'Sir?' There was a knock at the door.
'Come in,' replied a low, raspy voice. 'I hope you know you're interrupting something rather important.'
General Li entered with a respectful bow. 'Firelord Zuko, sir. We have bad news. The Eastern border of the Earth Kingdom has been taken out of our control by a scattered guerilla attack. We believe the Freedom Fighters are behind it.'
'The Freedom Fighters?' asked the Firelord, fiddling with small models placed on a large map. 'Your troops were taken down by a team of children? This is bad news indeed... for your career. You have been demoted. Leave now, and give news to Chin. He is to take your place.'
'But sir!' Li protested, 'This isn't fair at all! The Freedom Fighters had the backing of the Avatar!'
There was a long, dead silence. The small models were dropped, and the Firelord bent over them, deep in thought. There was a look of unease on his serious face. Finally he let out a sigh. 'The Avatar you say? Has he yet mastered all the elements?'
'From the talk of the towns I've visited, he's only Fire left to go,' said Li. 'He's quite powerful now.'
'In which case, we need reinforcements. Send for my sister, Princess Azula. And tell her to begin summoning members of her strongest battalion,' commanded Zuko. 'Oh and Li? Forget about sending for Chin. Your job stays.'
'Thank you sir.' General Li bowed and left.
The door of Firelord Zuko's study slammed open, and three young ladies entered.
'Zuzu,' cooed the lady in the middle in a mock-baby voice, 'does big brother need little sissie's help does he?' She pulled a face.
'Quiet Azula,' said Zuko. 'We don't have time for this. The Avatar has mastered three of the four elements. We need to stop him.'
Princess Azula was Zuko's younger prodigal sister. At the age of thirteen, she had already mastered the highest form of firebending that even the greatest masters took decades to perfect. Cunning, cruel and gifted, she was the obvious choice to remedy dire political situations such as these.
'Hmm... so the Avatar's getting stronger is he? Seems like we've got a little problem Zuzu...' she said in an uninterested tone.
'Of course we have a problem!' yelled Zuko. 'Why else would I have called you here? To have a nice family reunion? And where is General Ma? I thought I told you call on your strongest battalion. I at least expect the general to be here.'
'Temper, temper,' said Azula soothingly. 'I did bring my best battalion. I brought Mai and Ty Lee. Mai is good at knife throwing or whatever it is she specializes in... and Ty Lee knows the human body better than anyone. We have here the knife and the target painter. Now all we need is to throw.'
At that instant, she pulled a small knife concealed in Mai's robe and hurled it at Zuko, just missing his head. Zuko's guards moved to seize her, but Zuko waved a hand. 'It's alright guards,' he said, seemingly undisturbed by the sudden attack. 'She's my sister. I grew up with her. Thanks to her, I'm now a master at dodging knives to the head.'
Azula's eyes narrowed as she smiled. 'I guess it's all settled then,' she said. 'I guess we'll meet again tomorrow to discuss battle plans or whatever it is you want us to do. But for now, I need my beauty sleep. Goodnight, brother.' She yawned and stretched exaggeratedly and left.
As Azula and her friends made their way through the open corridor from Zuko's study toward their own quarters, there was a soft rustle in the neatly trimmed bushes nearby.
'Sokka! Stop moving!' a girl in a dirty, tattered dress warned.
'I'm sorry! These fireberry bushes are extremely itchy! Whose great idea was it to hide in these? They're itchy and they burn...' complained her brother, a slightly older teenage boy.
'Sokka, it was your idea to hide here. This is all your master plan! And besides they burn because they're called fireberries,' replied the girl. 'Quiet, I think he's coming outside now!'
'I guess this is it then, Katara. Good luck, and remember to send as many messages as you can to let us know how everything's going. I have to go now or he'll catch me and know it's a trap for sure. Remember, he's seen me with Aang before. He knows we're a team, but he hasn't seen you yet. Good luck Katara, keep safe.' Sokka quickly ran off into the darkness.
'You too,' whispered Katara sorrowfully.
Hearing the movement outside, Zuko had decided to come outside to check for any danger. Upon seeing Zuko look around, Katara began to sprinkle twigs and dirt into her hair and onto her face and arms. She then began to make whimpering sounds to draw his attention.
'Who's there!' yelled Zuko. 'If you're an intruder you'd better head off. My guards will catch you and you will pay a very heavy penalty!'
Katara rustled the bush loudly.
Zuko drew his sword from his belt and walked gingerly to the bush, pulling away the branches. Expecting to see a tough, deadly intruder he was shocked to see a sweet looking girl with large blue eyes, covered in mud.
'Excuse me miss?' he said as politely as possible. 'Are you alright? What are you doing here?'
'Please sir,' replied Katara. 'I was attacked by bandits on the way home and they took all my belongings. I think they knocked me out because after that, I found myself here behind this bush. I don't know where I am. I'm sorry sir, can you please help me find home?'
Zuko put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. 'I'm sorry I cannot help you find home if you don't know yourself where that is. But say, how about living here in my palace? It can be your new home. I'll get servants to attend to you immediately. Come with me.'
