The Prisoners: Chapter Five
Title: The Prisoners
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mai, Ty Lee, Huu Pairings: Mai/Zuko; references to Sokka/Suki
Word Count: ~26,000; fourteen chapters. Chapter Five: ~2,000
Summary: Mai and Ty Lee are trying to adjust to life in the Boiling Rock when they learn they're being transferred to the prison near the Fire Nation capital. Mai's uncle has rivals among his fellow wardens who demand that they be removed from his custody to avoid a conflict of interest. At Warden Poon's prison, Ty Lee finds new, unexpected friends in the Kyoshi Warriors and is comforted by being closer to her family. Meanwhile, Mai meets some of the oddest people she's ever seen: water benders from a swamp in the Earth Kingdom. She even becomes friends with one of them in particular, who challenges her pessimistic view of life.
Five
Three days later, Mai stood in the afternoon sun on the gondola platform, watching the slow approach of guards from the Imperial Prison. Ty Lee looked pale and on the verge of tears. In keeping with transfer protocol, both of them had their hands shackled. Izo scowled, muttering curses aimed at Warden Poon under his breath.
Mai glanced around the platform. The signs of her fight with the guards were still visible: scorch and blade marks in the floor and walls. The damage was cosmetic, and a low priority on the list of repairs that needed to be made after the escape. The inmates had done far more damage during the riot than either she or the escapees had, wrecking an entire section of coolers, the cafeteria, and several storerooms. Even with prisoners and guards working night and day, it would take weeks for every little thing that was broken to be fixed. But her uncle would make sure that every little thing was fixed.
Her uncle said quietly, “Poon is arrogant and ambitious, and he won’t like you because you’re related to me. He has a big mouth and likes to taunt people. But he’s afraid of me, so he won’t dare do any actual harm to you.” Mai reflected that there were ways to hurt someone without doing “actual harm.” He went on, reminding her-for the third time-which guards she could go to for help and which she should be wary of, not to get into any fights unless it was absolutely necessary, and on and on.
Finally, she said, “Uncle, you’ve said this so many times, I’m starting to think you’re learning lines for a play.”
He sighed. “I just wish I could keep you here.” She reached out and touched his hand lightly.
The gondola docked and the guards stepped out. There were four female guards and a male guard who seemed to be in charge. Mai couldn’t really tell what they looked like under the helmets and uniforms, other than that they were all tall and strong.
Her uncle replied, “Captain Hansuke.” This was Izo’s main contact in the Imperial Prison, no less than the captain of the guards. Up close, Mai could see that he was probably in his mid-thirties, with broad shoulders, olive skin, and keen, gold eyes. Hansuke had worked at the Boiling Rock when it opened, but transferred back to civilization to care for his aging parents. Her uncle had a good opinion of him as a guard and a person. He also owed his old Warden a favor, since Izo had helped him get his mother into the Royal Fire Hospital when the woman fell ill last year. “How has Warden Poon been treating you?”
“Very well, sir. I believe I can say I’ve performed my service at the Imperial Prison with distinction."
“I would expect nothing less from one of my old guards,” her uncle replied. He introduced Hansuke to Mai and Ty Lee, then said, with a pained expression, “Well, if you are ready, we might as well get this over with.”
Mai felt the same. She wasn't worried that either she or her uncle would start crying, but a long goodbye now seemed like dying from slow-acting poison.
Hansuke bowed, and the female guards escorted the two girls on board the gondola. As the car left the platform, Izo gave Mai one last sorrowful look, then turned his face away. She looked away from the prison, down to the deadly, steaming water below. Her uncle had been ready to die in it rather than allow prisoners to escape. She still wasn’t sure he had forgiven her for betraying his wishes, or if he ever would. But he was willing to do what he could to take care of her. In an odd way, it meant more to her than simple forgiveness.
She leaned against the wall of the car, remembering the look Zuko had given her when he realized what she was doing. She hoped she hadn’t condemned him to a far worse death by saving him that day.
