Freedom

Chapter 15: The Earth Link Chains

Rated M for Sexual Themes and Violence

Zuko couldn't see more then a few inches from his face. He lifted up his hand and reached forward into the darkness but came up with empty air.

He tried to squint, seeing if he could make any figures, but it was just a black abyss.

"Walk down the steps and into the water"

The voice rang out loud overhead from the man in white. He didn't know where it was coming from but with the loss of his sense of sight, it felt like it was coming from inside his head.

His feet moved where he could not see. It seemed the venom worked even when his body could not see. He was more worried that if he fought against it then he may end up falling.

He felt his feet carry him down a set of spiraling steps. He kept moving until he felt the cool water hit the bottoms of his feet. If it weren't for the splash he made, he would have barely noticed he was in water. The water felt the same temperature as him, making his body just feel numb as he walked deeper into the body of water.

He stopped once the water reached waist high, his body waiting for its next command.

"Lay back"

His body reacted, leaning back into the water. His legs came out from underneath himself and his body immediately floated to the top. It didn't take much effort to stay afloat, whether that was the venom he was given or the water causing it, he wasn't quite sure.

Once his body was floating in the water, all of his senses had become void. He was staring into pitch black, unable to see anything even if he tried. When he was floating in the water, his body felt weightless, as if he were floating through air.

His body waited for his next command, ready to follow it's masters orders. But it didn't come. He was shut into complete and utter silence.

He saw what was happening. With the loss of all of his senses, he could easily descend into madness, his mind forcing itself to take over in order to prevent utter insanity.

He tried to count backwards from 100, but his brain began to go fuzzy, losing track at about 67.

He felt himself being lulled into a deep sleep, his eyes fluttering closed and bringing the darkness inside.

Zuko's eyes opened with a start, expecting to find blackness when they opened. But light cluttered beyond his eyelids, inviting him in.

He looked around at the familiar place, recognizing the red sheets he laid in and the gold curtains that hung around his bed frame.

It was his childhood bedroom, one he hadn't been in years.

He looked down at his hands and noticed their childlike structure, his fingernails less cracked and rugged, his veins hidden behind pale skincare, his wrists leading to thin arms.

Zuko thought for a moment, asking himself why he may have been brought back here. He shot up out of bed, going down the familiar hallways until he found the one place he knew she may be.

The doors swung open to the garden, the willow tree cascading over the pond, it's branches just tickling the surface.

There she sat, her red silk robes flowing down her sides, her long brown hair cascading down her back in thick curls, and placed on the top of het head was the golden crown of the Fire Lady.