This story takes place before the discovery of The Avatar in the South Pole. In order to make the story a little bit more realistic (assuming that the A:TLA is realistic) Sokka is aged 18 as is Azula. I will give ages of major characters as the story goes on. I have got a good story planned but it takes a while to put everything into words, hopefully it will be a little bit more light hearted from now on, after all the main character is Sokka. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Reviews, as ever, are appreciated. I hope you enjoy!
Firelord Ozai sat in the throne room, deep in thought and surrounded in a sea of golden flames. He was troubled, an occurrence that was very rare indeed. He had just received reports of the second terrorist attack this week, but this was not what troubled him the most. What troubled him was that this attack had happened within the walls of the Capital City of the Fire Nation. The terrorists had attempted to strike fear into the citizens and nobles of the Fire Nation, to show that he could not protect his own people. Ozai could not let this happen; he knew he had no choice but to withdraw soldiers from one of his campaigns elsewhere in the world to stop the spread of terror. And He knew exactly where to get the soldiers from. For the first time since the attacks had started, Ozai allowed himself a small smirk.
The Firelord opened his eyes and spoke to the servant standing next to him. "Tell my daughter that she is to sail to the Southern Water Tribe and secure their loyalty by any means necessary."
Sokka was the first to notice the black snow that started to fall in the Southern Water Tribe village. His fists clenched as he forced himself to remember the terrible things that had happened when the black snow fell. Back then he had only been a child, unable to stop the soldiers as they killed his mother and ripped countless families apart. This time was different; he was a fully-fledged warrior and would do anything to protect his tribe from the invaders.
Once Sokka had alerted his father, he climbed the watch tower on the wall of the village and looked out to sea. He was surprised. He had expected to see a fleet of ships approaching but instead he only saw one. But this one ship was unlike any other he had seen in his 18 years. This ship was far more ornate that the purely functional battleships he had seen on previous raids. Also he noticed that the flag flown was not the sea raven of The Southern Raiders but a golden dragon upon the black flames of the Fire Nation. Sokka did not know what this meant but he had a gut feeling that it was worse than any number of sea ravens.
Sokka stood next to his father and the other warriors on the shore as the ship finally arrived at the village. As the ramp was lowered, his hand went to the boomerang tucked into the sash he wore around his waist, getting ready for the soldiers that he knew would pour of the ship. But they never came. Instead, three young women walked off the boat. The one in the centre wore a golden flame in her hair and was flanked on either side by the two others. They made not move to attack, they just simply walked towards the Water Tribe Warriors.
Sokka's brain began to whir as he processed this new information. Sokka now knew who approached their village and realised that his earlier fears had been fully justified. After quickly whispering this knowledge into Hakoda's ear, the small procession stopped in front of Sokka.
Hakoda bowed low and said "Greetings, Princess Azula. What brings you so far South?"
"I have no time for idle pleasantries and so I will get down to the business which has brought me so far from civilisation." replied Azula.
"My mission here is to ensure the loyalty of this tribe to the Fire Nation" said Azula loudly so all the warriors could hear. "To do so, I will take the first born son of every family in this pathetic village and conscript them into the military as a sign of your allegiance to the Fire Nation. Should your tribe commit any act of defiance against the Fire Nation, every single one of your sons will be tortured and killed."
"NEVER!" shouted one of the warriors that stood by Sokka. Before anyone could respond a fire ball shot from the hand of the princess and struck the warrior's chest. He was flung backwards, flipping head over heels before he finally landed on the ice. He doubled up in pain and lay on the ground making no effort to stand up again. 'Perhaps that was for the better' thought Sokka to himself.
"Do you accept my offer?" said Azula calmly, lowering her hand.
Sokka knew that his father had no choice. He could not deny the Princess what she wished. The consequences for his tribe would be far too dire is he refused, even more so than if he accepted.
When the black snow fell that morning, Sokka has sworn to himself to do whatever it took to protect his tribe. He was no longer helpless against the Fire Nation, he was a warrior. But that would not save the men and boys that were to be taken away from their families. No, thought Sokka to himself, to help his people he would have to give his life to the same people which had killed his mother.
Sokka stepped forward, meeting the glaring golden eyes of the princess and bowed, not once breaking eye contact. "Princess Azula, I am Sokka, son of the chief of this tribe. I ask that you allow me, and me alone, to serve the Fire Nation to prove the loyalty of my tribe. The sons of this tribe are too young and are unfit for battle. They would only weaken your army"
Azula looked into the bright blue eyes of that man that had dared to approach her. In them she saw a fierce determination and bravery that reminded her of the eyes that stared back at her from the mirror. She listened to his proposal; it was true that boys and teenagers would be useless in the army but would one hostage be enough to ensure the loyalty of an entire tribe. How did she know that this savage would remain loyal to the Fire Nation? Azula was so deep in thought that she failed to notice the outspoken warrior whom she had struck down rise to his feet and unsheathe his boomerang.
Sokka glimpsed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned round to see the warrior fling the razor sharp boomerang towards the princess. As much as Sokka hated the fire nation, he knew that the death or injury of the Fire Princess would mean the end of his tribe. Sokka jumped high of the ground and with his right hand he plucked the fast spinning boomerang out of the air. As Sokka landed he turned back to the would-be assassin and threw the boomerang which had come metres from costing every single member of the tribe their life. The boomerang curved through the air and struck the warrior on the temple, knocking him unconscious before his body hit the ice with a loud thud. Sokka turned round once again to face the princess and saw an expression on her face that very few people had seen, surprise.
Azula tried to make sense of what had just happened. Had one of these peasants just saved her life? Not only that but he had done it so fast and so elegantly that it took her brain a few seconds to make sense of it all, but only a few seconds. She quickly composed herself, her expression returning to the look of general disdain that so often inhabited her complexion.
"You make a valid point, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and have proven your loyalty to the Fire Nation. I believe that your service to the armed forces will be sufficient to ensure the loyalty of this tribe to the Fire Nation." Said Azula, her voice not wavering despite what had happened just seconds previously.
"Thank you Princess" replied Sokka, "Will you allow me time to bid farewell to my family?"
"You may have 5 minutes but no longer, I will await you on the Royal Barge." said Azula. She turned around and walked quickly back to the ship followed closely by the two women on either side who were almost jogging to keep up.
Sokka turned to face the men behind him, all of whom had their mouths open with surprise. Hakoda turned to his son, his eyes beginning to tear up and embraced him in a tight hug. "Sokka, you have saved the lives of every member of this tribe by giving yours to serve the nation that you hate so fiercely. How can we repay you?"
"Keep the tribe safe dad, keep Katara safe." replied Sokka, also crying. He realised that he may never see these people again, these people who meant so much to him. But he had saved his tribe as he had failed to do so many times before this. Sokka knew that by serving the Fire Nation he would keep his friends and family safe and that was something worth giving your life for.
After many tearful farewells, Sokka walked up the ramp of the ship, his possessions strapped to his back. As the ramp was lifted up, Sokka took one last glimpse at the village in which he had spent his entire life, the village which he must leave in order to save. He turned around on the deck to face the woman who represented the Nation he must serve to help the ones he loved.