Chapter 50
"At ease boys. I'm here to see the prisoner." Sokka strode up to the Earth Kingdom guards at Azula's door as though he owned the palace. He had told Zuko and Katara he was going to enjoy the palace baths while he was there but after they'd parted company he had headed for Azula. The soldiers looked at one another with uncertainty, he knew they'd been given orders to admit no one but Iroh or Zuko. Sokka had a few things he'd like to say to the errant princess so he made up a story he thought might work.
"I'm sorry, no one but Lord Iroh or his nephew is permitted."
Sokka waved this away as though it were the most unimportant thing he'd heard that day.
"Ya, ya I know. Ole Uncle Iroh is the one who sent me. Thought maybe my handsome self might be able to persuade her to cooperate." He gave them a conspiratorial look and stood back as if waiting for them to open the door for him.
He knew they had likely seen him around the palace and upper ring before, usually with Iroh. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe his story. Reluctantly, they stood aside and bent the door open. Sokka smiled indulgently and walked past them into the room. They closed the door as soon as he'd crossed the threshold.
The room was small and windowless. A bed, a brazier and a screen that likely hid a toilet was all there was. Azula sat on the edge of the bed staring into the flames, cheek resting on her hand. She did not look up when he entered and Sokka tried not to take offense. Momo, who had apparently opted to stay with Azula, looked up from her lap and flew over to greet him. He was scratching behind his ears when Azula finally spoke.
"I suppose you're here to kill me then. Well, go on get it over with it." She sighed but didn't move otherwise.
"I'm not here to kill you, Azula. I just want to talk."
Azula turned to look at him curiously just as Momo crashed back into her, chirping and chittering. A small smile crept up her face as she patted his head and listened to him chirp at her. Sokka watched their interaction with a frown. He didn't understand why Momo liked her so much. Azula was crazy evil. Weren't animals supposed to have sense about people? Watching them together, he thought about what her mother's letter had said. Even King Bumi seemed to be supporting her claims, not that having his royal craziness on her side was saying much.
"What did you do to make him like you so much? He's usually such a good judge of character."
The small smile slid from her face and was replaced by a frown.
"No idea. I shared my food with him once and he wouldn't leave me alone after. It was nice… he's been very helpful."
Sokka watched them interact a moment longer before shrugging. Who knew what animals thought anyway.
"What did you think would happen when you showed up here? You had to know you'd be out numbered and that there was no way any of us would believe you."
Azula cocked her head and gave him a tired smile.
"Isn't that all the proof you need that I'm telling the truth? No doubt Zuko has told you why I came. Why would I risk death just to lie?"
He scoffed. "Gee I don't know, maybe because you're a manipulative crazy person? I have no idea what you could be thinking. Personally, I wish Zuko had killed you, or at the very least kicked you out of the city. But, I trust his judgment. He would never allow a threat to his family to go unchecked."
Azula sat back on her hands and let out a long sigh.
"What is she like? My niece? She's just a baby so I don't imagine she has much of a personality yet."
Taken off guard by her change in subject, Sokka debated what to say. Would his sister care if he told Azula about Kya?
"Mmm… why do you want to know about her?"
"Not that I'll ever be allowed in the same room as her but she is my niece. I didn't get a good look yesterday. Does she favor my brother?"
He figured as long as he kept the most important part to himself, she might reveal something if he got her talking.
"Well, Kya has Zuko's pointed chin and her hair is as black as pitch but its wavy like Katara's and it looks like her eyes will be blue." She made a thoughtful noise as he tried to think what else to say. Smiling to himself, he recalled what had happened when he had watched her the week before.
"Last week I had her with me for a few hours while Zuko and Katara and some of our friends were sparring. She has a set of wooden blocks my dad carved for her and we spent forever playing with them, me stacking them up as fast as I could before she knocked them over. Her laugh is the best sound, shrieks and giggles, it melts my heart." Remembering who he was talking to, he cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
"My mother told me a few months ago that I was a happy baby. That all changed of course but, I started out the same. Zuko might remember those happier times but I don't really. I wonder what I would be like now if I had grown up surrounded by people that genuinely loved me. Kya is lucky to have that. I know I only had a small glimpse of Zuko as a dad but I can tell he is nothing like ours was. Ozai was cold and domineering at the best of times, and he did not love our mother. Tell me mister water tribe man, is my brother as happy as he seemed yesterday before your blind friend discovered me?"
Sokka couldn't think of anything to say to that. The dangerous and crazed Azula he remembered from their many encounters before the comet could never have been a sweet baby like his niece. He couldn't imagine it. Then he remembered the painting of baby Ozai they had found more than a year ago and he supposed she must have been.
Thinking of her like that, he looked at her again. With a critical eye Sokka noticed for the first time that everything about her seemed different. Not just the obvious things like her cropped hair or her worn green tunic. There was a softness around her weary looking eyes that wasn't there before and the relaxed way she held herself was different too. It was as if all of the anger and pretense had been dropped and what was left before him was Azula; still guarded, but not in the midst of a mind game.
"It's Sokka, and yes he is happy. I haven't known him as long as you obviously but, well he isn't the same guy he was when we first met. I wouldn't have let him marry my sister if he was." He chuckled at the thought, as if he could have stopped Katara from doing anything. "He is a dedicated and loving husband and father, I am proud to call him my brother."
He watched as an emotion he didn't have time to identify flickered across her face before disappearing behind a stoic mask.
"I'm glad. You know… Recently I find myself wishing it was Zuzu that had been born the gifted bender and I the disappointment. Would our lots be reversed now?" She cast a critical eye over Sokka as the corner of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Perhaps it would have been I that fled the capital to teach the Avatar only to fall into bed with one of his friends." Her upturned lip had become a full smirk as she watched understanding bloom on his face, followed by brief revulsion, and finally replaced by an equally smug smirk.
