Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing But Your Servant ❯ Her Condition ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

~Zenaida~

" Ah, Zenaida, so good to see you again." his voice made me want to run to the other part of the world, but I knew this would have to be my last task before I could leave this place. Sitting down between Zuko and his uncle, I shot him a kind smile even though deep down inside I wanted to burn him to ashes. His intense stare made the goosebumps pop out of my skin and look out to see what was going on.

" I'm honored that you invited me to have lunch with you again, Fire Lord Ozai." I said, trying to mask my true feelings and thoughts, but the way Azula chuckled across the table put my efforts to waste.

" Father, if I may, I would like to explain Zenaida's condition to my brother and uncle so they understand who they are going to be with. You can't start off this journey with a stranger on your ship, now can you?"

~Zuko~

She looked down at my father for support, and when their evil thoughts connected through the air, he nodded. I glanced at Zenaida to see what they were talking about, but her eyes had already enlarged and were staring in fear at Azula. What was going on?

" What are you talking about, Azula?" I asked, irritated that it seemed like everyone knew more about her than me. Azula chuckled and stepped up on the table to be the centerpiece of our meal.

" Oh, Zuzu. Your little pet didn't tell you of her....condition?" Azula said in a teasing voice as she crouched in front of Zenaida with a smirk. She placed her finger under her chin and lifted her face up just a little before smacking it. Zenaida's face stayed in that position for a moment before looking back up at Azula, something completely different in her eyes. Not the color, but just something...different. I wasn't sure what to do yet. Do I get up and stand up for her because she got smacked by Azula? Or do I just watch because something is completely off here?

" There are always two sides to a story, Zuzu. But who knew there'd be two sides to a person?" Azula hissed between her teeth before standing back up and smiling at the rest of the table. " Our dear Zenaida here is a two-faced bender, everybody! Who ever knew that a two-faced bender would land in our hands, right!?" she announced menacingly.

" What are you talking about!?" I questioned Azula and stood up myself, feeling betrayed that I didn't know this about her. Feeling like a fool that I didn't know what the hell a two-faced bender was.

" Oh, now Zuzu. How could you not know this about your little girlfriend, hm?" she asked and her and my father chuckled together, the rest of the table looking at Zenaida in confusion, also wanting some clarity on what was going on.

" She's not my girlfriend, Azula! Tell me what the hell is going on!" I yelled, feeling frusturated with the feelings and emotions that were tangling inside of me.

" Hm.....I've thought a little bit, Father, and I was wondering whether we should tell him or not just yet." Azula said as she hopped off the table and stood next to my father's chair. It gave me a nauseous feeling the way they both had an evil smirk on their faces. The same one too. It was like Azula was the carbon copy of my father except the only hair on her face and head was her eyebrows and hair.

" No, tell him. We need to catch the Avatar as soon as we can, Azula. We have no time to stall and play games." my father said sternly and Azula smiled. With a quick jump, she was between me and Zenaida.

" There are two people inside here, Zuzu." Azula said while getting behind Zenaida's chair and grabbing her head. Zenaida's face stayed straight as if she were a statue with tears rolling down her cheeks. " There was just originally Zenaida, but somehow they split into two people. Two personalities is what the psychologists call it, but we see it as two people in one body. These two people can bend two different elements when they appear out in the open, Zuzu, do you understand?"

" And Prince Zuko, you have found her first element that she can bend: Earth. Now, it is your job to find the second. Use it to your advantage. She was born to serve whoever claimed her, Zuko." my father said as he got up and grabbed Zenaida's arm. She gasped at his pull and I was ready to jump when Zenaida's face suddenly changed into a small smile. " I have found the second person, but she won't show me her power."

I was completely confused. How did they know all this? Matter of fact, how did they find all of this out? Was this planned? Was I falling for a psycho? I don't understand!

" Because I'm not weak like that little bitch who never let's me come out. That's why I refuse to let you use me like you plan to. Can't you see? I'm a wonder. I'm a miracle that came into your hands and all you people do is abuse me. Me and that little bitch." the voice that spoke those word out of Zenaida's mouth was not her voice. It was the same voice we heard when she was at dinner with us the last time. That strong and powerful voice. It was the complete opposite of Zenaida's soft and low one. This one spoke with power, as if she owned the world.

And that's when I understood that I was foolish for trusting a complete stranger. She was a whole lie this whole time. Zenaida was not.....the Zenaida I thought I came to know over the past two months. It was obvious there was a complete dark side to her. I felt stupid and betrayed and....I wasn't sure what to feel, honestly. I really didn't know what to do or make out of the knowledge that was just shoved down my throat. I didn't know....I just.....wow.

" Guards, lock her in Prince Zuko's room. We need to speak with my brother, privately." Azula said, and something in her voice told me that she was planning something. I glanced at my servant, who was standing up straight. She looked completely the same, yet completely different. Her face was held high, shoulders back, a confident and dangerous smile on her face. As the guards grabbed her arms, the smile faded and tears began to roll down from her eyes almost like a waterfall. Her head hung low once again and she turned back to me as if she were apologizing for not telling me. But I couldn't look at her because I wouldn't know what to do or say.

