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Lake Laogai	By : TheDaiLi Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 56824 -:- 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.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
Defeated. She was letting herself be defeated by this.

She fell to one knee, breathing her irritation out in blue flames.

No, that wasn’t right. She wasn’t doing it right. And she would not be beaten. She refused to be beaten.

Again.

Azula pulled herself back up off the deck and attempted to go through the exercise one more time, shifting through forms and attacks that had grown so effortlessly familiar to her from all the hundreds of times she had performed them each and every morning.

Only they were not so effortless now.

Her body was fighting her. Betraying her. Straining with every kick she performed and punch she threw. Screaming with every extension and twist of a tendon. But she could ignore it, the treacherous sweat on her brow and her gasping, heaving need for air, just as long as she managed to get through...

She leapt into a spinning roundhouse.

...this one...

The turn wasn’t perfect.

...last...

She landed hard on her chest, knocking out what little wind remained in her.
Coughing air back into her lungs Azula pounded her rising frustration into the deck, trying to dissipate the feeling through her fist. No, that wasn’t right. That- wasn’t- RIGHT.

She stopped, clenching back her irritation to coast on the clarity provided by pain. So she couldn’t jump high enough. Or react fast enough to recover from a fall. The answer was clear enough.

Jump higher next time. React faster.

Again.

Holding in a gasp, Azula pushed against the ground, hoping the aching adrenaline from her right hand would outweigh her exhaustion.

It didn’t. She kept it up for a few seconds until the utter lack of movement made her realise that another go-around wasn’t going to happen. She’d reached her limit. The only thing she would be pushing if she continued would be the chances of getting injured up...and if her current state were anything to go by then she couldn’t afford to sit out training for even one more day. How pathetic. At least Lo and Li weren’t here to watch her fail.

Swallowing the bitter pill of logic, Azula rolled onto her back and tried instead to prop herself up on her elbows; closing her eyes and taking long, deep breaths, tasting the salt on the spray as her boat cut toward more familiar waters. Back to familiar lands.

And all the better for it too; obviously her time impersonating those ridiculously painted Kyoshi Warriors had caused her actual battle skills to deteriorate far past the point of terrible. Well, she always knew that she was going to have to play catch up afterwards, but she had no idea it would be this bad; it was like she had been doing nothing at all for all of those weeks she spent insinuating herself into Ba Sing Se’s political and military scenes. Effortless work for someone as talented as her, but time consuming, and so though spirit and fire was as sharp as ever her reflexes had slowed, her muscles weakened into so much flotsam.

Still, it was an acceptable trade-off for what she had managed to accomplish; her father would be very pleased to hear that Ba Sing Se was now under the direct control of the Fire Nation. Even better was that they didn’t even know it thanks to the puppet-government she had installed with help from her Dai Li agents; an unexpected yet very welcome ally during her time within the city. Originally she had just thought to use the Dai Li to bring down that troublesome wall and let the Fire Nation conquer the city the old-fashioned, high-profile way...but then she realised there were certain benefits to be had for just having everyone THINK they were still Earth Kingdom. Troop positions, an unresisting populace, and she could use the Dai Li to slowly but surely remove key figures within the Earthbender military, only to bring them back a few weeks later...under her more delicate control. Final victory would come much swifter this way, and her father much happier with her.

Her breathing started to level out as she admired the rising sun crested over the waves. One element triumphing over another. Yes, it had gone perfectly to plan; just like everything else she had put her mind to.

Though there were still a few pangs of disappointment about it though she acknowledged. Aside from the length of time it took to manoeuvre everything into the proper positions, she’d had to leave Mai and Ty Lee behind to oversee the operation. Ideally she would have liked them to accompany her back to the capital so she could while away the long hours between meetings by ordering them to do pointless things, but, alas, those tools were needed to maintain her new little act of subterfuge. Much as she had become fond of the Dai Li, she found she didn’t quite trust them enough not to make a mess of things when left to their own devices. Earth Kingdom stock were Earth Kingdom stock afterall; such sophisticated management required a touch of Fire Nation to make sure everything ran smoothly...even if half of that management would rather do handstands.

She rubbed one of her wrists reflexively, dispelling those little niggles of thought through warm pressure; an odd habit of hers she’d only noticed recently. She’d have do her best to rid herself of it as soon as possible, it might give her a small measure of comfort but it was also a rather obvious ‘tell’ of hers. A sign of weakness like that she would not abide as much as any other imperfection.

It also wasn’t terribly necessary comfort, Azula noted with a smile, closing her eyes meditatively. The around-the-world chase and the artifices that followed seemed to have done wonders for her mood. For the first time in a long time her head felt...completely clear. There was no nagging whispers in her head to sour her mood with trivial humane things. No blotches of indecision in her mind telling her she shouldn’t do this, or should hold back from saying that. They’d all gone. Been silenced. Placed behind a door somewhere or just simply vanished without a trace, leaving only a smooth, flawless realisation of duty and her own status. The only things that any member of royalty should think about. Her mind was, in a word...perfect.

Which just made the fact her body wasn’t all the more vexing.

Her breathing now acceptably level, Azula opened her eyes and attempted to stand again; glad that there was no-one else on the deck to see how much trouble she was having even doing that, let alone how lacklustre her bending had become. No, this wouldn’t do at all.

She tensed as she came to her full height, feeling a sudden abrasion as one leg rubbed past the other. That was something else that had been nagging at her, actually...had she injured herself already, back in Ba Sing Se? She’d felt this twinge a few times now, and although it wasn’t anything painful she hadn’t been able to locate the cause of it even with the most diligent of searches; an unacceptable result if it could possibly pose a threat to her continued exercises. Could it be a symptom of something else, away from that affected area between her legs?

She tested her muscles, pulling and relaxing them to where the strain was worst, judging whether it would be worth one more go around. Perhaps she should just lay off going through the routines for a day or two in favour of simpler exercises used to solely for increasing strength or stamina.

No. No. Azula decided. Risk be damned; she was going to get this right, and she was going to do it today. Though for now...

Azula moved into a different, softer stance, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing. She would work her way up to it; right now, focusing on the flow of her chakras would be less intensive and more beneficial. Turning, she took a step-

“-My Princess.”

“...”

Azula took a moment before replying, wondering if there really was someone on board so stupid as to interrupt her during training. Not just interrupting her, but sneaking up to her to do it as well without so much as announcing their arrival.

She opened her eyes and turned her head, regarding the Dai Li agents kneeling dutifully by her side.

...Oh. Apparently there were people that stupid. Two people infact. Probably more; she forgot that there were alot of Earth Kingdom people onboard. Very well.

“You have,” She began, curling flames around her hand, “Five seconds to convince me not to boil you in your own juices.”

There was no humour in the threat. The two agents looked at each other for a moment, before another violent spurt of flame reminded them of their imminent immolation.

“Because we are here to help you, Azula.”

His voice was even, smooth...warm. Like light. A beautiful light.

“Yes. And I accept your help.”

Azula blinked flinchingly as she dissipated the fire, replacing it with an even more searing stare. Yes, they were here to help...but they were still beneath her. They should be made to know that.

“Well, what is it then?” She demanded.

“It is time for another update on the affairs of the city, Princess,” The first man spoke, still out of reach of her gaze by keeping the brim of his hat bowed between them, “We have merely come to inform you.”

Azula narrowed her eyes further, silently judging the agents. Over the course of the trip, as well as training herself physically, she had asked the Dai Li to aid in her in learning the minutiae of Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom’s culture, deciding that more information on your enemy is never a bad thing. They agreed, of course, and she’d been spending a great many hours down in the lower quarters of the ship perusing the documents they had sent for via messenger hawk; trade route reports, goods bought and sold, a breakdown of the social hierarchy including the mannerisms required between people of status...she had even overlooked a few of what passed for ‘plays’; crude bottom-dwelling humour and painfully obvious archetypes. The Earth Kingdom was so transparent, really.

