Chapter 14-
A gentle tapping on the door awoke him. They had pulled the two sleeping rolls together to allow them to be as close as possible to each other during the night, but now the combined bed was empty except for him. Glancing groggily around the room, he found the Princess meditating silently in the corner, facing the wall. When the tap, tap, tap on the door did not cease, Sokka gave a loud groan of discontent and pushed himself to his feet.
His sister was waiting outside as he swung open the door. Katara raised an eyebrow at his lack of a shirt, but said nothing. "Hurry up, sleepyhead." She remarked as Sokka wearily rubbed his eyes. "They want us to head out in five minutes to meet some of the leaders and plan our next move." Grunting an affirmation, he closed the door quickly and turned to alert Azula.
He jumped back, hitting his head on the wooden door. The Princess was directly in front of him. "Oww." He protested at no one in particular as he rubbed the back of his head.
Azula rolled her eyes at him, visible even in the dimly lit room they shared. She had his customary water tribe outfit in her left hand. Her hair was already perfectly in place and she was dressed and ready to begin the day. Sokka grumbled a beleaguered thanks as he started to pull on his garments. Deciding it was likely to engage in some combat based on the state of Ba Sing Se, Sokka elected to wear his full set of armor sans his wolf helmet.
Sitting down to fasten a set of leather greaves over his shins, Sokka gave a low groan of contentment as he felt Azula's hands work through his messy hair. She took a few liberties, scratching and massaging his scalp as she pulled his hair into its customary signature look. She kissed the side of his head on the bare skin above his ear lightly, and he shuddered at the feeling.
A loud whine of dissatisfaction left his throat as Azula pulled away from him, standing up abruptly. "You have two options, stay here and try your luck at kissing me, or we can go find breakfast before we meet the leaders of this little rebellion."
She truly was diabolical.
"This isn't fair!" He protested. "You can't make me choose between the two things I love most in the whole world…"
Azula shook her head in disbelief. "You're genuinely absurd. You should want to stay here in this dark comfy room with a beautiful Princess."
His stomach picked a truly fantastic time to give a loud rumbling growl. He shrugged and laughed, standing up and pulling her tight against his chest, enveloping Azula in a tight embrace. Sokka tilted her head up, catching her lips in a gentle manner. She sighed in his arms after they broke apart. "You can't have your mochi and eat it too." Azula laughed at his expression of dismay.
"But I wanna eat food…" A smile broke out on his face and he leaned forward, whispering softly in her ear. "And you too, if you don't mind." She broke free and swatted him on the arm. Azula was capable at disguising her emotions well, but she couldn't keep the blush from rising on her cheeks.
Laughing as they headed for the door, Azula opened it with a smirk. "Play your pai sho tiles right savage, and you might just be so lucky."
She was going to be the death of him. A hot, sweaty, messy, glorious death, but a death all the same.
Breakfast was a sad state of affairs if anyone were to ask him. Of course no one did. He quickly devoured the pitiful amount of rice and the singular platypus bear egg yolk. It surely beat nothing, but with so little sustenance provided maybe staying in the room for another five minutes had been the superior option. That option of course would have incurred his sister's wrath even more than he had the previous night. Her discontent with his decisions was palpable and judging by the furious glare she was directing at him, sleeping and stewing on the information had done nothing to lessen her rage.
Then again, Azula wasn't doing anything to help matters. They had been eating breakfast in solitude and quiet until the Princess had noticed the waterbender enter the room. After that, Azula set down her meal and inched closer and closer to him, a hand rubbing his shoulder as he attempted to complete his breakfast despite the distraction.
Groaning, Sokka dropped his spoon in the wooden bowl and looked at her. "Are you really going to try and test my commitment to food at every opportunity." She pinched the skin near his collar bone.
"Until your answer is what I deem satisfactory… yes." Noticing the murderous stare that his sister was shooting at them, Sokka felt a hint of skepticism rising.
