"We start preparing the vessels by tonight."
Sokka watched Bao blinked after what seemed to be a long time. As of late, the elder man has kept his lips sealed. Bao was one of the first to welcome Azula to the Southern Water Tribe when no one else wanted her within their premises. It took alot of meditating and communicating to finally bring Sokka on board with the arrangement between the former Fire Princess and himself.
He remembered the night Bao spoke between the two of them after their umpteenth argument. "You both have no choice but to settle this matter between yourselves. Use what little the both of you have to make this work."
"We do not have enough men to prepare for battle, Chief Hakoda," Noatak, a fellow councilman, said. He looked as hesitant as the rest of the council over the protection of his wife and the rest of the tribe. "Remember - we have already sent some to the Earth Kingdom to make a possible negotiation with King Kuei."
"This is all because of my in law's good wit," Hakoda retorted. "Tell me, Noatak. What would you all have advised if it weren't for her."
That shut the elderly man up.
Sokka watched days saunter by like a ticking time bomb. At times, it felt as though he wanted to ship Azula off somewhere far away and handle Ozai on his own. But his wife was too stubborn, more stubborn than his own sister, and had an unsettling silence about her anytime she made it clear that she would refuse.
"Sokka," the young man's head rose to meet Bao's gentle eyes. "Would you like to add something?"
"Of course," he chuckled. "But she won't listen if I suggested it."
"It may be safer for her and the child. Katara and the others can travel along with her to the neighboring villages until we're able to settle this matter." Bao lowered his tone among the long chatter in the hall. "You and I both know that we must think twice of possibly discussing matters with the Phoenix King."
Sokka paused. Cold air gushed forth, but he kept still. "I already told him. Even if she agrees, I'm not letting her go without a fight."
Bao's eyes flickered, but his lips twitched up into a smile.
"You are a brave man."
"Perfect heartbeat."
Azula sighed in relief, letting her lone arm cover her forehead as the other, touched the stomach Kanna touched. "How is he?"
The old woman grinned. "Very good...and strong, as strong as his lovely mother."
Her in law's cool but fluid movements over the living fish swimming inside her calmed her senses. She had never been so much at peace, yet so much in thought. Today was the first after the last time she would ever go on work trips with Katara to the other villages. She would be six months along soon, and according to Sokka, her belly already curved.
"I'm glad," she smiled as Katara winked. "Am I as right as I said I was?"
"Forgive Sokka and his poor judgement. All men love to have little daughters to love and worship them," Katara said. "But Sokka is going to be as excited as dad would be over this one. Gran-gran's already skipping around."
They watched the elderly woman hum happily over a pot of porridge cooking.
"Your son makes you an official member of the Southern Water Tribe," Katara added. "He would be the legitimate candidate to take over a more powerful nation, thanks to his mother."
Azula kept quiet, absorbing the other woman's words before holding her hands. "You keep thanking me for things I only did for acceptance."
Katara smiled. "You changed our tribe. We can never forget someone like you."
"Neither can I..." Azula tightened her hold over Katara's hands. "...you're the sister I never thought I needed."
"Of course I was. Someone had to check you."
Azula rolled her eyes.
The Southern Water Tribe never needed newspapers to keep tabs on the rising outrage over her refusal to return to the Fire Nation. Azula, being the kind of woman she was, sought her news through meticulous means - she had hundreds of spies, infiltrated in the Fire Nation over a period of eight months. She received daily letters from a messenger, whose sailing skills kept him from encountering any Fire vessel along the coast.
The news steadily worsened. What she feared the most, began to brew. She didn't care if the people saw her as the lowest scum. What she feared the most, were the intensity of their focus on her husband. Her husband was the Wolf who snatched the Phoenix's heir. The Fire Nation blindly accepted the lies her father spewed, that her husband took her against her will when she went on a trip to the Southern Water Tribe and refused to return her home. Her father even went as far as to tell the people that her husband violated her, kept her as a slave in his home and threatened to kill her if she tried to accept her father's request to return home.
Everyone forgot about her banishment, they forgot that it was her father who forced her to face the entire Royal Plaza to publicly disown her.
After Kanna cuddled her with furs and a warm bowl of porridge, she sat quietly by Katara and thought of the rising storm. Katara's attempted to distract her were no match for her wandering mind. Azula knew how to plot and manipulate, it was a talent she never quiet lost even though she learned what true loyalty was. And if she did not hurry soon enough, her father might act before she does.
"Looks like your bubbly bear is here."
Azula rolled her eyes. "You need to be nicer to your brother."
"He needs to be nicer to me!"
