In Ba Sing Se, Part I:
Misguided Expectations:
"What did you expect, Azula? That they were just going to give in just like that?" Mai sighed, looking at her friend. Her face, as always, was virtually impassive. Azula thought, however, that she could read a little bit of smug self-satisfaction in that face.
Azula glared back, and somehow, irrationally felt particularly aware that Mai was two and a half inches taller than her. It made intimidation that much harder, particularly when they were both trapped as prisoners of the Dai Li. "I am a Princess of the Fire Nation! I should not be treated like this!"
"Princess of the Fire Nation." Mai replied dryly. "That makes you an enemy of the Earth Kingdom. And a valuable bargaining chip. Surely with all your vast intellect, you have deduced that much." Her tone came out a little more explicitly mocking this time. "Face it, Azula, we're prisoners. Are we going to try to escape or see if your Father will free us?"
Azula decided, just for now, to ignore the implicit challenge in Mai's tone. It would not do to punish her quite at the moment; after all, she could be useful. And as much as Azula hated to admit it, Mai's judgement of the situation was more or less accurate. "We need to evaluate the situation carefully. There could be more to this than we know." She looked around at their cell, which was actually a walled-off wing of a manor house. Secure, but comfortable. "You are right in that we are valuable to him. Perhaps this imprisonment may yet prove a blessing in disguise."
"I'm not going to make judgement until Ty Lee comes back." Mai replied. Their eyes met for just a brief moment, Azula breaking the eye contact first.
"She's not politically valuable like we are." Azula replied. "If he treats her well, we can assume he has a vested interest in treating the rest of us well. If not … then we need to look towards escape."
"You're such a caring friend, Azula." Mai replied, with her usual deadpan tone.
"Shut up, Mai." Azula replied, her tone snappier than usual. "I am attempting to form our strategy for what follows. Ty Lee is an asset in my favour."
"You know, your Father can't hear you here." Mai ventured for a moment, the deadpan tone seeming just a little less cool, as if the words she said went a bit closer to her heart.
"What is that supposed to mean, Mai?" Azula raised an eyebrow, bright amber eyes focused on Mai's.
"Nothing. Just something to think about." Mai sighed and went back to leaning against the frame of their cell window.
Azula lay back down on her bed, which was, admittedly, of tolerable comfort even for someone of her elevated station. In some ways, the treatment they were receiving made her even more nervous. Perhaps Long Feng was simply intending a hostage exchange of some sort, but what would he want to extract from her Father in exchange? Long Feng seemed to have little interest in the affairs of the Earth Kingdom as a whole. All of his interests and power lay in Ba Sing Se itself, which he effectively controlled. Political promises? But he would surely know that as soon as Long Feng returned Azula to the Fire Nation, that her father would go back on his word and raze the city to the ground. Or was Long Feng attempting a more subtle game in the long run?
It would not do to ponder the vulnerability of her situation in detail. She was a firebending prodigy and for all their annoyances, Ty Lee and Mai were skilled warriors, but Long Feng commanded hundreds of Dai Li and perhaps tens of thousands of regular troops in the Ba Sing Se garrison. Through them, he dominated the will of well over a million inhabitants of the swollen metropolis, with hundreds more coming every day for a chance at a life outside the war. She would have to play any games very carefully now that Long Feng was fully in control of the city. At the very least, she would have to bide her time for a good opportunity to escape.
~.~
Spring Days
Long Feng quietly sipped his tea, quietly contemplating his next move. He looked at the Pai Sho board before him, analyzing, in a second, all the potential moves and strategies he could form. The tried-and-true maneuvers honed over centuries. Novel techniques that the old Masters would be completely blindsided by. A small smile spreading across his usually impassive face, he made his move. His opponent looked carefully at the board, sipping her own drink, and made her move. Her own features broke into an outright toothy grin.
"Dadddyy. That was a silly move you just made." Chu-Hua grinned a little wider. "Don't go easy on me! I know how to play this game!"
Long Feng simply smiled in response. "I wasn't simply going easy on you, princess. Sometimes, even the most brilliant of people make mistakes. You need to be able to take advantage of them when they do occur. You made a very good move in response." He sipped his tea again. "You're getting better every time we play."
