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Lake Laogai	By : TheDaiLi Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 56841 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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The dripping was driving Azula mad.

She was certain they had installed that puddle just to torment her. There was no other explanation for it. The Dai Li were too clinical about the precautions they took against her and too good at earthbending to allow such careless architectural errors. They HAD to have put that leak in the ceiling.

Another drip fell loudly to the ground and Azula cursed. How was she supposed to rest for the next session like this?! A rhetorical question. Obviously, the aim was to completely throw her off balance when it came to finding a pattern for escape. What annoyed her most was its apparent effectiveness. Not just the puddle but everything they were doing, the sessions were lasting from twenty minutes to twenty hours now, the lights outside her cell flicked on and off at ridiculous rates, and her ‘breaks’ from the brainwashing were both lessening and lengthening on a whim. She didn’t even know how long she’d been imprisoned for anymore.

Azula was tired. Her eyes burned behind her eyelids as blood vessels burst, discolouring her whites with ugly blotches of pink and red. She wasn’t being fed as often either, which was a pity as she always did like complaining to them face to face when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, such opportunities seemed rather less effective every time they came along; her current condition did not lend itself well to lengthy diatribes or taunts, and even though her guards had started talking back a little there was still no indication that she was putting them off their work in the slightest.

Azula was beginning to wonder why she bothered. Jibes accomplished nothing other than to make her feel superior. But…shouldn’t she be feeling superior anyway? She WAS superior afterall. Of course she was, she was royalty. Royalty that was-

There is no war in Ba Sing Se

-That was not doing a very good job of effecting an escape. She found herself pulling on her bonds again in frustration. Quickly stopping herself, she grimaced at her now natural reaction to stress. It had come to her attention that she was relying on that form of ‘relief’ a little too much recently, as if it would somehow solve her problems when all it did was take her mind off them for a time. Azula knew that if she really was going to get out of the complex she would have to cease such distractions, but she was finding the action…difficult…to prevent. Affecting any kind of escape was tempting, even if it was only inside her own head.

Letting out a breath, she heard the tell-tale footsteps of Dai Li agents approaching her cell to take her to the next session. How long had it been? It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes of ‘rest’, if it could be called such a thing with that infernal dripping puddle.

Perversely, she found herself hoping that Ty Lee, at least, was having a better time of things than her. Mai she knew for a fact was doing worse, though her screaming had been dying down recently, when she could hear her the sounds were more guttural noises now than actual shrieking. Azula supposed she should probably feel sorry for her, but such feelings were beneath her…and she was still wondering what Mai had or knew that meant SHE was the one being tortured and not her.

Ty Lee, on the other hand, Azula had no idea about other than that her guards said she was ‘well taken care of’. Not a statement that filled her with optimism, given who was saying it. Was she alright? Had she already cracked? And, most importantly, why the HELL was she giving a damn about that airheaded acrobat?!

Azula hung her head, glaring at the floor as she realised she was teasing her bonds again. Royalty should be concerned with power, not with the pawns they use to get it. What was she becoming in this dingy prison?

There is no war in Ba Sing Se

Something she wasn’t waiting around to find out, that’s what. Despite all their efforts Azula had formed a plan, and there was no better time to escape than the present.

Gratingly, the front of her cell opened, two Dai Li agents stepping through into the murk of her cell. She didn’t bother looking up to greet them or see if she recognised them; aside from the rotation of guards posted outside her cell, who she suspected were put there due to their god-like patience, every agent she had seen had been different. Something else to throw her off her game, she assumed. The one person she wasn’t sure about was the person who droned on during the sessions, she could never get a good look at his face and his monotonous droning was a technique that she assumed all the Dai Li could employ if they were called upon to do so.

One of the agents stepped forward, cupping her chin firmly with his hand and raising it. Azula made an indignant face at the action, but attempted nothing else. This was the most humiliating part of it all, her ‘collaring’ ceremony. What was worst was how gently they treated her while doing it; no matter if she thrashed or threatened or spat in their faces they just shrugged it off and treated her with the same care they always did. That wasn’t fair. Azula at LEAST expected a sharp backhand to cow her or a smug grin at her vain efforts, the latter being her preferred method of dealing with unruly prisoners. Verbal abuse was so much more fun to inflict than physical, afterall. But this? This was the first time she had even heard of anyone being tortured by a warped sense of ‘kindness’. She didn’t like it…and she DEFINITELY didn’t like being the recipient of it.

The second agent stepped forward, her…no, not ‘her’…THE collar in his hands. Azula seethed at the sight of it. It looked so simple and ugly, just a circle of cylindrical metal with a hinge and a lock on it. If she HAD to wear a collar, she would have preferred something more comfortable…maybe leather; it seemed to fit well for her cuffs. Not that wearing cuffs suited her at all. Of course it didn’t.

She stifled a gasp as the cold metal was fixed about her neck, channelling all of her firebending talent into keeping herself from dying of hypothermia. She had learned her lesson well; the first time they had placed it upon her she let out a rather pathetic cry and almost passed out from the cold. Even as calm as she was now, that memory made her cringe. Royalty should not lose face so easily infront of the common folk.

Hearing the click of the lock, she felt the men move to either side of her to undo her chains and bars, leaving her to contemplate the weight now fastened around her. It was tight, every inch of skin it could touch it did, but it didn’t prohibit breathing. Perhaps Azula just imagined it was tight; despite what must have been well over a dozen times donning it, the experience of wearing something so fixed around her neck was still relatively new to her.

With any luck, she would never will have to get used to it.
Finally she felt her arms drop as the chains holding her cuffs were released, her legs free to move soon after. If the collaring was the worst part of her torture, her all-too-brief freedom was the most tolerable part. Flexing slightly, she checked her wrists in the half second the guards permitted before taking her away, leaving the ‘rock-mittens’ on her hands. She was pleased with what she saw. Not the fact she was wearing the locked leather cuffs of course, but the fact that they had not marked her skin or chafed even after being pulled on so many times. They didn’t even seem damaged, the metal rings used to restrain her looking as durable as ever. It was good to know she was given SOMETHING of quality during her imprisonment, even if it wasn’t exactly in the manner she expected. Or wanted.

Taking an arm each, the agents ushered her past the guards and down the corridor. This was her chance. Quite possibly her only chance; she felt herself dropping off in her last session, the lack of rest was really starting to get to her. If she wanted out, then now was the best time.

Though Azula was always taken by a different route due to the constantly changing location of the lantern room, her ‘attendants’ had always taken her at least three corridors away from the guards by her cell door, and they never met any other people along the way. She let herself relax into the grip of the two agents either side of her, something she had been purposefully easing into for the past eleven or so journeys so as not to arouse their suspicion for when she finally did strike. She only hoped her weakened body did not betray her.

Azula waited until they were about to round the second corner before making her move. They had a very interesting way of wheeling around the corners; the one closest to the wall staying put whilst the other rotates around, probably a manoeuvre designed so that at least one of them could maintain a firm grip on her. But what if that man lost his footing?

Abruptly, just as the man on the right stepped in to wheel about, Azula snapped off a kick to the other man’s ankle, putting enough force into it to hopefully sweep his own foot into the other and cause him to fall. Except he didn’t. His earthen shoes had anchored him to the ground securely…instead, what happened was MUCH better as his ankle collapsed under the impact, the guard crying out as he bent down to address the pain…and right into Azula’s knee, knocking him out cold. The other guard barely had time to react to her speed…but he still had a tight grip on her, limiting Azula’s options. Sweeping his feet out from under him obviously wouldn’t work, and he’d be expecting a move with her free fist, so that left…

Gritting her teeth, she headbutted the man in the face, shattering his nose. It wasn’t the noblest or most elegant of attacks…but Azula didn’t really have time to think of an action more befitting a princess. The man released her to tend to his now ruined sense of smell, and with a few quick strikes to his stomach the initial hurdle had been cleared.

Now the second hurdle- Had she been heard? Azula waited a few patient breaths, listening out for any sound of footsteps closing in on her position.

Nothing.

She held back from releasing the breath she’d been holding. She wasn’t THAT nervous. Afterall, it all went to plan, didn’t it? She was amazed that she hadn’t attempted it sooner. It was a simple matter to smash her ’rock-mittens’ on a wall to free her hands up, and with a superior smirk she dipped down to go through the guards robes, attempting to find the key for her collar.

