Sitting in the warmly lit tent of the Princess, Sokka and Azula both felt anxious awaiting the Captain's return- they both knew what was at stake with the confrontation he had been sent to make; the threat of the Princess, rather than her physical presence, was to be their weapon- as well as the personal tidbits provided by the Mayor's own daughter. Their lucky meeting with Kori and Sneers provided them with both the intelligence they required for handling the Mayor as well as the sentiment in the city- once enough people believed her argument, true or not, they would fall in line and betray her brother; the Water Tribesman was rather uneasy at the thought of what might happen if there actually happened to be an open confrontation between the two sibling's supporters- he knew that the entire city could fall into chaos, let alone consider the consequences for the Fire Nation as a whole. They had been in the city before, inciting the riots that would allow for the group to slip into the Mayor's palace- he considered the chances of them being recognised were low, but high enough that there was a possibility someone in Yu Dao had figured out the Princesses arrival- and he hoped for spirits sake that they weren't White Lotus or in her brother's pocket.
She sighed, growing impatient of having to wait for the groups return, "They better have done their jobs correctly- if Zuko ends up at this camp with his own small army, I will have the Captain's head." she grumbled, his eyes opening wide in realisation of the possibility their plans could completely back-fire.
"Actually- that's a good point- should we be preparing for the worst?" he asked her, who rolled her eyes at him.
"I am prepared for any outcome- perfectly collected and insightful- that's how I make good strategy." she explained to him, who voiced his own opinion quite proudly.
"And my help- don't forget who's your personal strategist." he pointed his thumb at himself, earning a glare from Azula.
"If I relied off you all the time, I would be as weak willed as my brother." she chided him, Sokka shaking his head and looking at her with disappointment.
"Hey- trying to fix the world's problems is a good thing." he claimed, making her scoff at him.
"I already told you: I'm not good- even if I tried to be, I don't think I would be very good at it." she explained with crossed arms.
"Fine, fine- I won't berate you for your one area of self-doubt." he admitted almost sarcastically, making her glare at him before turning around to face away from him, "Okay I'm sorry- I just want to help." he offered her, the Princess sighing with a tense tone.
"I know." she simply told him, her shoulders remaining high and her body turned away from him.
He raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder, "What do you want Azula?" he bluntly asked her, glancing at her with warm eyes, which she refused to see.
"I want to lead my nation to a glorious future." she told him with a shrug, pushing his hand off of her- he wasn't surprised by her rather straight-forward answer, but it wasn't the one he was looking for.
"No Azula- not what you've been told to do, what you want for yourself." he asked of her, the Princess turning her head to the side, eyeing him with a rather solemn face.
"I served my father out of duty- and I continue to follow in his legacy because it dishonours him to do otherwise." she explained to him, who nodded in understanding.
"I get it- all I ever wanted to do was prove myself to my father- I begged to go to war at the age of thirteen- he didn't let me, but it remained on my mind- I had to prove myself, to prove my worth to him." he affirmed her, the Princess nodding curtly in agreement.
"My father was the only one who saw my potential- he treated me well, directed my path to become the most prodigious firebender of a generation." she explained to him, who raised an eyebrow.
"But beyond that there must be things- you can't just be your father's daughter." he questioned her, Azula glaring at him.
"I take great pride in my abilities, and my indomitable will and might didn't come out of thin air- it was refined under the teachings of my father- he has given me everything I have ever wanted." she confidently declared, staring him down defiantly.
Sokka looked at her with concern, knowing that her words couldn't reasonably be the whole truth, "Is that really true?" he questioned her, to which she glanced back at him with offence.
"How dare you! My father might have been your enemy, but he was the only person who ever considered me- no one else- not even my own mother!" she angrily shouted at him in frustration; he looked at her with concern, stepping closer to her unsure how exactly to continue the conversation.
"I- I don't know what happened when you were a kid- you don't have to tell me- really, I don't either- but you shouldn't let it define you- you are who you are on the inside, not some crazy Fire Lord who wants to rule the world." he argued to the Princess, who looked at him with a stoic face before breaking down laughing.
"Ahaha- you're acting just like my stupid Uncle, proverbs and all- I should have known that you'd be just as weak." she mocked him, the Water Tribesman glaring her down with a serious face.
"Come on- I'm not telling you to change- I'm telling you to think about what you're doing, because you should only do what you actually want to." he tried to reiterate his argument, Azula rolling her eyes before glaring at him stoically.
"I am Crown Princess Azula- I will be Fire Lord- do you understand that?" she questioned him, Sokka nodding after a few moments silence.
"Yes- I understand." he complied, to which she smiled before turning to face the hole in her tent, checking for sight of the group, frowning as she returned to face him.
"We can have a whole stupid argument and yet still I'm waiting- I will berate the Captain on the need for timeliness when he returns." she grumbled, her companion's mood changing to one of humour.
"Oh- it's trouble when we're so stupidly far from the city." he noted to her with a laugh, who glared at him.
"This camp was strategically placed in a narrow valley to avoid being sighted- if we were any closer some damned peasants could rat us out!" she argued to him, who raised a hand in thought.
"What about if we just camped within the city- hide within, disguised ourselves completely, then when the time comes, we could just pop out and shock your way to the top." he thought aloud, Azula raising a brow in consideration.
"That might work, but how could we enter the city without arousing suspicion- the Captain had to sneak in with elite forces that were specifically trained to do so- we can't take a whole camp into the city without being spotted." she explained, his confidence in his idea deflating in realisation of the challenge to achieve it.
Sokka scratched his chin and raised his brows in thought, "If the Captain did his job right, the Mayor could just let the guards ignore our presence, couldn't he?" he wondered, to which she rolled her eyes in disappointment.
"Sadly my brothers presence, along with his forces, means that even if the Mayor fell in line, all it would take is one of my brother's goons to spot us and he'll be onto us- he probably already knows we're in the city, seeing what just probably happened in the City Hall." she explained, making him pout in defeat.
"Well- I guess we're stuck hiding in the hills until then..." he concluded, Azula chuckling at his sentiment.
"Trust me Sokka- sooner or later, I will have dealt with the Zuko problem, then this whole chasing around the colonies issue will be no more." she affirmed him, the Water Tribesman looking back with a sense of dread.
"I'd prefer if that wasn't the case, but-" he begun, before being cut off by the Captain barging into the tent; he wiped the sweat off of his bared face and dropped a knee to the Princess.
"Your highness! It is done- the Mayor won't oppose us any longer." he confirmed her hopes, turning her rather frustrated tone to one of aspiration.
"That is good news- now are we ready to handle Zuko?" she questioned her subordinate, looked up at her with a face of confidence.