As were these two. Inform her? Collect her would be more accurate; as dorm prefects would collect a child that was wandering the corridors when they weren’t supposed to be. Although it was true that she had trained for an unusually long period of time, it was still HER choice to do so. She would take no orders implied or otherwise from those beneath her, especially from those who she had brought along solely to help plug a gap in Fire Nation defences during the solar eclipse. Simple pawns do not command queens. Or princesses, for that matter.

“I am fully aware of the time, agent,” She sneered, returning to her original stance, “Now go scuttle downstairs, I will look over what you’ve brought me when I’ve finished, if I feel like it.”

The men stood, bowing.

“Of course, Princess,” The one with the beard replied, “Forgive us for bringing this to your attention, it’s just that the waters in my pond are green with moss.”

That gave Azula a pause. She looked at the man, but made no move to change her stance.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The fresh water is terrible for it,” He went on with more energy, taking a step closer as he pointed out to sea, “Not like the ocean orange at all, is it?”

Azula had no response ready for this kind of nonsense, and looked out to the ocean following his prompt, turning slightly. The water was indeed orange from the sun, but- what...what? She tried to keep up with him and make sense of his nonsense, ignoring the light touch on her elbow.

“It’s like I was telling my friend that you look out there and you feel like you remember that you forgot that there were other kinds of water while you fixate on a wave that you sometimes watch going under while you forget that you’re supposed to remember not to do training because it’s easy to just pick up on something you were supposed to not be doing compared to forgetting that you want to do something you know, like it cycles around and around in your head like the lap of a wave because it’s easy to forget remembering what it is that you want to do like- what’s seven times eighty-three and the five above that- while you remember its like its on the tip of your tongue...”

She latched onto the equation, using it as an anchor for the rest of his rambling, letting him carry on as she focused her eyes on the waves. She frowned; seven times eighty-three. Seven...twenty one and five hundred and sixty. She nodded at another piece of blather while she added the two numbers together, not even feeling the balance of fingertips on her wrist. Five hundred and eighty one. The five above would be eighty-four through eighty-eight, which were...

“-So what are you doing here, Princess?”

Jerked out of her reverie, she stared at the man like the idiot he was. She’d already told him before he went on spouting all of that nonsense.

“I’m here...”

Azula frowned.

“...”

She was...it was on the tip of her tongue, she was sure of it.

“...I’m...”

Turning to face the empty deck for answers, she tried to force her purpose to materialise in her head, eyes fluttering from the strain. She’d come up here this morning to...no, pressing at it like this wasn’t doing any good; it just made the information’s absence all the more pronounced. Damn it all.

She couldn’t tell she’d forgotten, though. Showing such indecisiveness infront of peons like these would be foolish.

“...Nothing that concerns you.” She waved away, finally lowering her arm.

“I see.”

She had a strong urge to melt his face off, even if it didn’t look smug. ‘I see’; a reply that could hardly sound more superior if it tried, regardless of what tone it was delivered in. Like he’d won some victory over her. It would be so easy to just...

But no. She’d find manufacture something to punish him for later. Right now it was more pressing that she recover from this momentary spat of amnesia. If she couldn’t think of what she was supposed to be doing here, then...move on to something else in the mean.

“I’m sure you do,” She replied curtly, then stared at the loudmouth’s friend, “Now, you go to the bridge; inform the captain that I will be busy going over important documents for the next few hours and am NOT to be disturbed. You, fetch whatever new material you’ve managed to scrounge together...and bring them to my quarters within the next two minutes. Do NOT be late.”

The princess forced her smile away as they bowed and rushed to their respective tasks, knowing it would take at least three minutes for the man to turn up to her door given the distance from there to the message room; an easy reason to punish him for disobedience. And here she thought she’d have to come up with an excuse later on in the week. Ah, the curse of a brilliant mind.

Rolling a stiff shoulder, Azula took the deck in for one last time before heading inside herself.

...No matter. It’d come to her eventually.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“...Also General Huang has put in a request for more troops to be moved from the capital following a recent incursion in the north-eastern provinces by Fire Nation naval forces. Oh, and the university wishes to hear back from you over your attendance for this years graduation ceremony, as well as to discuss funding proposals for the next semester.”

“I see. Make the arrangements to meet with the military council, I’ll speak with the board of education myself. You’re excused.”

“Very well My Lord.”

Long Feng waited until his dutiful servant had closed the door behind him before pulling out another bottle of wine and pouring himself a drink; the second in as many hours...and he’d only been up for three so far. Excessive drinking wasn’t really one of his vices, but exceptional circumstances called for...well, exceptions.

No, it wasn’t the day-to-day running of his newly expanded empire that was driving him to drink; he’d spent his life handling greater and greater amounts of such minutiae, and that was before he had completely reliable, completely obedient secretaries of his own to handle the bulk of the paperwork. It wasn’t his new role in getting to grips with promoting new officers in the military that were both loyal to him and competent either; he always had an eye for talent and opportunity, the military was no strange beast to him.

No, his problem was Azula.

Having finished pouring, he sat back and spent some time admiring his office. Or rather the artfully crafted roof of his office, as if he looked anywhere else he’d have to look over all the paperwork on his desk and be reminded of that too. Best to consider one headache at a time, he thought. And it really was a nice roof; earthbending was certainly a useful skill to have when carving murals. This particular one, a sprawling account of the earliest days of Ba Sing Se’s inception, had been one of the reasons he decided he wouldn’t move out of his previous offices and into the previous Earth King’s. That, and he preferred to sit in more comfortable chairs than thrones. Thrones could catch you out and be used against you. Literally.

Azula. Yes, that was a problem. And unlike everything on his table, one he had absolutely no say in handling.

Simply put, they’d ran out of time with her. The letters they had been ‘holding’ for the girl had grown steadily more demanding of her presence back on home soil, no doubt to plan defences for the imminent solar eclipse and whatever forces the Avatar would have managed to muster for his attack. The princess not being back for such an occasion, and certainly without any results to speak of, would be a great cause of suspicion. She had already told them about the Dai Li, and unlike most of his decidedly arrogant cabinet he knew that the Fire Nation were not stupid; they would be able to put two-and-two together regarding any continued absence on her part.

He took a large mouthful of wine, swilling it in his mouth as he examined some of the more detailed carvings in the ceiling; a man striding across mountains, ringed with earthen wheels and walls. A little abstract for his taste, that part, it wasn’t clear what was going on.

Tardiness wasn’t the only reason they had to let her go prematurely, of course. Long Feng wanted her back for that eclipse. More importantly, he wanted his agents there too. Agents who would be trusted by the Fire Nation.

Which is where the difficulty came in. Though mentally she was flawlessly co-operative with everything their expert suggested, he was only given a little less than a week to work with her. Barely enough time to get the basics of their designs for her down, let alone to start inserting trigger phrases and automatic behaviour; they were lucky to even get a flimsy cover story to stick long enough for getting her onto the ship home. Hopefully it would be reinforced over the course of her voyage back to Fire Nation soil, along with the rest of her indoctrination.

Unfortunately, proceeding would take coercion rather than orders considering how they were shaping Azula’s psyche, a daunting proposition considering their best agent had to stay behind with his current charge to finish off the final stages of that subject’s training. On top of that he’d recently forbade them sending any more correspondences updating him of their progress due to possibility of the operation being compromised; they couldn’t even be sent advice on how to deal with the very personality they were trying to rebuild.

