Asake didn't know how long she was in the bowels of the ship. It could have been hours; it could have been days. She wasn't really sure. The only light came from the lonely torch that sat above her cell. She couldn't even use the sun to figure out what time of day it was because there were absolutely no windows around them. That didn't surprise her, though. If there were windows, the ship would have capsized by now since they were in the underbelly. The only reason she knew she had been there for days on end was when the guards brought her breakfast. That was the only meal they brought to the prisoners, so she made sure to eat every bit of it to stay strong. She was surprised that Zhao would give her quality food, but there was another part of her that figured he wouldn't give her bad food. Unless the food was tainted . . . She would already have been dead if that were the case.
Lifting her head off of the frigid wall, she glanced around her. The torch light was slowly fading away as it burned continuously. She knew it would go out soon enough, leaving her all alone in complete and utter darkness. The other day, the Fire Sages had been taken out of their cells and up the stairs to the top deck. Even though most were quiet and angry, she still missed Shyu. He kept her sane. She assumed they were getting transported to a different ship; she was lucky enough to be Zhao's only prisoner now.
With no one to talk to now, she resorted to talking to herself just to hear another voice. None of the guards ever spoke to her, and Zhao hadn't stepped foot down in the bottom of the ship since the last time she saw him. She thought that he would try to get answers from her or something like that, but she was wrong. She doubted he would come back down here because it was damp and nasty down here and someone like Zhao shouldn't be spending their precious time down here.
"Asake, maybe you should practice your firebending," she whispered to herself. Her lonely voice bounced off the metal walls, echoing around her. Even the flame above the torch shivered in the breeze from her voice echoing around it. "It's been - what? An hour since you last firebended?"
She shrugged and blew out a breath. Fire flew out of her mouth, floating to the ceiling above her. The red of the fire shone down upon her like a red sky. She grinned slowly. Firebending was the other thing that kept her sane. It had a life of its own. She had no clue how amazing firebending was when she was younger. She always thought it was awful and destructive, but this feeling of warmth that spread through her was enough to tell her that it was what she was meant to be doing. It also let her know that she was still alive, that she could still feel something, anything. It gave her hope.
The small fire grew in the palm of her hands as she stared at it. It danced around like one of the performers she used to go see with her dad when she was little. Their town used to host a small festival every year for the summer solstice, and the Dragon Dancers were the highlight of it for almost everyone. She wished she could be a little girl again. It was much simpler back then. She wouldn't have been hurt or kidnapped or anything. She would still be happy.
Turning her attention back to the small flame dancing across her grungy palms, she flicked her fingers and the light grew slightly. Asake knew she wasn't a master, so her fire could get out of control anytime that she did this. She didn't care, though. She had seen a lot of Zuko's training sessions since she had nothing better to do and retained some of the ways to control fire. The fire grew ever so slightly, and it lit up her face even more.
A clang echoed through the bottom of the ship, and Asake dropped her hands. The fire dissipated just as quickly as it came. As of right now, she didn't want Zhao to know she was a firebender. It was her little secret, and she might be able to use it against him. Who knew? She could attack him and get away from this wretched ship.
The soft light of the torch was the only thing left for her to see from. It flickered in the breeze that came from the open door above. More light spilled down the stairs. It looked like sunlight! She hadn't seen sunlight in so long, and her skin itched to be back out in the open. Every fiber of her being yearned to get off of this ship and away from these people before something terrible happened to her. She wasn't sure if she was able to do that, though.
A single guard appeared at the base of the stairs. His wide shoulders barely fit between the two walls in the stairwell. The keychain in his hands glinted in the bright sunlight. He quickly unlocked the cell door and pushed it open, stepping into the cell with her.
"Where are you taking me?" Asake asked as he wrapped chains around her wrists. He didn't answer her. The only sound came from the chains on her wrists. "Come on," she said with a sigh. She glanced up at his face but saw nothing that gave her any inkling as to what he was doing with her. "You can tell me. It'll be our little secret."