A minute later, a dismayed Azula stopped looking. As she had suspected, the key they used to lock it they fashioned themselves by earthbending. As she had suspected…but not as she had hoped. Still, Azula had her own theories about the collar; she would tolerate its presence for the time being.

She sat back against the stone wall for a moment, thinking her situation over. She was free, but currently lacked her fire-bending. She was nearly as good as Ty Lee at simple martial arts, but the terrain would work against her if she encountered any more agents. Fortunately she was somewhat familiar with the layout of the complex…and if that bumbling Avatar and his friends could affect an escape, then it should be plain sailing for her.

Giving the guards a kick in the head each for good measure, the Princess of the Fire Nation crept out of the corridor into a longer, wider hallway, keeping to the shadows as best she could whilst being as quick as possible; speed was of the essence; if she were too cautious then her window of escape would close before she got through it. Because of that, she would need to abandon her friends for a time.

A shame, but what else could she do? When she had connected with her outside attendants once more she would naturally come back for them; they were still useful afterall…they just weren’t worth risking herself for. Not even Ty Lee. Not that she was any more important than Mai. Not really.

Reaching the hallway’s end Azula slowed, treading lightly as she looked around the corner. Another corridor, as dark and gloomy as the last with the same pale green light shining sickly across the walls and floor. Just like the one before it and the one before that. They all looked the same…there was nothing distinctive she could use to know where she was-

There is no war in Ba Sing Se

“Shut up!” She snarled to herself as quietly as she could before moving cautiously onward.

This wasn’t a problem. Obviously they had remodelled the prison to some extent since she had last visited, but that was all. She could still get out, she just had to adjust her plans accordingly. The place was always sparsely defended, particularly at night as the Dai Li had duties to the city as well as to the prisoners here. Azula had to remind herself that the Dai Li couldn’t be everywhere at once; their power was finite…unlike hers.

She flinched as a large drop of water rolled off her collar onto her bare skin. Condensation…good. As Azula had theorised, the collar could not keep cold forever, it needed to be…’recharged’ or something similar, hence why they only put it on for short durations. In an hour or two, she would be back to her old fire-bending self.

Buoyed up by this she made her way through the hallway briskly, eager for a route out to present itself to her. As she did she glanced through some of the grates that led to different rooms, wondering about whatever other prisoners the Dai Li kept. To her surprise there were no prisoners, each and every one of them was a lantern room with their own track and chair. Why bother making so many lantern rooms if there was no-one in the complex to fill them? How foolish.

A few more identical passageways later and Azula was beginning to think her newfound optimism had been grievously misplaced. There was no appreciable difference to her situation, and she had to admit that she wasn’t used to running so much in bare feet on a cold stone floor. There were no guards around…but then if she couldn’t find her way out they weren’t really needed to keep her in. Frustrated, she reached the end of another corridor and tried to think through where to go. No stairs up or down, AGAIN, and left-turn only, AGAIN. How inconvenient. Craning her head around the corner to appraise the situation, she stifled a shocked gasp and snapped back, pressing herself against the wall. What was going on?!

It was the two men she had knocked out earlier.

As if it needed confirming, she looked again, her surprise giving way to calculated anger as she thought through her moves after the point she took care of them.

She’d been played. She KNEW that she’d been played. If there was a way out it had been barred off to her long ago, forcing her to run around in circles with no firebending on hand to make herself an exit. They had just used earthbending to seal off some corridors and leave her to her own devices. She’d just-

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Azula slapped a hand to her face and seethed through gritted teeth. When did they know?! Were they looking now, laughing at her? Mocking her?! She couldn’t think it, the mere notion was mortifying. Why didn’t she see it all coming?!

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Tired. She had simply been too exhausted to see it, or to plan for it. She’d left it too late. Sliding down the wall, Azula let her hand drift down from her face to her lap. She wasn’t going to humiliate herself further by attempting to run anywhere.

Wait, what was she thinking?! She was the princess of the Fire Nation, she couldn’t just give up so easily! No, there…there had to be something else she’d missed, as much as it pained her to think she missed anything out in the first place. Something, anything she could use.

She racked her brain, looking over every aspect of her imprisonment, a finger idly toying with a metal rung on her cuffs as she ran down the list of information she had absorbed in her cell.

…What if-

There is no-

-WHAT IF she hadn’t absorbed enough? She hadn’t been as attentive as she usually was, she could have missed something that would normally have been obvious to her. No, no…no she couldn’t think like that, it wasn’t constructive. What would dad do? Ridiculous question, her father would never be caught in such a predicament. No, she had to…there had to be SOMETHING she could…maybe…

There is-

-Calm down. She wasn’t going to be defeated by this shoddy attempt to keep her in prison. She was a princess! She couldn’t be trapped like some…no, she couldn’t. No. Her chest was wet from the water dribbling off her collar. That was it! If she could just wait it out she could get her firebending back, and then she could-

There is no war-

She couldn’t wait that long!! What…what was left for her to do?! She had taken out her guards, she’d broken free! She HAD to get out! People don’t take out their guards then NOT escape, especially not royalty!

“Princess Azula.”

She snapped her head up to look at another pair of agents, some ten paces away. How did they get that close to her without her knowing?! Did she miss something? No, that was impossible, she didn’t miss anything. She never missed anything, did she? She had far too keen a mind to not notice someone’s approach.

She closed her eyes and stood, stroking some hair away from her face. She’d deal with these people first before wondering how they managed to get there. No problem. Even without firebending, there wasn’t a problem.

“So, the hired help has finally arrived? I’ve been wondering when you would show up, I can’t say my last pair of babysitters were very attentive.”

Azula didn’t feel right even as she smiled cruelly at them. She didn’t let it show of course, only an idiot would let it show, but…no, it was nothing. She was acting exactly how she should be acting. Exactly how she was expected to act. She was being confident and commanding, and that’s what a noble of her station should be, regardless of…well, anything that came to mind.

The guards didn’t seem so convinced of her bravado. Infact, they seemed to ignore it altogether.

“Please come with us, Princess. We do not want to harm you.”

Azula felt her lip curl at the indifference of the reply. As toneless and unprovoked and arrogant as ever. They were mocking her, and she was getting very tired of the way they felt they could just take her in-stride. She was NOT someone to be taken lightly! Not like they were doing! Not when she was out of her cell, free! It would NOT be tolerated!!

“Oh?” She smirked back, eyes flashing dangerously, “Well I’m afraid I can’t say the feeling is mutual!”

She rushed them, prepared for any rock pillars or boulders they could shoot at her. She was an excellent acrobat, she could dodge them; she could dodge ANYTHING they threw at her before she could close the distance. She wasn’t that far away, a few more steps and she’d show them just how ‘harmless’ she was!

Azula never got the opportunity. With a simple sweeping motion the agents brought a section of the floor up between themselves and the Princess, rendering them impossible for her to harm. Her one avenue of revenge gone she paused before turning to make a quick escape, but all that met Azula was another solid rock wall, cutting off her exit. With firebending it would have posed no problem, but…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

No no no no NO this couldn’t be it! She couldn’t fail here! It just couldn’t end this way! If she calmed down, there would be a way out, she just knew it.

There wasn’t. The walls slid toward each other, pinning Azula fast between them with no room for her to turn. She felt things tugging at her wrists and ankles, forcing them apart into a spread eagle position. They had her. Azula felt her prison begin to slide her along, either back to her cell or back to another session, she didn’t know which. All she knew…was that she was right back where she was half an hour ago, and her recapture had happened as smoothly and as easily as they had implied in their casual warnings.

Azula felt cold. Her chest was freezing. Her feet ached. She could barely pull on her restraints to clear her thoughts. She tried anyway. She wanted to. She had to. If she didn’t…if she didn’t…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

More twisting. She needed to do more twisting. Something had happened, but…but she didn’t have to worry about it! No, she didn’t! She was a princess! It doesn’t matter what happens to a princess, they always acts the same! They do, right? They have to or they’re not princesses anymore! And what’s a princess without being a princess? Without all those rules to follow? Without all those expectations? Exactly. Exactly! So…she didn’t have to worry…just be a princess. Just be…calm? Calm! That’s it, just be calm! There...there wasn’t…anything to worry about…princesses were captured all the time in fairy tales…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Don’t be an idiot, monsters don’t get captured! Monsters do the catching! Everything that happened was just misfortune. Simple as that! They feared her. They did. They did! They just weren’t showing it. If she kept on…if she figured them out, she…she could show them! Everyone knew she was a monster. Her mother knew it. Mai…Ty Lee…she was every bit the monster they wished her to be! She was! And she’d make EVERYONE see how terrible she was! It…it was demanded! It was the only way to get people to listen! If she was a monster then…then there wasn’t anything to worry about! No…nothing…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Azula felt sick. Something was welling up inside of her; something alien, and it wasn’t going back down no matter how hard she tried to force it. Forcing made it come up faster. Thinking made it come up faster. Thinking…thinking about…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

She could still…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

But she wasn’t…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

She was…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

…

She just…

…She just didn’t know what to do anymore.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Shin Wong was finding it very hard to think of anything whilst she swayed before his eyes. Finding no way to stop himself from admiring her curves instead of his problem, the agent turned away from Ty Lee, instead consulting the wall next to him.

