Part 4 - Devotion/Blood
It all started, ironically, as a way to honor the legacy of the Air Nomads.
"A traveling museum?" Zuko's confusion rang out from the Burning Throne.
Aang nodded from the center of the throne room. "Eventually, but first I'd need to collect the exhibits. I know Zhao had access to some relics from Air Nomad culture-" He had to swallow past the lump in his throat brought on by the thought of Azula's assassination order. "-so I know there are some here in the Fire Nation. And there's an Air Temple on one of the Outer Islands-"
"I know," Zuko interrupted. "The Western Temple. I've been there."
"Great! Well, I'm sure some things can be recovered from there, and the other Air Temples, too. I'd need to find a team who could manage the museum and travel with it, and then probably train them a lot. Because your history books? Not very accurate."
Zuko waved the point away as his courtiers mumbled their confusion. "And what do you hope to accomplish with this?"
Aang squared his shoulders. "I am the last Airbender. It is my responsibility to preserve the legacy of my people. This is a start, educating about what has been lost, and spreading the teachings of my people so that they will find new root."
"And why should I, the Fire Lord, permit the teachings of our enemies to be spread anew across the world?"
The correct answer was because the Fire Nation needed to make up for its crimes, but that was hardly the kind of thing that Aang could say in a public petition. (At least, that's what Azula had told him, and he thought it made sense.) Instead, he said, "You already do it, and you prosper by it. You employ Earthbenders and Waterbenders all over the world. (Sometimes without their permission.) And one of the Earth King's most important advisors now works for your Governor in Ba Sing. And, really, all fighting styles have influenced each other over the ages to make them stronger. Even a lot of your machines were designed by an Earth Kingdom inventor in an Air Temple! It's silly to say nothing good can come from other cultures."
Zuko was silent for a moment. "All your exhibits would have to be approved by the Ministry of Loyal Communications. And I will have final approval of the administrators chosen to run the museum."
Aang bowed his head. "That sounds reasonable." And like something he could fight against in the future, with Azula's help.
"Where will the funding come from?"
"I will pay for the initial phases myself. I'll need to be heavily involved in the accumulating and staffing, anyway. Once the museum is ready to get started, then I'll of course continue to support it, but I'm hoping that others will see the benefit of helping it continue and grow."
"Very well." Zuko raised a hand. "I give you permission to start pursuing this endeavor. In fact, I even have some souvenirs from my visit to the Western Air Temple that I will donate to the cause. But be careful what messages you send with this project, Prince Aang. I will be watching."
Aang bowed. "Of course, Fire Lord." The threat didn't even bother him; he was too busy gritting his teeth and pretending that he and Zuko were buddies, when the relics Zuko was donating had been pilfered as part of hunting Aang down.
But Azula had warned him.
"I warned you," Azula said to her husband at dinner, later. "Zuzu never just rolls over and admits to being beaten. He always needs to throw in a little something to poison the mood."
Aang popped a spout in his mouth and raised his eyebrows at her. "So do you."
Azula considered that. Aang was quite useful at pointing out her blind spots, but in this case, she judged him wrong. "I disagree. I can indeed be spiteful, but I am more than capable of playing nice and letting my opponents walk away happy in service to a larger goal. Zuzu, on the other hand, has trouble with long-term planning."
"Okay, that's fair." Aang put his chopsticks down on his empty plate. "That's still not exactly a good thing, though."
"Maybe not to an Air Nomad." Azula shrugged as she put her own empty plate down on the table. They were alone in his suite's parlor, as was their custom, sprawled on separate couches as they briefed each other on the day's events. Aang claimed that most families did it and called it 'normal conversation,' but Azula thought making it a proper briefing ensured that all the relevant information was communicated in an orderly manner. "Do you need any further assistance? Perhaps in identifying targets for blackmail so that you can raise additional funds?"
Aang frowned. "I- uh, I have enough money for now. I'm more interested in seeing what kind of stuff I can recover. Zuko only had some old maps and travel journals. The maps will make a nice display, but if I'm honest, their history isn't really going to interest most people. Some statues would be great, but I don't want to take more of that kind of thing out of the Air Temples if I don't have to. So I thought I'd spread the word and see who wants to sell or lend anything they might have to the newest Prince of the Fire Nation."
Azula wasn't sure how much of a response that would get, but it was a reasonable starting point. "Well, if anyone is being stingy and you need to blackmail them, talk to me first. We only have so much incriminating information to work off of, and I don't want to spend it all collecting old panels painted with clouds."
