Lost In Delirium

Chapter 7: The Dinner

Her feet were bound and hurting, her hair was pulled back too tightly and the chain on her neck felt heavier than usual. The maids had had a blast when dressing her, making sure they inflicted as much pain on her as possible. Green eyes watered as the sting of perfume wafted around her. Toph had to hold her breath to keep the smell out.

Mai and Ty Lee stood in front of her before the door. Once all the guests had arrived, the guards would then open the door and they would have to walk out in front of everyone, Toph trailing behind to show her prisoner status.

The girl's breathing was heavy as they waited. She was supposed to sit near Azula so that the Princess could keep an eye on her. Mai and Ty Lee would be posted behind the girl, near the wall and the guards were going to keep an eye on any dangerous guests. For once, Toph was not afraid of those keeping her here, but of those who may wish to take her elsewhere and away from the ironic safety of Azula's fortress. She had nothing to protect herself with against a hundred or so Fire Benders and that thought wasn't very appealing.

"Hey Toph?" came Ty Lee's soft, sugary voice.

"Yes?" she said quietly, her throat dry and her teeth chattering.

The pink clad girl didn't answer for a moment and Toph was berating with herself whether the girl had heard her at all.

"We're right behind you."

Her heart seemed to contract within her chest and she felt the fondest gratitude towards the two girls in front of her even though she couldn't see their promising and determined glances back at her.

"Thanks," she managed, clenching her fists and clearing her throat. The murmur from beyond the doors seemed to cease and it was as if someone had sucked out all of the air in the room. The tension mounted and the girl's heart was beating so fast that she was sure it was going to jump right out of her chest. She almost wished it would too if it would stop her failing nerves.

The walls themselves seemed to hold their breaths as the large doors suddenly opened, flooding bright torch light into the small waiting room. There was a scraping of chairs as the guests stood up, each wanting to catch a glimpse of the Earth Bender as if she were some deranged beast caged up and put up for show.

The mutters and murmurs began and the whispers weren't really whispers. The girl closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head as she walked a walk that seemed to last for hours. The Earth Bender felt like a deer suddenly spotted by a raving pack of tiger wolves and her breathing seemed to escalate higher and higher and faster and faster.

'I can do this, I can do this…' she chanted to herself in her mind, striving to still the ache to run away.

She stood behind her seat, Azula to her right and an empty seat next to her. The princess cleared her throat, a smug smile on her painted, red lips and said loud and clear,

"As you see, she is here. My father's house remains honoured."

There was a sound of applause and chatter as they all took their seats, the blind girl hesitating before seating herself down. As the noise began to die down, the girl became aware of certain heartbeats that she could feel, despite the binding of her feet. Those heartbeats put her off the edge and the sat rigidly and almost unmoving.

The sound of a door slamming open sounded and the girl jumped. Everyone at the table turned and dark whispers and low conversations began as their former prince in exile strode in. Toph didn't recognise him at first but as he came closer and stood next to her, she gasped, her mint eyes going wider under her bowed head.

He was here. Zuko was here in all his royal glory. He seemed different somehow, more sure of himself and more assertive. It felt strange and Toph knitted her brows together, trying to uncover what it was that had changed him over the past few weeks since she had seen him. He seemed…distant almost. More distant that usual anyway. And there was a strange aura about him, one that was not necessarily evil…but not exactly becoming either.

This time, nothing could stop the pang of fear that ran across her skin. And she did not know whether Zuko was going to be her protector…or her enemy.

--

Amber eyes gazed around the room at the disgusting display of wealth from the guests and with a slight sneer, Zuko said, "Forgive me for my tardiness, I was held back." Turning to his sister, he nodded, "Azula."

A small smirk grew on the princess' lips and she nodded. "Thank you dear brother for gracing us with your presence. You may sit."

As he did so, his whispered stoically to the girl, "Stay in my line of sight. There are certain people here who aren't as well mannered as others."