"What was that I heard oh fat and lovely little one?" Sokka announced, teasing Katara for her slight weight gain after their coldest winter yet.
"Your belly is almost as big as your wife's." Katara retorted.
"Lies."
After greeting Kanna, sending Katara a sly grin before bending low on his knees to remove his shoes, Sokka finally gave Azula a little wink to which she shook her head at. Even though their bantering eased the air, being Sokka's wife give her access to the subtleties of his mannerisms. Sokka was a jokester and he used it to cover up his worries. Azula spotted them in the dark rings under his eyes and the slouch of his shoulders. Discussing strategies of the current matter surrounding her stay in the council hall was no easy task.
Azula knew she was a target, she knew the people were worried and she could not blame them. She understood them wholeheartedly, but there were far more tribe members who were ready to die for her to stay amongst them. Children were eager to fight early, while elders praised her for her courage and intellect. Her contributions to the community were too valuable for them to ignore, and she was ready to serve the tribe as much as she needed to till her dying days.
Kanna and Katara already left when Sokka planted her kiss near her lips. "How are you?"
"Perfect, now that you're here."
He smiled. "How did the check up go?"
"Fantastic. He's as healthy as a snowbear."
Sokka's eyes flickered, then he stayed still and leaned over to finally kiss her. The cold dissipated. Their lips tangled as sighed melted the pit of her stomach. Her bowl was quickly forgotten, and his warm hands trailed over her sides under the furs. Azula had no clue why she deserved Sokka, and just how she had been lucky enough to be with him, but she would not let him go to anyone else if given that option. Their kiss ended as soon it started, and finally, he settled near her in the warm coven of their covers.
"This changes a few things," he murmured.
"Yes. It does."
"Not going to tell anyone yet. Dad will keep it under wraps."
"A boy makes things a bit more complicated."
Sokka smiled. "A boy with you makes things more complicated..and tedious. I know he will take more after you."
"Are you not disappointed?"
"No. We'll just try again."
She chuckled, melting back into her husband's warm embrace. She murmured three words, smiling when he took her lips again, waving the candlelights out.
I thought the Southern Water Tribe would be a bit dull.
Ty-Lee finished reading Ilah's letter, folding the scroll up and tossing it in the fireplace. The impending arrival of her long time friend put Ty-Lee in a state of panic. There was no question Azula would return, even if they had to drag her back covered in her own blood. Things would work just as Ozai planned, all because the new heir to the throne would be there to take Azula. No other fighter was as capable of Kiyi, and Ty-Lee hated that.
In a short period of time, the Fire vessel sailed dangerously close to the tribe. Kiyi sent word, and was clear in her messages about the environment and the people.
It would take them another week to reach Azula, and till then, Ty-Lee prayed that Azula would be spared.
"Give me a pen," she said. The maid standing near the balcony, fetched one and a tiny scroll. Ty-Lee's patience almost ran thin when the girl did not move fast enough. But she caught herself from shouting. Shouting never did good, especially when it could to resolve her terror over what would happen to the Southern Water Tribe. A horrible and selfish part of her, wished to see Azula again. She wished to take a glimpse of the powerful woman she had become, and ask her of her journeys.
"When will her majesty return back home?" Ty-Lee asked the common girl, who blinked in confusion.
"In the next two weeks, your majesty."
"How long will it take for a letter to reach her?"
The girl blinked. "By raven. A few days."
Should she do it? Ty-Lee fiddled with the pen. Should she warn Azula, as she tried several times to?
No.
Ty-Lee placed the scroll back down on her desk. She handed the pen back to the maid, who put it back in its spot on top of her dresser. She returned to combing her loose hair, staring at herself in the mirror. Ty-Lee could remember the first time her mother told her the first time she would be married. The blood leaving her face when her mother flatly said Ozai would wed her, was a moment she would never forget. She had no choice but to say no. In a world where she couldn't roam freely as she wanted to.
Azula may have been banished, but Ty-Lee sat by the sidelines, and wished she had been disposed of as Azula was.
The tabloids could demonize the Wolf however they wanted, but Ty-Lee knew deep in her heart that Azula refused to back to the Fire nation.
What Azula did for the Southern Water Tribe in the short span of two years was a dangerous spin. It was clear to Ozai and the entire Fire Nation that even though Zuko's banishment was inevitable, Azula's was the biggest mistake he ever made. And he paid dearly, with hundreds of vessels missing, soldiers murdered, and thousands of Water benders shipped off to the Earth Kingdom and guarding the South, skillfully trained under the watchful eyes of the Chieftain's son - Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe.
Ty-Lee sighed. "Azula. I'm sorry."
Note - Um *sweat smiling face*, hi? #pleasedontkillme
