The ocean waters were calm and the winds light- a perfect day for sailing in a steel behemoth on the water; Sokka was fearing the next time he would have to sail, but it turned out to be easier than he thought it would be- if it was only situation that had led to Azula's Royal Barge being sunk by his tribe, then certainly there would be little chance of this ship finding it's way to the bottom of the sea. For the first time in his life he dreaded the sight of no land- the dirt and plants unfamiliar, but somehow safer than the waters he had grown used to.
The war- ironically enough- was far enough from his mind at the moment, despite being on the ship of the enemy; Sokka was far too concerned with the potential of actually getting home- as much as he wanted to continue 'fighting' as much as he could, there was little use to it now- without his fellow tribesmen, or his father for that matter, he had little opportunity to make a strike against the Fire Nation. He floated the idea of actually trying to drown the Princess for good, but he knew where that got him last time- and he thought it would be disregarding of their relationship as so far to throw it away for an ideological agenda; Azula was far too useful an ally to lose, and she wasn't a crazed fool like he'd expect someone in the royal family of the Fire Nation to be- she was witty and stubborn, not too dissimilar to himself in many ways.
"So how do you like a Fire Nation ship you're not attacking?" he heard her ask him, as if she appeared out of nothing behind him.
Sokka chuckled, grabbing the starkly dark metal railing of the vessel, "It's not very uplifting- you Fire Nation people ought to have nicer looking ships."
"Don't complain too much savage- you got have a bed here, remember?" she reminded him, making Sokka gulp and realise he shouldn't be as outspoken when the Princess held all the cards.
Looking at Azula in her 'natural state', that being in her black and gold royal armour and wearing her royal headpiece he couldn't help but feel somewhat inadequate at the moment- he lacked his armour which he had left in the forest when it had become too straining, and he had dressed down to only his light blue shirt and pants- he looked more like the image of a peasant that Azula liked to drill into his mind, as if she needed to divide people by the quality of their clothes- out of all the things she could.
"So what exactly are we going to do- I mean you said we're going to Ba Sing Se, but you conveniently left out the part where you explained why." Sokka asked her, his voice showing his slight mistrust of her at the moment- he was unsure how she would or even should act around him now they were with her people.
"I have been ordered by the Fire Lord to go to Ba Sing Se- for matters that are above your pay-grade, sadly for you. You'll be told what needs to be told in the moment, not when you feel like it." she told him, making Sokka frown before looking in confusion.
"Wait- I'm getting paid?" he asked her, now confused about the whole situation- he just assumed she was tagging him along as a personal bag-carrier or something at this point.
"Well- not with a wage- if that's what you were wanting." she restated, making Sokka look back out to the water in realisation.
"My reward is getting home- somehow. I guess you have some methods to get me there?" he asked her.
"I haven't overthought it honestly- it's not my most pressing issue, but the Fire Nation has it's means- we did 'destroy' your people, remember." she explained, making Sokka cringe at the mention of the raids on his people.
"Ergh-" he almost belched- leaning over the deck before making sick eyes at Azula, "Don't tell those people are going to take me home- that's worse than showing up with the Fire Lord himself."
"So you'd like a personal escort by the Fire Lord- that's a bit over what I'm offering savage." she mocked him, making Sokka return to a more solemn mood.
"... My mother- I couldn't go home that way." he muttered, trying to avoid Azula's glare- he didn't want her to mock or joke him for his emotional attachment; luckily she didn't and just looked out to the sea.
"I hope you're ready for the city of Ba Sing Se- I've heard that it's full of filth, crime and degeneracy." she remarked, making Sokka chuckle.
"I think there's a reason my father never went there before the fall- it's probably no better these days." he thought aloud, "To think of all the Earth Kingdom refugees- millions of them maybe, walking to that city only for it to fall to the Fire Nation- all for nothing really."
"The world has changed a lot in the past few years, you barbarians ought to learn a few things from the Fire Nation" Azula advised, making Sokka spit out into the water.
