Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

263. Chapter 263: U Attack-Child of Two W 4

Under Attack/Child of Two Worlds

4

After weeks of seeing no faces besides Rei's or Zhao's – and she did her best to avoid the latter as best as possible, too –, Azula's gut churned with apprehension upon the arrival of a full squad of physicians. As expected, Renkai had brought them to her room to check on the Princess, but as worrisome as her physical state might be, none of them had the guts to come too close. She remained perched by the privy when they arrived, and they fidgeted awkwardly in her room as she allowed the last of the sickness pour out of her before rising to her feet. For once, there was no need to clean up the evidence hastily, frantically… her body, she knew, hadn't been in any shape for the strain and stress she'd put it through over the past month. Finally, she'd stop hiding her condition… finally, she could hope her father might restrain his punishing hand and quit tormenting her, if just for the sake of ensuring the child would be born safely.

But that would only happen after the physicians diagnosed her. She gritted her teeth, recalling her conversation with the Head Sage: he'd told her to ask for him, but she didn't dare do it just yet. The best choice would be to convince the physicians that finding the Sage was their idea, not hers. Otherwise, the deceit might be easier to pinpoint… and she certainly had no intentions of giving her father or Zhao genuine reasons to suspect the truth. They were bound to suspect it already as things stood, she knew that much…

She washed her face clumsily, carelessly, no longer cautious with her every move… perhaps even exaggerating some of them, for the sake of believability. Feigning fragility sat ill with whatever remnants of pride that still resided inside her, but it wasn't much of a pretense, all in all.

The physicians gasped and fell silent once she left the bathroom. She raised her gaze to find Rei and Renkai lingered in her room as well. As difficult as it could be to read the guard, Azula couldn't help but sense tension in his stance… whereas Rei wore her emotions on her sleeve as she ever did, gazing at Azula with desperate, fearful eyes.

"Princess…" said one of the physicians, raising a hand towards her, but he withdrew it of his own accord, quickly. "You would do best to lie down again, if you wish. We can offer you some medicine to settle your stomach…"

"Hmm," Azula grunted curtly, stepping past him as she made for her bed.

She walked awkwardly, but she asked for no support on her way to the dais. No one offered it either, despite Rei appeared moments away from rushing to her side. Only her shyness held her back, and naturally, that resulted in guilt over her own indecisiveness. The Princess had only been kind and good, and she couldn't even offer her a hand to help her back into bed?

Rei shrank in her frame as the physicians continued discussing the best treatment going forward. Most of them, Azula noticed, had simply settled for debating the best way to treat vomiting without voicing any intent to identify the root of the issue. She frowned, wondering if that was how they'd acted when she'd been infected with the spear's corruption too. Perhaps it would have made sense, when it came to the spear, as they had needed to think quickly to save her life while facing a rather unusual ailment… but did it make sense now? Were people always this slow to diagnose pregnancy?

Or was it, simply, that they didn't dare diagnose anything yet because they were waiting for Fei Rou to arrive?

Azula's brow furrowed at the thought of letting that man inside her room again. Her stomach clenched with the urge to throw up again… heh, maybe if he did show up, she'd make the most of her stomach's instability and puke all over him. It would be a childish, pitiful revenge to take on someone whose willingness to follow the Fire Lord's orders had landed her in this nightmare now, but she'd seize it if she had the chance.

"The safest bet is ginger, it always has been," one of the physicians stated, exasperated. "If you intend to resort to shifting her chi through pressure points when she hasn't yet healed fully from her past condition…"

"And you know for sure that she hasn't healed yet? Perhaps she's already overcome the corruption. Either way, smoothing the chi flow is the best method to heal a person, everyone knows that."

"Ginger can do that too! Curses, I bet Fei Rou will agree with me…"

"Then you'll both be wrong, simple as that!"

