Katara sat on Appa's saddle, staring at her fingernails. There really wasn't much to do up in the air. The wind blew gently at her hair, and the cold air startled her. They must be getting close!
"Azula, can you check the map again to see where we are?" She looked up from her hunk of seal jerky and scooted over to where the map was.
"Well, according to the map we're.. Let's see here... In the middle of nowhere," she said matter-of-factly, looking back to her meat. Katara rolled her eyes, but she knew Azula was right. There was no way of telling where they were.
"Aang? Do you know where we are?" she asked. Aang turned around and shrugged his shoulders.
"No clue, but we must be getting close," he said, shivering.
"I agree, it's freezing!" she replied, hugging her arms. Azula laughed.
"Okay, you lame-benders." She lit a fire in her palm and leaned back, exhaling in satisfaction. Katara sighed, and looked back to her hands when Aang spoke again.
"I think we're here!" he exclaimed, jumping up from his seat on Appa's head. Sure enough, the clouds began to yield a large wall of ice. Katara stood too, and Azula made the effort to sit up a little straghter. Katara twisted her arms to move away some of the fog, but not much happened. Aang laughed good-naturedly and used his airbending to clear it from the path. They spoke to some guards and were lead inside. Katara stared in awe at the scenery around them. Everything was made of ice and snow! The buildings all glistened a silver-blue in the sun, and everyone was adorned in clothing similar to hers from home! Although, it was slightly nicer. She grinned and turned to Aang, who was also looking around. Azula continued gnawing on her jerky, trying not to look impressed. She still glanced around, and happened to spot a very handsome young man. She waved, blushing and grinning madly. He saw her and waved back, a half-smile on his face. They continued on, and were introduced to the chief and his wife. After that, they sat down and enjoyed a spectacular dinner. Azula not-so-subtly wandered over to the table where the guy she saw earlier was sitting.
"Hi!" she said, making him jump and drop his roll. He turned to her, recognition suddenly lighting up his eyes.
"It's you! Sorry, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Hahn, the best guy of the tribe," he boasted, pointing to himself. Azula giggled.
"I'm Azula, the only one here wearing red," she attempted at a joke. He laughed, (mostly out of sympathy) and leaned in slightly.
"So what brings you here?" Azula blushed at the closeness.
"Oh, something with that Avatar kid. You can hear a whole mushy biography on him if you go talk to Katara over there," she jerked her thumb in that direction. "You know, we should do an activity sometime!" Hahn laughed.
"An activity? What do you have in mind?" Azula couldn't answer, her mouth was too full of rolls she'd devoured in embarrassment. He chuckled again. "How about we meet at the bridge tonight?" Azula nodded enthusiastically, looking ridiculous. She stood up abruptly and walked back to their place where they were staying to do her hair. About a half an hour later Katara and Aang walked in, chattering happily. They saw Azula sitting in front of the mirror, face red in frustration. She held a scissors in her hand, preparing to take out a chunk of her hair.
"Azula! Put that down!" Katara said, rushing up to her. "What's going on here?" Azula sighed, nearly to tears.
"I'm supposed to meet Hahn tonight but my hair's a mess!" she spoke quickly, head down.
"Trust me, cutting it off will not help," Katara said, holding in a laugh. Azula glowered at her, then handed over a brush. Katara seemingly effortlessly ran it through Azula's hair, then pinned it up stylishly. Azula smiled.
"Thanks. I'm gonna get going then." Azula nearly skipped out the door, and when she arrived to the bridge Hahn was already there. He turned to face her, a pained expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Azula asked tentatively, trying to inconspicuously check her breath to see if that was why he was upset.
"I shouldn't be here," he said, looking down with a furrow in his brow.
"What do you mean? What did I do?" she asked, her voice raising to nearly a squeak. He sighed, shaking his head.
"It's not you.. I have to tell you something." He took her hands, not daring to look into her eyes. She sweated nervously, despite the frigid weather.
"What is it? You can tell me anything!" she exclaimed a little to loudly. He winced at her volume, glancing around before continuing.
"I'm engaged." He couldn't bring himself to elaborate.
"You're.. what? Why would you lead me on like this? I can't believe you!" She yelled, ignoring him when he tried to shush her.
"I thought you would understand!" he pleaded.
"Understand? Understand?! You pretended to be interested in me! Don't try and tell me for one second that this nighttime meet up was just a 'friends' thing. Who is this girl, anyways?" Azula jerked her hands away from Hahn's.