Giving a slight, barely noticeable nod, the girl clenched her fingers around the dress at her knees and took deep, steady breaths. She could feel people's eyes on her and trying to fidget as little as possible, she silently wished for the hours to zoom by as fast as possible. But the feeling of Zuko so near to her and so cold and placid made her feel even worse.

She could vaguely feel Mai and Ty Lee standing a few feet away, their forms stiff and ears alert. The taller, stoic girl whispered something to her friend but Toph couldn't catch it. Music began to play and a group of servants came through the doors, bringing trays of food and placing it on the guests' plates. The Earth Bender's mouth felt so dry that the food made her stomach feel queasy.

Resisting the urge to grimace, she thinned her lips and closed her eyes even though it didn't really make any difference. Her hands felt cold and clammy and even the large fire at the hearth was not helping.

Seeing the distress of the girl, Zuko leaned across, picking up his wine goblet and whispered mockingly,

"Are you alright, little girl?"

"No," she managed out, her tone biting and put out by the boy's attitude.

"Whatever is the matter, my dear little Earth Bender?"

She didn't know how to answer. For one thing, people were staring at her and the heartbeats she felt made her feel uncomfortable and she was aware of the dislike and the pleasure at seeing a friend of the Avatar, such an important person, reduced to a prisoner.

"I can feel them."

The boy seemed to understand for his eyes were guarded and sharp as he glanced around inconspicuously. There were many whose eyes had travelled to the Earth Bender and there were evil glints in them that even he didn't like. They were planning something. Or at least one of them was.

His hand went automatically to the hilt of one of his dao and brushed the ornate metal before exhaling slowly and whispering,

"I'm watching them. You might as well relax."

'Not too much though…I'm still your number one enemy here,' he thought to himself darkly.

That made her smile, albeit a watery half one. "Good, at least one of us is."

His lips quirked slightly and he took a sip of the warm, mulled wine.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around earlier. I was…busy."

A small mirthless laugh escaped her. "And I thought you'd died."

"It would take a lot more than work to kill me." But his tone was light and there was a hint of a smile in it. The blind girl picked her feet up from the floor and crossed her legs, not wanting to feel anymore of the animosity from the people.

"I suppose…I'm supposed to thank you for being here tonight," she stated awkwardly and carefully, "Mai and Ty Lee would probably still be trying to drag me out of the room at this point."

He took another sip of his wine. "Don't mention it." Looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching, he quickly took the girl's goblet and wrapped her fingers around it. Looking at him with confusion, she sniffed the drink, inhaling its sweetness.

"Drink it; it'll help with the nerves."

Green eyes rolled and she snapped softly, "I'm nervous, not twitchy."

Shooting her a forlorn look, he said smoothly, "Same thing."

Ah there was the Toph he knew. A feisty, young sport who could still bicker to the nearest person even in the face of danger. He would have such a lovely time reducing her to a trembling fool.

He took in her outfit, a long, dark green robe with a thick sash tied into an empire waist, a paler green embroidery going all around the satin. There were threads of gold woven into her outfit and he could see her bound feet peeking out underneath the table where she had crossed her legs on the chair. She stood slightly bent over, a sign of protection. An infuriating glint was in her blind eyes, one that made his blood curl and his fingers dig into his palm painfully.

Suddenly, that rage returned full force and he almost expected himself to jump at her now and slice her throat open and save everyone else the trouble.

'You can't blow your cover, idiot.'

Zuko took another sip of his drink and set the goblet back down. How the hell could she still show bravery at a time like this? It annoyed him beyond belief when all he wanted to see was her being afraid like most people would be. It would obviously take a lot out of him to see her cower in fear. And what irritated him even more was that a small part of him was actually impressed at her display of courage, even though he wanted to smother every blasted bit of it.

--

Azula was just as alert as Toph was for as she ate her fruit, her dark gold eyes constantly spun around the room to all the guests. She couldn't have them remove their weapons in case of an angry uproar and despite the fact that she was the daughter of the Fire Lord, people were all too keen on seeing how high up they could get and how much closer they could pull themselves to Ozai.

