An Alliance of Traitors
Disclaimer: "Avatar: the Last Airbender" – among the things I regretfully do NOT own.
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CHAPTER TWO
The wheels of dozen of wooden caravans creaked as they entered the inner circle of the Fire Nation capital city. Hundreds of performers were entering the city as a part of the coming festivities after the Eclipse. These people came from various places in the Fire Nation but they detailed and extensive background checks had been done on them before they were allowed to enter the city. After all, the Fire Lord was expecting an attack on the day before the festival and he would not take the risk of his enemies infiltrating his fortified city right under his nose. If there was anything that Fire Lord Ozai hated most, it was being made a fool of.
Of course, no one had factored in the interference and influence of the Order of the White Lotus. But then again, it was a secret society so no one really knew about its doings other than its members, all of whom were invariably opposed to the war. And that is why the Avatar and his friends were still able to sneak into the heart of the enemy's country without so much as a warning. How the Fire Lord would react to such an occurrence once he found out would be another matter.
But for the moment, preparations for the festival were being made and slowly and quietly, the circus people, mimes, harlequins, puppeteers, dancers, freaks, acrobats, clowns, and all the other participants in the celebrations were getting settled in under the cover of darkness. Despite the Fire Lord's confidence in success, he did not intend to pre-empt the festivities by having the celebrations even before the victory. Nevertheless, he had wanted the preparations to be organized in order that the celebration would begin promptly, firmly establishing the Fire Nation as the most powerful country in the world.
It was rather ironic to see dark, hooded figures of people walking carefully and speaking in hushed tones when beneath their shrouds, they all wore the most vibrant and colorful of costumes and they actually spoke in the loudest and liveliest of tones. They shuffled along, careful not to bump into the other caravans for fear of damaging essential props, costumes, and whatnot necessary for their diverse and unique performances. They whispered (except for the mimes who merely made hasty gestures to one another) and tried to keep themselves as inconspicuous as possible. They had been ordered not to alert the citizens to their presence until the time was right. But their work being of the theatrical nature, it was quite a challenge for them to remain discreet.
That eerie night, the roads seemed to be filled with ghosts of some long-forgotten masquerade. If naughty children dared to peek out their windows at that ungodly hour, they might have believed themselves part of some bizarre dream with shadowy, fantastical beings roaming the streets and an air of wonder pervading the atmosphere. It seemed that even in darkness and secrecy, these artists could not help but create some sort of spectacle, as if they were perpetually before an audience.
But there was one spectator who didn't particularly take any pleasure at the sight of the hooded figures. Watching the procession of performers and caravans from one of the high towers of the city, Princess Azula had a bored expression on her face. She never enjoyed going to circuses and festivals. They were far too lively and ridiculous for her, too much pomp and circumstance over nothing. She also knew that her father didn't take much pleasure in such shallow entertainment as well. But he was a crafty Fire Lord and he knew what he had to do to strengthen the loyalty of his people. It wasn't too much trouble anyway to send for all these artists. They didn't even ask to be paid. They had said that it would be an honor and privilege to be a part of the Fire Lord's celebration. What this really meant, of course, was that they did not dare refuse a summons from the most powerful and most dangerous man in the world.
"What a bunch of freaks," Azula thought disdainfully as she watched the people file in. She really looked upon the performing arts with much distaste. She considered such a profession a complete waste of time and talents. And to think that Ty Lee was happy with that pathetic kind of life. If Azula had not needed that girl's talents, the princess would not have associated with such a whimsical, ridiculous circus freak. But as things stood, Ty Lee still had her uses so Azula did not really begrudge the girl her inclinations. After all, Azula thought, Ty Lee wasn't as stupid as she looked.
Watching as the wheels moved along the crowded streets, Azula could not help thinking that the wheels of her own plans were in motion as well. With a sinisterly satisfied smile, she transferred her gaze to the Royal Palace where her father was currently finalizing his plans with his courtiers and war ministers.