Chu-Hua smiled. "I sure am. Ty Lee isn't very good at Pai Sho, though. We played three games and I beat her every time. She's really good at cartwheels and stuff, though! Do you want to see?"
"I would love to see what you have learned. Let's go out into the courtyard, though. The floors are much too hard." Long Feng took her hand and they walked out together into the courtyard of their villa, a virtual palace. She took his hand happily and soon was virtually dragging him out. Two of his handpicked personal bodyguards stood aside as they passed through the door. It was a beautiful sunny day, with summer coming on. As they went out into the courtyard, Long Feng went to a stone hewn bench and sat down, shifting the shape of the stone ever so slightly to be more comfortable. His daughter grinned at him and promptly attempted a cartwheel, one that, unfortunately, resulted in her falling onto the ground.
Chu-Hua promptly picked herself up, looking more than a little upset.
"It's quite all right." Long Feng replied, going over and helping her dust herself off. "Try again. Think of it like bending. Focus on the task."
Chu-Hua took a deep breath and tried to focus as hard as she could on the cartwheel. Launching herself into it, a long second or two later, she found herself upright. She grinned like a loon. "Pretty good, huh?"
"Excellent." Long Feng agreed with a smile. "Would you like to have Ty Lee come again to teach you some more acrobatics?"
Chu-Hua's face lit up. "Yes please!"
Long Feng could not, of course, refuse his daughter anything. She would have more acrobatics lessons. Thankfully, the young Fire Nation woman had proven cooperative enough. It would be positively a shame if he had to coerce her. And besides, his daughter was an intelligent young woman and would most likely figure out that something was wrong. But all that was entirely too grim a thought for such a lovely day. Later that evening, when she was asleep and dreaming peacefully, he would attend to the business of keeping order in the great City.
And work on his plan for the Fire Nation Princess and her friends.
~.~
The Dai Li Is Mother, The Dai Li Is Father
Quan Shi, the Commander of the Jinzhai Sector of the City, entered the Oath Chamber without any of the elaborate processional the new recruits may have expected. While Long Feng himself was a handsome, well-built man, Quan Shi, one of his primary lieutenants was tall and almost reedily thin with seemingly permanent dark circles around his green eyes, which were coldly incandescent. He came to the centre of the stage, his gaze wandering about the group of three dozen or so new Dai Li members, occasionally fixing on one or another of them. It was entirely random of course, but no one ever suspected that it was. Using his Earthbending, he raised a podium, more for its effect than any actual need to have notes before him. He'd memorized the speech.
"Tonight, all of you will pass from whatever lives you had before, into a new one. You have all been deemed worthy of joining the family of the Dai Li, the guardians of this great city and its ancient heritage, its people and its prosperity. This is a great honour and you should all feel proud of your accomplishments. But never, ever forget that you are now a part of something that goes beyond yourselves, beyond any one of us. The Dai Li have kept peace and order in Ba Sing Se for centuries. You are now a part of that proud heritage. Some of you are the children of members of our organization. But most of you are not. Some of you come, yes, from the houses of the wealthiest merchants and bureaucrats in the city, even from the nobility. Others, though, come from humbler orders of society. Here, though, you are all equals. We transcend social class, material wealth- we have tested you all and found you worthy.
The Dai Li is your Mother, the Dai Li is your Father. Your fellow agents are your brothers, your sisters. Our Director, Long Feng, welcomes you into that Family."
The new cadets returned with a chant, in perfect unison. The Dai Li is Mother. The Dai Li is Father.
One of the cadets reciting the chant, again and again, was born of a poor family in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, lowly even by the standards of the lower classes. His father was a menial labourer and his mother worked as a domestic servant for a craftsman. He had been discovered by the Dai Li at age thirteen, using his Earthbending to avoid being beaten by a merchant for stealing some apples. He had been taken in, with the Dai Li making an arrangement with him and his parents. He would be taken in and trained as one of them in exchange for a flat sum and a small annuity paid to his parents. The last that Hakka had heard of his parents, his mother had opened a noodle shop and his younger brother was undertaking training as the apprentice of a blacksmith. Everything that he had, he owed to the Dai Li.