So now Long Feng was just waiting on word to see how it all turned out.

Oh. And this was all discounting the report he was handed about her hallucinating her mother when she was quizzed over her breaking down in her cell.

He downed the rest of his drink.

Best case scenario; Azula gets properly trained on the trip over and everything goes just as planned. Worst case scenario, Azula snaps out of it on the boat ride over, or in the palace, all his agents with her get killed, and he loses both a valuable resource and an extra edge in dealing with the Avatar after this whole sorry eclipse business. There were also a lot of middle scenarios, but unfortunately they all seemed to have the same end result as the worst scenario just with slightly less beneficial end results for the Fire Nation.

Long Feng tutted at the ridiculousness of it all. Oh well; he just had to hope she had become sufficiently suggestible over the course of her stay in the Lake for them to cope with her temper. Did all people in world-shaping power have all these kinds of plans? If it wasn’t all necessary to secure his rightful place as ruler of this city then he’d do away with it all. There were so many more people to appease now. Officials and influential nobles outside of the city walls to win over before the news that he’d usurped the king spread too widely, a military to reign in with leaders who needed either coddling or pandering to...so many little, delicate transactions to deal with. Sometimes he wished he could just take all the nobles on a ‘vacation’ to Lake Laogai so he could build himself a loyal upper class from the ground-up. They had enough cells for it, but he suspected the presence of dozens of powerful individuals would be missed somehow.

He rubbed his face and tilted away from the ceiling, returning to the desk and the many letters upon it. His current replies for meeting requests with the Earth Kingdom nobility; all requiring his personal touch and attention. The majority said yes to meeting with him. The majority of those sought to meet with him clandestinely; not so much because of the matters to be discussed but rather the promises they were going to make...and the trinkets they would exchange to make those promises stick. Turning his mind to previous experience, Long Feng considered what he should do about all of that. Having all the meetings in the palace made sense; he couldn’t ride out to convene with them when he had so much to do here, and it would serve as a symbol of his permanence in the position and of the power he now wielded. That wouldn’t be enough though. He needed things to clinch the deal, and ways to satisfy them during their stay. All nobles had more than enough money and real estate; it’d be enterprises he’d be trading in. Enterprises...and vices.

Long Feng smiled, steepling his hands. Vices. He had more than enough of those; he could afford to share. Besides, if memory served he was going to be occupied with one vice in particular soon enough.

Ty Lee.

Today was the day his good agent would transfer his control of her over to him and she would take up residence in the palace, occupying a rather lavish suite over in the southern quarter of the palace...whenever she wasn’t spending the night within his own quarters, of course. With all the furnishings and the wardrobe he would be providing his little dancer with Long Feng sometimes wondered whether he was spoiling her a little too much, considering that she wouldn’t be wearing clothes and make-up for very long anyway. On the other hand she would be providing him with a valuable service- entertainment -something he currently found nothing of within his palace life so far. So why shouldn’t he make such accommodations for such a valuable resource? There was no need to skimp on expenses; he wanted her to feel comfortable and well looked after in her new home. He took good care of his possessions.

He had even taken the time and care to choose the room himself; a nice suite usually reserved for honoured guests and important officials that wasn’t too far away from the facilities she would be using for her continued dance practice, nor too far from the servant quarters, of which she would have her pick of the staff...and with a little encouragement, she would hopefully start using them to help polish the ‘other’ half of her new skill-set.

He smiled at that. Yes, Ty Lee would definitely benefit if she...

Long Feng sat up straighter, an idea sparking in his head.

Why should it just be Ty Lee? If vices were needed to help broker deals, then...

He grabbed a fresh scroll and a quill, scratching a rough list of things he had to look into; laws, rights, personnel files...things he needed to check up on and compare with the intel on the nobles he’d already received for the meetings.

He laughed inwardly as he wrote. Oh, high society and its many corruptions; one of his own a mere afternoon away.

He was very much looking forward to it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

He wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

He didn’t want to give her up. That was the truth of the matter. He simply didn’t want to. He’d been dancing around the point for a while now, but it was time to admit the truth. He’d mixed that line between business and pleasure far too well...and now it was killing him.

Shin Wong scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to push himself further into the bed to escape from what it was his duty called him to do. A duty that would be fulfilled in little less than ten hours. Ten hours. That was all he had left, ten hours?

He streaked his fingers down his features, feeling his eyelids peel open to let the dusky orange light of their room invade his sight. Ha; ‘their’ room now, was it? He felt a pang of bemusement at that. Their room, not his.

But then that had become the case, hadn’t it? He rolled to his side, swallowing half of his head in the pillows. The cotton smelled of her, not him, the bedpost had her things hanging off it, not his...even the bed itself was half hers now; even if she did have an inclination to sleep at the foot of it whenever the fancy struck her. He felt something hard press against his side and slid a hand underneath the covers, yanking the offending object out. A...hood? Something else that was hers invading his orderly Empire of Bed. In the haze of the morning he’d almost forgotten that his superiors had ordered she become acquainted with such unusual and exotic pieces of night-time ‘equipment’, though he wasn’t entirely sure whether it because it was to be used on her, or she was to become proficient in the use of such tools herself. Certainly, Long Feng struck him as a man who wouldn’t object to being strapped to the headboard every now and then.

Reaching out, he looped a finger through one of the rungs fixed into the bedpost, using it to drag himself over to the edge of the bed, sliding across the mattress like a particularly lethargic slug. Not just good for restraining, those things. Peering out over the edge of the mattress to take the rest of the room, he sighed ruefully. His candles, too, had been usurped from his kingdom; taken by a queen.

A very beautiful one.

Perhaps it wasn’t right to say she’d taken them; he did, afterall, bring them into the room for her sake...for her training. She had been implanted with the impulse, for every half-hour upon waking and for every half-hour before sleeping (providing there were no ‘activities’ going on that night) to use them to meditate. To slip into trance and reinforce her core beliefs. Her mantras. Her lessons. Spending five minutes strengthening each of them before awakening and going about her day, remembering none of what was whispered, but all of what was learned. And as ever, Ty Lee was performing excellently.

Her head was bowed, her lips wetly chanting under her breath as she sat cross-legged across from the flame, her hands gently placed upon her legs, palms up, as if to catch the truths falling out of her words. Her clothing and the thin chains holding it together absent, she recited her hymns naked save the clamps of silver holding themselves against her flesh; embracing her throat, wrists and ankles so carefully and tightly one would think she were born wearing them. He admired them. The bands shone in the candlelight, reflecting the warm glow of her submission throughout the room as if they were not things designed to restrain and control her...rather they were beacons; bright and expressive signals that lit up what was already there and forced everyone to notice it. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

To his eyes the image was so...untainted. So pure. And nobody had the right to own it; to own someone so completely devoted to serving others. To being such a good girl. It seemed like the worst kind of sin.

He thought of Ty Lee’s previous ‘owner’, Azula. That girl had no idea how lucky she was to have had this person in her life. To still have her, really, although she probably appreciated the fact even less now.

Shin recalled the hurried few days he had to work with the princess well. The girl was a walking confliction; a living contradiction who would have kissed Ty Lee just as soon as killed her. And yet, this slave infront of him was still so worried for her that she’d ask how she was doing at every opportunity she could. Which was alot; he suspected it wouldn’t take if he pushed her to move past it, and didn’t want her to be put-out by him simply ordering her to shut up about her friend.

