nodded at me and continued walking away.

I turned the other way, taking a deep breath, then letting it out slowly.

And now I was an assassin. But I couldn't just rush in. What I needed was patience. I smiled despite myself.

Patience like water.