Author's Notes:

Ayaka was created by Alabaster86 for the stories "Equivalent Exchange" and "Miscalculation," and is used with permission. Alabaster86 has since left the fanfic community.

Ju Lai was created by aka Arashi for the story "The Raven and the Wolf," and is used with permission. aka Arashi has since left the internet.

Chin Tao was created by Lavanya Six for the story "Not As Hard As You," and is used with permission. Lavanya Six has since left the fandom.

The Lesson: If I come to you asking to use one of your original characters, run.

More seriously, my profuse thanks goes to the above authors for letting me play with the creations. Please check out their writings, as all three were very popular and you'll more than likely find something to enjoy in their archives.

Part 1: Sugar and Spice

The first day of every school term at the Royal Fire Pre-Academy for Girls was always such a wonderful experience for Instructor Daoshi. She got to meet a new group of bright young ladies who would grow under her care to be the future leaders of the Fire Nation. Discovering their budding personalities would make the hours of patient instruction fly by, and seeing their strengths and interests blossom in the classroom was the all the reward Daoshi wanted for her service.

And this year, the Princess Azula would be starting school, right in Daoshi's class!

What could be better?

It was fifteen minutes until class would begin, and the Pre-Academy's students were assembling in the courtyard outside. Alone in her classroom, Daoshi straightened her robes and hummed a little tune (the Fire Nation anthem, because it was the only music that wasn't at least mildly illegal, probably because it had no lyrics and you couldn't dance to it, even in clogs). She wanted to look her best for her students, to set an example of proud Ladyhood that they could take into their hearts to drive away images of the fictional assassins so popular these days. (Proper ladies, although expected to be proficient with a lethal weapon, did not get blood on their robes.) Pleased with her appearance, she headed for the courtyard to pick her students up and chat a bit with any parents waiting until the last possible moment before separation from their babies. Stepping out into the sunlight, Daoshi found her class and several such parents- one of them in full Fire Navy armor, oddly- clustered near the Fire Nation sigil set into the ground of the courtyard. The symbol was formed out of a sea of fist-sized stones, all dyed red, filling in a pit shaped like the inspiring symbol of the Tri-Flame.

If it seemed odd that the sign of the Fire Nation was formed out of stones, it was because the observer didn't realize the symbolism of the art. As an educated person, Daoshi was well aware that dying the stones red made them the divine property of the Fire Nation, as laid out in the holy writings of Fire Lord Sozin. It was the same principle that guided the assimilation of the colonies: paint it red, and it belongs to us.

As she neared the students and parents, Daoshi made a quick scan of the assembly, but found that none of them were wearing a Flame Crown in their hair. Oh well, Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa likely had other things to do. They were busy and important people, after all. Daoshi didn't actually know what they did, but she had always been taught that being Royalty was hard work, and she no more expected such teachings to be wrong than she did the lessons she herself imparted in the classroom. After all, the Fire Lord himself had approved that knowledge for public dissemination, and the Fire Lord was always right, even when his wisdom denied Daoshi the chance to see if Prince Ozai's pecks really were visible through eight layers of robes.

One of the parents- a light-eyed woman with brown hair tied into a swarm of braids- peeled away from the group and trotted over. "Instructor Daoshi! Oh, good morning, Instructor."

Daoshi gave a nod and put on a professional smile. The ones who knew your name before you introduced yourself were either contract killers or concerned parents, and both could be handled with properly applied politeness. "Good morning. Who might you be?"

"You can call me Lady Ying. My child is... oh dear, she's the one trying to stand on her head. Ty Lee, what did Mommy tell you about being on your best behavior! That means standing politely and not licking that bug. Sorry, Instructor. She's the type who needs frequent reminders. Of everything. I think I used a bit too much mistweed when that one was baking."

Daoshi hid her horror by tittering politely. "Is there something with which I can help you?"

