Ash [Prince Zuko - Book Two]

❃Chapter Thirteen❃

Even though Asake had been working at the animal shelter for a couple of days, the smell still got to her. Every single time she stepped into the building, all the food in Asake's stomach rolled around and around, wanting to come back up. It was like Pen Feho, the owner of the pet shop, hadn't cleaned the stalls for any of the animals in many, many years – and that was her job now. Asake couldn't handle working here for much longer, she knew that.

She gently swept the broom against the floor, glad that the animals were finally quiet. They all sat in their cages, waiting for someone, anyone, to take them home. Asake couldn't bear to look in their eyes, to see the hope and pain at wanting to go home but not having a home to go to. She wanted to take all the animals with her and give them the best life they deserved, but she wasn't even able to give herself the best life she deserved.

Deep down, Asake knew she was more like the animals than she realized.

She leaned against the broom for a moment, her right arm sore. Since she hurt her left shoulder, she had to rely on her right arm to do everything – sweep, clean, put on her clothes, eat. She had never used her right arm more than when her left shoulder was hurt, but she figured it was strengthening her dominant sword arm so that she would be ready to fight if she needed to.

Asake was making a dent in the disgusting mess of the back room, but it would take her a whole year to really clean it out. She didn't want to work here for another year, let alone a few more hours. She had half a thought to tell the Dai Li, the secret agents working in this city, to arrest Pen Feho because of his abuse of the animals, but she was afraid of the Dai Li.

When her father was a young man, he traveled to Ba Sing Se and had a run-in with two Dai Li agents. Father didn't get into much detail about what he did, but he did talk about the beautiful young woman who helped him get away from the Dai Li. That young woman ended up being her mother, a Fire Nation citizen going to the college in the city. They fell in love and moved back to the Fire Nation with a young child, her older brother.

Asake didn't come until much later. Her parents were settled down and done traveling when she was born, and it wasn't much longer until her mother was dead and her brother was gone. She never got to know the happy family she should have known.

She blew out a breath and placed the broom against the wall. She needed a break. Running her fingers through her hair, she spun around and found Pen Feho standing behind the front desk. She quickly entered the front room, shutting the door behind her. The older man scanned a scroll before looking up at her with a scowl.

"Can I take my lunch break now?" Asake asked hopefully. She gave him a soft smile, hoping that would soften him. "I've cleaned a lot . . ."

"I guess," he said, shaking his head. He glanced out the window at the sky, sighing. The wrinkles around his eyes tightened when he squinted against the glare of the warm sun. "When the sun is at its peak, you can come back."

"Thank you, sir." She bent her head down respectfully before bounding out of the pet shop.

A bright blue sky greeted Asake, and it seemed like almost every day in Ba Sing Se was a nice one. When she was on the ship, it always seemed like a dreary day, so it was nice to have a change in scenery. A fresh breeze blew through the streets; something sweet traveled toward her, making her smile to herself. For some reason, she felt peaceful here in the streets of Ba Sing Se, like no one was going to come after her for once in her life. It was refreshing.

Asake walked through the busy streets of Ba Sing Se, trying to find a place to eat. Many other people crowded the streets, making her heart beat quickly against her rib cage. She darted into the first shop she saw, glad she wasn't a picky eater. A bell jingled when she opened the door, making her jump slightly. There were a couple of tables set up around the little shop, with two people sitting at one together.