"What is there to learn these days? That your nation must come before all else- I mean there's a bit of a point there." Sokka mumbled, not really willing to speak on the issue- he knew too well that the Fire Nation's nationalistic ideology had started the war, and as much as he loved his nation he couldn't bring himself to say the same for his own nation- balance was what they were fighting for- reminding him of something the crew had once talked about.
"You know- you're right in a way about the Water Tribes- we don't understand the world in the same way you Fire Nation people do- we're disconnected, a bit like the Air Nomads must've been up in those mountains." Sokka admitted, making Azula look at him curiously.
"But my people- we tried to help the war- we tried to protect the balance, because we suffered for too long to just do nothing," he explained, before his tone turned more disdainful, "then the North- they never did anything, and they have the guts to say their chief rules us all- he doesn't care for us- he never did." Sokka grumbled, looking out on the water.
"Sounds like the North is ruled by people who don't have the will to make the right action- no chief who is willing to fight for their people as a whole." Azula commented on Sokka's exposition.
"I mean I don't know much- I've heard bits and pieces from my Gran-Gran, from dad, and some of the men- but it just seems like they're full of their own shit, I don't know how the Fire Nation hasn't kicked their asses yet purely from complacency." he continued, his tone growing more humoured at the end, chuckling at realisation from what he said, "That's not really funny actually- I think you're rubbing off on me in a bad way." he complained.
"Oh don't worry about that- I simply desire to make you see eye to eye with me." Azula commented, making Sokka chuckle.
"Well- I understand you and your people a bit better, doesn't mean I agree with what they do, or like them at all." he admitted to her.
She smirked at the Water Tribesman, before turning to walk back to into the ship's bridge, "You best rest- We have a lot of work to do once we reach Ba Sing Se." reminding him of his new duties that he would ultimately have to fulfil to get his reward.
Sokka turned back to her and looked sceptically, "Why do you trust me to work for you? I did try to capture you only four days ago."
"You are a pragmatic man above all else- not a spirit-worshipping fool- I trust that you have thought about your situation as a whole." she commented, Sokka glancing at her momentarily before turning back to the water.
Sokka almost wanted to swear at himself for not trying to quip back to her that he was a Water Tribe warrior whose only duty was to bring the Fire Nation to justice- but then again, he didn't want to be thrown overboard. She had analysed his thoughts correctly, he didn't want to fight her or her people if he couldn't actually get out of there alive- and it was easier to work with her than the other option of trying to get back home on foot- which was a challenge with a mass of sea between them and the South Pole; Sokka was stuck with her, and he knew too well not to trust her too much, he would have to prove his value before she could even consider rewarding him.
As the Fire Nation vessel rocked into the port of Ba Sing Se, it's inhabitants found a sense of relief upon reaching dry land again- after a shipwreck and days awaiting their Princesses return- it was comforting to them to know their Princess would lead them again, and hopefully they would remain safe. The ship's crew- which consisted of the remains of the Royal Barge's crew alongside the ship's original crew- were quick to take up their temporary break and enjoy themselves at the port market- thriving with the mass of imports and exports between the city and the outside world, which it had been essentially cut of from ever since the war had come to the walls of Ba Sing Se many years prior. The Princess stood almost triumphantly at the dock, surrounded by her small army of royal guards- ready now to protect her from any threats that may lie in the great city, alongside her newest companion, who was confusing and mysterious to the guards themselves. The Water Tribesman had been a surprise to many, and infuriated the Captain in a way that most the men had never seen- then again it was rare for the Fire Nation to recruit their enemies, especially in such a scenario like their own.
"Do we have a palanquin for transport?" the Princess asked her men, the Captain shaking his head.
"No your highness- the city is far too large for palanquins to carry you- we're still around a few hours palanquin ride from the walls themselves."
"So how do we enter the city?" the Princess asked him, the Captain pointing up to a large stone structure ontop of a hill. It had a large aqueduct-like structure following out from it toward the horizon.