In Ba Sing Se, Part II
The Fire Lord's Response
The messenger hawk arrived only a few days afterwards, arriving at the Fire Nation capital. It was picked up by the Royal Messenger Corps detachment in the Outer Palace and the message brought from there to the National Secretariat, and then directly to the attention of Fire Lord Ozai. The news contained was not positive. The Princess Azula had failed in an attempted coup against the city government of Ba Sing Se and was currently being held as a prisoner. The city's de facto ruler, Long Feng was looking to open negotiations regarding the princess. Rinzen was the unfortunate official that was ultimately sent to deliver the message to the Fire Lord. Gulping audibly, he entered the Throne Room, prostrating himself before the Fire Lord and holding up the message scroll.
The Fire Lord looked down at his servant, and had an attendant take the scroll and put it in his hands. Rinzen was a high-ranking official, and it was a reasonable supposition that it was important. Taking the scroll, he read it carefully, his skin tone shifting from a pale gold, to a far redder shade, the scroll burning to ash in his hands.
"The incompetent fool!" Ozai snarled, gesturing angrily in the general direction of Rinzen, but not at him in particular.
"How ... shall we answer, lord? Or do you wish to draft a reply yourself?" Rinzen asked, still bowing before his Lord.
Ozai's face cooled slightly, the redness of anger giving way but being replaced with a hard cast. Rinzen was glad that he was required to avert his eyes from the Fire Lord, because he did not want to see them at this moment. Everything about his Lord indicated that he was deeply angry and disappointed. Rinzen was a fifteen-year veteran of the Royal bureaucracy. He had seen what had happened to Prince Zuko with his own eyes. Everyone knew that the Fire Lord brooked no weakness, no imperfection at all in his family. It was why, of course, that family had been steadily decimated. Though no one dared to say so in his presence.
"No. There will be no reply. Azula has failed, and it is up to her to extricate herself. Then and only then, will I decide whether further action will need to be taken." Ozai's words came out in a falsely even tone. "Does my answer surprise you?"
"... your Majesty. I do not presume to know your mind." Rinzen replied swiftly, his voice betraying just a hint of fear. Ozai smiled ever so slightly. The fear was appropriate. Rinzen was a good servant- sufficient for the humble purpose of staffing his bureaucracy. Azula, as his daughter and the possible heir to the Throne, needed to be held to a much higher standard.
"A very politic response, Rinzen." Ozai replied smoothly. "But when the Fire Lord asks you a question, you should answer it."
A few drops of sweat rolled down Rinzen's forehead. He took a breath and decided it would be best to be honest. "No, your Majesty. I am not surprised."
"Good." Ozai replied mysteriously, seemingly pleased by the response. "You are dismissed."
~.~
Lunchtime!
"When we were taken prisoner, I was expecting that we would be treated horribly. You know, thrown in prison with chains. This is kinda nice, actually. And Chu-Hua is a sweet little kid! And she's learning really quickly!" Ty Lee babbled excitedly between bites of a sweet bun. "Which is kinda weird. That I'm, you know, playing with his daughter. And not being asked questions about where our troops are."
"He knows that you know nothing." Azula replied, sipping her tea. "He figures that you are harmless. Harmless enough to tutor his child. This could be an advantage. Make sure that Chu-Hua suspects nothing about your long-term goals." Azula looked at Ty Lee for a moment, before realizing that, likelier than not, her oldest friend didn't have any long-range goals. That, perhaps more even than her lack of intellectual rigor was what frustrated her most about Ty Lee. She lived perpetually in the moment.
Mai, on the other hand, was smarter than most people supposed- she had even come close to beating Azula at Pai Sho on a few occasions. But Mai lacked drive and ambition. Azula was aware that her disengagement with the world was to a great extent a defence mechanism, but it was still a weakness. All in all, though Azula wasn't sure if she minded that. If Mai was as ambitious as she was, she might present a real threat to her. Setting down her tea, she picked up her sweet bun and delicately took a bit. It was a little bland in flavour, lacking the subtle spices that would have been in the Fire Nation version. But it was palatable enough.