The airship was small and spartan. Very unlike Azula’s grand, luxurious ship with a kitchen, a suite for the Princess with carpets and an enormous bed, and less lavish but very comfortable rooms for her guests. The trip was boring for everyone except maybe the pilot. The guards had quiet conversations among themselves, occasionally glancing at the prisoners with a variable mix of curiosity and contempt.
Eventually, one of the women approached them and asked quietly, “How old are you?”
They gave their ages, Ty Lee’s voice squeaking with nervousness. The guard shook her head. “Youngest prisoners I’ve ever seen. My name is Ming." She studied the two of them for a moment, then added, "I just wanted to let you know that the guards' job is to keep order, not to hurt anyone. We don’t allow prisoners to hurt each other, either. If you have any trouble, you can tell me, and I’ll do what I can to help. Okay?”
Ty Lee nodded. Mai was curious-this was not one of the guards her uncle knew, personally or by reputation. Perhaps Ming simply had a soft spot for frightened teenagers, even if they were traitors.
Mai spent most of the flight lounging on one of the benches. She held up her cuffed wrists to examine her nails. They looked horrible, short and jagged; the last traces of polish long worn away, the cuticles ringed with hangnails. Ty Lee stood by the window trying to figure out which islands they were flying over.
Halfway to the capital city, Mai nodded off. Her dreams were strange. She flew to Omashu and met her parents there, and discovered that her brother was a fire bender, which was a big deal because there hadn’t been a fire bender in her family in three generations. She also discovered she was a fire bender, but people didn’t care because her brother was the first. Then Azula came to kill everyone. The two of them burned the city down fighting, but neither of them won.
The sky was dark when Hansuke woke Mai up for landing. She and Ty Lee were taken to their new home, the Imperial Prison, on the outskirts of the capital city.
The prison was, as Izo had said, an ancient dump. She had not appreciated how clean and well kept the Boiling Rock was until she saw this place. The air reeked of mildew, the stone floors and walls were chipped and discolored, and there were cobwebs and dust everywhere.
Hansuke lead the group down dimly lit corridors to a small office. Here, the rest of the guards were dismissed. Mai and Ty Lee sat waiting while Hansuke filled out the paperwork to admit them. The only other guard in the office glanced at the new arrivals briefly, then returned his attention to the scrolls he was filing.
Mai leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. A door clanged nearby, and footsteps approached the office. Warden Poon appeared at the door and looked at the new prisoners like a boy who enjoys torturing animals would look at a stray cat. He had clearly been waiting for their arrival with anticipation, possibly salivation.
He sneered as he towered over Mai, but his sneer wasn’t nearly as good as Azula’s. She did not react to his presence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty Lee sit up very straight.
Poon said, “First the Dragon of the West turns traitor, then Prince Zuko, and now the niece of the Warden of the Boiling Rock and her friend.” He shook his head. “General Iroh was a mad old man, and I can believe he warped his nephew’s mind, but why a couple of young women from respectable families would throw in with traitors is beyond me.” He leaned into Mai’s face and added, “You’re not going back to your doting uncle so he can coddle you. I’m surprised he still has his job. A man whose own family betrays the Fire Nation can’t be trusted.” He smirked. “If you think you’ll have an easy time here, you are mistaken.” He glanced back at Hansuke, who was handing the scroll he’d finished to the guard at the filing cabinet. “I have my best guards watching you.”
Mai pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing at Poon’s lack of awareness. The very guard he trusted to make her life miserable was her uncle’s ally.
Hansuke was ready to go. Poon looked like he would come with them to continue his taunting, but the guard on office duty needed to speak to him, so he stalked over to deal with prison business. In the hall, another guard holding a bundle met the trio.
On the way to the cells, Hansuke explained the prison rules, which were much like those at the Boiling Rock. No fire bending, no fighting, no weapons, and in general do what the guards say. The big difference for Mai and Ty Lee would be that here, they would mingle with the other inmates for meals, exercise and work duty. Mai would work in the garden, while Ty Lee would work in the laundry. Mai was disappointed. She had hoped they would work together so they could keep an eye on each other.
However, they did have neighboring cells, at the end of a short block housing female prisoners. Since it was after lights out, the inmates were in bed. Mai and Ty Lee were given new uniforms-gray, not red-and then each unshackled and locked inside a cell.
