Cold.
Darkness.
Water encased her body.
She recognized it all.
Why do they do this to me?
She tried to move her limbs but her muscles wouldn't budge. Her chest tightened with panic. She couldn't be back! How could she be back?!
Suddenly, her nostrils and throat burned with a salty liquid and she wretched and coughed. She was drowning. Her eyelids flew open.
The sky was black and the crescent moon hung directly overhead. Water surrounded her and the air carried the salty-fishy scent of the ocean. The moon was much higher than the last time she had seen. It all came back to her.
She leaned forward to sit up and felt awful pain radiate across her belly.
"Ahh!" She hissed and stopped moving.
Her stomach was lacerated and burned. Moving the muscles of her abdomen just a tiny bit caused the separated skin to split at the seams and made breathing painful. She took short, gasping breaths instead.
Unable to sit properly, she leaned on her right elbow to prop herself on her arm.
"Gah!"
The arrowhead in her chest ground against the bone as the muscles of her chest and shoulder flexed. She shivered with pain. Instead, she leaned on her left elbow, feeling it plunk into a shallow pool of water and sand.
The sea hissed around her as it rushed across the sand on its way back into the bay, leaving its foam and pungent scent behind. Her eyes stung and her head ached. What…? Her mind was foggy with sleep and exhaustion.
How long…? Her mouth was dry and tasted like metal and cotton.
The tide must have risen since she was out. How long had that been? By the height of the moon, several hours must have passed. She could not see the castle but it must have been burned to the ground by now. Had anybody been awakened by it? Was anyone tracking her?
Her throat and nostrils continued to burn from the inhaled saltwater, then, at once, it hit her: the deep, stinging, burning, aching pain that blared all throughout her chest, left leg, stomach and outer right thigh.
"Ohhhh…" She moaned and shuddered as she rode the agonizing waves that felt even worse than before.
Her belly felt sliced open. Her left knee felt as if she had fallen against lava rock and scraped the skin clean off. In the span of a second, she had become aware of every single wound and sore muscle in her body, and the pain was getting worse.
Her breath came in short, stuttering gasps. She groaned and would have reached up to wipe the salt from her brow but straining her chest and abdomen just brought more nauseating pain.
"Ugh…"
She closed her eyes and remained propped against her left elbow, her stomach sick and her forehead cold and clammy. Another wave tumbled against the shore. The approaching water hissed and swooshed as it grew near. Her eyelids fluttered open.
I need to get out of here…
She rotated to her left to sit on all fours and began the process of rising to stand. She nearly burst into tears when she put weight on her right leg.
Oh god, it hurts! It hurts!
She bit down hard on her teeth to stifle her cries.
At last, she managed to stand and as soon as she did, the blood drained from her head. Her mind turned woozy and she stumbled and caught herself before she could fall. The approaching sea rushed across her ankles.
"I need water…" She whispered hoarsely, tasting the dryness in her mouth. The lightheadedness passed and she took her first measured steps forward to continue her escape. "I need to see Doctor Izumi…"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The curved roof and broad porch of the Bian Que Charity Hospital appeared. She could make out its paper lanterns and big white sign in the pale moonglow. There were only a few torches along this street, positioned only at the intersections. Otherwise, everything was black.
Almost there…
Her heart burned in her throat and her chest rose and fell like a bellow.
For what had felt like an eternity, she hauled herself uphill from the shore, limped across cobblestone roads, slinked through shadowy alleys and skirted along empty sidewalks, all while keeping her mask and cloak in place. She had not encountered anybody else. It must have been several hours before dawn.
Her sweat remained cold and her skin clammy. She had stopped multiple times to prevent from collapsing but now her destination was close at hand.
She dragged her heavy legs up the short flight of steps and arrived at the hospital's front door. It was closed, and locked. She grabbed the knocker with her right hand, winced as her sore, swollen chest muscles flexed, raised it and—
Wait!
She glanced around. The street was empty and the hospital's windows were dark. Everything was dark. Nobody would be awake to hear her knock.
