Chapter 14

After making some arrangements in Ba Sing Se with Hakoda and the Council of Five, Sokka, Katara, Azula, and Ty Lee set off to the Fire Nation colonies on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom. It would take about four days to journey to the Taku Ruins, where they agreed to nail down the particulars of their rescue plan. Jian prison was located on an island to the west of the ruins and Pohaui Stronghold. Getting to the island itself undetected posed its own set of challenges that needed to be planned for.

Traveling on Appa would provide Azula with plenty of time to rest and recover physically. The blistering had almost completely healed, but the burn marks were now beginning to scar, causing previously creamy white skin to take on a rough pink texture.

But the emotional wounds were still raw. Azula still didn't quite know how to go about healing them, or that they even needed to be healed. In many ways she felt rattled and not herself, yet she realized she never was herself—just who her father wanted her to be. For the first time in many years she found herself feeling grateful for, instead of taking for granted, the people around her—especially Katara. The waterbender seemed to know exactly what to say or what not to say.

It was late afternoon when Sokka directed Appa to land in a large clearing that looked like a good place for the sky bison to land. There was a nearby river that pooled into a lake, making it the perfect place for Sokka to do some fishing for their dinner. Katara eyed the lake appreciatively, looking forward to practicing her bending and just being with her element.

No sooner had they landed, than Katara was stripping down to her underwrappings, taking Azula and Ty Lee by surprise. Sokka, of course, was used to this and mumbled something about having to do all the work before heading a further up the river on foot to fish.

"I'm going to the lake to practice my waterbending. You want to come?" Katara asked Azula and Ty Lee.

Azula went to follow her, but Ty Lee's hand on her arm held her back.

"Sure, we'll be there in a minute," Azula said with a half smile, watching Katara run off toward the nearby lake before turning to look at the acrobat. "What is it, Ty Lee?"

"I'm just wondering what's going on between you two? Is she your girlfriend?" Ty Lee asked Azula after days of not having had a chance to speak privately to her friend.

"Honestly… I'm not sure. All I know is that I like being around her. But I have a lot of other stuff on my mind right now," Azula said, tugging at the collar of her shirt, trying to cool herself off. Even this late in the day, the summer heat was stifling.

Ty Lee simply smiled at her friend who started to walk toward the lake before running to catch up with her. She could tell by looking at Azula's aura that she was going through a lot of inner turmoil, but there was also a calm streak of blue that wasn't there before Katara had come into her life.

"Aren't you hot, Azula?" Ty Lee asked as she came to Azula's side, referring to the firebender's clothing choice. "It's way too warm to be wearing that."

"I'm fine," she snapped, the heat clearly getting to her. Sweat was now dripping down her face as the sun continued to beat down on the earth.

"Hey, want to go for a swim? The water is perfect!" Katara called out from the water up to the pair, who had just walked out onto a rock ledge overlooking the lake.

Ty Lee didn't need to be asked twice. She swiftly removed her sleeveless top and shorts so that she was in her underwrappings. With a front flip, she gracefully dove into the water, enjoying the relief from the stifling heat.

Azula didn't move to join her friend. Instead she sat down, looking miserable in this weather. With a furrowed brow, Katara swam over to her.

"Come on, the water will help cool you off," Katara encouraged her.

"I'd rather stay here," Azula replied.

"Well, you should at least take off some of those clothes," she gently teased her.

Azula simply shook her head and looked away from the waterbender. Katara frowned and hopped up out of the water to sit beside Azula.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Her voice grew tighter.

"Sokka won't be back from fishing for another half hour. It's just us girls. No one will see you," Katara assured her, trying to guess at what might be bothering the firebender.

"I'm fine here, Katara. Just go back in the water," Azula said, not wanting to talk anymore.

With a sigh, the waterbender slipped back down in to the lake, wondering what was bothering Azula.

"Azula, what can you tell me about the prison where Suki is?" Sokka asked after the group finished cleaning up after dinner.

"Jian is a heavily guarded military prison that was built within a structure similar to Pohaui Stronghold. Each prisoner is confined to a solitary cell that's barely large enough for a grown man to lie down in, and there are hundreds of cells that are purposefully set up like a maze, making it nearly impossible to escape. Not to mention that the guards are under strict orders to kill prisoners if there is even a hint of an escape attempt."

Katara, Sokka, and Ty Lee looked at Azula, stricken.

"In my opinion, it's the Fire Nation's most brutal prison holding. Even I hated going there to interrogate prisoners," she admitted.

"But, Azula, I thought the Boiling Rock was the worst," Ty Lee said.

"Until Jian was built, it was. This place makes the Boiling Rock look like a walk in the park."

Sokka made a mental note to ask about the Boiling Rock later. "So any ideas on how we can get in and out without anyone getting killed?"

"It depends on how good everyone's stealth skills are. Ty Lee and I excel. How about you two?" Azula asked the siblings.

"I'm good enough," Sokka replied.

"I'm not great, but I've gotten a lot better in the last few months. Plus, I've had some experience getting people out of the clutches of the Fire Nation," Katara explained.

Azula offered her a small smile before speaking again. "Okay, that will make things somewhat easier getting in. Getting out will be trickier. I know that we are breaking out the Kyoshi Warriors, who undoubtedly are trained in stealth, but we need to be prepared for the worst."

Sokka cringed. "Like what?"

"Jian was designed to break the spirit of the enemies of the Fire Nation. I don't know what kind of condition they will be in," Azula replied.

Sokka felt himself starting to get angry with Azula. If it weren't for her, Suki wouldn't even be in that place, he realized. Azula could sense the growing animosity directed at her.