"Come up with a plan yet, Azula?" Mai spoke, with an eyebrow ever so slightly raised.
"At the present moment, Mai ..." Azula replied, fixing Mai with the best glare that she could. This time, she noted with satisfaction, it was Mai that looked away. "It is in our best interests to play nice. Ty Lee, you may continue teaching Chu-Hua. Mai ... no. You may continue to be unpleasant. Anything else would raise suspicions. I will attempt to arrange an audience with Long Feng himself. I would like to discern his intentions before progressing further. I am surprised that I have not heard anything relating to my Father yet."
"He must be worried sick about you." Ty Lee piped up before frowning. "I bet my parents and sisters are really worried too. I sent them a hawk saying I was gone, you know, to serve my country. But they might not even know I'm here."
"Ty Lee." Azula shushed her by speaking up. "You will have time to explain the situation to your parents. In person. We will escape one way or the other, and we will do it together."
Ty Lee suddenly smiled and hugged her friend. "You always know just the right thing to say, `Zula!" Azula, for her parent, tolerated the hug. Sometimes one had to play nice for the peanut gallery. It was a small price to pay, really.
Mai sipped her tea impassively. She could see perfectly well the tiny upward curve of Azula's lip. She liked that hug just as much as Ty Lee did, hesistant as she may have been to admit it. She was just glad that nobody was hugging her. It was terribly undignified. "So. We're simply supposed to sit tight in this prison cell and try and be nice to our captors? How boring."
Azula pulled out of the embrace a little quickly when Mai spoke. "Patience, Mai. We will have our day soon enough. And one day, this city will burn." She smiled, a slightly cracked smile that made Ty Lee look away ever so slightly. "Ba Sing Se will be mine. And the Earth Kingdom will fall."
End Part 2
The Earth Demon
The battle to contain the Avatar and his friends was not going well. Hakka and his Dai Li associates were fighting valiantly, but the kids were proving to be by far the most formidable challenge they had dealt with yet. Hakka had come around with a squad of five Dai Li agents to try and deal with the Earthbending girl. That had been the plan at least, a minute ago. The four others had been picked off one after the other, as if being punished by Kwan herself, rather than what appeared to be a tiny blind girl. Hakka had dispensed with the illusions of her being anything but an incredibly dangerous opponent as he barely dodged yet another massive earth attack, using his Earthbending to run along the cave walls and rocks on his feet to propel him to another wall. He kept moving as quickly as he could, her attacks missing by inches or less each time, but missing just enough for him to stay on their game.
"Nice dancing, fancypants! Hey Twinkletoes ... you'd like this one!" Toph taunted, this time shifting the very rock wall that he was perched on. Leaping out of the way, he landed heavily, sliding about on the dirt floor to again, just barely dodge an attack. Whenever he could though, he tried to carefully observe her. He noticed a funny trend. Although her eyes were sightless, it was still her typical instinct to orient herself slightly towards her attacker. Primal instinct, unalterable even by her blindness, he supposed. Her attention seemed to lapse significantly, however, whenever he was in the air. He had distinguished himself during training as an extremely acrobatic Earthbender- the only fact, he realized, that was keeping him going against a foe who was, by all other standards, much more powerful than he was.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he alighted on the ground for just the briefest of moments, using his rock boot to hit the ground so hard he felt his bones ache, sending a seismic wave as strong as he could towards her. Earthbending relied on a strong, steady stance. If he could somehow break hers ... but it was only for the briefest moment, less than a second that he managed to do so. Hakka did, however, notice the briefest moment of uncertainty. It lasted just long enough for him to attempt to launch a stronger outright blow, an Earthwave. It was not long enough, however, for the attack itself to connect. She parted his attack with a strong gesture, breathing just a little heavily and grinning. Between the vast power she had confidently displayed and the slightly cracked grin, she honestly looked more like some warlike earth spirit than a small, blind girl.
"Guess I get to take off the kid gloves with you, don't I?" That was when the entire world seemed to explode all around Hakka, column after column rising from the ground to try and punch him into the air. And even between that, there was danger, for the ground became unstable and swirling between the columns. He found himself forced to dance awkwardly from column to column. Attempting to kick pieces of it back at her was futile. She might not have been able to see the attacks themselves- he was fairly sure by this point, she somehow saw with her feet, but whenever he landed at all, she seemed to have an incredible natural knack for trajectory.