"That is the cities transport system- controlled by earthbending." he explained, the Princess giving him a snide look.
"Earthbending- I thought that we had made it illegal to earthbend in the city." she commented, her eyes growing disdainful.
"The governor supposedly allows them to work on the transport system- everyone in the city needs it." the Captain explained.
The Princess begun to walk down the dock and her companions followed- a small army of guards and servants walking their way through the port-town up to the transport hub; Sokka looked out in awe at the sight of the massive walls in the distance- which just proved to him the massive scale of the city which he had never seen- the transport system was even more amazing to Sokka- a system of fast transportation that relied off of earthbending- from what he could see in the distance, it seemed to be based off of carriages of stone being pulled along a smooth path. He turned to look at Azula, who was trying to be as stoic as possible in the presence of her men as well as the public; he couldn't help but think she was a completely different person to the angry mud covered woman in the forest. She continued to lead her men silently up toward the building- the men themselves imitating their leader in the form and lack of emotion- Sokka with his face bared unlike the guards was baring his emotions of awkwardness to the world- he felt like a fish out of water, unable to really fit in with the group.
He decided to ask the guard beside him about their mission, "So- uh- what are we actually doing?"
The guards face covered, his head turned to Sokka, "We've been ordered to take the Princess to the Governor's Palace- the former residence of the Earth King."
Sokka pondered on the statement, thinking that it was obvious that the governor would house the Princess while she was in the city- but he still didn't understand Azula's actual purpose in the city- did the Fire Lord just want additional oversight in the city? How Azula had told him of 'his job' made it sound like a short term thing- that they would have to do something specific; Sokka had no idea what this would actually be and decided he would spend his time trying to figure it out- unless Azula just flat out told him at some point.
Walking up the road they made their way to the gate that bounded the large stone building that led to their ride- it was guarded heavily by Fire Nation soldiers who obviously would have to check everyone and everything going into the city; they didn't of course, want to aggravate their Princess, and let her through without a word. Within a few minutes they had scaled some stairs and were finally at their destination- the carriage system; Sokka looked in amazement as he saw carriages lined up in rows for people to enter, all following the track out toward the walls which he could just make out in the far distance. The entire building was full of Fire Nation guards- obviously set on protecting this vital entry point into the city.
"All of you- file into these carriages." the Captain called out, pointing to a set of carriages that were currently empty- they had an entire one set for themselves; Sokka immediately thought that the Governor must've wanted to cozy up the Princess for him to just willy-nilly give out a whole set of carriages for the Princess to use.
Sokka followed the guards into a carriage, sitting himself down and placed his weapons beside him; he saw Azula sit down by the front of the carriage with the Captain, while the rest of the guards filed in sitting beside him.
Feeling slightly off again by the silence, he nudged the guard beside him, "Why is everyone so quiet?" he asked, the guard cringing at Sokka.
"Kid- it's all about image- I'll give you that much." he told him before turning away sitting up straight.
The Water Tribesman found the guards to be a funny bunch, and this guards comment only affirmed his beliefs- they were scared shitless by Azula, and he knew that fear was well justified- they were to follow her and fulfil that she wanted them to- loyal, quiet and deadly soldiers- he knew well enough from his conversations back at Huangwen that they were far more relaxed and carefree than one would have expected.
The carriage begun to slowly move, as Sokka expected it to- but within a few moments it begun to accelerate- within a minute they were racing along the track at a speed Sokka thought no ship could ever match; the outside world moved by rapidly, the port-town disappearing behind them and the wall growing ever so larger by the second until they were consumed by it and darkness shrouded the carriages- shocking Sokka with amazement, and as quick as the darkness came it disappeared and they appeared out in fields of yellow and green, another further ahead he could see another world, only barely peering over the horizon. He was in awe of the massive scale of the city- no wonder it had lasted as long as it did against the Fire Nation.