I'm not detected. Why draw attention to myself now?
She lowered the knocker carefully without making a sound. She turned from the door and moved to a nearby bench placed along the wall for patrons of the hospital to sit. She backed up to the bench, braced herself so as not to fall and gently lowered herself down.
Her muscles turned to jelly. She breathed a long, relaxing sigh.
Finally… I'm done.
Some of the tension began to ease from her face. She closed her eyes and reclined further, extending her legs to take the weight off her sore feet and kept very still so as not to jostle her wounds. She could have fallen asleep.
I guess I can still fight, she concluded tentatively, making a cursory review of her night's performance. I guess…
She felt more doubt than pride.
I don't know if nearly getting killed counts as my old abilities. Maybe those people just weren't good opponents. I couldn't beat Zuko during the Agni Kai or in Hira'a. That's what matters most; beating Zuko and his agents. Then again, I had just come out of the asylum during Hira'a; I was thinner and weaker. But what about the Agni Kai? I was healthy then… I wasn't sleeping… I was…
She ended the train of thought promptly.
Her wounds continued to throb and her body remained depleted of all reserves. If she was confronted by a half-decent opponent right now, she would lose.
After a while, her heartbeat started to return to something normal and her lightheadedness began to fade. In just a few hours, she'd have her wounds treated and things would return to normal: waking up at the charity home in a decent bed, receiving three satisfying meals a day, having the freedom to go where she pleased, having a wonderful view on top of a secluded roof and the company of people who appreciated her.
Her lips curved into a quiet, proud smile.
I bet Meilin will be happy to see me.
Behind her, separated by just a few walls, the Earth Kingdom teen was no doubt asleep in one of the hospital's beds, probably racked by nightmares and fear of what more disasters would befall her and her friends. Azula's lips curved wider.
I can't wait to tell her. She'll probably worship the ground I walk on, be even more proud of me than before and be willing to hide me from anyone who comes looking…
Her discussion with Katsumi the night of Meilins and Haos' attack remained fresh in her mind. The native woman revealed deep misgivings about her country's princess. Perhaps this action she had taken against these yakuza criminals was an opportunity to improve the young woman's feelings about their country's rightful leader… Somehow.
I wonder how I'll do that…
Despite her present distance from the castle, and the relative peace and safety of the empty night, she was not free of all danger.
Her smile faded and her brow wrinkled with a worried frown.
What do I tell Doctor Izumi?
The warm feeling died, replaced by doubt and trepidation.
She returned to the day of her flogging, when Izumi had stitched her wounds together… And yelled at her.
She was not supportive of my fighting. What will she think of this? I promised her I wouldn't fight but… But I had to this time. I had to…
A knot turned in the pit of her stomach.
Wait a minute!
The knot came undone.
Why should I feel ashamed? Or worried? She wanted those fiends gone, too. They all did. Even those townsfolk sounded like they hated those men. They wanted to be rid of those criminals but they couldn't do it themselves. They thought this so-called 'Mori Clan' was too powerful. That's why Mr. Chen opposed me; he thought they couldn't be stopped. He was afraid of them, but I wasn't afraid.
I fought back.
I did what nobody else could.
And now those fiends are dead.
Her doubts vanished as she put into words the impervious logic of her actions.
The vassal government of Hizen failed this city, failed us: Mr. Chen, Meilin, Hao, Izumi, me, everybody. They failed the Fire Nation. Even Doctor Izumi said so and she's a member of the Imperial Government. If she said they were a problem then they were a problem. They HAD to be destroyed. I didn't step out of line. I did what any responsible citizen would have wanted, maybe not would have done, but wanted. I simply had the power and drive to achieve it.
I've given these people something they wanted but couldn't have.
I risked my life against those criminals and won.
I did this for them.
They'll recognize this. They'll have to. They've all come to like me, right? Doctor Izumi will understand. Besides, it's not like I can hide it from her; she'll see my armor and wounds. She's not stupid. She's actually very smart. Lying to her, and her catching me lying, might be the worst thing I could do. I need her…
Just tell her the truth.