Aang laughed, a real sound of amusement, rich and as light as air. "If I'm going to blackmail someone, it's going to be for something good!"
Azula smiled in return. Aang's laugh was so strange. It was like that of a child, or someone stupid like that Kiyi girl, in its lack of restraint. When Aang laughed, he was making himself completely vulnerable. He sometimes faked amusement, of course, as anyone who had to interact with other people did, but it was always easy to tell when he was insincere. His real laughter came without hesitation. Earning it was an indisputable accomplishment, as insignificant as it might be.
Azula was not good at making people laugh; too many had hesitated before chuckling at her witticisms. Earning Aang's laughter was not insignificant to her.
She was getting better at it, as the months passed.
"Well," she finally said, "I hope this works out for you. Aside from annoying Zuko, I think your project will have some real value to the Fire Nation."
"You do?"
"Certainly! Learning new things is how we stay strong and sharp, and anyone who keeps a narrow focus in their learning is doing nothing but defending their ignorance. There's no telling what kinds of information might be useful. And the Fire Nation certainly doesn't have exclusive access to all the information in the world. I agree with your argument to Zuko completely."
Aang's grin was as honest as his laughter. "Thanks!"
"You are quite welcome. And if I might make a suggestion, the nobility here in the Capital make use of several brokers who deal in 'recovered' antiquities. Our soldiers took quite a few trophies over a century of war, and many have passed onto a shadow market. I could pass on some names?"
Azula hated the way she enjoyed Aang's smiles.
Aang had to leave the Capital to meet with the first broker, but the showroom of Itsuo of Chung-Ling proved to be worth the trip.
"Wow," Aang hissed as he stepped into the glorified warehouse, his guards a step behind him. Statues the size of buildings, their details obscured by tarps and scaffolding, rose up over a treasure trove of culture- paintings and trinkets and musical instruments and weapons and sculptures and even several long boats. Aang recognized designs from the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and the Water Tribes. It reminded him of those pirate traders he visited with Katara and Sokka, the ones whose Waterbending scroll Katara had pilfered. "You have a little bit of everything, here. "
Itsuo himself proved to be an athletic man in simple working clothes, although he wore a pair of what had to be expensive spectacles. "Prince Aang, you do me honor with your presence and awe. Yes, I cast my nets quite far and hire only agents with an eye for value, and I like to think I have an eye for the interesting. Your letter said you were looking for Air Nomad pieces?"
Aang waved his guards to wait by the door. "Yes. I'm looking for things that I can exhibit, things that can illustrate the history of the Air Nomads for the people who don't know about it."
"Ah, a noble intent. Yes, I can show you some nice pieces, I think." Itsuo turned to look out over the sprawl of treasure, and tossed an apologetic smile back at Aang. "Your pardon, but I'm a bit disorganized right now. Several new shipments came in this week, and moving some of it around can be delicate work. If you don't mind a bit of walking, I have several little troves of Nomad culture here."
Aang waved. "Lead the way."
Itsuo proved to be as good as his boasting. He had a lot from what he sourced as the Northern Air Temple, statues and even whole walls and arches cut from the buildings there when the Fire Nation converted it to a research station. "I'll just make a list of what you like for now," Itsuo said, "and we can negotiate the cost later."
He next showcased what he claimed were books of poetry written by an Airbender monk, but Aang didn't recognize the names of any of the poems, and couldn't even really find a sign that it came from an Air Nomad, so he passed on that.
A basket of beaded necklaces proved more promising, for although there were some in the pile of clear Water Tribe origin, others sported tokens with the swirled sigil of the Air Temples. "I'm not sure if all of these will make good display pieces, but I'd like to get them, anyway," Aang said, holding one up to see it better in the light of the overhead crystal lanterns.
Itsuo nodded. "I can sort things into separate bills, if that would help you. Business and pleasure, as it were."
This business was proving to be a pleasure for Aang, but he wondered if it should be. This man was profiting off things stolen from other people. But, in his own way, he was helping to preserve the cultures; the stuff from the Northern Air Temple would have been destroyed if he hadn't bought it all. On the other hand, everything from the Water Tribe had probably been stolen in some way.
Aang wondered if, after he got his traveling museum running, he could see about collecting and returning cultural artifacts to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. Even if he couldn't free them from Fire Nation rule, he could give the people something back of their history.