The carriages continued along the track toward the Inner Wall and soon enough Sokka realised that though they were moving quite fast, he would have to distract himself with something while they rode all the way to the centre of the massive city. He turned to the soldiers and decided to abruptly ask out.
"Hey- does anyone know anything interesting about this place?" his voice making all the guards look at him- their faces still shrouded, along with their facial reactions, but their postures indicated most of them didn't know much about the city- one of the guards raised his hand and pointed back to the Outer Wall.
"This city- it lasted for a 600 day siege- and even when the Fire Nation broke through their walls- it still remained steadfast. It took the power of Sozin's Comet to break the Walls and overcome their defenders." the guard explained, glancing back over to the Princess- as if to make sure she wasn't paying attention, "Her highness's esteemed uncle- great General Iroh, the former Crown Prince- he commanded the siege and supposedly even who was claimed to be destined to take the city- but Ba Sing Se beat him back, and took his son with them."
Sokka looked at him with confusion, "Wait- they kidnapped him?" his words making the guard almost laugh before realising the morbidity of the topic.
"U-uh no, the Prince was killed attempting to attack the breach with his squadron- it ended the siege, the General hasn't been to war since." the guard explained, Sokka gulping audibly in realisation.
"Wow- that's uh- a bit tragic." Sokka commented, unable to really think of a reasonable response.
One side of the Water Tribesman's mind told him that the boy got what he deserved by going to war to fight the Earth Kingdom- but another side of him just considered the tragedy of it all- everyone could die in the war- even the royalty; Sokka had never really considered the Fire Lord and his family actually going to war- and when he thought about it, it only made Azula's family sound worse- being forced to become the physical embodiment of their nation's ideology- war-mongering, evil, ruthless, without restraint.
The inner-wall soon came to encompass them- only for a moment before they appeared in the great city itself- houses, shops, streets and other buildings for as far as the eye could see; Sokka and the guards looked on in amazement- none of them had been here- only hearsay could tell them of the actual magnitude of the city, and now it was before them- a near endless city, of endless opportunity.
The early morning sun lit over the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, it's slums looking more like a mosaic of light and dark tiles than actual buildings from afar. A group of teenagers sat around the ashes of a campfire on a rooftop- homeless inhabitants of the city that was meant to save them from the war; they once called themselves heroes- freedom fighters against the Fire Nation- that had all ended when they flooded a village occupied by the Fire Nation and were forced to flee the region when the full force of the Fire Nation military burnt down the forest they inhabited in vengeance- only to find themselves under the rule of their enemy once they arrived.
Only one figure was really conscious at the moment- and as per usual he was angry and scheming "Guys- I have a few ideas how we can give the Fire Nation hell and not be caught."
The youngest one there stood up and grumbled at him, dismissing his claims with a swipe of his hand, "Yeah right Jet- it will be just like last time, when Smellerbee and Pipsqueak nearly got captured- or worse."
"C'mon Duke! We need to do something- it's not like we can just sit here and act like the Fire Nation isn't oppressing these people- all these poor, poor people who fled all this way to just find themselves under the feet of the firebenders again!"
Another one of them a teenage girl, stood up in agreement with Jet "Yeah Jet's right- just because it's dangerous doesn't mean we shouldn't do it- what else do we have to lose at this point?"
"What do you mean?! I don't wanna die guys- I'm only ten!" he almost shouted at his compatriots.
Jet looked at his young friend in desperation, "You're a kid- and we look out for you- that's our duty to each other- we're a family... I won't let them hurt you." he added, feeling somewhat distraught on the possibility of losing one of his friends.
He stood up to gain the attention of all his friends, "Please hear me out guys, I heard from overhearing some guards that some Fire Nation high-up is showing up in the city and they were trying to 'clean it up' before this mystery visitor arrives." he explained, his friends nodding cautiously at what he was saying, "If we are able to find out where this person is- perhaps we can make a strike."