He had been handed a report halfway through his morning session with the former acrobat and had been mulling over what his next move should be ever since. It seemed that the subject known as Azula had finally advanced to the point were they could begin working on her in earnest instead of keeping her at the stop-gap measure of lantern sessions; it looked like she’d finally gone through with the escape attempt her guards had been expecting for a week or so now.

Truth be told, Shin had hoped that the princess would have held off such an action for at least another three days, as by falling into their trap she’d left him in a rather awkward position. He had to give the word on whether Ty Lee was fit to use in the next stage of Azula’s treatment or not. If he were to reply she was not, then their plans for ‘her highness’ would abruptly grind to a halt until she was, in which time the princess could recover from her more ‘receptive’ state. If, however, he were to reply that Ty Lee was fit when she really wasn’t…

He turned his head back to look at her being instructed by the dancer they had ‘enlisted’ to help train her. Four hours of every day were devoted to her dancing now, his time alone with her having shrunk to only eight hours…but he didn’t mind that much. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be sharing his quarters, where she would be learning the last ‘tricks’ of her new trade on his bed.

He grinned, admiring her as she obeyed her teacher’s orders. She seemed so happy with everything now. She wasn’t afraid of them anymore and she was delighted to receive instruction, to do as they asked her to…she had truly embraced her new role in life with open arms. Shin could honestly say he’d never worked with somebody like her before. Normally he would judge this a good thing, as her demeanour had allowed him to mould her as he would, but it also didn’t give him a handle on what she would be like when she met her old friend again.

Ty Lee was a person of strong emotions, and, despite her best efforts at concealing it with her consistently upbeat attitude, she was very fragile when it came to personal attacks…something Azula was very good at, given that the guards outside her cell had to be rotated to prevent them from losing their temper at one of her jibes and thus ruin her carefully controlled environment.

Shin knew he’d helped the girl have more confidence in herself, but the orders he had been given called for as much of her original personality intact as possible, which meant he could not shield her completely from Azula’s serpent tongue. Thus there was a window left open for Azula to exploit…something that could destroy weeks of careful work on his part. Work that could be re-done of course, but work that would undoubtedly be much harder to perform and take much longer to complete, by which point Long Feng may have gotten bored of waiting and just have her turned into another Joo-Dee.

Shin didn’t want that. It would be a waste of his time and of her obvious talents, and that was why he was having such a hard time deciding on how he should reply; he didn’t want all of this to be for nothing.

He snapped out of his reverie to notice that she was looking back at him, a faint but concerned smile on her face. Thinking to keep his problems to himself, Shin managed to return a smile of his own before the instructor snapped her back to attention, the lesson once again becoming Ty Lee’s sole focus.

Appearances no longer necessary, he slumped once again into grim contemplation. What could he do to ensure she was ready to face her friend?

Her Master was worried about something. Of course he wasn’t REALLY her Master, Ty Lee knew that, but it was a little fantasy she’d been entertaining for a few days now and it didn’t hurt to think of him as such. Kinda fun, really. What was more important to her was what he was worried about, and thinking about that was dragging her thoughts away from where they were supposed to be.

“Ty Lee, look at me.”

Her eyes instantly fixed onto her instructors at the order. Had she really been looking at him again instead of where she should have been looking? She wasn’t behaving properly…she was being a Bad Girl. Cringing inwardly, she resolved not to disobey anymore until the lesson had finished. They were only a few minutes away from that time, but she really should give her instructor all of the thoughts in her head. It was only fair, given what she was giving Ty Lee in return.

She followed the movements her instructor gave her as perfectly as was possible, feeling her clothes rub and tease against her as she did so. These sessions always left her panting at the end, and not entirely due to exhaustion either. She just found the whole experience…incredible. It struck chords within her she never thought possible and lit desires she had never knew she had, let alone explored. There was only one thing she could think of that thrilled her more than dancing…and that was dancing for somebody else…somebody who could MAKE her dance. Dance as their possession, dance to show how utterly she belonged to them, how completely they owned her. How they could do…anything…to her.

Ty Lee, the dancing slavegirl.

Her breath hitched in her throat. Oh, how she wanted that to happen…and how she wanted to be-

“Ty Lee, focus.”

She focused, her fantasies washing away as she let the instructor order her as she saw fit. She really was getting distracted today…perhaps she should ask for a ‘punishment’ from Master later?

Smiling at the thought, she put her mind to the dance, keeping her concerns over her Master’s state at bay; there was little left to do and she could confront him about it later. Right now, all that mattered was the rhythm of her own body and the rising heat inside it…

Shin considered the possibility that he was going about this the wrong way. ‘Shoring up’ defences, though a very earthbender thing to do, was not the way the Dai Li solved their problems. Perhaps it was due to their early tutelage under Avatar Kyoshi, but misdirection and subterfuge had always been their primary tools. And hadn’t he already done so much to her, so well with those same tools?

He watched his subject flex and stretch as the tutor concluded her lesson for the day. It had been a simple matter to redirect her passion for acrobatics to a passion for dancing; they were very similar, except dancing also catered to that part of her which desired to stand out. Link that desire up with her sexual urges and…

Shin smiled. Maybe that would do it. Ty Lee was an insufferably bold tease as he well knew, and from the sessions he’d had with her he’d discovered a natural curiosity towards other girls…a curiosity probably stemming just from wanting the affection of as many people as possible, but a curiosity nonetheless. She already respected and cared about Azula too…it wouldn’t be that much of a push, or not a push at all if he guessed right, to turn that into an attraction; after that it was an even smaller push to active pursuit. Ty Lee would be far too busy seducing Azula to put too much care into whatever came her way.

Well, either seducing or teasing. Either way, Shin knew that any insults thrown at her would be well dealt with when the time came.

It was a good plan, or at least the best he could come up with given the rules he had to work within. Ideally he would want some input into exactly how much his subject would pursue this interest, whether it would be a passing impulse or something a little more substantial, but he couldn’t have everything. Those decisions would be left up to Ty Lee herself. He decided he could still compromise by helping her be a little bolder, a change made easily achievable now that she had more confidence behind her.

The former acrobat’s practice having finally finished, he stood as she came towards him, smiling a little more genuinely now he had a plan in mind. All that he had to consider now was how to go about enacting it.

Ty Lee made her way over to her Master, still tingling lightly from the four hours of rapture she’d just been through. She felt a sudden urge to kneel before him now that her work had been done, but she fought it down and remained stood, simply basking in his company. He didn’t yet know of this little fantasy of hers afterall, and she didn’t want to scare him away by doing something as outright weird as that. No, she’d have to let him know more…subtly. Lead him into the role.

“How was the lesson?” He asked, his smile easy, yet still a little troubled.

“Great!” She replied, beaming even as she made herself look guilty, “But I was being bad…”

“Oh?”

“I kept on thinking about stuff when I should have just been…obeying.”

Oh it felt good to use that word aloud. If her Master had noticed her little shiver though he didn’t show it; instead he seemed more concerned over her than anything. Maybe that’s why she chose him to fantasise about at night out of all the boys she’d ever known; he actually seemed to care about her. The INNER her, that is. He always paid attention to her moods, her thoughts, her feelings, but he never tried to guess her thoughts for her. He just…knew. And really, what more could a slavegirl ask for in a Master?

“And what, exactly, were you thinking about?”

He even knew when to play along too! It didn’t matter to Ty Lee if he REALLY got where she was going with her little act; that commanding tone of his still made her squirm, the tingling from her dance practice growing more persistent, more focused.

“…You.” She held back to make him work for an answer, her teasingly guilty face feeling less and less like an act for every piece of information she decided to withhold from him.

