Here is another new chapter. I hope you all like it. Like always reviews are welcome. I encourage constructive criticism and opinions and things you readers would like to see are always welcome.
Rough days
Azula sat at her little table eating a piece of stale bread and washing it down with water of questionable cleanliness as she waited for her Kyohsi guards. Like clockwork two Kyoshi Warriors waltzed into her home without so much as a knock. Azula sighed dramatically. These girls antics were getting really old and Azula had half a mind to put them in their place, but refrained, kind of, for Suki's sake.
"Is it really necessary to enter my home in such a dramatic fashion every day? You're really not intimidating." Azula said as she rolled her eyes.
She was answered by being thrown out of her chair by her hair and kicked squarely in the ribs. The shot to her ribs sent her still fragile mind into hysteria. She started seeing flashbacks of the abuses she received by Katara and her father.
Ice slammed into Azula's exposed ribs sending her flying into the wall. She couldn't breathe as the air in her lungs was knocked out of her. Panic began to rise as she struggled in vain to fill her lungs with precious air. After several terrifying minutes of panic she finally was able to draw small ragged breaths of air into her.
"Fire comes from the breath not your muscles!" Ozai shouted as he repeatedly punched the seven-year old Azula in the ribs.
After a dozen hard blows to the ribs Ozai dropped his daughter to the ground and took ten steps from her.
"Now get up and do the set again!" Ozai yelled.
Azula obeyed and tried to perform the a set of katas while she still couldn't breathe. She was barely able to produce a flame as she failed to complete the set fell to the ground. Her little heart thumped in fear as she awaited the punishment for falling to the ground but it never came. Ozai stood silently as little Azula laid on the ground caught her breath.
"Now get up and try the set again. This time from your breath." Ozai said calmly after her breathing returned to normal.
Azula clutched her head and began to hyperventilate as the flashbacks gave way to hallucinations of a monstrous version of her father and the other monsters she used to see in her cell in the Fire Nation.
The two Kyoshi Warriors stared at her in shock. They both knew the rumors of Azula's mental instability but until now there was no indication that it was true.
"No! Stay away from me!" Azula screamed through ragged breaths.
"Um, do you think we should do something?" The shorter Kyoshi girl said
"Go get Akemi she's the officer of the watch today."
The shorter Kyoshi warrior sprinted out of the hut and to the guard-house as fast as she could.
"Akemi, Akemi!" The girl shouted as she ran into the guard-house.
"Mizuki what is it?" Akemi asked the frantic girl.
"It's Aula come quick!" Mizuki said
"What?!" Akemi shouted "What's wrong? Where is she?"
"Something's wrong with her, she's in her hut follow me."
Akemi and Mizuki arrived at Azula's hut to see that she had dragged herself to the far wall of the hut and she was curled up in the fetal position screaming in between labored breaths.
Sokka had just arrived at the forge somewhat surprised Azula and her guards weren't here already when he saw one of the guards run into the guard-house shouting. A few seconds later he saw Akemi and the shouting girl rush out of the guard-house and run towards Azula's hut. Sokka put two and two together and realized something was wrong and he bolted towards her hut. Sokka arrived just in time to hear Akemi order the girls to go find himself and Suki.
"I'm right here Akemi. What's the problem?" Sokka asked
Akemi pointed to Azula huddled in a corner in a panicked state. Sokka rushed to kneel at Azula's side and pull her into his arms. Sokka ordered them to go get Suki as he went to calm Azula down.
"Shh Azula, calm down everything is alright, it's me Sokka. You're safe, it's okay." Sokka said in a soothing tone.
"Azula, look at me." He said as he grabbed her face in both hands and forced her to look at him eye to eye. Azula was wide-eyed and full of fear. Her eyes looked distant and unfocused and he could see the sheer terror they held.
"Azula, listen to me, you need to breath." He said as he stared into her eyes as he started taking deep exaggerated breaths.
By the time Suki showed up Azula was starting to calm down her. Her breathing was becoming more controlled and her eyes began to focus.
"Sokka what happened?" Suki asked in confusion
"She had an episode." Sokka responded.
"What brought this on? What triggered it?" Suki asked
"I don't know I only came here when I heard the commotion. Why don't we take the day off and Azula settle down." Sokka said eyeing the two Kyoshi Warriors assigned to escort Azula.
"Akemi, you are the ranking member on duty, I leave it to you to decide what to do with these two for the rest of their shift." Suki said trying to clear out Azula's hovel.
Akemi, gave a nod and motioned for the other two Kyoshi warriors to follow her.
Suki knelt next to Azula and ran her fingers through her hair in trying to sooth her. Azula was trembling a little and a scowl replaced her terror filled face.
"It had been many weeks since my last episode, I thought I was getting better." Azula grumbled bitterly.
"Give it time. Your mind was broken, you can't expect it to be fixed so easily." Sokka replied to which Azula huffed in disapproval.
"I shouldn't be like this in the first place, to have become weak. It's disgusting." She spat.
"This argument again, Azula. We've gone over this a million times part of the reason you broke was because of that line of thought." Sokka said rolling his eyes.
