Chapter 6: Healing at Home

Once again, Azula found herself on board the water tribe sailing ship that was used by her healers and once again, she was on her way to the water tribe village where she would sell her fish. But this time, Azula was not going to spend her day at the market, even though it had been 2 weeks since she had been to town. Instead, Azula would be going into town to spend the day with one of her healers and her family. Azula was going to spend the day with Morra. The last time Azula had gone to town, Morra had asked Azula if she would like to spend the day with her family. Azula agreed to this and said that she would not mind at all and said that she would love to get to know her friend better. As she sat at the front of the ship, Azula wondered what type of people Morra's family were like. She knew that both Morra and Kenga were from the north pole and had originally moved to the south pole, to aid in the reconstruction of the Southern Water Tribes. She also knew that Morra was in fact married and had 3 childern, but other than that, she did not know anything else. She soon began to fell the same sense of dread that she got when she would go into town. But it was not the fear of being found out that bothered her, it was the idea of meeting new people that really bothered her. Even though Azula was able to work through her shyness around others, she still felt an anxiety when she came in to contact with others and Azula still had a long way to go before she would be able to shake off that feeling. She only hoped that Morra's family were just like her and if they were, then she would be able to relax a little more.

As the vessel entered the walled port, she noticed that there were a number of vessels from both the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water tribe anchored inside. Maybe one day, the stigma of the Fire Nation would fade and there would be Fire Nation merchant vessels anchored here as well. She could only hope. The sailing ship eased its way up, along side the pier and Kenga proceeded to tie the craft. When this was done, Morra helped Azula off the ship and the made their way off the pier. At the end of the pier, Azulas saw a rather large man standing next to a sled that had 6 Polar Bear Dogs attached to it. But when Morra saw who it was, she ran up to him and planted a small kiss on his lips. " Zura," she used Azula's cover name, " This is my husband, Kodda. Kodda, this is my friend Zura"

Kodda smiled and said" It is nice to finally meet you, Zuza. Morra has told me a lot about you." Azula just bowed and replied, " It is nice to finally meet you as well, Kodda. Morra has also said a lot of good things about you too."

"Well then, I think we should get going. Loka and Tok are expecting us." the burly man said, referring to their 2 children. Azula/Zura nodded and was helped into he sled by Morra and as soon as she was secured in her seat, they were off.

During the trip, Morra told Azula the story about how she and her husband had met at the North Pole. She was a student of Yugoda in the art of healing, while Kodda was just a fisherman. They had met one day when he had broken his arm during a fishing trip and she was assigned to heal him. After that first meeting, the 2 began to see each other on a regular basis and 2 years after they had met, Kodda asked Morra to marry him. To which she readily agreed to and after 15 years of marriage, they were still a happy couple and they had 2 children to prove it. Originally, they lived at the north pole but with the war's end, Morra along with a number of benders and healers moved to the south pole to aid in the reconstruction of their sister tribe. About 20 minutes later, they came up to a small house that had a strong northern tribe influence in it construction and as they pulled up, they were met by a young girl that was about 14 years in age and a boy that was a few years younger than her. They were Loka and Tok, Morra and Kodda's children.

As the sled came to a stop, Morra stepped off of the sled and helped Azula up. At this point, the 2 children came up and hugged their mother. As Azula watched her healer happily embrace her 2 children, she could not help bu to remember all the times that she and Zuko had spent with their mother, Ursa. Even though it was a long time ago, Azula could still remember the many times that her mother would take her and Zuko to spend some time in the royal gardens and feed the turtle ducks that were in the pond. But alas, her mind set at that time had denied her the opportunity of enjoying the time that she had spent with her mother. All she would care about was being like her father and making him proud. Seeing that Ursa would usually spend more time with Zuko than with her. It was only when her mother was banished did Azula realized just how much she really did love her. At first, she only though that her mother only left because she only loved Zuko and did not want to see him killed and as a result, Azula began to build up an hate for her mother. But it was only when she came out of her madness, did Azula realized that her mother left not just to save Zuko, but to save the both of them from seeing her being murdered by their father and permanently damaging them, mentally. For years, she had been lead to believe that her mother did not love her and that she truly was a monster. But in reality, it was her father that was the monster and that her mother truly did love her. It was just another reminder of just how badly her father had manipulated her mind and that she was just another victim of his lust for power.

