A Kindred Spirit [Reader x Zuko]

Chapter Two

A Kindred Spirit

Chapter Two

You had barely seen any of the supposedly magnificent palace despite having resided in it for the last six years. Probably because you'd been a prisoner the whole time. Right now, walking down the ornate halls, you sort of missed the intimate hallways of the dungeons. Everything felt too large and overwhelming. Every sliver of light felt blinding. Not to mention you could feel the tension in the air.

Your assigned guide kept looking back at you in disgust. It wasn't unjustified; you hadn't been given very many resources to keep yourself clean over the years. Your skin had some areas you weren't sure would ever come clean and no amount of braiding would hide the state your hair was in. The only thing That made it manageable at all was the fact that you had the presence of mind to braid it as you hadn't been able to properly wash it out much less had a proper haircut in six years.

Long Feng had made sure to limit your interactions with water just incase you tried to retaliate. What were you going to do - heal them to death? All your mother knew how to do was heal. Or at least that's all she was allowed to tell you and teach you. Like water, your contact with your mother was restricted. It had become less and less as the years rolled on. You'd only been able to see her during healing sessions recently.

"In here," the attendant replied in a clipped tone as they passed you a small wrapped package. "This is the servants' bathing area. Do what you can to clean yourself up."

When they opened the door you couldn't help but try to take everything in. Situated all around the room were depressed areas with chairs sitting in the middle. Near the chairs were small buckets, most of which still looked damp. Hanging above those was a rope attached to some sort of poll with a lid. Vaguely you recalled that being a way that water was carried down from a central reservoir instead of a pump based system.

You barely registered the fact that you'd been left alone as you numbly moved through the room. What hit you most was the sensation. Water was literally all around you. You could feel it in your soul like it was connected to your heart beat. The other interesting sensation was how hot it felt in this room. It was a staggering difference compared to the cell that you were used to.

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It took you a good thirty minutes to scrub your body down and another ten minutes focused slowly on your hair. Afterwards you dressed yourself in the new clothing provided; attempting to put you wet hair up into a similar fashion as the girl who had been you savior. Unfortunately you could fit it all up into the bun so you had to leave some hanging down.

Once you gathered all the provided materials back up you moved towards the door. You waited for a moment as you tried to decide what to do. That wasn't something you were used to. Normally every decision was made for you. Food, water, shelter, activities...everything except you thoughts. Even those had been controlled in a way considering that your access to information was severely restricted.

Timidly you reached out to try and open the door. It was such a strange feeling when it actually opened, that you hadn't been locked up, that it left you feeling dizzy. You took in a slow breath as you looked around. The hallway might seem like much to others but to you it was the largest, most ornate thing you had seen.

"Let's go. Your presence has been requested."

You nodded. You were used to being summoned. It almost gave you a sense of normality. That very notion coupled with how emotionally invested you'd gotten about being able to open a door left a bitter taste in your mouth. It soured the whole journey that you had getting to wherever it was that you'd been summoned to.