"I believe that if the guards will fall in line to the Mayor's will, all it will take is a strong show of force to your brother and the Mayor himself to force the inevitable." he explained, Sokka looking on with doubt.
"What if he just takes that as a pretence to attack us- we can't surely fight them all off if worse comes to worst." he argued, the Crown Princess nodding in agreement.
"Sokka is correct in his judgement Captain- as much as I would like to run in and start a fight with Zuko, under no circumstances should we consider starting a fight we mightn't win." she explained to him, who nodded in understanding of her point- one loss in battle against the false Fire Lord himself would be a massive morale loss for the Princesses supporters and would give him the base he could use to assert his rule over all of the Fire Nation's forces. "If that is the case Princess, how do you propose we deal with the Zuko problem?" he questioned her quite bluntly, to the surprise of the Water Tribesman- who considered the Captain to be a relatively reserved person in his opinions.
"The 'Zuko problem' is Zuko himself- if I could simply defeat him in an Agni Kai, there is no chance that his guard could accept him to continue being Fire Lord, no matter what excuses my Uncle might make in the situation." she alleviated his concern- Sokka raising a hand to question that, "Yes 'assistant strategist', what is it?" she asked him, who looked at her with concern.
"Even if you want to fight that Agni Kai- can we even get close enough to Zuko, let alone get him to agree to it?" he questioned, looking to the other man present in the tent,
"Their uncle is one of the most powerful firebenders alive, isn't that right?" he questioned him, who nodded in confirmation.
"Yes- he would be a challenge for even someone as prodigious as her highness to defeat." he admitted, earning a suspicious glance from Azula.
"You doubt me Captain?" she questioned him, who shook his head in denial.
"No your highness- your Uncle is the Dragon of the West- even if he has been retired for many years, that title still bears respect." he noted to her, making her roll her eyes in frustration.
"My Uncle is the real threat- that's what you're trying to tell me savage?" she asked of him, who nodded concernedly at her.
"If he finds out about you- he'll want to neutralise you as a threat, wouldn't he?" he asked her, the Princess raising a flame from her right hand.
"If good old Uncle Iroh wants to show his fury, he'll find mine in return." she glared confidentially with a lethal desire, making Sokka uncomfortably nod at her; she pulled a smirk and stood tall, sure that fate was on her side, "So that settles it then- we're going to conquer Yu Dao, whether my brother likes it or not."
Standing bewildered before the understandably shaken and fearful Mayor of Yu Dao, Zuko looked on with wide eyes- his sister wasn't just trying to overthrow him- she was in Yu Dao at the moment at which the Mayor told him; his Uncle's face mirrored his own, surprised and shocked, knowing the horrible coincidence that had befallen them might lead down a path he was barely willing to take.
Iroh stood forward to glance down at Mayor Morishita, who had fallen to his knees before him, "Are you sure that was what happened?" he questioned, the Mayor nodding with confidence.
"I could have been shot dead with twenty arrows, but they gave me mercy- they wanted me to join them, to give you that message." he eyed the Fire Lord, who nodded his voice dropping with a darker tone.
"I am not safe while she lives- does she want us to fight to the death- is that it?" he questioned him, who shook his head with doubt.
"I-I have n-no idea- all I know is that she must be a threat to your life." he muttered with a stammer, Zuko raising him to his feet with a clasping of his hand.
Iroh turned to his nephew with a serious face- he was not his tea-loving uncle, he was the Dragon of the West, serving his Fire Lord, "What will you do Zuko?" he asked, the Fire Lord turning to glare at him.
"All the gates of the city must be closed, no one gets in or out without me knowing- if else, Azula's men could slip in and cause havoc again." he considered, Morishita nodding in understanding.
"If that is what must be done your majesty, then I will go find the captain of the guards-." he accepted, the two of them simultaneously nodding back in agreement.
"There's no need Mayor- I can handle the commanding- you should be with your family." Zuko confirmed, the Mayor stepping up and nodding in understanding,
"Thank you, your majesty." he bowed curtly before walking out of the room to return to his premises, followed by two Imperial Firebenders that were to accompany him for his own safety.
He turned to his uncle with a face of dread, unsure what he should say now, "U-uncle- I guess this is it." he suggested, to which his uncle sighed with a sense of disappointment.
"I should have done right by your sister- but there is no more time for that nephew, the fate of the Fire Nation is in your hands." he explained to Zuko, who dropped his head in frustration.
"I- I'm going to see Mai- she ought to know what's going on." he told him, who smiled at the acknowledgement of his nephew's rather open nature with her.
"That would be good Zuko- perhaps you can talk it out- I'll handle your orders for the mean time." he affirmed by patting him on the shoulder, before walking toward the study of the house, where he would have to write the explicit commands of the Fire Lord; he turned back with a smile to look at his nephew, "I'll make us all some tea- just come down for it in a bit."
He turned turned around and walked up the staircase of the house in which they had been lodged- the house was a guest residence located next to the Mayor's personal home; it was suited for dignitaries from the homeland, but probably not for someone as honoured as the Fire Lord himself- the Fire Lord didn't mind too much, having been more used to small quarters on his old ship compared to his massive palace at home. Making his way to the top of the staircase, he turned to walk down the hallway to her bedroom; standing at her door, he took a deep breath before knocking.
"Yes?" she questioned, Zuko coughing before responding.
"Uh it's just me." he mumbled, Mai opening the door before him, noticing his somewhat distraught face, "Zuko, what's wrong?" she questioned him, unsure why he would be feeling so off- she was no master of aura reading like her friend Ty Lee, but she knew when somebody wasn't feeling right.
"I- uh- it's Azula." he muttered, her eyes opening wider.
"She's here?" she questioned him, who nodded with a gulp.
"She just had her men threaten the Mayor to send me a message- no one has seen her or her people as of yet, but I have a feeling that won't last much longer." he explained to her with concerned eyes.
"So you're going to have to fight her." Mai concluded with the foresight she had gained from her conversing with Zuko- they both knew he was intending to deal with her sooner or later, and now it was certain they would have some kind of confrontation.
"That's my fate I guess- I can't fail my nation now- not even for her sake." he explained himself, feeling cornered by the situation to only have one reasonable option.
"Fate is stupid." she muttered, making the Fire Lord laugh at her rather agreeable comment.
"Yeah that's right- I want to be a good Fire Lord, but from the looks of it I seem to be fated to be a bad brother." he admitted, to which she simply shrugged her shoulders.
"It's not like Azula is the best sister Zuko." she acknowledged; he sat himself down on the bed, upon which she sat beside him, "You shouldn't worry too much about her."
"I can't help but feel that there's no way out- I knew something like this was going to happen." he admitted, Mai scoffing lightly at his comments, glaring at him stoically.
