Princess of Light
Chapter 1
A.N.: This came to me, and I couldn't just leave it. This will be somewhat episodic, so feel free to request chapter in the reviews! Enjoy!
Shit. Shit. SHIT!
Azula tore through the underbrush near the asylum, but she could hear guards rushing after her. She could also hear polar bear-dogs, imported from the south pole, bearing down on her. There was no way she'd outrun them. She needed a hiding place now.
She heard the faint crackle of a fire and headed in that direction. It wasn't a guarantee, but it was better than nothing.
As she broke through the bushes, a small campsite came into view, with 3 tents and an almost-out fire in the middle.
"AAH!" Just before she could dive into the largest tent, across from the glowing embers, she tripped on a root and fell face first into the fire. It didn't burn her, of course, but the fall and the scream had been enough to wake the camp.
There were embers in her eyes, a detail Zuko would have loved to rub in, but Azula could just make out the four figures that came rushing out of the tents, one from the largest, two from the middle, and another from the smallest.
Before they could do more than – presumably – gawk at the stranger who'd just tumbled into their fire, the four turned to the sounds of bushes crashing and men shouting.
Azula finished clearing the ashes from her eyes and saw the guards from the asylum through the legs of the other four.
"State your business," demanded one of them, at the forefront of their meager wall and aiming a bow at the intruders.
"Who do you think you are, young lady?" One of the guards stepped forward, summoning a flame to both hands.
"Oh goody. Firebenders." In the light, Azula could see the others a little more clearly. The one who spoke was holding a boomerang, her least favorite weapon, by far.
"How about we show them what we do to the fire nation army?" This one, the shortest of the bunch, looked much like a mix of Ty Lee and Mai. She had Ty Lee's braid, but looked like she was holding one of Mai's knives in one hand, and the Avatar's staff behind her in the other.
She'd be lying, which she usually did anyway, if she didn't say the combination set her teeth on edge.
One of the guards stepped forward and grabbed the other man's wrist, stopping the bending.
"That won't be necessary. We're just here for her." He pointed to Azula. "She escaped from the asylum."
The front woman lowered her bow and turned to look at her as if it was the first time she'd noticed her before turning back to the men.
"Who? Hime? She's been here all night." Gradually, the other three followed her cue and lowered their weapons. The one furthest on Azula's left, a hijabi woman who had been twirling ropes dropped her bolas with a heavy thud.
"No, I'm certain that's the one we're looking for."
"It's dark. You probably took a wrong turn."
The guard faltered a moment. "I…uhh…"
"Look," she continued. "It's late. We're all tired, and Hime over here just had a nasty fall. Why don't we call this a case of mistaken identity, and call it a night?" Her tone was somewhere between cautious and dangerous.
The men turned to leave, but paused at the frontwoman's "wait.
"This escaped patient. We'll keep an eye out for her, for a price."
"Are you serious?!"
"To answer your earlier question, I'm the leader of the Black Lotus. And Veata, here, is the best tracker in the world. We'll find this patient in no time and send you the bill when we're done. We won't even ask for money down, if we can put this all behind us. Agreed?"
The head guard sighed. "Fine. The patient is princess Azula. I shouldn't need to tell you that she is extremely dangerous. Just find her; don't engage her."
"I'm sure we'll hold our own," the frontwoman purred, finally letting the guards leave.
"I'll get going, if you want," offered the girl with the knife and staff.
"No, Veata. It's too dark to see anything, even for you. Azula will probably camp down somewhere. We'll find her tomorrow. Take Auryon with you. Buthainah, can you give our new friend here a once-over?"
The one with the bolas nodded and guided Azula to the root she'd tripped over.
"I'll be right back, I just need more light." She dipped back into the tent and emerged with spark rocks, a little tinder, and a first aid kit, making a fire just big enough to see from. She kneeled uncomfortably close, waving a burning twig close to her face for a better look. Azula thought about hitting and running. None of them seemed to be benders; she could easily fight them off and shoot this "Veata" out of the sky, if need be.
But no. These women had shown her kindness and saved her life. Not that that was her fault, but they might be useful allies if necessary.
Even if she was kind of at the mercy of the one cleaning her face.
"A few abrasions," Buthainah mused with a sweet, kind voice. "Nothing major. No burns, which is weird."
"I was only in there for a split second," Azula quickly excused. Buthainah seemed to buy it.
"I have a balm for the scratches." She began to rub something greasy into her cheeks and nose. From the corners of her eyes, Azula could see the other two retreat into their tents. The archer paused.
"Do you have a place to go?" she asked. Her voice was warm.
Altogether, Azula realized that no, she had no place to go.
"Not…really?" She'd had half a plan to break her father out and go from there. "I was planning to stay with a family member, but they're miles away and are probably homeless from the war."
"You're welcome to stay the night. I still have Myth-" she paused like the word caught in her throat" I have an extra bedroll in my tent."
"You're done!" Buthainah popped up and put out the fire, leaving them all in near-total darkness. "See you in the morning, stranger!"
"See you…" Azula replied, hesitantly, before getting up and stepping over to where the archer was holding her tent open. It was simple, inside. Quivers and a couple of bows leaned against the cloth. It was weakly lit by a jar of fireflies hinging from the tentpoles.
"I didn't get your name, by the way," the archer said, hesitating before handing her a bedroll.
Shit!
"You got it right, actually. It's Hime." The other girl nodded.
"I'm Mayumi," she replied. "do you have any weapons training, Hime?"
"Uh, yeah," she lied. "Chi blocking and a little knife throwing." She wasn't lying, per se; Ty Lee had shown her some moves before the eclipse, and Mai's knife tricks couldn't have been that hard.
"Awesome. You're welcome to run with us, then."
"I don't have my knives, though. I left them at home, and I can't go back."
"We'll pick some up at the next market we come across. Good night."
"Good night."
A.N.: I'm posting this on betabooks, so if you want to read chapters ahead of time, the invite links are on my tumblr page blandatlaheadcanons. Chapter 2 is already there! Thank you for your time!