Lady Ying gave a smile that was broad but not quite high enough to reach her eyes. "I'm glad you asked! Would you mind seating Ty Lee next to Princess Azula? I want the Princess to have a wonderful experience at the Pre-Academy, and my child may not have much of anything in her head, but she's a true darling. I'm sure you can see the wisdom in this?"

Daoshi may not have had Royalty in her classroom before, but she was well accustomed to this kind of request. "I'm sorry, my lady, but it is Pre-Academy policy to seat the children by size. I understand your loyalty and love for the Royal Family, but the school administration fears that some would try to turn the staff into tools for political games. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, I understand. How much are we talking, here?" Lady Ying stared expectantly, but eventually realized what the expression on Daoshi's face meant. She quickly said, "That was a joke," and then giggled, winked, and sauntered off. She didn't even spare one last glance for her daughter.

The other parents noticed the exchange, and all of them suddenly lost their sunny dispositions. Daoshi had no desire to give the same denial over and over, or deal with some of the other issues that sometimes came up in these kind of discussions, so she clapped her hands once and spoke up with her most authoritative tone.

"Thank you all for coming. I look forward to meeting each of you, and your daughters, but first I think I should discuss some school policies. Seating is determined by the size of the children; the shortest sit in front, and the tallest in back. Instructors are not allowed to accept 'gifts' from students or their families, even if they have no known association with classroom proceedings. Whenever we leave the Pre-Academy grounds, all Instructors are supplied with ex-Army bodyguards by the school for our personal safety. Any business transactions we enter into are approved by both the Fire Sages and the Magistracy, to avoid accidental conflicts of interest. We are no longer permitted to travel during the school semesters, so there is no chance of us suffering any inconvenience that would strand us on a deserted island for months at a time while an imposter steps into our lives to accidentally advance the cause of certain political power players in our classrooms. (Once was more than enough.) Now, are there any questions?"

Most of the parents slumped and began walking away. A few at least took the time to say goodbye to their daughters before taking their leave.

The only one left was the man in the Fire Navy armor. Behind a traditional topknot and the biggest pair of sideburns Daoshi had ever seen, his expression was one of profound smugness. He stepped forward with military precision. "A word, Instructor?"

Daoshi nodded. "I really should get the girls to the classroom, but if it's a reasonable request, then I can make the time, Captain... ?"

The man's expression grew into a full smirk. "Zhao. Captain Zhao. And it's not a request, just some paperwork." From his belt, Zhao produced a roll of documents, and held them out. "I just finalized the legal adoption of my new daughter, and could not complete the Pre-Academy's enrollment forms until I got a Magister's approval this morning." Daoshi went to take the papers, but Zhao suddenly used them to motion at one of the girls in line. She was taller than the rest, destined to sit in the very back of the classroom, and well-muscled. The girl didn't look up under the scrutiny, fiercely staring straight ahead from her position in line like a soldier on parade. Her clothes were crisp, and her topknot was tight. "I am now officially the guardian for... um... ah, yes... Ayaka."

The little girl in question didn't even react to her name.

Well, that was the type of thing usually seen with military families. Daoshi took the papers with a smile. "Oh, congratulations! I'm sure your new family will be very happy."

"Yes." Zhao looked down at Ayaka. She continued to stare into space, and he nodded with evident approval. "She'll be the best investment I ever made." Then he turned and left.

Investment?

Well, that was the type of thing usually seen with military families. Probably.

Left with just her new students, Daoshi put her smile back on and clapped her hands once for attention. "Good morning, my little dears. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you ladie- oh. Oh dear. Young sir, I think you've come to the wrong school. The boys' school is on the other side of the city."

The child Daoshi had been addressing grimaced. "Thank you, ma'am, but no, ma'am, I'm not a boy, ma'am. My name is Chin Tao. Ma'am."