For his part, Shin had kept things mostly to himself regarding what little progress he was able to make with Azula. He’d done his best to go along with Long Feng’s wishes, straightening her out a little, putting her on the right path with the right thinking to back it up, separate what they wanted from her right now from what they wanted from her later...but really, all he’d done was make Column A and Column B. He didn’t have the time put anything in them. He’d given that particular position of separator, sorter, and seeder to a colleague of his, Yuansang, a good agent by all standards and adept at this kind of work...but with the alarming tendency to always played things by ear; fine if you’re working on a scared, confused Joo Dee in a compound, but downright dangerous in that situation if he tried it on at a bad time. Naturally, Shin hadn’t mentioned anything about this to Ty Lee. The less she knew the better for her.

Small mercies. At least she hadn’t pressed him on Mai yet.

Tilting his head, Shin strained to listen to her, curious as to how far along she had progressed in her self-indoctrination while he was sleeping.

“...I am a slave to my desires. My desires are leashed to my obedience. I am a slave to...”

He smiled, remembering it. Ah. The third one. Still fifteen minutes left to go before she finished. And then, he realised sombrely, he’d never get to see this kind of sight again. Never be involved in it.

Stretching out and finally finding the effort to sit-up, Shin looked away from her, content just to listen for a minute as he considered the hood in his hands, slipping one inside whilst the other traced the stitching lines of the leather. Such a peculiar thing. He turned it over so it faced him, staring into the eye pieces; the only openings he was really able to judge her mood from last night; the rest encased, smoothed out by the black caress of the mask. Making her featureless. Making her look like everyone else. A nobody.

He became more sure of its purpose the longer he held it. This one, at least, they must intend for her to use on others and not on herself; just wanted her to learn the effect of it on a person so she could use it appropriately for her own devices. There was no way this was something she was actually going to wear within the palace. No way. It just...didn’t fit, for him. He didn’t enjoy the distance it created between them last night, and he didn’t think she did either. He wanted to see her breath hitch, her face flush, those little expressions that told him how much she was enjoying what he was doing and what he should do next. She was special, not a bland drone or a person who needed to be someone else for a little ‘release’. It wasn’t who she was. The entire reason she was given to him was exactly because that wasn’t who she was...and he certainly didn’t want that to be the last impression he left on her; that he would think that about her. That she was so disposable to him.

He tossed the mask away, frisbeeing it onto the small desk on the other side of the room, landing with a moderate WAP. Unsurprisingly, Ty Lee didn’t miss a beat with her mantra, too deep in her own perfection for such a small ripple to flaw it. More quietly, Shin rustled himself out from under the sheets, rolling his legs onto the floor. The stone underfoot was cold, as ever it was in the Lake, but if she could somehow put up with it then he could too. Wiping his hands in his hair, he realised with some surprise she’d gone onto the forth mantra without him even noticing.

“...I serve myself when I serve others. I serve others when I serve their desires. I serve...”

That one was an interesting one for her to learn, he thought. And necessary too. A good slave doesn’t just go by whatever their owner says they want, they also have to deduce what their owner actually wants, and what they want when nothing is said. Intuitiveness.

Leaving the bed, he crouched beside the dancer, wondering what she had really learned from that particular lesson. What exactly it was that she was reinforcing in her own head. He’d explained the concept to her when he’d planted it within her sub-conscious of course, but what her sub-conscious had done with it since that point, and how she’d used it...he didn’t know, and hadn’t asked.

Stepping behind her he sat down, stretching his legs out either side of her body, forming his figure around her.

Maybe she’d already used that knowledge on him. Her teasing, the way she played with him even as he played with her. The way she was making him feel even now, doing nothing but following a pre-set routine that he himself designed and she wasn’t even aware she was following.

Gently, Shin took her shoulders and pulled her back into him; skin on skin.

Of course, it could just be something she was. Maybe she never needed to learn that lesson at all. Maybe she didn’t need to learn any of them.

He touched her forehead, tilting her head until it rested in the crook of his shoulder. She kept up her manta without fail, announcing it to the skies now rather than to the earth. Her eyelids, however, flickered erratically, her limited awareness responding to his touch, white eyes trying to roll consciousness down to the surface.

She was a natural, truly. At everything to do with this lifestyle. He had been nothing but a man with a chisel, carving the figure out of its marble. It was already there, it just needed to be uncovered. Not like Azula, who needed a partition. Not like Mai, who needed a rebuild. Ty Lee simply...was.

He brought his hands up and massaged her temples, whispering relaxation to her. Carry on, let every sensation take you deeper. She gave up the struggle after a few long, heavy blinks, a glimmer of grey peeking out before her eyes sighed closed and stayed that way. Her low chant steady and unchanged.

He was glad she was like this. Really, quite glad. And not only because it made his job easier. Infact, he didn’t care how easy it made his job right now. He was just...glad to be able to experience something like this for a change. This kind of closeness. It almost felt real. Consensual. It felt like she was his, he was hers, and...that was the way it was always supposed to be. The way it was natural for them to be.

Taking his hands away he wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her to him as he rested his cheek on her hair, still spooled loose and curly from last night: ponytails couldn’t be maintained in such a constricting hood.

Such a lie. Such a perfect lie it all was. And now the lie was spreading; into the palace, into another man’s bed. Perhaps alot of people’s beds. And then Shin would be forgotten, and Shin would continue on under the Lake, sitting on chairs across from other forgotten people, mass-producing Joo Dees or cleaners or whatever bland, nameless workforce was needed at the time.

He narrowed his eyes, putting both arms around her as she seamlessly moved into the fifth mantra.

“...Performing gives me pleasure. Pleasure gives me purpose. Performing...”

...He would still do it. He didn’t like it, but he would. His duty called him to. His city demanded it of him. He would give her up, without fight, without complaint. Abandon this life he’d made for them to live in. But he did not want it to be forgotten. He did not believe it should be forgotten. This was more than just training. To him it was, if no-one else.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and waited for her to finish.

No. No, someone would remember him. He’d make sure of that. He’d make sure she’d remember everything.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“...”

Nothing. Nothing.

“...”

Images, there. There, infront. Brown. Grey. Settled in...patterns. Patterns. Patters.
No time. Sat were the...sat? Were? Where? Sat...here. Kneel. In the moment. Definitely in the m-moment. With the brown and the grey. The st-stones. Stones. They’re st-...st-

-Nononodontdothatdontthinkthatnopainnopainnostopstoppleasestopplease...

“...”

...Stop. Nothing. Black now. E-eyes off. Off. For the moment. In the moment. Nails a-are growing. Hair is g-g-...hair. Hair. Head. In...head. Remember- nononot -remember? Remember? What is a...remember?

“...”

Name. N-name. There w-was a...a na- stopstopstopithurtsno -...to do. To do. In head. Or in mouth? A name. Repeat. A name. Repeat. A-a...a...

“...”

Hardhardhard repeat. Adrift. Name there. Head here. Not...where...h-here is. There. There. Repeat there. Can’t ge- can’t g-mmmffmmm....nnn. No ggo...ggooo. hurts. Hurtaandhurtssonopainnopainnothinkingpains, none.

“...”

...Help.

****

He stood outside the room, looking in at his subject. He had been stood there for nearly an hour now, waiting to see what would happen when she regained awareness, no signals given to her, no restraints holding her. Left to her own devices and her own will.

He was pleased with the answer.

He watched her blink again, slowly, drunkenly, one eyelid slightly faster than the other as if even her reflexes had forgotten how to do it properly. Yes, he was very pleased.

He stroked his stubble, waiting for the last minute or so to wind up before he felt secure he could move onto the next step of her re-education. Her final step. He still had to test her past the hour of course, and if her hand so much as twitched then he’d call it off for another day. There was no rush with this one, no time limit imposed on his art.