Next, Aang and Itsuo went to see what proved to be a bronze fountainhead in the shape of a sky bison. "I think this came from the Northern Air Temple," Itsuo said, "but I could have sworn I had the full base of the fountain, as well. Maybe someone bought it? I'll have to check the records."
Aang gazed at the craftsmanship of the fountainhead itself, trying to remember if he had seen it before. He had only been to the Northern Air Temple once, before he ran away from home. "I don't think I'd need the whole fountain, anyway. This is a good piece."
"It is, isn't it?" Itsuo pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "It reminds me of something else, too. Something with an arrow like that? Ah! I have it! Yes, I think you'd be quite interested in that. I believe I put it on display somewhere over this way?" He wandered between a pair of shelves. "This piece isn't as old as the rest. I'm not sure how long such a thing would have lasted without proper care. But yes, this is only a few years old, I think, so the condition should be- ah, here it is!" He gestured.
Aang looked, and-
Oh.
Oh, no.
Set out on a wide crate was a white pelt, a pelt so large it was folded and stacked so it could fit. The hair was fluffed and shining in the light, most of it an unstained white, but down the center ran a tannish-gray streak that formed the clean lines and decisive point of an arrow.
An arrow just like the one on Aang's head.
A pair of long, smooth horns the size of Aang's whole body were crossed over the center of the pelt.
"This," came Aang's voice, almost as if from a source outside his body, "is only a few years old?"
He couldn't hear Itsuo's reply, but he caught man's nodding just before black started edging in on his vision. His sight became a tunnel focused on the pelt. He recognized this exact coloration, the exact proportions of this arrow. Some artists used to depict sky bison as being essentially identical, but all Air Nomads knew that there were differences, that some had thinner arrows and some had larger arrowheads and the colors could range among any number of subtle shades.
Aang knew exactly which sky bison this pelt had once belonged to.
He swayed on his feet, and it was like the room was spinning around him. His chest felt tight- no, his entire body- as if something was trying to break out. There was an internal pressure that almost hurt but it was becoming the only thing he could feel now and he let himself tumble into it as a lifeline to reality. It became a path that led him to old friends like the roar of the hurricane and the impossibly deep energy of an earthquake and the hunger of a bonfire. Aang took his friends unto himself, drawing comfort from their embrace, and surrendered the wrenching of his heart to their guidance.
Dimly, he was aware of Itsuo's screaming.
Azula could hear Zuko's shouting from down the hall, but she didn't hesitate to throw open the curtain to the throne room and stomp inside. The sounds of her boots echoed off the walls and pillars, unimpeded without any courtiers or observers present. The only people in the room were Zuko on the Burning Throne and Aang kneeling in chains on the floor.
"This act of war-" Zuko cut himself off when he saw her. "Azula, get out of here!"
She crossed her arms and stared him down, even though he sat so far above her. "Why was I not informed of my husband's return? I had to hear it from that mouse Kiyi."
The flames around Zuko flared. "You stay away from her! She serves Mai- not you."
"And yet she came to me in tears because she saw my husband, who she apparently considers her friend, being brought into the palace in chains and no one would tell her what was going on." Azula raised her eyebrows. "I could sympathize with that last point."
Zuko maintained a petulant silence for a long moment, but Azula had invoked the youngest member of his pet servant family. He made a disgusted sound. "The Avatar lost control of his powers and entered into something known as the Avatar State. He nearly killed the merchant he was meeting and destroyed the man's whole livelihood, as well as a considerable portion of the surrounding warehouse district. He's lucky more people weren't hurt. As it is, the merchant might never walk again."
Lucky.
Azula hated that word.
Father used to say she was lucky. It was yet another of his mistakes. She hated that her Father had made mistakes.
But Azula wasn't about to mention Father to Zuko, not here and now. "The merchant. This is Itsuo of Chung-Ling?"
Zuko nodded. "The Avatar nearly killed a citizen of the Fire Nation, and he won't even speak a word in his own defense."
Azula let out a carefully performed laugh. "Is that your read on the situation? Because it seems to me that Prince Aang of the Fire Nation apprehended a well-known smuggler who has long been protected by the corrupt nobles he supplies with stolen spoils. Items conquered in the name of the Fire Lord that were removed from the sites of victory and sold for profit through dubious channels. You didn't even make anything off of his business, since you have no taxes on art, or what passes for it with a small bribe to a customs agent."
Zuko snorted. "That's ridiculous."
