The Inner Fire:
Part II: A Painful Apology
By Yu May, after captfalconpunch
Ursa sighed with relief as she finished the last line of her formal apology. “That will do, I think.”
Ty Lee gasped with delight. “It sounds so fancy, Lady Ursa, but… are you sure you don’t want to ask my parents to spank me? I was doing cartwheels inside the palace after all.”
“That decision will be up to your parents, Ty Lee, but I’m not upset about that old vase. To be honest, it was a bit of an eyesore.”
“But wasn’t it a really rare and expensive and super old one?”
“Oh, hardly rare. Fire Lord Sozin had thousands of those commissioned to celebrate his victorious return from the great invasion. Besides, I’m sure it was… an accident.”
Isuzu paused as she noticed Lady Ursa hesitate. “Ma’am? Is something the matter?”
Ursa shook her head. “Pay it no mind. How is your apology letter coming, Isuzu?”
Isuzu swallowed. “Well, my writing’s a little shaky, but… I think I spelled everything correctly. Are you sure I shouldn’t add another ‘very’ to ‘I’m very, very sorry’?”
“I think your letter is already perfect. You’ve spoken from the heart… but let’s avoid being obsequious."
Ty Lee blinked. “Obsey-squeak-what?”
“It means being too quick to apologize, or apologizing far too hard.”
Isuzu bowed her head. “Lady Ursa… in your letter, you wrote that the servant would be ‘punished most strictly.’ I… I know I deserve to be punished, but… what exactly is a ‘most strict’ punishment?”
Ursa nodded. “I had planned to set you to scullery-maid work for the next month.”
Isuzu blushed. “But… that’s the sort of work I usually give to the youngest servant girls.”
“Exactly. Once word of this gets out, and I have a feeling it will spread sooner or later, the other servants will need to know that you were punished for your breach of etiquette.”
Ty Lee raised her hand. “But, I already forgave Isuzu for spanking me?”
Ursa shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not enough, Ty Lee. Ordinarily, if a servant strikes a daughter of nobility, for any reason, that’s grounds for immediate dismissal…”
Ursa trailed off as she thought about her husband. If Ozai learned that Isuzu had mistreated a daughter of nobility, he might demand a public flogging. But, on the other hand, Ozai preferred to leave the responsibility for household management to Ursa. Punishing servants was generally considered to be beneath the attention of a prince.
Then, Isuzu bowed her head low to the floormat. “My lady, please… I don’t believe that scrubbing pots is enough punishment for what I did wrong. If one of the younger servant girls ever did something so stupid, why I’d… I’d give her such a spanking, ma’am.”
Ursa frowned slightly. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t be too quick to spank the servant girls in your charge? I understand that minor servant affairs are left to the head serving staff, but still… Being too quick to spank is what got you into this fix, isn’t it?”
Blushing furiously, raised her eyes slightly. “Yes, ma’am, but… I believe I should be held to the same standard, at least, as any of the girls beneath me.”
Ursa hummed. “Hmm… That’s an honorable suggestion, Isuzu. What do you have to say, Ty Lee? You are the offended party after all.”
Ty Lee pointed to herself. “I get to decide if Isuzu gets spanked?”
“No, but I want to hear your preference.”
“Huh. Well, I suppose I already forgave you, Isuzu, but…” Ty Lee glanced at her backside, then smiled. “It sure would be easier to really forgive Isuzu, if I know she got spanked for it.”
Isuzu tensed, then made a soft whimpering noise. “Yes, ma’am. I agree… it is most just.”
Privately, Ursa thought about how Ozai might react. If he confronted Ursa about why she didn’t have Isuzu thrown out of the house, Ursa could truthfully say that she personally whipped the servant girl herself. Even if Azula complained to her father, Ozai’s pride wouldn’t allow him to second-guess his wife’s decision. On the other hand, it might be safer for Ursa to have Isuzu sent to another noble household as quickly as possible.
“But if I spank you, Isuzu, it won’t be a childish punishment. I will have to spank you properly, as befits a young woman of your age. Tell me… just how important is this position to you? Suppose I gave you a positive letter of recommendation, and referred you to another noble household? Would you prefer that to a caning?”
