Chapter 43

It would take two weeks to reach the southernmost Fire Nation colony. The ship Yun Sui had found passage for them on was small and sparsely peopled. Four soldiers returning to duty from leave and a handful of people hoping to help their families living in the colonies. Azula and Ursa learned from these fellow travelers just how bad things had gotten in the year they had been isolated at the care home.

With a handful of exceptions, the home islands had largely prospered during the last century of war. It was a profitable enterprise for industry and expanded tax revenues helped pay for increased living standards in major cities. Pride in their country, and fierce loyalty to the Fire Lord was fairly standard among people of all ranks. In the last eight months, Ozai had destroyed it all.

Azula had been shocked to learn it had apparently only taken three of the late Avatar's friends to decimate her father's entire air fleet. The air fleet, she knew, had been key to his plans to finally conquer the Earth kingdom. Even without the comet to strengthen his firebenders, Ozai was intent to try his push again. That meant he needed another fleet. Building so many airships was incredibly expensive, he had drained the royal coffers the first time. Now he was taxing his people to the brink of starvation to try again.

Ursa had insisted they take their meals in the small mess with the other passengers. The four soldiers always did and she wanted to find out anything useful they might know. Spending time with her mother may have gone along way towards making Azula less cruel and apathetic, but it hadn't done much for her conversation skills. Brief greetings aside, she let her mother do most of the talking. More than a week in and the soldiers had grown comfortable enough with their presence to share military gossip.

"You know, miss Noriko, I used to serve with Fire Lady Lei. She was in my regiment until she was sent to the palace for Fire Lord Ozai's bride tournament." The young soldier looked contemplative as he took another bite of his dinner. "Beautiful, intelligent, she is the strongest female firebender in the nation. Well, now that princess Azula is dead anyway." Azula's gut churned at the odd praise but she didn't let her confusion show. "We were, are, proud of her. Who would have ever imagined a common born soldier would become the Fire Lady? It was amazing."

As the soldier, Azula remembered he'd said his name was Lu Wen, paused to eat again, she thought she saw a dark look pass briefly across his face.

"While I was on leave, I visited family in the capital. My sister is a servant in the palace, one of the ladies maids. She didn't seem herself, withdrawn and quiet. I got worried maybe something was wrong at work. Anyway, I tried to ask her about Lei; how she was doing, if she was happy. Ming, that's my sister, got this sad look in her eye and wouldn't talk about it at first. Obviously that set off all kinds of warning bells. Since she clammed up I went to see one of her friends who works there too."

Azula recoiled at Lu Wen's now palpable anger. She cast a sidelong glance to her mother and found his anger reflected there. Ursa clearly knew where this was going.

"Fire Lord Ozai hasn't been an honorable husband since the prince was conceived." He looked around nervously as if he feared retribution for his words. None of the other soldiers sitting with him were officers and they all looked as if they had already heard this story and shared Lu Wen's feelings. He lowered his voice anyway. "The Fire lord has been plagued with nightmares and his behavior has become erratic and obsessive. My friend says he has kept Lei sequestered in her chambers for months. When he does deign to visit her, she has poorly hidden bruises. He beat her, while she was pregnant!"

None of this honestly shocked Azula. Recently having become aware of how abusive her father could be, the fact that he was treating his new wife so poorly felt expected. Looking around their small table, she noted it was fortunate that none of the soldiers were benders. They all looked murderous and emotional outbursts were a firebenders enemy.

"Surely you are not surprised? Ozai… Fire Lord Ozai does not have a history of kindness when it comes to his family. You only have to see his son's face for evidence of his cruelty." Ursa's voice was hard beside her and Azula lowered her eyes to her lap, quietly agreeing. "Now that the prince is born he will have even less need of her, besides to fulfill her duty to him once she is healed from childbirth."

Lu Wen stood abruptly then, his hands fisted at his side.

"Forgive me ladies, I suddenly find myself extremely tired. Goodnight."

They watched him go, Azula was confused by his sudden departure. He'd been the one to bring up the topic.

"He also learned from this friend that his sister is the Fire Lord's current favorite maid servant. She refuses to quit, not that she could, because their family needs the money even more now thanks to the new taxation. Sacrificing herself to feed her family. Lu Wen's salary isn't enough and jobs are increasingly hard to come by. He's naturally furious, but helpless to change it."

Ah yes. Her father's favorite pastime, sexually assaulting the servants. A fairly common trait among Fire lords, high ranking military officials and less scrupulous lords alike. Most servants were so desperate for the uncommonly high salary the palace offered they put up with it. It was common knowledge that it was a possibility. Some of them even seemed to revel in her father's attention if they could keep it.