Although she had been present in many of these crucial war meetings, this time she had not been invited. But she didn't really mind because she had her own preparations to make. Even at this moment, she was waiting for a message from one of her spies from the Dai Li. She considered them a "souvenir" from Ba Sing Se. They had proven far more useful and reliable than any Fire Nation spies she had had and their loyalty to her was almost fanatical. Whenever she would summon them to report their findings or when she would send them out on special missions, she would see in their eyes a combination of devotion and fear. And she enjoyed every opportunity of wielding her strange power over them.
Through her intricate network of spies positioned all over the Four Nations, she was able to monitor the movements of all her enemies, even some in the Fire Nation. She had learned enough of politics and history to know that she could trust no one but herself and that the more she knew about her enemies and the less they knew about her, the easier it would be to defeat them.
Wistfully, Princess Azula fingered the small vial of pale, sandy powder in her pocket. Like every fatal thing, this small container did not look as threatening as it actually was. And that was what made it all the better and so suited to Azula's tastes. She always enjoyed things with deceiving looks.
She remembered the time she had procured this precious substance from a peculiar old Earth Kingdom woman who lived with her cat by the side of some ruins in one part of the Earth Kingdom. The old hag was certainly insane but she had her uses. But then again, Azula's sources had told her that this weird witch was the most talented druggist in the entire region. Besides, the hag's insanity turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Azula, whose dealings with the former were strictly confidential. At least, Azula was certain that the druggist would reveal nothing to anyone about their transactions. Even if she did, who would believe a crazy old woman?
But all these concerns aside, the druggist had not seemed to care about Azula's intentions for the substance. All the woman really seemed to care about was her cat. So everything had worked out rather conveniently for the crafty princess.
Azula carefully brought out the vial and turned it around, looking it over with her fierce, golden eyes. She couldn't help but marvel at how much damage such a small amount of the substance would cause, how many lives would be changed with a few grains of this rare and precious concoction.
Azula had turned the vial around in such a fashion the first time it had been given to her.
"Is this it?", Azula had asked the weird druggist skeptically, wondering if it really was worth it to come all this way to consult a deranged old woman.
"Of course it is," the woman answered undauntedly. Her insanity seemed to have rendered her fearless even in the face of the deadliest person in the Four Nations. Beside the small, hunchbacked figure, a large, furry gray cat purred, looking at the strange visitors with its indescribably wise feline eyes.
Azula had frowned at the vial, her brows narrowing as she looked at it.
"This," Azula had said, "is the most powerful poison in the world. Are you certain that there is no antidote for this? Or nothing more dangerous?"
"There is no antidote," the hag had replied, rolling her eyes as if speaking to the child. Azula decided to let this slide because she was too engrossed in the poison to deal with the peculiarities of a harmless, old druggist.
"You will find no other supply of that anywhere you search," the old woman continued, "there is nothing rarer, and nothing deadlier."
"Nothing deadlier," Azula repeated the druggist's words wistfully. And once again, she smiled. Perfect.
The spy had not yet arrived, but Azula found herself surprisingly patient. Everything was working out according to her plans, and nothing would be destroyed by delays such as this. Even as her father continued his endless discussions with those old codgers in the war room, she was making her move.
Despite their common goal – the domination of the entire world – Azula did not always agree with her father's methods. He had been her "guiding" example growing up, to be sure, but when she carefully and methodically studied the history of Fire Nation rulers, she somehow came to believe that her father wasn't as great a ruler as he ought to be. Although he was far more superior to his forebears, he was still lacking in some aspects. After all, if he had maximized his powers a Fire Lord, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes would have been Fire Nation colonies by now and Ba Sing Se would have long been breached. But status quo was the opposite. The Fire Nation still had enemies and the Fire Lord was depending on the powers by a comet to be able to impose full dominion. But would that be enough?
It was when she first realized this that Azula first felt that she might have run things a lot better. She was intelligent and powerful. She would rule this mighty nation one day, indeed it was only a matter of time. After all, despite her status as the younger child, she was the true heir to the throne. Azula knew well that her father never intended for Zuko to have the throne, even if he had succeeded capturing the Avatar. Some way or another, Ozai would have found a way to get rid of the son he deemed "soft", "weak", and "useless", just like when he banished Zuko for speaking out of turn.