"You're Fire Lord- it's your job to make the hard decisions, I just hope you don't make them alone." she told him, who looked at her hopefully.
"So you'll help me handle Azula?" he asked of her, who looked back with dissatisfaction.
"She is my friend, despite the situation- I will try and help her, at least try and stop you two from doing anything stupid." she affirmed him, who smiled in return.
"T-thanks Mai- I- uh-" he smiled, stuttering as he tried to speak his mind, making her smirk at him.
"Lost for words?" she questioned him, Zuko rolling his eyes before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek, making the normally stoic and straight-faced girl blush a bright red.
Pulling himself away, he blushed lightly before tilting his head to the door, "My Uncle's making tea- do you want some?" he offered, Mai rolling her eyes.
"Of course he's making tea." she complained jokingly, stepping up and holding his hand as they walked out of her room.
The pair walked down the hallway to the staircase, making their way to the ground floor; he turned his head to check where his uncle was, noting that the study was empty. He led her through the lounge where they had been talking to Mayor Morishita before walking into the kitchen, where as expected Iroh was standing with his freshly boiled teapot.
"Nephew, Lady Mai- perfect timing, I just finished the ginseng tea." he smiled at the two, leading his free hand to point to the small sitting room where they could sit, the twilight haze still lighting the room from the outside.
The three sat in the sitting room, where he quickly lit the candles with his bending- his uncle sat across from the two of them with his teapot in hand, pouring three cups of the brew before sitting the pot down on the table; he smiled at the two of them, knowing from the calmed expression on Zuko's face that they had talked out the issue that he was facing.
"Enjoy the tea." he offered, the two of them taking their cups and having their first sips, both acknowledging the fine taste of the brew with faces of appreciation.
"Thanks Uncle- I think the tea helps-" he acknowledged with a smile to his uncle, turning to Mai with a warm blush, "and you helped me too."
Mai felt somewhat awkward with Iroh smiling at them both- she knew that his uncle was very much invested in his nephew building his relationship with her, making his appreciative attitude more than a little weird, "Uh- thanks." she responded before sipping her tea again.
"So what next Uncle- we just wait around for something to happen?" he questioned him, who shrugged his shoulders.
"I once heard that sometimes the best attack is to not attack at all- wait for your enemy- but that is your choice Zuko, I'd rather you were prepared, that's all." he advised, his nephew nodding with appreciation of his wisdom.
"I don't want to run around looking for someone who might want to murder me." he admitted, Mai turning to look at him with intrigue.
"That's right Zuko- she wants you dead... but not me." she considered, making him shrink in fear.
"No Mai- that's too dangerous- what if she tries to take you captive?" he questioned her, who shrugged off his fears.
"I can beat off Azula if she decides to make a fight of it- she's fast, but not that fast." she explained to him, who tilted his head in confusion.
"Why would you do it though- she can't be trusted." he questioned her, who turned to Zuko with a serious face.
"You want to avoid casualties, do you not? If I was to talk to Azula, perhaps I could arrange a meeting, a proper Agni Kai perhaps- at least then there can't be any real surprises." she explained, the Fire Lord looking at her with concern.
"I don't know- can we trust her?" he questioned, his uncle shaking his head with disappointment.
"Probably not." he bluntly admitted, Mai grasping Zuko's hand to calm him.
"Zuko- trust me, I can handle this." she told him, "I don't want to be holed up in this house while you try and pick a fight- I want to do something, and maybe I can help you both." she made a small smile, making him nod in understanding.
"I don't have any better ideas- I just hope you can deal with her without causing too much trouble." he admitted, Mai chuckling in understanding Azula's nature.
"She is trouble."
Glancing out to the sunrise, Kori felt a sense of calm that she had been missing after the ordeals of the night prior; though she loved her city, her family, and her country, she felt that what her father had gone through was extreme and antagonistic on the Princesses behalf- she had heard that Azula was a ruthless and intimidating individual, as anyone in Fire Nation ought to know of her, and her father's exposition proved her presumptions. Her father's ramblings to her and her mother were long and drawn out- he took counsel with the drink after her mother had grown tired and taken to sleep, leaving him to slump over their dining room table. She felt sorry for her father, but she knew far too well that he had been all too willing to bend to the Fire Lord once he appeared at their doorstep; she had put her fears to words, and Kori was certain that her father had the same ones in his mind, all it would take was a little coddling and her father would do what he truly believed in. She moved up to the windowsill and opened her glass window to look out at the street below; standing by the local well was Sneers, who had obviously decided to show up to meet her at sunrise like she had asked of him. They had planned to have breakfast together and talk about the situation that had just unfolded, knowing far too well that the state of affairs in Yu Dao were decaying rapidly- it was only a matter of time before someone or something incited open revolt against the Fire Lord.
She called out to her boyfriend, "Sneers! I'll be down in a minute." she told him, Sneers nodding before sitting himself down by the well to wait for her.
Quickly turning to close the window, she turned to her closet- she was still wearing her nightgown; she dressed herself down, exchanging the long wavy fabrics for a more tight fitting set of leggings and and a long tunic that she wore, coloured a light green with pink highlights- the outfit was more suitable to the cool weather that the city had been experiencing recently. She pulled her hair up into two separate buns on either side of her scalp, before tying ribbons into her hair; she looked at her small mirror and smiled at her reflection- she knew she ought to look her best in public, and today she was dressing down somewhat for the purpose of not attracting much attention- being the Mayor's daughter earned her a certain amount of notice by the public. Stepping out of her door quietly, as to not wake her sleeping mother in the room next door, she stepped lightly down the hallway before making her way down stairs to the ground floor of their house- she noted that her father was still asleep at the table, as where she had seen him last; she walked up to the door and opened it, the stationed guards noting her appearance.
"Ah- Lady Kori- are you going somewhere?" one of the guards asked of her, to which she nodded toward Sneers who was awkwardly standing by the well; the guard nodded in understanding, "That explains why he was lurking around here- have a good morning." he confirmed her, Kori nodding at the two guards before walking over to Sneers, who stood up seeming tired after having to wake up and walk around at such an early hour.
"Sorry for asking you to get up so early- I just wanted to make sure we could talk without my father's paranoia lurking over my shoulder." she explained to him, who shrugged with a smile.
"Ah it's not a problem- I prefer this than working." he noted to her, making her chuckle before stepping closer and kissing him on the cheek, making him blush.
He stammered after she moved her face away, "I-I'm still not u-used to this in public." making her grin at him.
"It makes me happy to show how much I care to the world." she explained before grabbing his hand and pulling him along as she begun to walk along the street.
The two walked along the winding streets of the neighbourhood, making their way to the closest market area that had open shops at such an early hour; she pointed out a small noodle bar that had it's doors open, indicating to Sneers it to be a good place to eat. As they walked into the restaurant, Sneers smiled nearly gleefully at the fine aromas that he caught as he entered.