" How the hell do all of you know this except me!" I yelled, still fuming at my humiliation and foolishness.

" Zuzu, I suggest you watch your tone with us. You are lucky that faher is allowing you to prepare a massive fleet and taking that girl with you." Azula said as she sat back in her seat.

" I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you, my son. The moment I seen her eyes, I knew something was unusual, yet familiar. So I had my assistants look it up since I remember going over a criminal case in my earlier years about a newborn child who could kill with her eyes. The decision was to kill the newborn, but suddenly she disappeared. But I seen the newborn's eyes before I made the decision to kill her. When I seen Zenaida that day, I knew it was that same newborn 17 years ago. She had grown into a beauty. I knew what I had to do to keep her in line before she went around killing people in the palace with her eyes. The first time I called for her to be with me, she assured me that she could control her eyes now. But right before she left, she turned around and her other side introduced herself to me. That's when I had to retrieve my assistants on her again. One of my advisors said that she was unusual and very rare. He explained that if she had two sides or personalities, then she would have two elements she could bend. I was suprised to find out that one of them was earth, but now it makes me even more curious as to which element the stronger one could bend. Now, Zenaida comes with another package. There is a small tatoo on her inner thigh-" ugh, he must've found that when he was raping her. "- and I looked through some books because that tatoo looked familiar. It is the one given by parents when the child is young. It's more of a curse or spell or some spiritual shit. If she is able to fall in love with someone, that person can control her. Now, Zuko, this is where you come in. She is a very strong bender. I don't need to see her bend to know that. If you play your cards right, then we will have the Avatar defeated in less than a year. I do not want you to mess this up, Zuko. I am warning you. I've done what I can to make sure she knows who to follow."

The table was silent, letting all the knowledge of the killer sink in. Wow......wow. What.....what was I supposed to think or feel. Too many thoughts and feelings hitting me at once. There is excitement that we have such a strong weapon on our side. Anger that she didn't tell me this. Humiliation that I didn't know this when I was the one closest to her, or that's what I thought. Even more anger from the memories of my father raping her. And confusion, which was a big one. Confusion is what conquered me. I was going numb to this emotion and feeling. I didn't know.....I just didn't know. I'm speechless. My mind is racing for something to do or say, but nothing is coming up. Everything is just coming so quickly in the past 5 minutes, I wasn't sure whether to walk out like the prince that I was and just forget about the relationship that I was having with Zenaida, or go and forgive her and use her like my father told me to.

I was glad that lunch went by in silence and I didn't even bother to go to my room anymore. Going down to the dock, mixed feelings still poking at my chest, I seen that Zenaida was chained to a bench on the largest ship in the fleet. There were about 30 ships in total, covering the whole view of the bay as far as I could see.

As I walked onto the larger ship, I decided not to pay attention to her until I could think straight. I could feel her eyes burning into me as I walked down to the lower level. Half of me wanted to hold her and demand why she didn't tell me about this. Half of me wanted to just go along with my father's plan and continue the relationship under false feelings that would be tossed out of the window when I'm done with her. And in between these two halves is where she sat, tears riding down her flushed cheeks, lips slightly puckered and bangs overshadowing those eyes that looked to the floor in disgrace.

I left her chained to the bench as we left later that night from the Fire Nation docks. I was having a hard time letting my relief come in that I was finally out of the kingdom because I was still unsure of what to do or how to feel.

" Prince Zuko, are you not going to unchain Ms.Zenaida?" my uncle asked later that night as I leaned on the railing of the ship in deep thought. The cold wind bit my cheeks as I truned to my uncle who was giving me the warm smile I needed to be recieving from Zenaida like always.

" Uncle...I don't know what to do with her...." I admitted as we glanced at her down the side. She was sitting on the bench as she watched the some guards pace the deck.

" Well, for a start I suggest you unchain her and give her a room and some food, my nephew. You can't let her die." he said as he looked up at me with his aged eyes. I knew he was right and summoned and signaled for a guard to unchain her. She massaged her wrists and began walking toward me, my breathe catching in my throat as she looked up at me with those eyes. Those eyes that could kill.

" Hey." she said quietly, and even in the dark I could tell she was blushing. My uncle gave me a serious look before rubbing Zenaida's back and walking away. I seen the watery trails on her cheek glisten in the moonlight.

" Why didn't you tell me something like that?" I asked, but she just shook her head and shrugged.

" It's wierd, because whenever I'm around you, I seem to forget about all of those things and my past. But I found it shocking that I actually remembered the past and what I really was when it was brought up to me. It just seems to all fade away when I'm with you, Prince Zuko. I don't know why. I mean, I remember really small bits about my past and the girl in my head talks once in a while. But I only remember while the memory is playing or she's speaking, but the rest of the time, I don't even know or care about it." she said, slightly chuckling before nibbling her bottom lip. She did that when she was nervous.

" Honestly, I don't know what to do with you now, Zenaida. I really don't." I admitted and shook my head while sighing. First I get the most plainest girl in the world, Mai. Now I get the most complicated one, Zenaida. What was I going to do......

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Please tell me if that chapter was confusing. If so, I can delete it and re-write it before posting it back up again. If not, then I hope that this chapter cleared some things up. Thanks for following along!