Avatar Chapter 28

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ty Lee skipped through the halls of the Palace, she knew this place like the back of her hand now. The halls, every passage, secret or otherwise, and nearly every room she was familiar with. She was so used to walking on these floors yet at the moment it seemed so surreal, it was the first time she had been here when Azula was not, and she felt nervous.

They had retuned from their trip a few days ago and Azula, good to her word, went out hunting soon after, in search of something magnificent so give Ty Lee. She would only be gone couple of days but Ty Lee missed her already, they had not been apart for an extended amount for time in over a year.

"This is so weird, it like being at a friend's house but with no friend." She knew that was a childish way to see it but it fit her mood. This was her home now but she really had nothing to do, despite their relationship Ty Lee was still technically Azula's aid. And since Azula had made it very clear she wanted to surprise her, Ty Lee was here, wandering the Palace with only Arkrez to keep her company.

Ty Lee looked at him walking next to her, he was growing, fast. The animal was a little over waist height now and people were starting to take notice. In private he still nuzzled, purred and begged for food but now he eyed anyone who got too close. He was also developing the abilities Jazar had told them about, camouflage being Arkez's favorite. Ty Lee was entranced when he appeared to simply vanish before her eyes the first time, his hide rippled and flexed until he was nearly invisible.

Of course the first thing the big lug did was try to sneak some food from the "meat sphere", as they had named it, but Ty Lee could still see his aura and had caught him red pawed, as it were. Often Ty Lee forget she was the only one who could see where he was, yesterday a guard had come before her, knelt to the ground and informed Ty Lee that Li and Lo wanted to speak to her. Ty Lee had nearly burst out laughing when the man raised his head and saw the bared fangs of her protective beast, he fell back in terror and had screamed like an academy girl.

They would probably have to train Arkrez to remain visible while at home, Ty Lee did not want everyone keeping their distance out of fear of the Royal Pet. Ty Lee rounded a corner and immediately retreated, Arkrez simply stood and stared at her. "Don't judge me." She whispered, Ty Lee motioned for him to move behind her, and with shake of his head he complied. She took a breath, and poked her head around the corner; and saw the Fire Lord himself talking to some distinguished looking people in an alcove.

She was still terrified of Fire Lord Ozai, as weird and scary as Xizan had been the Fire Lord still spooked her far more than anyone else. She did not know exactly why, he was an intimidating Fire Lord of course, he was a dangerous man obviously, but he was also her girlfriends father, who had discovered them with her on top of the Princess.

That made things… awkward, what the relationship between the two of them was now she had no idea. "What if he thinks I'm some hussy, or a fraud, or a spy or an evil spirit… ok he probably does not think that but he saw me half naked on top of his daughter, he must think I'm some sort of dumb floozy." She prayed he did not know what they had done on route to the circus, it was not anything forbidden but it was certainly not something one did in public.

She felt Arkrez nudge her side and Ty Lee snapped out of her inner thoughts, she saw the Fire Lord heading her way. "Oh Agni, Oh Agni what do I do." Ty Lee pulled at her braid and tried to think, she prayed he had not seen her peaking form behind the corner.

Ty Lee was freaking out, she debated how she should address him, as her Fire Lord? As Azula's dad? As a man who scared her half to death? She did not have time to think as he rounded the corner and she bowed her head, hoping he would ignore her.

"Why Lady Ty Lee, I thought that was you." He had stopped and now stood in front of her.

"Burn it!" Ty Lee cursed in her head but managed to squeak out a reply. "Greetings my Lord." She did not dare look up at him.

"You may raise your head, we are practically family, and I do cherish family ties."

Ty Lee cleared her throat and raised her head, but still did not look him in the eye "Of course my Lord."

She heard him chuckle, it was so casual she almost forgot who it was coming from. "So formal, my daughter has instructed you well I gather, tell me, where is the Princess?"

She pondered a moment "At the Royal Hunting Grounds, my Lord."

"Ah of course, a proud and honored tradition for Royals, especially when courting their choice of partner." He asked as if seeking a reply.

"Um, Azula went hunting to get me something, my Lord."

"Really? Well that is tradition, and putting herself in danger for such a prize is commendable."

Ty Lee was wondered what that meant and momentarily forgot who she was talking to and looked up the Fire Lord "Dangerous?"

