136Chapter 1: On the Market Square
I do not own Avatar's characters or world.
From the deepest of falls
Still they may rise;
But if one is to break free
The other must face its demise.
.
A prince's standing means more
Than a mere boy in chains,
For blood not only rules...
It also stains.
.
Beneath arch and open sky,
From highest plazas to lowest market squares,
To become who you should be,
You must forfeit all that you were.
.
So fight, shed your skin,
For standing and identity are not the same thing.
To see is to believe;
To know is to understand.
.
Now, be a dragon,
Find yourself a home;
And take back the place
Carved out for you.
.
Seek that which you have lost,
And into open arms you shall be received.
Let the ones you have found
Help you to rise and become as one.
.
"The market is just up ahead" Toph informed Sokka when they entered the Earth Kingdom town. One could already hear the noise of the flourishing square. The town clearly was not touched by the Fire Nation too heavily yet. It was a semi-important trading centre as far as Toph had informed him and he noticed that the buildings were of neat stone structures as they walked through the main street.
Soon, they saw the first stands and the shouting of the merchants praising their goods got ever louder. Toph thoroughly enjoyed her freedom. According to the shouts, they seemed to have gotten into the fabric trading section.
"So, what do we need again?" Toph asked.
Sokka was already looking around for the food stands, but looking ahead, he could only make out something elevated in the square center though. "Well, we need to get Aang some new clothes, Katara really wants a new water pouch, but we need food first of all. And Katara said to save money, so we should start with that and keep the shopping to a minimum, so no water pouch for Katara. Do you know where they are?"
"The food stands? Yep, straight through, to the left" Toph replied. They went through the alleys, past the streams of people, and made it towards the centre of the market. Sokka looked up to see the elevated place turn out to be somewhat of a platform with a stone arch. He saw that someone was standing below. His vision was limited due to their standpoint though, as the arch blocked the sight. Curiously he watched out as they went around it. Some people were pointing at it, murmuring in hushed, angry, tones. Soon, he could see more of the stone structure and also of the person in between. Sokka realized now that he was shackled to the arch, his back full of welts and coated in dust and sweat. Disgusted, he turned away and nudged Toph to hurry.
"So, Katara said we need bread, butter, vegetables and fruits, some grain and I say we need meat, too. So, where to start?"
"Over there!" Toph said and methodically lead Sokka through the stands, getting all they needed. Finally they reappeared at the center at a different angle and Sokka stared at the stone arch again, or rather at the man below: He wasn't really standing anymore, but he wasn't quite kneeling either. Realizing that the chains that connected his shackled hands to the arch above were too short for kneeling, he looked closer.
The man had short hair that looked like it had at one time been dark, but it was coated in dust and grime and whatever else, making it impossible to tell its true colour. His arms, coated in trails of blood and dirt, were stretched to the maximum that the chains allowed, as to give his legs some relief from standing continuously. He wore no shirt and his trousers were in rags from the knees down. Sokka wondered what the man had done to be treated like this. He further observed him, searching for the man's face that was partially covered due to him leaning against one of his arms. The part he saw looked gaunt, but to surprise Sokka even more, it looked young. This man was just at the edge of manhood, but not quite there yet.
"Are you done staring?" Toph said, shaking him out of his frozen state.
Sokka made unmanly noises, then harrumphed: "eh, yeah. What's this supposed to be?"
"Don't know, but it seems that he is Fire Nation, and the town folks seems to have quite a grudge against him. No clue if it is him or just his nationality."
Now he heard some shouts, too. A man had walked up to the podium and openly slapped the boy, hissing something to him maliciously. The boy showed no reaction. The man grabbed him by his hair and angrily forced his head down, then walked away.
"Oh come on, Snoozles, we still need to find a room for us and Twinkletoes, and don't you dare pulling the avatar one again, I'm been searched for by my parents! We will pay for the rooms like normal people."