Her Master took another step closer and she stiffened as his aura brushed against hers, assuming an easy dominance. His hand touched under her chin, forcing grey eyes to meet green, the inescapable emerald colour seeming to pierce right through her, holding her fast. She felt his hand move away a moment later, but by then it was too late anyway, she couldn’t muster the willpower to break his gaze. For all her martial skill, Ty Lee was helpless. He’d caught her.

“And?”

She swallowed before answering his barely murmured question, feeling the words being dragged out of her now rather than being coyly kept from him. Her Master had barely done anything, yet he was still controlling her so easily. Ty Lee found the sensation…thrilling.

“I…” She began, sub-consciously rubbing her thighs together, “I was concerned…you seemed distracted about something. I wanted to help.”

She tried to look down at the floor, embarrassed after admitting so much, but his eyes still held her so she still stared back. It was like she was rooted to the spot; she could barely even fidget, her right hand the only sign to the contrary as it fiddled with one of the silver chains holding her sash in place. Her fingers toyed with the idea of unhooking it and letting Master see her glistening sex, but even as they entertained it the act seemed impossible to actually follow through. As things stood, she only moved at his bidding.

For a few moments Shin considered her words, watching her writhe beneath his gaze. She wouldn’t be able to break it until he looked away, a fun suggestion he’d implanted several days ago during one of their sessions; even as they stood there her notion of ‘free will’ was being drained right out of her, leaving her base desires and thoughts behind for him to examine. Of course he wasn’t REALLY draining her free will, it was just a simple suggestion afterall, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

As for what she had said, Shin found it rather ironic. She was concerned for and wanted to help the very man who had not only rewired her mind, but was about to use her to do the same to her friend. He found the notion oddly guilty, like it was something he really shouldn’t be doing to this girl. Maybe to any girl.

He pushed the concern aside. He was doing this to protect the city that he loved and to ensure that those sent to him had a bright, happy future within it. That was exactly what he was going to do. He was doing it for her own good.

“Were you thinking of anything else?”

Though there were some obvious perks for him as well, watching her grow slowly more aroused and submissive as he kept up the pressure being one of them. She had no right to complain either, he had slid many impulses into her thoughts about slave etiquette but this little game they were playing was something she’d come up with on her own. It would just have been plain rude of him to have NOT played along.

“I…nnf…”

She was struggling against it now, her guilty expression slipping into one of embarrassed lust as she tried to stop herself from saying anything, the hand fiddling with her chain gliding slightly lower towards her sash. Without looking away Shin reached down and took her by the wrist, pulling it away with little effort and holding it between the two of them, palm upwards.

“I was…thinking about dancing…for you…”

It seemed that the lack of expected stimulation finally made her crack. He idly wondered if she had intended the game to go quite this far or not as he brought his other hand up and traced a line across her palm with a finger.

Ty Lee let out a startled gasp as she shuddered in his grip, a shock of pleasure shooting up her spine. Another little trick he’d fashioned in their sessions together; linking her palm to her pussy, producing the same effect as if he were to touch it directly but with none of the fuss or mess. He’d found it a very useful tool over the years. Now might be a fun time to see how well it worked on her.

Even as she rode an unexpected spike of pleasure Ty Lee was cursing herself. Why had she told him THAT? She couldn’t help herself, it was like she had no control over her own mouth anymore…or her own desires. She tried not to answer, but when he took her hand away she just…

She had to admit though, surrendering like that had felt good. On some deep level it felt, well, right. And looking at him, she could see her exciting, humiliating submission wasn’t over just yet.

“You want to dance for me?” He said, circling his fingers around her palm before pressing down firmly.

“Haah!” Ty Lee noised, her knees buckling a little as something pressed insistently on her clit, “Y-yeah…”

“And why do you want to do that?”

“B-because I…I want…”

All innocent pretence abandoned, Ty Lee tried to hold back from telling him everything. What would he think of her if she did? But…but she knew she couldn’t hold out forever. She couldn’t move other than how he moved her, like some sort of living mannequin; not even her eyes, which were still affixed to his.

She let out another needy pant as more throbs of pleasure danced up and down her slit. Dimly, she was aware that if she REALLY wanted to, it would be no trouble at all to break his grip, break his gaze, move away, stay silent…but she ignored it…because really, she knew that she didn’t want to do any of that. She WANTED to lose, to be held, to be forced. She wanted to tell him all her dirty little secrets. And as one more shiver of ecstasy rolled over her last shred of restraint, she got exactly what she wanted.

“I-I want to please you…” She confessed breathily, “I want you…to watch me…to…want me…”

Ty Lee paused, haltingly bringing her free hand up to his chest somehow, eyes half-lidded, her confidence restored now that she had nothing left to hide. Nothing left to lose.

“…To own me…”

Shin found it safe to assume he had no reaction planned for this. At least, he thought he had a plan, but he hadn’t expected her moves to be quite so…stimulating. If her job was to provoke him into sleeping with her she’d succeeded and then some; he was just an unchecked impulse away from throwing her down and ravishing her where they stood. Only his duty stopped him; he didn’t have the time to indulge in what she was offering, he had to start preparing her for meeting with Azula.

Which left him in an awkward position. He couldn’t just rebuff the girl as she might then believe he wasn’t interested and may well either back off, or worse; move on. But he also couldn’t reciprocate her feelings to the extent that she currently desired. A problem then, and with only a split second to resolve it.

Shin looked at the barely dressed dancer infront of him, craving…no, NEEDING his touch.

He decided to wing it and see what happened.

Delicately, purposefully, he pulled her close and kissed her. The girl was unexpectedly slow to respond at first, as if she were shocked at his actions, before she relaxed into it properly and eagerly returned the kiss, her tongue against his lips as if asking permission to enter. He allowed it, letting the kiss develop into something more as he felt her arms move to wrap around his neck, his own hands sliding down to her waist, her skin feeling wonderfully warm under his touch.

Much to his surprise, it was Ty Lee who broke the kiss, sliding her hands to his shoulders as she regarded him with a sly smile.

“So, what was bothering you?” She asked cheerfully.

“…Uh?”

Again he was caught off guard, this time by something that came completely out of the blue. Or was it? Another case of blood not flowing to his brain probably, but still he rather wished that these changes of mood didn’t throw him off so much. He was SURE she was planning on going all the way, given her posturing, her looks, her words…what on earth was going on to have her change tack so suddenly?

Luckily for him, she decided to clarify.

“Well you kissed me, so…that means you accept me, right?”

Accept her? Shin tried not to frown at her hopeful face as he thought over what she meant. Did she mean the way she felt about him? About her submissive little games that he had stoked the fires of? If so…

“Ah, yeah. I do.”

She beamed at his answer. He understood! He seemed a little surprised about everything but that didn’t matter, he wasn’t freaked out! She didn’t have to hide her feelings anymore! She did a little jig inside even as she tried to allay his confusion, realising she’d only explained half the reason why she stopped that FANTASTIC kiss.

“Weeellll, that means that your concerns come first, right? So what was bothering you?”

Perhaps selfishly, she was only asking to get it out of the way so they could get back to more…pleasurable activities. Ty Lee didn’t feel too bad about this fact though; even slaves were entitled to a little selfishness every now and then. She still cared for his well-being of course, but…well, they were in the middle of something good, and she wasn’t going to let him get distracted by any thoughts that weren’t about her.

“Ah, well,” He began, still trying to recover his wits as she lightly pressed herself closer, “It’s about your friend, Azula.”

“Oh?” She encouraged, slowly gliding a hand to his chest, “Has she been bad?”

Ty Lee smiled inwardly at the thought. It’s about time Azula did something for herself; the princess didn’t have nearly as kind minders as Ty Lee had afterall, she couldn’t blame her for acting up. Infact, it was pretty relieving; Azula wouldn’t be Azula if she wasn’t even attempting escape anymore.

“Yes, she has actually. And she’s going to be severely punished.”

That took a little of the wind out of her sails. Pushing away from his chest, but not out of his arms, she looked at him now more with worry than with lust.

“What’s going to happen to her?”

Her Master looked as unhappy with the situation as she did, frowning deep in thought as he shook his head. He was so nice, caring about people he’d never met.

“I don’t know, but…I’m pretty sure I know a way I can help lessen her punishment…” He looked down at her, smirking, “…Or should I say we?”

There was something she could do to help? More surprisingly, he was willing to stick his neck out for someone he only knew through her and whatever bad things his Dai Li friends have been saying?

