Chapter 10
Azula glided soundlessly down the empty hallway. She had only little time before she was needed elsewhere, but she figured this small mission wouldn't take that much time since she didn't expect to find anything of use, of course. But all stones in this venture had to be overturned. She would not underestimate her adversary again. This was why Azula found herself in a quiet hallway outside Sokka's quarters.
With a smirk Azula opened the door and silently entered. She knew that Sokka was training with Piandao at the moment. Sokka's chamber consisted of two rooms really. First a small anteroom with some gilded furniture and after that a bedroom with a bathroom. Quarters fit for a minor visiting noble, something that was totally wasted on the watertribe savage, Azula thought unkindly and unjustly. Of course, this was what Azula had expected. What she had not expected was what else was in the two rooms. Azula actually stood stock still for a whole minute as she slowly surveyed the room.
The rooms were filled with books, paintings, various scrolls, weapons and models. Books were neatly stacked everywhere and paintings and drawings plastered the walls, by a five year old? On the table there was a very detailed model of a, what were they called, hot-air balloon? She did not expect this, not at all. Azula slowly worked her way around the anteroom and she studied a book here, a drawing there. The topics of the various volumes were very varied indeed. She found "Mathematics in modern times" with "The Great and Illustrious History of the Fire Nation" and of course "the Art of War" with "The Bureaucracy to Govern States in the Earth Kingdom". She closely studied some of his drawings of birds and flowers. They were very bad. Was he drunk when he drew these? Azula mused to herself as she picked up the small hot-air balloon, Sokka was studying hard it seemed. Piandao drove him hard obviously.
Suddenly she came to a halt. A half-finished painting of her and her friends in the garden caught her eye. She gently picked it up and with both her eyebrows raised, Azula studied it in detail. Ty Lee and Mai were just outlined but Azula herself was nearly finished. It was a drawing by black lead and the only thing colored were her eyes. It made her stand out in a very dramatic way. It was far better than any other drawing or painting in the room. Not good, mind you, but still not bad either. Azula slowly put it back while suddenly feeling oddly out of place. She did not know what to think of it.
She entered the bedroom and this room was also filled with books and scrolls. Both rooms were filled in a chaotic way with different things. It ought to scream to Azula's sense of perfection and order that this was totally wrong. But to Azula's surprise it didn't. It felt…Azula couldn't put a word down for what she felt actually, to her annoyance. A carved box filled with papers caught her attention and she started to read one of them, careful not to disturb anything. It was a letter from someone called Katara. Now she was getting somewhere, Azula thought with her trademark smirk. The letter in her well-manicured hands was from a girl in the North Pole. Who is she? Mother, sister, sweetheart…? Azula wondered briefly. The letter told the reader about several people that seemed like Sokka already knew about. Before Azula could finish the lengthy and prattling letter she suddenly heard someone at the door. Without hesitating Azula looked for some place to hide…
Quickly Azula jumped up on the small desk and hoisted herself up in beams in the ceiling beams. It was an old trick she had learned from a time when she spied on Zuzu. She smirked and waited to see who had entered the room. Not surprising it was Sokka. Obviously it had taken more time than she had realized to search his room. Sokka closed the door and sauntered into the bedroom, just beneath Azula. Her golden gaze followed him as he threw a wooden practice sword on the bed and to her embarrassment started to undress from the training clothes he wore. Sokka took off his shirt and Azula had an ample opportunity to view his bronze colored and well-defined torso. Well, this was unexpected and oddly gratifying, Azula thought while blushing to her own annoyance. Sokka ventured into the bathroom and Azula heard him start to fill up the bathtub with warm water. Azula waited patiently for him to get into the tub before leaving. Suddenly Sokka's pants came flying out of the bathroom door and soon followed by Sokka himself. Azula panicked for a short moment, she would not survive the embarrassment of seeing him naked! She inhaled sharply before realizing that the wretched water savage had a towel around his waist. Thank the spirits! Azula exhaled rather strongly at which she immediately froze. Had he noticed?
Thankfully not. He was busy rummaging through his closet for appropriate clothes to wear for dinner. He was humming on a tune and actually skipped while walking back to the bathroom. Azula finally heard him getting into the tub with a long and very audible sigh of contentment. Azula spared no time getting down soundlessly and quietly exiting the room. Azula closed the door as silently as possible and after that she leaned against the door while feeling oddly tense. What had just happened?