Pipsqueak raised his head and looked at Jet with a raised eyebrow, "So- how do we do it then- blasting jelly to send them into the sky?" he smirked at his leader, Jet chuckling lightly at his comment.
"Not exactly- I'm guessing there's going to be high security with this person- so I guessed our best move will be to investigate the security of the Palace- that's where the Fire Nation governor and all his cronies live, so if we can find a way in, perhaps we can cause a situation."
The Duke looked at Jet sceptically, "So what- we try and kill the governor and some other idiots- it don't do much."
"It's not about killing them- a decapitation strike doesn't work with so many soldiers in the city- the idea is that we cause a big enough distraction for the soldiers that we can incite a revolt, and even if it isn't successful in overthrowing the Fire Nation's rule there's a good chance we can inspire those who rise up to continue fighting like us." Jet explained to the Freedom Fighters, who looked at him with both intrigue and doubt.
"So we inspire the others to follow our path to fight against the ash-makers?" Smellerbee asked him, curtly smirking at the thought of their ultimate victory.
"There's enough earthbenders in this city that they could lift up the inner wall and throw it at the palace- and that'd work- that's how many of them I think there are- and we'll only need a fraction of them to defeat the Fire Nation garrison." Jet furthered, Smellerbee and Pipsqueak standing in agreement.
"We can do it Jet- we can defeat them with this plan!" Smellerbee shouted out in realisation and happiness, both her and Pipsqueak raising their fists in approval.
Jet turned to the only other silent figure- his hat masking his eyes and his cloak almost covering him like a blanket, "How about you Longshot?" who responded with a curt nod before looking at The Duke, who sighed in disappointment.
"I guess we're all gonna die then- huh." he commented, unenthusiastically raising his fist like Smellerbee and Pipsqueak before him, the rest of the gang laughing at his somewhat morbid 'joke'.
"So I guess it's time we head off to our 'jobs'..." Jet commented in realisation, picking himself up and changing into a simple orange and green drab he wore when working.
"So Pipsqueak- you ready?" he asked his tough friend, who lent him a smile.
"If we're at least going to get some food along the way."
Jet chuckled at his comment, "Well- I'm sure we can arrange something."
He grabbed his work-bag- containing some basic essentials and a dagger- just in case he got in a bad situation, before slinging the bag over his back and climbing down a ladder into an alley-way; he was sure to push the ladder back up after Pipsqueak got down- the building they lived on top of at the moment was unoccupied- but they could just as easily get kicked out or worse by the guards if they found out kids were living there. Pipsqueak pointed down the alleyway, looking at Jet with a curt smile.
"So boss- we going to get some breakfast now?" he asked sincerely- Jet was unable to refuse and smiled at his friend, patting him on the back.
"Of course- but we ought to be quick- you know that ratty old manager is an arse when it comes to timing." he mentioned, before the two vagrants begun to run down the alley toward the market- where they were sure to find some kind of food to fill Pipsqueaks appetite.
Sokka gaped in amazement at the towering stairs that lay in front of them- the former Royal Palace of the Earth Kingdom in all of it's majesty; he noted the holes and damage that seemed to have not been fully patched over after the occupation- he didn't want to imagine what the defenders of the city would have gone through when the Fire Nation exploded their way into the city with pumped-up firebending. The Royal entourage continued along from their long carriage journey to arrive at the palace, where the Governor awaited them, already presently bowing before the Crown Princess who remained cautious in her new surroundings.
"Welcome my Crown Princess to the Palace- I hope that you will find your stay as comfortable as living in the great palace back home." the governor almost pleaded, bowing before the Princess with such veneration Sokka thought the man was a bit crazy- not even the Royal Guards would act like that toward Azula.
"Your deference and goodwill is taken kindly, Governor. I would like to be shown my quarters and for my guards and servants to be shown their accommodation as well."
The governor eyed Sokka momentarily, "What of this one?" making Azula sigh.