Wow. She really DID have good taste in men.

She returned his sly smile, her expression turning more sultry as she moved back to embrace him. Pressing her chest to his, she traced the outline of his jaw with a wandering hand before gliding it along his cheek, gently cupping it. All his…and all hers.

“What do you have in mind…”

She raised herself up on her toes, softly kissing him before finishing.

“…Master?”

Stroking the now-slavegirl’s hair to one side, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sleeptime, Ty Lee.”

The girl managed to get out a ‘Whuuh…’ before succumbing to the imbedded command, her hands falling down to her sides, her eyes sliding shut even as her head lolled back. Taking most of her weight, Shin carefully brought her head back up, cradling it; he wouldn’t want her to have any neck pains when she woke up, afterall.

“In a moment, I’m going to move away, and you will be able to stand on your own. Do you understand?”

“…Yes…” She sounded drowsily, floating peacefully in her own mind.

“Good girl,” He said, feeling her move appreciably against him at the phrase, “Alright, I’m moving away now.”

He slipped his arms from around her, taking a couple of steps back. Sure enough she stayed stood where she was, swaying a little as she relaxed with every breath, but stood nonetheless. He watched and waited for a couple of seconds. Nothing else of note happened.

Shin collapsed into a chair, letting out a huge sigh of relief and exhaustion.

This girl had really turned into something wicked. It was getting to the point where she was playing him as much as he her. His only saving grace was that she was ignorant of just how much underlying control he had over her thoughts and that he could switch her ‘off’ if things got too difficult for him. Even when fully educated in her new role, Long Feng was going to have his hands full with this slavegirl.

But what a slavegirl he’d made! Shin marvelled at what had just been accomplished; she’d finally admitted her programmed desires outside of a trance, after all those weeks of reinforcement and coercion. It was really the last big landmark in his form of conditioning; everything past this point was rudimentary training, whatever it might be, before he slid the feelings she had for him over to whomever or whatever they needed shifting to. In this case, Long Feng.

Shin frowned at that, watching the dancer sway in front of him. It seemed a little unfair that he had gone through all this effort only to have to give her up, never to see her again. It hadn’t bothered him so much with the other girls that had been sent to him…but then, that was probably because the tasks they had gone on to perform afterwards were largely uninspiring, rudimentary affairs; servants, maids, even a few Joo Dees. This was the first time he’d worked on something truly interesting…and with someone truly interesting to boot. She just had that…well. He didn’t want to spend too long admiring her. Suffice to say that she was well aware of her own femininity.

His exalted breather over, he sat up and appraised her properly, running through what needed to be done. Her dancer’s outfit she would keep for the encounter…but her finished one, not the one she currently wore. It was felt that she might recoil from the occupation if given all of her jewellery from the get-go, but now that she had confessed her desires they had passed that limitation. Azula would be able to see her friend fully realised. He considered make-up, but decided against it; he wasn’t an expert on it and he hadn’t received a brief for whatever make-up she might wear when dancing.

Aside from her clothing, he had a day and a bit of work left to do on her mind to prepare her… though he doubted that would be a problem, given how receptive she usually was to his suggestions. Rubbing the sides of his face, and ignoring the rather intrusive erection she’d given him, he decided to start slow. It would be best to ensure she was as deep as she could go before he began altering anything.

“Alright Ty Lee, now I want you to imagine you’re at the top of a staircase…”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They had taken her to the lantern session afterall. She wasn’t sure, but it only seemed to last about four hours. She might have dropped off once or twice through exhaustion.

Since then, she had spent all of her time in her cell. She had been moved more towards the middle of it now to give the Dai Li more room to walk around her, and a small shelf of sorts had been added directly behind her. She didn’t check what items were on it. The puddle remained in the corner.

With no regular pattern or warning an agent would come in to feed her. She would allow it without compliant. Infact, she hadn’t said a word to any of the guards. She hadn’t even looked them in the eye. She just stared dejectedly at the floor. Or closed her eyes and tried to get what little rest she could.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Every now and then she stirred, thinking over her heritage and what to do, but no words came from it now, no actions. The only noise she made was to sigh. She hadn’t given up her habit of testing her cuffs, but it made no visible difference to her mood like it did before.

Azula felt…fragile. She hated the feeling, or at least she wanted to, but she couldn’t muster herself behind the emotion. Hate had come so easily to her before. What was wrong with her? Where was the Azula she’d always been before, the confident one with all the plans? How did she lose her? More importantly, how was she going to get her to come back?

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Too tired to think, the princess remained unstirred by anything…until she caught the sound of something…new, but familiar. Like she heard it before, long ago, when this first started.

Snapping her head up, she looked at the door of her cell, keenly listening to the light sound of bare feet on stone as it approached closer to her chamber. Azula frowned, the gears in her head trying to move past her exhaustion. Who…

The door slid open.

“Azula!…oh my-”

She almost yelled out as the figure in the doorway rushed forward to hug her. If she wasn’t in chains she would have recoiled, maybe huddled herself in the corner, but…

…Wait. She looked down at the person holding her.

“-You look so terrible! What’ve they been doing to you?! I’m sorry, I’m SO sorry, I should have tried to visit-”

That voice. That smell. The girl pulled back to look at Azula’s face.

“-Sooner, this is all my fault! I’m a terrible friend! I…Azula?”

Those grey eyes…

“…Ty Lee?”

It felt a lot more like a guess that it should have done. She felt warm, gentle hands on her face as she watched the person tear up infront of her.

“Yes. Yes it’s me,” She replied, sounding like she choked on something before moving in to hug her again, this time higher, around her head, “Oh, what happened? Your aura feels so weak…”

Azula struggled to stay awake. She was warm, and, for the first time in a long time, she felt safe. She didn’t know or care why. Ty Lee felt soft against her…it wouldn’t be any trouble to just drift off…

That wouldn’t do though. Instead, she forced herself awake. Having Ty Lee around also made her feel a little more…’herself’. Even as she was, Azula couldn’t squander such an opportunity to regain what she had lost.

“Yes yes, I’m glad you’re here, but that’s quite enough of that Ty Lee,” She grumbled, not really meaning it, “You can move away now.”

Sighing, the acrobat seemed rather reluctant to back off, but she respected her wishes nonetheless. Good. Things were starting to feel more like normal already. Now maybe she could get some answers to what’s been going on.

“So, Ty Lee what was that about…” She trailed off as she finally focused on her friend properly, “…Ty Lee, what are you wearing?”

Ty Lee looked confused for a moment before glancing down to see what Azula was talking about. When she looked back up, she seemed…different somehow. She was smiling, but there was something about it which seemed almost…inviting.

“Oh, you mean this?” She intoned, letting her hands motion to where Azula should look next.

Slowly, gracefully she turned on the spot, allowing her captive audience to see every piece in detail. What first captured Azula’s attention were the cuffs on her wrists and ankles, perhaps because she herself wore some. Ty Lee’s, however, were silver and engraved, very beautiful and obviously expensive. Each had an ornamented ring on them much like Azula’s, but also a smaller ring on them which attached to a thin, delicate chain. For the wrists, the chains attached to bangles on her upper arms, also silver, though there seemed to be jade or emeralds in them too. The ones leading up from her ankles seemed to half-spiral up her legs, attaching to her silver ‘belt’, which also held her sash in place. Coming out of the opposite ends of the cuffs were intricate patterns of chains and emeralds, glinting even in the dim cell-light, which ended in loops to form slave bracelets and barefoot sandals respectively.

Azula’s eyes widened a little as Ty Lee showed off her back. Aside from the few glints of silver that kept the costume together, it looked like she was wearing nothing at all. Her ass was displayed proudly, and, as much as Azula tried, she found herself following the chain that ran up the middle as it passed between and underneath Ty Lee’s rather shapely behind, through to what little she could see of Ty Lee’s pussy. Her friends hair was still more or less the same, still kept into a long plaited ponytail, but now bands of metal seemed to keep everything in its proper place.

As if the crowning achievement, the bangles on her upper arms had another set of chains that came out at the back, sweeping up and attaching to the argent collar around her neck. Finishing her turn, Azula could see it was of much better craftsmanship than the one they used to suppress her firebending. It dipped and curved in all the right places, fitting comfortably about her whilst still performing its duties as a collar. Also unlike hers, Ty Lee’s collar had a ring on the front of it, presumably for a leash or another attachment. It all seemed to flow together; she couldn’t spot where the lock was, if there was any at all to begin with. It was perfect.