Bitter resentment ran through her blood at the thought of any of these fools taking a stature higher than her. It couldn't happen. And it most definitely wouldn't if she had anything to say about it.

She eyed the Earth Bender and her brother as they shared silent and hidden words with each other. The look in her brother's eyes made her heart stop. There was such fierce determination in them and for a moment, it reminded her of when they were young and they would constantly fight for their father's attention. Zuko never gave up, even when it was useless.

The thing with her was probably that she tried hard all the time and it always came to her. Things came no matter what she did. Was it luck? If it was…then why did it feel as if luck was about to run out? She was tired, that's what it was. She was tired of fighting for the best because she already was the best. But there were always others who wanted to be better than her and though they never succeeded, she would always have to make sure that they never tried again.

And that took so much effort and so much strength. She was weary of battle. Though it had ended so long ago, there felt an intake of air as if the world was waiting for something more. Something was going to happen. She was the performer in the spotlight, and all eyes were on her. And she didn't know which act to perform during this long, tumultuous show.

What trick could she whip out? What sort of plan could she come up with when she didn't know what was going to happen? A sigh of fatigue left her and she closed her golden eyes, trying to wash away the dreariness that seemed to flood through her.

Upon opening her eyes, she caught the almost unnoticeably concerned gazes of her two best friends. Looking away quickly, she cleared her throat and placed another thick and juicy red berry into her mouth.

Worry and concern weren't for her at the moment. Her job for now was to keep an eye on the Earth Bender, make sure she was safe and watch out for any out-of-the-ordinary issues with these hungry beasts.

She began conversation with a man to her side the only male here who she truly did trust. He was a few years older than her and had been very faithful to her father as the castle eavesdropper when he was younger. He now led Azula's army at her side. Although they often argued and fought, the two remained constant acquaintances and "colleagues" in a way.

"Virid, Major Shang has had his eyes on my prisoner far too long for my liking. Will you keep an eye on him?" she said nonchalantly, sipping her wine.

A small, wolfish smirk overcame the young man's lips and dark eyes twinkled with mischief. "My, my, you talk Azula. And I was beginning to think that you were too afraid to speak."

Golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "Fear is a thing unknown to my family. Even Zuko will never admit to fear."

The dark haired boy chuckled and drank from his goblet. "If it's not fear, then perhaps you've come to think of the girl as a prize desperately worth keeping. You always were possessive."

"That isn't true," she protested, folding her arms. "I just don't like losing my things. It marks irresponsibility."

His tone turned mocking. "Does it really now? Heavens Azula, you've gone philosophical on me."

An amused smile threatened to case her lips but she managed to hold back. "You were always the one to find hidden meanings in my words weren't you?" But her eyes turned serious. "So you know what I mean when I say that I will not lose the most important asset I have at the moment."

"I do." He gave her a hard, determined look. "You have more people on your side than you realise. Anyone whom I trust, you should be able to as well."

A breath of relief escaped her as if that was the answer she was looking for. "Thank you Virid. Now please if it's not too much trouble, watch out for Senior Chief Wo Dan as well, he's been a little shifty lately."

Dark green eyes swivelled to where the old man was, and sure enough, he was eyeing the guests around him warily.

"I'll keep my eyes, and my sword at the ready, my Princess."

Said Princess scowled. "Stop calling me that."

Olive eyes turned and stared, unmasked, into golden ones and Virid raised a thin, dark brow.

"And I thought you liked my pet names. It appears the little Princess has finally grown up." There was a trace of mocking and something else in his tone that made Azula grit her teeth in anger.

"Just do your job, Virid."

The smirk that accompanied her command made her want to burn his mouth off.

"As your wish, my Princess."

A/N: Aight! Surely you guys remember the next three chapters pretty well right? Uh, well here's Virid again. (I love him so much…) And I guess that it's here that things really start to change. Thank you guys so much for all your support and your reviews! And please keep those reviews coming and if you have any ideas or wishes (or demands) please tell me :D Oh and by the way, I'm sorry this is out late, I've been busy .

Peace out!
Rex