Traveling by air was a nice experience most the time... unless you were a firebender headed towards the frozen tundra that was the South Pole. Azula cringed and gritted her teeth, hugging herself and trying her best to retain the warmth in her body. They were really high in the sky, which she figured was another reason why it was so cold. The sunlight was still hitting them, but it didn't make her feel any warmer.
Sokka had been sitting with Aang for a moment as he helped the Avatar steer Appa towards the Southern Water Tribe. Azula hadn't been alone in the saddle, but she sure had wished she had been. Being alone would have spared her from the glares the waterbender kept casting her way. Katara was still resentful over the relationship that existed now between Sokka and Azula, and she was definitely nowhere near accepting her former enemy as her one-day-to-be sister-in-law.
Sokka crawled back onto the saddle and he realized Azula was shivering. He smiled sympathetically and moved towards her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Azula was pleasantly surprised to find he was far warmer than she had expected, so she didn't think twice about snuggling close to him, forgetting about the girl who glared at them with disapproval.
"You alright?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder with his gloved hand "Not too cold for you to handle, is it?"
"Nothing's too much for me to handle" Azula growled back "If I've managed to survive you, I'll survive your icy wasteland"
Sokka would have reacted at her cruel retort, but he looked at his girlfriend with curious eyes, studying her manner before replying to her.
"You're snappy, angry and frowning…" he muttered "Azula… is there any chance you're nervous?"
Her golden eyes snapped open brusquely and she looked at him with annoyance, but Sokka realized he had been spot-on in that assumption. He chuckled and caressed her long hair, which she wasn't carrying in her usual top knot for once.
"You don't have to be, you know?" said Sokka "Everything will work out perfectly fine! You'll see!"
Azula grimaced and pulled her knees up to her chin, not believing his words completely.
"How exactly do you know it'll work out that way?" she asked "How do you know your father won't react like… her?"
"No need to worry, Azula" said Sokka, shrugging "Katara is a grump, but my dad's different"
"Could you two not talk as if I weren't here?" the grump cut in, glaring at the two of them fiercely.
Sokka rolled his eyes and hugged Azula tighter, something that the firebender enjoyed thoroughly. Katara, on the other hand, felt most driven to vomit at the sight. She still couldn't believe it… her brother and that girl? Her, of all people? Honestly, what had gotten into Sokka? Why was he with her? And why was Azula letting him be with her? Katara was sure this couldn't end well, she had no doubt Azula had an ulterior motive to accept Sokka's gullible feelings towards her…
But she couldn't deny it was a little difficult to believe that when she watched Azula clinging onto Sokka's embrace like that. There was something sweet about the situation… and just thinking it was sweet prompted her to feel even more disgusted. She should just stop thinking about them altogether…
"We're here, guys!" called out Aang from the top of Appa's head, turning around to smile at them. The unusual pairing didn't bother him half as much as it bothered Katara.
"It was about time" said the waterbender, sighing in exasperation "If I had to watch one more second of that…"
"Hey! You and Aang kept giving me oogies all the time!" yelled Sokka, glaring at his sister. Azula raised an eyebrow and looked at him, confused.
"Oogies?" she repeated
"Uh… yeah, oogies" said Sokka "You know, when something is way too sweet and you just want to puke because you can't stand it?"
Azula frowned and thought hard for a moment, recalling a few things that had driven her to that extent of disgust, namely a family they had met during their travels through the Fire Nation.
"Huh… I see" she muttered "You and I can cause that effect?"
"Apparently, but there's no need to worry" said Sokka, smirking "Katara had it coming"
"So you're just with her to get revenge on me?" asked Katara, frowning
"Nah, that's just one awesome perk that comes with it" stated Sokka with a goofy grin as Appa finally touched down on the snowy grounds.
As ever, the villagers had ran out of their homes and looked at the sky expectantly while they waited for the six-legged bison to land. Kids were cheering in joy as they looked at the Avatar, clad in a jacket, smiling at them kindly.
"Hey, everyone!" Aang called out, jumping down on the ground.
"Aang!" cheered the kids, running off to hug him. The Avatar laughed and embraced their cheerful response while the other three bison passengers climbed off the saddle.
Katara jumped down to the ground right away, walking to where Aang was. The kids also squealed in joy at the sight of the one of the heroes who had fought in the finale of the Hundred Year War. The waterbender smiled and greeted them just as Hakoda, Chief of the Water Tribe, approached his daughter and the Avatar, with Bato, Kanna and Pakku close behind him.
"Dad!" said Katara, smiling and jumping into Hakoda's arms.