"Alright alright, we still need a new set of clothes for Aang, though." They went back to the fabric section and searched for something orange-yellow. They got something quickly enough.
"Let's find something at the edge of town, so we can leave quickly and quietly." Sokka said. "See anything?"
"Hmm, yep. Over there." She pointed towards the direction they had come from, then grimaced: "Eew,… the captive just wet his pants."
Sokka first just looked at Toph a bit dumbfounded. Then he started laughing.
"Who is staring now?"
"Ha ha, very funny! Sorry for not being able to not see when I close my eyes."
They soon reached the inn and got a room for them to stay in. Then they went back to get the others.
Aang was walking carefully, trying to keep the limping at a minimum as to not jostle his still mending ribs too much. To have bruised these bones was bothering him quite a bit, as it impaired his airbending a lot. As soon as they were in the room he claimed a bed and sank onto it exhausted. Katara immediately sank down beside him to take a look once more.
She was glad that Iroh's wounds hadn't been as severe as Aang's after fighting Azula in that abandoned village. He had helped them and Katara would have felt obligated to nurse him back to health because of it. But Iroh had left them quite soon after to search for his missing nephew again, telling them he had a bad feeling about him. Katara couldn't care less about Zuko after what he'd done to her at the North Pole, but she pitied Iroh for having such an ungrateful nephew. Everyone lay down for a rest, exhausted after the hours of walking. They hadn't let Appa carry them all again. They had tried to keep out of sight after the most recent trials.
A good smell woke them up a few hours later: feeling restless, Katara had cooked. They gladly ate the newly bought food, the new and fresh variety was a welcome respite from from the rations they had been eating from lately. Rejuvenated Toph tiptoed away, she felt like exploring the city.
00000
Zuko grit his teeth, the hit had stung on his sunburned face. The dirt accumulated there didn't help. It felt like sandpaper against the inflamed skin every time something, anything, touched him. Luckily the offender had merely been passing by, not drawing things out into a beating. Everything hurt. He was tired, the hunger and what was happening around him, together with the ever present pain made it hard to nod off. Ironically, he couldn't feel his hands anymore, his wrists however, were an entirely different story, they were raw and bloody, burned from the metal encasing his wrist heating up in the glaring sun. It had heated past the level his skin could tolerate, maybe two days ago? He wasn't sure, time was blurring together. He just knew that as he lost his grasp on firebending, his comprehension of the world started to slip also. Exhausted, he was dangling from his shackles. Soon, he should be getting back to his feet, he should, to bring some relief to his burning wrists, but he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet.
He cursed the ever-humming flies who constantly gathered around him. His skin was itching badly, but bound as he was he could do nothing about it. He thought back to when he had thought it bad while traveling alone, not finding water. Or on the raft with uncle. It hadn't been pleasurable, yes, but this surpassed nearly all the trials he'd gone through. All the humiliation, all the pain, thirst, hunger. Had he still had the energy, he might have screamed, but the past weeks had sucked all life out of him. He wasn't even sure he still wanted to live. He'd learned his lesson already, hadn't he?! The boy Lee… He had learned that people were incredibly judgmental. He licked his cracked lips, it didn't help of course, it was just a habit to draw comfort from.
Another rotten fruit hit his neck. He flinched. Though he smelled the alcohol and distinct smell of putridity, he didn't have the energy to be disgusted anymore. He just waited for the burning sensation, caused by the festered fruit, to pass. Zuko longed for the relative peace the nightfall brought, though he didn't dare to think about what might happen after darkness had set in.
He took another deep breath and tried staggering to his feet again. The chains held him in place; held his arms barely over his head, allowing him to stand on his own, but not to sit or kneel down. He supposed it was better than only barely standing on the tips of one's toes like he had once seen back home, in the Fire Nation, but it was still cruel. The shackles around his wrists were linked together so closely that he couldn't even get a grab at his chains to support himself. He couldn't twist his wrists towards the chain in any useful way for his fingers to get a good hold of it. It meant that he was either standing on his own, or else the full weight of his body would pull on his wrists and cause the metal to cut into his skin deeply. Of course his legs were shackled too, but those bonds weren't nearly as bad.
