Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 10.1: The Day of Black Sun

- Elara -

If I was going to be honest, between the never-ending pain and the perpetual intoxication from whatever drug the Fire Nation had forced into me, I was completely lost in a parallel dimension where nothing made any sense. The things I had once assumed to be concrete were now abstract, and I could no longer trust my experiences or memories because there was no way to determine if they were real or just a figment of my vivid imagination. It had gotten so bad that I could have sworn that I had heard his voice in the middle of the chaos—I could have sworn that I had heard him crying for me to come back—but I knew that wasn't possible. I suppose I had made it up because a part of me had always hoped that he would come to save me. I knew I was wrong, of course—he would never save me if it meant putting his honor on the line—so I dismissed the memory as another one of my fever dreams.

A few days after that event, however, something changed. Even though I was only half-conscious at the time, I could feel something inside of me awakening as the natural order of the world was swayed out of balance, shocking my system even under the spell of a strong sedative. With this new boost of energy, I was able to pick out the sounds of a brutal battle making its way closer to my cell, the echo of strangled screams filling the air of the prison as the guards met an untimely demise. I knew that whatever creature had caused that suffering was on its way to find me, and yet, I wasn't afraid. Not even a little bit. I had a feeling that whatever the outcome of this chance encounter happened to be, I would finally be free from this prison cell.

I heard my door fall to the floor with an ear-splitting clatter, and only moments later my eyes were exposed to the first glimpse of light in months as my face covering was torn off with the rest of my chains. I squinted in protest as I felt someone wrap their arm around my waist, a bitter herb making its way into my mouth as I coughed in protest.

"Get up, Elara," the man said as he tried to steady me on my feet. "We have to get you out of here."

I slowly forced my eyes open as they adjusted to the glare of a nearby lantern, and I was overjoyed to see a familiar figure emerging from the pillar of light.

"Iroh?" I croaked as I gazed upon a face that I was sure I would never see again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm starting a prison break, of course," Iroh answered hurriedly as he stood to his feet. "Can you walk?"

Iroh gave me a moment to regain my balance before taking a step back to let me fend for myself. I wasn't sure how he did it, but whatever plant he had given me had kicked in almost immediately, erasing any trace of the toxins and pain left in my body by my captors and putting my senses on high alert. I quickly tested the stability of my own two legs as I looked down in awe (having been confident that at least one of my legs had been broken), but I knew I didn't have much time to arrive at a conclusive answer. So, I did my best to ignore the way in which my legs seemed to vibrate and nodded fervently towards my savior.

"Yes, I think so," I answered.

Iroh then started towards the door, gesturing for me to follow after him as he spoke. "Good. Now, let's get you out of here."

I got my first taste of freedom as I followed Iroh out of that wretched prison cell, but I was surprised to find that we were not making our way up the stairs to get out of the prison as I had expected. Instead, Iroh was leading me right into a dead end. I was about to voice my concern as we reached the end of the short hallway, but I found that my questions weren't necessary as I watched Iroh slide his hand along the wall, forcing one of the stones into the face which (in turn) opened a secret passageway. No sooner had the door opened than we heard the bark of dozens of soldiers approaching from behind, so Iroh grabbed me and practically threw me down the following flight of stairs as he made his way between myself and the advancing enemy.