"My Lady!" Sol and Ai shouted in unison as they saw her climb up the palace steps together with Fire Lord Zuko. "A-and Fire Lord Zuko!"
Chiyo smiled and hugged both handmaidens excitedly. "It's great to see both of you again! Did you do as I requested?"
"Of course, my Lady! We made sure the Fire Lord ate his meals, even if he worked late!" Sol beamed proudly.
"We also served him Jasmine tea during the evening. Did you know that he would always ask for you, and if you had any letters for him?" Ai added in a whisper, but it was loud enough that Zuko could hear it.
He cleared his throat in slight embarrassment. "We should head inside. It will be dark soon."
"You're back early."
They all turned to the accusatory tone behind them, surprised to see Lady Vira escorted by a few girls trailing behind her. In place of the usual smiles, there was a deep scowl and harsh look of disappointment in her face.
Chiyo moved forward and bowed. "Forgive me, Lady Vira. But I did send a letter by messenger hawk both to you and to Lady Reiko back in Hira'a."
"You mean this?" The older woman pulled out a parchment from her sleeve and tossed it at her feet. "Don't you know it's rude for an entertainer to leave her work unfinished?!"
"But, I—"
"Man Wol paid good money for this project with you, among several other things lined up for you! We were lucky he was foolishly excited to agree to our terms..." Lady Vira's voice was low, but venomous. "Chiyo, we need that money to fund the troupe! If that playwright decides to cut your pay for leaving, do you want to see your fellow apprentice entertainers tossed out onto the streets and live like beggars?"
Behind the troupe leader, the girls cringed, but kept their heads bowed low. Chiyo saw their scared faces and empathized with them.
She had been lucky to have been taken in by Lady Suiren, the most successful entertainer at that time. Being her apprentice meant that she could live in comfort and luxury.
But the same cannot be said for her other, less successful colleagues. With few requests and projects around, some entertainers had to resort to manual labor to sustain their daily needs.
From that need, the Salinja Troupe had taken them in. With pooled resources of the members, the women were fed, dressed, saved from the streets.
"If money is the issue here, then have this." Fire Lord Zuko had intervened and held out before them a small sack. "That should be enough for Chiyo's time with me. And I'm sure the playwright would not mind if the Fire Lord borrowed her for the time being."
Lady Vira took the pouch and opened it, her dark sharp eyes widening the slightest in surprise. There must be at least five hundred gold pieces in there and she quickly pulled the string close. "Very well... This should be enough to satisfy the terms of Chiyo's service." She turned to Chiyo. "I expect you back in Hira'a as soon as possible to finish the play. We'll be on our way." With a small bow to the Fire Lord she turned on her heels and walked down the palace steps, the girls following her silently.
"Zuko, you didn't have to pay her." Chiyo said once the entertainer had left. "I chose to be here. I chose to leave Hira'a and go to you."
"That money is a small price to pay if it meant I got to spend time with you." He reached out and held her hand, running his thumb over the white knuckles, hoping to relax them. "Things will be different from here on out. But whatever comes our way, we'll face it together."
Chiyo nodded, yet still anxious. "Together."
That evening, Azula was sent to the Capital Prison. Zuko had hoped that his sister would be able to gather information from their father about the whereabouts of their mother. He was escorted by Suki and Ty Lee. Chiyo wanted to join them, but he insisted that she stayed in the palace.
He didn't want Ozai to see her. Not even her shadow. Ever.
Still in a straitjacket, Azula was seated in front of Ozai who was behind bars, silent.
Suki was surprised to see Zuko holding a tray and cups of tea. "You're bringing them tea? They're your prisoners! Not your guests!"
"They're still my family." He entered the cell and faced them both.
Out of nowhere, Azula grabbed the tray by her teeth and snatched it away, snarling in anger. "How did you expect me to drink tea while wearing a straitjacket, Zuzu?! Did you want to watch me lap at it like some kind of animal?!
"No, I—"
Azula had stood up and was about to lunge at him, but Ty Lee reacted quickly, chi-blocking her, making her fall to ground with a loud thud.
"She's already restrained! You didn't need to chi-block her!" Zuko got in between Ty Lee and his sister. Suki held back Ty Lee, while Zuko lifted his sister back up on the chair. " You and father are meeting for the first time in over a year. And I know these aren't the best circumstances. I thought the tea might lend a little dignity—"
"You want dignity? Let father and me talk to one another like two human beings. In private."
He weighed his options for a while before he acquiesced. "Fine."
Azula was given an hour with Ozai, after which she was wheeled back out. Suki and Ty Lee escorted them back to the palace.
Zuko dismissed them halfway, wanting to be alone with his sister. In silence, they had reached the Royal Gardens. "So, what did you and father talk about?"
"Oh, the usual." Azula was almost back to her former self, even her sarcastic tone. "He asked about the weather. I told him how much I'm enjoying the scrumptious food and drugs they were giving me in the nuthouse..."
He decided to ignore her sarcasm. "I've asked the staff to prepare your old room. I'd like you to stay here instead of the institution. You'll be guarded every minute of the day, but it'll be more comfortable for you."
"Is Chiyo here in the palace?"
"Yes. She's in her old room, in the Concubine's wing."
"Say, has she ever tried to chi-block you, Zuzu?"
He frowned at the randomness of her question. "No, she hasn't."
"Funny thing. All your joints go soft, like they're made of melted wax... Then for just a few moments, as your strength returns, you find yourself more flexible than you ever thought possible!" Zuko had failed to notice her movements under the straitjacket. Azula had managed to twist one of her arms out and send lightning towards him.
With Zuko momentarily disoriented, she broke free of her restraints and ran towards the palace. Zuko ran after her. "STOP!"