"Argh, I hate it when you're right." Azula huffed. "Still showing my mental instability, my weakness, in front of those two twits is only going to make things worse. Now they're going to hold that over my head as well."
Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. He knew she was right about the Kyoshi warriors holding her insanity over her head. They already were hostile towards her and now this is going to make things even worse. It is going to take even longer for her to earn any semblance of respect from them.
"Bah! What's done is done, it is pointless to dwell on it now." Azula said in her voice of cold logic as she pushed herself out of Sokka and Suki's embrace. "Besides, I am far too old to be coddled like a small child."
Sokka and Suki shared a glance before picking themselves up off the floor to follow Azula who had already busied herself with cleaning up her little shack.
"You know for being raised in a palace full of servants you're kind of a clean freak." Sokka observed out loud.
"You think I trusted servants to touch my things. Besides I wasn't exactly raised a spoiled princess like many think me to be; lest you forget our many conversations about my oh so loving father." She finished sarcastically. "Now start helping or get out of my way."
"Well I'll leave you ladies to it, I have to finish my the plans for the shop." Sokka said as hurried toward the door. A few steps from the door he stopped, turned and pulled Suki in for a quick embrace. He planted a kiss on her cheek and like a flash he was out the door.
Azula raised an eyebrow to Suki who stood with a stunned look on her face. "Strange boy, that one." Azula smirked before going back to sweeping her floor.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Zheng stood at the edge of the cliff looking down at the valley below. Hundreds of small camp fires littered the forest floor. The army camp was well hidden by a Cliff on one side and the dense forest on the other. His army had grown by leaps and bounds over the last year and even faster in the last months since the princess was smuggled out of the Fire Nation.
"What news do your spies have on the princess, Long Feng?"
"It appears that the princess was taken to Kyoshi Island to serve a sentence of hard labor."
"Good, make her even more bitter. That will make our plans even easier." Zheng mused.
"The island is not without defense. The Kyoshi warriors that protect the island are in greater number than we anticipated and the Water Tribe savage has taken up residence there."
Zheng turned to Long Feng and questioned. "Water Tribe savage? What Water Tribe savage?"
"The one who orchestrated the attack on the day of Black Sun and took down the Air fleet on the day of the commit." Long Feng said bitterly.
"You worry about a boy, a non-bender at that? Oh, that is too good." Zheng said laughing. "You are a true coward indeed."
"That BOY, as you call him is not to be underestimated and you would be wise to not do so. Did you know that he trained under Piandao?"
"Did he now? That is interesting, very interesting indeed. Perhaps I shall test his skills myself, when we take that island and burn it down." Zheng said with an evil smirk on his face.
"It would be wise to use the winter months to train elite warriors for this mission, there is no need to take an entire army for one little island. Besides discretion would best until we have the princess under our control."
"You think I haven't thought of that you fool? Why do you think I enlisted members of the Rough Rhinos and the Yuyan Archers?" Zheng nearly shouted.
Long Feng chose to not respond to the easily tempered Lord Zheng instead chose to slink off in the darkness of night to confer with his Dai Li agents and continue his scheming.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Come on Twinkle-toes it won't be too far out of your way to drop me off at Kyoshi Island on your way for you and miss broody-britches over there to visit the Southern Water Tribe." Toph whined.
"I heard that!" Katara shouted. "I'm not going anywhere near that island as long that evil wench is there."
"For the millionth time Sugar-queen will you get off your high ostrich-horse and get over yourself. We went through the same thing with Zuko and now he's one of your closest friends." Toph exasperated.
"That was different!" Katara shouted
"How is it different Katara!"
"It just is!" Katara growled.
"For crying out loud Katara, I swear you're blinder than I am. The only difference is that you got to see Zuko's other side. You haven't even given Azula a chance!"
"She doesn't deserve another chance!"
"She deserves just as much of a chance as Zuko did. In fact she did less violent and hurtful things to the world than Zuko did. If anybody has any reason to be unforgiving its Aang and Zuko, they're the only ones she physically hurt."
"She's right Katara you can't place all the sufferings of 100 years of war on one person." Iroh said from the doorway.
Everybody was stunned in silence. They didn't even know Iroh had returned.
"Iroh! When did you get back?" Toph shouted as she ran up to him very uncharacteristic of her.
"Just now." He said with a chuckle as he wrapped the blind girl in a hug.
Katara continued to stare at Iroh with her mouth agape. She knew he was keen and could see through people but he'd never done it to her before. A sudden jolt of guilt surged through her and she turned her head in shame.
"Toph my dear, Sokka wanted me to ask you for your help in rebuilding his workshop. He said only your metal and earth bending would do."
"See Twinkle-toes all the more reason to take me along." Toph said smiling cheekily.
Aang had a look of indecision on his face as he looked between Toph and Katara. After a few moments of contemplation he sighed and pensively agreed to take Toph along, much to Katara's displeasure.
"Alright, there are a few things Zuko and I need to finish up we'll be able to leave in a couple of weeks or so." Aang finally spoke. With that Toph and Iroh took their leave to enjoy some tea that he gratefully offered.