“…You like?” The acrobat asked, a dry, expectant tinge to her words as she leaned forward for the princesses answer, giving the bound girl a good view of her cleavage down her green silk and chain bra.

Azula was still trying to remember how to work her mouth, which had decided to stay open through shock. She couldn’t believe what Ty Lee was wearing. Sure, she’d seen Ty Lee dressed frugally before, but this…it shook Azula, somehow. It seemed to show off a side of her that the princess had either never seen before or never paid attention to. Azula knew from the way she felt her whole body flush during her friend’s little show that it was, easily, the most erotic thing she had ever seen in her life. Maybe it always would be.

But.

“…You…look like a whore.” She lied, looking away to the floor.

Not even Ty Lee would dress like that in a place like this. They must have done something to her. Azula had to help snap her out of it. Well, she didn’t HAVE to, but…she wanted to. Ty Lee was valuable to her, more than valuable, she needed to figure out what was wrong with her so they could-

“You…think I’m a whore?”
Azula clenched her teeth and looked up at Ty Lee. She looked distraught, her eyes were shimmering…she was a few seconds away from crying, maybe…leaving?

A sudden guilty panic struck Azula. She had been far too harsh, she forgot how delicate she usually was around her friend and now she was going to be alone again…and it would all be her fault.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

“No!” Azula blurted out hastily, thinking of excuses to give, “I, you’re not a whore!”

“But you said-”

“-I lied!”

Even as she said it, Azula knew she’d made a mistake. Evidently whatever sense of normality she regained before had deserted her; she couldn’t come up with a cover story in time so had to use the truth. And the truth was always…difficult…for her to express. Personal truths certainly, and particularly when she’d already lied about them only a few seconds earlier.

At least her friend wasn’t on the verge of tears anymore. She looked more confused than anything.

“Why would you lie about that?”

She was just grinding away at Azula’s shame now. Sighing, the princess resigned herself to telling her what she actually thought.

“I was just…shocked. Your dress surprised me. You actually look very,” Azula winced a little as she forced the word out, “…Attractive. For you, that is.”

Ty Lee moved forward, a warm, gentle hand brushing some of Azula’s hair out of the way before holding her cheek.

“Really?” She asked, tentatively, a thumb stroking the line of her cheekbone as fingers curled gently beneath it.

Now completely out of her depth, the best Azula could do was to resist leaning into her friends sweet, tender touch as a half-whispered “Yes” reluctantly left her lips.

“Aww, I knew you’d like it…” Ty Lee smiled, moving her hand away to step around her shackled friend.

Azula felt oddly foolish, like she’d lost something more than just Ty Lee’s touch, like a fight she never knew she entered into. Trying to shift the feeling away, the princess focused on the main problem of trying to get Ty Lee back. Perhaps if she better understood the reason for her being here, she could work back from that and get Ty Lee more on her side. It was certainly worth a shot.

“So, Ty Lee, how were you able to come see me? I don’t think that the Dai Li are in the business of giving their prisoners visiting hours.”

“Hmm,” She heard, haltingly, from behind her, “You still look in bad shape, and the story is a little long…so how about I tell you…”

Azula felt a light tug on her robe before the chill of the air laced the top of her neck and back.

“…while I give you a massage?” She suggested, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.

“What? Ty Lee I hardly thi-nnnaaaahhh…”

Her reply bubbled off and her head lolled forward as Ty Lee’s soft fingers pressed on the spots she knew would reduce Azula to incoherent jelly. It had been so long the princess had almost forgotten how good Ty Lee’s ‘special’ massages felt, having been victim of them only twice before. It wasn’t usually something Azula was comfortable with allowing Ty Lee to do. Despite never having any complaints during the massage or after, she was always apprehensive about allowing herself to be so pliant beforehand. She’d go as far to say that the only reason she’d gone through with them was because, well, Ty Lee was so loyal. And persistent.

She let out another gasp as the acrobat-turned-masseuse hit another vital point, causing Azula to sag in her chains, eyes having drifted closed. Helping Azula to keep enough slack in the chains so her cuffs wouldn’t injure or strain her, Ty Lee decided to start explaining herself.

“Well y’see, the guy who looks after me, he’s really sweet and nice…and sexy…and after a while we got to know each other really well, y’know?”

Azula noised something, but didn’t make an actual reply. Somewhere deep down she was very worried, but it was having a hard time trying to surface. The whole situation just seemed wrong. Ty Lee would normally wait for her permission before starting a massage, and what was that about a man ‘looking after’ her? She wasn’t in much a position to voice her concerns though, so she allowed her friend to continue

“So anyway,” She carried on after a good thirty more seconds of softening Azula up, her hands moving a little lower down her back, pressing along her spine, “I like him, and…now he’s sorta my…well, you don’t need to know, right? Oh, just a sec-”

Azula heard tearing, before more of her back, and some of her front, felt open to the cell’s air. She forced herself to rouse, blearily opening her eyes, but not quite managing to turn her head.

“’Lee?” She managed before her friends fingers began working their magic on her once again, her head bobbing, trying to keep from falling back into contentment.

“It was in the way,” She dismissed, “Don’t worry I won’t peek, and it’ll fix up easy enough…wow, you know, your back is pretty nice, Azula. It’s really sexy and firm and stuff…”

“Mmm? Y’think…s’sxy?”

She was falling again, she knew it, but she tried to hang on as long as possible. Ty Lee had seen her back before and never commented on it…what was going on? And why did she even bother to reply? Ty Lee hadn’t finished telling her what she was doing here yet.

“Yeah…” Azula barely heard, “You’re a really sexy person Azula…but I’m sure you knew that already…”

She did, but...it seemed a little more real, now that she’d heard Ty Lee say it to her. She couldn’t be bothered to figure out why anymore. There had been a change in the massage; it was more like soft strokes, like gliding touches over her back. It felt nice. She stayed silent and enjoyed it, letting Ty Lee carry on.

“…So…we ended up hearing about what was happening with you,” She said, much slower than before, her glidings becoming even softer, “And about how you tried to escape, and I wanted to help...”

Well, that was only natural, Azula supposed. She didn’t mind about any of that, currently. She just felt really…warm. Her whole body felt warm, despite the temperature of the room. She felt the glides slow even more into caresses as they began to branch out, sliding across her shoulders, her sides…her skin was tingling from the sensation.

“Because they were planning on doing really bad things to you, but the guy in charge of me didn’t, so he pulled some strings, got the punishment lowered…”

Azula barely heard the explanation trail off. Her world was completely taken up by the light, tingling sensations of fingertips on flesh and her own slow breathing. She could find out all of that business later, after Ty Lee had finished…there wasn’t a rush…

Azula felt something warm and wet on the small of her back, breathing warmth onto her skin. She arched reflexively, a light moan escaping her lips. A second later another one came, slightly higher, staying slightly longer, sending delicious ripples over her body. They felt too good to just be fingertips. She roused herself from Ty Lee’s ministrations; knowing, but still wondering, what had just happened.

“Mmm…what’d y’just…?”

She felt the heat move away, a light imprint of Ty Lee’s lips still teasing her back.

“I’m sorry, I just…do you want me to stop?”

Her hands had stopped gliding over Azula’s body as they pensively waited for her answer, stroking tiny, calming circles into her flesh. She wanted them to keep going, keep exploring…but…this was something important. Azula knew it was by the way her whole body felt like it was pulsing after that sensation. It had felt good, yet…wasn’t that something boys do? Kiss? And on the lips? Azula had never really been kissed or anything; relationships were a vulnerability so she always avoided having them, making do by examining and commenting on those relationships around her…she found this revelation very confusing. Was this something that people did in a relationship? Were they in one right now, or was this just something else? Could two girls even HAVE a relationship? What was she supposed to say?

She tried to assess the situation objectively. She was bound, so Ty Lee could have carried on anyway…but she waited for her…she would stop if told to stop. But…

“I…” Her heart pounded in her ribcage, trying to think the rest of the sentiment through.

It seemed Ty Lee got the message well enough.

Azula let out a much louder, more surprised moan as her friend feather-kissed and licked her way up her spine, hands gliding wherever they may. She thought to protest, given that she didn’t actually give an answer, but she couldn’t form the words between her heavy breaths and rising heat.

Eventually the acrobat traced lips across her neck, Azula’s head rising at the attention, hands stroking across her stomach, nails grazing the bottom of her breasts.