Mai looked around her new home, which was much like her cell at the Boiling Rock, except grayer and grimier, and with a door of bars instead of solid metal. She and Ty Lee quickly discovered that they could see each other, if they pressed their faces against the bars and craned their heads. Ty Lee whispered, “Do you have graffiti in your cell? It’s all over mine. Whoever was in here before must have really liked to draw.”
“There’s nothing like that over here. I think my predecessor just liked to sit and stare at the walls.”
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?”
Mai sighed. “I don’t know. You should try to get some sleep. It’s getting late.”
“I’m too worried to sleep. I don’t like the Warden here.”
“Don’t worry about Poon. You remember what my uncle said. He won’t do more than talk at us.”
“What if all the other prisoners attack us?”
“I doubt all the other prisoners will. There are going to be plenty of people who hate us, but we can take care of ourselves. I mean, you can still put a cork in somebody’s chi with your bare hands.”
Ty Lee said quietly, “But what are you going to do, Mai? You don’t have any weapons.”
“No. But I can still make some idiot sorry for hassling me.” She sounded more confident than she felt. In a one-on-one fight, even without weapons she could probably win. She had learned a few things growing up with Ty Lee, Azula and Zuko. But against multiple opponents, being unarmed was a serious disadvantage. And anyone who did attack her probably wouldn’t do it alone. She cast the thought out of her mind. “Come on, let’s get some rest. We’ll worry about tomorrow when it happens, okay?”
“Okay," Ty Lee answered, sounding anxious and dejected.
“Try to think of something…pleasant.” Mai would have offered suggestions, but she couldn’t think of any.
Ty Lee considered for a moment. “Well, he’s old, and probably married or something, but Hansuke’s not bad looking.”
Mai half smiled, not surprised. She hadn’t thought about it before, but Ty Lee wasn’t wrong. “There you go. You can count cute guys instead of koala sheep.”
Ty Lee giggled. The sound reassured Mai slightly. At least they still had each other.
--end Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mai, Ty Lee, Huu Pairings: Mai/Zuko; references to Sokka/Suki
Word Count: ~26,000; fourteen chapters. Chapter Five: ~2,000
Summary: Mai and Ty Lee are trying to adjust to life in the Boiling Rock when they learn they're being transferred to the prison near the Fire Nation capital. Mai's uncle has rivals among his fellow wardens who demand that they be removed from his custody to avoid a conflict of interest. At Warden Poon's prison, Ty Lee finds new, unexpected friends in the Kyoshi Warriors and is comforted by being closer to her family. Meanwhile, Mai meets some of the oddest people she's ever seen: water benders from a swamp in the Earth Kingdom. She even becomes friends with one of them in particular, who challenges her pessimistic view of life.
Five
Three days later, Mai stood in the afternoon sun on the gondola platform, watching the slow approach of guards from the Imperial Prison. Ty Lee looked pale and on the verge of tears. In keeping with transfer protocol, both of them had their hands shackled. Izo scowled, muttering curses aimed at Warden Poon under his breath.
Mai glanced around the platform. The signs of her fight with the guards were still visible: scorch and blade marks in the floor and walls. The damage was cosmetic, and a low priority on the list of repairs that needed to be made after the escape. The inmates had done far more damage during the riot than either she or the escapees had, wrecking an entire section of coolers, the cafeteria, and several storerooms. Even with prisoners and guards working night and day, it would take weeks for every little thing that was broken to be fixed. But her uncle would make sure that every little thing was fixed.
Her uncle said quietly, “Poon is arrogant and ambitious, and he won’t like you because you’re related to me. He has a big mouth and likes to taunt people. But he’s afraid of me, so he won’t dare do any actual harm to you.” Mai reflected that there were ways to hurt someone without doing “actual harm.” He went on, reminding her-for the third time-which guards she could go to for help and which she should be wary of, not to get into any fights unless it was absolutely necessary, and on and on.
Finally, she said, “Uncle, you’ve said this so many times, I’m starting to think you’re learning lines for a play.”