Azula scowled, glaring at the arguing men pointedly. They didn't notice her as she crossed her arms over her chest and slipped into place under the covers. Her unsettled stomach always seemed to somersault and churn after she threw up, especially if she laid down too quickly afterwards, but she had taught herself to endure the sensations throughout the past month. She'd stayed locked in her bathroom several times to avoid letting either Zhao or Rei notice her illness, if they happened to be around when she couldn't contain it any longer… but if they appeared when she'd already finished relieving herself, she'd have to hurry into bed quickly, far more quickly than she wished to. Now, watched by all these people, she saw no problem in lying down and making the most of the pain to ensure the healers around her understood just how ill she felt.

She'd have no trouble showing how sick she was when Fei Rou appeared, though. His absence so far might have answered to his guilt and conscience, but it seemed he would come by, after all… he would intend to inspect body her again, wouldn't he? The mere thought seemed to bring the full force of her inner fire back to life in sheer outrage. She'd sooner endure her condition without treatment for however long she had left to live over allowing that bastard to touch her again…

Some of the physicians warned the arguing ones to quiet down, daunted by the furious expression on the Princess's face. The men did lower their voices, but they continued to discuss fruitlessly until the awaited new arrival strode through the bedroom's open door.

Azula's furious glare fell upon the head physician now, an immediate, instinctive reaction… and a warning sign, too: he wouldn't touch her. Whatever he intended to do, he wouldn't touch her.

Fei Rou swallowed hard as the group of physicians finally quieted down, turning towards him for guidance. He strode through them, aiming to set down the tray of whatever treatments he'd brought on one of Azula's nightstands. She didn't tear her glare off him until he reached the nightstand: she had nothing to fear, not right now. Her hand slid into her robe's pocket, clasping the bone necklace hard. However unworthy she felt of this keepsake, she still found some relief in holding onto it… and she found far more relief in doing so today than she had in ages. She had suspected that she'd receive her treatment in her room… so that meant she had to keep it with her and ensure that the physicians, and anyone else who crossed that door, wouldn't find it.

Her displeasure with the head physician couldn't have been more evident. The man, usually so terse and dry, now trembled as he set down the tray. The arguments had ceased, and Rei was no longer the only person to watch the situation in anxious silence.

"You… threw up," Fei Rou said, and Azula bit back the urge to snap at him for stating the obvious. "Is it the first time this has happened to you lately?"

She should have answered him, she knew. He was, after all, the physician. The more she spoke, the more she said, the more easily she'd guide the bastard to the right conclusion…

But her outrage still burned too powerfully, so she said nothing.

Fei Rou gritted his teeth and lowered his head. He worked quietly on a concoction by the bed, mixing ingredients into a small cup: Azula shot it a wary glance, relieved to see it was brown rather than green. So not the same thing Mai had prepared for her… and still, she felt utterly uninclined to drink it.

When Azula made no move to accept the medicine he offered, Fei Rou sighed and dropped his head in defeat. He set the cup down on the tray again, hands on his hips.

"I understand why you… why you don't wish for my aid," Fei Rou said. "But I had to drink this that night too, you see? Because I… I threw up, too. I had never felt so ill in my life. Perhaps this won't suffice to appease your need to vomit, but it may serve to settle your stomach so you can have something to eat. Please…"

"You're pleading with me now, are you?" Azula snapped, unable to hold back her urge to respond viciously this time. "Ironic."

"I'm pleading for you to let me help you," Fei Rou said, gritting his teeth before turning to the rest of the physicians, who watched intently, as though witnessing an engrossing theater play. "Curses, I know all of you wanted to help, but I think it's for the best if I speak with the Princess alone. Can you all just…?"

"No. They stay," Azula snapped, and the physicians froze in place. "So do those two. If they make you uncomfortable, so be it."

Rei and Renkai appeared just as puzzled by the Princess's order as the other physicians were. Immediately, Rei guessed the Princess's fury meant she felt unsafe around the head physician… but she had no idea why, exactly. She tightened her grip on her servant's robes, watching Azula with unease… ever wishing she could do more than standing around, serving as a reassurance that the physician wouldn't do anything he wasn't supposed to.

