Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

36

❃ Waking Up ❃

Below the palace was an ancient part of the city where earthbenders had mined glowing crystals and precious metals for ages. Nowadays, this underground tunnel system was known as the 'Ba Sing Se catacombs'. It was the perfect place for the Dai Li to keep prisoners and hold private meetings. Today, the function of the catacombs was the former.

Two Dai Li agents dragged Keya's unconscious body to a hidden entrance. One of the two men shifted into an earthbending stance and forced the rocky entrance to slide open. They looked down a long tunnel that went from the palace basement all the way to the depths of the catacombs. Without any care for their prisoner, they kicked her body down the tunnel before closing the entrance again.

Keya landed on the stone floor with a rough thud! Had she been awake, the young woman would have surely groaned at the sensation. However, her voice kept silent in her sleep. Keya was not alone in the catacombs. Not long after having noticed the disruption in the catacombs' neverending gloom, a stranger clad in blue clothing came running to see what had happened.

Katara gasped at the sight of the tea server she had met only a day ago. She walked up to her limp body and inspected the girl for any signs of life. The shallow breaths that escaped Keya's lips were the only signs that Katara could find, much to her worry. In the meantime, Keya's tired body kept trying to heal her new cuts and bruises while she slept, but the process was tough and slow.

"Jun?" Katara whispered carefully, hoping to wake the girl up without startling her. The pseudonym that the Earth Kingdom girl had used during her stay in the big city did nothing to rouse her.

After waiting for an extended moment, the Water Tribe girl decided that there was probably a wound of some kind that was preventing her from waking up. She gently turned Keya's head to get a better look at the unconcious girl's state. 

Ah, there it was.

A large cut presented itself on Keya's temple. The blood surrounding it was fresh, but quickly starting to dry. If only she'd had some water on her, Katara grumbled to herself, then she would have healed this in no time.

"Hang in there, okay?" Was all she could do and say for now. "I'll try to find us a way out of here."

The blue-clad teenager walked around aimlessly, looking for a way out- when suddenly, a loud rumbling startled her. Without any hesitation, she got into a defensive stance in front of Keya.

The long tunnel was being opened up again. Two new Dai Li members held down a third person clad in brown tea serving clothes. Despite being dressed as a typical Earth Kingdom native, the tea server looked nothing like his supposed kin. His hair was dark as charcoal and his golden irises sparked like heated embers. His skin was pale, save for a nasty scar on the side of his face.

"You've got company." The corrupt guards joked, before dropping the prisoner in with the waterbender and her tea server acquaintance.

The third prisoner grunted and yelped as he fell down the tunnel.

Katara looked onto the newcomer with surprise. Yes, she regconised him instantly. Hatred and fear bubbled up from her gut and twisted into a single name that forced itself out from between her chapped lips. "Zuko!" As soon as she had said it, she gasped as if saying his name had burnt her tongue and left her lungs constricted painfully. Then, a more ferocious look took over her face. This was it. This was a guy who attacked her village and tried to kidnap her friends! He was the one who stole her mother's necklace!

As the waterbender went through her blaise of fury, Zuko's eyes spotted someone familiar. His lungs constricted similarly to Katara's. However, the pain wasn't caused by his anger (for once), but by something much more serious. "Keya!"