"Fancy the company of other women do you princess?"
Raising a brow at his redirection, Azula snorted a laugh.
"Hardly, not that it matters now." Suddenly all traces of humor melted away leaving behind cold determination. "All that matters now is that I help my brother defeat our father."
Sokka realized with a jolt that despite what his rational side was saying, his gut told him Azula was earnest in that desire. Whatever had happened to her since the last time he had seen her, she was changed and wanted her father dead. If she had lowered her guard at least this much the night before with Zuko, he understood now why he had made the decision he had. Weather or not she was truly trustworthy remained to be seen, but her intentions at least, were clear.
"We will. I know it."
They shared a hard look for a moment before Azula broke it to stare into the small fire that illuminated her room. Watching her close herself off again, her arms drawing her knees to her chest, Sokka recognized the end of their conversation. Letting out a soft huff, he bid her goodbye and knocked on the stone door to be let out.
Walking back to the lower ring alone, Sokka let his mind wonder, thinking about all the things Azula had said. Thinking about his niece and how precious she was to him, her uncle, he wondered how in the world a father could have ever treated their child as the Fire Lord had done. He was startled to find that he was angry with Ozai on Azula's behalf. Not that he needed another reason to hate the man.
Imagining what Zuko and Azula's childhoods had been like made him think about the other things she had said. It could have easily gone as she'd wished if the Spirits had willed it. Would Azula have followed a similar path to her brother in the shadow of her father's disappointment and rejection? Azula could have been the one to teach Aang. It was difficult to picture the violent, cold eyed girl they had fought so many times calmly meditating with the airbender. Then there was her suggestion that she may have found her way into his bed as Zuko had Katara's. He knew it had been an attempt at humor but it made him shudder regardless. That, he decided, hardly bore thinking about.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
When Prince Zuko had turned up alive in Ba Sing Se mere days after Wei Lin had returned from his meeting with Fire Lord Ozai, he had been stunned. He had followed the erstwhile crown prince and his companion through the city himself. The shock had only gotten worse. Zuko was apparently the father of the baby they suspected to be the next Avatar.
Wei Lin was thrown into panicked confusion. They had been so sure this was the baby. Everything made perfect sense. Now all the certainty had evaporated like so much dew fall. The next Avatar was supposed to be Water Tribe. Could he or she have mixed parentage? It seemed impossible, it had never happened before. Wei Lin and the rest of the remaining Dai Lee had been forced to change tactics.
Five agents spread out across the lower ring to monitor water tribe refugees. There were many pregnancies and any one of them could be the Avatar. Wei Lin personally continued to monitor the waterbender, Katara, while the two remaining agents memorized the routines of everyone that would be around her baby.
It didn't take long for them to realize it would be extremely difficult to grab the child if it was the one they wanted. Not only was Katara a master bender and quite dangerous, there were two master firebenders, an earthbender that could sense any movement and a slew of warriors would surround the child at any given time. Whatever they planned, they would have to act at just the right moment.
One perfectly normal spring day, the Fire Lord's grandchild was born. Wei Lin had never been present at a birth, much less that of a waterbender, but he doubted the amount of unseasonable ice and frost he could see from outside of the apartment was normal. He had noticed Katara had been displaying more erratic than normal bending, this freezing childbirth made him much more certain. It wasn't enough though. Ozai would not accept failure and if they brought him the wrong baby he would kill them all.
The weeks after the baby was born proved his concern about her security well founded. She even slept in her parents' bed. Frustrated with the lack of openings or iron certainty about the Avatar's identity, what was left of the Dai Lee struggled to form a plan. There was no sign of General Iroh or any of the Lotus members trying to determine if any Water Tribe babies were the Avatar or even any talk of it.
Wei Lin had been fortunate to discover, after the careful interrogation of one of the Earth Kingdom Lotus members, the location of their meetings. From there it was a simple matter following the old Dai Lee tunnels. He was able to avoid detection by the blind earthbender by bending a deep trench between the stone he stood on the wall he hid behind. It was lucky he had had someone keeping an eye on the group. An agent disguised as a palace servant had watched them train several times and was able to discern her incredible talent. He chose a place behind a pillar and bent a narrow opening in the wall, hidden from view but near enough to overhear.
Settling himself in for the meeting, Wei Lin was anxious about what kind of information he would hear. He knew there had been something happening recently. A disturbance in the tea shop run by General Iroh and a mysterious visitor to that same shop days before had the Dai Lee agent on edge. If the White Lotus had finally decided to make their move, Wei Lin was running out of time to snatch the Avatar. While he still believed the disgraced prince's daughter to be the Avatar, they needed to be absolutely certain. There had been no talk on the subject by anyone he would have assumed to have known. He was hopeful that this meeting would be illuminating.
Overall, it had been. From his vantage he discovered nearly everything about the plans the White Lotus and prince Zuko had to enact their coup. If he was being honest with himself, Wei Lin wondered if it was in their best interest to continue working with Ozai. He pushed down the doubt as soon as he felt it however, stubbornly telling himself that if they managed to capture the Avatar, they would have the upper hand. None of the discord or strife in the Fire Nation would matter if they could only achieve that goal. The spirits, it seemed, were with him that morning. After the meeting was over and just before he slipped away, he finally heard the piece of information they had been waiting on for months. Prince Zuko, believing himself alone with his wife and brother in law, revealed the identity of the Avatar.
Later that night, the remaining Dai Lee would be having a secret meeting of their own. Avatar Kya would be in their hands and en route to her grandfather before the week was out.