He heard the words still:
"So this is the proud prince of the Fire Nation? Laughable! You're nothing, a traitor, what made you think you're welcome here?…" He'd screamed and fought so much that they'd gagged him, so he just stared defiantly at the time. How proud he'd been. "… Well, I know exactly what to do with you. You're the ideal tool to keep the village nice and calm. With you, they will have a place to put their grudge against the Fire Nation, and I'll have my peace." They had led him away after that, put him into a cold cell.
How he'd wished for the sun then, his source of power…
Now it was roasting him alive every day. His powers long gone due to exhaustion.
How ironic.
He was apathetic. Just focusing on the next breath. Patient... At least he'd get out of this with better control.
Getting up on his feet again was a pain. And also an utterly humiliating exercise. His bladder had been bothering him for hours already, and he knew they wouldn't let him down until sunset, but it didn't keep him from trying. He had to keep fighting. But staggering to his feet again tipped over the vat, he lost control. Grinding his teeth he stood there, publicly displayed, wetting his pants. He wasn't even sure he cared anymore, it was far from the first time. He was so deep in shit, how would he ever get out of this?
Was Uncle searching for him? He hadn't seen him in over a month. Zuko felt alone like never before. Every laugh, a painful stab at his wounded pride: He swore to never be ungrateful of living arrangements again, as long as it didn't mean this. He stretched his fingers. As the weeks had gone by, they had become thin and fragile looking. He shook his wrists a tiny bit, ignoring the shooting pain it caused. He knew he had dust and blood caked in his hair from leaning against his arms, but he couldn't bring himself to care. There was dirt and dust everywhere, his lacerations were caked with it. But as long as no bender choked him like that soldier had done he would be okay. He just waited for the evening to come and bring some relief from the burning sun; for the merchants to start pack up their stuff and the whole place to become quiet. Darkness for his headache and a night soothing his raw sunburn.
00000
Toph silently jumped out of the window to walk down the street. She was itching for a fight and searching for a club to carry it out. She knew the sun was gone, she couldn't feel it's rays reaching her skin. Now the clubs would slowly fill. She entered the street to the market square, scanning the earth ahead and halting for a moment when she felt some kind of commotion around the arch. Curiously she made her way over, stopping at the entrance of the square. The place was devoid of merchants. Most people had left the streets already, gone home. But she could feel three people ahead. One was stumbling, the other walking behind.
"Come on, faster! I don't have all night" Toph realized that the stumbling person was carrying something. As she walked closer, along the buildings framing the square, she realized that the man bound to the arch was missing. The stumbling person fell into the dust, breathing heavily, she felt his heart pumping erratically.
"Get up!" The person tried to pick themselves up, but crashed again as Toph heard a loud slap and a pained grunt. The guard must have whipped the man with something. "I said get up! It's a simple thing: collect and dispose of the trash around the market area. How can you be this worthless? Giving you anything to eat really is a waste…. Hmm. I was going to give you a nice slice of bread, but you know what? If you can't carry the trash, you could at least get rid of it another way." The person shivered as they tried to get up once again. The wind had picked up and various smells hit Toph's nose. She had been able to guess the contents of the basket the man had carried, but now she could smell the rotten fruit and stuff, too.
"Eat!"
"No" The hoarse voice was quiet. The whip thrust down again.
"You will do as I say. You can't win. Don't make it hard for yourself." The voice of the guard had a gained a teasing quality to it.
The kneeling man just shook his head. "Not hungry."
He better hadn't said that, because the guard had grabbed him by the neck and pressed down, towards the basket. "Eat!"
Shaking, the man finally complied, took some fruit and brought it to his lips. It was clear he was having trouble getting it down. He forced himself to continue even so.
