Another meeting had been called.

Azula glanced longingly at the bed as she fastened the ties at the high, golden collar of her shirt. Ty Lee was still sprawled languidly over it, the silken sheets barely covering the curves that the princess found so deliciously irresistible. The half-closed gray eyes that met hers held a lazy and painfully inviting seductiveness. Azula looked away with an effort and began to put her hair up, keeping her gaze pointedly on the mirror before her. "You can go back to sleep if you like, Ty," she said, keeping her tone carefully casual. "I don't know how long this meeting's going to be, so there's really no point in your waiting up."

"I might," Ty Lee murmured. "I'm still kind of sleepy." There was a pause as Azula deftly pinned up her topknot. Then, as the princess began to don her royal armor, she heard the little acrobat yawn. "Azula," the girl said, "what are all these meetings about, anyway?"

The former firebender buckled the leather skirt around her waist as she quickly considered the question. "It's just some last–minute arrangements about our going home," she said quietly. "People want some clarification about where I stand in the pecking order – what position I'm going to hold when we get there. Things like that. You know, political stuff."

"Oh." Ty Lee's tone carried some dissatisfaction, but Azula still didn't look at her. iBest not to,/i she told herself. iIt's easier to avoid her questions if I don't have to look her in the eye./i

Only when Azula had put on the last of her armor and her crown did she look back at the lithe figure on the bed. Ty Lee was still lying on her side facing her, but her chin was tucked down against her chest, and she was gazing blankly at the sheets. The princess sighed and moved over to the bed. Gray eyes met Azula's as she knelt down. She reached out to clasp one of the acrobat's hands. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Ty," she said gently. "The meetings don't have anything to do with you, I promise."

Ty Lee's gaze was gentle. "Okay, Azula," she murmured. Her fingers squeezed the princess's lightly. "I trust you, remember?"

There was a pause. Azula had to swallow hard a couple of times before she replied. She leaned over and kissed the girl gently on the cheek. "You," she whispered, "are the one thing that keeps me sane."

Hard knuckles rapped against the door. The princess turned her head to glower with some annoyance at the servant who had poked his head into the room. "Miss Azula?" the young man said. "General Iroh requests your presence in the library."

"I'm coming." Azula's tone was sharp, almost waspish. She sighed again and turned back to Ty Lee; she dropped one more kiss on the little acrobat's lips. "I love you," she whispered. "I'll be back soon." Ty Lee gave a quiet smile and a nod.

The array of expressions that met Azula as she walked into the meeting room was almost comical. Both Aang and Sokka simply stared at her, bug-eyed and, in Sokka's case, open-mouthed. Suki regarded her with obvious surprise, although her expression was a little more thoughtful. Toph's blind eyes were on the tabletop, which she regarded now with a slight frown. Katara was simply glaring at Azula through slitted and blazing eyes, looking about ready to tear the princess's throat out. Lobsang, of course, looked smug.

Only General Iroh showed no visible reaction. He rose to his feet and bowed his head, indicating the empty chair beside Toph. "Good morning, Azula," he said calmly. "Please, have a seat."

"Uncle." Azula primly took her chair and folded her hands on the tabletop.

The moment that the Fire Nation girl had seated herself, Katara half–rose from her chair, turning her angry eyes on Lobsang. "Why is she wearing the Fire Nation crown again?" she demanded. "We haven't come to any kind of an agreement yet. Nothing's been decided! What's going on?"

He regarded her calmly, somehow managing to convey mild contempt without twitching a muscle in his face. "Princess Azula simply wears the crown that is due her rank as the crown princess of the Fire Nation," he said coolly. "It is her birthright to wear it. The Fire Nation certainly doesn't need the permission of the other nations for that. Or are you suggesting that it should, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe?"

Despite her dark skin, Katara's face went visibly scarlet. "This has nothing to do with my itribe,"/i she spat. "That woman is a war criminal who chased us over three continents. Her father and grandfather practically destroyed the rest of the world. They would have, if Aang hadn't stopped them! And whether that knife-flinging witch has stolen Zuko's throne or not, I'd see myself dead before I'd let Azula be put at the helm of your country again." She stabbed her finger in Lobsang's direction like a weapon. "We're the world's peacemakers, and it iis/i our business if the Fire Nation is making moves that might bring war back down on all of us!"

The Fire Nation nobleman raised a brow mildly. "The former Fire Lord was removed in order to prevent such a war, my lady," he said. "Princess Azula is a skilled politician and diplomat, and is thus the best choice to lead my nation through the rather tense political situation we find ourselves in."