Daoshi looked a little closer. Chin Tao's uniform didn't have the stylish shoulder-flares that all the other girls were wearing, and she wore her belt low enough to flatten her skirt a little, making it look more like the tunics that the boys wore as their uniform. Even her hair was tied in a short ponytail, like young boys typically preferred to a more traditional topknot. Well, the shoulder-flares were an option part of the uniform, and Daoshi couldn't recall any regulations dictating either hair length or skirt diameter. She inclined her head and said, "My apologies, Chin Tao. Thank you for correcting me." The girl nodded and let her frown melt away, so Daoshi considered the matter settled. "Now, let's all go to the classroom, and I can learn all your names and assign you seats. Then we'll talk about what you'll be doing here at the Pre-Academy." Another girl, this one with lovely long hair that went down to her knees, politely raised a hand. Daoshi acknowledged her with a nod. "Yes? You have a question?"

The girl lowered her hand and bowed. "My name is Ju Lai and my hair is nicer than yours and my mommy said to give you this purse of gold and ask really nice to sit next to Princess Azula."

Daoshi felt a headache coming on, but she fought to keep a smile on her face. "Well, why don't you hold onto that money, and when you get home, tell your mother that I invited her to put that gold where the glory of Agni does not shine. Speaking of Princess Azula, is she here?"

None of the girls responded. Indeed, none of them was wearing a crown in her hair, and the ones with priggish expressions were displaying nothing more than the usual sense of superiority that came naturally to most natives of the Capital. Daoshi took a full look around to be sure, and sure enough, there were no fawning servants waiting just out of immediate view with hot towels or expensive wind-up toys or even a venibeef sandwich with mustard made of solid platinum.

Well, that was disappointing.

Ty Lee loved school!

There was a teacher lady, and she was almost as pretty as Mommy! And instead of loud sisters, there were new friends! And there was a classroom, filled with desks, and on the desks there was paper! Ty Lee was given a desk in the middle row of the classroom, and that was not so good because it made Ty Lee feel like she was kind of lost since she wasn't in the very front or the very back, but she did have a window on her left side (Ty Lee had been born knowing her right from her left; that was her story and she was sticking to it) and that was wonderful because she could see the sun and sky and the fluffy clouds! Ty Lee was so excited that she started eating one of the sheets of paper on her desk, but she had only taken a few bites before the teacher stopped her, and that was okay because Teacher Lady said that eating paper could make you sick, and no one had ever stopped Ty Lee from eating something that would make her sick before!

Wow!

Once everyone was kneeling at their desk, the Teacher Lady made some talk about rules and what school was for and how to be a good girl, and Ty Lee tried really hard to listen, and she actually got really far into the teacher's speech ("Good morning" was a whole two words!) before she started noticing all the girls around here. That scary tall one, Ayaka, was kneeling at the desk right behind Ty Lee, and since she was scary Ty Lee decided to pretend she didn't exist because that was the best way to make scary things go away!

In front of Ty Lee were the two girls who had talked to Teacher Lady outside, which was exciting because Ty Lee was sure they wouldn't have been talking if they weren't really important to her life! The one who looked like a boy whose name was Chin Tao was paying attention to Teacher Lady, and Ty Lee realized that she should have been doing the same thing and tried her best (she caught the phrase "failures will be sent to the frontlines") but then she noticed the other girl Ju Lai curling her pretty hair around a calligraphy brush and Ty Lee thought that was fun and silly and looked around to see if she had a brush she could try it with!

Before she found her own brush, Ty Lee spotted the girl kneeling at the desk to her right side (the opposite side of the window, which Ty Lee knew because she was really smart). The girl looked sad, and Ty Lee hated seeing people sad so she smiled as wide as possible at the girl and shouted, "I'm Ty Lee and I'll be your friend so you can be happy!"

The Teacher Lady stopped talking.

Then she looked straight at Ty Lee, and said, "Ty Lee, it's good to make friends, and it's lovely that you're such a caring individual, but you need to be quiet while I'm talking. Remember that rule?"

Ty Lee didn't, but Teacher Lady had called her an individual, and Ty Lee wasn't really sure what that was but it sounded pink, so she nodded and bowed low enough to almost smack her head on the desk.