Using firebending, she boosted herself up and broke a window with the swift kick. He immediately recognized where she was headed.
Once Zuko reached the old room of the Fire Lord, she was nowhere in sight, but the ambushed guard pointed him in the direction of a painted canvas of the Fire Nation emblem. It was warm to the touch, and he knew that Azula had gone through there.
He punched the canvas with a fire fist and it slid open, revealing a hidden passageway. He immediately climbed in and crawled through.
"They're here... just like father said!" He saw Azula hunched over a chest, rummaging through its contents. "He overcame her control long enough to give me the truth!"
Zuko looked around the room, precious artifacts hidden away, armors, weapons, documents that have been undisturbed for many years. "What is this place?"
"One of father's many secret chambers. You really should've come exploring with me when we were little, Zuzu. But your fear always held you back!"
From deep beneath the chest, Azula fished out a stack of letters, a demented smile on her face.
He stopped as she held them away from him. "Give me what you're holding!"
"What? These? They're many years worth of letter that she wrote! And they're the key to finding her... Come have a look."
She held them out for him but before he could grab the letters, blue flames had engulfed them from Azula's hand. "NO!"
Her laughter echoed through the small room. "You should see the look on you face, Zuzu! Priceless!"
"Azula, what is wrong with you?!"
"Why don't you ask her that?!" She pointed to a corner of the room, though there was no one there. "I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you!"
Zuko looked around the room, but there was only the two of them there.
"Azula... Be nice to your brother..."
She growled and clutched her head between her hands. "Look, believe it or not, dear brother, I want to find her as much as you do. So, I'll tell you what was in those letters, on one condition..."
"Zuko, your friends have arrived!" Uncle Iroh called his nephew from the throne room. For the first time in a long time, the former general was wearing Fire Nation royal robes, but he refused the golden emblem, claiming that it was too heavy, in more ways than one.
Katara, Aang and Sokka greeted the elder. "Iroh! We didn't expect to find you here!"
His hearty laugh was welcome enough for them. "The Fire Lord has tasked me to be interim Fire Lord while conducting the search for Ursa."
Zuko and Chiyo left the throne room to join them and greet the team. "Thank you for inviting us into your home, your Fieriness! And it's nice to see you again, your Ladyness!"
The pair groaned at Aang's attempt at formalities. Chiyo looked around. "Where's Toph?"
"She had to stay at the academy." Sokka shrugged. "Now that folks have seen the lily-livers— I mean, her students in action, everyone wants to be a metalbender. Even the Yu Dao police chief went to visit her!"
"She has got to stop calling them lily-livers..." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Why did she start calling them that in the first place?"
"Another story, another time." Chiyo dismissed, trying hard to forget the brief memory of her conversation with Toph. "Anyways, we received information about Zuko's mother. Lady Ursa is from Hira'a, which is a small town in the outskirts of the Fire Nation."
"Chiyo spent a year there with unfinished business, so she will be coming with us. And Uncle Iroh has agree to watch over things here while I'm gone."
Iroh turned to his nephew, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "May you find who, and what you are searching for, nephew..."
"Look's like you've got everything covered, Fire Lord Zuko." Katara frowned, confused. "So why do you need us?"
"The information about my mother came at a cost, you see—"
"Zuko! Behind you!" They shouted, Katara fast in action, whipped water out of her waterskin and sent shards of ice towards Azula who had exited the throne room, unbound.
She merely tilted her head sideways to avoid the attack, a bored look in her eyes.
"How did you escape, Azula?!"
"Stay back! We don't want to hurt you!"
"Speak for yourself, Aang!" Sokka took out his boomerang, aiming it at Azula.
The princess laughed at his effort. "Ha! Ignorant peasant! You really think you can take me on with a boomerang?!"
Sokka gritted his teeth, bristling with anger. "Let's find out!"
"ENOUGH!" Chiyo placed herself between Sokka and Azula, giving them both a scolding look. "Princess Azula, you promised to be on your best behavior. And Sokka, it was she who got the information out of Ozai."
"And she's going to help me look for our mother." Zuko stood beside her. "Unbound and with dignity."
Aang looked among them, confused more than ever. "No offense, Zuko, but that sounds like the worst plan ever!"
"Ooh ooh, a new nickname for Zuko! How about 'Bad Decision Lord'?!"
While the arguments grew, and the bickering got worse, Iroh approached Aang. "Ever since my nephew ascended the throne, he has yearned for peace. Finding Ursa may bring that peace...and not just for himself." He directed his gaze towards his niece, who stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Sokka and Katara.
Aang saw and understood what Iroh meant. He nodded in acknowledgement and faced Zuko with a new outlook. "We're your friends, Zuko. If you need us, we'll go."
Zuko sighed in relief, and shook hands with him. "Thank you, Aang."
After the struggle to get a disgruntled Azula on an equally displeased Appa, they flew off to Hira'a. Left in the palace, Iroh, Suki and Ty Lee waved them off with well-wishes.
Iroh looked around the courtyard. "To think that I ever aspired to become lord of this dreary palace..."
"Anything we can do to make you feel more at home, Iroh?"
"You see, the problem with the Fire Nation is exactly this." He had approached a palace guard, in full armor, weapon ready. In a quick move, he had disarmed the guard of his spear and placed a steaming cup in his hand. "For the past hundred years, we have had too many weapons, and too little tea..."
The palace guard looked at the cup, then to the Lord Iroh, with the same confusion as that of Ty Lee and Suki's.
"That's it! I have discovered my first order of business as interim Fire Lord! I will declare a National Tea Appreciation Day!"
Author's Notes
Toph: So ya'll lily-livers wanna hear a funny story about the old geezer?
Chiyo: SHUT UP!
-TheGreatestConWoman-
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