Hakka couldn't think straight, past simply trying to avoid the attacks. Who was this girl?And if she was training the Avatar in Earthbending ...
Totally absorbed as he was by the Earthbender's attacks, the last thing he expected was being hit by an extremely hard wave of water, that smashed him against the wall. He slumped over, semiconscious at best, unable to see straight at all, but able to dimly hear the prodigy Earthbender vociferously complaining that 'Katara' had ended the height just as it had got 'interesting'. Nursing at least one broken rib, he settled into unconsciousness, knowing that they had lost this battle. At least he'd succeeded in being interesting.
~.~
"No reply yet from the Fire Lord?" Long Feng inquired of his personal secretary, the 'original' Joo Dee.
"No, Director. None whatsoever." She replied placidly. "Do you believe that he did not recieve the message?"
Long Feng shook his head. "No. I believe he received it. There is no need to send another one. Thank you, Joo Dee." Long Feng then walked inside his office and sat down at his desk. The Fire Lord was clearly trying to send him a message, most likely that he refused to negotiate with Earth Kingdom interests of any sort. Would he attempt to break his daughter out of prison, or was he content to leave her to rot? While Long Feng was perfectly capable of ruthlessness in his mission to keep peace and order in Ba Sing Se, the Fire Lord's deeds painted a different picture, of an intentionally cruel and sadistic man.
From the first time, he had noticed something slightly peculiar about Azula's ambition. She was driven internally, yes, but seemingly externally as well with the desperation of a slave trying to escape the lash. How old was the girl anyway? Fourteen? Fifteen? Five years older, perhaps than his own daughter. He had high hopes for Chu-Hua, of course, like any father, but he would never have sent her into the midst of a war as a teenaged girl. Even the very most gifted Dai Li cadets were not admitted into the organization until they were at least eighteen. It had been an unfortunate necessity that he had found himself fighting children in the person of the Avatar and his friends. He wondered, vaguely, what the world was coming to anyway. Children fighting children. It was despicable and it was precisely the sort of horror that he was trying to prevent in Ba Sing Se.
With the world consumed in a seemingly endless war, the city represented perhaps the last oasis of peace and prosperity in the whole world. Ba Sing Se was virtually self-sufficient, with vast farmlands covered in its outer walls and perhaps half of the Earth Kingdom's manufactories located in the Outer Ring. That was why, now, more than ever, the Dai Li were needed to maintain order and keep control in the city. An urban population of one and a half million could easily support an army of tens of thousands, controlling the world's mightiest fortifications. The army kept external enemies at bay and the Dai Li rooted out and destroyed the internal ones. Together, they were the guardians of the last outpost of real civilization in the entire planet. And now Long Feng controlled them both.
Where did the Fire Nation Princess play into this? As a political bargaining chip, it seemed that her usefulness was dwindling, but as an individual, she had vast potential. It would be a hideous waste to kill her or transform her into a Joo Dee. If somehow, she could be bent, with a combination of threats and promises, she could be an amazing asset. Already, at fourteen, she had proven herself capable of planning and executing a military coup. That she had failed in her ultimate ambition was neither here nor there. He was a master politician in his fourties. He had little doubt that, had she his experience, he would have been the one in a prison cell. And most of all, she was hardened, more so than any girl her age should be, yes, but reality was to be dealt with, not denied. She could make difficult, ruthless decisions easily. He thought again, briefly, about his own daughter. She held promise of her own, but not for the Dai Li's secret police functions. She was too kind a soul and he would not crush her.
But Azula? It was an interesting thought. Enough for him to maintain her, anyway.
End Part III
One Fine Afternoon
"Now, very carefully lift yourself up with your arms." Ty Lee instructed gently, holding Chu-Hua's legs as the younger girl tried to go from a headstand to a proper handstand. Chu-Hua slowly, but gamely did so. "And just try and keep yourself as straight as you can. And don't worry about falling on your first try! I'll catch you."