Teacher Lady seemed happy, so Ty Lee was even happier than she already had been, and the girl next to Ty Lee wasn't frowning anymore (actually, she seemed kind of scared, so Ty Lee smiled at her so that she wouldn't be scared anymore), and the sun was shining and the clouds were fluffy and school was wonderful!

She got so excited that she started eating paper again.

It had taken Daoshi a few attempts to get through her introduction, but she had managed to keep the Ty Lee girl from eating a whole sheet of paper, so she considered it a good compromise. Daoshi ran through the attendance, calling out each name and checking it off as the corresponding girl responded. There was as a slight problem with the one named Mai- the girl sitting next to Ty Lee- who had been too timid to raise her hand and had said, "Here," in the quietest voice Daoshi had ever heard (or, in the first three cases, not heard), but that was something on which they could work. Nothing brought a little girl out of her shell like a safe environment and gentle nudging, and even if that failed, there was always the flogging room.

Daoshi was all set to start the first lesson- a thrilling combination of identifying colors and the history of Azulon's bloody purge of the Water Tribes- when the sound of a massive gong being struck resonated through the classroom, and a parade suddenly filed in through the door.

First came a number of dancing girls who scattered the petals of rare panda-lilies on the floor and then capered off the sides of the classroom and fell into full kowtows. Then came a small squad of the Crimson Guard- the elite and uniquely armored Firebenders responsible for the safety of the Royal Family- who marched in with enough force to rattle the desks and then took positions at the corners of the room. At last, four servants bearing a miniature palanquin closed by silk curtains shuffled through the door, laid their burden down atop the flower petals, and kowtowed towards it. One of them lifted his head and cried, "Introducing the vision of the glory of the perfection that is Azula, Princess of Fire!" The dancing girls started chanting a reasonable rendition of the Fire Nation's anthem, and the Crimson Guard saluted with plumes of flame.

Then a little girl with a crown in her topknot emerged from behind the palanquin's curtains and gazed out over the classroom.

Daoshi considered herself the absolute master of her little domain, but she found herself falling to the floor in a bow at the sight of this little girl. Fortunately, that was because one of the Crimson Guard had snuck up behind her and actually pushed Daoshi into a kowtow, not because she had taken leave of her senses and started fawning excessively over one of her students. Once she recovered her balance and agency, Daoshi pushed herself up and said, "Your Highness, while I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Royal Family, it is against the rules to be late for class, never mind this disruption to the routine!"

Azula looked up with a heavy-lidded gaze. "Your concerns are noted, though it's really your fault. I would have been on time, but I politely waited for you to finish talking with Captain Zhao, and then when I was about to order my procession forward, you brought the class inside." The little princess began pacing slowly in front of Daoshi. "That ruined everything. You wouldn't have even been able to hear the gong! And sending a servant to order you back outside would have just been crass. So I had to reorganize my entrance to work for the hallway and classroom. After all, a Princess of the Fire Nation has to be properly announced." She gave a smile that was all blunt little baby teeth. "I'm sure you understand."

Daoshi felt that headache coming back again. "Well, uh, thank you, Princess. Please take the empty desk in the back row- yes, behind Mai- and we'll start our lessons." She waited for the Crimson Guard, the dancing girls, and servants with the palanquin to leave. Even the sight of one of the servants slipping on the flower petals and tipping the palanquin on his fellows didn't improve Daoshi's mood.

Teacher Lady was all Lemony Yellow and that was sad but Princess Azula was Glowing Red and she was the most reddest person Ty Lee had ever seen!