"So is chaining up a member of the royal family who has presented no threat to you!"
"I should throw him in a prison and melt the key!" Zuko jumped to his feet, balling his fists at his side. "This game you've been playing is over! I should never have let the Avatar out, never mind handing him over to you as a pet!"
Azula inhaled, and then it out slowly. When she spoke again, her voice and tone were fully in control. "He is not my pet. He is my husband, whom you have Recognized. He saved your honor-brother from traitors. And I swear, Zuko, on our Father's ashes, that if you take Aang away from me I will become your worst nightmare."
Zuko dismissed her threat with a wave. "You already are."
"No, that's your weakness talking." Azula stepped forward and put a hand on top of Aang's bald head. Aang himself didn't move or react, and his eyes were closed. Was he even conscious? But Azula couldn't worry about that now. She kept her eyes on her brother. "I know you want me dead. I've avoided giving you enough reason to make it happen, before now. But take Aang away from me, and I'll know I have nothing more to lose. If I can't even keep my own husband, if I can lose anything to you because of a whim, I'll finally have a reason to fight you with everything I have. And I can promise that even if you defeat me, I'll take the whole Fire Nation down with me. There won't be enough of it left for you to rule."
Zuko often accused her of lying, but Azula far preferred the truth. Lies were temporary weapons, things used to push people in a certain direction for a time, and very fragile. Truth, on the other hand? The right kind of truth was more effective than an army.
And here, now, Azula was telling the truth to her brother.
Zuko stared at her, his eyes going wide as he saw the truth in her eyes. "I- I don't want you dead. M- I've gone out of my way to keep you alive!"
Azula frowned. Surely, he couldn't be serious.
But Zuko was a poor liar, and she saw truth in his eyes, too.
Had she-
Had she been wrong all this time?
Azula forced the thoughts aside. She couldn't deal with this now. A proper reevaluation and impact analysis could be performed once she had dealt with Aang's problem. "Then let my husband go, because the only other outcomes to this are either my death or yours. Along with however many other deaths accumulate on the way. Aang is mine. Not yours. Not anymore."
Zuko gave a slow nod. "Guards, free the Avatar."
Two of the Crimson Guard came from the wings of the throne room to kneel on either side of Aang and take off his chains. Aang himself didn't react, not even when they stepped away and left him unencumbered on the floor.
Azula growled in her throat and grabbed Aang's arms to yank him to his feet. He rose easily, and let himself be guided out of the throne room.
Before Azula passed through the curtain, she turned back to Zuko and bowed her head with perfectly precise deference. "We are grateful for your mercy, my lord brother. Long may you live and rule."
She didn't stay long to see if Zuko had a response.
Azula hurried Aang through the halls of the palace, past staring soldiers and whispering servants. Azula spotted Kiyi loitering near one of the main staircases, and the child's eyes went wide, but Azula didn't stop or speak. The mouse of a girl had served her purpose, and if Aang wanted to give her more attention, he could snap out of his funk and do it himself.
At last, Azula got her husband back to her suite.
It had been a while since she had brought him here. They took their shared dinners in his rooms, since that was where he kept the spy reports he stole from Zuko and Mai.
It had been in this parlor that they had been married.
Azula sat Aang down one of the couches. "Do you need a healer? Or a Sage?"
Aang finally opened his eyes. "No." His voice was flat, so lacking in life that Azula almost didn't recognize it. "I'm not hurt."
Azula frowned. "What about this 'Avatar State?' That's what Zuko called it."
Aang sighed. "I'm fine now. It was my Avatar Spirit. I lose control of it when I-" He shut his eyes again, and a pair of tears rolled down his cheeks. "That man had Appa's pelt." His voice was twisted now, on the verge of a sob. "I left him behind to get medicine, but Zuko captured me, and- and-"
Azula dropped to his side, possibilities running through her mind as to how to comfort him. If he destroyed whole warehouses districts over this much sadness, she needed a way to deflect his emotional tumble, but she didn't know very much about that kind of thing. She tried to remember what Ty Lee had done for Mai whenever tears were being shed, and wound up rubbing Aang's back and cooing, "It's okay. It's okay."
She felt ridiculous. It obviously wasn't okay. This was the problem with lies; anyone with any intelligence could see through them.
Aang, though, sucked in a breath. His voice was flat again when he said, "I failed my best friend."
