Rebel Angels

By L. M. Boulevardes

Chapter One: Kidnapped!

Azula's Point of View

Headache, screaming ribcage, pain when breathing, tingly legs and the distinct feeling of raw wrists – yup, I definitely injured. Not the sort of thing I enjoyed waking up to. Why was no one taking care of me? Where were Mai and Ty Lee? Where was my healer? Where –

Where was I?

My eyes flitted around the room, taking in the tent's crimson walls. My brow furrowed; that made no sense. I had the distinct feeling of ropes on my wrists, which meant I'd been captured. Never good.

More disturbing was the fact that my holders were obviously Fire Nation. Why would my countrymen turn against me? I was father's favorite! Were they rebels, then? I couldn't know. Sighing, I rested my head on the ground and decided to wait for my attackers to return. I wasn't stupid; until I got some information, I had no way of knowing what awaited me. This could very well be the best place to find myself in.

"Put me down! Let me go!" my ears perked up at the shouts of a girl shouting. Well then. Speak of a demon and she will appear. I toyed with a spark, tossing it from fingertip to fingertip.

"Shut up! Spirits help us," the solider grumbled as he entered. The girl he was holding wore blue; obviously Water Tribe. Her hands and wrists were bound, but her tongue was flapping a mile a minute with obscenities I don't care to repeat. I raised an eyebrow as he unceremoniously dropped her beside me.

"That hurt!" she called furiously. His hands clenched and unclenched, and I wondered why he didn't smack her. I would have. But then again, there were more important things to attend to at the moment. I ignored her.

"Release me now, and I might consider letting the guillotine have you instead of burning you alive," I snarled. He blinked, and then to my surprise he laughed. This only served to infuriate me. I attempted to shoot him, but to my horror the flames flickered out as soon as I released them. What . . . ?
"That's the beauty of locking you up for a few days. No sunlight, no firebending," he said all too happily. "I would smack you for trying such a trick, but you're so very delicate and dead prisoners tend to lose their ransom value. Ah, well. Enjoy your stay, princess," he sneered. "Trust me, you'll have lots of fun with that one," the Water Tribe girl lunged at his feet but he easily side stepped her and exited.

"That was stupid," I said. "He's left and all you have is humiliation and a sore chin. Real smart,"

"Shut up!" she swung her head, letting her long braid whip me. I glared at her.

"Just because he's too far away to be burnt doesn't mean you're not," I grabbed her bare forearm and heated my hands until she screamed. A large welt was left as I pulled away. As my father once said, she would learn respect and suffering would be her teacher.

"Bitch! Basted of a whore!" she spat in my face. I tackled her, leaning so my knee dug into her stomach and my hands were on her throat.

"I could kill you. I should kill you . . ." I threatened. Her eyes flashed and it all became clear. "Wait. You want me to kill you," I released her, confused. She glared at me with deep hatred.

"Funny, Azula. I would've though that you of all people would want me dead," she sneered. I studied her, and slowly the pieces fell into place. I knew this girl; she was the Avatar's companion. Kya? Tarah? Kata? Something like that. Made sense too. Much as I loathed admitting it, the Earth Kingdom girl was truly a master. I'd heard a rumor even she bent metal – that could certainly complicate things for the soldiers. The boy was worthless, and if I couldn't capture the Avatar certainly they couldn't. Their capture of the girl even was rather annoying.

Having the girl provided other benefits too, ones that even I didn't like to think about. Ones they might impose on me as well; physical injury could kill our bodies and take much more time to break the spirit. Rape was an excellent assassin of the soul but left the body intact. It was more pleasurable for the attacker, and besides that requiring far less work than physical abuse. The girl and I were in imminent danger.

"Fuck," I cursed. They had really covered their bases. Taking me out of the sunlight killed my bending, and the girl couldn't bend unless she had water. Fuck, fuck, fuck. We were powerless.

"No," the girl was speaking and I glanced at her, confused. "No. I don't want to fuck you," she was daring me to kill her. I inhaled deeply and focusing on breathing. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of suicide.

"Don't you ever shut up?"

"Not so long as talking annoys you," she was entirely too enthusiastic about aggravating me. I sighed, knowing it would be a long night.

