~Chapter 10~

~Coming Storm~

Part 1

Azula looked down at Ira sleeping, she had come in to ask a question and found the spirit fast asleep in his bed with Puki was sitting on the pillow next to his head. The chains that had bound him to the web left nasty burns around his throat and wrists along with any other flesh they touched. She looked at her bandaged arm and wondered weather he'd cover the burns up like she did with her own injuries. Tentatively she touched one of the burns, it was still hot to touch.

"They'll heal in time." Azula jumped and turned to see Nix sitting at the foot of the bed. Nix smiled. "Don't worry, my beloved's wounds will heal he just needs to rest."

"The spirit of Excess really took it out of him didn't it?" Azula frowned. "She hurt him, bad."

"Yes and no." Nix smoothed out a wrinkled in the sheets. "He's exhausted from recent events and that horned witch took advantage of his weakness." Nix made a fist of white flame before sighing and waving it away. "Not that it matters now, you all returned safe. Now, Ira in his palace, safe to recharge for the coming tribulations."

"You think something bad is about to happen?" Azula tilted her head. "Really?"
"Yes, the sirens are proud creatures, they all are the bastard daughters or sons of the spirit of music. They have been dealt a embarrassing blow, add to that the appearance and defeat of two banshees and I cannot imagine them taking it with out trying to lash out in a big way."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense, that's what I would do." Azula crossed her arms she had really hoped Ira was awake to ask him her question.

"So, since you don't strike me as the kind of person who likes to watch people sleep," Nix looked at her kindly, "Why did you come in here?"

"I wanted to ask Ira, if I could possibly venture out in to the land of the living." Azula fiddled with her fingers nervously, which unnerved her more, she was acting like a baby asking for parent's permission to visit a friend who lived across the street. This wasn't her, this wasn't Azula, but at the same time she didn't want Ira to be mad at her or worse disappointed, and she couldn't pin point why. "I'm missing something and I really really want to find it."

Nix gave her a sympathetic look. "You can't bring things back with you, not matter their value."

"That's not fair!" Azula clenched her fists and stamped her foot. "Sokka has his sword, why can't I have one small thing!" She looked down. "One very small, very important thing."

Nix stood up and placed a hand on each shoulder. "What is it? What do you want to have so badly?"

"A ring, Ira said he'd try to find it for me but he's been so busy I don't think he's had the time to really find it." Azula looked up at Nix. "But he promised he would, so can I please have away to go to the land of the living and find it?"

Nix sighed. "Fine, but I'm not letting you go alone. I know how you treated your bother in life and I don't want you to terrorize him while you're there." She gingerly picked up Azula's bandaged arm. "It wouldn't help this any at all."

"I'm not going to let Sokka chaperon me around my own home land." Azula crossed her arms. "Besides he and the moon haven't left his room for three days, I don't think I'll ever see him again…. Not a bad turn of events, considering."

Nix smirked. "I wouldn't do that to you, but I need someone I can trust to keep you safe. Can't have you getting corrupted."

Azula sighed. "Fine, who did you have in mind?"

.o.

"It's been so long since I've been in the city." Luten put his hands on his hips and took a deep, rather ghostly, breath. "So good to be back."

Azula growled as a person walked through her. "Yeah, we're not really back the people can't see, hear, or feel us."

Luten shrugged. "Well, yes until night when we're a little bit more visible, but hopefully we'll be done by then."

Azula nodded spotting some Kiyoshi warrior girls walking down the street laughing. "Yeah, let's hope."

"So where do we start? My Lady said you were looking for a ring, would it be in a jewelry box some where?"

"My Lady? That what you call Nix?" Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Well yes, as a sign of respect. She might be a construct of imagination but she is the queen of our realm."

"And you were a prince."

"'Were' being the operative word, that ended when I deid." Luten sighed. "Now about that ring, where do we start?"

Azula sighed. "I don't know. My memories, they're all jumbled; with images I don't know whether or not they're real. Voices with no owners, and memories of my mother in places that she shouldn't be." Azula shook her head. "I think I was wearing it when I died though."

"So first course of action, find your grave and see if you were buried with it. Got it." He gave her a worried look. "Look, you were just a child the last time I saw you, what happened to you?"