Fei Rou, of course, flinched in place at Azula's command. Long gone was the cold-tempered man who could resolve almost every medical problem brought to him, even the most complicated and mysterious of them. Azula made no move to withdraw her demands, and he only glared at her reproachfully.

"If so… at least answer my questions," he finally said, through gritted teeth. "When did you first feel sick?"

"You'll have to be more specific," Azula hissed. Fei Rou groaned, shaking his head as he buried his face in his hands.

"I did not ask to be given that order. I didn't wish to…"

"Your wishes evidently had no impact on reality. Whatever mercy you hope to ask for now is out of place," Azula retorted, settling on her pillow before shooting a harsh glare at the man. "I've felt dizzy for a few days. It got worse this morning. And that thing you just mixed smells disgusting. I refuse to drink it."

Fei Rou's jaw dropped, as though he intended to rebuke her dismissal of his brew… but then he closed his mouth again, a spark of fear surging in his gaze. His hands trembled as he gritted his teeth, as he pondered how to approach the new, potentially dangerous question he would have to ask, sooner than later.

"Princess…" he said, swallowing hard. "I… I realize you won't appreciate any questions of a personal nature, but your condition may be more serious than… t-than you know. I would not ask you this particular question if I had no reason to fear that… that the source of this problem might be, well… complicated."

His words finally suggested he was headed on the right direction. If she could take some relief in something, it was that. Yet… if she showed it too quickly, if she presented herself too eager, her reaction would be suspicious. She couldn't allow that.

"You've successfully talked a lot and conveyed absolutely nothing with your words. Nicely done," Azula hissed, tightening her arms around her chest. Fei Rou huffed and glared at her.

"Well, then… I'll ask my question now, as bluntly as you wish me to: have you bled this month?"

Rei winced over the sudden question, posed in front of everyone. The other physicians seemed flustered about it, one of them even coughing after choking on his own saliva. Azula, however, remained impassive, as though she hadn't even registered the question.

"I only need to know this to rule out this possibility," Fei Rou said, softly. Rei couldn't help but notice the strange panic that seemed to overtake the physicians…

She knew the underlying meaning of that question. As little as she knew of the world, as removed from society as she had been for most her life, as much as she could barely read a few simple sentences these days, Rei understood this: Fei Rou wanted to find out whether the Princess was pregnant or not. Why, though, would all these men find the notion so horrific and appalling? The Princess's condition continued to puzzle her: was she ill, besides this sudden bout of sickness? She'd seldom left her bed during the first week of Rei's service, or at least, in her presence. It was particularly bad on the first day, when she'd wanted no brightness altogether, no food, nothing… were these people concerned that whatever illness the Princess was troubled by would spread to her potential child? Or was the problem something so much more complicated than Rei could imagine yet?

"Princess…" Fei Rou continued, gritting his teeth. Azula breathed deeply, releasing the air slowly: her furrowed brow made her intimidating, so much more intimidating than any bedridden, ill woman should be…

"On the ship. That's the last time it happened."

Her answer startled Fei Rou. It startled the other physicians too. Even Renkai flinched upon hearing it.

To Rei, of course, it meant nothing. She had been on a ship? She'd been on a trip, some time ago, maybe? Oh, it was so strange to be inserted in a life she knew nothing about, when she was but a nobody, completely out of place within this world…

The words, however, seemed to shatter the understanding of the situation of every man in the room. The Princess scowled menacingly at Fei Rou, unforgivingly… knowing that focusing on how outrageous it was for her privacy to be breached this way would only strengthen the veracity of her lie. She had no idea, truly, when her last period had happened, just as she'd told Mai and Ty Lee… certainly, it had happened before the chi corruption, likely on the week right before she served as Fire Lord, when she'd prepared for the role she had to perform briefly. Her father had intended for her to gain more experience through that task, experience she would put to good use when she became High Governor… experience that had now been rendered utterly useless. Instead of leading nations, nowadays she was questioned by her father's goon about her menstrual cycle, no less…

Well, he'd gotten his answer now. Naturally, it wasn't the answer he expected: he would have been right to assume her body's chaotic state had seen to it that her period would be delayed, for however long it had been. The fact that she had conceived a child at all, under these circumstances… it was something to treasure, she knew, for with a body as frail as hers was these days, the conception was nothing short of a miracle.

