The Golden Wolf Warrior
By: Agent-Ayu
Prologue
Summary: What if The Fire Nation royal family was over thrown while Zuko and Azula were children? Ursa, Iroh, and Zuko manage to escape to Ba Sing Se, but Azula wound up at the Southern Water Tribe. This is mostly Azula-centric. Eventually there will be Azutara.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except all the characters that were not in the series and this story.
It all happened so fast. Their beloved country had been betrayed, the royal family had fallen. What scared the Imperial Firebenders the most was that the coup was led by a general of the Fire Nation army. Why would the general betray his country and Fire Lord?
Many questions passed through all the crewmen's minds. But the biggest question was how their youngest passenger was coping with the tragic events. Everyone was concerned for the child because she was their princess.
The Fire Nation princess hadn't said a word since they'd left the Fire Nation heading southbound. If it weren't for the ship's captain, the princess would probably still be in her designated cabin.
A week had passed since the coup and they were starting to get low on supplies. The ship's captain currently had herself and the princess in the kitchen to keep warm and to hopefully get the princess to eat something.
"Please princess, eat something." The captain practically begged. "Lu Ten wouldn't want you to starve."
All the princess did was slowly shake her head. She wasn't being bratty, she simply wasn't hungry.
"Captain Mizuki."
Captain Mizuki removed her attention from the princess and turned to the soldier who had spoken. "Yes?"
"If I may suggest, I think it is wise if we stop addressing her as 'princess'. I mean no disrespect, but it is a matter of her safety."
"Yes, I agree. Please go round up everyone; they all need to hear this." Captain Mizuki ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am!" The soldier bowed before running out of the kitchen.
"Princess, please understand, from this point on no one will address you by your title for your safety. We promised Prince Lu Ten that we would keep you safe."
All Azula could do was nod. The mention of her cousin's name had triggered the memory of the prince's death.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Azula had somehow gotten separated from her mother and brother. There was chaos throughout the palace. She didn't know what was happening. Parts of her home were in flames and there was smoke everywhere. She could barely keep her eyes open.
"Azula get down!" Lu Ten shouted as he pushed Azula and himself to the ground, barely avoiding a fireball that flew over them.
"Lu?" Azula questioned weakly.
"Don't worry Azula, I'll protect you. We need to get out of here!"
Carefully, but as quickly as possible, Lu Ten kept Azula close to the ground, away from fire and smoke. They were close to the palace entrance when Lu Ten heard something behind them.
"Quick, hide behind the pillar." Lu Ten gently guided his cousin behind one of the many entrance pillars. "Stay quiet and don't move."
Lu Ten quietly stood up to look around the pillar to see who was following them. Once the follower was close enough, he jumped out from behind the pillar and let loose a fireball.
"Prince Lu Ten, wait!" a female pleaded as she deflected the fireball.
"Captain Mizuki?" Lu Ten questioned.
Mizuki got closer to Lu Ten. "Prince Lu Ten, General Iroh sent me to find you and Princess Azula when you two were separated from them."
"Oh, that's great! Now I need your help to get to the harbor." Lu Ten started to explain.
"But, Prince Lu Ten, that's at the bottom of the volcano!"
"I know, but the closer we are to the harbor, the closer we'll get to safety. Azula, grab my hand."
Azula did what Lu Ten had told her to and was suddenly pulled to her feet. Mizuki struggled to open the palace front doors, but it was proving too large for her alone. Lu Ten let go of Azula's hand and helped the captain.
Just as the door began to pry open, fireballs began blasting through the opening they had created.
"Damn it! How could I forget they'd started attacking from the front?" Lu Ten cursed as he and Mizuki pushed the doors shut.
Once the door was completely shut, all three of them began running away from the entrance. As they ran past the throne room, Azula grabbed hold of Lu Ten's hand, causing him to stop running.
"What is it Azula?"
"Lu, there's a secret door in Grandpa's throne room!" Azula exclaimed.
"What? Are you sure?" Lu Ten said as he knelt down to his cousin's height.
"Yes, Zuzu and I accidentally found it when we were hiding from Grandpa. We were playing there and didn't want to get in trouble. It leads just outside the palace gates!"
Still holding Lu Ten's hand, all three of them ran into the Fire Lord's throne room. Once they entered Azula let go of her cousin's hand and ran to the wall below the throne.