§§
Sokka was the second to leave the dinner and headed back to his room to once more change into training gear. It had been an odd dinner this time around. Not that any dinner in this spirit forsaken palace ever was normal. But this one was definitely an odd one all considered. Azula had been very quiet and even jumpy. She had actually blushed several times and every time she met Sokka's eyes she sort of winced. Even Ursa and Zuko had taken notice of her rather odd behavior. She had all but fled the room after Ursa asked if she was well. Very odd behavior for the usually very self assured princess. Thankfully Ozai had not been present at dinner, Sokka thought with a small thanks to the spirits.
Sokka changed clothes and walked unhurriedly through the palace toward where he and Piandao practiced the art of the sword. Piandao was already there and Sokka greeted him with a large smile before executing the required bow. He really liked Piandao and all the wisdom the older man possessed. He soaked up every lesson like a thirsty man without fresh water in the middle of the ocean.
"Master Piandao, what are we going to do this wonderful and exceptionally hot afternoon?" Sokka asked cheerfully. Piandao showed a small smile while studying the young man before him. Sokka had a very keen mind and it was so very rewarding to teach a man that didn't have a hidden agenda or an unhealthy ambition. Sokka was what he presented to the world, a genuinely good man. A rare thing in the viper den that was the Capital of the Fire Nation.
"We will begin with some hard training and then we will discuss the various tactics that we used in the training. Therefore you need to remember your own and your opponents' moves during the training." Piandao told Sokka with his calm and assured manner. "A sharp and keen mind is as important as fast reflexes or rehearsed moves." Piandao continued and Sokka nodded that he understood the concept of this practice.
Both men faced off against each other and after a short, and for Sokka tense moment, they started to fight. And fight they did…
§§
Azula fled from the dining room and from her mother's questions, her brother's amusement, but most of all from the peasant's presence. After his little display just before dinner Azula actually had a hard time concentrating and keep up appearances. Thank the spirits her father had not been present during that catastrophic dinner. Azula shuddered at what might have happened if he had been present. Azula was angry with herself for her lack of discipline. She needed to calm herself down. It's not like she had not seen men with bare chest before! She had been at the beach for crying out loud! But this was something else entirely, she conceded grudgingly. She decided not to venture in to his room again, it could lead to some very awkward situations as she now had discovered. She decided to train, that ought to drive silly thoughts of a tanned upper body out of her mind.
Azula walked purposely down toward the palace training grounds. Her composure returned back to her and likewise her peace of mind. Unfortunately, both her composure and peace of mind shattered when she saw Sokka unhurriedly walk down the corridor before her. He had his wooden practice sword nonchalantly resting on his shoulder. Without knowing why Azula decided to follow her opponent and see what he was up to. The peasant took his time; he stopped to talk with servants and guards alike. He actually stood and laughed with one of the chefs for a short moment. Old or young, man or women, all servants or guards left the young man with a smile and their bow or curtsy was done with genuine pleasure. Azula was many things but she was keenly observant. The peasant was very popular with servants and the guards alike. Strangely enough, especially with the Royal Guard. Azula took that information and filed it away. Overall, Azula was not really surprised. She had come to understand by Ty Lee that the peasant was friendly with ordinary people. That in itself was an answer to that, Azula sneered to no one in particular, peasants are ordinary people after all.
She followed him to where he met up with his master Piandao. They met in one of the smaller dojos around. Suddenly she wondered if he was any good with that sword. She doubted it, but, in all fairness, he had surprised her time and again. She shouldn't and wouldn't underestimate him again. Thus a curious Azula sneaked from shadow to shadow until she had a rather good view of the dojo. Sokka and his master had just faced off against each other when she settled down in a shadow near the door to the dojo. With a loud clash the fight was on. Both men attacked and defended, totally concentrated on each other and the whirling wooden blades. Sokka was faster and more agile than his master and Sokka managed to press Piandao several times. Azula was impressed despite herself. The peasant was far better then she would have imagined. But as good as Sokka was Piandao was still the master. He seemed to flow from stance to stance, just like a bender, always anticipating Sokka's moves. And Azula grudgingly had to admit that she would be hard pressed to win against him. Both men gave proof of how beautiful and deadly a swordmaster could be. The sparring ended with Piandao gently tapping his sword at Sokka's throat, a killer blow. The men finished the training and walked off to talk. Azula decided to leave them for some personal training and contemplation. It had been an interesting day to say the least.