"Oh Yes, the Royal Hunting Grounds are home to some of the most dangerous creatures in the world, it used to be open to all but in my honored fathers time we had to impose a quota on the number of hunters."

Ty Lee nodded "So… there were too many hunters."

"Far too many, the entire area was often littered with what was left of every young buck who thought they could make a name for themselves, it was a quite a sight to see, pity really." Ozai said spoke so casually yet the implications were unnerving.

The Fire Lord continued "But I am sure my daughter is in minimal danger, and putting herself in such immense risk for you truly shows how dedicated she is to courting your favor."

Ty Lee had not thought about it before but now she was worried, Azula did not have to prove anything to her but the Princess was beyond stubborn at times.

"In fact, let me show you some of things that have been caught by the Royal Family." Ozai turned and started walking, a baffled Ty Lee following behind him. She was torn between worrying about Azula and worrying about doing something stupid in front of the Fire Lord, again.

It was odd walking behind the Fire Lord, everyone ceased what they where doing and bowed as he passed by, the air itself seemed to still wherever he went, she was once again reminded that he was the most powerful man in the world.

They reached a room she had never been in before, the guards immediately opened the large double doors as their Lord approached and once inside Ty Lee recognized it as a trophy room.

Weapons, armor, various piece of art and other objects were displayed, what caught her eye however were the various heads mounted on the wall. Some she could not even begin to recognize, Arkrez could be adorable when he wanted to be but all of these creatures looked ferocious no matter the angle.

"Exquisite aren't they, many scars have been placed upon Royal flesh to amass such a collection." Ozai walked over to a head mounted on the wall, it seem to be a cross between a wolf and ram. "This beast was responsible for taking the life of my great-great grandfather, tore his abdomen right open as he plunged a flaming fist into its chest." He spoke as if he was discussing the weather, which made it that much creepier to Ty Lee.

"Ah and this was brought in by one of my distant cousins off the coast, dragged a dozen solider into the depths and nearly tore the ship in half." He gestured to a suspended beast above them, a mass of tentacles and teeth. Ty Lee was beyond unnerved with the mental image of it moving.

Ozai continued to explain nearly every beastly trophy, going into great detail as the horrific injuries that had been sustained to kill them. Ty Lee felt sick, she did not have a strong stomach and her imagination was putting Azula in the place of whoever Ozai spoke of.

"And right here is where I suspect my daughter will place her prize." He gestured to an empty spot on the wall. "Or, she herself may lose her life in the endeavour, a truly tragic circumstance, isn't it my dear?" He looked at her and Ty Lee lowered her head. "Y-Y-Yes my Lord… but Azula is very good at, um, everything."

She saw his feat move toward her "Why yes, she is very skilled in practically every field that is of importance, which is precisely the reason she is out there right now, getting you a present."

Ty Lee could only bow her head lower "I-I-I'm sorry my Lord."

He chuckled "Now why would you be sorry? I am sure you are nothing but grateful to my daughter, who has done so much for you and your household." He started to circle her and Ty Lee grabbed the fur on Arkrez's head to keep her breathing down.

"You, the rebellious daughter of a wealthy noble house who by the grace of your ancestors befriended a Princess, and then, by some outlandish hand of fate, managed to woo my daughter to the point where she is putting her life, and the future of the nation, on the line for your favour." He stopped in front of her.

"But again, you will be nothing but grateful and loyal for her efforts, won't you my dear." Ty Lee swallowed, tried a clear her throat and managed to squeak out a yes.

She felt a finger on her chin and her head was raised, she looked directly into the fierce eyes of the Fire Lord, he smiled and opened his mouth "Boo"


As Ty Lee fell backwards onto the soft fur of her waiting pet, Ozai could not hold back the howl of laughter. "I can't believe it was that easy! This may very well turn into my favorite hobby!"

After his laughter subsided he looked at his future daughter in law, held up by Arkrez, who seemed unconcerned with the extra weight. The beast was looking at him, and licking his paws as if nothing bothered him.

"Hmmm, I hear you creatures are intelligent, why you don't take your 'master' to her quarters, I am sure she will reward when she awakens." At the mention of a reward, the beast promptly used its tail to adjust Ty Lee on his back and made for the door. "Well that gift is certainly turning out well, almost makes me want to hire an assassin to enter Azula's room, Mmm maybe one day."