"T-then, you're saying…" Fei Rou continued, clearing his throat, eyes shifting aimlessly as he pondered the situation. "I… Princess, I insist I take no joy in asking any questions of the sort, but… surely you realize what I'm suspecting by now, don't you? I… I doubt the thought hasn't occurred to you, surely…"

"That I could be with child?" Azula snapped, startling Fei Rou with her harsh acknowledgement of the subject he had only danced around, so far. "You most certainly overestimate me, don't you?"

"I… what?"

"Just how busy do you think I have been over the past month?" Azula asked, closing her eyes, as though to soothe her own fury over the man's shortsightedness. "How many important ventures must I have been up to…? The Enforcers, the Rehabilitation Center? Do you think I can still involve myself in any of those initiatives? That I… attend the Fire Lord's council meetings? Or are you aware of the fact that I… I haven't even left this damn room since my wedding night?"

Fei Rou lingered beside her, in silence. Azula's eyes opened, an accusatory scowl falling upon the man's features.

"If I am with child… then the Fire Lord will be pleased for it. I will provide an heir, as he demanded of me. If I am not… then I simply need to try again until I succeed at the sole task I have left. The only thing I can yet do for the Fire Nation. Do I need to spell out every detail of my private life still, or have I finally made myself clear?"

Fei Rou gritted his teeth, lowering his head guiltily. However outraged the Princess might be, it couldn't be that difficult to understand why any of them struggled to believe the child could be Zhao's. She had spent weeks on the road, on the run, with the man who was known to have been her intimate partner… that she had implied to have lain with Zhao at all proved a most startling revelation, but one Fei Rou shouldn't have been so surprised by. Whatever closeness the Princess and her Gladiator once had shared, she had a duty to her father, and she had only landed herself in this situation because she had disregarded it. All of them had been forced to abide by Ozai's wishes, Fei Rou among them… yet it was clear to him that the Princess would never stop resenting him for his role in the purity examination.

"I… I understand, Princess," said Fei Rou, nodding weakly. "Your symptoms appear to resemble those of pregnancy so far, but I can't say I'm sure of it yet. There are ways to be certain, but before that… as revolting as you may find the mix I prepared, it's the best way to stop your nausea and allow you to retain and process your food properly. If you are indeed with child, you need to follow a quality diet, and letting it go to waste by not placating your stomach is ill-advised…"

Azula rolled her eyes, but she didn't rebuff the physician's words. Fei Rou sighed, shaking his head at her adverse reactions. They were no surprise, not really… but he had the uneasy feeling that even the most common of tests for the sake of checking whether or not she was with child would go rejected by the Princess, too. She didn't trust him, and, by extension, she didn't trust any of the physicians in the room either. If Fei Rou had thought that she might allow someone else to inspect her, he would gladly give away the responsibility… though he also knew that Fire Lord Ozai would not be pleased if Azula were treated by anyone other than him, his most trusted healer. Who knew having the Fire Lord's favor could be a double-edged blade…? And yet both Fei Rou and the Princess were evidence of just how dangerous such a blade could be…

"Are you willing to accept the traditional tests to ascertain you are with child?" Fei Rou asked, trying to sound as professional as possible. Azula scoffed. "You could do some of them yourself, it's only a matter of…"

He fell silent halfway through his sentence, unsure he'd have the guts to finish it. He knew of two methods through which to test pregnancy in a physical manner, and he had no doubts the Princess wouldn't appreciate either of them… let alone the one that required someone to examine whether there were changes or not in her privates. He clenched his jaw, uneasy, for if his diagnosis happened to be wrong, and this was either a manifestation of the Princess's grief, or an after-effect of the chi corruption she might not have recovered fully from…

That thought gave him pause: there was one simple, harmless, non-physical solution that wouldn't require any invasive examinations, come to think of it.