Isuzu flinched at the mention of the cane. “Please, ma’am, do not send me away. I’ll endure any punishment you give me! Without employment, I won’t be able to support my family!”
“There are many noble families in need of skillful servants. You could easily handle the position of a head maid for a manor.”
Isuzu shook her head. “But, ma’am… no household I’ve ever worked for paid anywhere near what I’m paid at the royal palace, and… and I’ve never had a mistress who treated me with the kindness you have. Please, don’t send me away!”
Ursa steeled herself. There was no choice but to make the danger of Isuzu’s situation perfectly clear. “Isuzu, if Lord Ozai ever hears of you punishing a noble child in the palace, he won’t merely have you caned. The last servant girl who showed disrespect to a noble guest in his presence was stripped and whipped out the courtyard. I may be able to protect you, but only if I punish you in a way that would satisfy Lord Ozai’s sense of honor. Think carefully… is staying in the palace really what’s best for your safety?”
Isuzu whimpered, then quickly hid the panic in her voice. “Ah–yes ma’am… Because, ma’am… you don’t abuse your servants. And… and because I wish to submit to you alone.”
Usra nodded. She had heard enough horror stories about how noble families chose to punish their servant girls to know that any job for Isuzu carried risk. They would have to tread carefully around Ozai, but if Isuzu was this insistent, Ursa knew she couldn’t send her away either. “Very well, then you will be getting a good spanking… followed by a caning. First, bare your bottom, Isuzu, then lie across my lap. Ty Lee, have a seat to my side. I want you to have a front row seat for Isuzu’s first spanking.”
Isuzu blushed, then slowly lifted her head, and raised her skirts up and over her backside. “Yes, my lady!”
***
In the rock garden, Azula controlled her breath, then unleashed small, controlled bursts of fire with every strike. It was an advanced technique, to minimize the force of the fire at the last possible moment, without interrupting the flow of the movement.
Then, Azula heard a resounding clap, followed by a shrill yell. Azula accidentally unleashed a fireball, which incinerated a nearby bamboo stick in the water garden. As Azula glanced over her shoulder, she heard the unmistakable sounds as Lady Ursa started spanking Isuzu in earnest. She could even make out their silhouettes behind the paper door.
Azula grinned. “A spanking? Finally! That snot-nosed servant’s getting what’s… coming to her?”
At that moment, Azula noticed the smoldering remains of the bamboo stick sparkle. Hurriedly, Azula kicked water onto it to douse the building fire. By the time Azula was finished, she could hear the force of the spanks increasing, and the pace quickening. Isuzu’s cries were steadily becoming more desperate.
Azula quickly fixed her hair. “By the first fire, it’s not just any spanking! It’s a real hot one! I just gotta see…”
Azula trailed off as she saw the flaw in her plan. There was no way to approach her mother’s room without her shadow being seen. Azula stomped her foot, and pouted. “Whatever, I’ll just finish my firebending form… Good luck, Isuzu. I hope it hurts like hellfire!”
***
Ty Lee watched in awe as Ursa spanked Isuzu with ferocious resolve. She had expected the hard-handed servant girl to hand tough and refuse to cry. But although Isuzu obediently held herself in place, she was already crying like a little girl. “Ouch! I’m sorry, my lady! Oh, oww! Please forgive me!”
Ursa landed a particularly firm clap, then answered without pausing the spanking for a moment. “It’s not me you should be apologizing to. Say it to the girl you hurt.”
Isuzu twisted back and forth on Ursa’s lap, her face burning as she glanced over her shoulder. “Ah! I’m sorry… Sorry, Lady Ty Lee! Ayah! I’ll never do it again! Aww! … Aaiyaaah-haaaaw! Buwaaaugh!”
Ty Lee smiled slowly. “Uh… I forgive you, Isuzu. Again!”
Ursa eyed Ty Lee, and carried on the relentless spanking. “Are you quite sure, Ty Lee? I don’t want you to harbor any hard feelings towards Isuzu. Has she really been punished enough for spanking you?”