Ty Lee kept glancing back at Azula the whole time Teacher Lady was talking about colors (and something about Waterbender prisons) which was fine because Ty Lee already knew colors but also a little sad because colors were Ty Lee's most favorite thing ever. (Waterbender prisons were okay, too, even if Ty Lee didn't know what they were.) Azula was really interesting, and Ty Lee thought she was almost more like an adult than a kid the way she sat and listened and looked at everything. At one point Ju Lai up on the front row turned around and peaked around The Sad Girl to wave at Azula, and Ty Lee thought that was very nice of Ju Lai because no one else had said hello to the princess yet and that was bad, but then Azula waved a fist at Ju Lai and fire popped out of it to curve over The Sad Girl and almost hit Ju Lai's hair!

Ty Lee thought that was kind of mean, but the way Ju Lai fell over and made squealy noises was funny and Ty Lee laughed with all the other girls. Well, all the other girls besides The Sad Girl. She just made a squeaky sound.

Ty Lee didn't know why she was sad, and that almost made Ty Lee sad, too.

After the Teacher Lady told Azula that good young ladies didn't light each other on fire outside of an Agni Kai, she announced that the class was going to paint on paper, and Ty Lee was really excited but Teacher Lady said they couldn't drink the ink and they were going to learn writing instead of just drawing. Ty Lee tried to do the writing right, but making all those lines cross in the right places was really hard, so instead she used her brush and ink to make hearts and lots of suns, because if sunny days were nice then lots of suns had to be even better. Then she drew The Sad Girl, but instead of drawing her sad, Ty Lee had the girl smiling a big smile.

Then it was story time, and Teacher Lady read a story about Prince General Iroh conquering Ba Sing Se and turning the whole Earth Kingdom into the colonies and then throwing a big party. Ty Lee liked the part about the party, but the stuff about burning the city and putting the heads of the enemies on sticks sounded weird to her. Heads didn't go on sticks, heads went on people.

After that was lunch.

Everyone ate at their desks, and Teacher Lady said she would be right back once she gave Ayaka's papers to The Office. As soon as she was gone, all the girls (except for Ty Lee and the sad girl) jumped up and went to go talk to the princess. Ty Lee would have liked to talk to Azula, too, but she didn't want to shove or get shoved, so she'd just wait until everyone else was done. Instead, she leaned over to the sad girl and put the drawing (with the hearts and the sunny suns) on her desk.

"Here," she said, "I made this so that you could be happy. Hearts and sunny days make me happy, so I painted some for you."

The sad girl just stayed kneeling, looking at the drawing and not smiling, for some reason. "Why?"

"Because I'm your friend, remember?"

The girl nodded. "Is that how people make friends?"

"I dunno." To demonstrate, Ty Lee shrugged. She liked shrugging. "That's how I make friends. What's your name? Teacher Lady said but I forgot."

The sad girl turned to look at her. "Mai."

"Mei?"

"Mai."

"May?"

"No. Mai."

"Mae?"

"No, Mai." Mai breathed out through her mouth really heavy. "People do that every time I tell them my name."

"Sorry." To demonstrate, Ty Lee leaned over and hugged the other girl. Mai didn't hug her back, but she didn't shove Ty Lee, either, so that was okay. Then Ty Lee noticed that someone was looking at them.

It was Ayaka. She was standing in front of Mai's desk, looking down at the drawing. Her face was like she didn't know what a picture was, so Ty Lee said, "Hi! Do you like my drawing? Those are hearts, and these are suns, and that's Mai smiling and wearing floppy shoes! I think floppy shoes are funny. Do you?"

Ayaka didn't say anything.

She just grabbed the paper, crumpled it, and then ripped it in half in one quick motion.

The whole classroom went quiet. Ty Lee looked around and saw that all the girls were staring at her and Mai and Ayaka. Chin Tao the Boy-girl made a, "Hmmmmmm," sound and tapped her chin. Even Princess Azula was staring.

Ty Lee didn't understand, so she looked at Azula and said, "That was wrong! Tell her to say sorry! Please?"

Azula started smiling. But she didn't make Ayaka say sorry.

Then Teacher Lady came back, and Ty Lee was going to ask her to make Ayaka say sorry, but before she could, Teacher Lady said that everyone had to hurry up and eat their lunches because they had math lessons and 'Lethal Arts To Be Employed In Defense of Our Person and Nation' class and then science lessons.