He sighed. “I just wish I could keep you here.” She reached out and touched his hand lightly.
The gondola docked and the guards stepped out. There were four female guards and a male guard who seemed to be in charge. Mai couldn’t really tell what they looked like under the helmets and uniforms, other than that they were all tall and strong.
Her uncle replied, “Captain Hansuke.” This was Izo’s main contact in the Imperial Prison, no less than the captain of the guards. Up close, Mai could see that he was probably in his mid-thirties, with broad shoulders, olive skin, and keen, gold eyes. Hansuke had worked at the Boiling Rock when it opened, but transferred back to civilization to care for his aging parents. Her uncle had a good opinion of him as a guard and a person. He also owed his old Warden a favor, since Izo had helped him get his mother into the Royal Fire Hospital when the woman fell ill last year. “How has Warden Poon been treating you?”
“Very well, sir. I believe I can say I’ve performed my service at the Imperial Prison with distinction."
“I would expect nothing less from one of my old guards,” her uncle replied. He introduced Hansuke to Mai and Ty Lee, then said, with a pained expression, “Well, if you are ready, we might as well get this over with.”
Mai felt the same. She wasn't worried that either she or her uncle would start crying, but a long goodbye now seemed like dying from slow-acting poison.
Hansuke bowed, and the female guards escorted the two girls on board the gondola. As the car left the platform, Izo gave Mai one last sorrowful look, then turned his face away. She looked away from the prison, down to the deadly, steaming water below. Her uncle had been ready to die in it rather than allow prisoners to escape. She still wasn’t sure he had forgiven her for betraying his wishes, or if he ever would. But he was willing to do what he could to take care of her. In an odd way, it meant more to her than simple forgiveness.
She leaned against the wall of the car, remembering the look Zuko had given her when he realized what she was doing. She hoped she hadn’t condemned him to a far worse death by saving him that day.
The airship was small and spartan. Very unlike Azula’s grand, luxurious ship with a kitchen, a suite for the Princess with carpets and an enormous bed, and less lavish but very comfortable rooms for her guests. The trip was boring for everyone except maybe the pilot. The guards had quiet conversations among themselves, occasionally glancing at the prisoners with a variable mix of curiosity and contempt.
Eventually, one of the women approached them and asked quietly, “How old are you?”
They gave their ages, Ty Lee’s voice squeaking with nervousness. The guard shook her head. “Youngest prisoners I’ve ever seen. My name is Ming." She studied the two of them for a moment, then added, "I just wanted to let you know that the guards' job is to keep order, not to hurt anyone. We don’t allow prisoners to hurt each other, either. If you have any trouble, you can tell me, and I’ll do what I can to help. Okay?”
Ty Lee nodded. Mai was curious-this was not one of the guards her uncle knew, personally or by reputation. Perhaps Ming simply had a soft spot for frightened teenagers, even if they were traitors.
Mai spent most of the flight lounging on one of the benches. She held up her cuffed wrists to examine her nails. They looked horrible, short and jagged; the last traces of polish long worn away, the cuticles ringed with hangnails. Ty Lee stood by the window trying to figure out which islands they were flying over.
Halfway to the capital city, Mai nodded off. Her dreams were strange. She flew to Omashu and met her parents there, and discovered that her brother was a fire bender, which was a big deal because there hadn’t been a fire bender in her family in three generations. She also discovered she was a fire bender, but people didn’t care because her brother was the first. Then Azula came to kill everyone. The two of them burned the city down fighting, but neither of them won.
The sky was dark when Hansuke woke Mai up for landing. She and Ty Lee were taken to their new home, the Imperial Prison, on the outskirts of the capital city.
The prison was, as Izo had said, an ancient dump. She had not appreciated how clean and well kept the Boiling Rock was until she saw this place. The air reeked of mildew, the stone floors and walls were chipped and discolored, and there were cobwebs and dust everywhere.
Hansuke lead the group down dimly lit corridors to a small office. Here, the rest of the guards were dismissed. Mai and Ty Lee sat waiting while Hansuke filled out the paperwork to admit them. The only other guard in the office glanced at the new arrivals briefly, then returned his attention to the scrolls he was filing.