The Chief of the Tribe grinned and hugged his daughter tightly as Aang bowed down to him.
"It's good to see you, Katara" said Hakoda, patting her on the back "And you too, Aang. Seems like you've grown a lot"
"I'm finally taller than Katara, sir!" said Aang, standing proudly next to his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes but smiled at him gently.
Hakoda grinned at them one last time before his eyes darted out to look for his son. He saw him intent on helping a girl down Appa's saddle… a girl Hakoda didn't recognize at first sight. Who was that?
"They all just go greet Aang as if he were the celebrity of the century" said Sokka, rolling his eyes as he held his arms out for Azula "I trained those kids! Gave them my childhood so that they could be strong enough to protect the Tribe! And they thank me by ignoring me!"
"Personally, I'd rather be ignored for once" muttered Azula, climbing down the saddle and straight into Sokka's arms. Her feet hit the frozen ground and she winced. It was the first time she had found herself in such an environment. She had never even seen snow before.
"Feeling alright?" asked Sokka
"It's… weird. Really cold" muttered Azula "But I'll manage"
"Sokka?" said Hakoda, approaching the pairing.
Sokka jumped when he heard his father's voice. He let go of Azula momentarily and hugged his father tightly, patting his shoulder with strength. Hakoda pulled away and smiled at his son, his eyes alight with pride… until his gaze turned towards the young woman behind Sokka.
The color of her eyes was enough to tell Hakoda she was a firebender, most likely. That intense gold was a dead give-away of her status as an important Fire Nation citizen… Her painted lips reminded him of someone he had seen at some time before. The long black hair, which was loose down her back, set him off for a moment until he caught sight of the golden hairpiece decorating the half-knot she wore.
"Sokka…? Who is this, exactly…?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer to that question.
Sokka smiled at his father before turning around and taking Azula's hand, pulling her towards him. Azula's innards twisted with anxiety, feeling most terrified of what this man might say about her union with his son…
"Dad… this is Azula" said Sokka, smiling
"Azula, as in… Zuko's sister" said Hakoda, frowning.
Azula couldn't help but twitch at that statement. She didn't enjoy being recognized as 'Zuko's sister'.
"Yup" said Sokka, nodding.
"The girl who tried to stop us from breaking out of the Boiling Rock" Hakoda continued "Am I right?"
"Uh… yeah?" said Sokka, smiling nervously "Dad, you don't have to worry about…"
"I think… we need to talk, Sokka. In private, if you don't mind" muttered Hakoda.
Azula's eyes widened at those words. Sure, she hadn't been expecting to be welcomed with open arms, but that was a little harsher than she had expected. Wasn't he going to give her a chance, at the very least?
Sokka's enthusiasm faded and turned into mild anger. He glared at his father, his eyebrows pulling together as he stood protectively in front of Azula.
"Anything you have to say, dad, you can say it here" he growled. He didn't care if it was this father this time… nobody would interfere in his relationship with Azula. Even if Hakoda didn't like thinking of his son being involved with the Princess, there was nothing he would be able to do about it. Sokka wouldn't relent, no matter what.
"Sokka…" said Hakoda, his eyes stern. Sokka challenged him regardless, not caring how everyone else was watching them right now. Aang and Katara had been greeting the other adults of the Tribe, but after hearing Sokka's harsh tone towards the Chief, they all had turned around to look at them. Aang grimaced, wondering if he would have to mediate between them… even Katara began feeling bad for Sokka and Azula for a moment. Sokka's determination and Azula's disheartened look made her forget momentarily all her qualms towards them. In this very moment, they merely seemed like a pair of teenagers fighting against a world that refused to let them be together.
But the tense scene was interrupted, by everyone's surprise, when Azula's hand slid up to Sokka's shoulder slowly, prompting him to turn around and look at her as she muttered:
"You should go"
Sokka stared at her worriedly, recognizing the look in her eyes. He had seen her sadness enough times as it was, and he sure had hoped he would never have to see it again. He wished there was something he could do to erase her anguish…
"Azula" he muttered "B-but…"
"It's okay, right?" she said "You always said… you always said that nobody would stand between us. You said you'd be with me… and I believe you. Go… talk to your father. I'll be fine on my own"
"But…" he muttered, taking her hands in his. Azula gave him a weak smile, making him bite his lower lip and hug her tightly.
Azula's eyes snapped wide open because of that sudden embrace, but she smiled and caressed his cheek before hugging him back.
"I trust you, Sokka" she repeated by his ear.
"Everything will be fine. I promise" he insisted, holding her tightly.