There's no reason to hide it.
I mean, I won't tell EVERYBODY what I did, just those who need to know, and they won't tell anybody else in turn because they'll want to protect me. They've BEEN protecting me. I've returned the favor and shown them my value. They'll want to keep me around. Izumi will protect me. She'll take care of me. She has to. Of course she will…
The last of her troubles faded. She took a deep breath and sighed. There might have been a twinge of uncertainty somewhere in there, just a tiny butterfly flapping its wings, but it could have been from anything: she was still a fugitive princess on the run, she still had wounds needing treatment. She still had to stay on her toes to keep ready for unexpected events and her life was in completely new territory. This was all an adventure. An exciting adventure. A little bit of nervousness was a good thing. It kept one sharp and vigilant.
Her eyes closed and her heartbeat returned to a slow rhythm. Her mind hovered between awake and asleep.
I'll just wait here for the hospital to open…
Her head nodded forward and the hard lines of her face softened in approaching slumber. They'll wake me in the morning… They'll take care of me… First thing…
Darkness began to swallow her.
WAIT! Her mind screamed.
Her eyelids shot open.
She raised her head promptly and stared straight ahead to fight away the sleepiness, her heart pulsing with fear.
I can't just sleep here and let them wake me, let them FIND me! What if they snoop around my armor while I'm sleeping?! What if they see my wounds and wonder where I've been?! What if they hear about the castle and connect the dots?!
She also still wore her mask.
Stupid!
Quickly, she reached around the back of her head and fumbled with the buckles until the mask was removed. She placed it in her belt and blinked repeatedly to bat away the lingering, stinging, dangerous drowsiness.
I need to control the narrative when they ask why I'm injured, why I'm dressed in this armor. I can't just sit here and let the morning crowd see me. How many hours till daylight: three? Four? Oh god, I can't stay awake that long! What if they wonder what I'm doing here so early, dressed as I am?!
Her mind raced for a solution. Soon she found one. Rising to her feet, she hobbled down the porch's steps and rounded the corner. Between the hospital and the next building was a narrow alley that terminated at the back of another building.
The dark walls of the adjacent buildings surrounded her on each side like hulking cliffs. Hardly any moonlight made it back here as the buildings shielded the moon. At the back of the hospital, visible as vague shadows, she spotted garbage bins, a cart and a pile of crates in a haphazard pile. There were doors at the back end of the hospital but no refuse or other objects to hide behind. Her attention switched back to the pile of crates. She approached them.
Feeling around the pile, she detected a gap by the corner where the two buildings met. It was wide enough for her to slip her body into and it created a hidden nook long enough for her to lie down.
Perfect.
She pushed her way into the narrow space between the wall and crates and eased herself down onto the cobblestone ground. She removed her cloak, folded it into a pillow and, finally, laid down.
The cobblestones were hard and lumpy, and were the farthest thing from comfortable, but the quiet darkness and seclusion beckoned slumber's return. Her eyelids didn't close, however. She continued to gaze up at the sky.
All of this seemed so familiar.
To think I had been sleeping in that forest, concealed by boulders, just a few months ago, believing my life was over. Over, she repeated. For a second time…
But now a new life had begun, different from when she first arrived in this refuge. Back then, she had been sick, wounded and completely lost in a part of her country she had never seen and did not understand.
She had to rely entirely on the goodwill of people she did not know, and who did not know her, people she had to assume would be hostile to her if they learned her identity, and back then, she had merely sought to survive.
But now, after these six weeks at the charity home, of living in one of her country's proud cities, she had found something to live for, something to fight for, something that made her proud, something she thought she'd never have again…
A reason to live.
"Now I know why you sent me here, Lu Ten," she whispered to the heavens, closing her eyes as she allowed sleep to consume her.
"To destroy those enemies of the Fire Nation…"
The hard lines of her face relaxed as her breathing grew deep and even.
"To do what a princess is supposed to…"
The darkness claimed her and the world faded away.