" Hey Zura, are you coming inside?" Morra spoke up, bringing Azula out of her deep thoughts. Azula/Zura just nodded in reply and entered Morra's home, while Kodda went around back and secured the dogs,

The house, like every other home and structure at the south pole, was made out of ice and snow, and was built by Kodda himself when they moved to the village. But it was surprisingly sturdy and even though it was made out of ice, the way it was constructed made the interior warm enough as to allow any one to live in it quite comfortably. Azula came in and sat on the 'couch', while Morra went into the Kitchen to get her something to drink. At this point Kodda came back into the house and sat on another, smaller couch that was on the other side of the living room. " So, Zura." he said. " My wife told me that she is helping you adjust to life at the pole. Where are you from?"

Azula was a bit taken back by Kodda's question. She knew that only Morra and Kenga knew who she really was and it was no surprise that Morra kept this secret from her family. For if any one were to find out that she was helping an former member of the Fire Nation Royal Family, it could mean trouble for not only Morra, but for her family as well. And in an atmosphere still thick with Anti-Fire Nation sentiment, there was no telling what the villagers would do to them. After a few moments of thought, Azula/Zura spoke..." I... I'm was from the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se."

" Really, Ba Sing Se now? I heard that it is more like a small country, than a city." the burly man replied. Then he got a serious look on his face, " were you there when it was... you know. When it fell?" he asked. Azula flinched a bit.

"Ye... yes, I was. But I managed to flee before the occupation really began" she lied. She doubted that he really needed to know that she was the reason that the city fell and saw a number of unspeakable horrors.

" Do you have any family?" He asked. This was a sore subject for her, but she answered any way... " Not much, my mother left my father when I was young and my father... my father, is dead." Azula replied. Technically she did not lie to him this time. Her mother did leave them when she was young, while her 'father' might as well be dead to her. " I do have one brother though, but he lives with his wife in the fire nation." that statement caught Kodda by surprise. " He fell in love with a fire bender?"

" From what he says, she is not Fire bend. But he is happy, I'm glad for him." she said a bit timidly. " Well, I guess you can't help who you fall in love with." Kodda replied. Azula just nodded.

" Kodda dear, are you bothering our guess?" Morra asked, as she re-entered the living room with a pitcher of juice, Kodda just shrugged, "Well I hope not. I was just getting to know your friend here."

" It is alright Morra, I don't mind." Azula replied, still a bit timid. " Well then, Zura, would you like to help me make lunch?" Morra asked, Azula nodded and the 2 women went into the kitchen. While Kodda went into town with the children .Believe it or not, Azula had become quite the cook over the years. It was Morra herself that had taught her the art when she first came to the south pole. There were a few 'hic-ups' along the way, (Like Azula almost setting her home on fire and burning it to the ground) but in time, Azula was able to cook a meal and not smoke up her house. But just like a number of things Azula had to learn, this skill was vital for her survival.

A couple hours later, the lunch was almost completed and Kodda and family were expected back within a few minutes. As they were setting out the food, Auzla said, " Morra, I want to thank you for letting me into your home."

" You don't have to thank me,"Morra replied, " I just thought that you would like another reason to come in to town, other that to just sell fish."

" It's just not that, I want to thank you for all that you have done for me. No one had ever shown me such kindness in a long time." she began to tear up, something that the former princess normally never did. " You are my first real friend." she cried. Morra just came up and hugged the crying woman. " Well, your welcome and I am so glad that you consider me as a friend. But did't you tell me that you used to have 2 friends in the Fire Nation?'