"No talking," the guard said gruffly. He shoved her forward, and she stumbled against her own feet. She stepped out into the hallway and saw another guard out there. He had his back to them, but when he heard them walking up behind him, he turned around. "This prisoner is an imbecile. I have no clue why Commander Zhao would want to keep her around."
The second guard's eyes traveled up and down Asake's body, almost hungrily. Her cheeks flushed at the sight of him doing that. Why in the world did he think that was okay to do? "I do know why he chose to keep her."
The first guard let out a chuckle that sent a shiver down Asake's back. Nothing about this sounded right. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up in fear. "Maybe we could have a piece of her."
Asake bit her tongue so she could keep her remarks to herself. She wasn't sure what they'd do to her if she fought back against them, and she definitely didn't want to risk it. They wanted to do something to her, she just knew it. However, she wouldn't give them a reason to hurt her if she kept her mouth shut.
The first guard pushed her forward again, so she started walking up the stairs. The more steps she took into the sunlight, the stronger she felt. Fire rumbled in her stomach, ready to be used to get her to safety. Yes, she said she didn't want to give them a reason to hurt her, but she knew she had to get away from them somehow. Asake had to follow the guards, though, for right now because she had no idea where she was going.
Suddenly, one of the guards shoved his finger into her side, the same one that had been stabbed before. She winced in pain; it was a good thing that wound was already closed up and healed or else she would have been in a lot more pain than what she was in. "Does she ever talk?"
"She did in the cell."
The man poked her again. She was ready for it this time, though. "Talk, girl."
"Why should I?" she spat out. They had stopped walking her forward to get a better look at her in the direct sunlight. The staircase that led down to the prison hold was behind one of them while another hallway opened next to the other guard. Right in front of her was the side of the ship, and she could see docks close to them. They were docked somewhere. "You guys don't really care about me, anyway."
"Ooh," the second guard said. His dark eyes glittered dangerously. "She's fiery."
Asake was fiery in more than one way, but she wasn't going to show it. Not yet, at least. "I have more where that came from, you freak."
"Are you really going to let her talk to you that way?" The first grabbed her wrists, pulling her closer to him. Her turned her to face him, saying, "You want to call me a freak, missy?"
"You both are freaks." Her left cheek stung from the force of the slap, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. However, she stood straighter and looked at the man again. "You think you can hurt me, huh? Guess what? I'm done with that."
She pulled her arms out of his grip quickly and dropped to the ground, sweeping his feet out from underneath him. Jumping up, she kicked him square in the chest, knocking him down the stairs behind him. She didn't bother to watch as he fell because she turned around, kicking the other guard between the knees. She knew there wasn't any armor there and that it would hurt worse than anything else she could do to them. Most of all, it would incapacitate him for a little bit, which would give her a chance to get away. The second guard dropped to his knees, and she brought her elbows down onto his back, knocking him all the way down.
Asake took off running down the length of the deck, cursing her chains that were around her wrists. It made it harder for her to run with them around her, but she still ran as fast as she could. With a quick glance behind her, she allowed herself to grin. She was going to get away! The one guard she kicked down the stairs was still missing, and the other she kicked between the legs was still on the ground, groaning in pain. Her feet carried her to the gangplank. If she made it, she would finally be free.
The thing was, she didn't make it to the gangplank like she had hoped she would. Instead, Asake went flying to the side, landing on her back. The air was knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to get it back. There was a shadow above her, so she opened her eyes. Zhao was standing next to her, shaking his head at her. "You really thought you could get away?"
"Of course," she said, taking deep breaths. Even though she was hurting, she shakily stood up, placing her hands in front of her. They were growing warm, but she pushed the fire away for the moment. If she had to, she would use firebending to get away. She hoped she wouldn't, though. "Just let me go, Zhao."
"Why would I do that?" Zhao said, tapping his chin. He slowly stalked forward. She took frantic steps backward, but her back hit the railing, blocking her from falling down into the water below. "You have a huge price on your head, General Asake."
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently Zuko does like you." Zhao shrugged. He stopped walking for a second with a strange look on his face. "He's trying to find you."
"You're lying. Zuko hates me. There'd be no way he's looking for me."