"I died that's what happened." Azula looked around. "The Royal graves are kept on the east side of the mountain. Let's go." Azula stared walking and Luten fallowed.

"Not asking how you died, between that and when I did. My memories aren't jumbled. They're all clear as day. Why aren't yours?"
"I don't know. I'll ask Ira when we get back."

"Fine." Luten put his hands in his pockets, "So, it's not any of my business but what's so important about this ring you're looking for? When I don't remember wanting anything from the physical world. Well there was one thing but I wasn't as obsessed as you are."

Azual gave him a dirty look but kept walking. "What did you want?" She asked a few minutes later.

"Excuse me?"
"What did you want for the physical world?" Azula stopped and looked back. "What was it?"

Letun sighed walking past her. "A blanket."

"A special blanket?" Azula looked intrigued. "One that was special to you as a child? One that your mother had made for you? That kind of blanket?"

"No, just a simple one from the homeland."

"That's it?"

"Yes."
"No more? Nothing else? Not even why you wanted it?"

"Yup"

"Really?! That's it?" Azula felt incredibly frustrated.

"Yeah, that's it." He looked to his left. "That's the door to the tomb there, right?"

Azula looked at the ancient door. "So it is. I guess the reason behind your secret blanket fetish later."

.o.

Zuko looked at the silver ring in his fingers. Mia sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"You keep looking at that thing, why?" She looked up at him. "What makes it so important you couldn't burry Asula with it?"

Zuko took a deep breath. "I wish I knew where she got it. It's made of fine platinum not a cheep metal. Azula's not the type to steal something like this, it would be given to her. There's someone out there who gave this to her, who cared about her, maybe even loved her. I need to know who that is."

Mai wrapped an arm around his torso. "Why?"

"Because, so few people came to her funeral, I want to give them the chance to say goodbye." He gulped. "I think Azula would like that."

"I think, you think, your version of Azula would like that."

"And you don't think the real Azula would?"

"I don't know, maybe but I think this is more about you and not her." She took the ring and set it on the bedside table. "You're trying to make up for past sins but even when you do that, it's not going to help." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with pity and worry.

"But I have to try Mai, I have to try to make it a little bit better."

"You can't fix everything Zuko."

"I know but I have to try."

"Is there anything else bothering you? You haven't been sleeping well at all these past nights."

"I've tried to contact my father, see how he's doing but I can't get a message back. I've sent people, hawks, and nothing. I worried something's going on over there and I don't know what to do next."

.o.

Ira opened his eyes and just for a fleeting moment he saw her leaning over him smiling and then she was gone. Ira sat up and hung his head. Puki lightly tapped him on the arm and held up a glass of water.

"Thank you, little one." He took a sip. "Tell me, was she really here? Watching over me?"

Puki nodded handing him a roll of gauze. Ira smiled taking it.

"Again thank you little one." He started to wrap the healing burns. "Now can you tell me what's been going on while I slept?"

Puki gave an exaggerated sigh.

"That bad, huh?" Ira groaned. "This is why I can't get a good decades sleep around here."

.o.

Azula screamed in frustration. "It's not here! My ring is not here!" She was breathing fire. "Where is it?" She grabbed Luten's collar. "What happened to my ring?"

Luten stepped back. "I don't know, but if you keep this up I'll have to drag you back if you don't calm down."

"Why?" Azula spat. "What happens if I don't calm down?!"

"You run the very great risk of being suck here as a poltergeist. Is that what want? To be in this grimy, spider infested tomb, forever."

Azula crossed her arms. "Ira would come and get me. He'd bring me back, right?"

"He'd try but there are things even Ira can't do." Luten put a hand on her shoulder. "He can't bring you back from something like that."

Azula sank down to ground. "You're wrong. but," She looked around the dark cave, and felt the cold marble of her own resting place, "I don't want to be here any longer any longer." She stood up.

"Ok, so where do we go from here?"

"To the place I died, maybe it's still in that fountain and if that's not were it is, we go to the person who gave me the ring in the first place."

Luten nodded. "Then let's go."

A/N: Thanks for reading, comment if you feel so compelled, I'll see you later! :) ~ C.C.