Chapter One

Patience Is A Virtue, But Cruelty Is A Talent

It was an abnormally hot summer day in the Fire Nation Homeland. Most of the citizens stayed indoors, and even then could not escape the sweltering heat and humidity of the day. But, of course, in the royal palace, the Fire Lord and his family were kept cool with large feathered fans held by servants. And in the private library belonging to the royal princess, Princess Azula herself stood tall and proud as a royal messenger knelt at her feet. Azula’s fifteenth birthday had just recently past, and she had begun to wonder what it would be like to have a personal slave of her very own. Her good friend, Ty-Lee, at the age of twelve, had owned her own slave who eventually escaped because she was too soft hearted and never punished it at all. But she certainly would not make such a careless mistake. Slaves were slaves, and ought to be treated as such. Being a member of the royal family, Azula had always known this. So, she put together a small but strong fleet of soldiers to find her a slave with the qualities that she made sure they were all well aware of. And if anyone asked them of their whereabouts, they were to tell them that they were on a search-and-destroy mission for an accused assassin, as Azula as had instructed them to do. Now, the royal messenger had finally arrived to tell her the good news. And Azula was quite glad of this. After all, now that her elder brother, Zuko, had run off to join the Avatar- she always knew the hippy would pull this one day- she was in dire need of someone new to torture. And this young royal messenger, quite unfortunately for him, was that special new someone.

