Ash [Prince Zuko - Book Two]

❃Chapter Eleven❃

Asake waited until the night to sneak away from the group. It had been at least two days since she started traveling with the group, but they were close enough to Ba Sing Se for her to leave. She didn't have a ticket, so she had to figure out how to get inside the walls by herself. She didn't have any money to pay for a ticket, and she wasn't about to let these people buy her one. She had to take matters into her own hands now.

Lisha was snuggled into her side, clinging to her, but she slowly slipped her arms off of her body so she could get away. Lisha had grown very attached to Asake, and she had to admit that she had grown on her, too. She was one of the brightest people she had ever met, and she was always happy. That happiness transferred to Asake, who had smile more in the time with her than with Zuko and Iroh. She also wanted to figure out why Lisha seemed so familiar to her.

Asake glanced back one more time, hoping she would see her again. If she didn't, she knew Lisha would live a good life, especially because Asake wouldn't be there to ruin it. Shaking her head, she turned toward where the wall loomed in the distance and started making her way toward it. Her swords were strapped to her back, and she didn't have her left arm in her homemade sling. She needed both arms to sneak into Ba Sing Se.

"Where are you going?"

Asake dropped her head and turned around to face Lisha. She was squinting against the moonlight, and she looked sad. "I have to go," Asake said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Why can't you come with us?" she asked.

"I can't," Asake said firmly. There was nothing that could change her mind now. "I can't come with you."

"Why?"

"I don't have a ticket," she said to her. "I have to sneak in."

"We can buy you a ticket!"

"No." She shook her head, hating how sad she was that she was leaving Lisha. "No, you don't. I'm doing this, and you can't stop me. Okay?"

Lisha stared at her. Her big eyes had lost a little of their glow as she watched Asake turn around and walk away. She felt horrible by doing that, but she had to make her own way in the world now. It was just her now. She only had to take care of herself now. That was the best way to live life.

Asake scanned the perimeter of the wall and saw at least three men disappear under the cover of darkness. They didn't look like they were guards or anything. They had dark outfits on, and she immediately decided to stay away from them. They looked like bad news, and she was tired of bad news. 

She waited until everyone was gone before sprinting toward the wall. It looked like there were no doors to get in, so she had to figure out how to climb the wall. She didn't have any ropes to climb, but maybe she could find small handholds. It would really hurt her left arm to climb all the way up, but she knew she could do it somehow.

How had she gotten like that? When had she decided it was okay to break into the walled city? When had she decided it was okay to steal? When had she decided it was okay to ruin lives?

Asake was struck by her questions. She used to be such a good girl, following the rules. But bad things happen to the best people, and she changed. She didn't know whether it was for the worse or the better.

She stuck to the shadows as she walked the perimeter of the wall. She didn't want to be seen by anyone, especially guards. She didn't want to be taken in and detained. She didn't want to be another prisoner. That was the only thing circulating through her mind as she walked. 

That was, until she barely saw a cart roll up to the wall. However, she didn't dare use her firebending to see. That would draw bad attention toward her. Torch light highlighted guards that checked the items in it before shouting that it was ready to go. She took off running and threw herself into it. Just as it started moving, she covered herself with a blanket that was back there. That way, no one would see her as they rolled into Ba Sing Se. She was almost free to start her new life.

Her swords dug into her back, but she didn't dare move. It would make noise, and that was what she wanted least. She wanted to stay quiet. Asake stayed still as the cart slowed down. She didn't even breathe. A shadow covered the rest of her vision, and she was terrified that he would hear her rapid heartbeats. The shadow disappeared quickly, but she didn't dare move at all. She had to stay still and silent to remain safe.

It felt like she was in the cart for hours, waiting with bated breath. Her body ached from the awkward position, and her left shoulder was blazing with pain. Asake couldn't see anything other than the moon and sky. The stars shone as bright as they could, and that brought her back to the night on the ship with Zuko, where they chatted together about how she thought she was like one of the stars up in the sky, already gone forever. It was one of her favorite conversations with him. It was one of her favorite moments with him. His mind was clearer that night. So was hers.

Somehow, Asake had fallen asleep in the cart. She woke with a start to see sunlight streaming through the back of the cart. She realized she was in a cart full of colorful plates and bowls and utensils. Some of them were shattered because she landed on them. However, she didn't know why a blanket was back there. Unless they were expensive and the people transporting them didn't want them to get stolen or broken. That was a bad thing.

She peered out of the cart and saw at least three men talking to another man with long hair in a braid in front of a large building. The cart was on the ground while the men were above her, after a flight of stairs. If she got out now, they would see her. But she didn't think she could stay any longer or else they would find her in there. She had to do something.

Asake took her opportunity and leaped out of the car, her feet hitting the pavement. However, she stumbled when she realized what the large building really was. She was standing outside the palace in Ba Sing Se. A cry rang out from one of the men, and she took that as a sign to run. These men probably knew the city better than she did, but they wouldn't be able to keep running like she could. Her endurance had always been good because she had run away from all her problems ever since she was little.

Dashing into a side street, Asake searched for a way out. She needed to hide from those men because she didn't want to make a bad impression on the guards in the new city she was going to live in. She didn't want to start her new life off terribly. She wanted to get away from all the bad things she had done, not create more.

People were shutting their doors and windows when she ran by. She wondered why. But she didn't have time to focus on that as one man lunged at her. He slammed into her right side, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Her left shoulder smashed into the side of a house. She cried out in pain and her hand flew out, punching him right on the nose. 

Asake was sure she finally broke her arm from falling on it. However, she stood right back up and took off running. Her movements were jerky, but at least she could run. Her vision was growing spotty from the pain. She couldn't stop, though. A door was open on a house, so she ran in there and climbed the stairs. Maybe the house had an attic that she could stay in for a little bit. She had to do something before she passed out.

She collapsed on the floor and took a deep breath. Her arm was killing her, but she needed to hide. Asake crawled toward a small door and shoved it open with her good arm, shutting it behind her. Light streamed in from the crack under the door, allowing her to see that a few pieces of furniture were up there, discarded. She climbed on top of a couch and allowed the darkness to take her.