Azula continued rubbing his back, and wondered when it would be appropriate to stop. "What do you want to do? I could arrange a place for him in the Garden of Tranquil Souls. Or- it was a sky bison, yes? An Airbender? It might merit a place in the Temple's Dragonbone Catacombs."
"No, I-" Aang shuddered. "That doesn't matter. I just- it's wrong, but I- the people who- who made that pelt- they must- they have to be out there, still. Someone- someone hurt Appa-"
Azula bit back a smile and took her hand off her husband's back. Now, this she knew how to handle. "I will find them. I can promise you that they'll regret it."
Aang opened his eyes again and met her gaze. "It's wrong."
"It's what you want."
Aang shuddered again. "It is."
Azula leaned closer to him. "But I need you to say it. I won't let you throw this back at me someday. I'm offering to help you satisfy this Blood Debt. You are asking me to hurt these people. To kill them." She couldn't help but remember their wedding night, when he threw her gift of Zhao's life back in her face.
Aang was very still for a long moment, his eyes dull and unfocused.
Then his gaze sharpened, he met her eyes, and nodded. "I am. I want you to do this for me. They deserve it."
Azula gave him her softest, most honest smile, the one she had reserved for Father. "Okay. You don't need to worry about it anymore."
Then she leaned forward and kissed him.
His lips were so very warm on her own.
For a while, Aang thought he dreamed the conversation with Azula. He had woken up the next morning with only half-remembered bits of it in his head and the taste of Azula on his lips, but he couldn't remember either the actual words or the kiss.
Appa's fate also seemed like something out of a nightmare.
Hunted.
Killed.
Skinned.
The very thought sent Aang racing for a basin, and he hadn't been able to eat breakfast afterward.
He was careful not to think about it again, but it still lurked in the back of his mind, a tightness in his chest that threatened to burst with the power to destroy the entire Caldera. The best preventative, he knew, was people. But when he made time to see Kiyi, catching her carry some laundry back to Mai's room, she looked at him with sad eyes and burst out with, "Are you okay? I told the Princess Azula they put you in chains and she got so mad and even when you weren't in chains anymore she looked at me really mean and I'm sorry if I did something wrong!"
Aang waved his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture. "I'm okay! And you did fine! It's good that you told Azula. It was- there was a misunderstanding, and she was able to fix everything up. If there's ever a problem with me and I look like I need help, it's absolutely okay for you to go to Azula. I'll make sure of it."
Kiyi shifted the folded robes in her hands. "She's not mad at me?"
"No! Azula was just upset about what happened, and it made her cranky. She's kind of cranky all the time. But she's actually thankful for what you did." Aang figured it was close enough to the truth.
Kiyi smiled. "Oh. Thank you for telling me. And you're sure you're okay?"
Aang nodded. "I'm- I'm a little tired from everything, but I'm fine."
"Tired? I- I was hoping maybe we could practice some Firebending together, later."
"That's a good idea." Aang made a show of stretching his arms. "I'm the kind of tired that needs some exercise to fix, instead of sleep. You know, feeling slow and sleepy until you get your body moving again?"
Kiyi's expression slowly lightened. "I guess. Yeah, I've felt like that sometimes. Okay, I'll see you later for practice! Out in the park?"
But when the time came, Kiyi did not come alone.
Mai was with her.
Zuko's wife.
Aang must have been staring with shock, because Mai quirked an eyebrow at him as she spread a blanket out on the grass and said, "Kiyi isn't allowed to abandon her duties to me just to go play with friends. So I am coming to the park to enjoy nature or whatever, and you both are going to entertain me with a demonstration of Firebending."
Kiyi nodded enthusiastically enough to shake her whole form. "Mai- uh, Lady Mai wanted to help."
Aang couldn't fathom why. Mai had barely paid attention to him since the wedding to Azula, and she had been nothing but unpleasant in their few moments of forced interaction. She hadn't even seemed to care about the whole thing with her brother's kidnapping.
Mai sprawled down on the blanket and closed her eyes.
Maybe there was more to her than she was letting on.
Aang hoped it was in a good way.
But at least it let him enjoy some time focusing on his Bending, and interacting with one of the few truly happy and optimistic people in the Fire Nation's capital.
His name was Maliq. He had been born in the Northern Water Tribe and educated in Ba Sing Se. Arranging an appointment with him was a simple matter of contacting Ba Sing Se University, passing a note through the administration there, and then arranging to bring him to the Fire Nation for a professional consultation.
Azula met Maliq in a rented office in Lower Harbor City, not far from the military's Central Command building.