"See the fire symbol Lu? All you have to do is firebend and the secret door opens." Azula said proudly.
"Oh really? That's great!" Lu Ten said happily.
Azula quickly took a firebending stance and launched a fireball at the Fire Nation insignia. After a few seconds there was a shift and the secret door exposed itself.
Suddenly Lu Ten, Azula, and Miyuki heard clapping behind them. They turned around and saw the general who was leading the coup.
"General Akuzo! How dare you betray your Fire Lord, your country?" Lu Ten exclaimed.
"Your family has been at this war for nearly a hundred years. We are nowhere close to conquering the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. I think it's time for a new Fire Lord. I will finish this war much faster than Fire Lord Azulon ever could." General Akuzo explained. "Soldiers. Get the Prince and Princess and kill them."
Soldiers came out from behind the pillars of the throne room. Mizuki and Lu Ten quickly dispatched the soldiers nearest them while more were approaching fast. Lu Ten knew there was no way they could fight all of them and get away safely.
"Mizuki, help me make a firewall!"
Both Lu Ten and Mizuki dropped into a horse stance and raised their arms creating, a huge wall of flame across the throne room, separating themselves and the secret passage from the general and his soldiers.
"Mizuki." Lu Ten said quietly so Azula wouldn't hear him.
"Yes, Prince Lu Ten?"
"Take Azula and get as far away from the Fire Nation as possible."
"Prince Lu Ten, I must object. You and the princess must be saved. I took an oath as an Imperial Firebender to protect the royal family." Mizuki argued.
"You also took an oath to obey us. This is an order! I'm going to try and stall them. Take her to a safe place where she won't be found. Now go!" Lu Ten shouted as he pushed the firewall towards the soldiers and their general.
Mizuki broke from her stance and grabbed Azula. "Come with me princess."
"No, what about Lu Ten? We can't leave him." Azula screamed while trying to get out of Mizuki's grasp.
The last thing Azula saw were soldiers breaking through the firewall and beginning their assault on Prince Lu Ten.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
There were many Fire Nation soldiers guarding ships from leaving the ports. Mizuki was hiding in an abandoned house near the harbor. From where she and Azula were, they could still see smoke coming from Caldera City. While in the abandoned house, Mizuki had grabbed an old ragged curtain and made it into a poncho to drape over Azula's royal clothes so they wouldn't be spotted as easily.
"Captain Mizuki." Azula said quietly.
"Yes, princess?"
"What's going to happen now?" Azula grabbed the captain's hand.
"I'm not sure princess. I need to find a crew so we can run a ship to get you out of here. But, I don't know who we can trust." Mizuki explained.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Mizuki quickly grabbed Azula and hid her behind a big plant pot. There was another knock, and Mizuki stayed alert as the intruder entered the abandoned house.
"Mizuki." The intruder whispered.
"Prince Lu Ten!"
True enough it was Prince Lu Ten. "Mizuki, where's Azula?"
"Lu?" Azula said as she came out of her hiding spot.
"Good, you're both safe. C'mon, quickly, I need to get you to the safe house. Azula, get on my back." Lu Ten said as he knelt down in front of his cousin.
Azula climbed onto Lu Ten's back and the three of them quietly left the abandoned house, sneaking their way closer and closer to the ports where the Fire Nation ships were ported. Just as they were about to enter the first point before they reached the safe house, a soldier stopped them.
"Excuse me; the town is under lockdown, by order of General Akuzo."
"We're sorry sir, we didn't know. My sisters and I just came back from camping." Lu Ten said quickly. "We saw the smoke at Caldera City and thought it'd be best if we returned home."
"Very well, hurry on home before I have to arrest you."
With that, Lu Ten and Mizuki quickly walked away from the soldier until they were out of his sight. Once they couldn't see him, Lu Ten sprinted as fast as he could, Mizuki running closely behind him.
Lu Ten did an unusual knocking pattern on one of the doors and someone opened the door slightly. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Lu Ten replied.
The door opened wide enough to allow all three of them in. "It's an honor to meet you Prince Lu Ten. We're sorry to hear what has happened." The man said.
"Thank you. Is there any word on what happened to my aunt, cousin, and father?"