The guard was apparently satisfied. "So, now that you have strengthened up a bit, get up!"
On trembling legs the man finally managed to make his way to the sewer and emptied the basket quickly. Probably nauseous from the bad smell he couldn't hold in what he'd just eaten, though. Just barely did he manage to lean over the sewer opening in time as he threw it all up again. The guard kicked him into the side. That was when Toph realized that his legs were still shackled, hearing the clicking of the chain links.
"Worthless scum" He grabbed the captive on his upper arm and roughly pulled him up, forcing him to stumble along. He might be an enemy of the state, but this guard was making full use of his power over a helpless prisoner. She shook her head at his treatment.
She felt them approaching the stone arch now. The man weakly fought as his wrists were pressed into the shackles once more. Just then he was offered some water which he greedily drank, not caring that someone was holding it to his lips. But all too soon that was taken away again.
"Will save the last bit for after your meal, won't we?"
The prisoner growled and pulled on the shackles holding him in place. The guard pulled out the bread and held it out to the prisoner.
"Come on, take it" he taunted, holding it just barely out of reach. The man growled again.
"You know fully well I can't" The strain on his voice was clearly audible.
"Oh, plain bread isn't good enough for our fine little lord? Excuse me, let me fix that." There was an ugly squishing noise, probably some other rotten fruit. "Here, better?"
"You are disgusting, and if I get the flu here, I'm dead."
Slap.
"Treat me with respect! After all, I am the one controlling the situation. And don't tell me death wouldn't be welcome in the state you are in. Now eat!" The bread was forcefully held to the prisoner's lips. He bit and hardly chewed before swallowing and taking another bite. Toph felt it getting harder for him to swallow as time passed, but he finished the bread nonetheless. He kept swallowing even after, probably to get the taste away. The guard took the bowl with the man's drinking water and washed his hands.
"You bastard! That's my water!"
"Oh, oops… now you surely don't want it, right?" He quickly took it and spilled the contents to his feet.
"Fill it up!" The prisoner's voice was a mixture between raw anger and desperation.
"You still haven't learned the magic word. My, my, I don't see why I should do anything more for you, My Lord."
"Please wouldn't solve anything. I need that water."
"I don't care, make the next one taking care of you give you some more. Good night, sleep well!"
The mocking tone the guard used got on Toph's nerves. She felt him faintly run his fingers down the captive's skin until he growled, shivering. Then the man turned around to leave and just like that, the second guard joined him.
As soon as they were out of sight, the man roared before slumping down. Toph felt him soundlessly sob. She approached slowly, the desire to fight forgotten. He seemed to repeat himself over and over.
"Go away." His voice was rough.
She was surprised he had even noticed her approach. He hadn't looked up.
"You got quite good hearing."
"Leave me alone!" he all but growled.
She ignored it, too curious. He had fire.
"Hey, usually people don't hear me."
"I don't care. Go away." His voice sounded severely sore.
Toph continued ascending and stopped in front of him. "Want water?"
Toph felt him look up.
"Don't play with me."
"I'm not playing" She grabbed the bowl and went over to the well to pump up some. After that she approached him again.
"You want some now?" He stank, but Toph ignored the offending smell in favor of holding up the bowl to his lips. He greedily drank again… once it was empty she lowered the bowl.
"… thanks, I guess." He licked his lips.
"Want more?" He quickly shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?" She asked, not having expected a no.
"Because I don't fancy wet pants," he hissed, "especially at night. It gets cold out here."
"Alright, alright. Calm down Sparks… So what's your name?"
"You won't leave me alone, will you?"
"Nope, seems too lonely out here."
"I don't need your pity."
"Pfft, I pity no one, I'm merely bored and curious."
The man answered with a bitter chuckle-like sound, then repeated: "Go away"
"That again? Sparks really, get a vocabulary"
"I've been entertainment enough to last a lifetime. Now kindly take your leave, I'm tired."