"Zuzu is really a fool," Azula thought, "to have hoped that Father would have ever accepted him back even if he had captured the Avatar."
But now, that nuisance of a brother of hers was out of the way. She didn't know how he could have possibly escaped the Crystal Catacombs or how he could have survived the poisonous fumes, but from her spies reports, it seemed that he had vanished from the face of the earth. Either he was dead or he was in hiding. The latter seemed less probable, considering the excellent detecting skills of her spies.
But she set her thoughts on Zuko aside. They were utterly irrelevant to what was going to happen in a short while. Wherever her brother was didn't matter to Azula. But if he was alive, by some crazy chance, and still out there, she swore that the next time they met, she would not hesitate to get rid of him. Permanently.
Very soon, her father would call for her and they would proceed to the hidden, secret underground haven beneath the Palace, as a defense against the coming invaders. She would take her place in her Father's throne room and await the arrival of the Avatar. Yes, she would be sitting on that throne soon.
Once again, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation looked down on the circus performers. There might be something else to celebrate when all this was over.
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A light-footed, brightly-dressed young woman sauntered along the roads, checking on the arriving performers and trying to keep track of them all as well as keeping an eye out for suspicious looking individuals among them. And yet, despite the artists' varied and outrageous appearances underneath their dark cloaks, Ty Lee was not in the least bit frightened or suspicious. After all, she was among her kind and she felt the happiest and safest among all these "freaks". She was one of them and proud of it.
And now as she made her way through the dozens of caravans, Ty Lee spoke convivially with some of the performers and made light conversation with the others. Some were even old acquaintances of hers. She was easily able to relate to them and sorely missed her old life as a traveling performer, the free, uninhibited life, the chance to be herself.
"I thought the circus was your calling."
"Well, Azula called a little louder."
That only meant that she had been subtly coerced into this arrangement. She had enjoyed being with her old friends at first, but she had soon found herself missing the life of the circus. But she had had no choice.
Azula called a little louder.
Azula had ordered her to take care of the smooth flow of the various caravans as they entered the city and to weed out the questionable-looking ones. But of course, they were circus performers, they all looked questionable. And Ty Lee did not want to turn anyone in, nor did she intend to.
But she was well aware that she really didn't need to supervise the arrival of these festival actors. The Fire Lord had dispatched more than enough soldiers to take care of this. No, she was not really needed here. But nevertheless, it was a test of some sort.
Azula wanted to see just how trustworthy Ty Lee was. And the princess also wanted to make sure that she had at least one minion involved in this aspect of the preparations for the eclipse. Azula just had to be involved in every plan of the Fire Lord, whether he intended for her to be involved or not.
And though it wasn't really in her nature to be glum about anything, Ty Lee was worried about Azula's schemes. The princess didn't disclose her main motives even to Mai and herself, but Ty Lee was certain that there was more to Azula's meddling in the Fire Lord's affairs than meets the eye. She didn't know the particulars but she did know that whenever Azula commissioned them to do something that was apparently unknown to the Fire Lord, the princess had this malevolent gleam in her eyes that always meant trouble. Ty Lee pursed her lips at this thought. Princess Azula was playing a dangerous game, and some way or another, Ty Lee knew that she and Mai would be caught in the crossfire if Azula did not succeed.
And a little voice in her head told the talented acrobat that when such a risky time came, despite all her optimistic assumptions that Azula considered her a friend, the princess would have no second thoughts about throwing her and Mai to the lions. At one point, when they became dispensable to the princess, they would be discarded. And that was why Ty Lee was determined to always prove her usefulness to Azula. More than any of her death-defying stunts at the circus, in this performance as one Azula's allies, Ty Lee's life hung at the balance.