"That's a good smell- we haven't been here before?" he asked her, Kori shaking her head.
"I went here last week after my classes- I thought it was good so that's why we're here... Also it's one of the only places open this early." she explained herself, her boyfriend chuckling at her observation.
"Well it seems like we're in luck." he grinned before stepping forward to the counter, where the clerk noted their early appearance."We've just opened, but you two are in luck, we're just made our first batch for the day." the clerk smiled to them, handing them a pamphlet that noted the kind of noodles that they had, the two of them scanning the document with interest.
Sneers decided quickly raising a few copper pieces and placing them on the counter, "Fried duck and egg noodles please." he asked, Kori making the same motion a few moments later.
"I'll have the spicy komodo chicken noodles please." she asked the clerk, who nodded at both their orders.
"We'll have your noodles ready in just a few minutes- please feel free to relax at the tables we have just here." he confirmed their orders, pointing out the small two seat tables they had lined along the side of the small restaurant.
"Thank you very much." she smiled to the clerk before grabbing Sneers and walking to sit at one of the tables, the choice being quite open as the only customers at the store at that time.
Sitting down at a table, the two partners sat across from each other, eyes locked at each other, both considering what to say; Sneers decided to go first, coughing before he begun speaking.
"So- can you tell me what happened with your father?" he asked, knowing that the night prior she hadn't exactly worded what happened- just having told Sneers to go home once they got back to her place, after hearing that her father had been attacked or something of the likes.
"He was attacked by an elite group of archers, supposedly under the employ of the Princess- she was directly threatening him, at least that's what he told me- perhaps we can ask her majesty herself?" she explained herself, Sneers opening his eyes in consideration of what had happened the night before.
"I'd prefer not- she's just plain scary." he admitted, making her look back at him sympathetically.
"She isn't the nicest person in the Fire Nation- but trust when I say she'll get the job done." she commented, noting the reputation that went before the Crown Princess was fitting of the ordeal her father had just experienced- her threats were not to be taken lightly.
"What do you think she'll do now?" he wondered out loud, his girlfriend chuckling in suggestion.
"I don't think I want to know that this point- she wants my help, that's obvious enough." she noted her feelings on the situation.
Sneers raised a brow and held a hand out for her, "You don't have to do whatever she wants, you know that right?" he assured her, making her wince.
"No- I can't- you don't understand what these people are like- this is a woman who won't let anything get in her way to the top- I respect her for that, but I'm not going let my family or city be jeopardised just because I don't agree with her methods." she explained herself, her boyfriend sighing in a sense of defeat- the former Freedom Fighter still had some fight in him, but he didn't want to argue with her over something as complicated as the fate of the Fire Nation.
"In any case, I hope these noodles are as good as you were saying they were- I'm hungry." he changed the topic, licking his lips in hope of a good breakfast; she looked over to the counter and made out the sound of their food being prepared, unable to see the cook behind a paper screen.
A few moments later, the clerk came out from the side with two bowls of noodles, walking up to their table and placing their food in front of them, "Please enjoy." he simply told them before turning around to return to the counter.
Turning to their meals, the couple begun to eat their noodles, using the complementary chop sticks to eat their meals; as quickly as they had waited for their meals they went from bowl to stomach- Sneers was especially appreciative of the meal he had enjoyed and smiled gleefully in contentment once he had wiped his bowl clean.
"That was delicious- why haven't we been here before?" he asked her, who shrugged her shoulders at him with a careless smile.
"I found this place last week- trust me if I'd been here sooner we would have tried it then." she assured him, who felt at a loss for how he could have missed such a good restaurant.
"Aw well- I guess we can come here again some time, it was pretty good." he admitted, smirking slightly he assured her, "I rate this one quite well- after all I am a well-rounded customer to this cities eateries." he joked in an attempt of mocking of a nobleman's voice, causing her to nearly choke on her food in laughter.
"S-stop it Sneers." she hushed him as she tried to finish her food without laughing.
She finished her meal at last, standing up in unison with her boyfriend, who patted his belly in appreciation of their breakfast, "It was good- really- do you want me to walk you home?" he asked her, who smiled warmly at his offer, grabbing his arm and walking toward the door, glancing back a him.
"Of course." she told him, continuing to walk as they made their way back onto the street, noting the lighter hue in the sky and the appearance of people on the street; she tugged him along as she turned back toward the direction of her house, "Let's go."
The couple walked back down the path they came, holding each others hands together as they continued to discuss the matters at hand.
"So- what is it like having the Fire Lord as your guest?" Sneers asked her, his tone not disguising his distaste toward the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation as a whole.
"Unsettling really- he is much kinder than I would have expected for someone who supposedly killed his own father." she noted, to which he nodded after being reminded of that fact.
"I can't imagine how any one could kill their own parent." he wondered aloud, Kori looking at him with concern- she knew too well that his parents were a topic that brought him great pain, something he had cited as a reason he had done bad things with Jet and the other Freedom Fighters- things he didn't regret.
"Maybe he was horrible- school tells you to love your nation and worship your Fire Lord- I have a feeling they mightn't have been reflecting the real man himself." she offered a counter-argument as to appease his bad thoughts- she wanted to give him a justification- as much as he disdained the office of Fire Lord, he couldn't imagine a child doing something so horrible to their own father.
"Maybe- I just hope he learns a lesson from his actions..." he commented, turning to her with a solemn gaze, "He can't take that back."
"That's what I'm worried about Sneers," she replied, returning a distraught face, considering the possibilities that lay ahead, "that someone's going to do something they can't take back, and it will change the fate of the world."
"That's a little over-the-top, don't you think?" he asked her in consideration of her fears.
"Not really- it mightn't have mattered to you who was Fire Lord when you lost your village, but it is certainly going to matter now." she bluntly told him, who felt somewhat uncomfortable by her rather serious tone.
"I don't mean to push it, but we've got to do something, somehow- the right one has to win." she affirmed to him, Sneers looking in confusion as he replied.
"How do we know which one?"
