Fire and Wind: Futility
Seng panted as she stared at the princess who stared back just as intensely. The soldiers around them were stiff with shock, and as her body buzzed with adrenaline, Seng berated herself for airbending in front of so many witnesses. Now her secret was out and there was no possible way she would be able to prevent all of these people from going around telling everyone they knew. Hell, she’d be lucky if she even got out of here alive.
She narrowed her eyes at the princess as she spoke, her voice carefully composed yet slightly surprised, “Well this is certainly an interesting development. I had been led to believe that all of the air nomads had met their end at the hand of my great grandfather, and yet here you stand. Whole and decidedly alive.”
Seng tensed as the princess stepped forward, her head following the other girl as she began circling her like a predator. She stared at Seng like she was trying to dissect her with her gaze alone, and the airbender felt her hackles raise as she spoke again, “Though, I suppose that’s not exactly correct, is it? You are much too young to have been alive during the purge. The Mad King aside, there is not a bender alive who remembers the beginning of the One-hundred Year War. More likely, one of your grandparents or even great grandparents managed to escape the purge, am I right? I must admit, staying hidden and avoiding capture long enough to not only have children, but grandchildren as well, is quite the accomplishment.”
“That begs the question though,” Seng tensed as the princess stopped stalking, narrowing her golden eyes inquisitively, “are you the only one who was blessed with airbending? Surely you’re not alone in this world. After all, someone must have taught you to be such a canny thief and fighter. Perhaps your parents or some other relative? Maybe even a sibling?”
At the mention of the word sibling, Seng couldn’t help but tense even more, and that was more than enough for the astute noble. She smiled, “Sibling then. How interesting. Tell me, are there more of you? Have our spies somehow missed an entire colony of airbenders hiding out in the middle of the Earth Kingdom?”
“It’s just me.” Seng said sharply, “I’m an orphan. I don’t have a family.”
The princess didn’t buy it for a second. She tutted, shaking her head in faux disappointment, “Now now, there’s no need to lie to my face. I happen to be an expert at reading people, and though you may present a rather impressive front of stoicism, it doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny, I’m afraid.”
Seng surreptitiously glanced to the side where she could see the moonlight glinting off of the blade of her spear, “...Believe what you want. I’m telling the truth.”
The princess clicked her tongue, “Very well, be that way. I suppose it will just be more enjoyable for our interrogators when they have to force the information out of you.”
Seng took a deep breath, holding her fists up in front of her, “The fight’s not over yet.”
“Oh? And what makes you think that? Surely you don’t think you can beat me just because you can airbend.” The princess laughed haughtily, raising her hands as well, “How arrogant, but very well. Allow me to dissuade you of any notion of victory.”
They stared at one another, the tension in the air spiking as they each waited for the other to make the first move. Seng’s eyes darted to the side once more and she tensed her legs imperceptibly, causing the princess to do the same. A beat of silence passed, the wind from the ocean wafting across the deck and bringing with it the salty smell of the sea and the sound of crashing waves, and a moment later, Seng suddenly turned and booked it in the opposite direction of the princess, leaving her blinking in confusion, before her eyes narrowed in anger at what she perceived as a cowardly attempt at escape.
A ball of fire raced across the deck after the airbender, burning a path straight towards her back and, no longer concerned with secrecy, Seng avoided it in the way that came most naturally to her. She jumped upwards, the wind buoying her and keeping her aloft for far longer than was natural as the flames rushed underneath her. As she began to fall back down, she twisted, her hands grasping at the air itself as she pushed a tunnel of wind straight towards the princess, hoping to knock her off of the deck.
She didn’t look to see if it was successful as she landed on her feet, but judging by the lack of scream or splash, she wasn’t holding out much hope. She ignored the disappointment that filled her as she continued running towards her fallen weapon. She needed her spear if she wanted any chance of winning in this situation.
A crackling whoosh of air caught Seng’s attention and she looked over to see that not only had the princess avoided her blast of air, but she was already in the middle of another attack. The princess’s leg swept through the air in a high kick, sending a lash of fire racing towards Seng, and the airbender’s lips thinned. She was nearly there, just a little further.