The acrobat's reverie was disturbed when she noticed an unfamiliar group of performers shuffling at one end of the procession. Despite the diversity of people in traveling circuses, this group seemed to stand out. Not because they were dressed differently from the others, but because they had a certain quality about them that betrayed origins other than the circus.
Ty Lee was intrigued and cartwheeled her way towards them. Since she had never seen them before, she was eager to make friends and also curious as to why they had caught her attention. Before approaching them, she observed their group's composition.
At the head of the caravan was a large, old man in the customarily colorful garb of a circus performer which showed through his black hooded cloak. He also wore an elaborate mask that resembled the head of a dragon. He seemed to be engaged in conversation with a tall, lean young man, also wearing a mask, this time resembling the head of a wolf. Behind them, stood two other figures, a young man and a young woman who seemed to be on very intimate terms with one another. But they were careful not to be too blatant about their feelings. And like their companions, these two both wore masks as well. The boy's mask resembled a strange serpent-like creature with pincers and large fangs. At first Ty Lee had to think hard before she recognized the creature as one of the mythological beasts told to her in stories during her childhood, an Elemental Sea Scorpent. Ty Lee was impressed by the creativity and originality of the mask as well as the unorthodox choice of a creature to portray. She looked over to the girl's mask and was surprised to see another mythological being. The girl's mask was a pale, wraith-like face with long hair, two small, dotty holes for eyes and a wide, gaping mouth. A siren.
"How very interesting," Ty Lee thought as she watched this strange troupe follow the procession. She had been so engrossed in staring at the masks of the others that she failed to notice a small figure behind the couple of mythological masks climb up to the caravan.
Then, Ty Lee noticed that someone from within the caravan seemed to whisper something to the large man at the front and he immediately relayed the information to the others. All of a sudden, they became more tense and silent. And most importantly, they seemed finally aware of her presence.
Now, if this group of circus people had looked less interesting than they did and if Ty Lee had been an ordinary soldier, their reactions would have certainly been noted as "suspicious." But the acrobat who had the deadly ability to block chi was so intrigued by these new arrivals that she was temporarily caught off guard.
Seeing that they had finally noticed her staring at them, she smiled brightly and skipped nearer them. Although the two young men and the girl seemed to tense at her arrival, the large, older man seemed unaffected. He made an elaborate gesture of welcome but said nothing.
"Hello, there," Ty Lee greeted cheerfully, "you guys must be new to the business. I've never seen you before. My name is Ty Lee."
The young man with the wolf mask gave a light shrug but said nothing. The scorpent-masked man and the siren-masked girl both nodded to her while the large man simply put his large hands on his equally large stomach and gave the impression of smiling through his mask.
Ty Lee was not at all offended by this kind of response. She had finally realized exactly what kind of performers these people were. With a bright smile of recognition, she concluded that they were masked mimes.
"I understand that you should keep to the code of absolute silence," she said in a friendly tone, "but we're fellow performers, you know. At least, I used to be. Do you have to be in character even with your colleagues?"
At this, all four members of the troupe nodded their masked heads vigorously, answering her question. She smiled back at them.
"Oh, well," she replied, not taking any offense, "you must be true professionals."
Again, the boy with the wolf-mask shrugged at her, this time as if saying "we try." At this, the siren-masked girl gave him a nudge and the scorpent-masked boy was shaking his head as if in embarrassment and slight annoyance.
"You guys seem really fun," Ty Lee continued, amused by the mannerisms of this little group of mimes, "and I'll bet you really enjoy what you do. So do I. But I don't really get to perform as much as I used to. I've been commissioned to do a different kind of work, although it still requires my talents."
The masked mimes listened intently to her and nodded their heads after she spoke. Encouraged by their companionable silence, Ty Lee proceeded to tell them her story, completely forgetting her true purpose that night and glad to have made some new friends. She also enjoyed having another audience somehow as well as people who were willing to listen to all she wanted to say without judging or criticizing her.