"Princess…" he said, still uneasy… yet now, hopeful, too. "I understand if even this seems too much, but I must ask… would you accept an examination by the Head Sage?"

Azula frowned, but Fei Rou appeared relieved to see a spark of curiosity, of pleasant surprise, in her eyes upon hearing his latest suggestion. He cleared his throat, hoping to persuade her easily: the Head Sage, unlike himself, had played no part in her downfall. Surely this would do… surely she would agree to this possibility, if she'd ever agree to any at all.

"He can read your chi," Fei Rou explained. "Just as he did when it was corrupted. He will be able to tell us if there's an unusual gathering of chi around your womb area, which would mean…"

"I understand how chi works, Fei Rou. Far better than I ever cared to," Azula cut him off, harshly. Fei Rou flinched as he fell silent.

Said silence spread for a long moment as the physician waited for an answer. The Princess's semblance had darkened with remorse, but she seemed to ponder this possibility properly before sinking in her mattress, defeated.

"Fine. Bring him, then. Better an energy reading than…" she said, leaving her words up in the air. She had no doubts Fei Rou would understand just what she was rejecting, anyway.

"Very well. It shall be done," said Fei Rou, bowing his head curtly towards her before turning to Renkai. "You… can you go find the Head Sage? I have no doubts you'll be the one in better shape to run to the Temple now."

Renkai didn't appear all that pleased upon being ordered around by Fei Rou, but he nodded and started his way towards the door. It surprised Azula to realize that she didn't quite want Renkai to leave: the idea of staying behind with all these physicians shouldn't have been so distressing, they had tended to her before… but she couldn't trust any of them. She couldn't trust Renkai either, no… but he had done nothing wrong lately. The idea of staying here with only Rei and no one with proper combat skills to keep an eye on Fei Rou and his cronies couldn't have been less appalling… but she couldn't call Renkai back. He had to go find the Head Sage, it was true…

But there was something else she could do to deal with her discomfort.

"Fei Rou," Azula called the man, who turned immediately towards her anew. "Wait outside."

"I… what?"

"You and your people… outside my room, until the Head Sage gets here. Now."

Fei Rou's jaw dropped. He intended to protest, for a moment… but then he huffed and shook his head, stepping down the dais and towards the rest of the physicians. He echoed Azula's orders bluntly, startling the healers… but one by one, they started to file out of the room, shooting glances at her over their shoulders while still debating her case, and perhaps also discussing other cases they had to treat in the physicians' wing once they were free to return. As far as Azula was concerned, they could go back indeed and stay well out of her way… but she knew she needed witnesses for the Head Sage's upcoming energy reading, so she couldn't dismiss them for good.

Witnesses such as Rei, who walked with her shoulders hunched towards the door, right after the healers.

"Rei?"

The girl nearly leapt out of her straw sandals when Azula called her. Her cheeks flushed as she turned to the Princess, nervously.

"Y-yes, Princess…?"

"Just… you don't have to leave. Unless you wish to."

Rei blinked a few times but smiled: no, she didn't wish to. The only place where she felt at ease, in this ridiculously large Palace, was the Princess's room.

She stepped closer to the bed slowly, her head bowed shyly as she slowed down right before climbing the dais… something she'd only do for cleaning purposes. Azula held her gaze, unsure of why she'd feel somewhat anxious about the girl's opinion now. Would Rei find her disgusting now, believing she had conceived a child with Zhao…? She wouldn't blame her, if so. Azula thought herself disgusting enough, as it was…

"R-Renkai… he brought the books," Rei said, softly. Azula raised her eyebrows, surprised by the news. "He set them down, over by the cabinets."