The hair on the back of her neck was singed as she dove forward onto her spear, grabbing it with both hands as she rolled along the deck. She sprung back to her feet in one smooth motion, standing up and facing the princess with her weapon as the fire soared into the night behind her.
Said princess raised an eyebrow as she realized what had just happened, “Really? Here I thought we were finally going to have a proper duel. Doesn’t it seem a bit unfair for you to have both your bending, and your weapon?”
“Unfair? This is not a duel. I’m fighting for my survival.” Seng answered, “Are you telling me that the princess of the Fire Nation believes a simple thief might be her equal just because she has a weapon? I find that hard to believe.”
“Hmm, I suppose that’s true.” The princess smirked, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she lowered her stance, “Very well, I’ll be magnanimous in this instance. Take all the handicaps you require, it will not help you in the slightest.”
Seng’s knuckles cracked as she tightened her grip on her spear, “We’ll see about that.”
Seng’s spear was her preferred weapon for a reason. With no formal training and no way to gain access to it, the airbender was forced to simply do what came naturally to her when it came to her bending. On the rare occasions she actually managed to find the secrecy needed to practice, she had to feel her way through the lost art, learning through trial and error what worked and what didn’t.
What she found was that airbending worked best when used in long, sweeping movements. Unlike earthbending which relied on forceful, deliberate motions and a stable foundation to move the earth itself, airbenders needed to be in constant motion. She needed to be like the wind itself, flowing between one movement and the next without pause as she coaxed the air around her to do her bidding.
And when constant movement was needed, a long, sharpened pole was the perfect tool to get it done. Seng’s spear whistled through the night as she whipped the air around her into a frenzy, and the guards along the deck backed up nervously, unsure of what she was doing. The princess on the other hand, just watched her curiously, clearly unconcerned with whatever Seng was about to attempt, or confident that she was in no danger from the airbender.
Seng’s eyes narrowed at her arrogance, and raised her spear high into the air before slamming it down onto the deck with a resounding clack. A long blade of wind ripped across the iron deck like it had been summoned by the spirits themselves and just as tangible. It scored the metal beneath it, slicing a thin fissure on its way to its destination, and that was the only indication that it was even there at all.
It was enough for the princess however, and only a moment after her attack was unleashed the girl leapt out of the way, using the motion to launch more fire at Seng. Seng twirled her staff, using the wind to send the flames upwards and into the night sky like a bright flare. She watched it dissipate harmlessly in the air, before she returned her gaze downwards and her eyes widened as she noticed that the princess was only a few feet away from her and approaching fast.
Panicking and knowing that she couldn’t let her get too close, Seng pivoted on her heel, bringing the butt of her spear upwards in one smooth motion and sending another gust of air towards the charging princess. The girl dodged it easily by just jumping to the side and letting it pass her by, but that movement had the intended effect of completely arresting all of her prior momentum, leaving her as a sitting turtle-duck for Seng’s follow-up.
Her hands slid along the smooth shaft of her spear, gripping it near the bottom as she swung it as hard as she possibly could, sending a curved scythe of wind ripping towards her opponent. It was much larger than anything she had managed to put out so far, encompassing nearly the entire length of the deck and just falling shy of the soldiers standing off to the side, and Seng knew that if it hit, the fight would be over immediately.
Instead of running away from the attack like she had expected however, the princess smirked as she was faced with the sharpened air and ran towards it. Seng watched with wide eyes as the girl bent her knees and jumped upwards, aided by a burst of fire that sent her flying even higher into the air. Flipping once to build momentum, she came back down faster than she rose, extending one leg in front of her as she fell. A trail of azure flame streaked through the air, guided by her bare foot as she sent it forth towards Seng.
She performed the motion like she had done it a million times before. There was no hesitance, not a single hair or limb out of place as she simultaneously avoided Seng’s attack and made her own in the same motion. It was as if she had already fought dozen’s of airbenders and knew exactly what to do when faced with such a maneuver despite still being in her sleepwear.
