First time writing in a long time so any feedback would be appreciated ^_^

The story takes time to ramp up because I don't really want to rush this. Expect another chapter in two weeks probably.

By the way, this takes place in an AU where Aang wasn't found.

Cheers.

It was a cold day, colder than it usually was in the South Pole. The winds were strong too, rattling the tent he was in, as if to warn him of an impeding attack. But he didn't need the wind to tell him that. The guards at the outpost already did.

The Fire Nation fleet didn't need to employ any naval tactics. With their fleet of twenty-odd vessels, it is apparent that they intend to crush his tribe with sheer numbers.

But he knew that -to his tribe -numbers meant nothing. The warriors of the Southern Water Tribe would give them a battle, if that was what they wanted. But before all that ensued, they needed to keep the women and children safe. They needed to move deeper inwards.

And that was where Sokka found himself, packing his stuff with a mix of nostalgia and reluctance inside of him. The tent he grew up in was decorated in exquisite decorations of blue and white, all hunted by Father and the hunters he led into the wilderness almost every day and skinned and sewed together by the women of the tribe, which reflected the rich culture here in Southern Water Tribe. But among all the articles cramped in their tent, his favorite was the inconspicuous headband, hung on the center pillar of the tent.

He paused briefly as he reached for the headband that his Mother gave him when he was ten. She said he looked like a true warrior wearing it, and that thought made him leak a melancholic smile. In hindsight, it looked really tacky, with a pattern you would find on table cloth, but his younger self believed his mother nonetheless. Because he loved her so much.

So much that the day she died, he swore he would be the first to avenge her, no matter the costs.

At the thought of his promise, he stuffed the remainder of his essential belongings in his bag. He didn't want to waste anymore time moping. He needed to start taking action.

One of the uncountable inconveniences that plagued the South Pole that Azula simply could not tolerate was the spine-chilling cold. The temperature was so low that she had to consciously raise her body temperature with her bending. The fact that the vessel she was on was made entirely of metal made it even more unbearable; even with shoes on she could feel the cold seeping through her soles.

The cold, however, could not stop this from being a historical day.

Today, the Fire Nation would be victorious. With only the two Water Tribes on their last legs, all land would finally belong to the Fire Nation.

The thought of that made her twitch into a smirk. After all, she is the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation, which would make her the second most powerful person in the world. Or she would be if she were born a man.

Her smile soured when she remembered that there are still officials and nobles that did not want her to take over the throne, simply because they thought it to be shameful to serve under a woman. They were so repulsed by the idea that they even suggested for Father to rescind Zuko's banishment and let him be the successor to the throne.

Zuzu who was in every way inferior to her. That was how desperate they were.

But of course Father didn't allow it. He knew how capable she was and how her brother could not be any less capable. But Father had to appease the nobles nonetheless. And so he announced, in front of every politician and noble in the Fire Nation that Azula shall be wedded off and her husband shall be the Fire Lord. She didn't like how she was limited by her gender, but she trusted her father completely. After all, her father was her only family left.

Of course, Azula made sure that her partner was at the very least on par with her prowess in bending, which her father agreed on as well. Her father also made known that her groom would have to defeat her in an Agni Kai to prove his worth. And the people who challenged her...she honestly did not know whether to label them as brave souls or fools. Nobles have sent their sons expecting them to bring back a golden ticket to become Fire Lord, when they should have prayed their sons came back in one piece. It took twenty-seven challengers before people started to realize that she didn't hold back. And she hasn't gotten a Agni Kai challenge since.

Three knocks on her door snapped her out of her trance. "What is it?"

"W-we are approaching the South Pole in three minutes, Princess."

It was about time. She was starting to get restless.

"The second group of warriors shall flank via the rear harbor. The winds favor our flank, so make good use of it..."

Sokka droned out his father's briefings after a while, like most of the warriors do. The men of the Southern Tribe have heard the plan for the fourth time in the past hour, and for Sokka's case, he's heard it a few times more. After all, he drafted the battle plans with his father. Right now, his mind is on his sister, the only waterbender left in the South. She was the tribe's priority, even more so his priority. As their father left frequently for hunting expeditions, the pair of siblings always had each other's backs. Though they bicker and fight, they never let each other out of sight. Until today that is. She didn't give him a heartfelt farewell like he thought. "We'd see each other soon anyways," she said.