"Uh-huh." He muttered, unconvinced. "You're not just trying to piss Katara off?"
Her nails scratched lightly on the side of his scalp, making the hair on his neck stand up. "Please, everything I do succeeds in that." She said lightly.
Well, he was forced to admit that fact. "Just uhhh, I don't know try to not antagonize her on purpose…" Seeing the frustration on his girlfriend's face, Sokka quickly rectified his mistake. "Okay fine, try not to antagonize Katara… too much."
A small smile manifested on Azula's lips as she pressed them against his cheek tenderly.
Katara made an exaggerated sound of retching as she observed the display of affection. "This is really happening." She muttered, loud enough for both of them to hear.
Azula didn't bother with a reply, instead she hummed contentedly in his ear, ignoring Katara entirely. Maybe that was progress. He would take what he could get. Aang entered the room alongside Toph and Jin, the last of whom had a bounce in her step even at the early hour. Toph's hair was in it's usual state of disarray.
"Another fun day." Azula whispered, quiet enough for only Sokka to hear.
The Princess sighed, but Sokka thought she was becoming less annoyed with his friends the more she traveled with them. She seemed to respect Aang and his bending prowess. She had been training the Avatar in the basic firebending forms since they had escaped the confines of the submarines. Toph was a brat but her skills were exceptional and Azula and the Blind Bandit had crossed paths a number of times in "friendly spars".
Azula still sported a pair of dark and ugly bruises on her thigh and arm from the encounters. Toph had been burned on both arms but Katara had fixed the light damage after a stern scolding at the foolishness of the pair of the benders. Azula hadn't asked Katara to heal her injuries, not wanting to admit any failings to Sokka's chagrin. She only ever was willing to show weakness in front of him. It was both endearing and infuriating. Of course her annoyance with his sister continued unabated and was gaining steam now that their relationship was in the open.
Azula and Katara were both far too prideful to ever admit it, but it was because of their similarities that they clashed so frequently. They were both headstrong, precocious benders. The pair were both wickedly talented and forced to grow up quickly in a world dominated by men. Azula, for all the talk of being a once in a generation prodigy, was still the least favored by the Fire Nation elite despite Zuko's banishment.
The Southern Water Tribe was nowhere near as bad as their siblings to the North, but the undercurrents of sexism still ran throughout their clan. Sokka was ashamed to admit that he had helped perpetuate the problem for much of his life. In retrospect it truly showed how foolish he had been. How could anyone watch Katara fight a master waterbender with only the most rudimentary of training and still hold her own and think she wasn't capable? How could anyone see Toph defeat men three times her size and think so? Most importantly, how could anyone behold Azula in all of her perfection and glory and think that she was anything but one of the most gifted and brilliant benders in the world?
Their experiences had shaped Katara and Azula to be comparable in temperament often, but whereas Katara had the love and support of her tribe and her family for most of her life, Azula had been isolated and left alone. She was mentally abused and manipulated. The only reinforcement she received was from her father when she displayed her ruthlessness and a capacity for destruction.
The Princess struggled to show her emotions or form meaningful connections outside of her relationship with Sokka and even then that was in private. Azula had confided in him that she had doubts about her friendships with Ty Lee and Mai. Sokka had done his best to assuage Azula that her friendships were real, but the girl had seemed wary that her only two childhood friends were only humoring her because of a mix of fear and the advantages they garnered by being personally close to royalty.
Sokka wasn't able to speak about Mai, and he had only one extended conversation with Ty Lee, but the acrobat seemed very concerned and caring about Azula and her connection with him. The girl went as far to seem supportive of the pair, though he couldn't say for certain. He did his best to make Azula feel better with that information but he could tell that the Princess was still skeptical. With Ty Lee and Mai on the other side of the world, there was little he could do to convince her otherwise. All he could do was hope that Aang and Toph could learn to accept Azula and that maybe somehow she could gain new friends.