"How may I be of service," he began as he sat down and placed a thin suitcase on the desk in front of him, "your highness?" His glasses glinted in the light of the sun that streamed in through the window.
Azula gave him her most pleasant smile. "I wanted to inquire about a device I believe you made on commission. Governor Chunhua was receiving reports of an actual living sky bison eating the crops of tenant farmers in her lands, and you provided a solution?"
Maliq grinned. "I did indeed! There were plenty of hunters willing to try for the bounty, but the problem was catching the creature when its flight abilities allowed it to retreat from an engagement with such speed and agility! So I adapted the latest engine technology into a vehicle that a single driver could operate, along with a harpoon weapon similar to that used by Navy vessels for w-"
"Yes," Azula interrupted. "And it worked quite well, as I understand it. Hunter- yes, it was Hunter Utor, wasn't it, who used one of your vehicles to finally hunt down and kill the bison?"
Maliq nodded, confirming her research, and opened his briefcase. "I have the schematics here as an example of my work, if you wish to review them. From what I was told, Utor chased the sky bison for almost forty hours, wearying the creature and then finally harpooning it when it could no longer maintain a high altitude." He passed over a stack of papers.
Azula took and examined them with real curiosity. The device in question was a smooth assembly, its gears hidden behind protective panels, and she recognized the engine as being similar to output from the Northern Air Temple's think tank. The harpoon was indeed just a scaled-down version of what every Navy vessel had amongst its armaments. It seemed to be good engineering work, but nothing revolutionary.
She nodded. "This settles it. I think we can do business."
Maliq leaned forward with bright eyes. "You wish to commission something?"
Azula made an effort to hold back her laughter. "I do. I wish to commission your death."
He blinked. "My- my d-"
Then she grabbed his throat, thought of Aang, and let her Inner Fire flare.
It was a good thing she rented the offices on either side of this one, as well. The smell might have disturbed someone.
Part of the blood debt was paid.
Aang barely saw Azula as the weeks went on. This was not unusual, as they didn't involve each other in all of their own projects, and sometimes those projects interfered with their usual dinner meetings. Azula seemed to writing and sending out a lot of letters, and she apparently didn't feel a need to let Aang know what they were for.
So he was left to take dinner with the rest of his family.
These gatherings were better than his last attempts. Mai attended a few of them, which meant Kiyi was on hand, and in addition to Noriko, her husband Noren joined Zuko for the meals.
At their first dinner together, Noren sought Aang's attention and said, "So, Avatar, are you a fan of theater?"
Aang had to shrug. "I've had fun seeing a few shows, but never really had opportunities to watch the real thing on a permanent stage." He was grateful for his own ignorance, grateful they weren't talking about something that could evoke memories of Appa.
Maybe Noren did it on purpose.
"Ah!" Noren threw a glance at his wife. "Then you've been missing out. Theater is the richest avenue through which we pass stories, and stories the sustenance of the spirit itself. There's a stage in Lower Harbor City with a good troupe, if you care to partake?"
Aang smiled. "Sounds good to me. What shows do they put on?"
"Well, they're preparing to produce a script that I happen to have adapted myself from an old legend about the Agni Warrior..."
Aang leaned forward with interest as Noren talked on about the upcoming play.
He was barely aware of Azula coming in and telling Zuko that she would be away on Siwang Island for a few days.
Utor did not know that Azula would be meeting him on Siwang. He thought he was being summoned to Meidifang to be offered a bounty, with his travel expenses, including the ferry ride connecting the islands, being paid ahead of him.
Ambushing a former soldier in an office seemed incongruous.
And so Azula waited atop a cliff, looking down on the road Utor would need to take to get to the ferry to Meidifang. Above her, dark storm-clouds made the day almost as dark as night, and winds battered at her robes and hair.
Did the air act on the true will of the last Airbender? Or was she simply being overly dramatic again?
Below, a komodo rhino raced down the road, leaving a trail of flying dust that the winds quickly scattered. Azula raised her spyglass to examine the rider, and found him to be a massive man wearing the headgear of a trainee soldier. His bare arms were notable for their inflated muscles and the tattoo of a red dragon that stretched across them.
Above, the storm-clouds rumbled, a promise of distant lightning.
Azula had always been good at lightning. Father had taught her how to do it, and while she wasn't as quick or proficient as he was, she had taken to the technique quick enough to please him. Sages and Masters had called her prodigy. (Again.) She always found it a simple matter to simply not feel, to empty her mind and body of anything resembling emotion even as she manipulated the energies that coursed through her.
