Double Bender

Part 11

When I woke up, I was on a bed with my back facing up. My head was turned sideways, there was a blanket draped over my bare back, and I was looking at a wall. It was made out of metal. My eyes wandered up the wall to see a red banner with a Fire-Nation insignia on it. I was on a Fire-Nation ship. My eyes widened as I tried to sit up. Pain surged through my body and forced me back down again. The door opened and two sets of feet came through the door. "Oh good," said a female voice. I assumed it was Geo's. "You're awake." "Why are we on a Fire-Nation ship?" I asked frantically. "Have we been captured?" Geo laughed. "Heck no. This is just a cover so we can go anywhere unnoticed. We're going to find somewhere hidden so we can plan for the invasion." "Invasion?" I asked. "What invasion?" "You'd better fill her in." Said another female voice. Katara. "Well," said Geo, "there's a solar eclipse coming in about a month so we're going to invade on the day of black sun, when the Fire-Nation's powerless." "Sounds like a pretty good plan." I muttered. I groaned in pain. Even when I wasn't moving I was still fragile as hell. "In the mean time," said Katara coming a little closer, "you're still on the mend." I heard some sloshing noises that sounded like water. "Katara's an amazing healer." Said Geo. "Maybe when you're well enough to move, I could teach a few water-bending moves I learned." Katara added. I didn't answer. Katara pulled the blanket off my back and said, "Oh my gosh." "What?" I asked. "Nothing," she replied. Yay, more unhelpful answers. Something cool and refreshing touched my back and banished the pain. I let out a huge sigh of relief. Then Katara pulled her hands away and I felt like crap again. "It should take about a week before she's back on her feet again. Don't worry, she'll be fighting again well before the invasion." "You know," I said. "She can still hear perfectly fine. My back was the only thing damaged, not my ears." "Oh, right." Katara said with embarrassment. The door opened and someone left. I took a lucky guess at who was still in the room. "Geo?" I asked. "Yeah?" She answered. "How long was I out?" "About two days." "Hmm," I said. "Felt a lot longer than that. So, what happened?" "Azula and the Dai Li took over the Earth-Kingdom. The Earth King is God knows where in disguise with his bear, Bosco. Aang got shocked...really hard. And..." She hesitated. "...someone burned you." "Who?" I demanded. Geo was silent. "Who?" I said again. "You're not going to like it." Not a good sign. "Who. Burned. Me?!" I said angrily. "Zuko." She finally said solemnly. "Zuko burned you." I was silent. "I'll give you some time alone." She silently shut the door.
He burned me. He actually burned me. That bastard said that he loved me. The worst part was I actually believed him. Most of it was my fault for actually believing him and letting him love me. He loved me and I loved him back, he kissed me and I kissed him back. If I hadn't let my mind run away with my heart this wouldn't of happened, I wouldn't feel as helpless and hurt. I would've been fine. I wouldn't have fallen so hard if he hadn't built me up to a level that I couldn't handle. Questions flooded through my mind like a swarm of mosquito-bees; Why did he go with Azula? Where was he now? Where was I right now? What next? Why did he burn me? Why did I actually believe that he loved me? I learned this lesson long ago, nothing is perfect. If I already learned it, why did I fall for it again? He looked at me and I thought, for once in my life since I was six that something was actually perfect. I thought that I could be happy. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. He left his friends and his Uncle for his cold-blooded sister and a father who didn't even love him. Why? To regain some stupid honor that he never had in the first place? Was that really worth burning me and letting his Uncle get arrested? He lied to my face and then burned my back...and I believed every single word of it.
I don't know how much time passed, presumably a week, just as Katara predicted. The days stretched on, day in day out, that I couldn't make out day from night. I was so bored that making tea seemed exciting at this point. I thought about making tea and dumping it on...his head. One day, I attempted at standing up. It was a real struggle but I did it anyway. I was much more stubborn and acting a little stupid. I wasn't listening to anything my mind said before, why should I listen now? Then I noticed something. Something wasn't there. When I stood up, I expected the familiar tickle of my hair but when I stood up, I didn't feel it. And my mother's ring was gone too. I looked down at myself and expected it to be dangling there, but it wasn't. I hobbled over to the slim mirror on the other side of the room and when I saw my own reflection, I nearly shrieked. The girl in the mirror was not me. Her face was slim and sad like she had never smiled once in her life. There were dark circles under her eyes that gave her a threatening look even though she was exhausted. There were bandages all over her body which obviously meant that she'd had a horrible accident. She looked scared and desperate. And her hair was short too, it barely made it past her ears. I reached up to touch my hair and she moved too. The girl in the mirror really was me. I put a hand on the mirror and looked at myself. Tears welled up in my eyes as Geo opened the door. My knees gave way and I fell to the floor. Geo ran over and hugged me. "That's not me!" I cried and pointed at my reflection. "That isn't me!" I paused for a moment. "He made me look like that! He made me afraid! He scarred me! He made me what I am now! I never want to see him again! I never want to see his face! If I ever see his face again, I swear I'll kill him!" I still can't recall if I meant it or not.


I know it's really short but I've been really busy lately. Leave a comment please. Luvs u :)