Azula closed her eyes before pushing him away gently. Sokka sighed and smiled at her, trying to be reassuring, but fearing he would fail at that. He let go of her and turned towards his father again, who seemed surprised at the sudden display of affection, but he didn't seem to change his distrustful attitude regardless. Sokka scowled at him before turning towards Aang and Katara, who seemed quite uncomfortable by the scene.
"Hey… could you give Azula a tour around the place?" he asked "I wanted to do it myself, but…"
Katara seemed surprised by the request, but Aang smiled and nodded.
"No problem. Go ahead, we'll show her around"
Sokka nodded back at him, taking a deep breath before following his father into the large igloo that belonged to the Tribe's Chief. Bato, Kanna and Pakku went into the igloo as well and the crowd that had come to greet them scattered, the kids heading off to play amongst themselves and the adults returning to their duties.
Azula stood alone beside Appa for a moment. She was shivering, but it was definitely not because of the cold. She hadn't expected anything better, truly… why would anyone accept her relationship with Sokka? Why would his father have thought their union made any sense? Just as he had mentioned, she had been trying to kill them in the Boiling Rock. She had nearly killed Katara and Zuko as well. Why would he trust her? Why did Sokka trust her, after all she had done? Truth to be told, she hardly even trusted herself. Her head tilted down as she tried to hold in her sorrow. That was something she had always been good at: hiding her feelings. Concealing her true colors from the world. She didn't want anyone to pity her because of what had happened…
"So…" said Aang, taking a few steps towards her "Want us to give you the big tour?"
Azula raised her head and looked at the Avatar with skepticism. There was only one thing she wanted to do right now, and that was jumping with Sokka back on the beast that had brought them to the South Pole and getting out of the wretched place as quickly as she could.
"It'll be fun!" said Aang, noticing she was, most definitely not in the mood "Okay, okay… believe me, I know what you feel like right now"
"Oh, you do?" asked Azula, angrily "The great Avatar has been dejected? I find that hard to believe"
"Well, you should believe it" said Aang, grinning "I was dejected by Sokka himself, to tell you the truth. He even banished me from the Tribe!"
Azula's eyes widened upon that statement.
"He… he did what?" she asked "Why did he banish you?"
"Well, Katara and I did something pretty stupid…"
"It was your fault mostly, Aang! I told you we shouldn't have gone into the Fire Nation ship!" Katara declared proudly, her arms folded across her chest.
"Oh, come on! It looked like fun!" said Aang, pouting "And it was fun, too"
Azula looked from one to the other, not understanding what they were talking about at all. Aang could see the puzzled look across her face and he chuckled.
"I bet you're curious about that, aren't you?"
"Well… a Fire Nation ship might be interesting to see" she muttered. It might help her forget Sokka's meeting momentarily, at the very least.
"Let's go, then!" Aang declared cheerfully, taking Katara's hand and leading the way out of the village.
Azula followed with heavy footsteps, wondering what was being said in that meeting…
"Sokka, what exactly do you think you've gotten yourself into?" asked Hakoda, once everyone was settled inside the igloo.
Sokka's glare seemed to gain fierceness with every passing second. Together with his father, Kanna, Pakku and Bato, the five people had formed a circle as they got ready to speak about the matter regarding Sokka's new girlfriend.
"I think I've gotten myself into the best relationship I've ever been involved in" Sokka grunted.
"Sokka…" muttered Bato "That's the girl who was locked in an asylum for a year, isn't she?"
"So what?!" yelled Sokka "She's not crazy! Fact is, I don't think she ever was! The only thing that could make you think she's crazy is that she fell in love with a fool like me!"
"That's not the point" said Pakku "She was Fire Lord Ozai's heir, wasn't she? She's dangerous, Sokka. For all you know, she's only luring you and trying to use you…"
"To what end, exactly?" asked Sokka, glaring at Pakku "What use would I be to her? What could she possibly do to me? Use me to get to Aang?"
"For all you know…"
"Do you have a clue of how ridiculous you sound?" Sokka asked, in disbelief "That girl is the smartest person I know! If she wanted to take back the Fire Nation throne, I assure you she would have done it by now!"
"Or she might be trying to take it with a strategy you haven't figured out" said Kanna "For all you know, she truly might be using you"
"Yeah, for all you guys know about her, she might be" grunted Sokka "But I know Azula. Now I do. And I trust her even if nobody else will"
"Why do you think nobody else trusts her in the first place?" asked Pakku, sighing with exasperation.
"She might be willing to break her father out of jail" said Bato
"She could be orchestrating a rebellion right beneath your nose and you are too lovesick to realize it" finished Kanna.
Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head, irritated.