"Oh? I… I had thought he wouldn't bother," Azula said, letting her gaze travel towards the package in question. "Then… I suppose, once this is over, we can decide which one you should start with."

"If you want…" Rei said, her smile waning. "I-if you feel up for it, I mean. You were very sick…"

"I'll be fine," Azula said, reassuringly. "I mean… admittedly, I'm not one to get sick very often, but the past months have taken a toll on my health. I suppose it could be worrisome, but… I'm almost used to feeling sick by now."

"It is worrisome," Rei said, gazing at her compassionately. "I… I don't know what happened, how… how your chi was corrupted? W-well, that's what I heard the physician say, and I don't really know what that means… but I hope you'll heal soon. And I hope the pregnancy flu won't be too difficult to bear with, too… it sounds like it's an awful way to welcome a child into the world."

"Heh… I suppose it is," Azula said, with a weak smile. "Though… who knows if that's what this is, huh? The Head Sage will have to say, but…"

"Yes?" Rei waited for Azula to continue, identifying an unexpected hesitation in the woman.

Azula breathed deeply, her fingers working the blanket she'd covered her body with. Whatever was wrong with her, feeling so self-aware in front of this girl? She shouldn't be so foolish, she knew… but an unwanted blast of her conscience answered, on its own, why she felt as she did: in a roundabout way, Rei was family now, too. In a sense, Azula would be… her stepmother?

That was an odd thought, truly. She wasn't sure what to make of it yet.

"It's only… I wondered if you'll be alright, if I am with child," Azula asked, clenching her jaws. "I… I suppose it must be disturbing to even think about, well…"

"About… the process of making a child?" Rei asked, with a bashful smile. "I, uh… don't really find it that disturbing. It's common enough, for me…"

"Common?" Azula repeated, glancing at her with unease. Rei shrugged.

"If you feared I… I might judge you in any way, well, I certainly have no right to do such a thing," she laughed softly. "I don't think any less of you, if… if you're carrying Admiral Zhao's next child…"

"It's just…" Azula gritted her teeth, knowing she'd have to lie through them… to Rei, and to lots of people, too. "It'd be your half-sibling, wouldn't it? And… you'd be a maid while this child is royal. If you resented this…"

"Resent…? Oh, no!" Rei laughed, shaking her head promptly. "I… I've only been here for a little while, Princess. Half a month? And… and it's the best job I've ever had. I couldn't resent anyone else when I don't belong in this world in the least. Don't worry, I… I won't think of the child as my stepsibling or so. I will be professional, I promise."

"Huh…" Azula's eyes had a hint of sorrow as she gazed at the young woman: professionalism, was it? Was that why Rei wouldn't call Zhao her father? Was it by her own choice… or was it by Zhao's express demand?

"I will help you however I can… i-if you want my help in any way, that is," Rei said, smiling encouragingly. "I can clean everything, as I have so far, but if there's anything else I can do to help…"

"Don't clean just yet…" Azula said, softly. Rei blinked blankly but nodded. "Those… those physicians will return when the Head Sage arrives. You'd have to clean again after they leave, so…"

"It's better to only clean once a day?" Rei asked, with a small smile. Azula nodded. "Okay… if you wanted anything else, feel free to ask."

"Then… take a seat and start working on your ideograms?" Azula asked. Rei blinked a few times, surprised by the request. "It… it'll make things feel a bit more normal, I'd say. If you want to…"

"Oh…!" Rei smiled brightly, nodding in delight. "As you wish, Princess."