Katara brought her fist down on the table. "We haven't even decided yet if Zuko should be removed!"

"With all due respect," Lobsang said coldly, "no one here who lacks Fire Nation blood has any say in that matter. I'm sure the Southern Water Tribe wouldn't allow the Fire Nation to dictate who held its chieftainship, and I imagine the same goes for the Earth Kingdom. Princess Azula is the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, of the line of Sozin, and has been chosen as the rightful ruler of my country. The matter is not up for discussion."

The irate waterbender opened her mouth to snarl again, but Suki, who had suddenly appeared beside her, laid a restraining hand on her shoulder. Katara turned a wicked glare on her, but her sister–in–law didn't flinch. "Let's all discuss this civilly," she said quietly, meeting Lobsang's amber eyes with her own. "I know everyone here has pretty strong feelings about this, but yelling at each other isn't going to do anybody any good." She looked at Katara. "All right?" The dark-skinned woman glowered and muttered something, but reluctantly resumed her seat. Lobsang inclined his head. Without another word, the Kyoshi Warrior sat back down beside her husband.

General Iroh cleared his throat. "We will discuss this further," he said, "but I called you all here this morning because I have news. My nephew has been located." Azula heard scattered sounds of surprise and relief from a number of throats. "He evidently fled from the Fire Nation in a small balloon, and has made his way to the Earth Kingdom. Master Jeong Jeong found him yesterday afternoon. Zuko is currently at his home in Gaoling." The old general turned fond eyes on the Avatar. "Avatar Aang, would you be willing to bring him here?"

"Of course," the boy said, with a broad grin. He jumped up from his seat. "I'll go get Appa right now!"

Katara rose from her chair. "I'll go, too," she said, "in case Zuko got hurt." She cast Azula a baleful glare before regally turning and following after Aang. The door closed behind them. Azula raised a brow. She couldn't help remembering how furious the waterbender had been with Zuko when his mistreatment of his younger sister had come to light. iIs Katara just fickle, or do her loyalties really run that deep?/i she wondered. iOr maybe it's just temper. She's awfully fiery for a waterbender./i

Toph blew out her cheeks in a sigh and turned her milky eyes on Iroh. "So now what happens?" she asked.

"First," the old general said calmly, "we wait until my nephew has been brought back here. Then I imagine that things will seem a bit clearer, and we'll all be better able to sort through them."

Lord Lobsang gave a courtly shrug. "The royal guard contingent will be here in two days," he said, "and the princess will be escorted back to the Fire Nation for her coronation ceremony. Nothing is going to change that, regardless of anything her deposed brother might have to say about it."

"Perhaps." General Iroh regarded the young man thoughtfully. "We'll simply have to wait and see what happens when he gets here."

Sokka put his head on one side. "You haven't had much to say about any of this," he said, his blue eyes meeting Azula's. "How come? You used to do an awful lot of talking back in the day. What do you think about all of it?"

The princess uttered a mental curse as all eyes turned on her. She pursed her lips slightly, tracing an idle pattern on the tabletop with her finger. "I don't know that I really have much to say," she said coolly. "Since I haven't been given the option to refuse the crown, and no one seems to think I have the option of accepting it, either, I don't imagine what I think will have much impact on anything." She gave Lobsang a cold smile before turning her gaze back to Sokka. "But, since you asked, I'd prefer a quiet little spot someplace where the lot of you would leave me alone."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Azula saw a similar expression cross Suki's face. With a bitter smile, the princess sat back in her chair and clasped her hands on the table. "There, you see? None of you believe me. And even if you did, I doubt it would make any difference, would it?"

"I believe you," Toph said quietly.

There was silence for several minutes. Sokka's look hadn't changed much, but Azula thought that Suki looked a bit ashamed of herself. Iroh finally gave a faint cough. "I think it would be best to adjourn until my nephew has been brought here," he said. "We won't be able to make much progress until then, anyway." His deep-set eyes met those of his niece. "I think that you and your brother and I should have a talk before we have any more official meetings, Azula," he said gravely. "Once he's settled in here, I'll send for you."

Lobsang frowned. "As the man assigned to aid the princess through this process, General, I think perhaps I ought to be present at such a discussion…"

"This is a family affair, Lord Bai Jiang," Iroh said firmly. "I'm sure my niece doesn't require your help." Azula's lips quirked upward slightly. "Until then, this meeting is adjourned." And there was a scraping of chairs on the floor as all hands pushed away from the discussion table.