"Princess Yue," he mumbled.
"Ugh! I'm embarrassed to be anywhere near you- you animal!" she raised her arm, slapped him, and stalked away. He stood, staring dumbfoundedly after her.
Azula slammed the door behind her as she stomped inside, tears running down her face. Katara looked up from her book.
"Date not go so good?" she asked gently, setting down the novel.
"To say the least," Azula spat. "Hahn is engaged!"
"Oh Azula, I'm so sorry!" Katara touched her arm softly.
"Don't be. I don't need him." Azula stood up and walked to bed. Although she wished she wouldn't, she felt something. Something strong enough for her to sob into her pillow for an hour before Katara knocked on the door. "What?" she asked, sitting up and wiping her tears away. Katara walked in, holding two steaming mugs in her hands.
"I thought some hot chocolate might help. I know you said you're fine, but I know better than that," Katara sat down next to Azula.
"I said I'm fine, and I meant it. I'm only taking this because I like hot chocolate," she said firmly, slurping down half the mug. Katara looked at her sympathetically.
"Well.. if you ever want to talk, I'm here." She stood up and walked to her own room. She layed down, trying to calm herself enough to get some rest when she heard a tap on her window. She groaned, sitting up. She grimaced when she saw Hahn's face in the window. She lie back down, hoping he would leave. After a few more minutes and much more vigorous tapping, she stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
"What do you want?" she shot at him, making it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. He reached to touch her cheek, but she backed away.
"Azula.. I love you. As soon as I saw you my whole world changed. Please give me another chance." There was a moment of silence.
"If you love me, then why are you still engaged to Yue?" she asked bitterly.
"Because.. Because I love her too! I don't know what to do!" he exclaimed, putting his head in his hands.
"It's simple. You choose one of us." Azula slammed the window shut and went back to bed. She felt that she should have been satisfied for not giving in to his romanticism, but she only felt an empty feeling in her heart. She fell asleep with thoughts of Hahn swirling through her brain, wishing his heart only rested with her.
The next morning Azula woke early and went straight out of their hut into the square. The sun blinded her momentarily, but she kept walking. She had a goal in her mind and nothing was going to slow her down. She walked briskly to the palace and found Hahn loitering around the stairs, looking dejectedly at the ground and kicking around the snow. She walked straight past him and up the stairs. He looked up at her and began to call her name, but thought better of it and let her go. She went through the doors, but a guard stopped her.
"State your business," he said in a deep voice.
"I'm here with the Avatar, I would just like to visit princess Yue," she said in an even tone. He nodded and let her pass, pointing down a hall to her bedroom. Once she made it to the door, she rapped on it three times.
"Come in!" Yue's voice sang. Azula opened the door and stepped inside. Her breath was taken away momentarily as she took in her surroundings. The walls were laden with intricately designed patterns of ice. And her bed.. It was massive! Yue sat on it, staring at something in her hands. "Azula, is it? What do you need?" she asked.
"I want to talk to you about Hahn," Azula said determinedly. Yue looked up, tears threatening to spill over her thick lashes.
"Was it you? Are you the girl he talked about?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Yes, it must be! I know you two are engaged, but-" Azula was cut off when Yue shook her head and spoke.
"No, we're not. I broke up with him earlier this morning," Yue said, almost to herself, holding up a betrothal necklace. The ribbon was ripped, with frayed edges.
"Oh. I think I know the answer to this already, but why is that?" Azula asked, wanting to confirm that they were on the same page.
"He came to me this morning, saying that he had met the most amazing girl last night. You can guess how hearing that from my fiance sounded. He went on about you, about your eyes, and how he wished he could have both of us. So I told him to choose one. When he told me he couldn't, I ended it," Yue explained, blinking rapidly to hold back tears.
"I told him to choose too," Azula said quietly. There was a pause.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about with Hahn?" Yue asked, curiosity winning over her sadness.
"Well, I was going to tell you to break up with him but since that seems to be taken care of I think we need to get revenge. Revenge for being led on like toys he can play with at his leisure," Azula declared confidently. Yue hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked, a smile starting to creep on to her face. Azula whispered something into her ear, and her smile split into a grin. "I was made for this."
A/N: This is my entry for round four of the Pro-bending circuit thingy.
Word count: 1,830
I used the element of fire in my fic.