But now she kept thinking of Aang, even when she just wanted to concentrate on this cold-blooded murder.
Utor was passing her position, now.
Azula went into the form, moving her arms in a circular motion as she separated the Yin and Yang of herself and held them apart until she thrust out her arm, two fingers pointing down towards the slayer of the last sky bison, defining the path that her electricity could take down to the ground.
Azula thought of Aang just as the Yin and Yang smashed back together.
There was the usual thunder, the usual light and heat and roar of power.
This time, though, there was also a pop, and Azula was knocked off her feet but some kind of feedback. She quickly scrambled back up, feeling her hair standing on end.
Down below, Utor and his rhino were a pair of charred messes.
Not perfect.
But good enough.
The clouds opened up and let loose with a downpour.
Aang was about to go to bed for the night when there was a knock on the door of his suite. He had every intention of answering it, but before he could take two steps, Azula went ahead and let herself in.
Aang wasn't sure he had ever seen her wait for someone to let her in.
She certainly showed no such hesitation now. She stalked right over to him, grabbed his hands, and led him over to the table where they usually shared their dinners. She pushed him to sit down in one of the couches, and then went around to the other side of the table and kneeled on the floor.
Aang blinked at her. "What's going on?"
From her belt, she took out a cracked pair of glasses, the glass smudged with brown marks that could have been left by flames, and put them down on the table. Then she produced a ragged piece of what seemed to be some kind of head-gear, red with a triangular fire sigil on it, the edges blackened and melted. That, too, came to a rest on the table.
At last, she put down a piece of paper torn from one of the newsletters that were regularly distributed throughout the Capital. The paper was completely free of burn marks, unlike the other two items, leaving the news item easy to read and just as ominous: 'Governor Chunhua of Shiwu Colony Reported Dead.'
Aang looked up to his wife.
She nodded. "Governor Chunhua contracted Maliq of the Northern Water Tribe to build a weapon, which was used by an ex-soldier named Utor to hunt down the sky bison whose pelt was acquired by Itsuo of Chung-Ling. I arranged Chunhua's death through the same channels I used for Zhao. Maliq and Utor are dead by my hand. You did not ask for Itsuo's death, so I have left him learning to live without the use of his legs. I have done as you asked."
Aang winced, no longer able to deny the memory of that night in his wife's rooms.
Azula went on, "Your sky bison has been avenged with blood."
"Appa," Aang gasped. "His name was Appa."
"Appa." It sounded so odd in Azula's voice, but she spoke it with unexpected warmth. "Appa is avenged by my hand."
Aang squeezed his eyes shut against the tears the started to flow.
He heard Azula move, and her face came down from above him. "I know you don't appreciate this, but you asked for it, and so I have given it. I know you think I'm a monster for doing it. For enjoying it." There was a challenge in her tone.
But Aang could only shake his head. "I don't think that."
"You do."
"No." Aang wiped at his eyes and looked up at his wife. "I think I'm the monster for asking you do it. I knew you would. I knew it, but- but I just wanted them to hurt! To- to not be able to be able to hurt anything else again! But- but- but I'm just like them, and-" He felt the pressure in his body again, the singing in his veins, and worried that he was about to kill everyone in the palace-
Azula's warms hands cupped his cheeks.
He looked into her face to find her expression twisted with an emotion he didn't recognize on her. She held him, looked at him, and then climbed down onto the couch next to him and curled herself around him. Her head rested against his.
"We're all monsters," she whispered. "The worst of us are the ones who pretend they're not."
Aang wanted to deny it, to tell her that there was real goodness in this world and real people who served it. He remembered Katara, and Sokka, and Gyatso. But he also remembered how he selfishly ran away from his duty as the Avatar, and let the world fall into a century of war. How many had Azula killed, compared to that?
He wasn't fooled that she was good, or that the count of killings somehow made her better than him.
But he had asked her to take lives for him. Even after he despised her for it on their wedding night.
And here she was, doing as he asked, even though she expected to be hated for it. Why?
He didn't know.
But it didn't matter.
She was here. She was with him. And they deserved each other.
Aang cried until he had no more tears to give, and then kissed his wife with the passion of a thousand lifetimes.
AND THUS THE AVATAR AND THE FIRE PRINCESS SEALED THEIR UNION WITH BLOOD