The Crown Princess of the Fire Nation was feeling confident as the she rose from her slumber with the rising of the sun- her reputation had thankfully preceded her, and she knew with time Mayor Morishita and whatever other lackeys resided within Yu Dao would bend to her will- they knew all too well now the consequences ignoring it. Sitting in her tent by her lonesome, Azula gazed at the intelligence that had been gathered by the night-watch Yuyan Archers- the number of guards on the city walls had exploded; she smirked in confidence at knowing Zuko had got the message, and his show of force gave her hope that he was scared- if she able to get her forces in control of the city itself, he might just run with his tail between his legs, leaving her with a great victory of morale- despite her desire to fight her brother, she knew that such a victory would be more strategically useful in breaking the opposition forces desire to support her brother, allowing her to seize power later on with little opposition in the homeland. Turning back to the matter at hand, she considered her options- she knew for certain that she couldn't risk trying to directly enter the city again- the night prior the Yuyan Archers had gained access by abseiling the walls, but that was an infeasible option now that the walls were under heavy scrutiny by forces loyal to her brother. She was relying off her new alliance with Kori Morishita to provide her men with access into the city if need be, and also give herself personal leverage over the Mayor, which she knew to be an option if he dare try to support Zuko in the case of a confrontation; Azula had learned well that not every weapon required itself to be physically damaging, but could just as easily be damaging to the emotions and will of an individual.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a knocking on the canvas folds she could distinguish to be Sokka's attempt to 'knock on the door'; she raised her head to glance at the entrance and simply acknowledged him, "Come on- what do you want?" she questioned him, the Water Tribesman stepping into the tent with a look of interest.
"To formulate your master-plan of world domination obviously." he sarcastically remarked before looking at her more seriously, "You might need help figuring out what you need to do next." he offered her his assistance, to which she nodded with slight distaste of requiring it and indicating him to come closer.
"We need to get over those damned walls- according to this report they're covered with sentries who will notice our every move- how can we get into the city without being caught or vetted?" she asked him, who shrugged his shoulders.
"You could try and bribe the guards." he suggested with a chuckle, "It worked for you with water- who says it won't work with guards and whatever they need?" he wondered aloud, the Princess almost face-palming at his rather stupendous proposal.
"I say that I trust in the integrity of my Nation's military forces, because if they could just as easily be bribed I doubt we would have conquered the Earth Kingdom in the first place." she berated him for his comments before sighing in frustration, "There must be a better way than just killing the sentries and crossing the walls." she wondered, Sokka raising a brow.
"Azula- advocating for a path that doesn't involve killing people- you've really grown up, haven't you?" he mocked her with a grin, who rolled her eyes in frustration.
"I don't want to kill them because it would go up the chain of command quicker than an arrow could fly- Zuko would be onto me within minutes." she explained the situation, making him scratch his chin.
"What we need is a distraction- but a distraction that doesn't get your men in crossfire... I think I've got an idea." he thought out loud, earning a glance of interest from her.
"Exactly what would that be?" she questioned him, who pulled out a small tied bag from his belt, no bigger than his palm.
"I've been working on these for the past two days or so- ever since the attack by that White Lotus group, I've been experimenting with their gunpowder." he explained to the Princess, who examined the bag, grabbing it and feeling it's relatively light weight.
"How massive a blast could this make by itself?" she questioned him.
He glanced at the bag, and squinted in thought considering the work he had done with the other explosive powder he gathered, "I mean it's not a lot of the powder here, but I would say it could imitate a large firebending attack- this powder is far more effective that what I was able to gather in the Ba Sing Se armoury." he explained, Azula nodding with a smirk.
"How many?" she simply asked.
"Enough to probably blow up this camp and then some." he noted somewhat morbidly, the Princess looking at him with slight disdain.
"I'd prefer if you didn't- these weapons could be the key- they provide the distraction that we need to get into the city, the only question is how do we do it?" she questioned him, Sokka shrugging.
"I haven't exactly looked over the area we're going to be going to- perhaps we should check out the walls?" he asked of her, who nodded with confidence.
"Yes- I'll alert the Captain and then we can be on our way- in our disguises of course." she noted, the Water Tribesman nodding and pacing out of the tent to change his clothes from his haphazard mix of Fire Nation and Water Tribe clothes to his disguised clothing which only looked marginally worse, if only for the age of the clothes that he had taken from Yano.
With Sokka gone from the room, Azula turned to her personal chest, opening it to find the casual clothing she had been using as a disguise- she exchanged her well-fitting and tailored blood red garments for the pale pinkish and loose clothing- the attire was an adaption of the Fire Nation's tropically acclimatised style to the colder climate of that part of the Earth Kingdom; taking ornate curled boots off, she changed them for the simple short leather boots that were admittedly better worn for walking, and pulled her topknot bun hairstyle out, leaving her fringe out longer and looser, tying the rest of her hair into a half-bun- the fringe covered her face and ensured that if they got into Yu Dao that no would could immediately recognise her unless it was Zuko himself. Now dressed in her commoner's disguise, she walked out of her tent to note the lively attitude of her firebender guards, who like her were up and ready with the sun above the horizon; she walked up to the Captain, who was eating his breakfast, immediately standing and bowing in courtesy to the Princess.
"Your highness- I see that you are dressed for another occasional visit to Yu Dao- will you require any support?" he asked of her, shaking her head in response.
"Sokka and I will be scouting the walls for any weaknesses- if we can use his explosives to distract them, perhaps we will find a way into the city without getting spotted- otherwise you'll probably find us running back here with an army on our tail." she explained to him, who raised a brow in near confusion.
"Are you sure that's the best idea- we could just wait for the heat to die down and take our chances later." he offered to her, who shook her head in dismissal.
"Despite my disdain for needlessly dangerous situations like the one I'm about to find myself in, I need to get into that city and for one make use of my allies there- it's not everyday that you have the opportunity to use a potential enemies child against him." she explained, the Princess nodding.
"I will hold the camp in your stead until your return- it is my duty your highness." he confirmed the Princess with a kneel.
She nodded curtly at his deference, "That is what I require of you- that is all, you are dismissed." she concluded, the Captain nodding and sitting himself back down in his tent to finish his breakfast.
She continued walking through the camp to Sokka's tent, located almost defensively beside the rock-face of a limestone precipice- she knew he was acting somewhat paranoid, dare she say cowardly after his dealing with the explosive attack on their campsite, but she knew that his feelings were at least founded in experience rather than some useless phobia. Stepping up to his tent, she found he was just preparing his bombs, slinging them onto a string belt he slung around his waist, looping it under his leather boomerang sling, which hung under a cloak that hid his most dangerous weapon from plain sight; the Water Tribesman smiled at the sight of Azula and stepped to his feet.
"Let's go." she simply commanded, to which he compliantly followed her down from their campsite through the winding paths that led toward the valley in which Yu Dao was located.
"So- do you have any idea what we're going to do once we get into Yu Dao?" he asked her, both trying to make conversation as they trudged their way down the haphazard path, as well as feeling that he ought to know what they were actually doing trying to get back in there.
"I want to meet Kori- I believe that she can provide us with the opportunity to ensure her father falls into line and can help us take down Zuko." she explained, Sokka nodding with interest.
"So what, you want to arrest your brother now?" he wondered, the Princess scoffing at such a suggestion.