"How could you be so cruel as to send Suki someplace like that?" Sokka asked, his eyes narrowing at Azula. Katara put a hand on his arm to try and calm him down.

"It wasn't my decision to send the Kyoshi Warriors to Jian. Ever since its construction, the Fire Lord's ruling stated that all POWs are to be sent there until the warden determines if, when, and where they should be transferred," she explained.

"If it had been up to you, where would you have sent them?" he asked, still upset.

"I don't know." Azula honestly hadn't given it a second thought at the time of the warriors' imprisonment. "Did I ever even think for myself?"

"It doesn't matter now, Sokka," Katara said. "We'll work together to get Suki out of there."

"You're right," he sighed, less upset but still visibly worried. "Hang on, Suki."

After the evening's conversation, Azula needed to take her mind off of the thoughts swirling through her head, and Katara was more than happy to help in that regard. The waterbender suggested they spend some time by the lake before heading to bed. Sokka and Ty Lee both knew what that meant, and Sokka tried not to think about what his sister was doing with the former princess of the Fire Nation.

Finally alone, Katara pulled Azula into her arms and kissed her soundly. Azula returned the kiss with equal passion, wanting to lose herself in the other girl. They stayed like that for long moments, before Katara's hands wandered down Azula's back. As Katara went to pull up Azula's shirt, the firebender gripped onto her wrists, stopping her movement.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, breaking off their kiss. "Am I moving too fast?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't want you to see my body," Azula admitted quietly.

Katara looked at her, surprise and confusion written all over her face. "But I've seen it before," she said.

"It was different before."

"I don't understand."

Azula sighed. "I don't know how to explain it."

Katara looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, trying to figure out what brought this on. Suddenly, Azula's behavior earlier in the day made sense. Katara realized that it wasn't modesty driving Azula to keep her body covered. It was vanity.

"You're still beautiful, you know," Katara said, her blue eyes drawing Azula in before bringing her lips to meet the firebender's. Once again, she tried to lift the clothing away from her body.

"Katara…" Azula pulled away this time. The waterbender saw a flicker of shame in the girl's eyes before it was replaced by anger. But she knew the anger wasn't directed at her. It was anger toward the man that scarred her.

"I'm sorry," Katara said, knowing she had pushed Azula too far unnecessarily. She stepped closer, closing the gap between the two of them. She slowly lifted her hand to the firebender's face, grazing Azula's cheek with her knuckles. "I shouldn't have pushed. I won't do that again unless you want me to." She smiled at the girl, hoping to abate her anger. It worked, a little.

Azula sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing a bit as Katara pulled her into a strong embrace.

"I still think you're beautiful," she whispered into her ear.

"Hey, Azula?"

"Yeah?" she answered, bringing her eyes away from the star studded sky to turn and look at her brother lying beside her in the sand.

"What do you dream about being when you grow up?"

"Fire Lord, of course," she replied.

"But you can't be Fire Lord. Uncle Iroh will be after Grandpa passes on, and then after him, Cousin Lu Ten."

"That's not what Dad said. He said that I'm going to be Fire Lord one day," she explained matter-of-fact.

Zuko looked at his sister, confused, but before he could pursue his line of thought, Azula asked him, "What do you dream about being when you grow up?"

"I want to be a great general, like Uncle Iroh," he replied.

"General Zuzu," she teased him.

"Argh! I wish you wouldn't call me that anymore, Azula," Zuko whined.

She giggled and brought her gaze back up to the sky. "I wish we didn't have to leave Ember Island tomorrow," she said wistfully.

"We'll be back next summer," he said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, I know," she said with a sigh. "I'll still miss it."

Little did they know how much things would change in a year's time. Neither of them had been to Ember Island since.

Azula woke from her sleep and gazed up at the stars, allowing her mind to float back to her dream. It had been a long time since she had even thought about the yearly summer vacations at the family beach house. Ozai would often leave Ember Island a week earlier than the rest of his family, and Ursa would let her children sleep outdoors on the beach. Ozai never approved of such behavior, saying it was beneath their royal status.

That summer vacation was the last time she had slept on the ground until recently. Even when hunting the Avatar and her brother and uncle in the past, she had always slept in a bed. The royal procession was deadweight, but the beauty of using war machines was that they were large enough to accommodate all the requirements of royalty. As a princess, sleeping on the ground had been beneath her.

"You're not a princess anymore," Toph's words echoed in her mind. It made her feel uneasy just thinking about it. Closing her eyes, she fell back into a restless sleep.

The group got an early start the next day, seeing as Sokka didn't want to waste any more time getting to Suki. Ty Lee occupied herself by braiding the parts of Appa's coat that were nearest to the saddle, which the sky bison thoroughly enjoyed. Katara and Azula sat side-by-side holding hands and enjoying the closeness. Finally, Azula broke the silence.

"Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you dream about being when you grow up?" Azula asked, echoing her brother's question to her eight years ago.

"I dream of being like my mom," she replied, unconsciously bringing her hand up to touch her necklace. "What about you?"

"I don't know. I used to say Fire Lord, but those were my father's words. I never really thought about it. Zuko used to say that he wanted to grow up to be a great general, like Iroh."

"Was there anyone you admired growing up besides your father? What about your mother?"

"No," came the simple reply, but there was a hint of bitterness in the firebender's voice.

Katara lightly squeezed Azula's hand. It was a small gesture to let her know that she was there for her, bringing a slight smile to Azula's face.

A large shadow passing overhead caused Daha to bring his gaze up toward the sky. Narrowing his eyes, he saw the unmistakable form of the Avatar's sky bison.

Quickly reigning his mongoose dragon to a halt, the assassin took note of the direction the flying beast was headed. Pulling his mount around, he began to head west.