“So, she has arrived at last, Ariku?” Princess Azula asked, slightly impatiently. She had been waiting for almost a month now! She never thought it could take so long to find any girl who was no older than twelve-years-old and living in a garbage nation like the Earth Kingdom, and to catch her while her guard was down. “Yes, your highness.” Ariku answered, practically beaming with pride at having been given the honor of delivering news to the Fire Nation Royal Princess in person. Especially because he’d actually had more a couple of ‘mishaps’ with the princess in the past involving some misdemeanors of his that she had heard about from the other servants and had decided to take it upon herself to… ‘Correct’ him. Some of the servants said that he had it coming, while others insisted that Azula was only picking on him because at the age of thirteen, he was the youngest messenger ever to work under the royal family, which mad him easy prey for the infamously-dominant princess. So, the fact that he was actually in her presence for a positive reason this time, gave him an immense feeling of happiness and relief. “Has she been placed exactly where I had requested her to be?” “Yes, your highness.” The messenger answered again. “Very good then, Ariku.” Taking this as a dismissal, Ariku stood and bowed, a bit hurriedly, before turning to leave. “And just who told you that you could leave, my dear Ariku?” Azula asked in a manner that sounded calm and kind, but very intimidating as well. “Why don’t you come sit right over here, hmm?” Ariku nervously turned back around to see that Azula was pointing to an all-too familiar wooden chair. The Chair Of Acknowledgement, as it was called whenever be was being made to sit in it, was a ridiculously hard and very uncomfortable chair that Azula had had made especially and only for him. After the fourth time that Azula brought Ariku into her private library to ‘correct’ his behavior, she knew at that point that it was not going to be the last time and he was obviously going to be in there many, many more times after that- as well, he was. So, for that reason, she decided it would be beneficial to have a few things added to her private library, and so it permanently became known as ‘The Discipline Room’. Or at least that’s what it was known as to Azula, who was the one doing the disciplining, and to Ariku, who was the one being disciplined. Well, one of the things that Azula had added to the room was that Agni forsaken chair that he was to sit in, and would not be allowed to get out of it until he had acknowledged what he had done wrong, hence it being called The Chair Of Acknowledgement. And that is where he now sat, awaiting the interrogation he knew was coming. For just a moment, he glanced at the sink- something else Azula had added to her private library for Ariku’s ‘visits’. Anybody else who saw it wouldn’t have the slightest idea what a sink was doing in a library. But it was Azula’s library, and Ariku’s discipline room. So as long as they both knew what it was for, then that was what mattered to her. Now Azula stood right behind Ariku, gently but firmly placing both hands upon his shoulders. And although she didn’t hurt Ariku, he could feel how strong she was. “Now then, Ariku.” Azula began, “Lao-Min tells me that you’ve reverted back to your old cussing habits. Is that correct?” “What! No, Princess.” Ariku replied. He was indeed a bit shocked at the accusation- because, unlike all of the past accusations against him, this one actually wasn’t true. He had stopped cussing completely after paying a visit to Azula’s private library several months ago! However, he was not very surprised at all to hear that it was Lao-Min who had told Azula otherwise. Lao-Min was Azula’s personal servant, who was officially the youngest to ever be on the royal staff- she had been out to get Ariku since his first day of work four years ago! And all Ariku had done was comment on the fact that she was probably the only four-year-old in the Fire Nation with a job, and he wasn’t even trying to demean her in any way! He’d meant it as a compliment! But Lao-Min apparently hadn’t taken it that way, and was bent on making his existence as difficult as possible ever since. Well, now was his chance to expose the brat! “Princess Azula, I am sorry to say that you have been misinformed.” Ariku said, with a slight bit more confidence in his voice. “Lao-Min is a brat and a liar, and-.” One look at Azula’s facial expression was enough to silence him. “Oh, is Lao-Min a brat and a liar?” Azula inquired, nonchalantly. “Or are you a brat and a liar?” Ariku hung his head in defeat- he knew he had lost. All traces of confidence now gone from his voice, he quietly mumbled, “I’m s-sorry, p-princess.” “Sorry for what, my dear Ariku?” Azula asked, impatiently. “I want to hear you say it.” “I’m sorry for being a brat and a liar.” He replied. Suddenly, Azula grasped Ariku’s chin and sharply titled it upward so he was looking right at her. “And what else?” Azula asked, tired of waiting for the confession she’d originally asked for so politely. Ariku was practically in tears- it just wasn’t fair! Lao-Min was guilty of lying to the princess of the Fire Nation, and now here he was about to be punished as the result of it! “And I’m sorry for cussing, princess.” Azula released his chin, and she resumed her calm, but still very intimidating, demeanor. Ariku watched as Azula now made her way over to the sink, and he panicked. “Please! I’m truly sorry, Princess Azula! Please forgive me just this one-“ “I think that’s quite enough out of you!” Azula barked. “You know how I feel about cussing, Ariku. And now you’ve done it in front of poor Lao-Min, who is only eight years old! What if she then starts to cuss as well? Well, I suppose then I’d have to punish her, too- or is that what you wanted? Honestly, I thought I had solved this little problem of yours long ago, but apparently not. Now, come over to the sink this instant! Or do I have to come over there and fetch you myself?” Ariku gulped. “N-no, princess.” He got up from the chair, his backside now a bit sore from sitting in The Chair Of Acknowledgement. He took the position that Azula had taught him always to take when at the sink- leaning over it with his legs spread slightly and both hands gripping the sides of the sink for dear life. Pleased with his compliance, Azula patted the top of his head. “That’s a good boy.” She cooed. Now Azula picked up a bar of soap from the side of the sink held it right under Ariku’s nostrils. “Inhale.” She ordered. “Deeply!” Ariku obeyed, taking in the sweet, flowery scent of the bar. But he knew, once in his mouth, it would not taste sweet at all. Azula now turned on the sink faucet, and held the bar of soap under the running water, and began to lather it up. Ariku watched her do this, becoming more and more terrified with each passing second. Then, finally, Azula turned off the faucet and was now holding the soap dangerously close to Ariku’s lips. “Open wide, little boy.” Azula said, obviously with the intention of making this experience as humiliating for Ariku as possible. “You’re about to learn what happens to children who say bad words and lie. OPEN WIDE NOW!” Ariku reluctantly obeyed and then immediately gagged as the soap was shoved, none-too gently, deep into his mouth. Azula kept shoving it in until it almost reached the back of his throat, but not quite. She didn’t want the fool to throw up everywhere before she even got started- then she’d have to start all over again! She smiled when she saw Ariku’s face contort so horribly. He was most certainly going to learn his lesson this time around- she would make sure of it. She had always rather enjoyed doing this, being evil for the sake of teaching someone else to be good. Being cruel was a motif for her, she was very well aware of that, and she took pride in it. She loved the feeling she always got from dominating this unruly messenger, who was practically just a child, and humiliating him to the fullest extent for whatever reason she could possibly find. The look of discomfort that would always come over Ariku’s face whenever he was sitting in The Chair Of Acknowledgement was priceless to Azula. The way he would beg and plead with her not to punish him, when deep down he knew that she was just going to punish him anyway, made him so magnificently helpless. The miserable groans and gags that would come out of his mouth, whenever Azula was in the process of cleaning the filthy, errant thing, was music to Azula’s ears. After a moment of simply holding the soap in Ariku’s mouth and listening to his harmonious gagging and whimpering, Azula began to move the soap around- twisting it back and forth and pumping it in and out vigorously. Suds quickly began to form around Ariku’s mouth and began to dribble down his chin. Ariku’s gagging had now increased tenfold as the soapy onslaught continued. No part of his mouth was spared as his tongue, and the insides of his cheeks, and even the roof of his mouth were all intensely scrubbed. “Tell me, my dear sweet Ariku.” Azula now said, as she began to scrub even harder. “Can you feel those bad words all being scrubbed away?” She stopped momentarily and removed the soap from Ariku’s mouth, which he was very grateful for, although he knew that it would be going right back in there in just a moment. He knew Azula wanted him to answer. And so, with a mouthful of suds and lather, he said, “Yeth, pwintheth!” “Good.” Azula said, her smile growing. “Very good… But, since you both cussed and lied to me afterwards, I’m afraid we’re not quite finished yet.” And with that being said, Ariku quickly found his mouth being fully occupied by the soap bar once again, and the scrubbing recommenced.

