"Where am I?" I muttered for the fifth time, my voice barely a whisper as I was shoved roughly into a carriage filled with kids. The merchant who'd just purchased me didn't bother to look back as he slammed the door shut. I rubbed my sore wrist, feeling the bruising grip of his hand still lingering on my skin.
'Why are they wearing red?' My eyes darted around, scanning the children, all dressed in a similar, crimson-colored fabric. There was something unsettling about it. The children were eerily quiet, their expressions hollow and lifeless. I fidgeted, uneasily rubbing my palms together, trying to calm the rising tide of panic swelling in my chest.
The carriage jostled forward, rocking us as it made its way up a mountain path. Through a small opening in the back, I could see we were being taken to some sort of massive structure. 'A palace?' I thought, my breath hitching in my throat.
Minutes passed like hours, each bump on the road making my stomach churn with anxiety. Finally, the carriage creaked to a stop. The gates in front of us groaned open, revealing towering walls and soldiers in crimson armor patrolling the grounds. Fire flickered in their hands, moving with them like a second skin.
'Firebenders…?' My mind spun as I tried to make sense of it. 'Is this... the world of Avatar?'
A cold sweat broke out on my skin as I tried to rationalize the situation. 'How did I get here? And… why am I younger?' I glanced at my small, child-like hands. The last thing I remembered was sitting in my apartment, eating chips, and then... cold, bone-chilling cold.
'Am I dead?' That possibility gnawed at me as the carriage rolled through the palace gates, clattering over stone. I noticed now, looking around the carriage, there were about twenty or thirty kids like me. They all looked broken, some shaking silently, others with vacant eyes staring into nothingness.
Beside me, a boy sat motionless, his face a mask of emptiness. I leaned over and whispered, "Where are we going?" He turned his head slowly, his eyes devoid of life, and whispered back, "To the Royal Palace." His voice was flat, as though hope had long since abandoned him.
'Royal Palace?' The words rattled in my head. 'Is there royalty in Brazil? Or am I truly somewhere else?'
'I have to be dead. Nothing else makes sense.' I tried to shake off the mounting confusion. There was no point in panicking—panic would get me killed in a place like this, wherever this was. If I'd been sold, if these children were too, then the situation was more dire than I initially thought. There was no telling what kind of fate awaited us at the end of this journey.
I clenched my fists. 'I won't die here.'
The carriage lurched to another stop, and we were herded out. As I stepped onto the stone courtyard, my eyes were drawn upward. The palace was enormous, its golden spires piercing the sky. Beautiful, yes, but it radiated an ominous energy that made my skin crawl.
Around me, the kids stared at the palace in awe, momentarily forgetting their fear as they took in its grandeur. But that temporary distraction faded the moment our eyes caught sight of the soldiers, fire flickering at their fingertips. They moved with precision, practicing martial forms, but it was the way they controlled the fire—so effortless, so deadly—that made my heart race.
'Firebending…' I stared at the flames. 'Am I in the Avatar universe?' My thoughts whirled as I watched the soldiers fight, fire bursting from their fists and feet with every strike. Without thinking, I mimicked their movements, trying to will fire into existence. Nothing happened.
I sighed. 'What did I expect? I'm probably a non-bender.' I dropped my hands, oblivious to the faint flicker of a spark that briefly danced across my fingertips.
The merchant who sold us exchanged a heavy bag of coins with one of the palace servants. We were shackled again and handed off like cattle. The maids didn't speak as they led us through the palace halls. The silence, thick and oppressive, weighed heavily on my chest.
They took us to a bathhouse, stripped us, and scrubbed us clean. The water was too hot, burning my skin, but I didn't dare complain. I kept my head down, trying to piece together what little I knew. After we were cleaned, they dressed us in simple but elegant robes and sat us at a long table for a meal. The food was good—too good, considering the circumstances.
As I ate, one of the maids leaned close and whispered, "Do whatever the Princess asks of you, or you will be severely punished."
The blood drained from my face. 'Princess... Azula?' It clicked into place. We weren't here to serve; we were here to suffer. I had a sinking feeling that we'd been brought here for her amusement. Azula, the fire princess, the very embodiment of cruelty, was about to toy with us like a cat with a mouse.
My stomach turned as I pushed the food away. The others ate ravenously, either too terrified or too broken to care.
Before long, we were marched into a massive chamber—a training ground, filled with weapons and shields. Anxiety rippled through the group as we were forced to line up. The air grew colder, tension thick as the heavy doors opened, and she stepped through.
Azula.
Her presence was like a dark cloud descending over us. Her gaze was sharp, predatory, as she scanned the room. Then, her lips curled into a chilling smile that made my skin crawl. The firebenders flanked her, standing at attention, awaiting her command.
"Fight," she said simply, her voice dripping with malice.
The room fell into a suffocating silence. No one moved. The other kids looked at each other, terrified, some already beginning to sob.
Azula's smile only widened. She gestured to one of the firebenders. He stepped forward, grabbed a boy by the head, and slammed him to the ground with a sickening crack. Blood splattered across the stone as the firebender stomped on his skull, crushing it under his boot. The sound of bone crunching echoed in the hall, followed by silence, and then… the screams.
Terror surged through the group. The kids began to panic, some crying uncontrollably, others looking around, pleading for help that would never come.
'She wants us to kill each other.' The realization settled over me like a lead weight. 'They're just kids…' My mind raced. 'They won't survive this.'
Azula's voice broke through the chaos. "If no one fights, you'll all die, one by one. Pick up the weapons and kill or be killed. It's simple."
As if in a trance, some of the children stumbled toward the tables where daggers and knives were laid out. Their hands shook as they grabbed the cold steel, the weight of the weapons far too heavy for their trembling fingers.
A girl approached me, tears streaming down her face, a dagger in hand. Her sobs were uncontrollable, but her grip on the blade was tight.
'I don't want to do this…' My thoughts screamed, but survival instinct kicked in. I grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and in a fluid motion, drove the blade into her throat. Her eyes widened in shock as she gurgled, blood bubbling from her lips. I felt nothing.
'Is this who I've become?' I thought bitterly. 'Killing kids…'
But the carnage didn't stop. The room was filled with screams, the sound of blades slicing through flesh, and the sickening thud of bodies hitting the floor. My movements were mechanical, detached. I snatched another dagger from the ground and moved through the crowd like a predator, slitting throats and stabbing jugulars with precision. I didn't give them time to suffer. It was mercy, in a twisted way.
At some point, I lost count of how many I'd killed. The blood pooled at my feet, staining the floor red.
"Mommy…" I heard a faint whimper and turned to see a girl on the ground, a knife embedded in her eye, but she was still alive. Her tiny voice broke through the chaos. "I want Mommy…"
My chest tightened as I knelt beside her. Without hesitation, I pressed the knife deeper until it pierced her brain, ending her suffering.
When it was over, there were only three of us left. And then, there was only me. I stood alone in the sea of bodies, drenched in blood, my heart pounding in my ears. I looked down at my reflection in the crimson pool at my feet.
My face…
My face wore a smile.