Sometimes he wished, on the rare occasions he was allowed to go this far, that he didn’t have to go any further. He’d never felt this so strongly as he felt it now though. She just...knelt there, slouched, hands in her lap, looking at the wall. Staring without looking for something. Her face held no expression and her lips were ever so slightly parted; if her mouth wasn’t dry, she’d probably be drooling all over herself. There was a gratifying nothingness in her eyes. Not a void of a person such as he could make her with a touch, but rather a wilful abandonment of self. A mind gone. A soul vacated from a body that had no use for one and no desire to have one. Base.

For all appearances she was just a pretty looking shell one could use as ornamentation. A breathing corpse. A rare and unique object that one could love and hurt and hate and that would be incapable of, or even care about, stopping you. A beautiful thing.

He knew this wasn’t exactly the case though; if it was, then he’d taken an awful lot of time to make something that would only land him in trouble. No, she only looked dead. She wasn’t. Just...flattened. Building blocks. A potential being. At least that is what he could see through the door. Whether that was actually the case, well...

The hour ticked by, and he went to find out.

****

St-stone. Grey. Now. On the cold. Now. No...no...there, with name. With numbers. Numbers? Wh-wha- n-...num...one. Three. One. One one three. Numbers. The numbers w-were-

-stopstopnopleasenonopainstopthestopthestopthestopSTOPSTOP-

-Nothing. Brown. Grey. Feeling air in...in the air. Cold.

“...”

Noise. Grind-rumble and cold. Look. Green. Green brings -painnonostopleasenow- Green. And mo-mmm.-MOVEment. Aaa...m...move...moving. Bowing greens. Some shape some bright that was a shape. Bright and around round. Going around. Directions going bright. No, no l-l...name? No, bright. No paincomingnowno none of...it. That. Just bright.

****

He examined her reactions closely, moving the lantern up and down, side to side.

Her eyes had moved directly to him as soon as he entered, but she made no other move to attack or disable him, which was promising. She could have, had she the inclination; he hadn’t locked her body in any positions before starting so he could get an honest reaction.

He swung the lantern sharply to the side, and she whipped her head to follow it...but her head only. Her hands remained in her lap, passive and uncommitted to whatever her head was occupied with. Well, that was a good sign; body-interaction had ceased after so much manipulation and needle redirection; her mind had given up attempting to correlate physical behaviours and mannerisms, even instinctual ones such as ones brought on by sudden movement. If his subject had a certain way of walking before, of holding herself, she didn’t have it now.

Bringing the lanterns back into the centre of her vision, he slowly started to move it close to her face, her keen eyes still trying to keep a fix on it, wobbling out of focus before crossing. Under any other circumstances he might find the expression amusing, but it was a necessary part of a rather crucial test so he couldn’t much see the charm of it. Whipping the lantern up quickly, her head pulled up to follow the motion just as he blew it out, stealing her focal point away before she could locate it again, leaving her staring awkwardly at the ceiling.

He waited. A few seconds later, her head tilted back down, her eyes un-crossing, looking ahead.

He re-lit the lantern.

****

Bright again. Sure of...know something. Know something bright. Wrong. Watch. Feel. Name is still...there. Not...why? Why name? One one is three. Nation. F-Fire-

-nonon-

-From the. From?

Bright left bright right bright towards. Towards. Towards. Why is this ha-aah...nn..why? Towards. Weird focus not fixed right –UP!!

“...”

...Gone. Gone bright. Down to green, back to bright. Right left toward toward UP!!

...Gone. Name. Gone? So hard to –nodontyoudontwantthe- yes it...is. Can’t form. Don’t want. All just absent. An absence in Down to green and toward and UP!

And UP!

UP!

****

He moved the lantern back into his robes, satisfied.

His subject was still gaping at the ceiling, cross-eyed, after a minute of the lantern being taken away from her sight. She could learn actions in this state, and hold them. Perhaps not as quickly as when he inducted her into absolute mindlessness, but well enough, and, most importantly, still with access to the rest of her psyche.

Her head came down and her eyes reverted, but he’d seen enough to know the facts. She definitely wasn’t the ornament she appeared to be. She was lost. She was ready.

Kneeling himself, he looked her right in the eyes. Still glassy, but there was something there, clicking away; cogs of thought that rolled and jammed backwards and forwards, rusted into immobility by fear and pain. Stuck, but not broken. That was good; he needed her to be able to understand more than easy, body-orientated tricks. All the girl required was something to latch onto to form her consciousness around, something unlike the things he had been doing to her to make her lose that sense of self; outside of pain, pleasure, touch, sights. Some spark that could set the pistons in her head moving again.

He needed to do it quickly, as well. Grabbing threads of skill and memory were still easy at this stage, but her mind had simply given up trying to keep them together. It caused her too much pain. And with every hour that passed, a little more dissolved away. A few days could pass without too much of a notable difference, some place names would be lost for her to relearn, perhaps...but a few weeks or a few months without retrieval and...well. She really would be a fancy ornament. All the more reason to coax the things he needed through that pain barrier and back to where they belonged now, where even the most meaningless titbits of knowledge were still relatively coherent and attainable.

He checked his surroundings. He might be able to start the next session where they were, but it wasn’t ideal. Better to take her to one of the other, larger chambers to start afterall; he always liked to have walking space while he worked, and didn’t much approve of these small cells.

Reaching forward, he lay a couple of fingers each side of her hip and tapped. She tensed for a moment, then rose up to stand infront of him, some slight expression twitching on her face before settling back down to blank confusion. It was so endearing. That’s right girl, fight it. Fight it all the way. Even if you don’t know what you’re fighting anymore.

Keeping on his knees before her, he shifted his hands a little, causing the crystal around her ankles to recede upwards, leaving them exposed. He made a small circle with a finger around each one, noting the subtle clench of her toes to show the command had been accepted. Waving the bands back down to their original position he stood and turned, walking out of the room.

A step behind him she haltingly followed, the movements sudden and reluctant, her legs trying to keep up pace with the man they were now bound to even as they strove to stay as dormant as the mind to which they were attached. He didn’t look back to check out the person that rattled after him, content just to feel the tremble that ran through the ground with every sudden shake of thought or pang of awareness that each step juddered out of her.

Don’t worry child, you’ll be aware of lots of things soon enough.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Wow. Compared to how she first arrived at the palace, this was alot fancier.

Ty Lee smiled to herself, laying back on her pillows as the carriage moved along through the upper ring of the city. Thin gauzy sheets shielded her from the nobility, her body having been designated too provocative and too tempting for their unworthy eyes to see beyond a silhouette of what had been promised to their lord. She could feel their auras ripple appealingly as they passed to and fro, intrigued by the elegant marbled design of the transports frame, the shadowed passenger within, and the lingering, suggestive scents of oil, perfume and musk that it left in its wake. It stirred something within them; something base and vulgar that made some flinch away in disgust and others get scolded by their wives...or husbands. Only the children seemed honest, and either gawped until this vision had left their sight, or trailed along behind it for a few seconds. She’d have waved, but it probably woulda broke the magic...and she was enjoying the magic immensely. A scene straight from a fairy tale.

For her part, Ty Lee saw their vast expanses of land and huge mansions as mere outlines under a jade sky with emerald clouds pressed into its curtain, sliding and drifting along the expanse like crystals imbedded in honey. It was another world; special one, and one only for her to see. To see, but not to touch. The land behind those silken sheets, away from the scents that enveloped her and the pillows that caressed her, was not a place for one such as her, she knew. It was a bore. Politics and soulless business and largely pointless etiquette. It was one of the reasons she left for the circus, and one of the reasons she was so glad she was being elevated above it all; beyond all concerns of money and prestige, engagements and bartering. She would have but one responsibility; to perform. To do whatever is asked of her, whenever it was asked of her. No need to think ‘why’; just do it...and get rewarded for doing it. So simple. So perfect.