"My brother would never accept surrender- he would fight off any men that tried that on him, and from the sounds of it, beat them too." she noted from her hearsay that had given her somewhat of a more nuanced opinion of her brother's actual combat abilities.
"Then why the Mayor?" he asked her, who smirked back at him deviously.
"If Zuko believes that a mayor, a supposed representative of the common people, turns against him and his agenda for the Fire Nation, it will break his drive- I don't just want my brother defeated, I want him to know that he is wrong." she orchestrated, his face turning to one of shock.
"Please don't tell me you're going to run in there and fight him." he practically pleaded, making her chuckle at his attitude.
"Pfft- always weak willed, aren't you savage- it's not like I'm going to it right now, not that I plan to- I need an officiated Agni Kai to assert my rule." she explained, Sokka sighing in relief, earning a scowl from her, "I need to win, remember?"
"Yeah yeah, I just prefer to avoid the whole life-and-death duel of fire thing." he openly admitted, making her scoff at him.
"It's not you're the one doing the fighting- it's me, and I'm no fool." she chided him for his rather stupid point of view, in her opinion- he knew she could handle herself, so she felt confused at why he was getting so antsy about her inevitable duel.
"I know- but I want to make sure you stay safe." he told her with a rather quieter tone, the Princess looking at him with frustration.
"Staying safe never made anyone a winner- unless you count the Air Nomads- no oh wait, they're dead." she berated him with a rather morbid example of his attitude in practice.
Walking down along, she continued walking in front of her companion, making her way toward a rocky outcrop that she knew overlooked part of the city- easily giving them a view of Yu Dao; Sokka noted the distinct lining of guards along the cities thick stone walls- it was as if the cities walls were as well manned as the impressive defences of Pohuai- meaning that there was quite a few men just on the walls, saying nothing of the forces inside.
"Now that is a lot of guards," he admitted, looking to Azula with a sense of doubt, "can we even make a big enough distraction that we could get over those walls?" he asked the Princess, who smirked at him with confidence.
"I don't know, can you?" she prodded his ego, the Water Tribesman sighing in frustration.
"Well I can, but what do I blow up?" he questioned her, who shrugged her shoulders.
"The city is large and it's defences are expansive- what do they care about more than manning their walls?" she wondered aloud, Sokka unsure of the rhetoric nature of her question.
"Zuko?" he considered, furrowing his brow in thought, "Zuko's probably in the middle of the city though- so how do we threaten him?" he asked her, who smirked with cunning.
"Though threatening my brother would be an effective way to distract the defenders, I believe that our distraction need not be as large as you might think." she explained to him, who looked at her as to imply she should finish explaining herself, "We can send a few of your bombs into the city by the gate, where the guards will obviously be checking every single person entering- if we distract them, we can walk through unchecked and they will be none the wiser." she smirked, the Water Tribesman raising a single brow at her plan.
"And what if we don't distract them?" he asked her, who shrugged her shoulders.
"Then we fight our way to Zuko and I'll take the throne right from him." she simply explained herself, her tone not correlating with the implication of her statement, much to his disgust.
The Water Tribesman soon dismissed her rather extreme comments, and turned around to begin walking away from the rocky outcrop, glancing her way for a moment, "Are you coming?" he asked her, the Princess nodding with a slight offence that he was indirectly ordering her, racing to walk ahead of him to passively assert her authority as 'leader'.
The two walked down the steep slopes back onto the path, leading them to the flat landscape surrounding the city proper; Sokka glanced to check the number of postings at the gates- the number of people trying to shuffle in made it challenging for him to make out the explicit number, but he had a general idea- at least four of them stationed at the gates, all of which would have to fall to her ploy for them to get into the city without starting a rather unnecessary fight. Walking up toward the rather crowded gate, blocked up by the increased customs that had been hastily introduced with her brother's scramble to increase security; Azula glanced at him and noted his prepared belt full of small bombs.
"I can handle talking- you do the dirty work- got it?" she asked of him, who rolled his eyes at her tone.
"Of course, Zai." he emphasised her fake name, reminding her that they were meant to be acting as if they were innocent colonials; for all intents and purposes he could probably get away with acting like one, but her face was probably plastered over the city by the time they arrived, making it a challenge for them to simply stride through without someone catching onto the resemblance.
He sidestepped some of the people crowded around the gate, disappearing into the crowd momentarily- she understood he would need to scan the situation before he tried to throw live explosives under the feet of guards; standing by her lonesome, Azula realised that she felt somewhat uncomfortable practically rubbing shoulders with those that she thought less of- colonial peasants, the dredges of Fire Nation society.
One peasant woman that was standing beside her glanced at the disguised Princess, giving her a courteous smile, "Good morning- how do you do?" she asked her, making the Princess cough before stammering in response.
"Uh- I'm-uh-ah- fine- I'm fine." she asserted to the woman, who looked at her weirdly- she was not a master of social cues, but she took that as she was probably acting out of the ordinary for a peasant, which made her suspicious, "How about you?" she asked, trying to keep up the courtesies.
The woman smiled warmly back at her, "I am having a spirit-blessed morning- I just hope this line doesn't ruin it." she chuckled, making her laugh in response, unsure if her statement was actually funny or not, but trying to keep up her image.
"Yes- it would be a shame if we couldn't even get in." she commented, reflecting her current thoughts to speech, although she thought her words probably didn't seem out of the ordinary- but in foresight they were a warning in disguise.
"Sure would." the woman affirmed her; Sokka intervened in the conversation, appearing out from the line to rejoin her.
"Ah honey- the line isn't that long- we'll be through in no time." he told her, the woman noting his appearance.
"This is your husband?" she asked him, the both of them nodding as to keep with the identities they had formulated; the woman smiled in appreciation, "Young love- I miss those days." she commented in nostalgia, the Water Tribesman giving the woman a smile of hope.
"There are always better days to come." he assured the woman, earning himself a warm smile from her, and a rather disinterested face from Azula.
The line shuffled forward and the two continued along with the woman by their side; after a few minutes of small talk with their new acquaintance, they found themselves within sight of the inside of the city, giving the Water Tribesman his opportunity to strike. As some people were being checked in front of them, he rolled out two small bombs, which as he held their fuses were quickly lit by her discrete use of firebending; moments later the devices were out in the middle of the street, still unnoticed by the guards to their luck. The explosions were near deafening- streaming dust into the air and causing hysteria amongst the commoners and fear within the ranks of guards present.
"What in the name of Agni was that?" one of the guards screamed, those present racing into the dust to see what had just occurred.