"You're all judging her for what she's done, just like Katara does. You don't even bother discovering who she is! You don't know her as well as I do!"
"I don't think you know her as well as you think, Sokka" insisted Hakoda
"I can assure you, dad, that I know her. I've spent these last months getting to know her, and every little thing I've discovered has made me love her more! Stop judging her from afar when you have no idea what she's been through! Thing is, you're all just afraid of her!"
"As we should be" said Hakoda "She's a force to be reckoned with, Sokka! You are underestimating her. The one who should be fearing her the most should be you!"
"No" Sokka declared, his eyes blazing with determination "You all can go ahead and cower in fear if you want… but I'm done with fearing Azula. I'm never going to fear her again. The only thing she's ever known in her life is fear! People have always been terrified of her, ever since she was a child! Nobody has ever cared about her for real! And now I do… and she's happy, dad! I've seen her laugh, seen her cry, and seen her give me up just because she thought I wouldn't be happy with her! But you want to know the truth? I am happy with her! I've never been happier in my life! And nothing is going to change that! I don't care if the four of you tie me up to keep me away from her, I'm not going to stop loving her no matter what happens! And no, I won't fear her! Never again!"
Pakku sighed again, feeling a little distressed by the boy's monologue. It sounded a little like how he had acted back when he had been in love with Kanna in their younger years… But then again, that had worked out in the end. Was Sokka in a similar situation with the ex-Fire Lord's daughter?
Bato didn't seem pleased at all by Sokka's claims, but he could tell he was just as hotheaded as Hakoda. There would be no changing his mind. Kanna seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Bato. But the Water Tribe Chief wasn't done with his inquiries.
"So you're saying you plan to be with her from now on?" he asked
"If everything works out, yeah" grunted Sokka
"And what about Suki? I last saw you a few months ago and you were still involved with her. From what I could tell back then, you were serious about her. How come has that changed in such a short time-span?"
"Well, that's…"
"And if you changed your focus from one girl to another so fast, what makes you think you're not going to do the same to Azula?" asked Hakoda "What if another girl comes by and you fall for her? Even if you managed to break up with Suki without an issue, I rather doubt you'll go through the same with Azula"
"No!" said Sokka, grinding his teeth "Azula and I… we're not going to split up. Not over another woman, anyways"
"How can you be so certain, Sokka?" asked Hakoda, exasperated
"Because I love her, dad! I've never loved anyone like I love her!" Sokka insisted "I can feel it, dad! She's the one for me! Every second I spend near her feels like I've found everything that was missing in my life! Every time we are apart I can't stop thinking about her, wanting to return to her right away! I love her, dad. I've never felt so strongly towards anyone in my life… and she loves me back! She does, dad! I know it's not something easy to swallow, but if you just trust me…"
"It is too hard to swallow" said Hakoda, sighing. Well, there was no denying his son was in love… but he still couldn't accept a relationship like this one so easily "How, Sokka? How did this come to happen?"
Sokka sighed and gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected to find himself forced to tell that story to his father to try and convince him that his relationship with Azula made more sense than he thought. He had figured he would tell him about it one day, when they would be sitting peacefully next to each other as he talked to him about all that had happened between him and the Fire Nation Princess… he didn't think he would have to do it after being driven to a corner like this. But, regardless, he took a deep breath and readied himself to tell his father the story about how his love affair with Azula had begun.
Azula scanned the ship with her gaze quickly, analyzing everything with her ever sharp eyes. The vessel seemed to be, at least, fifty years old. It was rusty and discolored, so Azula couldn't determine which fleet it belonged to upon first glance.
"Let's avoid entering it this time, okay?" said Katara, smirking at Aang
"Oh, alright. Sokka might banish me again if we do" he replied, chuckling.
"Why exactly did he banish you?" asked Azula, approaching the ship and studying it closely "Looking at a ship doesn't seem like a crime…"
"Well, we got inside and there was a booby trap" Aang admitted, smiling shyly at the memory "It kind of signaled Zuko where we were and then he attacked the Water Tribe…"
Azula frowned and looked at them.
"Zuko… attacked the Tribe?"
"Yeah, but that was a long time ago" said Katara, shrugging "He attacked many places…"
"Yet everyone seems to have forgiven him" finished Azula, downcast. It was odd that Zuko had managed to earn the forgiveness he had attained after all the damage he had caused. Sure, she had taken over the largest city in the Earth Kingdom and she had nearly burned down the Fire Nation Capital… but if Zuko had been given a chance to redeem himself, why couldn't she get one?