Ty Lee hummed, then leaned forward to examine Isuzu’s bottom. The way it bounced and jiggled under each swat was quite mesmerising, but Ty Lee had to admit… that was one bright red, well-spanked bottom. “Yup! I’m satisfied!”
Ursa landed a final clap, then neatly folded her hands in her robe. “Then that should suffice for the hand spanking. Isuzu, take a moment to compose yourself… Now stand up, and fetch the bamboo cane from the corner.”
With an effort, but with surprising quickness, Isuzu calmed herself. As part of her training, she had learned to endure discomfort in silence. Isuzu had been spanked constantly by the servants who had trained her, but Ursa had taken her by surprise with the strength and precision of the paddling. “Yes… my lady.”
Wincing, Isuzu stood, and limped over to the corner. When she found the bamboo canes, Isuzu resisted the urge to start crying at once. She’d be lucky if she could walk once this was over. But Isuzu made a silent meditation. She had earned this, and she would endure it, with as much dignity as a common serving girl of her station could be expected to show.
After she handed Ursa the cane, Isuzu gingerly lowered herself to the floor, raised her skirts, and laid her face against the mat.
As Ursa made a few practice swings with the cane, Ty Lee raised her hand. “Lady Ursa? You really don’t have to spank Isuzu any more. I’m sorry for her already.”
Ursa bowed her head, then knelt on a cushion beside Isuzu, resting the cane across her upturned buttocks. “That is kind of you, Ty Lee, but a servant of the royal household who fails in her duty must be caned, at the very least. I suspect that this is the same treatment that you give the servant girls under you, isn’t that right, Isuzu?”
Isuzu sobbed, gently. “N-not always, my lady?”
Ursa raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I thought Lord Ozai’s instructions were quite clear. Six strokes with the cane, at the absolute minimum, for any failing, no matter how minor.”
Isuzu sniffed, then wiped her nose on the back of her arm. “Well, yes, but… the older servants said he shouldn’t be bothered with minor matters of discipline so… I usually just let the girls off with a hand spanking, ma’am.”
Ursa tapped the tip of the cane against Isuzu’s helpless, quivering bottom. “That is most unwise. If Lord Ozai hears that you are being lax in upholding discipline, you might well be dismissed.”
Isuzu’s whole body shivered. “Yes, ma’am, but… I thought it’d be better, if the girls got a quick hand spanking from me for little mistakes, rather than… rather than disturb his highness? I wouldn’t… what to bother him, ya know?”
Ursa shook her head. “Of course he shouldn’t be bothered. But now that I know how you treat the servant girls in your charge… I’m afraid I’ve changed my mind about the severity of this punishment. Ty Lee, hand me another cushion. I’m going to show you how to handle a servant like Isuzu. You may have to punish a girl of your own, one day.”
Isuzu felt her chest tighten, and lowered her head. She knew that this was her fate, and she would accept it. She was only thankful for Lady Ursa’s forbearance.
Ty Lee’s eyes watered as she fetched the pillow. “Oh, please, Lady Ursa! Hasn’t poor Isuzu been punished enough? No More!”
Ursa sighed. “Ty Lee, it’s important for you to understand this. If I don’t punish Isuzu properly, she could be cast out of the house. You don’t want that to happen to her, do you?”
Ty Lee shook her head, tears spilling freely down her cheeks. “Well, n-no, b-b-but…”
Ursa shushed her gently. “Shh… There, there, Ty Lee. Just watch closely. Isuzu?”
Isuzu felt something slap against her rear, and flinched, only to notice it was strangely soft. As Isuzu glanced over her shoulder, she saw Ursa had set the cushion on top of her upturned buttocks.
As Ursa raised the cane high, she smiled. “Grit your teeth, you foolish girl…”
***
As Azla finished the final strike of her form, she gasped for air. Finally, she was finished. It had taken an effort to mentally block out the noise of the ongoing spanking. Maybe now she could politely announce herself, and…
The moment that Azula turned around, she saw the silhouette of her mother, raising her arm high. There was a quick swish, and a terrible snap as the cane came crashing down. Azula tensed. Isuzu hadn’t made a sound?
***
Inside Ursa’s chambers, Ty Lee and Isuzu stared in awe. Ursa had struck the cane right across the cushion, with enough force to tear a line across the silk fabric.