Ty Lee looked over at Mai, and the other girl was crying but without making noise or moving her face. She just looked down at the ripped drawing on her desk and her tears fell on the paper.

That made Ty Lee sad, too.

Over the course of the afternoon, Daoshi began to think that perhaps it would have been nicer not to have Princess Azula in her class. It wasn't that the princess herself was a problem, aside from the disruptive entrance and brief Firebending incident. On the contrary, Daoshi quickly realized that she was the smartest girl in the class; she seemed to have been given a head start on most of the lessons, and Azula's questions and way of speaking left no doubt that she could think things through, even if she was perhaps a little too forthcoming regarding Prince General Iroh's tragic addiction to Camellia.

No, the problem was with all the other girls.

Something had happened while Daoshi was out of the classroom, and while it wasn't her place to get involved in anything that happened outside of lessons- lest she stumble across a part of a plan to do something like discrediting the current War Minister so that someone's lazy but ingratiating cousin could be elevated to the post- she couldn't help but think it had set some kind of precedent for everyone's behavior over the rest of the afternoon. Ju Lai took it upon herself to try to tattle on anyone she didn't think was paying proper attention to the lesson, which meant that she wound up picking on Ty Lee most of the time. Daoshi had a soft spot for the really stupid ones, though, so she didn't punish Ty Lee and eventually told Ju Lai to mind her own business and stop interrupting.

Meanwhile, a bunch of the other girls suffered a sudden case of motivation, and previously demure personalities suddenly became desperate to look good by providing answers to all of Daoshi's questions, even when they hadn't been called upon. Aside from one amusing incident where several of the girls tried to answer a rhetorical question about the number of Spirits that could dance on the tip of a jian blade, it was quite wearying, and Daoshi finally just stopped asking questions completely.

Then, when she went to pick the girls up from 'Lethal Arts To Be Employed In Defense of Our Person and Nation' class, Daoshi found the sparring hall's Instructor leaning over Ju Lai, whose beautiful hair had somehow gotten caught between the segments of one of the spinning wooden dummies. Daoshi rushed over as quickly a she could without launching into an undignified run. "What happened to her?"

"Dunno," Instructor Bangbi grumbled in her customary manner. "I was- uh, demonstrating for Princess Azula when I heard the girl start crying, and found this."

Ju Lai sniffled, and Daoshi shook her head. "Is this a... common mishap?"

Bangbi crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I've never seen anything like it before, but I guess it's possible. You know, in one of those imaginary, not real but still vaguely achievable ways?"

"Theoretically?"

"Yeah, that. Anyway, it might be possible, but then I looked close, and I have no idea how the hair got knotted around the axle."

"Oh dear." Daoshi peered into between the log-things that made up the dummy. Each log had a number of branches sticking out that people were meant to smack and parry, and all the logs were spitted on a single metal rod that allowed them to spin freely. Sure enough, Ju Lai's hair was knotted between two of the logs, and from the looks of it, the ends were all tangled up into the mechanism. Daoshi couldn't imagine how they could unknot them. "I don't suppose this thing disassembles easily?"

Bangbi grunted. "I could break it apart, but the way it's tangled... probably better to just do it the easy way."

Daoshi sighed. "I'll go get a scissors, then."

Ju Lai immediately stopped her sobbing and burst out with a, "What?! You're going to cut my..."

Daoshi had nodded as sympathetically as she could, but then shifted her gaze to run over all the other girls. Most of them were watching passively. Ty Lee and Mai seemed upset, the former more than the latter. Princess Azula seemed amused by the whole thing, which turned Daoshi's stomach, but Bangbi said that she had been with the princess at the time of the incident.

Ayaka, however, had an expression on her face for the first time all day. It wasn't pleasure; it was the look Daoshi had seen on soldiers in the midst of training, a driven and focused expression colored by the satisfaction of danger and accomplishment.