"I picked him up on the journey over- he'll be staying with the guards I presume, unless you have some spare accommodation elsewhere?" she told the governor, not too certain of how the palace would fit the Water Tribesman in.
"Uh there is always a spare room- does he need his own?" he asked her, his voice slightly sceptical of Sokka's value, making him clench his fists in offence- back to hating the Fire Nation for their snide asshole-ery.
She nonchalantly replied, "No- he can bunk with the rest of them- right?" glancing at Sokka with threatening eyes.
"Of course." Sokka lied- honestly not wanting to have to be stuck around the soldiers any longer than he needed to be.
Azula eyed Sokka noting his untruthfulness before turning back to the governor with a stoic face, "I hope that we can now discuss my diplomatic duties in the city- I am to be the Fire Lord's representative here for the foreseeable future."
"Why of course- I will take you immediately to our daily meeting- we usually deal with petty grievances amongst the population and any supposed security threats- which there are little- our military presence deters the sane from opposing the Fire Nation." the governor explained, trying to make his administration sound effective- which Azula knew was a flat lie or ignorance- her father had sent her across the world do deal with a conspiracy against the Fire Lord's rule at hand- either the man was stupid and ignorant or he was hiding something, and Azula was intent on find that out. Beside her Sokka had other things on his mind, such as making use of the palace's kitchens and bountiful feasts; he wasn't just going to sit around and follow Azula's orders when there was so much meat and other delicacies for him to try.
A local guard came up to the group, and made a curt bow to the governor "Governor- I came to direct the guests-" before he realised he was standing before the Crown Princess as well, "Your highness..." he bowed, more strongly bowing toward the Princess, who smirked at the sign of greater deference.
"Okay- all of you- go with this man and get yourselves ready- I want my guards ready for firebending practice this afternoon." she ordered, the guards looking to their guide, who tried to hold back a smile at his new duties- taking care of the royal guards was something more honourable and easier than doing the governor's errands.
Azula glanced over to Sokka who was lost in thought, "You can come over to training too- I'll get some non-bending weakling for you to beat up." she declared, smirking at Sokka, who returned her smirk with a face of disdain.
"Aw c'mon- I can beat up firebenders too!" he declared, getting a glance of anger from the Captain and making Azula chuckle lightly before she returned to her stoic form.
Sokka glanced back at Azula who joined the Governor and his guards to walk up the long stairs toward the palace itself, while Sokka was called over by one of the guards as to follow the group; he sighed and acknowledged to himself that he would be stuck with the firebending menaces for a while longer. Following the group they made their way to a large barracks, distinguished by it's metal frame and red roof- perhaps the Fire Nation had built this somewhat ugly structure to replace whatever they destroyed in their conquest. The guide herded the guards and servants into the building, and Sokka begrudgingly followed.
"This is the garrison's secondary quarters- we built them after the city was taken because the rest of the buildings were being used as prison blocks for the Earth King's followers- uh, there were a lot of them. After they shipped out we started using those buildings instead- so this is free for all of you to occupy while you stay." the guide explained, and the guards took that as a signal to look around, dropping their bags and looking at through the barracks, while the servants mostly followed behind somewhat blank-eyed in their short period of 'free-time' which they most sorely lacked under the Princesses service.
Sokka looked into one of the rooms, which had two beds and a desk- probably an officers quarters, and glanced to see if any of the guards were checking the room out before staking it as his own- he quickly rushed in and placed his weapons beside one of the beds and put his bagged items under it. The standard issue metal bed looked somewhat uncomfortable in the Water Tribesman's eyes but it was better that sleeping on the ground or in a prison cell, so he wasn't one to complain at the moment; he lay himself onto the bed to test it's feel, and to his relief it was quite comfortable and soft- perhaps the beds had been freshly done prior to their arrival.
Suddenly the door to the room came open and he gazed upon the eyes of his current 'rival'- the Captain himself, "Ah you're kidding me- the little snow-barbarian is in the officer's quarters."
