Fire Sickness

Chapter 14: Under the Byoki Temple

If only Zuko hadn't distracted me, I could've followed Commander Enya directly and wouldn't have to resort to peeking my head through windows like a creep attempting to locate her. There were so many temples, all with different purposes; there was one for warriors to pray before battle, another to pay homage to the deceased, and- of course- the high temple for matters relating to the royal family. My mother knew her way around this maze of sanctuaries like the back of her hand, but I took after my father- play-acting at piety while not giving a hoot about some spirits that probably didn't exist.

Just as I passed by the temple where relatives of the sick and dying came to beg for miracles (it was called the Byoki Temple, I vaguely remember Mother telling me), I heard a scraping sound, much like metal on metal. I looked around, attempting to locate the source of the noise, but couldn't identify it. When I heard another dull whirring, I placed my ear to the ground, not caring if I dirtied my clothes, and realized the noise wasn't emanating from any of the sanctuaries but rather from underground.

Keeping low to follow the rumbling, I slowly circled around the perimeter of the Byoki temple before realizing the noise must be coming from beneath it.

I had no reason to believe Enya was the source of the noise, but I didn't have any other leads, and the desire to know more about her had fermented in my gut till I felt rotted with desperation. I hated having this level of attachment to anyone, let alone some commander, but nevertheless, I crept into the Byoki sanctum, the creaking, metallic sound clear as a bell beneath my feet. There was also a strange warmth, almost like a furnace cranked up as high as possible.

"Or a very powerful firebender," I muttered under my breath.

I'd never seen any sort of cellar anywhere on the palace grounds, but I knew that Ty Lee's house had a basement where she practiced her tumbling; there must be a similar room beneath the Byoki Temple. But how could I access it?

Thankfully, I didn't have the same piety as my mother, which might've prevented me from messing around with the sacrificial altar. Setting aside the gold offering bowls and unlit candles, I shoved the altar off of the woven rug it rested on, peeling back the corner of the ornate, crimson fabric to reveal a well-hidden, well-camouflaged trapdoor. It wasn't sealed traditionally, with a keyhole or a combination lock, but rather with a carved out handprint with metallic, gold veins coursing through it.

After a moment of hesitation, I pressed my palm into the carving, my fingers not quite filling the shape, and waited for a few seconds. Nothing happened.

"Fuck this shit!" I growled, steam pouring from my nose.

The trapdoor sliding aside to reveal the entrance to the basement nearly scared me out of my skin, and I ripped my hand back, clutching it to my chest. Firebending, that must be the answer, the key to the secret room below.

Thankfully, the sound of whatever the hell was going on in this hidden basement drowned out my entrance, but I kept vigilant, heart thudding against my ribcage. I shouldn't feel scared; I was the princess, this temple was on the ground of my palace, I had every right to be here. And yet, I didn't believe myself. I might be royalty, but whatever the sages were doing down here, I didn't have a right to see it.

Reaching the fuzzy, amber light that illuminated this secret cellar, my feelings of trespassing multiplied ten-fold. I saw Commander Enya laying on a slab of stone, fully naked, sweat dripping from every pore on her body, steam rising off her skin as though someone had just poured hot tea on a block of ice. Four sages surrounded her, all women; two turned a metal wheel (the churning sound I'd heard above ground), which provided a stream of cold water. I knew it was from the ocean when I smelled the salt.