Suddenly, her own dinner was no longer appetizing. Standing, she excused herself for bed as well.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

When they reached the Earth Kingdom colonies, they swapped their red Fire nation robes for green and brown traveling clothes. The plain, itchy garb chafed at Azula's pride. She missed blood red silks, gold and black enameled armour, and custom made boots. At the care home it hadn't mattered. It was essentially a hospital and her clothes had been what all of the patients wore; a uniform. Most importantly, it had been red. Being out in public, even if no one knew who she really was, in ill fitting Earth kingdom peasant clothing was more than she could take. As if her hair wasn't bad enough. Azula had always liked her hair to be just so. After the hack job she'd given herself more than a year ago, the nurses had cut her hair to her chin and shortened her bangs in an effort to keep it symmetrical. For some reason she couldn't for the life of her remember now, she had kept it that way.

They had walked through three Fire Nation colonies before Yun Sui's man snuck them into Earth Kingdom territory. If things in the Fire Nation proper had been bad, the colonies were decidedly worse. There were skinny, dirt smeared children wondering forlornly in the streets. Market stalls had few offerings marked at outrageous prices and it was clear that everyone was starving. After nearly a century of intermarrige and occupation, these people didn't belong in the Earth Kingdom anymore and they were looked down on by most in the Fire nation. They didn't have anywhere else to go, so they stayed despite the suffering.

Earth Kingdom soldiers patrolled the borders as they continued to fight against the tide of invasion. This made crossing difficult. If they hadn't been in such a hurry, Azula thought a smaller vessel to one of the southern Earth Kingdom ports would have been a safer bet. As it was, they had to cross through dense forest in the dead of night. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before when she had been following the Avatar or her brother, this time though she was a fugitive. Her mother tried to remind her that she wasn't a princess at the moment and how she looked or traveled didn't matter. She tried to remind herself that if her big stupid brother could do it, so could she.

Once they were far enough away from any other people, Azula started practicing her bending again in earnest. It did not go well to start. Rather than trying beginner forms as Yun Sui had suggested to re familiarize her body with what she was doing, she jumped right back to lightning. She ran through the practiced motions and sucked in the charged air with anticipation but was devastated to realize she could no longer produce it. After trying for several nights in a row her fury won out and several nearby trees suffered for it.

Ursa had been at something of a loss to help her as she wasn't a bender. Opting to let her take her frustration out on the trees, she waited for her to exhaust herself. Azula eventually let put a mighty yell at the empty night sky and put out the fire as she sank to the ground. It had taken some time for Ursa to convince her that no, she wasn't a failure but simply out of practice. The next day she had followed Yun Sui's advice.

Traveling on foot, it took them a week to get to Omashu. Azula had traveled through the Earth Kingdom before. Komodo dragons and royal provisions made for a very different trip. She had never day dreamed about a bath so much.

"We should reach Omashu before sundown. Our contact said we only had to show the men at the gate the tile Yun Sui gave you and we would be led right to King Bumi. I do hope he lets us use the royal baths. I have dirt in places it does NOT belong and every joint in my body is screaming at me." Ursa's hands were kneading her lower back as they walked along the deserted road. The tree's were thinning as they got closer to the city and the air was humid and thick.

"The last time I was here, traveling was much easier. This was the short part of our journey. It will take at least a month to reach Ba Sing Se on foot. At least when Zuko and his…" She grumbled over how to address the water tribe bitch to her mother. "Wife." She said it as if the word burned. "I bet getting to fuck her every night made the trip much more enjoyable."

Ursa gasped and stared at her, only looking a little shocked at what she'd said. Catching her glare over her shoulder, Azula shrugged and continued on.

"What? It's true. Well, I assume it is, I wouldn't know personally. I'm a good Fire Nation girl mother."

It was quiet for a solid minute before her mother laughed and started walking again.

"I'm quite sure you're right Azula. I wish I had a handsome traveling companion too." Ursa gave her a horrifyingly mischievous smile that implied more than Azula ever wanted to know.

"Oh mother! We are not from the Southern water tribe. We don't do that!"

Ursa only laughed harder and gave her a look that was only slightly condescending.

"Oh my dear girl, life outside of the palace and manor houses of the social elite is far different. But never mind that now. See," she pointed ahead of them through the last of the trees, "there is the city walls! We're here."

Azula rolled her eyes at her sudden change in subject and fished around in her pocket for the pouch that held her pai sho tile. The bridge and gate looked just as she had remembered, the green armour clad soldiers barely noticed them. As they approached the gate, a city guard approached and Azula handed him her tile. She hoped he wouldn't recognize her.