… To remind me of who I am…
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The morning sun rose above the horizon, casting its warm light upon the ocean. Steam rose from the cool surface of the bay, the water shimmering gold as its waves rippled in the breeze and washed against the shore where a castle had once loomed.
Police carriages were parked outside the castle's iron gate, the gate itself open after town guards had scaled the wall with ladders and unlocked it.
Members of Taizao's local police force, dressed in their red, black and maroon armor, sifted through the charred wreckage, clearing away the blackened beams and shattered roof tiles. Heat and smoke continued to rise from the ashes though no flames showed.
At the base of the castle's raised drawbridge, nineteen bodies draped in white sheets lay upon the ground in two rows. The bodies beneath the sheets were blackened, dried to a crisp and erased of all hair, skin and discernible features other than their relative sizes and exposed skeletons. At least two were the size of small children.
Two town guards in the corner of the debris field were lifting a fallen beam. They stopped suddenly and whistled to their comrades.
"Found more!" The female town guard called.
A town guard in the distinct armor of a chief approached the scene: two bodies at opposite ends of what appeared to be a bedroom, flat on their backs upon the ashy outlines of their futons. No faces were visible, just their burned, blackened flesh and empty holes in their skulls where eyes had once been.
Turning one of the bodies over gently with his gloved hands, the chief observed pieces of unburned futon and clothes, the moisture of the body having shielded those materials from catching fire. There were discernible blood stains on the fabric too, just like the others.
The chief studied the positions of the bodies and the conditions of the room for a while longer before giving the all-clear. Two white sheets were brought over and draped over the bodies, followed by two additional guards who carried the corpses away on stretchers.
The chief stood in the middle of the castle's ruins, near the remnants of a stair case as he watched his guards search for clues as to why one of Taizao's ancient castles burned, and why its inhabitants bore signs of apparent murder.
From down the road, a single enclosed carriage drawn by two dragon-moose approached the castle's gate. There were no soldiers escorting it nor did it contain any markings other than those of the Taizao police force. It appeared as all the other police carriages parked outside the gate.
The carriage halted and unloaded three men dressed in the administrative clothes of the Taizao police. They were detectives, all three of them. None of the guards bowed to them or paid them any attention as they bore no ranks or insignia; their clothes were plain. The man at the front of the group-of-three gazed at the ruined castle from outside the gate, his eyes narrow and his face hard with suspicion. He started forward with his two compatriots in tow.
The police chief had moved to the middle of the entry area of the former castle, his attention pointed at the floor. Remnants of a bow and several arrows lay at his feet, just as they had been found next to one of the dead bodies, furthering the mystery of what had caused a 400 year old castle to burn to the ground. Rapid footsteps approached from behind.
"Chief!"
The chief turned and spotted one of his lieutenants hurrying toward him. The lower-ranking woman bowed at the waist before standing at attention before her chief.
The lieutenant's face was strained. She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Daimyo Ikeda is here," she said urgently.
The chief's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yes, sir. He's waiting at the bottom of the draw bridge. He's in plain clothes. He requests your presence."
"Why?"
"He didn't say."
The chief's jaw clenched. He took a deep breath, smoothed his expression and adjusted his uniform. "Take over the investigation while I'm gone."
"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant bowed again and did as she was told.
The chief headed down the drawbridge and spotted three men at the base, dressed in nondescript administrative clothing. One of the men was standing in front of the others, his attention drawn to the row of shrouded bodies.
"My Lord," the chief greeted quietly as he stopped before his daimyo and bowed his head curtly in a brief yet subtle show of respect. Since the daimyo and his escorts were in plain clothes, they did not want their identities to be known.
"Chief Rahn," the daimyo replied smoothly, turning away from the bodies to meet the eyes of one of the city's ten police chiefs. "Tell me what happened.
The chief paused. Naturally, the first question that came to his mind was, 'What are you doing here?' But Daimyo Ikeda was no ordinary man or member of government. He was the vassal lord of the Hizen Domain, sanctioned by the Crown itself. He could be anywhere and do anything he wanted, so long as he did not draw the ire of the Fire Lord…
The chief took a breath and summarized his findings. "From what we've uncovered, I'd say a fire started inside the castle sometime last night."