Zhao threw his head back, laughing. His laughter sent shivers down her spine; it sounded empty and humorless and full of hate. "Oh, General Asake. You are so oblivious."
Asake frowned, trying to think of a way to stall Zhao. He had stopped laughing, so she couldn't jump over the edge of the ship yet. She dropped her hands to her sides like she was giving up, the chains hitting her thighs. "I don't like him very much."
"Me either," Zhao snarled. "Prince Zuko is a nuisance and should be eliminated. Fire Lord Ozai should have sent me after the Avatar, not his lowly son!"
She nearly burst out laughing. Zhao was more pathetic than what she originally thought. And Zuko wasn't a nuisance. Sure, he may be annoying, but he shouldn't be eliminated. But she couldn't say anything of the sorts. She would have to put on a show for Zhao to make him distracted.
"I agree. You are so much smarter than Zuko." She walked forward a bit, a sly smile on her face. Nervous butterflies flitted in her stomach when she said, "You are better looking than him, too."
Zhao smiled, but it looked more like a wolfish grin. It almost made her stop what she was doing, but she didn't. "I'm glad you think so."
Asake had him right where she wanted him. She spun around Zhao, wrapping the chains around him. Her hands grabbed onto the chains, and she pulled back as hard as she could. The chains started choking Zhao, so she applied more pressure to them. Even though she was caught by him on the deck, there might still be a way to get away from him.
A gurgle left Zhao's lips. She definitely didn't care if she killed him; he deserved death more than anyone else in this world. However, she didn't have much time left to choke him because out of the corner of her eye, she saw a guard sprinting toward her. Asake let go of Zhao, swinging her chains at the guard running toward her. It hit him square on the face, and she let out a happy whoop as the man fell to the ground. She was going to get away this time!
The sounds of footsteps alerted her that there were more men coming toward her. She turned around and saw quite a few men running toward her. She took in a ragged breath before sprinting toward the gangplank. She was so close that she could taste her freedom. Asake didn't have have a chance to even make it to the gangplank because she was tackled from behind. The man on top of her was so heavy, and the chains were digging into her hands. The metal floor of the ship was burning her cheek, the same one that the guard slapped.
"You're in trouble now," Zhao growled in her ear. He must be the massive weight atop of her. As much as she tried, she couldn't move underneath him. "Guards! She's very dangerous. Who's willing to help me bring her to the Pohuai Stronghold?"
Pohuai Stronghold? Where had she heard that place before? Her mind flashed back to her father talking to one of his men. She was supposed to be asleep that night, but she couldn't go to sleep at all because it was so hot outside. She heard her dad talking about the Pohuai Stronghold and how it was in the western Earth Kingdom. It was a troop and supply hub for the Fire Nation, and the Yuyan Archers were also located there. How could they be there already, though? The last place they had been in was the Fire Nation.
Zhao got off of Asake, so she rolled over, taking a deep breath. The guards around her converged on her, grabbing her by the hands and tugging her up. Many hands touched her body, and she hated it so much. Before they started walking her away, the guards parted to reveal Zhao in front of her. He lifted his hand and punched her on the jaw. The force of the hit sent her falling into the multitude of guards behind her. "If you ever try to escape again, you'll be dead."
Blood flooded into her mouth. She must have bit her tongue when he hit her. A man pushed her back onto her feet, so she spat the blood at Zhao. It hit him on the face, dripping down onto his armor. Some of it was already steaming because of the hot sun that beat down against them. Anger was coursing through her very being, and she felt very hot all over. "And if you hit me again, I'll kill you."
Zhao turned on his heel, stalking away from them. The guards that were holding onto her pulled her forward, walking her off of the gangplank. Many parts of her body was aching, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She wasn't able to help herself if her life depended on it.
The anger slowly dissipated, leaving in its place terror. If Zuko was really looking for her, why hadn't he found her yet? Was he too busy looking for the Avatar? Now he wouldn't be able to find her. She'd be hidden away in the Pohuai Stronghold, awaiting her punishment for nearly escaping from Zhao. She only hoped she wouldn't be killed there. What she didn't know was that, soon enough, she would be wanting death instead of life.