Authors note: this is a republish of something I wrote several years ago. It was never finished but now that I have managed to complete several of my other project I wanted to redo this. This story was well received in the past, and I hope that it goes over just as well as it did in the past.

This takes place just after the spacing episode Appa's Lost Days. It will follow Suki as I fill in and account for her time with Azula until found in the Boiling Rock.

Please R&R.

Suki

I waved the burning branch, frantically in front of Appa; "go, get out of here!" He cried out and turned to flee. I turned my attention to the fight. My warriors were being pushed back, we were losing badly. Flames rippled past me, I could feel the heat from them against my skin and I turned to find Azula staring me down.

I cried out as she awoke. Sweat drenched my body and I shivered in the cold air around me. I'd had that dream before. Immediately, as they have since, my thoughts went out to Sokka and the Avatar, fearful that they had been captured by now, or worse. I shook my head at my own foolishness; it had only been three days since we had been captured by Azula. Appa had probably only just gotten to the avatar. They would be here to save us within the week, or at least that's what I hoped.

I heard rustling to my left, the room we were in was nearly pitch dark so I could not tell who it was but figured it was one of the other warriors that been captured. To the best of my knowledge, only three others had been captured; San, Ira, and Ellyona.

San was a good friend of mine, they all were, that was why they were captured and they had stayed to try to save me. They had been doomed to this because of me.

It was terrible. After we had been captured they were thrown into a cell with me and we were all transported back to Omashu, where we had been thrown into a larger cell. Azula had hinted that she would come back to take us to the fire nation.

That was the one thing they truly feared right now. At least, that was what I feared. It would mean that Sokka wouldn't be able to find us, that the avatar wouldn't be able to rescue us. I shook her head, and inadvertently smacked it against the ground while trying to chase off those thoughts.

The screech of the rusted bolt being drawn startled me, and I pretended to still be sleeping. Out of a half hooded eye she glimpsed a figure saunter in; Azula. She acted as though she owned the place. She probably did, but that didn't matter. She deserved the Avatar's wrath. I had never known a more horrid person in all my life.

I tried to quietly twist my head around to keep track of Azula. The fire bender had her back to me, and I took what could be my only chance. As fast as I could I threw my sheet at Azula and leapt at her back. As the sheet hit her, Azula struck it aside, causing it to fall over San, who began to toss and turn in half wakefulness.

I found myself being held at arm's length by Azula. She had me by my neck, she was deceptively strong, she knew she was hurting me but clearly didn't care. A look of superiority was etched on her hated face in the half light. She brought her other hand close to my face and flames appeared mere inches away. I tried to shy away from them but couldn't, it was so hot my skin was prickling and the light hurt my eyes.

Azula laughed while I tried to get away from the fire. She moved her hand closer; "now, now, we wouldn't want that pretty little face of yours to be ruined, now would we?" she brought her hand closer and it began to singe my hair the smell was terrible.

"Although some people like scars, how about you? No, I thought not, we can't ruin your face for the buffoon that follows the avatar around now cans we?" she was speaking to me in a sing song, patronizing way.

I tensed at her mention of Sokka and Azula loosened her grip by a fraction. Azula turned her head as San began to sit up. She turned and pointed at San but spoke to me; "so, you have a choice, I'll either burn her, or you, which will it be?"

San looked fearfully at the flames in Azula's hand. The last thing I wanted was to feel them on my body. But how could I couldn't let Azula hurt San, she was innocent in this.

"Choose now, or I'll burn you both." She began to laugh. I realized she was enjoying this. Enraged at her callous behavior I lashed out with a leg, catching Azula in the side. She grunted and smashed her hand into my face, burning me. I dropped to the floor and screamed in pain. San leapt at Azula as the other two girls sat up and looked in horror at first me then Azula

Azula turned and blasted San with flames, forcing her to the ground and burning her side. Azula chuckled to herself and walked from the room. When she reached the door she turned to the Ira and Ellyona, who were trying to help San. "I'll be back later, have your… leader… looking presentable." The door slammed shut, sealing us back the near dark.

I lay on the floor. Ira rushed to my side as soon as she could. She tried to stop me but I had to know, I ran my hand over my cheek, gasping as new agony burned. I had a hand shaped mark across face, my skin cracking as it began to ooze blood. Ira gently lifted my head and laid it in her lap, stroking my hair and trying to calm me down, my heart was racing in my chest and it felt like it was going to explode. She tore a strip from her shirt and started to bathe my burn as best as she could.

Azula;

I sat in my room brooding. I wanted to punish those foolish little girls that had dared to strike me. Me, a member of the royal family, and they, such lowly and backwards peasants had dared to touch me. Though I had certainly hurt the one that started it, and I got her friend too. If the friend survived the week she would be extremely lucky. The other one though. Suki was it? She had feelings for the oaf accompanying the Avatar, she had to, she cried for him and the avatar as she slept, or so the guards had said. I stood and stretched. It had by now been several hours, I was sure that they were terrified that I would return to them. It would be bad manners to disappoint them wouldn't it?

A few minutes later I was standing outside the cell they were being kept in. I nodded to the guard and he slid the bolt back. Light flooded the room and revealed the two that were still healthy tending to their fellow warriors. The one that I had hit with a fire blast was already fighting for her life, she wouldn't last more than a day, maybe two. I was however a little upset that Suki was unconscious I had thought her made of sterner stuff. Even poor Zuko had managed to stay awake after father maimed him.

I walked over to the unconscious girl and smiled at the one holding her, who shifted uncomfortably. "They're all afraid of me, good. I will take her from here, don't worry, she will be fine." The girl shook her head, and put her arms around Suki's neck, and drew her closer to herself.

This one still had spirit, I liked to see that, it meant that I would at least have something to do for a little while. I put a hand on the girls head, cupping her cheek almost tenderly, the way I had seen mothers do to their children. She shifted and tried to shy away, visibly frightened.

"Leave her alone!" I turned to face the other girl that had been sitting with the third warrior. "Suki wouldn't want to go with you anyway!"

"Well I don't care; I have a use for her." I snapped a finger and one of the guards stepped inside the cell. "I want this one, leave the others." The girl holding their leader whimpered, her eyes flashing from me to the guard and then to her fellow. The guard bowed his head and reached down, prying Suki away and threw her over his shoulder. She whimpered softly, not as removed from the world as I had first thought.

The girl attending her stood and looked as though was going to start a fight. I raised a fist and flames engulfed it. The girl stepped back in fear. "Good, now stay. Carry this one to an interrogation chamber" I turned and walked calmly out of the room. Before the door was closed on them I glanced behind me, the girl was still standing there, petrified, a tear making its way down her grimy cheek. The door was closed and the bolt was thrown back into place.

Ellyona;

After a moment of near dark, my eyes adjusted back to the lack of lighting. I could hear Ira crying on the other side of the room. "What you did was more than I would have done Ira. Don't hate yourself for it."

The sobbing sound stopped for a moment and she spoke; "I let her have Suki, just like that, I should have at least tried to stop her, like San did."

As she spoke I looked down at San. Her breath was ragged, and though she was sleeping, it was fitful, and only lasted for a few minutes before she awoke and began to cry in pain again. Ira was right; nothing that she could have done would have left her better off than San was now. I lay down to rest, hoping that something would get better for us soon, even if we were to scarred to act to make it happen. I couldn't really blame her, I had been terrified myself, and I doubted that I would have been able to stand up to Azula. I had never been the brave one, like San or Suki, and look where that had gotten them, had gotten all of us.

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