He leaned his head against his arms again, fully determined to ignore her.
"So what's your name?"
Zuko groaned in desperation. "Can't you read?" he bit out. They had put up a shield about him being the Fire Prince, at the beginning of his stay, it probably still was there, though he couldn't be sure, he hadn't seen, well, looked for it since.
"Actually no, can't write either."
The man bit his chapped lips, regarding her with a hard glare. "Say, aren't you a bit young to still be out in the streets alone?"
"Heh, I can hold my own!"
"Really!?" Sarcasm dripped from his hoarse voice.
They were quiet for a while. Toph hesitated, but she felt the need to talk and he was there to listen…
"I ran away from home. My parents were overprotective. Wouldn't believe I could do anything myself."
"You want my pity?"
"Hell, no!"
They returned to silence. She knew the captive was keeping an eye on her, but she didn't let it bother her. She was sitting comfortably on the ground while he still was held in place by the chains.
"Is there something behind me? Your stare is weirding me out." The man finally asked.
"Well sorry, can't really do anything about that. I'm blind." She nonchalantly said, just waiting for the reaction...
"You're what?" Disbelief was in his voice.
"Yep, I'm blind."
"But... how are you able to navigate?"
"My secret!"
"Fine, be that way. Not anything I could do about it, now, can I?!" A bitter chuckle left his throat. They fell into silence again, and once again it was the man who finally broke it with a question.
"How old are you?"
"Thirteen. You?"
"… I'm sixteen"
"Oh..." Toph had not expected the captive to be this young. "Does the Fire Nation always recruit so young?"
"No, it did not. But I haven't been in the loop for a while... It's not like the Earth Kingdom is any better though," the young man spat. "I've seen them try to recruit a boy for just holding a dagger."
"Hey, I'm not saying we do it right. The war makes everyone weary. Let's not fight over it."
The boy grumbled in response.
"hmm, you might be Fire Nation, but really, you're not so bad. I like you Sparks."
"Yeah, sure, you seem to be the only one around to think that." His voice was bitter once more. Just then, Toph felt a familiar pair of feet approaching from afar.
"Toph? Are you here?"
Sokkas voice carried over clearly, in the calm night air.
"Hmm, seems like I gotta go. Was nice talking to you. Maybe I'll come by again." Toph jumped down from the platform and ran towards Sokka.
"Coming! Snoozles."
What she had missed to notice was the boy's tensing at the call. He remained frozen until he could no longer hear Toph's soft steps. That voice had belonged to the Avatars companion. He was a hundred percent sure.
Edit 20.08.2021: The intro poem now has music to go with, if you want a listen, go to youtube and search: Malva Luna - A Prince's Demise
Edit 08/06/2020: Ystv: Hi there. Three years ago, I started writing this, soon gaining my beta, now co-author, ML8991. It went from my project to our project and with this new version of the first chapter, having a newly added, and heavily discussed intro poem, it finally feels like ours all the way through. You as fans have, and still are, adding a lot to the process with your support and your lovely reviews. It keeps us in high spirits to get through what we planned, even if it's slow going and challenging. Thank you! With that said, I'll turn over the word to my awesome co-conspirator:
ML8991: Well, this doesn't feel weird at all. Going back to where I first got hooked on the story, like many of you, the fans of this work. Thank you for sticking with us, and it is amazing to start to bring the full story together in one place at long last. We haven't forgotten what we are still holding out on, don't worry, and me and ystv have had many hours of fruitful discussion which will hopefully allow the next chapter (from 's perspective) in the not too distant future. Keep being amazing, and thank you for your amazing and consistent support, it means a lot :D. And for all new people joining us for this odyssey, welcome, I hope you enjoy the ride.
PS: there's a spanish translation being made by Rene d'Herblay on FFnet. If you're interested, go check it out and support her, too. (she may still need to get the edits we did converted into the translation though, so if here are things different or missing, that's why).