He thought the training that Aang and Azula had commenced, for the Avatar's attempt to master the final element in his quest, was mutually beneficial. If she didn't particularly enjoy Aang's boisterousness and zeal, she at least respected him and could stand to have a conversation with the monk, and Aang, the air nomad was learning from one of the only firebenders in the world who could possibly hope to match the Fire Lord in battle.
Katara roused him from his musings with a tug on his arm. He had drifted away with his thoughts. Azula had left the table and was arguing with Toph about some aspect of their previous training sessions. A small smile came across his face as he watched his girlfriend acting normally with someone that wasn't him.
"You really care about her, don't you?" Katara's voice was quiet and no one was within earshot of them, except maybe Toph's enhanced senses.
Turning to see his sister staring at him intently, he met her gaze. "Yes." He responded, simply. "It wasn't fair for me to hide this from you, but I've met Azula more than the rest of you. In Ba Sing Se, we had a… discussion, and then in Ember Island, if you remember I got there before the rest of you. She was there that night. You'll never believe this, but somehow I got roped into attending a party." Katara looked at him in disbelief.
"Look, I had a good reason, it was at an Admiral's house and my plan was to infiltrate it and find out some useful information for the invasion." He protested at the look on his siblings face.
"Uh-huh and how did that work out?" She asked, skeptically.
"Well, it was totally about to succeed, like all my plans! Until Azula found me. I expected her to turn me in and imprison me, or more likely, attack me. I didn't have any weapons or traps, I was wearing just a Fire Nation outfit and was pretending to be from the colonies. But she didn't. She took me to her home, or at least her family's home. She told me about how they used to spend summer on the island before her father became Fire Lord. About how… well I'm not going to betray the things she told me in confidence, Katara.
I want you to know that there is more to her than just the frosty exterior you see, there's more than maybe even I understand yet. She can be good, she's shown that to us already. But it won't be made any easier if everyone doubts her and assumes that she is up to no good or engaged in a dastardly scheme. We have to trust each other, and sniping at her constantly, won't make it any easier for her, and it won't make you feel any better either." Katara raised an eyebrow slightly at his last comment. "Okay it may make you feel a little better, but it won't help anything!" He finished with conviction.
"I-I'll try, Sokka. It's all just so much, and I know there's more you're not telling me. But it's fine, maybe one day you'll be willing, or who knows maybe she will." Sokka raised an eyebrow, doubtfully. "Alright, fine, it'll have to be you." They both started laughing at the same time, feeling comfortable in each other's presence. The weight on his shoulders due to their confrontation on the previous day was lessened and Sokka breathed a silent sigh of relief.
They exited the underground complex via a different egress than they had entered. They didn't pass many individuals on their journey but those that did were either wearing Earth Kingdom military uniforms or outfits that mimicked the style of the soldiers, much as Jin wore. The young woman couldn't stop prattling about her excitement at finding another Firebender that was defying the Fire Nation. As far as Sokka could tell from her excited ramblings, there were three already fighting in Ba Sing Se against their homeland.
Azula tensed next to him when Jin proclaimed that they were enemies of the Fire Nation, and Sokka winced as well. In Azula's estimation, her father had betrayed the ideals and codes of the Fire Nation and she was merely attempting to remove him from power. She used this logic to justify her defection and she didn't like to be called a traitor or defector. The Princess was still very much a member of the Fire Nation at heart.
The hustle and bustle of the Lower Ring that Sokka fondly remembered was entirely gone. The Lower Ring had vibrated with a very special energy when he had visited it a number of times during their stay in the city. Now, the only movement were soldiers hurrying to and fro while scared citizens huddled in their homes, peering out the windows. Every few minutes a low rumble of an explosion would permeate through the air.
After five more minutes of travel, during which Jin hadn't ceased speaking the entire time, Sokka realized that they were heading for one of the gates linking the Lower and Middle Rings. The archway of the barrier was only a little further ahead when they stopped at what appeared to be another type of field headquarters. At the far end of the headquarters which were located in the middle of a major thoroughfare, there was a set of earthen fortifications, all facing the gate.