It was honestly horrifying to watch, and Seng could feel dread set in as she saw the ease with which the other girl was fighting. How was she supposed to escape when she wasn’t even sure she could beat her?
Cursing in her mind and gripping her spear harder, Seng cartwheeled to the side, avoiding the searing fire yet grimacing at the sheer heat that battered her body anyway. She did her best to keep her composure as air swirled around her and across her torso, aided by her own movements. She twisted, inhaling deeply as she brought one hand in front of her face and the other behind her body, before leaning forward and opening her mouth, exhaling a stream of compressed air directly towards the princess who was still in the middle of getting up from her latest attack.
Seng watched with some satisfaction as the princess’s eyes widened in panic, before she raised her arms and crossed them in front of her body as she crouched down, defending herself from the wind instead of trying in vain to dodge. Air slammed into her body, lifting her off of the deck and sending her soaring towards the edge of the ship. The soldiers around them gasped in panic, and several of them even moved forward in preparation to catch their princess, but to their eternal relief and Seng’s horror, it wasn’t needed.
Somehow, the princess managed to twist in mid-air, placing her feet and hands directly behind her, before harsh streams of fire exited her soles and fists. The flames arrested her momentum mere feet away from the edge of the ship, and they were powerful enough that Seng could actually hear the water near the ship hissing and steam rising up as it reached its boiling point in an instant.
Seng watched with wide eyes as the princess touched down on the deck, looking decidedly unbothered by how close she had come to plunging into the icy depths of the ocean. As a matter of fact, she even looked slightly excited by the airbender’s performance as she gazed at Seng.
“You just become more and more interesting by the moment, Thief. Few could claim to have landed such a solid hit on me during a bout, and yet here you nearly knocked me from my own ship. Truly impressive.” The princess smoothed her hair out, her golden eyes sharp with interest as she smirked, “Of course, it will take more than that to defeat me, but you still deserve points for the attempt.”
Seng’s lips thinned and she pointed the end of her weapon at the smirking girl, “You talk big, but you haven't hit me either.”
“Oh trust me, there is more than enough time for that to change.” The princess squared her stands holding her hands in front of her, “This is far from over.”
She thrust one fist forward and Seng spun her staff in front of her, using the wind to rip apart the fireball that aimed to incinerate her, before blasting wind at the princess as she tried to rush forward, pushing her away again.
The next several minutes progressed in the same manner. Seng and the princess danced across the deck, one of them doing their best to close the distance and the other staunchly keeping her away. The soldiers around them kept a fair distance, making sure to stay well out of the way as they watched their princess do battle with the thief, and even as she concentrated on not getting burned, Seng could hear them whispering in awe of what they were seeing, likely unused to seeing their princess battle anyone like this.
Doing her best to block out their distracting chatter, Seng never stopped moving, her body, arms, and legs working in tandem to keep the air around her in constant motion in preparation for her next attack. She batted away blasts of fire and retaliated with blades of wind or balls of compressed air, keeping her opponent well away from her so that she could fight to her full effect. If the princess actually managed to close the distance, then that was it. She was done for. She had to keep her away for as long as possible.
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Seng was far too unused to actually fighting someone for this long, much less while bending. The intensity of the battle was getting to her, and she could quickly feel fatigue beginning to set in as her stamina began to wane. Her arms shook as she deflected another fireball and her fingers were practically numb with how hard she was gripping her spear. Sweat rolled down her face and into the neck of her tunic, sticking the cloth to her skin in a way that was distinctly uncomfortable as she panted with exertion. She couldn’t keep this up.
The princess on the other hand, wasn’t even breathing hard. She kept that ever-present smirk on her face as she assaulted Seng with lashes of fire and blasts of flame. Her breathing was steady and her stances were as smooth as ever, not giving a single indication that she was tiring in the slightest as she steadily broke down Seng’s defenses like she was a master earthbender instead of the pampered princess that Seng imagined she would be.