Chu-Hua took a deep breath. "I think you can let go." Ty Lee did just that, though she stayed within easy helping range, just in case. The young Earth maiden, however, seemed quite capable of holding the position, and it was a whole seven or eight seconds before she finally started to wobble. Ty Lee duly caught her and she soon made a little roll and returned to her feet. "How was that?"
"Very good!" Ty Lee grinned. "You're learning really fast."
Chu-Hua smiled. "We can do it again after snacktime!" Chu-Hua's nanny, a genuine woman, not one of those Joo Dee creatures that Ty Lee found so unnatural and terrifying, came out with snacks for both of them. After the first day, Chu-Hua had insisted that Ty Lee take snacktime with her. It was her habit to eat outside whenever possible, and in a moment, they had a setup not unlike an actual picnic. Ty Lee smiled and took the urn of cool, sweet tea with lemon and poured two glasses of the refreshing beverage, one for Chu-Hua and one for herself. The snack itself was sticky sweet rolls and fresh fruit, and was naturally delicious. Truth be told, Ty Lee somewhat preferred the simpler fare that even the wealthy in the Earth Kingdom seemed to favor over the heavily spiced, often over-elaborate cuisine of Fire Nation nobles.
"Guess what?" Chu-Hua broke the silence with her exclamation, a cheeky little grin on her face. "It's my birthday next week."
Ty Lee smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful! You're probably having a big party with all your friends!"
Chu-Hua was quieter for a moment. "... well, I'm going to have a party. I don't really know many girls my age. I mean, sometimes I go play with some of the kids of people from Daddy's work, but they're kinda funny around me sometimes. Like, they're nervous or something."
Probably because your father is their Supreme Leader, Ty Lee thought to herself. In a way, she figured that Chu-Hua was a princess, like, Azula, and princess were often- maybe even usually- lonely. Azula certainly was. Long Feng was a lot nicer, of course, to his daughter than the Fire Lord was to Azula, but keeping her from real friends and real life, with all its bumps and knocks was not going to do her any favours. Ty Lee had ended up escaping from her family and joining a circus for that very reason. Mai had turned to within herself and Azula, well, Azula had got hard. If she was going to be here for a long time, she wanted to try and help make sure that Chu-Hua didn't face those same fates.
"... do you want to come to my party?" Chu-Hua asked quietly. "You can bring your friends too, if you want." She looked up at Ty Lee, looking very, very certain. "But I only want you to go if you want to. I know Daddy makes you come here." She looked away for a moment. "Don't tell him I said that, `kay?"
"He did at first." Ty Lee responded, more sincerely in an emotional sense than in the literal truth of it. "But I like coming here and teaching you acrobatics. I'd be honoured to attend your birthday party, and I'd love for you to meet my friends. One of them is a Princess."
"... a real Princess?" Chu-Hua enquired. "Or Daddy's princess, like I am?"
You're closer to a princess than you know, Ty Lee couldn't help but think. After all, Long Feng controlled the entire city. "Yes. A real Princess. From a land far away. She plays Pai Sho a lot better than I do."
"Yeah, you're pretty lousy at Pai Sho." Chu-Hua laughed. "But really, really good at cartwheels and handstands." She promptly gave Ty Lee a hug, which she unhesitatingly returned.
~.~
Teatime Tomorrow
Princess Azula,
I request the honour of your presence for tea tomorrow at three in the afternoon. We have much to discuss.
Yours sincerely,
Long Feng
Azula was a little surprised to receive a letter that seemed to request, rather than demand her presence for tea. It seemed likely, based on the letter, that her father had recieved the message and had opened up negotiations concerning her return. Or perhaps, he'd even demanded it and Long Feng had knuckled under, in which case, Azula reasoned that he would desire to have as good a word from her regarding her treatment as possible. It was even conceivable that they had come to some sort of political arrangement. She took a breath. As much as she wanted to maintain an arrogant attitude, there was the possibility that Long Feng momentarily maintained the upper hand. Her time for vengeance would come. For now, it would be a polite response from her. Putting brush to paper, she began to elegantly pen out her response.