It wasn't proof, of course, not even enough to get by with a small bribe to a judge. Daoshi would no doubt have problems if she took action against Ayaka and her adoptive father Captain Zhao made a fuss. But it was something to keep in mind, along with Azula's pleasure. Ju Lai went back to the classroom with hair that was half as short as it had begun the day, but she bore it stoically. Daoshi wished she hadn't noticed the girl looking for and receiving an approving nod from Azula.

The class managed to get through the last of their afternoon lessons with no extra fuss, antagonism, or covert bloodshed. (Not that covert bloodshed was a problem in some of the older classes, where they were mature enough to handle it without letting it disrupt the classroom. Overt bloodshed was a different matter entirely, and usually resulted in a transfer to a military academy, a free spear, and a hearty letter of recommendation.) Daoshi dismissed the class, and amidst the usual scramble for the open skies outside, she spotted Chin Tao rushing over to speak with Ju Lai. Both girls then caught up with Ty Lee, said something to her, and then hurried after-

-Ayaka?

Daoshi wanted to investigate further, but the girls had left the classroom, and with the school day over they were no longer within her power. She had nothing more than a vague feeling to go on, so it was far too early to go to any of the girls' families about this.

But she would keep an eye out. She wanted to know what those girls were planning.

Ty Lee was making lots of friends! Chin Tao the Boy-girl asked her to come have a talk with some other students, and that was almost like a party, except there were no stupid sisters and mommy didn't disappear halfway through to smoke some of her mistweed! The poor Ju Lai girl who used to have long hair was coming too, and Ty Lee gave her a big smile as they trotted through the hallways and said, "Don't worry, your hair is still pretty even though Teacher Lady cut it lopsided!"

Ju Lai went all Muddy Red from her head to her feet like she was made of clay, and her voice was all growly when she finally replied. "I'll have my mother trim it up when I get home. Longer hair isn't a good thing for warriors, anyway."

Ty Lee had no idea what the other girl meant so she just said, "Okay!"

Ahead, Chin Tao called out, "There she is," and put on a short burst of speed. Ty Lee hurried after her and was all set to start the party when suddenly Ayaka was looming in her vision and being all Black and wrong. Ty Lee wanted to run away, but Chin Tao walked up to Ayaka and started talking, and then Ju Lai came up, too, even though Ty Lee thought that something mean had happened with the two girls in the big class where they got to run and punch things.

It all made Ty Lee feel cold so she shut her eyes and started humming her favorite song which was the Fire Nation anthem because it was the only song she knew, but that didn't make her feel better at all. She opened her eyes again and saw that the other girls were all looking at her. "What?"

Chin Tao smiled and she seemed happy. "We want to play a game tomorrow morning, and you have to join us! It'll be fun."

That was better already! The Fire Nation song worked every time! "That sounds great! What kind of game what kind of game what kind of game? Hide and explode? Torture the Earth Kingdom prisoner of war? Tag?" Ty Lee went all Pink and hopped up and down a few times and clapped her hands.

Chin Tao reached out and patted Ty Lee's head like a pet, and it seemed nice but something about it made Ty Lee feel a little Not Pink. Chin Tao said, "A game that will make us all friends with Princess Azula. We need you to come to school early tomorrow. We'll meet in the courtyard, and then play before class starts."

Friends with Princess Azula?! That sounded great! Maybe the Princess would bring back the funny dancing ladies with the flowers! Those flowers looked kind of yummy and Ty Lee wanted to eat some. Ooh, and maybe if the game went well and everyone wound up as friends then Mai could play too, and then Princess Azula would be friends with Mai and then Mai could be happy! Ty Lee was going to say something about that but then she noticed that Chin Tao and Ju Lai had just finished talking about something else while Ayaka listened and Ty Lee thought maybe she had missed something important but she didn't want to seem stupid so she smiled and nodded when Chin Tao looked at her.

Tomorrow was going to be even better than today!

TO BE CONCLUDED