The line had begun to move forward but Ty Lee made no gesture to go away from the strange troupe. Instead, she walked with them as the procession continued and didn't stop chattering to the siren-masked girl while the two young men and the older man took care of the caravan. Ty Lee asked the girl if they had other companions with them riding in the caravan and the girl had replied with a nod. But when Ty Lee asked to meet the others, the siren-masked girl made a gesture that indicated that the other companions riding in the caravan were fast asleep. Respecting their privacy, the acrobat nodded and lowered her voice as she talked.
She told the girl about how she missed being in the circus and performing but how with the current circumstances, she could not return to that idyllic life. She also expressed her anxiety about the coming eclipse and how they were expecting the Avatar to come storming in the moment the firebenders lost their powers. All throughout the conversation, it had not occurred to Ty Lee that she might be speaking to spies or untrustworthy strangers. It wasn't that she was lax or stupid. But there was something familiar about these people and whatever it was, she felt at ease with them because of their attention to her. What did she care about the Fire Lord's extreme safety measures? Her job was redundant anyway, since all these performers had been thoroughly investigated and screened before even being allowed inside the city walls. And she rarely had any opportunity to make new friends nowadays and she suspected that such opportunities would continue to decrease once Azula started implementing her master plan. And she didn't know how long she would have to act as spy, and ally to the princess so she didn't know when she would have the chance to converse as freely as she did right now. She only regretted that she would not learn their names. But she definitely resolved to look for them during the festivities.
Soon, Ty Lee had lost all track of time and was still following the troupe of masked mimes all the way to the settlement facility built for all the performers and participants in the festival. But contrary to what she expected, they did no shoo her away or show any signs of impatience (except maybe a few small hints here and there from the boy in the wolf-mask but she found these gestures rather endearing). But as she was about to suggest helping the group pitch their tents and finish all tasks involved in settling in, she was jerked back to reality.
"What are you still doing here, Ty Lee?" a bored, languid voice called out.
"Oh, hi there, Mai," Ty Lee greeted her friend brightly. But Mai's expression (or lack thereof) did not change and she simply stood there, with folded arms and a foot tapping with impatience.
"I was just talking to my new friends," Ty Lee continued, pointing at the masked mimes who waved at Mai in a friendly way. The tall, pale girl did not return the gestures and simply regarded the mimes without any interest or acknowledgment.
"Just stop wasting your time here," Mai told Ty Lee, "we're in the middle of preparations for an invasion, not a party."
"Oh, come on, Mai, lighten up," Ty Lee asked the placid girl.
"Azula has summoned us," Mai replied simply, turning around and walking away. Ty Lee's shoulders slumped but she knew that she had to obey. With a sad smile, she took her leave of the mime troupe and wished them luck for their performances. She also expressed a wish to see them perform during the festival. Once she made her farewells, she followed Mai and waved at the masked mimes who eagerly waved back at her.
"What was that all about?" Mai asked Ty Lee when the latter had finally caught up.
"I don't know, they seemed really nice," Ty Lee said, trying to explain how she had felt, "and there was something about them. I couldn't really place it, but they seemed, familiar somehow."
"I don't know about nice or familiar," Mai replied, much to Ty Lee's surprise. Mai never really cared about what other people did.
"But I know one thing," the pale girl concluded silently to herself, throwing a secret glance at the peculiar company of mimes, "there certainly is something different about them."
--
Once both Mai and Ty Lee were out of sight, everyone finally relaxed.
"Are they gone?" Aang asked, peeping his head out the caravan.
"Thankfully," Katara replied with a sigh of relief.
"It was good that Toph sensed Ty Lee's presence right away," Zuko said, praising the blind earthbender.
And then, the Avatar and his friends settled in their temporary accommodations.
"Whew," Sokka concluded after that nerve-racking encounter with Ty Lee, "that was close."
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And there you have it, the second chapter at last. I'm sorry if not much happens here but I needed to have some more exposition as well as have some deeper characterization and revelations about the past.
As usual, I hope that I kept everyone in character. This marks the first time I've ever written Ty Lee or Mai's point of view so I'm still rather nervous about them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