"I got here first- you take the other bed if you want but you ain't kicking me out!" Sokka complained, making the Captain rub his nose bridge in frustration.
"That doesn't make it any better- you're not an officer- you're some up-start peasant from the Water Tribe." he grumbled, sitting himself down on the bed in frustration.
"I don't like you much either- so I'll take my leave... just don't steal any of my stuff." he stated, eyeing the Captain before barging out of the room, not wanting to get into an unnecessary fight with him- although it crossed his mind to fight him honour-bound, he dismissed it as ludicrous; Sokka knew for a fact that food was his priority.
Calling out down the hall Sokka asked out, "Hey you! Guy who guided us here- where's the food!" the palace guard glancing over in realisation before pacing himself down the hallway to Sokka.
"U-uh yeah- the palace guards and staff have lunch around this time- it's across in a hall- on the other side of the grand staircase- back the way we came." the guard explained to Sokka, who quickly patted him on the shoulder.
"Thanks man!" he quickly thanked, picking up pace and running out the door into the palace's massive stone tile courtyard- he could squint his eyes and see a golden and green rimmed hall across it- sighing in frustration; the palace was huge, bigger than any kind of place he'd ever been too- Sokka wondered for a moment if the Water Tribe's could have ever built anything so big.
Pacing himself across the courtyard, he thought about the days ahead- he knew the Princess was supposedly here for some 'diplomatic' mission now, being the Fire Lord's daughter, but from how she had described it on the ship- her job was probably a lot more serious than just some royal oversight for the governor's day-to-day work; Sokka thought he ought to find out what she was up to but decided he rather not sneak into some things that might get him berated for or perhaps worse- he didn't want to find out.
Making his way to the hall he discerned it's features- this building clearly predated the occupation and was far more well maintained from the looks of it- perhaps it had been a function-hall for the Earth King prior to his deposition- the rich and high-ups ought to have somewhere to convene he presumed. Walking into the building he caught the eye of the food server, a young scrawny Earth Kingdom boy- probably pulled out of whatever dredges of poverty by this fine job.
"Uh- you're new." the boy thought aloud, Sokka chuckling lightly at the comment.
"You could say that- I'm with the Princess; I heard you've serving lunch for the guards and palace staff." Sokka asked him, the boy looking around the mostly empty hall, only a few of the staff sitting by a table eating their meagre lunches.
"Well you're uh- just in time for a good lunch- what do you like?" he asked Sokka, somewhat unnerved by such an unusual looking person- he had probably never seen a Water Tribesman before, let alone expected one to come the Fire Nation occupied city of Ba Sing Se.
"I'm not from around here- I don't really know much about your cuisine- what you got?"
"We usually serve the basic foods here- jook, roast duck, noodles and soup." the boy told Sokka, whose mouth watered at the description.
"I'll take some roast duck- with some of the other stuff on the side." he almost commanded, making the boy look at him with a slight shock; the boy quickly served a small dish of the foods he described with a larger dish of pieces of roast duck.
Sokka looked at the meal with hunger before starting to pick bites out of each of the things, quickly devouring the roast duck before eating away at the rest of the food- he especially found the soup to be nice, it reminded him of the stews he would eat at home and with his tribe- what he would do just to eat Water Tribe food again.
He looked up to the boy with a smile, who had been still standing waiting for others to enter the hall, "It's really good- I've never had a full meal of Earth Kingdom food before- it's a bit more varied than my usual diet." he explained, the boy chuckling.
"We try our best sir." he affirmed before Sokka raised his hand in defiance.
"I'm nobodies 'sir'- the name's Sokka." he corrected, offering out a hand to shake.
Grasping Sokka's hand he awkwardly smiled "U-uh my name's Li- that won't be hard to remember, you're sure to meet a heap of them while you're here." the boy joked, Sokka laughing along with him. "So you're here with the Fire Nation Princess- you must be important then." Li commented, Sokka dismissing him with a pat on the back.