A trio of earthbenders were strengthening the fortifications while a slew of nonbenders toiled alongside them, helping prepare defensive positions. A medium sized tent was set up about fifty yards behind the palisade and most of the traffic was directed towards it. Jin led them forward with a bounce in her step. A guard posted outside glared at them in what he surely deemed an intimidating manner, before grudgingly waving them through when he recognized the girl leading them.
In the middle of the tent, stood a tall man with dark black hair with hints of grey working its way through. His beard was much the same. A blade was fastened to his hip by an ornate sheath. It was a jian sword, very similar to Sokka's own Space Sword. The man was examining a scroll while chatting animatedly with a man wearing a uniform signifying that he was an Earth Kingdom General.
Sokka rushed forward to greet the man with an excited yell.
"Master Piandao!"
His master looked up from the paper in his hands, startled at the loud noise. A toothy smile broke across Piandao's face as he excused himself from the general with a bow. "Sokka, it's great to see you! And I'm glad to see you and your friends are doing well." Piandao bowed deeply in the customary Fire Nation way in front of Aang first.
The Avatar clumsily returned the greeting with his own. Piandao worked his way down the line, bowing before Katara and Toph, the latter of whom made a self deprecating joke about why anyone would bow to a blind girl. When his master reached him, Piandao gave an involuntary look of surprise as the expert swordsman noticed their last traveling companion. He executed another deep bow and tilted his head slightly in a sign of respect.
"It has been long since our last meeting, Princess Azula. I'm sure you have quite a tale to tell. Yet, I'm sure you won't wish to have to repeat this more than necessary." Piandao beckoned over a soldier and whispered a command in his ear.
Sokka heard Jin inhale deeply when Piandao announced Azula's title. Perhaps she had family or friends hurt in the fall of Ba Sing Se and she blamed the Princess for it. That was Sokka's primary fear in coming here with the royal, even if she was trying to make amends for her past deeds.
The soldier hurried from the room with great haste. Next to him, Azula frowned in distaste at the very idea of having to explain anything. Sokka rose to her defense before she might say anything that would complicate matters. Hopefully she would be thankful and not angry, the Princess was more than capable of defending herself as he knew. "Master, I don't see why it matters, all of us can vouch that Azula is on our side. I don't think we need to regale the entire story. The important thing now is completing the liberation of Ba Sing Se isn't it?"
Piandao nodded. "Of course, just, well I have a feeling that it isn't me that will be the problem. I trust your judgment, Sokka, and of course the judgment of Avatar Aang." At the edge of the room, the Air Nomad smiled awkwardly, uncomfortable with the attention.
Azula spoke for the first time since entering the command tent. "They're here, aren't they?" She asked sharply.
Sokka looked at her in confusion, unsure of who "they" were. A brief look of surprise crossed Piandao's face, before he laughed aloud. "You are as observant as ever Princess. I sometimes wish that I had been able to train you as well when you were a child."
Azula bowed her head slightly in reaction to the compliment, before she sighed loudly. "I wouldn't want that, I have to let this one here…" Azula jerked a finger in his direction. "Be better than me at something, even if it is waving around a hunk of metal." Sokka huffed in dismay, although at least she admitted he was better at something…
Piandao chuckled again at his expense. "In fairness, he is perhaps my greatest student ever at waving around that metal hunk." Sokka felt a surge of satisfaction and pride at hearing those words.
However, next to him, Azula simply rolled her eyes with her arms crossed. "Please, we can't afford to let his ego reach any higher levels." Beside him, Katara snorted and Sokka heard his sister echo her agreement with the Princess.
Fantastic, now they were teaming up against him.
