176AG

Wanfeng Prison off the coast of Chameleon Bay

The prison was quiet save for the clinking of one inmate's platinum cup against the bars of his platinum cell. The guards stood still, their crystal blue eyes staring forwards at the emptiness of the opposite wall. To avoid fatigue, guards only worked in two-hour shifts, rotating constantly. They were forbidden from even speaking to the inmates at this extremely high-security prison; with its eerie silence, it was a wonder more inmates weren't insane.

There was a rare click of a lock and the door to the solitary confinement ward slid open with a groan.

The guards flanking the cell snapped to attention and saluted as the warden entered, then fell to their knees when they saw who followed.

"There is no need for such formalities. Unlike Hou-ting, I won't have you beheaded for blinking in my presence. Please rise," the familiar voice ordered the two guards.

"Is there anything we can do for you, your highness?" the guard asked.

"Yes," the Earth Queen replied steadily. "Step aside."

"Your Highness?" the other guard choked.

The inmate inside tensed, dreading her visitor's presence.

"You heard correctly. Step aside."

"But-"

"Make me repeat myself a third time and I will have you both court martialed for disobedience," the new monarch interjected sternly.

"Yes, your Highness," the guards said, parting.

There was the click of a second lock parting and the door to the solitary confinement chamber opened, letting in a flood of light pour in onto the thinned inmate.

"So this is where Raiko threw you away," the woman sighed with a tone of pity in her voice.

The inmate looked away. "Don't pretend he did this alone." she spat bitterly.

"I'm so sorry for what they've done to you-" Suyin Beifong sighed.

"Why are you really here, Su?" the inmate interrupted. "To boast about how great it is to be the very thing you scorned for an eternity?"

"I came here because I am sorry for what I've done to you too," Suyin Beifong replied, stepping into the cell and bending down in front of the inmate. She produced the key to the inmate's shackles, unlocked the bonds, and cast them away.

Whole minutes passed before the former matriarch of Zaofu spoke again. "Even though I always saw you as a daughter to me, I have come to realize that I never did treat you like one, and for that I am sorry." She paused to draw an uneasy breath, visibly struggling to contain an emotion the inmate didn't recognize in the woman. "I came to ask, if you were willing to allow me to, may I have a second chance to be the mother to you that I should have been?"

The inmate remained still throughout and the Earth Queen wondered if she were even still breathing. Finally, she reached out a hand to slide aside a lock of the young woman's dark hair revealing a tear-stained and too-gaunt face that looked down at her knees incredulously.

"You're not dreaming," the Earth Queen said softly, tucking the lock of hair behind the young woman's ear. She took a finger and lifted the inmate's chin to look into her forest green eyes. "I promise."

The inmate's breath hitched in her throat as another tear slid down her exposed face. She ran one hand around the opposite wrist to verify that the shackles were indeed gone, not once breaking eye contact with the Earth Queen. She rubbed an ankle with the bottom of her other foot and stretched her weakened legs for the first time in weeks. Her heart rate accelerated and her breathing quickened as she ran her hands up her own arms, in desperate need for an embrace.

The Earth Queen reached for her and took her into her arms. "I will never again leave you alone." She said as the inmate finally let her cold stone walls fall down and the tears flow freely. The Earth Queen rubbed circles on her back, through the rough-spun shift, patiently, until the inmate stopped crying. "Now come meet your family, your real family."

A/N Here's a teaser for Part 3 of "The Secrets we Keep" series comprised of "The Princess's Fire", "The Fire Lord's Flames", "The World's Weapon", and "The Ashes of the Fire Nation".

As always, all feedback is greatly appreciated!