"We're sorry your highness, but we haven't heard anything. But we are loyal to Prince Iroh and will protect you and Princess Azula. Please, have some tea while I get my wife."
Azula got off of Lu Ten's back and took a seat next to him on the ground where the low rised table was. Mizuki poured the hot tea for all three of them and took in the warmth of the calming drink. Azula and Lu Ten did the same. Even though all three of them were firebenders, they couldn't feel any warmth in their hands as the horror of what was happening to them clouded their minds.
"Hello, my name is Ming. Zen tells me you're Prince Iroh's son and niece. It is an honor to meet you."
"Thank you. It's an honor to meet those who are loyal to my father, especially with what has happened tonight." Lu Ten said before taking a sip of his tea. "Hmm, white jade tea!"
Ming laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know your teas, being Prince Iroh's son. Zen and I need you three to lay low until we know we're cleared to take you to the next safe point before we can get you and Princess Azula out of the Fire Nation."
"How long do you think that will be? I would really appreciate getting my cousin out of the Fire Nation as quickly as possible. I can wait longer if needed. Azula is top priority." Lu Ten replied.
"We understand, Prince Lu Ten. But we are going to try and get the two of you out at the same time." Zen replied as he took a seat at the table.
"Whom are we waiting on?" Mizuki asked.
"Admiral Jeong Jeong."
"Jeong Jeong is helping us! That's great; he and dad are good friends." Lu Ten said happily.
Azula looked back and forth between Zen and Ming, and Lu Ten and Mizuki. She kind of understood what was happening, but not sure who the people were that her cousin was talking about except for her uncle. She took a sip of her tea, not knowing what else to do, save staying quiet.
"Here, let me get some more tea and something for us to eat. Would you mind Oolong?" Ming asked.
"Oolong will be fine." Lu Ten said.
"I'll help you dear." Zen stood up to go help his wife.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
The next thing Azula knew, Lu Ten was waking her up. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep after eating. "Lu?"
"We have to go, Azula. Everything is in order for us to escape." Lu Ten got down in front of Azula for her to get onto his back again.
Azula climbed on quickly. "Zen will guide you to the next safe point. From there, Admiral Jeong Jeong will help you guys escape out of the Fire Nation." Ming explained as she carefully looked outside to check if it was clear.
"Thank you so much. Your courage and help will be repaid." Lu Ten said as he followed Zen out of the house.
"We're going to have to move quickly and quietly. The town is still under lockdown." Zen explained after Ming closed the door. "This way."
Zen quickly guided the three fugitives through the shadowy parts of the town where guards were not patrolling, bringing them closer to the ports.
Finally, they neared a house, and Zen firebended the flame of a nearby lantern, dousing its light. When he made sure the coast was clear he walked up to the house's door and knocked on it in a specific pattern.
There was a pause before the door opened and the four of them were rushed in. Before the door closed, Azula saw the man shoot a small flame towards the lantern to light it again. The same man bent the flames of the candles that were illuminating the room, extinguishing all but one of them.
"Admiral Jeong Jeong, it's an honor to meet you." Lu Ten said as he bowed to the admiral.
"It is an honor to meet you as well, Prince Lu Ten. Princess Azula." Jeong Jeong replied. "Please, sit. There is a lot that needs to be explained in a short amount of time."
The three fugitives were seated once again in front of a table, drinking tea. "Lu, what's with all these people and giving us tea?"
Lu Ten laughed softly. "It's a good way to calm the nerves, especially with what we've been going through. Also, it never hurts to drink tea with strangers. As dad says, 'Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights.'"
"That does sound like Uncle." Azula said before taking a sip of her tea. "Hmm, it's jasmine tea this time."
"Now that you're all settled, I should first tell you we will not be able to take you to Ba Sing Se, which was where we were planning to take you originally. We're going to take you to the Southern Water Tribe."
"There's no way the Water Tribe will allow us to step foot in their village." Mizuki argued.
"That's why when you get there you must surrender yourselves. Gain their trust, with what's happened tonight, I know no one in my crew will think of fighting them. My men and women are loyal to Fire Lord Azulon and his bloodline. The objective is to keep Prince Lu Ten and Princess Azula safe." There was no room for argument.