Piandao ushered them out of the tent into the warm sunlight day. There were only a few, puffy white clouds in the sky. "I think it's best we let the soldiers who are needed prepare. Has anyone had the chance to explain to you the tactical situation in the city?"
Aang shook his head in the negative while fiddling with his new staff. "Right, well, after you left my mansion Sokka, I received a summon from the highest ranking member of our order." Beside him Azula's eyes flashed dangerously.
He had told her of the Order of the White Lotus but he had been vague in his explanation. In all fairness, he himself wasn't entirely sure of the specifics. Apart from Piandao inducting him, and telling him how to try and spot other members of the order with a game of Pai Sho, the swordsman had been fairly vague about the Order's numbers and general purpose other than restoring balance in the world. He knew there was a Grand Lotus and a number of other high-ranking masters but had no idea their identities other than Piandao himself.
To his left, Jin was still eyeing Azula warily. Sokka inched himself over closer to his girlfriend, wishing to be close enough to help her in case their newfound ally had any bad ideas. Piandao began speaking.
"The Grand Lotus requested our presence in Ba Sing Se. I snuck into the city and met with him. He had been planning since the fall of the city, the best way to take it back for the Earth Kingdom. We reached out to a number of sleeper cells and resistance movements inside the city. It took a few of them a while to trust us, and some still refused to cooperate until the eclipse. When the Firebenders were without their power, we launched our attack. If only we had, had all of the resistance troops fully unified, we might have liberated the entire city. Unfortunately the Da Li, fought against us on that day, and ever since. Without their assistance the Fire Nation forces in this city would have crumbled by now. They keep the enemy forces mobile and always harassing us. The limited number of Earthbenders we have are no match for them.
As it stands we took back virtually the entire Lower Ring, except for a few miniscule pockets of resistance. We had a foothold inside the Middle Ring, and we were pushing forward when we were attacked. We managed to liberate the Great Wall and took to defending it. We had to take some of our troops away from our foothold in the Middle Ring to defend the wall from Fire Nation reinforcements. So now we're here hemmed in the Lower Ring, laying siege to the middle ring, while being under siege from outside the city by Fire Nation reinforcements. Thankfully we control the agrarian zone so we are able to supply ourselves well enough, but we've settled into a lengthy and protracted stalemate.
But now we have you five here. I think we can break open the stalemate. The assaults on the outerwall aren't really threatening to break through, but they are a nuisance that we constantly have to check. Our goal should be the capture of the Middle and Upper Rings. To do that we'll need all the help you can give us." Piandao finished his explanation.
"The Grand Lotus you spoke of... It's him isn't it?" Azula inquired of Piandao.
"Yes, Princess Azula. It is me." Behind them, a wizened voice, that Sokka couldn't quite place right away, answered in the affirmative.
Azula didn't turn right away as the rest of their group did. The Grand Lotus was her uncle?! The Fire Lord's own brother was leading a multinational resistance movement? He thought things couldn't get any stranger, but then again he had to admit, he was dating the Fire Lord's daughter. That thought, two years ago, would have blown his mind, utterly impossible as it was, but now he couldn't imagine the world any other way.
The Princess spun on her heel slowly, and brought herself directly in front of her oldest remaining family member. Sokka thought that he saw Iroh tense as the two stood face to face. Azula's uncle wasn't much taller than her, and she glared imperiously at him, neither speaking before the other.
Aang nervously made his way over, attempting to step between the two. "General Iroh, uhhh- sir? Princess Azula has helped us on our journey and she's here to help liberate Ba Sing Se with us." The elder firebender looked away from his niece and settled on the Air Nomad.
"Is that so? It pleases me to hear. But I must confess, I am a little confused on how any of this came to be. If you remember, Princess Azula, the last time that we met, I remember being hit right above my very large belly." Iroh rubbed his stomach genially, but Sokka saw the seriousness underlying the General's comment, and he knew that Azula did as well.