Ty Lee sighed, letting the cushions absorb her a little more; sinking deep into patterns of green and brassy yellow. The silk on her back felt nice. Everything was soft. The lamp in the ceiling glowed faintly, dim green fireflies flitting about their glassy prison, bathing her in a light that seemed so much more intimate and alive than those made by oil lamps. She rubbed one leg against the other, relishing the feel of the sash between them. Mmm.

Closing her eyes, she wandered a hand over her body, stroking at the silver holding her outfit in place before sliding her fingers underneath to graze at her skin. Teasing out a reaction. Light glides, tracing the edges of her chains; the curve of her hip, the underneath of a breast, the inside of a thigh...

The world faded away. The rumble of wheels and the murmurs of nobility trickled out of awareness, being replaced by stronger smells, stronger touches. Hmm. Ty Lee knew that she could still be seen, just a little bit, if the watcher were really paying attention.

She smiled a little wider, slipping a hand to her breast, palming the flesh, pressing it into her before beginning to knead, sliding the nipple between her fingers and squeezing it. The air seemed to deepen around her, grow heavier, and she swallowed it generously, feeling a rhythm build between her breaths and her sex; a low, throbbing warmth inside of her.

Ty Lee didn’t tend to it immediately, instead spiralling a single finger down her stomach, tracing a path around her growing heat and gripping the sash into the flesh of her thighs, stoking the fire before running a cool anklet against her calf, distracting the blaze. Letting it simmer. Letting it grow. It was such a shame that Master had told her to put on clothes, really. Although they were expected of her, they were also getting in the w-

“-Ah!”

She arched slightly and yanked her hand away from her leg, pulling it back up to her stomach; the chill of the bracelet having accidentally rubbed against her clit. Geez, she’d need to be careful about that; she almost came then and there. Letting the embarrassment go with a small giggle at herself Ty Lee pressed on, gliding the hand beneath her sash, resting it just above her pussy with fingers tapering down each side, lightly pushing and rubbing against the sensitive, shaved flesh.

Her mind wandered. Last night was weird. The hood was hot and pressed on her, and she didn’t really feel like herself when they were doing it. Like she was someone else, or being treated like someone else. She liked the way she was treated though. Hmm. How about Azula?

The dancer sighed, sliding a finger inside herself, easing it along with the gentle rocking of the carriage.

Mmm...Master had told her that Azula’d been freed, but might still come back to visit her. That was good. She could totally spoil her when she did. She’d learned a lot over the past few weeks afterall. She wondered what Azula would want from her, if they met like ‘that’...make her do...or, the thought emerged, make her do to her.

Ty Lee bit the bottom of her lip, sliding her ring finger in too, the loop of the slave bracelet catching against her clit with every slowly quickening thrust.

Mmm...that was...something to consider. Ty Lee thought about how she felt when she was massaging her, when she was putting the gag on her...so careful not to hurt her...so...strong, from the trust Azula put in her...and then, the...the clit ring she saw, later...Azula sitting there, so peaceful...s-so...ahh...pliant...and the light...a-and her Master, speaking so low....A-Azula listening...

She moaned, arching a leg up and twisting her fingers inside of her, bringing the thumb to bear on her most sensitive spot. So close now. Just...a little...more...

She pictured Azula wearing the hood. Azula letting her slide it over her perfect face, h-hiding...her flawless hair beneath it. Tightening it...drawing the st-strings together...haah...the smell, the taste, the- the constricted, heated breaths freeing the princess from herself, letting her..be...what- what s-she always- wanted-...to-...b-

-The carriage rocked to a stop.

“We’ve arrived, my Lady.”

Her eyes snapped open, the daydream blasted away by sudden terror. Oh! Oh crap! She shot up from her den of pillows, looking out the sides of her ride with a tight air of panic, seeing her Master walk towards her from the coach infront of her. Oh, she hadn’t been given permission to masturbate because it might mess up her clothes! Stupid stupid- what was she thinking?! He was going to kill her! He should’ve said it more definitely! No, it wasn’t his fault she was being bad again...at least she didn’t come from it...well, she probably couldn’t anyway, thinking about it, but still- STILL!!

Wait, wait... calm down Ty Lee. With all the perfumes he wouldn’t be able to smell her, right? Okay, okay, she was good, there weren’t any juices either except...no, none on her sash, so they were just on her-

“-Alright Ty,” Shin cheerily announced, sliding one of the curtains back, “We’re...”

He paused, looking at her.

“..Is there...any reason you’ve got your fingers in your mouth, Ty Lee?”

There was another pause before they slid, guiltily, out between her lips so she could answer.

“They, um...”

She frowned distractedly, sucking the taste off her tongue.

“...They were a little dirty. Master.”

He’d already looked away, out towards the palace.

“I see. Well as I was saying, we’re here. Shall we?”

Smiling at his proffered hand, she moved towards him, sliding her palm into his even as she slid the last of her juices down her throat. She wondered if she should be disgusted at that, but disregarded it before stepping off. Eh, she’d tasted worse things.

A light shudder ran through her as her foot touched the ground. Light, white stone; so unlike the rock used in Laogai, warmed by a sun that could never shine in the depths of a dungeon. The feeling radiated up into her body, causing a light flush to overtake her. Wow. She was out. She really was out of there. It felt great.

“Feeling okay?”

Ty Lee looked up at him, unaware she’d closed her eyes and hitched her breath. He seemed a little concerned...so cute! She beamed a smile at him, sliding her arm under and around his, locking their fingers together.

“I’m fine Master,” She replied, the title coming without thought now, “Just getting my bearings, y’know.”

He nodded, suitably reassured, and motioned for them to carry on towards the imposing building sat before them; an invitation she graciously accepted.

As they started, though, she noticed how unusual it all felt. The warm stones seemed to make her legs sink with every step, hooking into the soles of her feet, wrapping around the toes, prickling up her legs and into her body. The feeling streamed through her, binding her to this new place, these new sensations so deeply that for a moment she almost couldn’t walk for how well it rooted her to the spot. This place, her new home, and these first steps within it.

The thought of ‘belonging’ caressed her, and with a gasp she felt the abiding impression thread through her; thread out of her now, through the air and imbedding itself in whatever surrounded her, the planted trees, the marble walls, pillars, doors, paving stones...tethering her tightly, but slackening on the reigns for every step she took, for every new thing her soul was anchored to, as if to buoy her shaking spirit in a net of residence, steadying it upon this ocean of life and opportunity that spread before her in a gust of white and green. Massive, daunting, exhilarating...inescapable.

A passing fancy taking hold, she turned her head back to look at the gate they had passed through, presently being ground closed by a pair of earthbenders. It seemed so far away now. Perhaps if she tried she could get out, but even then, at the mere thought of it, she could feel the coils latching her to this place curl in, tighten up to stiffen her movements...at best, she could probably take three steps towards the exit before the dragging weight of her new responsibilities immobilized her as surely as any rope, harness or pressure point jab.

But as her faux-ambition dropped away and the world softened out once more, she realised that she didn’t have a problem with that. She had no need to escape. No desire. Everything and everyone she wanted was here, or would come back here eventually, and the tenseness such feelings of flight would create in her, that stiffness, would hamper her performances...something she didn’t want to happen.

Afterall, she had found her calling. Her true calling; the one in which she’d be happy to spend the rest of her life residing in. And how many people could say that? How many people could say they had found that kind of fulfilment in their lives? Few. Only the very special. And she was special.