"An accident?" The daimyo questioned calmly, raising an eyebrow.
"No."
The daimyo's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "Why not?"
The chief beckoned over his shoulder. "Because we found him over here."
Next to the drawbridge, on the ground, lay a body draped in another white sheet.
The daimyo's expression cooled. "Show me."
The chief led his daimyo to the isolated body. Its limbs were splayed beyond the confines of the sheet, locked in rigor mortis, and the grass beneath its head was stained with dried blood.
"Who is it?" The daimyo questioned pensively.
The chief pulled back the white sheet just enough to reveal the corpse's face.
The daimyo frowned. "Oh… Fuck. This is going to cause problems."
"I agree," the chief kept his voice down.
The daimyo shook his head and sighed, turning his gaze up from the body and to the chief. "I presume he fell?"
"Yes, sir. I would conclude that."
The daimyo's eyes narrowed. "Strange..." He glanced up at the castle, reflexively, as if it were still there. "Why would a firebender jump from a burning building?"
"We don't think he jumped, sir."
The daimyo turned to his chief abruptly. "What?!" He kept his voice down.
"Yes, sir. Look here—" The chief pulled the white sheet back further, exposing the man's torso. At the center of his chest lay a large, round blast mark, the clothes and skin singed away.
The daimyo's eyes widened in quiet shock. "That's a firebending mark."
"Yes. This is the only body found outside the castle, and the only one not completely burned. Since he fell on his back, and the blast mark is on his chest, that suggests he was pushed out of the castle by a fire blast."
"Tell me about the others," the daimyo asked swiftly as he continued to study the former clan leader's burn.
"We've found twenty-one, not including this one, all burned to the bone. We can't identify any but two were children."
"Children?"
"Yes. We found them on the first floor near three others."
The daimyo's expression turned grim. "His children. Go on."
"It would appear the children and three others were trying to escape when they were attacked by something since one of the bodies was pushed right against the door."
"Attacked by something?" The daimyo spoke incredulously. "You mean by someone."
"Yes."
"Explain."
"A number of bodies were found on their backs with pieces of unburned clothes and futon underneath."
The daimyo remained puzzled. "Why were those not burned?"
"Their bodies shielded those materials from the flames."
"I see... Continue."
"Normally, this would suggest they weren't aware of the fire and suffocated in the smoke while they slept, but we found blood stains on the fabric beneath them."
The daimyo's lips compressed into a thin line. "Stabbed," he said certainly.
"That's what I would conclude, yes. We also found a sword near one of the bodies and the remnants of a bow and several arrows next to another."
"So they were fighting back."
"I would agree, sir."
"Were there any survivors?"
"We haven't found any and nobody has approached us."
"Well, this wasn't an abduction since everybody living here has been killed," the daimyo commented wryly.
"I don't understand, sir."
"Twenty-two," the daimyo repeated. "That's how many people lived here, including Shinzo."
The chief nodded, slowly. "I see..."
"There aren't any survivors," the daimyo concluded. "When were you made aware of this?"
"Two hours before dawn. Witnesses reported waking to a glowing light outside their windows. The castle was engulfed in flames by then."
"Hmm…" The daimyo was quiet for a while, his brow creased in thought. "Tell me what you believe happened."
The chief chewed his lower lip for a moment, his jaw working as he tried to formulate his answer. He took a deep breath and fell into his response. "I've seen assassination attempts before," he explained in a calm, resolute manner. "And this looks like one. A group of assassins gained entrance to the castle and killed several of the inhabitants in their sleep. They were caught by the others—a dog might have alerted them since we found a dog's body in one of the rooms—and a fight ensued. Since none of the inhabitants survived as you suggest, then the assassins must have had overwhelming numbers."
The daimyo found nothing wrong with the chief's assessment. "There were several firebenders living here," the daimyo bolstered the chief's assessment about the strength of the assassin force. "Shinzo especially. By any chance, are any of the bodies you've found those of the attackers? Maybe you haven't found all the bodies yet."
