Freedom

Chapter 12: The Howler Monkey's Cage

Zuko spent most of his time in his cell. He wasn't allowed time outside, that was only for prisoners that wouldn't be dead soon. When he wasn't cleaning or eating in the cafeteria, he was in his cell.

It was completely made of metal top to bottom and only had a tiny window that let in the smallest amount of light, too tall for him to reach and look out of.

The window helped him keep track of time. He knew he was in the a private sector of the East Wing; he heard the guards call it death row. If the sun shined on one side of his cell, it was morning, and the other if it was night.

It was nice to be able to tell when he may be let out for lunch or allowed to stretch his legs and go clean something.

All he was given was an old worn out mattress and a thin flimsy blanket. The mattress was so old that sometimes he wondered if he'd have better luck sleeping on the metal floor. The stuffing was bunched in different places and so uneven he woke up with several knots scattered around his back. No amount of stretching or cracking his back could get rid of them all.

The blanket provided no warmth, only slight coverage if he decided to sleep naked, which he often did to avoid waking up in a drenched sweat. He knew it was hot outside for the time of year, but he often wondered if they pumped hot air into the cells to make it more uncomfortable for the prisoners.

There was one time he walked past the guards quarters while the door was open and caught a flash of the cool air conditioning that came from inside. Now every time he walked past on his way to clean the west wing, he silently prayed the door would swing open and he could get a whiff of the cool breeze inside.

His first day was hell. He sat on the bumpy mattress and contemplated his entire life, where he was, how he got here, and if it would all be worth it if he never left. He thought about how he wished he could tell Katara thank you once more, for showing him kindness when no one else would.

He wished he could thank his Uncle for loving him unconditionally, even when he made wrong decisions time and time again. He wanted to know if his Uncle was proud of him, even though it got them both here.

Zuko hadn't seen his Uncle since the caves. Azula made sure that Zuko knew he would never see him again.

"Enough" Azula waved her hand haphazardly.

Iroh laid in front of them, barely clinging to life as his blood was coating the crystal floor. The Dai Li agent heard Azula's voice and stepped away from the old man, a knife still resting between his fingertips, soaking in the blood of the man Zuko cared about most.

Zuko tried to catch his eye as tears were streaming down his own. He wanted to tell him to hold on just a little longer, that maybe they could both make it out of here. He looked desperately for an escape, but Iroh laid helplessly on the ground and Zuko was trapped in a crystal cage.

There was no hope for either of them.

"Please don't kill him... Azula..." Zuko begged to his younger sister. Azula looked towards him and laughed in a manic way.

She sauntered towards him and brought her face inches from his. She spoke in a low voice, "I've always wanted to hear you beg for mercy..."

"Z-Zuko..." Iroh spoke only slightly above a whisper, the only sound he could manage to make before he passed out from the pain.