But she didn't look so convincing with tears in her eyes.

"-with our dinghies leading the charge. Sokka! Are you listening?"

"Yeah, of course. The dinghies lead the charge and we board their vessels with the wind in our favor and fight close range with the flank as a distraction. Man, only a genius could think of this stuff!" The warriors let out a hearty chuckle, and even his father let out a proud smile, before defaulting to his battle-born expression as the laughter died down.

"Are you ready, men?"

The massive room erupted into battle roars that shook the whole tent, with some men beating on their chest. At this moment, he felt a huge sense of pride standing among these warriors, fighting or even dying alongside them. Putting on his wolf-shaped helmet and strapping on his trusty boomerang, he, too, put on his game face.

Bring it.

As Azula stepped into the command room, the room hushed and the air grew stiff. The generals stood rigidly around the large table in the center with the map of the South Pole spread over it. She walked over to her rightful place with her hands behind her back, glancing quickly to the map and then to the large window with a full view of the area of operations. "Are the assault boats in position?"

The generals glanced at one another, their revolting cowardice in full display on their faces. "T-the winds are too strong. They wouldn't be able to navigate their flimsy boats in this-"

"You fools! They've been navigating these waters for centuries. You think strong winds would stop them from using their boats?" Azula slammed her fists on the map so hard it made the markers jump (a few generals jumped too), cocking an irritated brow at them. "So, are you just going to stand there or are you going to fix it?"

One of the generals hastily beckoned an attendant to fix their blunder, while the generals sag their heads, some due to shame, others due to resentment. But Azula didn't care what they thought of her. Her sole objective here was to make sure that the South Pole was under the Fire Nation.

As she peered silently out the window at the distant South Pole, she saw fleets of small blue sails coming her direction and sighed. The generals wore their panic on their faces when they caught sight of the fleets too, and Azula could not help but palm her face. She turned and headed towards the exit of the command room with a brooding look, a face she makes only when she's given up all expectations of others. "Get those assault boats in position in five mintues."

"Where are you heading, Princess Azula?"

"If you fools can't get anything done..." Azula tightens her fists subconsciously as they burst into azure flames. "I'll do it myself."

As the dinghy Sokka was on closed in on the vessels, his heart started to race, though not quite sure due to anxiety or adrenaline. The vessels were taller than he envisioned, and even from a distance he could feel the heat exuding from the metallic behemoths. However, as predicted by the young brilliant strategist, the Fire Nation navy had expected them to wait by the shore and defend from there. Hence, their defenses were unprepared and their dinghies could close in with such ease. Besides, there were no waterbenders on their defense force, making it even more disadvantageous to fight from the shore with their lack of range.

Despite this, it took the Fire Nation barely minutes to start deploying their assault boats.

"Sokka, what do we do now?" The men on board were starting to get restless, or maybe it was just Sokka himself.

"We stick to the plan. Ready the arrows."

As the men got to work, Sokka begin to think of ways to get the warriors on the Fire Nation vessels, but realized he didn't have much time left. He would have to trust that these men would fight their heart out and that the spirits were on his side. Who knew that there would come a day when Sokka looked towards divine intervention.

"Aim for boat operators as much as possible." With a silent prayer, Sokka gave them the command, "Fire!"

The hundreds of arrows flew like hail and did little to damage the metallic boats, while only a few caught Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka knew that there was only one appropriate command left.

With all the gusto he had left, he yelled.

"CHAAARGE!"

With those words, the sails opened wide and rode the gusting winds, accelerating to incredible speeds such that the firebenders aboard the assault boats could not seem to hit them. The tribal warriors leaped from their dinghies onto the Fire Nation boats and slaughtered them like game on hunting season. Sokka had a full view of it; their hatred filled eyes as they swing their clubs and axes without remorse, cracking the skulls of the Fire Nation soldiers and sating their vengeance.

As much as hated to admit it, he didn't see himself in them.

The dinghies made incredible progress, with several assault boats hijacked by his men heading towards the vessels as well. Once within range, archers shot grappling arrows onto the vessels, and one by one the warriors rappelled up the ropes. The firebenders tried to burn the ropes, but Sokka had already instructed the men to wet the ropes beforehand. As the men started to pile on the ships, more and more guards started to appear from the bottom decks of the vessels. The men, however, did not stop fighting, even to their deaths.

One of the many among them, Sokka jumped onto the ship, only to find himself lost in the chaos. All he could do was dodge fireballs thrown by unknown sources and sidestepping from blood-frenzied tribal warriors.

That was when he saw her.

She emerged from a lower deck, with a poise that screamed elegance and arrogance simultaneously. One of his men charged at her with his cleaver, letting out a battle cry. But the cry was cut short as she shot lightning from her fingertips, piercing straight through his heart. She didn't even bat an eyelid and the deafening thunder nor the gore that she created. Instead, she let out an insidious grin.

There was no doubt in his mind. This was the infamous Crown Princess herself.

It didn't take him a second to recognize that she needed to be eliminated. Fast.

There's nothing quite as exhilarating as driving a bolt of lightning through a vermin's chest. That sweet crackle never made her felt more alive.

As she scanned the floor for any more savages to exterminate, she spotted a Water Tribe boy wearing a gaudy wolf's head. He stuck out the same way a ferret would stick out in a grassfield, avoiding any conflict while skirting the ship's perimeter. Initially, it appeared as if he was simply an inexperienced warrior in his first war, but his expression said otherwise. The boy wore this look of intense concentration, deep in thought and focus.

He wasn't a coward; he was a sly one. And from her experience with politicians, those are the worst to deal with.

She took her gaze off the boy to focus on the savages charging her way. These sacks of muscles charged at her mindlessly, roaring in the process to take away whatever element of surprise they had. With ease, she ducked under the swing of their clubs, throwing her azure flames into their faces. She didn't intend to drive them away. She intended to burn them into ashes. And she didn't intend to stop there.

Whoosh.

She only had a fraction of a second to roll to the side, but even then, she felt herself being grazed on the side of the neck. As a knee-jerk reaction, she threw a ball of fire in the general direction of the projectile while diving for better cover, using her momentary respite to curse herself.

She slipped up. For the first time in a long time.

Peeking from her cover, she saw the boy from earlier skirting the perimeter, picking her soldiers off with his boomerang. The boy seemed to be scanning the area, looking intently for his target. Looking intently for her. The boy was smart enough to have realized she was the largest threat, yet not smart enough to realize that in this game of cat and mouse, she's always the cat.

Taking advantage of the confusion, she made a beeline for the boy, while relentlessly slinging fireballs at him. His eyes widened at the sudden assault, but he did well to sidestep all her attacks. However, instead of standing his ground like a warrior, he ran with his tail between his legs, ducking and weaving through balls of fire. As he ran into the lower decks, he left behind him a canister which spewed smoke, a tactic she had seen from Mai before. The trick was to hide in the smoke and attack when the chaser ran through the smoke. A good attempt, but he'd need a better strategy than that.

With a strong jab, she spewed flames from her fist before she smelled it. Sulfur.

Without a second thought, she took cover as the smoke exploded, the reverberating boom causing her ears to ring. Once again, Azula let out an unladylike curse. Twice she slipped up now, and she was getting irritated.

And no one lived long after ticking her off.

Sokka would be lying if he said he wasn't close to crapping in his pants.

Since young, he dreamt of fighting for this cause, and yet when given the chance, all he could do was hit and run. The bloodshed and the gore...he just wasn't ready for it. Though, at the very least, he'd managed to catch the princess off guard twice.

But on the other hand, she seemed pretty damn pissed.

Speaking off the princess, he couldn't help but shudder. That women had burnt and bore holes through his comrades as if it was her pastime. And he was a mere inch away from those nasty blue flames a moment ago. Despite this, he had a mission to accomplish. At least with the princess on his tail, lesser of his comrades will die by her hands. And if he's lucky, he wouldn't too.

He knew his luck ran out when he heard footsteps clanking on the metallic floor. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

Her conceited yet furious tone sent shivers down his spine as he tiptoed around the lower decks. The rooms all looked the same - metallic rooms with metallic doors and metallic walls. Sheesh, someone needs to call the interior design police.

Despite that, he used the interior to his advantage, listening to the clanking of footsteps and any chatter that traveled through the walls. Following the noise, he found himself in front of a larger door, holding incoherent chatter behind it. Sokka wasn't the type to eavesdrop though, but he could use some information for now.

Who was he kidding? He loved eavesdropping.

As he pressed his ear against the door, the chatter started to sound like words. "We're taking too many casualties! We need to retreat."

"Retreat? The Fire Nation never retreats! Besides, their sacrifices will be worth it. They won't be able to hold us all back."

"Gentlemen, relax. If anything goes south, we'll be able to pin it on her, remember?"

Sokka couldn't help but grimace. Fire Nation scum were terrible even to their own people.

"Heard enough yet?" Sokka turned slowly to see the princess standing right behind him, a vicious smile trying but failing to conceal her murderous intent. He assessed his surroundings only to find himself confined to a narrow corridor. Reaching into his almost-empty sack of tricks made him lose even more hope. "I've grown tired of playing catch with you. How about we play...something else?"

"I'm honored, princess. How about we play something less violent...like Pai Sho? I think we'd have more fun then you'd-"

His sentence was cut shot by a flurry of burning whips that Sokka barely jumped over. Instead of running straight at the princess, he opted for the large door behind him. Turns out he had just stumbled on the command room, and that those debating one another were generals. They didn't seem to be skilled fighters themselves though, cowering behind their guards.

As much as he hated it, he was cornered and had to fight.

One guard swung his halberd overhead at him, only for Sokka to roll towards its side, lodging his own weapon into his shin. As he fell, Sokka retracted his boomerang, implanting it into the guard's skull. Another guard stood his ground and put up a defensive stance, but his reflexes weren't quick enough to stop the boomerang from flying straight into his face. Without any pause, Sokka sprinted towards his boomerang, retrieving it from the guard's face, forming a defensive stance against the rest of the room. A quick survey around the room told him that there were not many threats left in the room.

Until the command room was suddenly flooded with guards, that is.

Sokka thought of grabbing a hostage, but the generals had already scampered behind their guards. If he were a simple Water Tribe warrior, he would take one of them to the grave. But he didn't want to die like this. Not yet.

The guards parted to let the princess pass through, and as she walked, she clapped. Whether genuinely impressed or mockingly, he didn't know. "Bravo, you fought your way into a corner with no escape."

"Hold on...there must be a better way to do this...Let's settle this honorably! One on one!"

The princess cocked an eyebrow, and he felt like he was onto something. "You challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

"Um..yes, of course!" Sokka raised his boomerang, pointing it straight at her, pulling gusto out of thin air. "I, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe challenge you to an Angry Tie!"

He didn't know what he just challenged the princess to, but by the sound of the princess' sinister chuckle, he wasn't as confident anymore.

She took it back. This boy was a fool.

He had seen her bending prowess, so how on earth did he think he'd win, she didn't know. Despite her vastly superior skills, she already slipped up against him twice - who knew what else he had under his sleeves? Despite her suspicions, he couldn't turn him down. He'd challenge her in front of all the other generals. Besides, she'd never back down from an Agni Kai. After all, she's never lost. And she never will.

With a confident stride, she walked over to the large table and knocked it over to the side with a swift kick, opening up the area. "I accept."

As much as she'd like to keep up her imposing demeanor, she wouldn't risk it, not with her pride on the line. She moved gracefully into her fighting stance, shedding all signs of conceit. Her challenger felt her shift in the mood too, emulating her and adopting his own fighting stance.

"Before we begin, mind explaining the rules?"

Azula shot a bolt of lightning in his direction, as he barely avoided it with a clumsy tumble.

"Whoever lives, wins."

She followed up with one-two jab and a hip kick, sending a flurry of flames the boy's way, but none connected as the boy used the overturned table as cover. "Is running and hiding all you do?"

The boy didn't reply, nor did he move from his cover. Taking a moment to channel her energy, she produced a stream of fire, heating the metal table in an attempt to force the boy out of his cover. In retaliation, the boy kicked the table as it slid towards her. Leaping over the table, she transitioned into a drop kick, which the boy managed to tumble away from. As Azula was prepping to throw another ball of fire, the boy took the chance to throw a canister is smoke at her, identical to the one before. Even though she kicked it away as quickly as she could, the smoke was thick enough to fill the whole room.

Apparently, he wasn't just a fool. He was also suicidal.

The boy grinned at her hesitation, but only for a brief moment before throwing his boomerang straight at her. With a backflip, she dodged the boomerang, but the boy didn't stop there. He charged at her with only a buckler, and for the first time she could remember, Azula was stunned.

She shuffled backwards, fighting the urge not to conjure any flames, instead intending to use her arm braces to block an incoming punch or kick. But instead of a strike, the boy grabbed her wrist, locking her securely in place, his strength overpowering hers almost effortlessly.

Whoosh.

There was not a warning before she felt the boomerang lodge into the back of her shoulder, the sharp, excruciating pain spreading from the gash almost instantly, sapping away the energy from her legs. As she fell onto the floor unceremoniously, her mind started to go blank.

She didn't understand why. All her life, she went undefeated only to lose at the hands of an amateur.

Before her mind could process what had happened, Azula's last thoughts slept away. She would have some serious reflection to do when she woke up.

If she woke up.

The pride and accomplishment hit him first, but not shortly after came the pang of guilt. The sight of violence and gore inflicted on another person was revolting to him, no matter the reason. Honestly, he felt disgusted that he was able to attack a girl without holding back, even if said girl was the princess of the Fire Nation.

His motivation hadn't been vengeance or glory. He did what he did to survive.

As he tore his eyes painfully from the princess lifeless features, he realised that the guards and generals hadn't let down their guard despite their astonishment. Some of them even seem plesantly surprised.

"What are you waiting for? End the Agni Kai!" One of the general shouted behind the safety of his guards. Some roared in agreement while others remained solemn, perhaps in guilt.

"She's out cold, I've pretty much won-"

"The princess has already gave the conditions of victory. If you do not oblige..." The haughty general signal to his guards and they form a human barricade, sealing off the only exit. "...you will not be allowed to leave."

Sokka always knew that the Fire Nation was infested with scum, but he never imagined it was to this degree. He glanced at the princess as she laid motionless in a growing puddle of blood. At this rate, he wouldn't have to execute the princess - she would bleed to death instead.

He never had been the bloodthirsty warrior that his comrades were, that his father wanted him to be, or the tribe needed him to be. He knew how selfish it was for him to show his enemies mercy. After all, they took his mother from him. It wasn't fair to Mom.

But his mother didn't raise him to be a murderer. He was raised to be a man. And a man stands by his principles.

Ugh screw it!

Despite his better judgement, he removed his boomerang from the princess's shoulder, cringing at the squelching sound it made. Ripping off his sleeve, he used it to compress the wound, trying his best to stop the wound from spilling any more blood. The wound that he opened.

"What are you doing?!" The general's confusion reflected his own.

"I don't even know anymore." Continuing to apply pressure to the wound, he tied a strong knot on the ends of his blood-drenched sleeve. Her face was turning white as a sheet and her pulse was slowing down. He was no medical expert, but she needed treatment. Fast. "She needs to get treatment-"

"It's dishonorable to withdraw from an Agni-"

"Screw your honor! She's bleeding out! Are you seriously going to let a girl die?"

The general looked at him almost apathetically, as if he letting someone die was supposed to be... difficult. Subconsciously, he reached for his boomerang. Even though he hid behind his guards, Sokka had an itch to chuck his boomerang at the general and try his luck. Instead, he opted to focus his efforts of the princess. He delicately lifted her off the ground, determined to get her to treatment, but as he stood up, the guards raised their weapons. Does anyone in this room have a heart?

His heart skipped a beat when the door swung forcefully open.

"Out of the way! Now!" Calvary in crimson armor burst through the door, storming in and shoving guards aside. These men dressed differently from the other guards, radiating an imposing aura. He didn't know who they were, but he really hoped they weren't reinforcements. As if he could get out of there alive in the first place.

Their presumed leader, who wore much more decorated armor and muscle, appeared the most concerned out of all of them, his features falling when he saw the bloodied princess in Sokka's arms. The large man rushed to her side, prying her from his arms. For a moment, he didn't want to let go, afraid of losing his only leverage on the Fire Nation army, but let go anyways. At least he looked like someone who the princess needed at this moment.

His reward for handing the princess over was a thrust kick to his chest. As expected, the muscled man's kick packed quite a punch, sending him stumbling backwards by a few feet. Without so much as a thank you, the man turned and hurried the princess out of his sight, with his squad surrounding Sokka with a weapon in hand. "Seriously? No "thank you"?"

"You dare expect gratitude when you are the one that did this to the princess?!"

Oh right.

As much as Sokka wanted to rebut, he had nothing. Now that he's lost his leverage, there's no chance of him getting away. No tricks in his bag. No energy left in his bones. Nothing.

Sokka tossed his boomerang aside, dropping to his knees. He's disgraced his tribe, his family. His mother. He wondered whether he should've killed the princess when they gave him the chance. Whether he should fight to death against everyone else in the room. Whether it would make his fate less painful. Whether it would be worth it.

One of the guards probably decided that he was thinking too much, and Sokka blacked out when a hilt met his face.

Azula jolted up and pushed herself into an upright position, because she knew she wasn't supposed to be sleeping. Fortunately, she found herself in her exquisite private quarters. Back on Fire Nation soil.

Not so fortunately, she couldn't feel her right arm.

She scowled when she saw her shoulder wrapped in bandages as well as a plaster on her neck, reminding her of what happened at the South Pole. How she let herself lose to a peasant boy from the Water Tribe in an Agni Kai.

The princess picked up a nearby object - probably a vase - and threw it against the wall in frustration. It ticked her off even more that she couldn't even throw it straight with her left arm.

The shatter must have alerted the guards, as she heard hurried footsteps not long after. The door opened to the sight of a familiar face, that couldn't help but make her frown unenthusiastically. "Good morning, Yin," she greeted with stoical lack of energy.

The burly man bowed respectfully, his body language riddled with unnecessary concern. Of course, General Yin would be the first person she would see. Knowing him, Yin would blame himself over her injury. After all, he was the proud leader of her elite entourage. But she couldn't blame him, since she was the one who dispatched him to aid the battle. She didn't need a bodyguard; her skills were sufficient to deal with any threat. Except one, she corrected herself.

"It's the evening, but I'm glad to see you awake, Princess Azula. If you'd like, I could-"

"No need to be worrywart. Just stop looking at me with that puppy face of yours. It's starting to annoy me." Despite her order, Yin did not look any less worried. Since Yin was handpicked by her, he had given her his unwavering loyalty, something that occasionally creeped her out. "Tell me Yin, what happened?"

Yin kept his head low, his hesitance to speak apparent. Which was odd because he'd never hide anything from her. Probably. "The Water Tribe boy... He... kept you alive."

As if she had a reaction to the words "Water Tribe boy", she flinched. It wasn't that Azula was unaware; everyone in the room wanted her dead. The guards she mistreated, the generals who threatened their power and patriarchy, and especially the boy. Was she mocking him? "Where is this...boy?"

The irritation within her leaked into her words, and Yin must have picked it up. "H-he's locked up in the Boiling Rock...as of now."

With that reassurance, Azula laid back down on her enormous four-post bed. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, she was relieved that the source of her frustrations was alive.

It would ease her frustrations to know that the boy would suffer a fate worse than death.

"Bring him to me." Her lips could not help but curl.