Why Rei's presence proved to be such a welcoming balm upon Azula's sorrows, the Princess didn't know. Why she even wanted her around right now, she had no idea. She should have wanted to be alone, to relish in the so-far successful execution of her plan… but instead, she found herself wanting to claw at some sense of normalcy with the young woman who pulled up a chair and sat at the Princess's desk, ready to practice the ideograms she'd learned so far. Her stepdaughter… what an odd concept to wrap her head around. Their age difference couldn't be bigger than a decade, Azula suspected… but strangely, Rei had become the first element in her new life that she hadn't found displeasing. She'd only really gotten to know her over the past two weeks, too…

Her hand slid down to her womb carefully, delicately. Rei was, in her own way, a new starting point for Azula. A new element… removed from so many thoughts that brought her remorse and guilt alike. A breath of fresh air in the midst of a volcanic eruption. And along with all those things, she was someone she would protect far better than the other servants whose lives she'd ruined through her many mistakes so far. She wasn't quite a chance for a do-over… she was a chance for Azula to prove to herself, even, that her suffering hadn't rendered her useless, and that she still could learn many lessons through a young woman she could still teach many things to, just as well.

The physicians waited resignedly outside the room, though now they spoke in hushed voices, hoping Fei Rou would offer more information about the possible sources of the Princess's condition other than the likeliest possibility – the head physician seemed mostly certain that, at a lack of any other evident symptoms, the Princess either faced a dreadful mix of stomach troubles and consequences of her chi's corruption or she was, simply, with child. Their discussion continued as Renkai raced at full speed across the Palace, leaving the building's premises as quickly as possible, filing towards the Temple's stairs.

He breathed with some difficulty once he reached the building – he had pushed himself fast enough to traverse the considerable distance between the Princess's room and the Temple's entrance in a matter of less than five minutes. He didn't stop there, naturally: he rushed inside the Temple, startling the sages again when he asked, most urgently, for the Head Sage. About five minutes later – Renkai's body had somewhat recovered from the earlier strain by then –, the Head Sage finally showed up. He appeared perplexed, even wary as he strode towards Renkai, but the guard cared little for the man's distrust when he had a vital message to deliver.

"The Princess requires an energy reading. Right away," Renkai said, sparing no time for pleasantries. The Head Sage's eyes widened.

"She…?" he started, before his brow furrowed, heavily. "Is she ill? Is it the corruption, somehow?"

"That… isn't what the head physician believes" Renkai said, gritting his teeth. "You'll understand in full once you follow me to the Palace. They'll explain everything there."

The Head Sage nodded promptly. He turned to his fellow sages, instructing them to take care of the day's rites without him, promising to return as soon as possible. After his orders were conveyed successfully, he gathered the fabric of his long, flowing tunic in a fist and stepped to the door, ensuring to mind his step as he climbed down the long staircase. Renkai followed at first, but he outpaced the Sage shortly afterwards, impressing the urgency of the situation with his anxious walking rhythm.

The unpleasant tension in the Palace hadn't changed much over the past month. The Fire Lord's thirst for vengeance appeared to have dwindled, as far as his fearful servants could tell, now that he had a new Crown Prince to rely on, someone who wouldn't betray him the way Princess Azula had… but even his latest silence and tranquility appeared too fickle, too unstable, to believe in blindly. Nobody knew what he was up to, exactly, in so many private meetings in his study with his new heir, meetings that occasionally were followed by council summons. It wasn't as though Fire Lord Ozai was ever forthright with information… but the secrecy that surrounded his latest activities, as well as the members of his closest circle, worsened the distressing fears of the servants and slaves who dreaded they'd be the next victims in their nation's leader's efforts to stave off his fury.

That lingering tension only worsened when the Head Sage was spotted in the Palace… when the servants glimpsed him rushing to the Princess's room, accompanied by a captain of the Imperial Guards. Soon enough, rumors of the man's presence started making rounds across the Palace, enough that other Imperial Guards eventually heard the news, too: one of them found a servant who had dared approach the Princess's room, and he had asked the young man to share, point-blank, whatever he had learned before the physicians reentered the Princess's room, with the Head Sage in tow.

Once he got his answer, the guard rushed down the corridor, to the Fire Lord's study.

---

"Fifty ships. Around thirty soldiers on each vessel. Thus, fifteen hundred soldiers, give or take: do you genuinely expect this won't suffice? Just what sort of monster do you think you're dealing with, Ozai?"