When faced with this fierce assault and the mental stress of knowing she couldn’t defend against it for much longer, it wasn’t a matter of if Seng would make a mistake, it was a matter of when.
That time came when the princess strayed a bit too close to her. She reared both of her hands back and sent a torrent of fire directly at the deck, which slid along the iron before riding upwards in a veritable curtain of flames. It was larger than anything she had produced thus far, larger than anything that Seng thought firebenders were even capable of producing, and it caused the airbender to panic as she realized she couldn’t dodge such a large attack with the time she had before it reached her.
She twirled her staff around her body as fast as she could, using all of her remaining strength and bending prowess to form a curtain of swirling air around her body. The wind whistled in her ears, rushing through her clothes and hair faster and faster as the fireball approached, and Seng couldn’t help but close her eyes as it reached her, not wanting to witness what might happen should her shield actually fail.
Luckily, it held, and she wasn’t graced with the pain that would have certainly come with her clothing and skin being set alight. Unfortunately, the sheer force behind the flames was still more than enough to knock her off of her feet with a gasp as her shield unraveled at the force needed to dispel the flames. She rolled backwards, her spear falling from her limp fingers as she tumbled across the deck, sliding to a stop mere feet away from the line of soldiers watching the fight.
She groaned, trying to get up in spite of her body screaming at her to stop, but the princess put a stop to that almost immediately. Moving quickly, she straddled Seng just as she had before, restraining the airbender’s hands above her head with one of her own. Grimacing, Seng inhaled deeply in spite of her protesting lungs, preparing to reenact the move that allowed her to escape the princess’s grasp before, only to freeze as a fist was suddenly thrust in her face.
“Don’t even think about it.” Seng eyed the fist warily and the princess smirked, “I’ve grown wise to that trick and it will only work once. If even a whisper of wind escapes your mouth, you’ll end up worse off than my dear brother. And believe me, with the physician we have aboard this ship, you aren’t likely to survive such an ordeal.”
Seng didn’t know what the princess was talking about but she could read between the lines and got the meaning of her words. Not wanting to have her face turned into molten slag, the airbender exhaled slowly, releasing the air in her lungs in a long breath instead of the violent gale she had been prepared to release moments before.
The princess smirked, “That’s better. Now then, I have to say this little bout was quite entertaining, but even I have grown bored of it. Why don’t you accept your defeat with some semblance of honor and give up.”
It wasn’t a question, and faced with the knowledge that this girl would likely more than happily burn the flesh from her face if she disobeyed, Seng found herself nodding slowly. The princess smiled cruelly at her compliance.
“Wonderful.” She let go of Seng’s hands and stood up, making sure to keep the airbender in full view as she addressed the soldiers around them, “Well? What are you oafs waiting for, an invitation? Restrain her.”
That pushed the stunned men and women into action and they rushed forward to follow their princess’s command. As arms locked around her limbs and hauled her up, Seng glared at the princess who just gazed back at her with cruel golden eyes, unconcerned with her anger.
“Take her to the cells below and lock her up tight.” She ordered, “Keep her guarded at all times. I want a contingent of no less than two firebenders within several meters of her cell twenty-four seven, is that understood?”
“Yes, your highness!” The soldiers chorused, and Seng grit her teeth as she listened to her soon-to-be fate.
The princess looked towards her recently promoted Lieutenant, “If there is a development that requires my attention, do not hesitate to inform me immediately. In the meantime, have someone bring breakfast to my chambers. The sun will be rising soon and I have a letter to write to father.” She locked eyes with Seng, “As for you, you needn’t worry about getting lonely. I’ll be down later today to pay you a visit. We have much to discuss, after all.”
Seng didn’t resist as she was dragged backwards and into the depths of the ship, instead closing her eyes tiredly, knowing that any hope of escape had disappeared with her will to fight. Her worst fears had been realized, and it was all because of her arrogance and impatience.
She was at the mercy of the Fire Nation now, and judging by the way the princess was looking at her, it was just as abundant as water in the desert.