"I'd love to say I'm the greatest man alive- but I'm just a guy with a boomerang really, just living my life trying to get by." Sokka told him, trying to describe himself as humbly as possible- he didn't want to seem stuck up when talking to a food-server of all people- that'd make him as bad as Azula or her firebender goons. Sokka got out of his seat and gave Li back the dishes, before asking "Anyway- I'm going to look around the palace- anything of interest you'd recommend?"
"Uh- there's the unused throne room in the palace- it's pretty majestic." Li explained, Sokka patting him on the shoulder.
"Thanks man- I'll be back for dinner, if you're still serving food then."
"Dinner's at sunset- it was nice meeting you Sokka." Li smiled curtly before returning to the kitchen, leaving Sokka to walk back out of the dining hall.
Walking back the way he came, Sokka came to the somewhat damaged stair-case- massive holes covered the staircase, making it hard to walk straight up- he assumed these were created by the earthbenders during the defence and that the Fire Nation hadn't bothered to fix them- most of the palace was relatively well maintained, but they weren't fixing the grounds for the sake of aesthetics- the palace had it's function for holding prisoners and being a centre for the military command, as Sokka guessed from the guides earlier descriptions. After a minute he had made his way up the massive array of stairs to gaze upon the actual palace proper- he was shocked by the state of it- The entire facade of the palace was reconstructed out of steel with massive Fire Nation banners scaling down it, alongside a massive metal gate that bounded the structure, guarded by a squadron of elite firebenders; as they noticed him one of the guards walked up to the Water Tribesman.
"Stop there- the palace is for military and guest only access." the guard told him, his face uncovered to scowl at the Water Tribesman, "You don't seem like you should even be here savage."
"Excuse me-" Sokka begun, smirking at the guard, "I am the Princesses personal guest and assistant- if you don't let me I'll tell her that the guards at the palace are incompetent arseholes who need to be reprimanded- would you like that?" he berated, his smirk deviously threatening the guard who gulped in genuine fear- knowing full well the boy before him wasn't lying.
"No uh- it was my mistake sir- I'll let you through immediately" the guard replied with a face of fear, trying to make himself sound as tough as possible in face of the Princesses potential wrath- this time Sokka appreciated this 'sir' just to know the firebender was beneath him- even if only from the Princesses authority.
Walking into the palace he was confronted with rows of massive gold encrusted doors- each of them leading further into the palace until he eventually made his way to a final door that opened to the throne room- a massive room in girth and height, with a golden throne at the end of it, defaced by a massive Fire Nation banner covering it- there was a large table in the throne room where Azula was sitting with governor and his cronies, them all noticing Sokka before them.
"Uh- I think I walked into something I shouldn't have." Sokka mumbled to himself, Azula glaring at him before the attendees decided to acknowledge him.
"So this is the Water Tribesman who saved your life?" one of the attendees asked, eyeing Sokka with intrigue.
"Yes- he was very useful in my journey back to civilisation- I've rewarded him with a place of service."
"So your highness- he's just your newest servant?" the Governor asked Azula, Sokka's face flushing red, trying not to scream out at the man that he was certainly not serving anybody.
"More of a guard and assistant- he's not very useful for the usual servant work- life on the tundra makes one a bit rough." she explained, trying to give out a reasonable explanation to her new colleagues for why she had taken Sokka into her employ; just as Sokka was about to try and argue for himself, Azula hushed him with the raising of a hand.
"I'll be ready for training in a few minutes- go loiter around somewhere where you don't aggravate the guards." Azula commanded, Sokka drooping his head- knowing he was essentially powerless to not follow her commands when they were amongst the Fire Nation- at that moment he regretted leaving the forest as quickly as he had, but reminded himself of the meal Li had served him and took back that thought at an instance. Sokka was not comfortable with serving the Fire Nation in any form, but if he had to to get back to his people, what else could he do but shut up and take it.