Twenty minutes later...

“Now then, my little Ariku,” Azula said, finally setting the, now much smaller, bar of soap down on the side of the sink. “Do you think you’ve learned a good lesson today?” Ariku, completely exhausted, looked up at the princess with pleading, tear-filled eyes. “Yeth, pwintheth.” He replied through a mouthful of suds. “Oh? And what lesson would that be?” Azula asked- she loved to make Ariku speak after a mouth soaping, she knew the friction of his tongue on the roof of his mouth and lips as he spoke caused him to taste the soap even more. “Not to thay cuth wordth or lie to you.” Ariku said, his face twisting into an even more intense grimace than before now. “That’s my good boy.” Azula said, patting him on the head. The slight bit of praise was much appreciated by Ariku; it meant that his punishment was over at last. “Now you may return to your duties. But first, you know what you have to do.” Ariku’s face paled slightly- how could he have possibly forgotten that he was not allowed to rinse? The water in that sink only had one use- to moisten the soap bar. Azula stood there and waited, and a moment later, a loud gulp was heard followed by seemingly endless gagging and spluttering. Ariku fought back the need to heave when he felt Azula force him to stand up straight and gave him a surprisingly gentle push towards the door. “Now go.” She said, “And I’d better not have to have this little ‘chat’ with you again.” Ariku hung his head sullenly as he left the library and headed back to his post. He knew the next time he ended up in there would be all up to Lao-Min. It was time he faced the facts.

He’d never win.

------

Azula couldn’t help but smile, almost gleefully, as she made her way down the stairs to the new underground wing of the palace. She had had it installed in the past week to prepare for her first slave. Most would say that having an entire wing built even for someone who was a royal guest, much less a mere slave. But this slave was going to be very, very special to Azula and would thus receive special treatment. The best part of the underground wing was that the entrance was hidden and only Azula knew about it. Being the princess of the Fire Nation, when she wanted something, it did not have to go through her father first. No one knew about this place; not her father, not her pesky brother, not her friends… It was a place where she would not- could not- be bothered. Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, Azula went down a series of hallways until she finally reached one particular door. There was a gold brass plate on the door that read:

DO NOT ENTER

Property Of Princess Azula

Opening the door, Azula entered the room and lit a candle sitting on a nearby dresser. After locking the door firmly behind her, Azula then stood there and took a moment to admire her taste in decorating. Unlike the rest of the palace, this room was not covered floor-to-ceiling in red and gold. The walls were a light shade of pink while the soft fuzzy carpet was pure white. On one side of the room there was a rather large white changing table with several drawers and compartments, which held diapers, powder, and lotion- not to mention plastic diaper covers and pacifiers of all different colors. Near the changing table was a closet, which was practically overflowing with the most beautiful baby’s wardrobe- dresses, onesies, rompers, playsuits, overalls, sleepers, and Mary Janes. Near said closet, was a dresser with many upon many drawers that were the home of countless pairs of mittens, tights, socks, bibs, bonnets, booties, diaper covers, and cute hair accessories of all colors and styles. And on the corner on the opposite side of the room, was a large white four-poster crib with a luxurious pink satin canopy, with an abundance of frilly lace, hanging above it. And through the tall bars of the crib, Azula could see her slave, peacefully napping inside, her chest slowly rising and falling. Well, not truly napping, of course- technically, the girl was completely out cold. But that would soon be remedied. The girl looked to be about eleven or twelve years of age, and had light brown hair that was the slightest bit curly and about came down to just above her elbows. And although her eyes were still closed, Azula knew quite well what color they were- given that all Earth Kingdom citizens had green eyes. Yes, that’s right- Princess Azula of the Fire Nation now officially owned an Earth Kingdom slave. Normally, they would be more common- except that many of them, benders or not, were very good fighters and either fought off the soldiers that came to claim them or escaped back to their homeland later. Azula was glad that she had been captured and delivered completely unharmed, just as she had asked, which she could not help but be a bit impressed with, as she could imagine this girl, although not a bender, had presumably put up more than a good enough fight to try to evade capture. So the fact that she bore no bruises or burns did please Azula very much. It would not do to play with a toy that was broken. She now proceeded to take from her pocket, a small glass bottle filled with a mysterious green liquid. It was an herbal mixture that was said to be able to awaken people from unconsciousness. It was only to be used by soldiers in the war, but Azula had ways of getting those sorts of things anyway. Removing the lid, she now held the bottle directly under her slave’s nostrils, watching her inhale the scent of the mixture for a minute or two before finally beginning to stir. The girl slowly opened her eyes to reveal two beautiful green orbs, making it quite obvious where she had been captured from, and confirming Azula’s suspicions of the stereotype. She lifted her head slightly before setting it down on the fluffy pillow once again and closing her eyes halfway; she seemed very out of it. But this was to be expected, she had been unconscious for quite a long time after being ambushed, shackled, and put on a ship heading for a completely different country! Azula could see that the poor thing was absolutely exhausted. And she intended to use that to her advantage. Being as drowsy as she was gave Azula plenty of time to carry her over to the changing table and strap her down tight before she even knew what was happening. Now having restrained her little captive, Azula now proceeded to take her sweet old time opening the different drawers located under the table’s surface to retrieve a stack of rather large cloth diapers, safety pins, baby lotion and powder, and everything else she’d need. Once she had all the ‘supplies’ together, she now made quick work of cutting through the girl’s tattered dress and undergarments. Being now completely exposed to the cool air, the girl shivered slightly. Azula frowned in fake motherly sympathy. “Aww, poor baby.” She thought to herself, “Don’t worry, little one, Mama Azula will diaper you up and then get you into a nice, warm sleeper.” With that thought in her mind, Azula lifted the girl’s legs up and slid the diaper beneath her bottom before gently setting her back down. Thankfully, Azula had only strapped her used the arm and chest straps, and had not strapped down her ankles- so diapering her was quite easy. But Azula knew it was not going to be easy for long- soon or later, her diapered prisoner was going to wake up. So, she quickly rubbed some baby lotion onto her private area, and just as she was sprinkling the baby powder, the girl’s eyes finally cracked open.

“Ugh… My head. What happened?” Fang-Yen thought, as she slowly drifted back to the land of the living. The last thing she remembered, she was fighting off a group of what must have been at least five or six Fire Nation soldiers from her family’s home, as her mother and father cowered in the corner, with tears in their eyes. She remembered her father yelling, “Sweetheart, we’re sorry! We knew, and we just couldn’t tell you!” This only brought more tears to her mother’s eyes, as she broke down and wept. Fang-Yen had just arrived home from a sleepover with one of her school friends when they attacked. It was more than a little obvious that they were quite shocked that this Earth Kingdom girl, who wasn’t even a bender by any stretch of the imagination, was somehow managing to keep them at bay. She figured one of the soldiers must have come up behind her and hit her with something, and none-too-gently she might add, because her head was aching profusely. Closing her eyes once again, she wanted to reach a hand up to rub her throbbing head, but found it impossible when she tried to do so. It seemed as though something was holding her wrists down, something made of leather. Immediate panic setting in, Fang-Yen bolted upright, or at least she tried to, by which she discovered that the same leather material was holding her chest down as well. Now giving kicking her legs a go, she found that this was not an option either, and became truly terrified.

“Now, now, there’s no need to squirm.” A voice said, Fang-Yen quickly lifted her head only to find herself looking at the last person she could have possibly wanted to see right now. “I-I, Wh-wha-?” She stammered out. “You’re… I…” Finally, she snapped. “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!” Fang-Yen shouted. “WHERE AM I?” Azula frowned at her plaything’s outburst. “First of all, young lady, there is no reason for you to be yelling like that. Secondly, I suggest you watch what you say- I will NOT tolerate rudeness, and I certainly will not tolerate profanity.” Fang-Yen stared, wide-eyed and very confused, at the princess that she’d been warned about her entire life. “What are you talking about?” Fang-Yen said, slightly offended that the enemy was speaking to her as though she were her mother. “I can say whatever-“ “Enough!” Azula hissed, now seeming even more displeased. “If you wish to be informed of the reason why you’re here, you will be absolutely silent. And I highly suggest you listen very, very closely.” Fang-Yen glared at her captor, but said nothing. Azula took note of her sudden compliance, but did not crack a smile- her slave was far from obedient, far from trained… far from perfect.

And she would not have that.