Long Feng,
I would be pleased to have tea with you, and look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Sincerely,
Princess Azula of the Fire Nation
~.~
Flirtation?
Mai was sick of this place and had been sick of it ever since she had entered it in that ridiculous Kyoshi Warrior costume, with the makeup that made them all break out. She hadn't even been able to throw a knife since she had entered the place, the guards making sure that she was kept well-clear of any good thrown weapons. Even their food came, for the most part, pre-cut. It was nice to know that she was feared just a little. Though, apparently, not enough, because one of the Dai Li guards insisted on looking at her. She sighed slightly and gave him the best glare that she could muster. But, true enough, there he was, looking at her again. Frankly, Mai wondered why. She wasn't beautiful and charismatic like Azula was, or cute and charming like Ty Lee. She was tall and skinny, lacking curves of any sort and possessed of a slightly unhealthy looking pale complexion. Maybe the local women were so ugly that a plain person like her stood out. It wouldn't surprise her.
"Don't you have anything better to look at?" Mai finally asked the guard, sighing slightly.
"I'm a guard, and you're my charge. It is my duty to make sure you don't try anything." The Dai Li guard replied.
"Uh huh. Watching isn't quite the same as staring." Mai sighed. "Don't you Earth Kingdom types know staring is rude?"
"I'm actually just a cadet." The guard looked a little embarrassed to be honest. "It's safer for me to pay more attention to you than less."
"That's pretty stupid of you, admitting you're new like that." Mai smirked ever so slightly. "Good thing I don't have my knives or you'd be stuck to the wall."
"But ... you don't." The Dai Li guard looked a little unsteady at that thought.
"You remind me of an ex-boyfriend of mine." Mai said, the tiny smirk fading a little bit.
"... how so?" The guard asked.
"Zuko was an idiot too. And he always stared at me." Mai rolled her eyes. "Just like you're doing."
"Oh. I see." The guard looked even more uncomfortable now.
"But he was a cute idiot." Mai didn't tell him whether or not she also regarded him as a cute idiot. Not that it really meant anything.
Like an Egg
Azula had made sure, with the assistance of both Mai and Ty Lee that she was adequately dressed and made up for her tea with the Director. At quarter to three, several guards had shown up, and escorted her to the tea room, where Long Feng sat at the end, looking flawlessly confidant. Azula's expectations sank a little at that sight. She'd seen him, ever so briefly, rattled when the Dai Li had originally hesitated to arrest her. He had nothing of that air now. No doubt the negotiations were ongoing. In that case, she would have to be certain to bring all of her politesse to the conversation. Until arrangements for her return were firm, Long Feng maintained the upper hand. It was a simple strategic fact. She put on her best smile and seated herself across from him. She was a Princess and would not be directed to be seated like some sort of supplicant.
Long Feng looked at her, his eyes and manner betraying virtually nothing of what he was going to say. "I have attempted to get in contact with your father, to negotiate your release. There has been no reply. I sent more than one hawk originally. The message went out as soon as you were in custody." He calmly poured two cups of tea. "I can only conclude that for some reason, your father has refused to send me a reply."
"Perhaps he is so angered by what you have done that he is sending a great army or secret agents to come break me out." Azula replied, a little defensively. Something about what he said got under her skin. Perhaps he was lying, but somehow, she got the distinct feeling that he was telling the truth.
"Armies have come and gone from Ba Sing Se many times in its history. We cannot be taken by siege, only by assault and such an effort is high-on impossible. Even if that drill had penetrated the Outer Walls, it would have had to endure attack by an army of tens of thousands. I recieved the reports. You had insufficient forces to follow through and then subsequently take the Inner Walls. Which, I may add, are just as formidable as the Outer Ones. As for secret agents ... they would have to be quite remarkable to escape the notice of my Dai Li. Of which I have several hundred. Neither would return you to him in any reasonable time frame. No, I believe that he has chosen not to reply. Perhaps he is displeased by your failure to take the city in his name." Long Feng sipped his tea.