Then, Ursa’s voice rang loud and clear. “Oh? Trying to pretend it doesn’t hurt, Isuzu? I admire your courage, but it’s no use…”
Casually, Ursa pulled aside the cushion, exposing Isuzu’s bare backside. Ursa tapped the cane across her target, then raised it high.
Isuzu understood. Gritting her teeth, Isuzu looked away, and prepared herself. Ursa landed a real stroke of the cane, and Isuzu remembered the sensation all too well. It was like a knife, cutting a thin line across her buttocks. Isuzu wanted to scream with all her might, but with an effort, she managed to reduce it to only a gasp.
Ursa sniffed, then set the cushion back on top of Isuzu’s bottom. “This caning will not end, until I hear you scream. Or, rather, that is when your punishment will finally begin!”
With a precise swing, Ursa cut a second line across the cushion. Isuzu could still feel some of the impact though the thick protective layer, and groaned. The real cane stroke she had gotten had already formed a welt, in a long, thin stripe across both her bottom cheeks. She didn’t have to pretend. Isuzu cried. “I’m… I’m sorry, my Lady!”
Slowly, Ursa pulled aside the cushion, and tapped her cane across Isuzu’s exposed backside. “Silence, Isuzu. If you try to speak, you may bite your tongue. No more warnings…”
Isuzu grit her teeth, knowing that she would have to endure the next stroke without protection. After it landed, Isuzu rolled back her head and screeched. Then, as she lowered herself back into position, Isuzu tried to lift her bottom to present a wide open target for the cane.
As Isuzu looked up, she saw Ty Lee staring down at her, wide-eyed. Of course, thought Isuzu. This was the real punishment. Lady Ursa had only been teasing her with the pillow.
Then, Lady Ursa set the pillow back across Isuzu’s bottom, and fluffed it with her hand, as if “spanking” Isuzu though the pillow. “Finally. Now that I know this caning is having the desired effect on you… we may begin. You still have twelve strokes to endure. Be brave, Isuzu.”
As Ursa raised the cane high, she winked at Ty Lee.
***
Azula bit her lip. “Twelve more? That’s double the usual punishment!”
Then she heard a fourth stroke of the cane, and Isuzu’s howls of agony. Azula felt her throat go dry, and whispered. “This is insane! I gotta see it!”
Slowly, but surely, Ursa began to count out twelve strokes. But as Azula approached the paper door, she froze. She wasn’t supposed to be practicing her firebending. If Ty Lee opened the door…
Clenching her fists, Azula made her way back to the rock garden. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t block out the horrible sounds of the caning, or Isuzu’s screams.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door opened, and Isuzu emerged, and made a stumbling bow. Ursa and Ty Lee strode out the door, before Isuzu closed it behind them.
Ursa spotted Azula, and called to her, “Azula? Come here.”
Frowning, Azula pretended to step out of her firebending stance, turning to face her mother in an at ease position. Defiantly, she held the stance for a few moments, before bowing and approaching them.
Ursa tilted her head toward Isuzu, but looked Azula right in the eye. “I hope you overheard that. Isuzu has been punished, soundly, for what happened, so… I expect this to be the end of the matter.”
Azual had to resist the urge to laugh. “Heh. Of course, mother. I wasn’t the one that Isuzu hit.”
Ursa narrowed her eyes. “And Ty Lee has chosen to forgive her. We have all agreed that we will not speak of this again. The rest of the servants will know that Isuzu is being disciplined but… I don’t want to hear any rumors spreading about this incident. Is that understood?”
Azula stiffened, her eyes blazing. Of course, that meant that Azula couldn’t tattle on Isuzu to father, without disobeying her mother. And if only the four of them knew about the spanking, that meant she couldn’t even share the story in secret, without her mother knowing. Then, Azula affected a sweet smile. “Of course, mother. I won’t tell a soul.”
Ursa nodded. “Then there’s only one matter left for me to attend to. Isuzu, go and tend to your wounds.”
Ty Lee raised her hand. “Ooh! May I help her? I’ve never seen how you help make a spanked butt feel better after a caning! What do you do? Try to rub the sting away?”