Seeing their chance, they raced through the opening and ran down the along side of the wall away from the explosions, the Water Tribesman waving courteously to the woman they had been talking with, who was as distracted as the next person by the massive dust cloud that had appeared due to his bombs. Racing away through an alleyway, the two stopped behind some crates to catch their breathes, both giving each other glances- the Princess felt slightly uncomfortable by his gaze, but at the same time she felt calm in his presence- not calm enough to ignore the chaos that they had just caused in the name of simply getting into a city, never mind subjugating it.
"That was a good plan." Sokka complimented her after breaking his disparate breathing, "The dust hurts my throat though."
"A painful distraction is still a distraction." she told him with a disappointed glare, berating him for not just taking the pain.
"So- what do we do now?" he asked of her, who glanced down the alleyway before turning to face him once more.
"We find Kori- where ever she happens to be." she noted, the Water Tribesman scratching his chin in thought.
"She is the Mayor's daughter right? She might be at their house." he considered, Azula stepping away from the crates before indicating for him to get on moving.
"Let's craft ourselves a conspiracy."
Standing by the door of the Mayor's residence, Mai felt somewhat annoyed by her current situation- Zuko had decided to delegate her to being toured around the city by the Mayor's daughter, who was close in age to her- he had mentioned something along the lines of getting her out of the house to see the city, something which she had taken as a complete farce; she knew that he was stressed in having to deal with the military processes that came with him being both Fire Lord and the de facto direct commander of all Fire Nation forces in Yu Dao, giving him more duties that he was expecting to handle when initially going to the city to simply assert his rule over the colony, not find himself in teetering on the edge of a direct confrontation with his sister. Mai accepted that the fight he would have to make with Azula was inevitable by the fact of her being present- it was a problem he would have to deal with as long as she presented her claim to the throne, and this made her all the more frustrated being delegated to trivial things while he was dealing with the issue that might define his reign as Fire Lord.
The door opened before her, the guards stationed noting as the Mayor's daughter came out to greet her, "Hi- I'm Kori, you must be Lady Mai." she introduced herself, to which she nodded stoically with a sigh.
"Yes- that's me- you're giving me 'a tour'?" she asked her rhetorically, who nodded with a little less enthusiasm.
"I know this city like the back of my hand- I can show you all the interesting stuff." she piped herself up, stepping forward to stand besideheri, leading a hand to point along,
"We should get going- it's a big place." she explained to her, the stoic girl getting the hint and beginning to walk, the two of them walking away from the Mayor's house at pace; heading through the maze-like streets of Yu Dao, Kori decided to make conversation with her, who was so quiet and stoic she seemed to be either completely disinterested, frustrated beyond belief- or perhaps both, "So- how are you liking Yu Dao?" she asked her, Mai glancing at her momentarily before looking forward as they continued to walk.
"It is like any other city in the Fire Nation- polluted with too many people." she told her nonchalantly.
She scoffed at the girls rather obscene comment, "W-what? It's a great place, bustling with industry and prosperity." she claimed to her, who rolled her eyes.
"You clearly haven't seen the world outside here." she simply responded, continuing to walk, leaving her companion astounded by her denigrating comments.
"I- uh- I've seen places- bland and impoverished ones- they make me appreciate what we have here." she tried to back herself up, the stoic girl turning to her with disinterested eyes.
"Peasants have it tough- that's why they come to places like this." she commented, making Kori look in interest that she had made a comment that wasn't completely disregarding the great wonders of Yu Dao.
"Y-yes- that's right, we have people from all walks of life, that's what makes us more productive!" she proclaimed, Mai raising a finger to her chin before responding.
"My father was telling me that engineers have invented new machines that can make factories far more productive, and with many less workers- wouldn't that make your great city a little redundant?" she rhetorically questioned her, who felt offended by the thought that her city might be anything less than the peak of progress in the Fire Nation.
"I doubt that's the case- generations of men and women have worked in Yu Dao's workshops and factories, and I know that they can work better than any machine." she scoffed at her claims.
"They can do more than a machine, but faster? No." she rebutted, Kori rolling her eyes in frustration.
"What exactly is the point of your argument?" she asked her, who simply shrugged in response.
"Everything you know can just be taken from you." she advised with nonchalance before turning her face away as they made their way into the market district of the city, now bustling with early morning trade.
"I- uh- that's a weird proverb." she mumbled, with her companion ignoring her to glance around at the market stalls- she took a few moments before realising she didn't want to buy anything, and turned back to Kori.
"Is there anything actually interesting in this city?" she asked her, making her sigh in frustration- she wasn't being conducive to what she had been told to do, and it was getting on her nerves.
"We can go look at some of the gardens- I know where all of them are." she suggested, Mai nodding and tilting her head.
"Well then, show me." she simply asked, her companion stepping forward to lead the way; the two continued through the crowds in the market, making their walk slow to a crawl.
She looked back to Mai with a sense of regret, "This probably wasn't the best way through..." she noted- Kori was quick to remember her first comment about there being far to many people in her city, and now she realised that her words had substance.
Mai found herself shuffling around a number of shoppers and passersby, forcing her to turn and twist awkwardly in an attempt to avoid touching others; following her, she finally escaped from the mass of the people, resting for a moment by an alleyway; Kori looked up and noted her aversion to the crowd and tilted into the alleyway.
"Should we try and take a short cut- I know a good place to sit that you could sit around in for hours." she offered, Mai nodding curtly in agreement without another word; turning her head back to the crowd, she saw through the glare of the morning sun that a person was standing directly opposite them in another alleyway- staring right at them- she couldn't discern anything notable about the man looking at her, other than his drab and dirty attire- she hoped that she wouldn't have to beat up a street mugger that was stalking them- as soon as they locked eyes, the man stepped into the crowd and disappeared from sight.
"Huh-" she mumbled, her companion looking back at her with confusion.
"What is it?" she asked, to which she dismissing her curiosity by stepping into the alleyway.
"Nothing- let's go." she told her, the girl nodding awkwardly before taking the lead down the alleyway.
Walking down the alleyway, she led them to a corner in the path, turning left to lead them back toward another road; Mai turned her head slightly to glance behind her- by the time they had reached the end of the alley, she could clearly make out the man standing at the corner of the alleyway- he was definitely stalking them- and she was going to find out why. Pulling four knives, two from each of her sleeves, to her hands, she quickly turned around, stepping as to throw her weapons at an opportune angle- the man noticed her attack and somersault rolled into view, a mistake on his behalf, as she quickly drew out her stilettos and fired them at the man, who was forced to to ground as a number of them pierced his clothing and shot off his hat, revealing his face; beside her, Kori looked on in shock, and upon seeing the man's face, she grabbed Mai's arm, shaking it as she exclaimed fearfully.
"No stop- I know him!" she pleaded to her, who looked at her suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" she questioned her, holding out her sai in her other hand.