Mai leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. A door clanged nearby, and footsteps approached the office. Warden Poon appeared at the door and looked at the new prisoners like a boy who enjoys torturing animals would look at a stray cat. He had clearly been waiting for their arrival with anticipation, possibly salivation.
He sneered as he towered over Mai, but his sneer wasn’t nearly as good as Azula’s. She did not react to his presence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty Lee sit up very straight.
Poon said, “First the Dragon of the West turns traitor, then Prince Zuko, and now the niece of the Warden of the Boiling Rock and her friend.” He shook his head. “General Iroh was a mad old man, and I can believe he warped his nephew’s mind, but why a couple of young women from respectable families would throw in with traitors is beyond me.” He leaned into Mai’s face and added, “You’re not going back to your doting uncle so he can coddle you. I’m surprised he still has his job. A man whose own family betrays the Fire Nation can’t be trusted.” He smirked. “If you think you’ll have an easy time here, you are mistaken.” He glanced back at Hansuke, who was handing the scroll he’d finished to the guard at the filing cabinet. “I have my best guards watching you.”
Mai pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing at Poon’s lack of awareness. The very guard he trusted to make her life miserable was her uncle’s ally.
Hansuke was ready to go. Poon looked like he would come with them to continue his taunting, but the guard on office duty needed to speak to him, so he stalked over to deal with prison business. In the hall, another guard holding a bundle met the trio.
On the way to the cells, Hansuke explained the prison rules, which were much like those at the Boiling Rock. No fire bending, no fighting, no weapons, and in general do what the guards say. The big difference for Mai and Ty Lee would be that here, they would mingle with the other inmates for meals, exercise and work duty. Mai would work in the garden, while Ty Lee would work in the laundry. Mai was disappointed. She had hoped they would work together so they could keep an eye on each other.
However, they did have neighboring cells, at the end of a short block housing female prisoners. Since it was after lights out, the inmates were in bed. Mai and Ty Lee were given new uniforms-gray, not red-and then each unshackled and locked inside a cell.
Mai looked around her new home, which was much like her cell at the Boiling Rock, except grayer and grimier, and with a door of bars instead of solid metal. She and Ty Lee quickly discovered that they could see each other, if they pressed their faces against the bars and craned their heads. Ty Lee whispered, “Do you have graffiti in your cell? It’s all over mine. Whoever was in here before must have really liked to draw.”
“There’s nothing like that over here. I think my predecessor just liked to sit and stare at the walls.”
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?”
Mai sighed. “I don’t know. You should try to get some sleep. It’s getting late.”
“I’m too worried to sleep. I don’t like the Warden here.”
“Don’t worry about Poon. You remember what my uncle said. He won’t do more than talk at us.”
“What if all the other prisoners attack us?”
“I doubt all the other prisoners will. There are going to be plenty of people who hate us, but we can take care of ourselves. I mean, you can still put a cork in somebody’s chi with your bare hands.”
Ty Lee said quietly, “But what are you going to do, Mai? You don’t have any weapons.”
“No. But I can still make some idiot sorry for hassling me.” She sounded more confident than she felt. In a one-on-one fight, even without weapons she could probably win. She had learned a few things growing up with Ty Lee, Azula and Zuko. But against multiple opponents, being unarmed was a serious disadvantage. And anyone who did attack her probably wouldn’t do it alone. She cast the thought out of her mind. “Come on, let’s get some rest. We’ll worry about tomorrow when it happens, okay?”
“Okay," Ty Lee answered, sounding anxious and dejected.
“Try to think of something…pleasant.” Mai would have offered suggestions, but she couldn’t think of any.
Ty Lee considered for a moment. “Well, he’s old, and probably married or something, but Hansuke’s not bad looking.”
Mai half smiled, not surprised. She hadn’t thought about it before, but Ty Lee wasn’t wrong. “There you go. You can count cute guys instead of koala sheep.”
Ty Lee giggled. The sound reassured Mai slightly. At least they still had each other.
--end Chapter Five
Chapter Six