Azula glared at him, bright gold eyes trying to burn right through him. "What are you implying, Long Feng?" The politesse, the false kindness was gone. This was now a confrontation of words at least, if not actual blows. She wondered if she could kill him before she was stopped by the Dai Li guards surrounding them. Even if she somehow managed to escape- they would undoubtedly find and kill Ty Lee and Mai first. Azula told herself that she stayed her hand for tactical reasons, not simply for the welfare of her friends- her team. Though keeping them alive was to her benefit. They were, after all, her major assets at the moment.
"I was hoping you could enlighten me. Why did your Father banish Prince Zuko? Did he commit some treacherous act?" Long Feng tilted his head slightly. "From what my spies tell me if your brother, that seems very unlikely."
Azula glared at him. "I do not see how this is even relevant."
"I have seen, for the six years of your Father's reign, nothing but cruelty and tyranny. He does not rule with a strong hand to maintain peace and prosperity, or even simply his own power. I believe he actually enjoys destruction for its own sake, as its own end. I'm implying that he has abandoned you because you have inconvenienced him." Long Feng finished.
"You lie." Azula growled, tensing up noticeably. "Father would never abandon me." That was complete nonsense. It was strange, yes, that he had not sent a reply, but it was not impossible to contemplate the hawk had been intercepted.
"Tell me why he banished Prince Zuko." Long Feng replied, remaining as calm as ever.
"Zuzu showed a lack of respect at a war meeting. He questioned the strategic decisions of one of our generals." Azula sneered at him. "And what great revelation is that for you?"
Long Feng took a deep breath. "How old was Zuko? Thirteen, fourteen? He made a foolish, minor mistake out of the arrogance and foolishness of youth. And what did your Father do? He brutally scarred him and then banished him from his country, away from family and friends forever." He allowed a little genuinely felt disgust creep through his voice. "I do not believe it is impossible for a man of such cruelty to up and abandon you for making a strategic error. One that no decent father would ever allow his daughter to make." He took a breath. "How old are you, Azula?"
"Old enough." Azula snarled back.
"You're fourteen? Like your friend Ty Lee?" Long Feng looked at her. "Fourteen years old and your father sends you into a war zone on a mission to capture and possibly even kill your own brother." He took a breath. "And now, when finally, after serving him with every ounce of your heart and soul, you finally have need of his help- he does not even bother to send a reply."
"You're lying." Azula replied, her voice starting to become shaky. Unlike Long Feng's five seconds of fear, the dread was creeping through her entire being. What if he was right? No, that was impossible. Father was playing some sort of game. She had to remain strong for the Nation, for her Father. For Daddy. She did her best to glare Long Feng down, but the Director could not even be bothered to engage her in a staring match. Instead, he almost looked- like he felt sorry for her.
"I think you're smart enough to be able to discern when I am lying, and when I am telling you the very unpleasant truth." Long Feng replied. "You are beginning to realize that you are quite alone here, aren't you? Well, aside from your friends. Which means, of course, that you are only valuable to me in so far as you are useful to me." He sipped his tea calmly. "I understand that you will not immediately feel like proving that usefulness. It is my hope that in the future, you will understand my generosity in allowing you a grace period to get used to your new situation. In one month, Azula, we will have tea again and you will present me with a proposal for how you and your friends can assist me in my work. Nothing about your conditions will change until that time is elapsed, provided you make no efforts to escape."
Long Feng's eyes met hers steadily, and without fear. "And please, do not attempt something so stupid as attempting to kill me where I stand. I've seen your bending prowess, Azula." Without making even the slightest gesture, through sheer will, the stone floor moved and curled itself, almost like liquid, around her wrists and ankles. "It is only fair that you realize mine." Again, without the slightest movement, he manipulated the floor to return back to its state, pristine. But truth be told, Azula barely noticed the display of bending power. She was reeling, mentally, from the increasing realization that, perhaps, her father had abandoned her too. He had always pushed her to be perfect and now she had shown that she was not. She had failed in his eyes and failed again in the presence of this Earth Kingdom swine. She found herself oddly paralyzed as the guards came to take her back to her cell.
As she left, Long Feng smiled thinly, continuing to sip his tea. That small bit of vengeance for his near-humiliation at her hands felt good. Vindicated, Long Feng could proceed with his plan. It remained to be seen how the Princess would continue to react over the coming days and weeks.