Azula smiled at her relation, but Sokka could tell it didn't reach her eyes. "Everyone's capable of change, Dear Uncle." She spat the word at the man. "I just recognized what the right path forward was much sooner than others. What were you, almost forty five when you laid siege to this very city?"
Iroh stoked his beard contemplatively. An inscrutable expression appeared on his face. "Just so, Princess. I look forward to hearing just how you recognized the path one day, niece. But seeing how the Avatar and his friends are more than willing to vouch for you, I must acede to their wisdom. We've both tried to conquer this city, and you alone succeeded. It is time to make right our folly." Iroh glanced at him, fully noticing how he had been inching closer to Azula's side.
Aang made a theatrical sigh of relief at the pronouncement, prompting Azula to roll her eyes at the airbender. Iroh turned and engaged in a rapid and private conversation with Piandao, quiet enough that no one other than Toph was likely to overhear. Jin approached Azula and him, for the first time since meeting them the young woman looked unsure of herself.
A steely glint appeared in the girls eyes, and she drew herself up to her full height, a rather unimpressive feat in itself but an act which displayed her conviction. "I-I want you to know…" Jin began, but she was cut off by quickly by Azula.
"Yes I'm more than capable of making the necessary deductions, you don't need to spell it out for me. You're dating my dunderhead of a brother." Sokka looked between the girls in shock. Jin, surely looked as surprised as he felt right now. "Unless… you're really into the senile old man asthetic." Azula finished with a smirk.
Katara and Aang were observing the conversation with interest from a healthy distance. Jin looked scandalized at Azula's most recent comment. The Ba Sing Se native huffed at the Princess in a sign of her disdain. With great clarity, Sokka knew where this conversation was heading. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, waiting for the inevitable fireworks.
"Zuko told me everything about you. How you used to bully, and torment him everyday of his childhood." Jin's bubbly personality had completely vanished.
"And how spirits tell, could I, a younger sister by two years, bully her older brother." Azula drawled.
"There are ways!" Jin responded indignantly. "And you didn't even deny that you tormented him!" She said angrily.
Azula shrugged her shoulders. "Why would I. Zuzu is so overly dramatic. It was one of the few things I could do to enjoy myself. Growing up in the palace was so very boring with only an oafish brother for company." The Princess couldn't resist the opportunity to needle a girl who was involved romantically with her brother, could she?
"Siblings aren't supposed to act that way!" Jin shot back.
His sister actually laughed aloud at that. Jin looked at the waterbender with a confused expression, she had perhaps thought she had an ally in the water tribeswoman. Katara looked somewhat abashed at being put on the spot, but she would never back down. "I don't think you're quite right about that Jin. Messing with older brothers is kind of a thing that we do. Especially when they are dunderheads." Katara jerked her thumb in his direction.
Well, Katara had defended Azula while insulting him. Sokka would take what he could get.
"Hey, I'm not as bad as Zuko!" He tried to defend himself with a whine.
"Thank the spirits for that." Azula muttered under her breath.
"There must be levels to being a dunderhead. Azula must agree. You're just a big one, while Zuko is a colossal one." Katara teased while Jin looked insolent.
Azula looked contemplative for a moment, before nodding her confirmation. "Yes, thankfully I grew so used to my brother, that I can handle just about anything this fool does."
Seriously, he might have prefered it when they hated each other.
A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry has been wonky. Some reviews haven't been popping up at all. I just wanted to let everyone whose been reading and hopefully enjoying this story know that the updates are about to slow down for a little bit. I'll be participating in Sokkla Saturdays which I'm pretty excited for. I'm planning on posting a one shot based on a different prompt each Saturday for the next 8 weeks! I'm pretty excited and I've got some pretty good ones already planned and a couple already written. I'm very excited to share with you.
Never fear though, this story is still absolutely a priority and I won't stop updating it even though I'm working on some other Sokkla content too. Thanks everyone by the way for the reviews and support! As always feel free to chat with me on here or on tumblr at Deaddirector :) cheers!