§§
The next day Azula had all but forgotten about the water peasant and his antics. That was because she sparred with Fire Lord Azulon. Against all her previous firebending sparring partners she was well matched and usually superior to them as well. Not so here. Azula concentrated and she felt sweat rolling down her brow as she jumped, twirled and threw herself to avoid fireblast after fireblast. Azulon pressed her to her very limit and beyond. He was quicker, stronger and far more cunning. This was the second time she actually had a full out spar with the old man, the first one had been a short and humiliating affair to say the least. She could see that her grandfather had a smile of contentment, for which she was grateful at least. A large blast of red fire came rolling down on her. Without hesitating she shielded herself and let it flow right over her. She could feel the force behind it, her shield buckled but held. When the fireblast passed her she immediately countered with several precise and deadly blue fireballs. But when she could see where her fireballs had exploded there was no one there to fight, the Fire Lord was nowhere to be found. Azula slowly walked forward and abruptly, with all her power and with a shout of fury, she conjured a huge fireball that engulfed several of the huge pillars in the fire arena. Suddenly someone swept her legs from under her.
She landed with a thud and even in the fall she could see that the Fire Lord stood beside her with a flame aimed at her. That was the killing blow. The Fire lord quirked an eyebrow at her as she got up and bowed to her trainer.
"You are very adept and possess a profound knowledge of firebending, Azula," the Fire Lord said with a smile. Azula acknowledged the Fire Lord's praise with a smile of her own, she had after all stood up against the monarch for a rather lengthy fight. Unlike her father, Azulon always took time to teach her where she went wrong and never seemed upset by her mistakes. As he had said during one of her first training sessions, it's from your mistakes you can learn and adapt. The Fire Lord continued; "It's a real pleasure to train with you, my dear. Come and sit with me." He gestured toward where servants had placed two cushions and a decanter with cool water.
"Of course, my Lord and thank you for your kind words." Azula murmured with her head bowed.
"My dear, you did splendidly. There are few men or women in the Fire Nation that are your equal. And not many benders of other elements either." Fire Lord Azulon said sternly but not unkindly. "But you did make one very serious mistake that in a real fight would cost you your victory and more importantly your life." The Fire Lord continued calmly.
Azula had come to appreciate her sparring with Azulon immensely. She developed faster as a fire bender now than ever before. She was stronger, wiser and more cunning than before. And she felt genuinely appreciated by the old man. And not only for her firebending capabilities. It seemed like grandfather honestly liked her, Azula. That meant more than she could ever express with words.
"When you shielded yourself from my last attack you lost sight of your target. You rely too much on only one sense, your eyesight." The Fire Lord explained while gesturing with a cup of water. "When you were shielded I took flight and ended up right above you. Now, how could you have countered that?" He asked Azula while waiting for her answer.
Azula never felt afraid of giving a wrong answer. She took her time to go through the battle in her head several times before answering, knowing that the Fire Lord patiently let her take her that time. "When I shielded myself I also lost sight of you, therefore I should have tracked you with my ability to bend. I should have felt your fire when you flew up and above me." Azula answer was a bit hesitant first, but then more and more self-assured. "I am unconsciously already aware of all fire in my surroundings so tracking my opponent's fire should be vital to win in a fight." She knew she was right, the Fire Lord had hinted at this several times in previous training sessions. He always let her figure it out on her own, gently guiding her to the right path. She had a genuine smile on her lips when she finished speaking. Azulon shared her delight with a smile of his own.
"Until next time you will train hard to always be aware of all flames around you, Azula." The Fire Lord instructed her and continued. "It is said that the firebenders of ancient times could feel and keep track of all enemies with this skill, just by their body heat. That is a long lost skill now." Both Azulon and Azula sat contemplating what a skill like that could mean in a battle with benders of different elements.
"Now my dear, we will practice you're bending of lightning." Azulon said as he stood up. Azula blinked but did as she was told. She had practiced the moves and state of mind that the Fire Lord had taught her every day for the last three weeks but she had never practiced it with the Fire Lord. Sometimes she wondered if the Fire Lord had forgotten all about it. Apparently he had not and for that she felt grateful. "You will move with me as my shadow, do precisely what I do and let your mind become empty." The Fire Lord instructed.
Azulon took a strong pose and Azula mimicked him with ease. The man stood still for a short while and then started to move, first with a slow pace so that Azula felt the rhythm. After a short while he picked up the pace. Azula moved with equal grace as his shadow. Again and again they both moved through the motions. Azula slowly lost track of time as she danced with her grandfather, it was meditative in a way and she felt her mind become empty, there was only the dance, the kata.
Suddenly she heard her grandfather. "Now". With a deafening boom two lightning bolts came forth from the two mighty firebenders. Azula's eyes opened wide and she stood frozen in shock. She had done it! She had conjured a great, wonderful and beautiful lightning bolt! With a lovely and joyful laugh Azula let out her pure joy of the moment. The Fire Lord laughed with her, shared her joy while remembering a moment like this some thirty years ago when his beloved Iroh learned to conjure lightning.