The man raised himself to his feet, holding his shoulder that had been grazed by the stiletto, "I've been looking for you Kori- who's this?" he asked her, to which Mai looked on in further confusion, pointing accusingly at him.
"Who are you- you better speak before I decide to pin you up and beat it out of you." she threatened him- before she could step forward, a familiar laugh echoed behind her.
"Oh- it seems that I guessed right, you're here too." Azula chuckled, making her turn to her and narrow her eyes, glancing at her friend for the first time in years.
"Azula- I was thinking I was going to meet you again in a stupid situation like this." she sighed, dropping her weapon, making Kori look at the two of them in confusion.
"Wait- you two know each other?" she asked, the Princess chuckling at her question.
"Well you see Kori, before she was my brother's girlfriend, she was my childhood friend." she explained, turning to her companion who stood injured in the distance, "Oh yes-
Mai, this is Sokka, you might have heard of him." she explained, Mai looking at the Water Tribesman with interest.
"This is the foreigner that everyone's been talking about... he seems less impressive than I would have guessed." his reaction turning from surprise to offence as she explained her thoughts.
Azula laughed at her comments, "He's usually a little more threatening with weapons and armour, although he'd rather argue he could fight you with none of that." she explained his probable opinion, making him pipe himself up.
"Yeah I could go right now if you wanted- I'm ready to fight." he proclaimed confidently, to which the Princess rolled her eyes before she addressed her friend again.
"I believe we are in order of a little catch up, you and I." she told her, who sighed in knowing what they were going to discuss.
"Yes- I think we are." she noted, the Princess turning to address both Sokka and Kori.
"You two can't just stand around- we'd like a little privacy." she asked of them, the two of them feeling frustrated by being locked out of the conversation but both walked out onto the street to leave the others in the alleyway alone.
Mai raised a brow at her, remembering all the things she had gathered about her recent months before she had left home, "So how exactly did you end up in the same city as Zuko?" she questioned her, making the Princess smirking at the coincidence.
"If you're thinking I came here to kill him, that's not accurate- I came here to take over the colonies, it just happened that little Zuzu caught onto that and came to assert his authority as 'the Fire Lord'." she explained herself, mocking the legality of her brothers rule.
"So was that really you, with Mayor Morishita?" Mai intrigued herself, making her smirk again, and shrug her shoulders.
"My men did their jobs, and if it wasn't for Zuko's little appearance, I'd be marching through these streets as their rightful Fire Lord." she proclaimed to her, who looked at her stoically.
"But that's not what happened- so what's next then?" she furthered, Azula glaring back, unsure of what to exactly say to her before making a decision.
"The only honourable thing left to do- an Agni Kai- I believe this meeting gives us an incomparable opportunity to organise such a duel." she suggested, Mai looking at her with doubt.
"As much as I would like this spat between you and Zuko to come to an end, he did kill your father, the Fire Lord himself, and I don't even know how." she explained to her, suggesting that the Princess mightn't be up to the challenge of her 'weak and dishonoured brother', making her laugh at her suggestion.
"You can't be serious- I will thrash Zuko just like when we were children- he is nothing in comparison to my pure skill and strength." she proclaimed to her friend, who looked at her without offence, but with a tinge of concern.
"I am not here to argue on Zuko's behalf- you cornered me- I'm telling you Azula, this isn't about a sibling rivalry, this is about life and death." she simply explained, Azula laughing mockingly at the suggestion that she was concerned with dying.
"Oh that's where you're wrong- this has everything to do with that little rivalry- I want to prove my mother wrong, I want to prove my father right- I am the rightful heir of the Fire Nation, and you can't turn me against my destiny." she proclaimed in pure confidence, her smirk unyielding to her advice.
Mai sighed in acknowledgement of her unwillingness to compromise, "Fine- where and when do you want to meet?" she asked her, who scratched her chin.
"The garrison ought to have a sparring ground- me and my men will enter the city and I will meet for the duel there." she offered, Mai shaking her head.
"I don't think I can even get Zuko to agree to that- you'd have to come alone." she countered to the Princess, who sighed, glancing out of the alleyway toward a rather quiet Sokka and Kori.
"That's why I have Kori- she can demand it of her father, and I'm sure he would be willing to agree, knowing what might happen if he decides against it- and she has friends, those who want to protect their city from being lost to the Earth Kingdom- those people can provide protection that Zuko will be unwilling to give." she explained, Mai sighing in acknowledgement of Azula's sound plan- she noted one thing hadn't changed about her friend after all the years apart- she was far too capable of designing plans at a whim.
"Well- when will it be?" she questioned, the Princess chuckling.
"I'd like to be traditional- sundown, tonight." she confirmed, Mai raising a brow.
"Tonight? Are you sure?" she questioned, her friend's face turning to a glare. "I will not give my brother a chance to try and attack my people in the meantime- he ought to grow half a brain and try and find me." she gritted her teeth, showing that she was unwilling to compromise, lest she open herself up to potential attacks.
"Fine- is that all?" she asked her, who nodded curtly with an insidious smile.
"That's all I'll require of you- you're free to continue your little tour with Kori- be sure not to mention our acquaintance to little Zuzu- she's just doing what she thinks is right." she suggested to Mai, who glared at her, nearly scoffing at her hypocritical attitude.
"So are you- look where that's heading." she commented, Azula smugly glancing back at her.
"What? To supreme victory and my coronation as Fire Lord- doing what is right is doing me wonders." she countered.
She refused to comment further, stepping out and signalling to Kori that she return, making Sokka follow as well back to the alleyway; the Princess turned back to the two of them with a rather serious face.
"Kori- I will require some help on your behalf- tonight I have organised a meeting between my brother and I; your people would be a great asset to ensure that it doesn't cause unneeded casualties." she requested of her, the explicit description of her requirements making Sokka nod with agreement.
"Yes- I can go talk around later- don't worry, I can cover any protection from the guards, if they are stupid enough to try and fight you that is." she confirmed, earning a gracious smile from her.
"Thank you- oh and there's one other thing," she noted, glancing at Mai, who looked at her with slight distrust, "I need an earthbender to get me out of the city, seeing that I don't think we can replicate the trick we used to get in." she explained, Mai raising a brow at her explanation.
"What trick?" she questioned, the Princess's companion stepping forward and entering the conversation.
"Bombs- they're a good distraction." he explained, making her feel even more confused.
"Okay- you go do that, I'll just wait for you-" she turned to Kori, allowing her to go off and do what her friend had simply asked of her, "I have nothing better to do." she admitted, earning a chuckle from Azula.
"You haven't changed much." she noted of her natural response.
Mai looked back to her, considering to say the same thing, but she realised behind her arrogance and hubris that she wasn't the same person- the Princess wasn't one to make friends, let alone with foreigners.
"I can't say the same about you."