Isuzu hung her head, her face flushing a deeper shade of red. “I usually… apply a soothing lotion to the affected area, my lady”
Ursa chuckled. “Well, Ty Lee, if Isuzu is willing to accept your help, I have no objections.”
Isuzu and Ty Lee glanced at each other, and finally smiled. Ty Lee held out a hand. “Come on! I’ll make sure you get to the servants’ quarters safely… Um, which way is the servants’ quarters?”
After they were gone, Ursa turned to face her daughter. “Azula, come with me. I’d like you to help me clean up what’s left of the vase.”
Azula scowled. “That’s work for a servant.”
“Come along.”
Azula pouted as she followed behind her mother. When they arrived at the smashed remains of the vase, Ursa knelt to examine them. “Azula, in the future, if you ever see that Ty Lee is doing cartwheels inside the palace, I want you to tell her to stop.”
Azula shrugged. “I can’t help it if she chooses to act like a circus clown indoors.”
“But she listens to you. She looks to you as if you were her older sister. Think of how your older brother tries to take care of you.”
Azula scoffed. “There’s nothing Zuzu can teach me about firebending.”
Ursa narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t about firebending. It’s about what’s proper for a daughter of royalty. You are not like a common servant girl, Azula. You have been born with incredible privilege. But with that comes a heavy burden.”
“Of course. I understand my station in life. I’m destined to achieve great things.”
Ursa looked Azula right in the eye. “Azula, were you the one who broke the vase? Did Ty Lee agree to take the blame for you, because she didn’t want you to get in trouble?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ursa shook her head. “I don’t think that’s true. Azula, if you do something wrong, I may be disappointed. I may decide to punish you. But I will not be angry with you, and I will never stop loving you. Please, Azula, tell me what happened.”
“Ty Lee bumped right into the display, and smashed it. If you don’t believe me, ask the serving girl. She saw everything.”
Ursa picked up shard of the smashed vase. “Did you know these vases were the first to be mass-produced in the Fire Nation?”
Ursa stroked a finger along the back of the fragment. “I never cared for the art style for these Sozin-era works. They are too… ostentatious. The ancient masters of pottery used to believe that to be truly beautiful, a vase must be designed according to its true use. They would use fire bending to harden the clay, carefully controlling the temperature, for hours. But these were made quickly, on an assembly line. And they served no actual function. They were only made to commemorate a military victory. These pots are… a boast. Still, the potters of Sozin’s era were all expected to be master firebenders, even for cheap wares like this. But, have a look at this—”
Then, Ursa turned her wrist to show the back of the broken piece to Azula. It was scorched with black, charred paint. “The glaze on this pot has been scorched away… right along the cracks.”
Ursa held up a second piece, and pressed them together, showing a clear pattern of black scorch marks along the melted glaze. “It’s almost as if this vase had already been smashed… before a fire bender tried to repair the damage by melting the glaze. Only they did a rather shoddy job. What do you think happened here, Azula?”
Azula didn’t breathe. She hadn’t expected anyone to examine the pieces more closely. “I think… that looks like the work of a very poor craftsman.”
Ursa maintained eye contact with Azula for several seconds, then set down the piece. “Indeed… It’s too bad. If the vase was only broken, it could still be repaired with molten gold. But in this state, it’s beyond salvage. Perhaps it was broken long ago, and poor Ty Lee was just unlucky enough to knock it over while it was barely being held together. Whoever it was who used firebending to stitch together this ugly vase, they may well have gotten away with it… But there are some things, once broken, which can never be repaired.”
Ursa stood to her full height. “To me, this looks like the work of a very poor firebender. Let this be a lasting reminder to you, Azula, of what it means to hold that power.”
Azula clenched her fists, wanting to throw fire at her mother’s face. But she resisted the urge, and forced herself to bow. “Yes, mother.”
That night, Azula returned to the same room, and found the remains of the vase had been cleared away. She was never again accused of breaking it. She was never caught. She was never punished.
But Azula never forgot that day, or her clumsy attempt to cover the evidence of her crime.
It was the work of a poor firebender.