"You don't have to worry about it, Azula" said Aang, smiling "I'm sure everything will be fine. You'll be forgiven too, in due time"
Azula rolled her eyes and walked away from the shipwreck, unwilling to show she cared about being forgiven. She didn't really long for forgiveness so badly. All she wanted was to know Sokka would stay with her, no matter if other people tried to dissuade him about their relationship. He was strong, she knew it, and he loved her… but she knew going against a father was something really difficult to do. He would have to be really brave to stand up to Hakoda like that…
"So… how exactly was it that we ended up here anyways, Katara?" asked Aang, trying to change the subject when he saw Azula growing distraught again.
"You don't remember?" she replied, chuckling "Come on, Aang… you can't tell me you forgot about penguin sledding…"
"OH!" Aang exclaimed, his eyes alight with cheerfulness "Yes! It was because of that! How could I forget?"
"Well, you have many things in your mind lately" said Katara, giggling "It's fine to forget a few things once in a while…"
"Penguin sledding?" Azula repeated, looking at them in utter confusion "Care to explain what that is…?"
"It's what it sounds like" replied Katara "You find a penguin and climb on its back, and then you slide through the ice until the penguin throws you off"
"Well, he could lose all momentum too and you can just climb off" said Aang, chuckling "Ah, that's one fun thing to do, penguin sledding… haven't done it since back then, have we?"
"No, we haven't had a chance to do it" said Katara, smiling at the Avatar
"You know, all these years I've been thinking… that's what sealed the deal between us" said Aang, raising his eyebrows suggestively at Katara
The waterbender was surprised by that and she smacked him on the shoulder playfully.
"You really think penguin sledding did it all?" she asked, giggling
"Well, it was what told me I should be with you!" Aang declared proudly "And I pursued you non-stop ever since!"
"Really?" asked Katara "Ever since?"
"Ever since!" said Aang, nodding.
Azula raised an eyebrow as she caught that information. So… penguin sledding sealed the deal? Could it seal it between her and Sokka as well? The nervousness she was feeling right now seemed impossible to appease, and she wanted to get rid of it somehow… maybe penguin sledding was the answer. It sounded stupid, but right now, she was willing to try anything… anything to make sure Sokka would never stop looking at her with that gentle blue gaze…
Sokka sighed as he left the igloo after a few hours of providing explanations to his father. The man didn't seem pleased to hear how things had ended between him and Suki, seeing how he had pretty much cheated on the girl with Azula, and he still seemed distrustful of the Princess altogether. Yet Bato, Pakku and Kanna had dismissed him, told him he could go with Azula if he wished while they finished talking to Hakoda. Sokka decided to trust them, against his better judgment, and he left the house feeling a very heavy weight on his shoulders. He didn't think being in a relationship without his father's approval would be this difficult…
But his mood improved when he found Azula waiting for him outside. The sight of his girlfriend with her hair loose made his heart skip a beat. She was strikingly beautiful, truly…
"Hey" he said, approaching the girl and smiling brightly at her.
Azula was profoundly relieved to see him as cheerful as ever, but she was still worried.
"How did it go?" she asked, as he stood in front of her.
"Uh… bad, I suppose" said Sokka, sighing "But that's my dad. He's just trying to look out for me even when I tell him he doesn't have to"
"It's not easy to take, I suppose…"
"No, but it's okay" he said, smiling at Azula and caressing her cheek "He'll accept us eventually. And if he doesn't, I suppose he'll have to live with it. I'm not going to leave you, you can be sure of that"
Azula smiled back and nodded, pleased at those words.
"How did it go with those two?" asked Sokka, pointing at Aang and Katara with his head. The two lovebirds were sitting by the large fireplace, hugging and whispering loving words to the other. Talk about oogies…
"It wasn't that much fun without you, I have to admit" said Azula "Those two can get unbearably obnoxious"
Sokka chuckled and patted her on the head.
"Well, I'm glad you survived them anyways"
"Say, Sokka…" she muttered, a little nervous. Sokka raised an eyebrow at her demeanor.
"Something the matter?" he asked, puzzled
Azula took a deep breath before looking up at him, her eyes ablaze with determination now.
"There's something I want us to do"
Sokka blinked a few times, still staring at her in utter confusion.
"And… what's that something, exactly?"
Azula grew even more determined as she delivered the great revelation to Sokka.
"I want to go penguin sledding with you"
And I've returned to HTAR four months late with Starbucks! (?) As they say popularly these days…
I'll try to write up the next chapter for this story right away! Seeing how I left this chapter in a pseudo-cliffhanger… (well, I suppose if you read Gladiator you'd say I left that story in a far more urgent cliffy than this one…)
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to update this story soon! ^^