With a pleased sigh Ozai turned and looked at many trophies in the wall, he had not lied to the girl, many had perished on those hunting grounds but his daughter would not fall so easily, in fact he expected a fine catch on her part. He walked over to the head of what used to be a very bright Dragon-Bull, he remembered downing it with a very precise lightning bolt.

"Took me three days to track and it nearly decapitated me but I got the bastard… not that Ursa cared what I went through." The thought of his former wife both amused and infuriated him.

He despised the fact that despite his every attempt to woo her she was obsessed with her old life, never accepting how comfortable the life of a Princess was compared to some present 'actress'. On the other hand he was the one who had the last laugh, her attempt deceive him about Zuko's parentage angered him at first, but he knew the boy was his son, not the offspring of some nobody.

"She thought she was so clever writing that letter, bet she never knew I could always tell another man had never touched her, prudish peasant girl." Ozai turned away and headed for the hall.

"At least my daughter will not face this problem, Ty Lee will prove to be an excellent partner, loving, easily terrified and about as bright as an ash pile... I can picture Ursa's disapproving face already."

Ozai had always been aware of Ursa's dislike for their second child, anything Azula did garnered not a word of praise from Ursa, while even his father had expressed his compliments at Azula's skills, and he was a notoriously hard man to impress.

And Ursa's unhealthy relationship with Zuko always creeped him out, Azula had been sent off to the academy and even managed to make friends, while Zuko had been kept with reach of his mothers skirts to this day Ozai could not recall a single person Zuko interacted with his own age.

"Her leaving was the best thing to happen to that boy, and hopefully my brother will hammer some military skills into his skull… though if he comes back overweight and with a tea set I will burn off the other half of his face."

The Fire Lord walked the halls towards his study, scaring his daughters girlfriend was fun but he had a Nation to run, rebels to quell and papers to sign. "Ah the duties of the world's ruler is never done."


A moping Ty Lee watched as Arkrez dug into the huge slab of meat she had given him, he deserved it for carrying her all the way here. "Good job Ty Lee, why don't you just engrave wimp into your forehead!"

She could not believe she had passed out again, she thought being around Azula all the time would get her used to scary things but the Fire Lord had proved her wrong. Ty Lee threw herself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, she had to get over this irrational fear of Azula's father.

It was not completely irrational, he was a dangerous man, but he had not done anything besides make it abundantly clear who she owed loyalty to. "I'm pretty sure he's was messing with me back there, and I still made a fool of myself… though I do hope Azula is okay."

Ty Lee sighed, she knew Azula and knew she would be fine, most animals were terrified of her anyway. "Arky do you think I worry too much?"

The hungry animal looked at her for a moment before using his tail to throw a bone at her. By reflex she caught it in midair and wondered what that had come over him, but as she examined it she noticed it was from a chicken-rabbit, a notoriously skittish animal

"Hey!" Ty Lee could believe what her own pet had just implied, at least she thought that was what he meant. Arkrez continued to eat his meal, unconcerned with her indignation.

Ty Lee pouted, "Alright fine maybe you're right, but just you wait, I will be brave one day."

Arkrez used his tail to pick up a large stuffed animal and threw it at her, Ty Lee caught the bright pink armadillo-bear with a big smile stitched on its face.

"Shut up!" She clutched the stuffed animal, embarrassed that she was arguing with a big scaly cat.

Arkrez suddenly stiffened and hissed at the door, a knock sounded soon after.

Ty Lee waited and suddenly remembered Azula was not here, so she hastily told the person to come in.

A messenger entered and started to bow fit froze as Arkrez was literally in his face.

"Arky be nice, he's just come to tell us something."

The beast hissed but stepped away and placed himself between Ty Lee and the servant, who let out a deep breath.

"L-Lady Ty Lee, Princess Azula had returned to the city and will be at the Palace gates shortly." The man quickly excused himself.

Ty Lee suddenly felt better, even after only few day apart the thought of being with Azula again made her heart swell. "Come on Arky, Zula's back." She jumped off the bed and made for the door, Arkrez whined as his meal was still on the floor.

"Oh come on, Azula went hunting so I am sure she brought you something exotic." The big scaly cat quickly made it to her side and they both headed out, both excited about the Princess's return though for vastly different reasons.


For those wondering how Arkrez's camouflage works just think about Randel from Monsters Inc.