"You should celebrate, my dear," The Fire Lord said while taking her hands in his. "You are the youngest firebender in history that has mastered lightning. You should be proud, as much as I am with you, my dear Azula. You will be truly great" The Fire Lord continued. Azula felt something very different at that moment. She felt pride and she felt cared for. By him. Because she somehow knew that he not only referred to her firebending. It was a very strange but good feeling.
"Thank you, grandfather, thank you so very much" Azula said sincerely to the old man before her.
§§
They were all gathered for dinner and this time Prince Ozai was with them. But not even his presence could dampen the good mood both Azula and Sokka felt, for different reasons. Sokka had finally managed to beat Piandao! It was unexpected and the next bouts he had lost soundly but he was getting better and better. And when Ozai tried to burst his bubble Sokka just shrugged it off. No one around the table was aware of his achievement and probably wouldn't care, but for Sokka this was a great day. Azula's achievement on the other hand was well known. She was now the youngest lightningbender in history! Strangely, or not so strange when you thought about it, it was this family after all, no one around the table seemed glad Azula had managed this remarkable feat. Not her brother for obvious reasons. Not her mother since she didn't care very much about her own daughter. And not her father since it was not him that had taught her this remarkable achievement. It was only Sokka that openly and sincerely congratulated her on her success. She took the professed congratulation from Sokka like it meant nothing but secretly she was grateful for it.
So the dinner proceeded in strange silence until the doors opened up and the ruling monarch himself entered and stopped just inside. The entire room went quiet and after a very short while everyone bowed low to the Fire Lord. All except Sokka who seemed a bit confused by the bowing from the royal family. He wasn't very used to see the Fire Lord in all his might since he usually only met him in private. But he soon found his stride and bowed low to the Fire Lord as well.
"We are about to meet up with the falconer shortly. You need to change to a more fitting attire." The Fire Lord said, addressing the room as whole while adjusting his arm padding where the falcon would sit.
Confusion reigned in the room. Ursa and Zuko just looked confused, but both Azula and Ozai felt panic surge through them. Had they missed an invitation to go falconer with the Fire Lord? Ozai opened his mouth to speak but someone beat him to it.
"What, now! In the middle of dinner?" Sokka exclaimed with a great deal of shock. Sokka looked at the Fire Lord and then to his half-finished plate. His gaze seemed to convey that this was a very bad timing indeed.
"Why yes, young master Sokka." The Fire Lord said with a hint of smile. "As a Fire Lord I can do such a wretched thing." The Fire Lord was well aware of Sokka's love for food. The other dinner participants were in different states of shock or denial when they heard the conversation between the mighty Fire Lord and the young water tribe boy unfold.
Sokka got to his feet and bowed to the royal family while excusing himself. He turned to the Fire Lord and walked up to him as if that was the most natural thing in the world. "So, I beat master Piandao today." Sokka exclaimed happily to the Fire Lord. "I don't know who was the most surprised but a win is still a win." Sokka continued with the same cheerfulness.
"That is great, master Sokka." The Fire Lord replied with a smile. "I must congratulate you on such an accomplishment. Not many men can defeat master Piandao." The Fire Lord said while turning around and started walking out of the room. "You have read the books I have been giving you?" The Fire Lord inquired of the young man beside him. The answer was lost to the royal family as the door closed behind the Fire Lord and the young foreigner.
Four very confused and shocked royals sat there wondering what just had happened.
§§
Author Note:
Sorry for taking my time to update. I have been busy with another story titled "The Seven Sins of Sokka and Azula". It's a challenge I received from Fanwright. It's a story that will have seven stand-alone stories centered on the different sins. Check it out but be aware that it is rated M. Four chapters done, three to go!:)
I'm aware that I don't have very much interaction between the characters in this or my previous chapter. That is deliberate since I want Azula to slowly approach Sokka, to be intrigued by him. So I'm taking it slow.
Finally I had Azula lightningbend. It worked out well I think. What do you think?
I must say that I have a great time with Azula spying on Sokka.
Some notes on Azula and Sokka as characters from my perspective. Azula is very observant and she notices things. Sokka is also very observant but not very good at hiding his feelings. So he is easy to read for someone like Azula. On the other hand, Azula can't comprehend Sokka's actions or what his goals are. As for now, they still stand very far apart.
My last scene with Azulon interrupting the Fire Royals dinner and sauntering away with Sokka of all people I had envisioned several chapters ago. I found it to be very amusing. Next chapter will deal with the fallout so to speak.