" They... they weren't my friends." Azula said, wiping a few of her tears away. " I mean, I was not much of a friend to them as I though. I made them fear me, I would do horrible things to them just to get my way. I made my... Ty Lee leave the circus and travel with me when I was hunting for the Avatar and I almost killed her. I used to try and humiliate Mai because she had a crush on my brother... I'm not surprised that they have not tried to speak to me."

Morra just looked into her eyes and said, " You poor dear. You should not feel so bad, you were a different person back then. I know that you are sorry for what you did and I am very certain that if they knew that you were truly sorry for what had done to them, they would forgive you. I know your brother forgave you and that was why he had you freed. Maybe one day your 'friends' would forgive you too."

"I hope your right, Morra" Azula said with her head down. "And I hope it happens soon."

A few minutes later, Kodda and their 2 children returned home, but they were not alone. For with them were Kenga and his wife, who was actually from the Earth Kingdom. Her name was Lin. After exchanging greetings, they all sat at the table and ate the lunch that both Morra and Azula had made. Which consisted of rosted arctic hen and Sea weed bread. As they ate, they all talked any thing and every thing. From politics to the latest gossip from the village. At one point, Kenga even told the story about how he and Lin first met. He was visiting Gaoling when he first met her and after a few tries, she finally agreed to go out with him, they had been together ever since and were quite the happy couple.

As Azula looked on and saw just how happy the 2 couples were, she could not help but to wonder just what life would have been like if she had found someone in her life. Even though she was very beautiful by fire nation standards, she had never really pursued a romantic companionship with any one. The only time that she ever showed any kind of interest in a boy, was when she and her 'friends' had gone to Ember island for a vacation and she fell for a young man named Chan. Even though he had feelings for her, she only ended up scaring him off and she was left a bit heart broken. But she later got over it when she helped trashed his house and left Chan in tears. But even so, she would sometimes wounder why she was unable to gain the attention of boys like Ty Lee did. But the again, Ty Lee was not her and she had a natural carefree personality that gave her an aura that made her easy to approach. Either that, or it was the fact that Ty Lee was a lot more 'Developed' than she was that made boys notice her more, Azula really did not know.

After lunch was finished, Kenga said that he had a surprise for Zura and it was out side. Curious about what the surprise was, Zura/Azula followed him outside. But as soon as she exited the house, she saw a Polar Bear Dog sitting in one of the sleds out side and when the creature saw Azula, she ran up to her master and tackled her to the ground, licking her face. All Morra and Co. could do was watch as Bao laid down on top her master. After managing to get her self off the ground, Azula asked... " What Bao is doing here? Did you go back and pick her up?" Kenga just nodded.

" And that is not all that I brought with me." He said, as he went up to his sled and took out 2 large bags. Azula got a bit puzzled by this and said " What's going on?" but it was Morra that spoke up and said, " Well, you did expect to wear the same clothes for the next 4 days?"

"What do you mean by that?"

" Well, Kenga and I both thought that you would like to spend the next few days in the village with us. Surprise!" Morra said cheerfully. Azula was at a lost for words. She just found out that she would be spending the next 4 days in the village , instead of going back to her home in the hidden bay. It would be the first time in years that she would be sleeping somewhere else other than her house and they had even brought Bao along so that she would not have to fend for herself alone at the house. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Azula said, as she went up to Morra and hugged her. To which, Morra returned the embrace. The rest of them just looked on and smiled, as the 2 woman hugged.

When all was said and done, Morra and her family help Azula move her bags in to the house, while Kenga and Lin left and went back to their home on the other side of the village. Azula would be staying in the home's guess room and Bao would stay in there with her. Tomorrow, Azula and Morra would head into town and do some shopping and they would even get a better look at the new home that was being built for her in the village.

As Azula laid in her bed, she could not help but to think about Morra and her family. Kodda was a great guy and they seemed to be quite the happy couple. They lived together and had a family. But even though she was a stranger to them, Azula was welcomed in to their home with open arms Azula could not help but to think just how lucky she was to have met such a family and she just hoped that she would not make them regret their decision to allow her into their home. That was her only thought, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think. UH-60