She looked up at the building that was to be her new home, thinking it was much more impressive the second time around than it was the first. She was probably so busy helping Azula bring it down that she never took the time to appreciate just how big it really was. Huge! And she was going to be living in it, along with probably hundreds of other people, officials and secretaries and servants and...

Ty Lee frowned, thinking. Hadn’t her Master said something about Mai living here too, eventually? Yeah, she thought so. Or at least he was going to try to get her in here. She hadn’t really had much of a chance to speak to him about Mai since Azula left, and he hadn’t offered her any info either. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

Pressing her lips together, she thought about what it was she wanted to say...or even if she should say it, now that she was paying more attention to the man next to her. His aura was frayed. Sad. And for all his nonchalant appearance he still had such a grip on her hand, like he was never...

Oh.

She’d...she’d completely forgotten in all the hubbub and excitement that...wow. That this was the last time they’d really be together. Woah.

Well yeah she always knew, or at least she was told she’d be working under her Lord when she got to the palace, but...wow, was she really never going to see him again? Trading a Master for a Lord? A bed of two people for...something a little less close? More exotic, yeah, more risqué, certainly, but...was this okay?

“Shin?” She paused, both of them surprised by the use of his actual name, “Are you...am I going to see you again?”

He didn’t reply immediately, letting the silence carry them around the corner and towards the central chambers of the palace. It wasn’t an uncomfortable one though.

“Well, you might,” He smiled, “Depending on my duties.”

“Oh...”

He tilted his head to examine her own downcast features, a sly grin on his face.

“Going to miss me, are you?”

“Well- yeah! Duh! We had, we did...we did a lot of fun things, y’know? I was kinda hoping we’d have time to do some more...”

“I’m sure our Lord will find plenty of interesting things for you to do that won’t need to involve me.”

“It won’t be the same though, will it?” She pouted, stroking at one of her bangs; the same one she’d woken up to find him stroking this morning.

“...No.” He admitted, “No, not really.”

They stopped infront of a large, black-wooded door.

“We’re here.”

She gaped. No, this was happening too fast. She wasn’t ready.

“Whaat? So soo-“

-Ty Lee yelped as she was spun around, too surprised to react as her back pressed against the doorway, her body greedily squeezed between him and the gate to her future.

“And here is my last order to you, slave...” He murmured, sliding a hand to her waist.

“...Kiss me.”

Her shock gave way to a heady sadness. Resignation and lust. Spirits, this really was it...his last command.

She better not disappoint then.

Ty Lee breathed and let herself get drawn into the order, savouring the moment. It went...slowly...like moving from sleep to dream...and soft, like staying in that dream. A tender press of lips, and...

...Nothing else. He drew back. A light end of innocence and chastity to weeks that consisted of so much more. Even so, Ty Lee shuddered, feeling a quell of what small promise her earlier ministrations would have delivered to her had she finished. Spirits, she was going to miss that touch of his. It was so relaxing and safe and...

Wait. There was something else there too, shivering inside her. He’d...loosened something up...with that kiss. Something...something huge. She didn’t know what, but it was there, stirring, like a chest slowly creaking open. Not so much as awakening as it was revealing. But...

“...What...” She attempted, blinking back the glacial progress the mass was making.
He laughed quietly, kissing her forehead and lending her a hug.

“Just something to remember me by. Don’t worry about it. Don’t force it. It’ll all slide into place on its own when you’re ready.”

He was right. It was receding back on its own, returning into...nothing. Nothing of consequence. Returning the hug, she scrunched her eyes shut, willing herself to not get upset over all of this. It wasn’t goodbye. Stop being silly.

“D-Don’t worry,” She finally managed, hiding her stammer behind a smile, “I won’t forget. How could I?”

He pulled back, looking up at the door infront of him.

“...Easier than you think.”

He looked back down and gave her hair a ruffle.

“Now go on; your new Master’s waiting for you. And don’t worry about Mai. I’ll check up on her to make sure she’s...turning out alright.”

“Thanks.” The dancer murmured, shifting his hand to her cheek and giving the palm a quick kiss, “For everything.”

“Just doing my job.” He said, his aura panging an unusual shade of green before he turned, back down the corridor, back down to the Lake. Leaving.

Ty Lee watched him until he went around the corner. Gone. He’d...gone. Just like that.

She shifted on the spot, suddenly feeling very lost. For this brief moment, she had no-one to serve. No commands to follow, no-one to care for or about. She was for all intents and purposes a free woman. Do what you will, whenever you will it; that was the be all and end all of the law.
She didn’t like the sentiments. They didn’t belong to her anymore; she didn’t have any use for them. They couldn’t give her what she wanted. What she needed.

Turning to face the door she was so recently pressed up against, she gave a light knock, hesitant to injure what was obviously a very expensive-

“-Enter.”

Her breath caught in her throat. No. Rather it was held there as the voice rippled over her, letting her know in the simplest of terms its power. It held her life. Her life belonged to it.

She reached a shaky hand forward and pressed hard, letting the doors swing forward. Opening her to the gravity of the man on the other side.

Ty Lee fell to her knees.

She had no strength in her unless her Lord willed it. Not in his presence. And right now his presence, that aura, was everywhere; pressing her...controlling her...pushing her even lower to the floor until her forehead touched it. Spirits, she hadn’t even seen him yet.

She waited for instruction.

“Come.”

She stifled a moan as the word rippled through her. Clear. Commanding. She couldn’t go against it. She didn’t want to. She glanced along the floor towards the fireplace and the chair set next to it before her sight was pulled back to the ground beneath her and stayed there despite her straining to do otherwise. She wasn’t able to even press against the shroud of obedience that had fallen on her; she was told to come, not to look at where she was going. That was all she was commanded to do...and that was all she could do.

She crawled across the carpet to her new master’s side and waited for her next order. Nothing more. Nothing else.

And it felt so fucking good.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Moving now. Forward. Corner around the stone. Also, more...more. Pauses in...in thought, not just –painnostop- stops. Whi-white nnnoise in head, not j-just-just halting. Hammers. Thump to stop.

Still moving, foot, no, feet. Feet didn’t...weren’t here. Turn left. No, not here. There, with green. Green. Control was...there...w-was....no...no understanding of where the –stop- control –STOP-

“...”

Supposed to...s-supposed to...remmmm. R-. Nmmpph. Fire. About fire. About name, about one-onnnne three. Still, couldn’t, can’t. Sssstatic. And wrong. Just...wrong.

Stopping.

STAND UP

Standing.

SIT IN THE CHAIR

Sitting. Brown-grey-black tight everywhere. And a bright- a bright LIGHT. A light. Light right there. Nothing else. Nothing except...bare, and...sting. Stinging. Stinging? Stinging?! NEEDLES?!

Nononononostopstopdontwantthispleasenonopainplease-

“Can you hear me?”

“...”

...Did...what was that?

****

He repeated himself, sliding another needle into the back of her arm, just above the elbow.

“Can you hear me?”

Her eyes fluttered in the lantern-light, head trying to shake against the band holding it secure to the chair. He’d forgotten how long it must have been for her since she last heard anyone talk to her; Long Feng, surely. And he hadn’t said a thing to her since he had drilled a lie into her mind. Given the hours they had been working since then, and the distorting effect of the needles, it probably felt like years to her.

She squinted, trying to shift her chin, to get her mouth working around the rock and crystal muting her, her thoughts slowly coagulating around the words he spoke and the light fixed infront of her. The light would be the only thing she’d be able to see for the duration of this session. His low tones the only ones she would be able to hear. An offering from him to her. A lifeline.

