newfic prologue

[shadowsong26]

Title:  None yet. Input appreiated
Rating: M
Genre: General
Summary: Two hundred years after Long Feng's fall from grace, the unexpected consequences come to a head.
Warning: There will be fairly graphic violence later in this story.

Appropirate terms: bender, with or without inclusion of relevant element; mover with inclusion of relevant element; those-less-human, only in academic context; Gifted or Cursed depending on context.

Inappropriate terms: freak; those-less-human in nonacademic context; subhumans, etc.

It is important that we keep those-less-human in their proper place and do not allow them to become too enraged, lest they rebel and attempt to steal power for themselves. We have only to look at our history less than three hundred years ago to see what a bender of any element given too much power can do. Proper utilization of nomenclature is a step in the right direction. The vulgar word 'freaks'--particularly when contrasted with calling full humans 'norms' or 'normals'--is particularly demeaning and should not be used at all, let alone in polite discourse or lawmaking.

 --Treatise on the Ethical Treatment of Those-Less-Human, Xue Shu, 1201.



Ba Sing Se, 1286

Prince Zhong Yang, third grandson of the 54th Earth King, considered himself to be a decent man. He was never cruel to his wife, children, pets, or the earthbender assigned to keep his little corner of the palace intact. In the training camp he oversaw, he made sure any instances of violence or cruelty were swiftly halted and the relevant instructor, overseer, or bender suitably punished. He never used the perjorative 'freak' except in the privacy of his own thoughts, and even then quickly edited.

Zhong Yang understood the need for the camps. They taught children who tested positive for bending control and discipline, and to properly fear the awesome power they were cursed with. If they were not taught control and fear, they might seek to regain the political power they were once permitted to hold, in less-enlightened times. He wasn't entirely sure he approved of those testing positive at the precocious age of two being taken from their families entirely, but he respected the unfortunate necessity. Besides, his camp never saw the children that young--testing positive so early typically meant greater power, so those children went to his eldest brother's camp.

Yes, Zhong Yang was a decent, honest, law-abiding man. But what he'd seen in the garden that morning--and thank all the gods, he'd been the only witness--was more than enough to frighten him into disobedience.

He fidgeted nervously at his table in the corner of a rather seedy bar deep in the Lower Ring, waiting for the roundabout contact he officially knew nothing about to arrive. When he looked up from adjusting the hood of his cloak for what felt like the fiftieth time, a short, powerfully built old woman was sitting across from him.

"What d'you want?" she asked abruptly.

"I..." Far from eloquent at the best of times, the nervous young man fumbled his words for a minute.

"I know who you are. And I know you're a decent sort, far as norms go."

The prince flinched a little at the word. 'Norm' or 'normal' wasn't as rude as 'freak,' but, given that it was the flipside of that vulgar term...

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I n-need your help."

"Imagine that, a prince coming to a subhuman."

"Shh..." he hissed frantically.

"Don't worry. No one's listening. I can tell."

So she was one of the eerie earthbenders, like the terrifying legends of Beifong Toph, who could see without eyes and know when you were lying. "S-still, I'd b-be more comfortable if--"

"Tell me what you want," the old woman cut him off. "I haven't got all night."

"I...I'm t-told you...What I mean is...I have no intention of h-having you ar-rested..."

"Not that you could," she interjected dryly. "Which of my many illicit activities do you need me to do? Forge papers for a subhuman mistress? Kidnap an inconvenient half-bastard and stow him with a childless coupla freaks? Sm--"

He cut her off frantically, not wanting to know any more about this seedy underbelly of the city than he actually had to. "This morning, I was out in the palace gardens with my children. My legitimate children," he felt necessary to insist, though he had no others. "Hakuchou and Itsu."

"I know their names. What happened?"

Zhong Yang took a deep breath. "I need you to...coach them."

The old woman actually looked stunned for a few seconds. "Your children are benders. Your royal twins are benders."

"Shh," he hissed again, but nodded miserably.

She was silent for a moment. "They both earth?"

"I-I think Hakuchou may be water. It's in th-their mother's blood, and they were born in late winter..."

"Tell me what you saw."

He swallowed, remembering the nightmarish stories about the evil fr--bender Long Feng who had controlled the city for twenty years by commanding and controlling his great-great-grandfather's every move. He felt another stab of very real fear. "It was raining. Itsu was sitting on the ground, pushing a rock as big as her head back and forth while Hakuchou danced in the rain. Th-the rain was dancing with him."

She thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah, okay. Say I agree to do it. First, how would it work?"

He relaxed a little. This, he knew how to answer. "I have a discreet forger. He'll dummy up a passport that says you're from Omashu, or Gaoling, or some other such place. I'll then hire you as a new nursemaid for the twins. They're eighteen months next week, I need to hire one anyway."

The old woman nodded again. "Second, what's in it for me?"

Zhong Yang froze. He hadn't been expecting that question. Surely a freak would go out on a limb for any other freak, particularly a pair of infants already able to bend before the first mandated test. "I..."

"They're royals. And maybe they'd be best off in a camp anyway. If they're starting this young, they've got a hell of a lot of power to sling around." She at least held the proper fear and awe for her gift, even if the camps hadn't been set up until she was fifteen, when the mandated tests were imposed.

"No one can know about this," Zhong Yang insisted. "It would break their mother, and my eldest brother..."

"They'd go to his camp, wouldn't they," the old woman said quietly.

He nodded, miserably. This brother was particularly...intense in his adherence to the spirit of the laws regarding benders. He came close to fanatacism. Rumors of treatment that went beyond excess into abuse had circulated about his camp since he'd taken over managing it at sixteen. Zhong Yang felt a little sick to his stomach at the thought of his babies in that place.

The middle brother's camp wouldn't be so awful, but he rarely took in two-year-olds, and barely paid attention to the place, anyways, save to watch the teenage girls sometimes to single out his next mistress when he got tired of the old one.

She sighed. "Well, I can't deny that I'm pleased at the chance to keep even two kids out of that place. Besides, if your brothers continue to only have daughters, Hakuchou ends up inheriting down the line. Then maybe..."

"Please, stop," Zhong Yang begged, looking slightly pained. "I know of your...radical agenda. I wouldn't come to you if you weren't the best at coaching."

"I'm the only one who can do it that young," she corrected. "But, fine, I'll keep quiet. I may not be able to do much for Hakuchou beyond showing him the universal tricks for throwing the first-round tests. Water and earth aren't opposites, but they're different enough that there isn't much I can teach him. I'll teach Itsu control, though, soon as I can."

The prince sagged with relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I'll have the false passport to you within a few days and dummy up the records and--"

"Hey, if I'm not allowed to talk about my crimes that don't directly involve you, you can shut up about the details of this whole assumed identity thing."

"Right. Of course. Er. Sorry."

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm going to leave now. You're going to wait at least five minutes, then leave yourself. See you in a week." He blinked and she'd melted into the crowd.

He shivered a bit, pulling his cloak tighter around himself, eyes darting around nervously. This is right. Even if it's illegal, even if it's a double standard. It is my duty to protect my children. No matter what.

Ten endless minutes later, he spilled a few coins onto the table to pay for the drink he hadn't touched, then slipped out of the bar back to the palace, hoping he blended in with even a fraction of the ease his notorious outlaw nursemaid had.