Some time later I fell asleep, only to be awakened what felt like a short time later by footsteps. I pride myself at not scaring easily, but if I'm being perfectly honest (which is quite rare) then I should say the truth: in that moment of I was afraid. Biting my lip, I waited agitatedly. The flap moved and someone entered.

Their footsteps were loud and intentional, and within moments I was being shaken. In the faintest bit of candle light strained through from outside, too dull to be of any help. I groaned in protest and heard the shifting of a tray. A quick glance revealing base contents; half-molded bread and a cup of dirty-looking water. Obviously I was to be fed now while the girl slept and couldn't waterbend. I frowned at the meager excuse for a meal, angry. They would give the girl juice to keep her alive and unable to waterbend. I would get water because it was so much cheaper. So wrong. The man noticed my look.

"A kiss for some better food, pretty princess," he leered. I flinched as my heart pounded. He stuck of alcohol and his hands were already groping me. As much as I longed for the comforts of my usual life, I would not allow myself to go from princess to concubine one fell swoop.

"Go to hell," I said. Fury flickered across his face; apparently he was the type of man not used to being denied anything.

"You'll be sorry for that, bitch," he growled. I screamed as he pinned me down and began tearing at my clothes. Oh Agni help me this isn't happening make it stop make it stop makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop . .

I raised my arms in defense and gasped in pain as his knee knocked against my already bruised ribs. In the same moment I felt cool air rushing at my skin I heard the crack of a whip and a howl. It was over in a moment, and the room was silent save my heavy breathing. My eyes darted about, finding the girl.

"He won't be out long; my whip wasn't too strong with so little water. If we're going to escape, I suggest we do it now," she said. She was already through her binds, having used the water to slice the rope. Making a decision was not hard.

"Fine," I offered her my wrists and ankles. She examined me a moment, then frowned.

"First," she said. "You have to do something for me,"

"What?"

"Sorry, but first you need to promise not to attack me," she said. I nearly snorted. Did she truly think a promise would stop me . . .? "A blood promise,"
Oh. Now. Well then. That changed everything. The sharing of blood between two benders obliged them to hold promises to each other. I was about to yell at her, but the man shifting re-focused me. So I could pick my words carefully. I nodded, watching as she used an ice pick to prick our fingers. "Well?"

"I promise that I will not attack you when we escape," there, carefully crafted wording. I said I wouldn't attack her when we escaped. Now guarantees for afterwards. The girl either didn't notice or decided that was good enough. She freed my bonds.

For all the pomp, escaping was easy. I tore through the tent's wall with a knife I found on the man's belt (I tried not to think about what that could have meant for me). The girl and I walked outside. . . .

. . .into snowy oblivion.

"Shit," I cursed. No wonder they worried so little about the possibility of escape. Even if we managed to run, how to survive? I could see no other buildings for miles around.

I took a deep breath and began cutting up the tent. I worked quickly, aware that the man was starting to twitch. The girl and I had very little time. . .

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "We have no time!"

"We'll freeze to death without blankets. Take something, would you?" I shoved folds of fabric into her hands and she stumbled backwards. Well, no time to worry of it now. I grabbed what I could; the man was moving now, and I didn't want to chance a battle as I was still without my bending.

We ran fast and without hesitation, stumbling and cursing down snowy banks, down valleys and dips and fumbling over hills. I hadn't known the girl knew such coarse language. I guess that's what happens with peasants.

We ran until the snowing became a full drag-out knock-out blizzard. What little bending I had retained was dying, and I could no longer warm myself so easily. The line of the horizon was fading fast, causing panic to start to rise up from somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Azula," the girl said at last. "You're going to get hypothermia. We need to stop for the night," she said.

"I'm fine!"

"You can't possibly be. The cloth is only so heavy,"
"Well, where do you suggest we stop? At that scenic inn down the road?" I snapped. She glared back.

"You seem to have forgotten I'm a waterbender," to her credit, she was good. She bended some snow above us to ice as a shield. Then she dug into the layered ground until there was enough room for both of us. I scrambled in and she followed before collapsed the roof and sealing off the door. It was pitch black and claustrophobic. "We should get some rest," she said. "I'll see you in the morning,"
I nodded and lay down, swathing myself in the blankets and heightening my body temperature. I'd see the sun tomorrow, I thought, and get my bending back. Then I would fine again; the girl would not stand in my way.

TBC

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender