Chapter 2
During the following month Sokka got used to his new life in the Royal Palace and the family he now lived with. It was a bit dull actually. It slowly dawned on Sokka that Crown Prince Ozai didn't like him at all. Despite Sokka's best efforts Ozai's opinion didn't change. Neither more and elaborate bows nor polite talk about the Fire Nation or the Water tribe worked. The snide remarks were hurtful but Sokka had also realized that if he presented a bow (now honed to perfection if Sokka could say so himself) after one of Ozai's comments that usually made him stop, fume and leave the room. Why? He had no idea but it was working and you had to work with what you got. Right?
Princess Ursa on the other hand was very nice to Sokka and he enjoyed spending time with her, even if she seldom was alone. Prince Zuko did spend a lot of time with her. Zuko, or Zuzu as Azula liked to call him or prince Crybaby as Sokka nicknamed him privately, seemed to have a grave inferiority complex toward his own sister. Perhaps not surprising all in all because Azula bested him in everything. Everything Zuko could do, Azula could do better. Zuko's reaction to this was anger, sulking and whining to his mother. He was rather annoying and should do well to live in the real world for say two or three years? A punch in the face would also work wonders.
Azula was another story altogether than her dear brother, who whom she despised. She was bold and daring were her brother was careful and easily frightened and she always had a way out of the trouble she caused. Intelligent, ruthless and without any bounds she was…fun. As fun and dangerous as heavy snow in the mountains, you never know if your next step would end you. And she was perfect according to everyone else. Sokka couldn't see it really. After the first couple of days she treated Sokka without mercy. Cruelly and took every opportunity to mock and humiliate him. Even if Sokka tried to keep up with her and give as good as he got he was woefully loosing that war. But if he had to choose spending time with Azula or Zuko he would pick Azula. It was a close call and in Sokka's mind it was like choosing between death by swimming in the cold sea or walking naked in a full blown South Pole snow blizzard!
To make things even more complicated for poor Sokka, Ursa and Ozai were having a private war over the souls of their children. Zuko was firmly in Ursa's corner and Azula in her father's claws. Azula and Zuko seemed unaware of this low-key war. Both children craved the other parent's affection but couldn't have it. Azula and Zuko also jealously guarded the affections of "their" parent from each other. It was all very confusing and a bit sad to Sokka. His family was perhaps not normal since his mother died when he was young but the Royal Family of the Fire Nation was seriously damaged. Katara could be annoying and she was also a waterbender but Sokka had always cherished and been proud of her, not jealous. Not much anyways.
And it seemed like they all had forgotten about Sokka or at least didn't know what to do with him. So he had his days mostly for himself. And since Sokka was easily bored he decided to go exploring. The Royal Palace was huge and he had a great time exploring its rooms, courtyards, nooks and crannies. During this time he made friends with several of the servants. And cooks, which in Sokka's mind was far more important, so he always could get a small snack when he was hungry. It also meant that he could walk around nearly everywhere without anyone taking notice. He heard lots of interesting stuff. Mostly gossip about other servants, it seemed that there was lots of drama and intrigue among them which surprised Sokka for some reason, but also gossip about the guests and about the royal family.
After an extremely boring day when he had to spend it with Zuko and working on his calligraphy – he would rather be chased by a tigerseal to be honest. He was now free to roam his kingdom! Well, sort of anyways. Sokka decided to skulk around the main kitchen in the palace but on route he saw Ozai with Azula. Sokka did the smart thing and quickly dived in to an empty room. He could hear Ozai's voice, even when he talked to his daughter he seemed to have contempt dripping of every word.
"You must train more and harder, Azula. I will not accept anything but perfection from you. If you cannot deliver you will be punished accordingly! Do I make myself clear?" At this moment Sokka decided against better judgment to take a sneak peek at them, he was curious what her answer would be. How the princess looked shocked Sokka, she was a mess. Her hair was all over the place and her otherwise meticulously cared for clothes were dirty and singed. She looked truly utterly spent and her face was pale. "Yes, father." she said meekly. "I will train harder and failure is not an option". Ozai sneered and continued talking but the words were lost in the vast corridor.
Sokka contemplated what he just witnessed. Ozai drove Azula very, very hard it seemed. Sokka hadn't actually seen Azula's firebending himself but everyone said it was marvelous and that few if none could best her. It was so strange. He needed more information about it. Sokka sighed and let his mind drift. Suddenly Sokka realized that the room he now occupied was rather small.
"That's strange" he murmured. Quickly he darted into the adjacent rooms and it dawned on Sokka that somewhere in between these three rooms' lots of space were missing!
"Now this is truly interesting." Sokka said to the missing space. "It can only mean that there is a secret passage somewhere around here. And where can the door be I wonder…."
§§
Fire Lord Azulon, firebending prodigy, ruler of the most powerful realm in the world and rightly feared by highborn as commoner sat drinking a cup of tea while contemplating how meaningless and tedious his days now seemed to be. He looked over the various reports that had come in on his desk today. This one was about a statue in his honor. He sighed. Suddenly he heard noises from the wall. His first thought was "assassin" but before he could call the royal guards he heard the would be assassin speak, "…after I come out of this spirit forsaken wall I will have a long talk to the architect…" and little while later, "…look a trinket! Wee, this is so fun!" Suddenly the secret door swung open and a young boy in watertribe clothes stumbled out and slowly looked around with a pleased and curious expression on his face.
"Now, this is a room fit for….royalty" the boy exclaimed but when he uttered the last word his eyes had reached the Fire Lord. Two very blue and curious eyes looked at him and even if Azulon could see the panic in the boy's features it was soon gone. After a couple of seconds the boy gave him a bow. It came off as rather arrogant and the boy spoke, against protocol.
"I am Sokka, son of High Chief Hakoda from the Southern Water Tribe." The boy said a bit awkwardly. "Nice to meet you, err Fire Lord." The boy continued, obviously not knowing what to call the ruler of the Fire Nation.
Instead of turning the boy to a pile of ash, like he would have done with would be assassins, Azulon was intrigued by this boy and the innocence and intelligence he saw in his eyes.
"What are you doing in my wall, young water tribe boy?" Azulon asked with a low but not unfriendly voice. His words seemed to calm the boy down.
"Exploring actually. I had a boring day and when I happened to come across a secret door it was too good an opportunity to pass." The boy said with a smile and a shrug. "It seemed like a great idea at the time and I did find some treasures!" The boy continued and showed Azulon a broken hilt from a sword and a part of a gilded statue.
Azulon nodded when he eyed the boy's treasures. He knew that a boy from the water tribe was supposed to be in the palace and learning from their masters to strengthen the bond between the nations. He himself had made sure it would happen. Why had his son Ozai not taken care of the boys training?
"Are you not supposed to train hard with different masters instead of exploring Fire Nations secret passages?" Azulon asked with a small smile.
"Well, that would great but I have not received any summons to train with any masters, unfortunately." The boy spoke with calmness not few men or women could muster when talking with the Fire Lord, especially after coming uninvited by a secret door to his private study. His eyes fell on a Pai Sho game that stood on a low table at Azulon's side. It was still unfinished. The boy contemplated it with care. "You are playing black?" Sokka asked while studding the board.
"Why, yes" answered Azulon while in turn studying the boy. "It's a game I played with my son prince Iroh." Azulon stated softly.
The boy sat down at the table without any leave and said with a smile. "It seems to me that your son has caught you in a trap, you will lose this game, err Fire Lord." Sokka said with glittering blue eyes.
Azulon raised both his eyebrows at that statement. He looked over the game and studied it for the first time in a long time. "Are you so sure about that young one?" he asked with a chuckle.
The boy's eyes glittered with amusement and without any leave he placed a white tile on the board. But instead of incinerate the boy for his insolence he studied the boys move and after a little while placed a tile of his own. The game continued in silence for a little while.
"Won't Prince Iroh be upset that we play his game?" The boy suddenly asked with a frown. "It is rather impolite of us when you think about it."
It took a while before Azulon answered the boy. "My son, Iroh, has been dead for nearly five years now." He said quietly and his voice held sadness in it. "He and his own son Lu Ten died in the last war with the Earth Kingdom." Azulon continued with a small sigh. The pain of losing them still hurt after all these years.
The boy surprised the old Fire Lord by laying his hand on Azulon's knee and looked at him with serious but also sad eyes.
"It pains me to hear, Fire Lord." Sokka said solemnly. "It is always sad when you lose a loved one. My mother died in a raid at the same time. I feel your loss." Sokka continued empathically. He then pulled back his hand.
No one had dared touch him like that since his wife died nearly twenty years ago. The boy's words rang true and they were said with utter truthfulness. Azulon felt touched like he hadn't in a long time.
"My son Iroh would be honored if this game came to a conclusion." Azulon told the young watertribe boy that had fallen in to his study. "Let's play and see if you can beat an old master Pai Sho player" Azulon said gruffly.
They continued talking and they were both totally engrossed in the game. It occurred to Azulon that this boy, Sokka, was very much like his beloved son Iroh in some ways. And that felt rather good even if he indeed lost the game.