“Blink once.”

She twitched, looking skittishly from side to side, trying to find the source of the voice. A useless thing to do even if the lantern were not lit; he’d already used some smaller needles to disrupt her hearing, throwing off her ability to locate sound sources. She probably couldn’t even tell it was him talking.

“Blink once.”

She breathed heavily through her nose, attempting to squirm in her bonds as her newly restarted intellect considered the command. For his part he had almost finished, sliding the last needle into the lower base of her spine and adjusting the bucket size underneath the seamed seat to make sure any waste or urine she was sure to let go of wouldn’t spill out onto the floor. She would not be getting up until he was satisfied she was ready for the first round of tests. That could take days. That also meant he had to take care of her needs or her.

Glancing back up at her, he managed to catch her blink once, a barely audible whine accompanying the act.

“Good.” He intoned, removing a scroll from his robes.

“Now, listen carefully. I will explain why you are here.”

****

Her head swam. Her brow was sweating. Yes, she was a...she. Things were starting to make sense now. The voice made things make sense. It was everywhere. It was inside her head, shaking. Shaking everything loose. There was a black haired girl in her head. There were images. Places, people, smells. It was helping. Listen to it.

“You will hear facts. You will confirm whether these facts are true or false. You will do this by gripping the chair arms; your right hand if the fact is true, the left hand if the fact is false. Blink if you understand so far.”

Left and right. False and true. Yes, she knew of those things. She could move her hands if she had to. She could confirm facts. Yes. Just keep on talking. And why was it so bright? Where was she?

She blinked.

“Good.”

She tensed her leg muscles and closed her eyes, feeling that...something, wash over her again. It was nice. Listening to this voice was nice. But whose was it? So many images in her head. People...

“If you answer and tell the truth, you will be rewarded. If you answer and lie, or do not answer, you will be punished. Blink if you understand.”

Wasn’t there something she...did? Something...no, she could think about that later, it was more important that the voice knew she really understood right now. She blinked.

“Good.”

She shivered feeling a surge of bliss push through her, caressing, smoothing out the rough edges of her thoughts. Yes, it was good. She wanted more. Tell her more things.

“Then we shall begin. There are three nations.”

The thought slid down into her mind’s eye. Yes, it was true, there were three nations. There was a vague thought that there used to be four...no, that wasn’t important. The voice asked only about the now. She thought about squeezing her right hand.

****

He watched his subject’s eyes widen then half-lid, her body sinking into the thrall of a gentle haze of ecstasy.

The needles were starting to have an effect, he could see. She couldn’t focus her vision on the light anymore and her countenance had smoothed out, like she was meditating with her eyes open. There wasn’t much else of her body available to comment on from the side, everything from her feet up to her neck being solidly encased in rock, with the exception of her hands, which rested nicely on the chair arms and the areas he left bare for the needles. She probably couldn’t feel much about the rest of her body anymore anyway after he’d regulated it to a free-floating lump of sensation thanks to two needles scissoring her neck. There wasn’t any need for her to worry or think about trivial things like that.

“You are a female.”

Again he watched her right hand twitch, and again she was rewarded, another wave washing over her, a muffled sigh of satisfaction making its way past her gag, there being just enough time between the two statements to allow an overlap; compounding the sensation. How utterly placated she looked. How utterly tranquil. And didn’t she deserve a little tranquillity after all she had been though? Some serenity? Some peace? Hadn’t she earned it?

No. Not just yet. But spirits willing, she was about to.

“You are fourteen years old.”

****

Everything felt so weird. So good. What was the question? Fourteen. Oh, okay; no she was fifteen.

She squeezed her left hand.

“MMMPH!”

Oh, oh no. The light was in her eyes again, harsh and cruel and far too bright, making her squint. She felt heavy...it was cold, really cold now, and- and things were itching, uncomfortable, jagged things. Thinking was- no, itt...uh, it wasn’t s-supossededd-to...no this isn’t-

“You lied.”

-She...was this what happened when you...? When we? I-no I, when she? Everything was falling apart, and it ached, it-it hurt...she didn’t want to hurt, no. No. Did she...lie? She was so...had she lied? Why would she-

“Blink if you’re sorry for lying.”

She was! She was! But- but had she? Oh, but the voice was...her head. Her head would know. She co- that wasn’t good. Thinking. But feeling was still there, s-so it felt bad so the voice said that lying would be punishment and she didn’t want to lie so...so she lied? And she was sorry?

She blinked.

****

He half-knelt right next to her, one hand on the needle imbedded in the back of her right arm, the other on the back of the chair. He examined every line of discomfort, every feature of her inner fight. This was what it was all about, to him. This final struggle.

He could see the confusion racking her features. The indecision. It was so very different to the sights he’d seen coming up to this point. The contortions were alien. Half-formed. They didn’t belong to the girl who was delivered to him. This indecisiveness would have never been present even a week ago. She was almost there. Teetering on that final, flawless moment. Her moment.

Just push a little more. Burn those embers a little longer. A little further.

The ashes would be all yours, girl.
****

...Where...where was she? This light, it was hard, so harsh, burning her eyes...she couldn’t...couldn’t think with it on. There was so much missing...how-had she d-done this until n-now? Think? And why?

“Apology accepted.”

Uhhn. That took the edge off. But what...how had she thought before? Cold. It still seemed so...spacy, and...

“Now tell the truth: Are you fourteen years old?”

She whimpered. Maybe. She didn’t want to lie. Facts were facts, not lies. But...w-why was it so hard...she didn’t understand. Wasn’t she esc-...escaping? From somewhere? Wasn’t she saying something to herself so-

“-NNM!”

“You failed to answer.”

-S-She was...she didn’t...she remembered turning fourteen, maybe, b-but that...it was so hard to breathe, if she could j-just, just get a second to-

“-AGAIN: Are you fourteen years old?”

S-h... dunno- ah-

“Are you fourteen years old?!”

S-mhuf...naah, aahh....aaaahhhh!!

“ARE YOU FORTEEN YEARS OLD?!”

****

She almost clawed the whole right arm off the chair.

He watched her shudder, then collapse, the tears running unnoticed down her cheeks as that sanguine feeling overtook her again, melting away all of her concerns. All those fears and doubts and second-guesses getting rinsed away; the mud that prevented her from seeing reality. Her reality. Her achievement. Her triumph over herself. He let her take a second to savour it, for HIMSELF to savour it; the honour of witnessing her rebirth. She’d finally earned it. She really had.

And it really was ‘she’ now. That proved it. Not ‘Mai’. Mai was fifteen years old; just turned it a few months ago or so. This girl infront of him wasn’t fifteen. She was fourteen. That was an accepted fact. And she didn’t act anything like Mai would act under the same circumstances. So all he had left to do is find out who this girl was. Or rather, tell her.

“Good.” He smiled, putting a little pressure on a needle sticking in her right arm, “It feels good to tell the truth, doesn’t it?”

She blinked lazily as the needle coaxed a second sense of rapture out of her, her cares now long scattered away. What a beautiful ending for her to enjoy after all that screaming and crying and pleading; the stripping of each and every layer of her mind until only the core remained. What a reward.

She fought until the end; he would remember that. He would remember it for her.

And he would reward her for it, too. Her ashes had been turned to soap, washing her mind free of all her past concerns, ready for this new future. Now clean; he could make her truly beautiful. A work of art. His art.

Time to sculpt a masterpiece.

****

Something had slipped.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

Something had slipped.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

Something had changed.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

But it was okay.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

Really, it was okay.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

Because this time...

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

...She didn’t care.

The voice spoke. She twitched her right hand.

...She didn’t care.

_
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Lake Laogai