The princess was finding it hard to believe she had denied herself THIS for so long. She was dimly aware that, normally, she would have stopped anything like this from even coming close to happening, shoving whoever attempted it away or warding them off with a veiled threat. She didn’t know why she hadn’t this time, maybe because she was restrained and incapable of shoving…but whatever the reason, she was very, very glad for it.

Ty Lee made her way up to Azula’s ear, her panting as loud as Azula’s, even louder, it seemed, as she ran a tongue around the rim and nuzzled against her.

“I’ve wanted you…this…ever since I left with you at the circus you know,” Ty Lee breathily confessed, “Even though you forced me to come with you, deep down I still…”

There was an awkward, unreadable pause.

“…But…” The acrobat attempted to add, sounding completely torn over something.

Azula opened her eyes, turning to look at her. Her caresses had turned into a simple, warm hug from behind.

“What? You…don’t want me?”

By the spirits, that sounded pathetically desperate. Still, she had to ask. Ty Lee gave a weak smile, lightly kissing Azula’s shoulder before resting her cheek on it, looking to the floor.

“I do, it’s just…I…you know how I said my Ma- my minder had lessened your punishment?”

Azula felt a little lightheaded, but she could just about remember her saying something like that.

“Yeah…so?”

“They…” She sucked a breath in, as if saying it all at once was the only way she could bear to speak it, “They agreed to lessen it so long as I was the one going to give it to you.”

Azula’s mind didn’t so much grind to a halt as failed to process. What…was she saying? Did Ty Lee have to beat her? Slap her? Stab her? Or was this the plan all along, to leave her high and dry as she was, panting and…and WET and feeling humiliated?! Was that it?! What was going on?! Why the hell didn’t she mention this before?! She glared at Ty Lee, still cheek-down on her shoulder, trying to be angry at her.

Even as she tried though, she felt tears run onto her bare skin, rolling down her chest.

“It’s not fair…why me? W-Why do I have to…I don’t-”

Azula always hated it when Ty Lee cried. She never knew what to do, and it made her feel awkward, like it was her fault or there was something she could be doing to comfort her better. She disliked being poor at something. Taking a few deep breaths, Azula fidgeted in her bonds, trying to dispel her dizziness so she could help address the situation.

“Al-alright, shh, come on, stop crying,” She attempted, not best pleased with her own efforts, “Oh, well…look, what is it, exactly, that you have to do to me?”

It felt weird asking that question, as if she would be okay with whatever answer she received, but it served its purpose, giving her friend something else to focus on. Drying her eyes, Ty Lee moved away to pick something up off the shelf behind her, coming back and bringing an arm around her to hold it for inspection..

Azula looked at the object quizzically. It seemed to be made of a few black leather straps the same as her cuffs, some buckles, and some sort of ball.

“I’m, uh, I’m supposed to…gag you.” Ty Lee said behind her, a little unsurely.

Azula’s eyebrows went up, as did her heartbeat. Gag her? Is that what that was, some sort of large harness to keep her quiet? She looked it over with new appreciation. It seemed a lot more intimidating that the simple rock gags that they lumbered her with during the lantern sessions. More permanent. She wouldn’t be scared to put it on, of course not, but she was a little…apprehensive. Her voice was the only weapon she-

-Why the hell was she even ENTERTAINING the idea she’d put it on?! This was crazy!! She didn’t want to please Ty Lee that badly, nor give up her pride so easily!

“And what happens if I don’t want to put it on?” She asked testily.

She realised that she still sounded like wearing it was a possibility and cursed herself as Ty Lee answered.

“Then…then I’ll make you!” She answered desperately, “You have to, Azula! You don’t know what they’ve got planned for you if you don’t!”

“I don’t HAVE to do anything,” She scowled dejectedly, “They’ve humiliated me enough, what’s a little more on top of that? I refuse to let you put that…THING on me.”

The acrobat slinked past Azula so she could talk to her face to face, wringing the gag with both hands as she looked on her friend with distress.

“Please, Azula! They’re going to do worse AND they’re going to put this on you! I don’t want to see you hurt! You’re my friend! You’re more than my friend…”

Azula looked away irritably, staring at a corner in the wall. The whole thing was ludi-

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

The princesses’ eyes narrowed. Ty Lee, as annoying as she was, did have a point…but, going along with this would be the same as going along with what the Dai Li had planned, and if she just followed their plan she would cease to be…well, ‘her’. She didn’t want that. Who in their right mind would?

“…Please? For me?”

Azula moved her eyes back to Ty Lee, examining her distraught features. She really cared about her, didn’t she? For what reasons or to what purpose Azula had no idea, but it made her stomach knot up all the same when she looked back at her. Slowly, she trailed her gaze back down to the gag, regarding it with frowning trepidation. It really was going to be put on sooner or later, wasn’t it? She’d been gagged before, but something about the idea of wearing this particular one made her squirm. It unnerved her.

Azula looked away again, letting a breath out through her nose. Everything about this situation was ridiculous, including her. What was so worrying about a piece of leather? She’d said it herself, she’d already been humiliated, what was a little more on top of that? And, if push came to shove, wouldn’t she want it to happen with the person stood infront of her and not some sneering, anonymous agent? Flitting her gaze back to consider her, she knew it would be impossible to lose face infront of Ty Lee. The acrobat, she admitted, knew her too well to lose respect for her over something like this. So…

“This is stupid…but…FINE. I’ll do it.” She intoned irritably, “If only to stop your whining.”

Ty Lee looked grateful, though stopped short of a smile as she approached, knowing how hard that decision was for her friend to make. She took a moment or two to sweep Azula’s long black hair away from her face and behind her ears before beginning, so as not to trap them in awkward, irritating places.

“I’ll be careful.” She responded solemnly, running her fingers through the princesses hair a few more times until all the stray strands had been taken care of.

Azula ‘hmphed’ a reply. Of course she would be careful. Though admittedly it was still nice to hear it, the phrase didn’t absolutely need to be said. She’d be fine.

“Open your mouth, please.”

It was so close to her face now she could smell it; deep, rich leather circling through her lungs as she hesitated to respond. The ball part of it was right infront of her. As soon as she opened her mouth, that would be it, she wouldn’t be able to tell Ty Lee to stop or give her orders or…anything. Her face flushed. Everything past this point would be out of her hands. This was her last chance to say no. She stared at the harness for another second. Last chance to keep control. Last chance.

Taking a quivering breath, Azula opened her mouth. The ball slid in, Ty Lee moving around the back to secure the first of straps, pulling the metal rings either side of the ball against Azula’s cheeks.

Testing it in her mouth, she discovered it wasn’t precisely a ball, it fit too well for that, nor was it as rigid as it first seemed, there was a certain amount of give to it. As she had suspected, it was designed for long term use. Her head jerked back a little as Ty Lee finished fastening the first buckle in place.

“Nmf…”

“Is this too tight?” The acrobat behind her asked, touching the back of her neck reassuringly.

Azula glanced at her over her shoulder before thinking the question over. There was no obvious discomfort or rubbing…she shook her head and Ty Lee continued, adjusting a strap that ran over the top of her head.

Now that she was really beginning to think about it, Azula was becoming less and less sure about the whole procedure. If it’s for long-term wear, how was she going to be fed? How would she be able to sleep in it? How would she put up a front against the Dai Li with it on her?

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

As the questions mounted and the spiral of thought took hold, she began to find herself truly, utterly trapped. Before, even with all limbs secured, it seemed that escape through a silver tongue was still possible. A silver tongue that had now been taken from her. Glaring wouldn’t be enough. There was nowhere left to go. Nothing left she could do. For the first time since being imprisoned, she felt helpless.

As the top strap was satisfactorily fitted and Ty Lee moved in front of her to work on the one under her chin, Azula didn’t even realise how hard and fast she was breathing. Worse, with every breath she just inhaled more of that leathery smell, driving home how trapped she was and making her breathing even harder, even faster than before. This was a bad idea. This was a really bad idea. Letting herself do this was a bad idea. What if something went up her nostrils so she couldn’t breathe or if she threw up or if she got a cold or-

“-Azula, are you okay?”

She skitted her gaze up to Ty Lee, the acrobat’s duty forgotten over worry for her friend.

“Nn…nnn…”

The noises sounded too pleady for Azula’s tastes, but that’s exactly what they were. She was starting to feel faint and her restraints just weren’t giving her any-

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

-any GIVE anymore! She needed to move, to tear off the gag, to get out, to go, to-

“-Hey. Hey!”