Chief Rahn shook his helmeted head. "I don't think so. None of the bodies have armor and the sword we found was not alongside a sheath. We believe both the sword and bow came from the house since we've found identical models throughout. They appeared to be mantle pieces, decorations."
The daimyo nodded once more. "The Mori's were collectors of Fire Islands relics, especially those from the ancient Mori Clan…" He scanned the castle's ruins as he considered the chief's account. His eyes studied the stone walls and charred wood. Though the castle had been constructed entirely of wood, the fire must have been started with the intention of causing complete destruction, versus an accident that got out of control. That no walls or timbers remained standing indicated massive amounts of fire were spread from within, by firebenders…
… Although there was some wrought iron still standing at the head of the drawbridge; the wood planks of the front door had burned, leaving behind the cage-like iron latticework. The daimyo's eyebrows wrinkled with curiosity. "Was that door open when you arrived?"
"No, sir," the chief replied plainly. "In fact, its hinges were melted shut. We had to break them."
The daimyo looked utterly baffled. "Then how did the assassins get in?"
"I don't know. We're still searching for clues."
"Who do you think is responsible for this?"
"I really don't know, sir," the chief answered at a loss. "I haven't heard anything about the clans being at war, let alone assassination attempts against the Mori's. I've never seen a fortified dwelling, never mind a castle, taken down like this either. This took skill and power. Again, it could have been a rival clan, but again, I've heard nothing. The only major events in the past month concerning the Mori's was a smuggling job we had to bust them on, the murder of an Imperial spy we had to cover up, and a teenage girl who got into a fight with some of Shinzo's Oda foot soldiers."
The daimyo's eyes bulged. "What did you say?!" He turned his head sharply to stare at the Mori District chief.
The chief was startled. "Uh…" He was caught flatfooted. "A smuggling job… Uh, a murder… A girl…?" He searched for what his lord was referring to.
"A girl!" The daimyo answered sharply. "You said something about a girl!"
"Uh, yes." Chief Rahn regained his composure. "A little over a month ago, some angry teenage girl got into a firebending battle with a few of Shinzo's Oda neighborhood foot soldiers. It was out in public, caused a lot of damage, hurt a lot of civilians and hurt the foot soldiers too, badly. She was about to kill one of them until my guards stopped her. I was going to have her brought to the magistrate's office to be tried for attempted murder and flagrant violence, but half the public started to turn on me and against the Mori Clan foot soldiers, so I had the foot soldiers arrested and I made a judgement call about the girl; I had her brought to the square and flogged, then released."
The daimyo switched his attention to his two escorts. In reality, they were his personal firebending guards. "Get the flier," he ordered one of them.
One of the undercover firebenders opened up a flat leather portfolio and pulled out a large piece of fresh parchment printed with colored ink. He handed it to his lord.
The daimyo turned the parchment around for the chief to see. "Was it her?"
The chief's his eyes narrowed as he studied the printing. A second later, his eyes bulged and his jaw fell.
"You've seen here?" The daimyo asked straightforwardly.
The chief's mouth hung open as he continued to gaze at the printing and read its description. His mouth closed and his expression turned clouded. "I'm not sure." He glanced at his lord. "I've seen a lot of girls like this."
"But have you seen this girl?"
The chief's eyes fell back to the printing. "Maybe…" His eyes narrowed. "I don't know. I'd have to do some digging."
"Then start," the daimyo commanded. "Have any lead sent directly to me."
"But I don't understand, sir," the chief replied uncertainly. "Is this… Is this true? Is it… Credible? How… How can…?
"It is credible," the daimyo replied. "These posters arrived this morning under the Fire Lord's seal. They are being posted throughout the country as we speak. Now, I have one more question for you before I leave you to your duties."
The chief straightened and inclined his head at his lord.
The daimyo lowered his chin and stared straight into the chief's eyes. "Did anybody witness blue fire, or lightning?"