"Also, if we can gain the Water Tribe's trust, there is a chance that there will be unity in the world again. We, the Fire Nation, have dishonored ourselves by starting the war. We need to work with our opposite to restore peace. You will leave before day break." Jeong Jeong concluded.
"Day break is going to be here shortly." Lu Ten said as he looked out the window.
"You three had better prepare yourselves. Captain Mizuki, this letter is for you. The letter will tell the crew I have assembled for the three of you to follow your orders." Jeong Jeong said as he handed the sealed letter to the Captain.
"But how did you know I was with the prince and princess?" Mizuki asked.
"We have people we trust who pass word around quickly, even during times like these." Jeong Jeong replied while staring at Azula.
Everyone stayed quiet, waiting for Jeong Jeong to tell them when they were going to leave. Azula leaned up against Lu Ten, feeling tired and in need of comfort; this was too much for her.
The sky was gradually starting to turn from a dark to a light purple. "It's time to go." Jeong Jeong said as he opened the door. "Quickly."
All three of them quickly got up from their seats and followed Jeong Jeong. They were getting close to a small ship a short distance from the house they were at. "That's the ship you will be taking. We need to get you on before guards come around here for their patrol."
Just as they reached the gangplank to the ship a huge firewall appeared in front of them, blocking their way and causing them to jump back.
"Well, well, well. Admiral Jeong Jeong, I'm surprised you would betray your own country." Akuzo said as he and a few of his firebending soldiers walked out from their hiding place.
"It is not I who betrayed my country General Akuzo. You betrayed your country when you killed your Fire Lord and Prince Ozai." Jeong Jeong retorted.
"No… daddy's dead?" Azula whispered to herself as she grabbed hold of her cousin's hand.
"That's Fire Lord Akuzo."
"You will never be my Fire Lord." With that, Jeong Jeong started attacking the soldiers. "Get on the ship!"
Lu Ten held onto Azula's hand tightly as he ran towards the gangplank with Mizuki close behind him. Just as they reached the edge of the gangplank, Azula tripped. That moment was all Akuzo needed to attack the three fugitives.
Seeing the huge fireball aimed towards his cousin, Lu Ten jumped in front of Azula and tried to block the fire, but failed as the fireball broke through and struck him directly in the chest.
Azula felt like everything had frozen around her as she saw her cousin fall in front of her and let out a horrific scream.
"LU TEN!" Azula shouted as she grabbed hold of him trying to think of what she could do to help, but it was too late for the prince.
"Azula, I'm… so-sorry." Was all Lu Ten could say before closing his eyes, never to wake up again.
Azula began to cry, mixing her cousin's blood with her tears. Mizuki grabbed Azula and ran up the gangplank as other firebenders from the ship came down and helped Jeong Jeong. Soon, the ship sailed away from the port, away from the Fire Nation.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"Hmm… Azula?" Mizuki asked, concerned as she saw how pale the princess was.
Azula started to shake violently as she pushed herself off her seat and to the closest trash bin. She leaned over the trash bin and vomited last night's dinner. When she was done emptying her stomach contents, she quickly fainted. Then, even though she was unconscious, her body began to convulse violently.
"Oh no! Someone, quickly, get the doctor! Princess Azula has gone into shock!" Mizuki yelled down the hall as she laid Azula on her back and lifted the princess' legs slightly.
Mizuki wrapped the princess' cloak around Azula like a blanket and carefully firebended warmth onto the cloak.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
A few hours later, Mizuki was sitting in the princess' cabin, keeping her eye on Azula as she slept. All the crew could do was wait to know how their princess was feeling.
Mizuki jumped when she saw Azula started to stir. "Azula."
Azula slowly opened her eyes, and glanced at Mizuki. "Wha-what happened?"
"You went into shock. Most likely from what happened to your family." Mizuki explained.
"My family?" Azula said quietly as she began to cry.
"Uh… Azula? Do you remember what happened?"
"Not much… I just remember seeing lots of fire and smoke. And…"
"And what?"
"Blood. Burnt blood. From that boy who saved me."
Mizuki was surprised to hear that Azula didn't remember her cousin. "You mean Lu Ten?"
"Is that is name? The boy who saved me?"
"Yes."
Azula went quiet, not sure what else to say. That's the way it stayed for the rest of the journey on the Fire Nation ship.