Ty Lee had shifted, one hand moving through her hair, the other under her chin, guiding Azula’s eyes into her kind, firm grey ones.

“Calm down, hmm?” She murmured softly, “You’re a really strong person, Azula. The strongest, smartest most beautiful person I know. And you knew all that already, so I know you can get through this, alright? Don’t worry, it’s only going to take a couple minutes more and I’ll be right back.”

A part of her felt disgusted that she had was being talked down to by her friend, like she couldn’t have gotten a handle on herself or the situation, or that there was even a problem to begin with. The rest of her took the words to heart, felt the calm, rhythmic stroking of her hair, and relaxed. Ty Lee was right, this was nothing to her, she had endured more.

Suitably reassured with herself, she motioned for Ty Lee to continue her job, lifting her chin so her friend could get better access to the strap that was to go there.

She watched the acrobat carefully while she worked, wondering exactly what she should be thinking about her. Was she really just a friend anymore? Could she call her that, or had they moved past it with that brief but exciting moment back there? If they HAD moved past friends, then what was she to call her? They hadn’t even kissed properly yet. Did she even want to kiss her properly now?

Closing her eyes, Azula tried to make sense of things, letting her head shift as it may while Ty Lee did her job. She felt strange. She felt normal…but not normal at all, because she was letting all these things happen to her. She never just let things happen to her. NEVER. Her dad had taught her to go after what she desired, not to just sit around whilst someone else took her desires into their hands.

Despite that, she didn’t feel weird. Well, she felt weird that she wasn’t feeling weird, but that was about it. What the hell was wrong with her? This wasn’t how she did things. This wasn’t the Azula she usually was. Certainly not the Azula everyone expected her to be. But…it was still her, somehow. She couldn’t figure it out. Maybe she just didn’t want to.

She felt something being raised on the rings either side of her mouth; Ty Lee must be sliding some straps around. She didn’t bother opening her eyes to confirm it, she could feel them lying either side her nose, joining together to form one that travelled up her forehead. She couldn’t feel anything else dangling from her new ‘fashion accessory’ either, so it was likely the last one to be fitted in place too. With nothing better to do or to think about, Azula chewed on the ball in her mouth, quite content just to let Ty Lee take care of everything. In a bizarre way the whole thing felt like having her hair brushed back at the royal palace, except this time she had something to occupy herself with for the duration.

“There. All done!” The scantily-clad acrobat announced happily, giving the harness a few tweaks and tugs, pulling Azula’s hair around to obscure some of it, “Ha, and, you don’t look too bad either!”

“Hmf.” She replied, rolling her eyes at the remark. Trust Ty Lee to make light of a bad situation.

“Can’t say I didn’t try…” She sighed, eyes widening as she looked down, “Oh, whoa! We forgot to repair your robe! Sorry!”

Glancing down as Ty Lee dashed behind her she saw that it had come apart to the point where it was barely covering her nipples. Feeling a touch embarrassed, she diverted her attention towards the now ‘finished’ harness. It felt like a peculiar and sturdy sort of mask on her face, except that, unlike a mask with eye-holes, she could still see perfectly fine. Mentally shrugging, she decided to give it a workout; shaking her head and twisting her features to see if she could loosen it. No dice. If anything, it felt tighter than before. Trying to open her mouth yielded the same futile result; the ball ALMOST seemed flexible enough to allow it, but she would never know as the chin and temple straps prevented even the smallest of jaw-widenings, pulling taught at the smallest of movements. The harness was there to stay.

Tch. Trust Ty Lee to do such a thorough job of it.

She felt the robe behind her knit and pull together, restoring it to its original, less licentious state as the front raised and covered more up. Emerging back from behind her, Ty Lee ducked down to look up at Azula, her sash pooling on the floor between her legs.

“I ripped it a little worse than I thought, but there were a couple of clamp-things on the shelf so I used those to fix it together. It’s not uncomfortable, right?”

Truthfully Azula didn’t notice a difference, so she just shook her head. It gave her comfort that, despite not being able to utter anything, she could still say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It was a little simplistic, but it was better than the ‘nothing’ she had dreaded earlier.

“Great!” Ty Lee smiled back, “I was thinking that you’d-”

“-Kneel, Ty Lee.”

The door slid open even as Ty Lee slid onto her knees, revealing another Dai Li agent. Azula looked on at the scene with alarm as the man went to stand next to her friend, his hand idly stroking her hair as she gazed forwards, hands behind her back, thighs spread. What had just happened to her? What was he doing?

“I see that you managed to get Azula to go along with our plan.”

“Yes, Master.”

MASTER?! What the- did she just hear right?!

“Good girl. Cum now.”

Realisation dawned as Ty Lee shuddered, eyes rolling up and closing as she bucked in place, yet didn’t move out of position. They’d got to her. She didn’t know how, but they had. Azula’s eyes widened for a second before turning as thin as knives, staring daggers at the man in the cell still playing with his ‘pet’s’ hair, gazing back impassively. Owning her friend so casually.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

No! It wasn’t right! HE didn’t own Ty Lee! Azula had seen enough Joo Dee’s to know a vacant stare when she saw one, and Ty Lee’s wasn’t like theirs! That was her! Warped, maybe, but it was still her! All those emotions, all that…that kindness and affection, that was real. It HAD to be real! He couldn’t just take it away from her! From both of them! It wasn’t fair!

She tried to lunge at the agent despite her bonds, thinking to do anything to try and snap Ty Lee out of her brainwashing…to do anything AT ALL.

“Fnnrrg!! Ghf!! Gn Nphh!!”

The ball in her mouth didn’t allow for anything more than growls and snarls, not nearly enough to break Ty Lee out of whatever state she was in. She couldn’t even call her name.

“Stand, slave.” The agent ordered impassively, completely unmoved by Azula’s enraged struggling.

Like a beautifully crafted puppet Ty Lee stood, eyes still closed, awaiting further pulls on her strings. He let Azula get a good, long look at her friend. How peaceful she seemed, how totally he controlled her. The man was rubbing it in her face.

“GNNN!!”

He pulled a thin silver chain out of his robes, attaching it to the front of Ty Lee’s collar, giving it a light tug. Her hands drifted behind her back at the unspoken command, her elbows cupping each other as she straightened up, breasts thrust out for everyone to see.

“Come, slave.”

“Yesss Master…” She answered dreamily as she was led away by the irresistible pull of her leash.

The door slid shut behind the pair, leaving only the sound of bare feet moving away for Azula to scream at, to thrash at, to curse, to hate.

A minute later, the princess sagged in her bonds, utterly exhausted. She’d failed. She knew they’d done something to her friend, but instead of trying to help get her back she just…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Azula moved her head to the side, as if the action would let her turn away from the feeling of the leather on her face, or the ball in her mouth. She let out a whined sigh and bit down hard on it, scrunching her eyes together, willing it to break, for her to bite it clean in half so she could spit it out and get her words back.

It didn’t happen. It just flexed back into place much as Azula’s mood did; back to before Ty Lee hard turned up…except worse this time, as she knew what had happened to her friend. What had been done to her; quite probably without her even seeing anything amiss. Going along with it. Using Ty Lee’s trust and sweet nature against her…

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

…Just as she had, Azula realised. She had treated her exactly the same way.

She couldn’t be bothered trying to excuse it anymore by saying that Ty Lee was too naïve and wasteful NOT to be used. It didn’t seem appropriate. Not now. Maybe it never was, but she…she just didn’t know what else to do to keep her around. She wasn’t a nice enough person to keep her around like normal people would; EVERYONE knew that.

Her dad approved of her methods though, didn’t he? He did approve. So…that means…she should keep it up? She should treat Ty Lee…like a tool? Still?

Azula frowned, putting her mind to it. Well…Ty Lee HAD let them do all that stuff to her…so, really, she had just been betrayed by her, right? That made sense: Ty Lee had just betrayed her princess by going along with everything. So…she should feel angry at her. That was reasonable. Sure.

She found herself numbly staring at the puddle on the floor, trying to convince herself that she should feel angry towards her friend. Feel angry at her tool.

Feel angry at…a tool?

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

She closed her eyes, taking in deep, leather-filled breath.

Her dad couldn’t be wrong. She was just too tired to understand. That was all.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

It would make more sense after a little rest…
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Lake Laogai