The Fire Lord's scowl nearly hid his eyes underneath the heavy draw of his brows. On any given day, he'd sit upright at his desk rather than slouching as he did right now, eyes glaring at the figures on the map he'd spread across his desk… a map that rolled off the mahogany, too large for the size of the table's surface. All that mattered, though, was that very specific continent of ice, the one all those ships and soldiers would be attacking soon, if they weren't doing so already… perhaps they had successfully razed everything in their wake just as commanded, just as Zhao assured him that they would.

But Ozai couldn't be appeased. He wouldn't be until he'd seen the corpse of that Gladiator with his own eyes, until he had scorched it to cinders with the inferno he could summon through his bending.

"They can't even have fifteen hundred people living in their tribe, let alone fifteen hundred soldiers to match ours," Zhao snapped, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. "If anything, I'd say you're wasting resources, at this point. If we had that many ships to spare, they should have aided me in conquering the north years ago."

"They aren't ships we can spare: they are ships intended for the very purpose of handling quick missions such as this one," Ozai snapped. "Most of them are stationed in the south already. And as much as you may complain, the fleet up north was at least twenty times as large as this and you still failed me. I offered you nothing but my full-blown support. Blame yourself alone if you couldn't find a way to make the most of your resources."

Zhao huffed, unwilling to argue with the Fire Lord anymore. Surely Ozai hadn't been this harsh with Azula while she served as his Crown Princess, though he found himself almost pitying her for enduring the role for as long as she had – for she had been, by all effects, Crown Princess from the moment her brother had been banished, even if not officially.

Still… there was no purpose to compassion, not towards her, not right now. For the Princess was the very reason why Zhao had to endure Ozai's histrionics now, in this way. It was her doing that their resources would be squandered in a flight of fancy, a petty revenge that would still fail to sate Ozai's urges for retribution. Perhaps enduring Ozai's irritating, fickle decision-making for as many years as she served as his heir had functioned as some manner of punishment in advance for Azula before she committed her most unforgivable sin.

"If this operation fails…" Ozai hissed, and Zhao scoffed.

"If it fails, it reflects quite poorly on our fleet, no doubt," he said, rolling his eyes. "But truly, Ozai: what are the odds that it would? The Gladiator cannot possibly defeat fifteen hundred men on his own. Even Piandao defeated a hundred, not fifteen hundred…!"

"He won't be alone," Ozai growled. "He has a horde of savages beside him, doesn't he? And they're in the South Pole, not in any territory we truly have a foothold on anymore. The… the wretched, clever bastard saw to it that we lost the one we had. And I was foolish enough to let him get away with it… to let him sway me with lies and pretenses about honor. I should have seen through him from that very moment… I should have slain him where he stood and spared myself the bother."

"Indeed, you should have," Zhao said, irritable.

"Oh, so now you'll pretend I was the only one swept up by his civilized savage act?" Ozai snapped, glaring at his friend. "You may have been skeptical at first, Zhao, but that skepticism faded away rather quickly, didn't it?"

"I was willing to let you challenge my perception of the man," Zhao rebuffed. "You'll fault me for that? For trying to see your side?"

"And you'll lay the blame for it all on my feet, when your bright idea of a gladiatorial combat is the whole reason why I've had to send fifty ships to clean up the mess you left in your wake?" Ozai retorted, slapping the table with a spread hand.

A rational conversation between two reasonable people might have seen them concluding that, perhaps, seeking a scapegoat for everything that had gone wrong served no purpose. That, perhaps, everyone had their share of the blame… yet Ozai seldom felt the need to act rationally as of late. All he wanted, all he needed, was the destruction of the Water Tribe warrior as soon as possible: only with his death would his chaotic world find peace once more, or so he wanted to believe.

"The blame… is on him, and him alone," Zhao finally decided, scowling at Ozai still. "If he made fools of us, then he made fools of all of us indeed. Blaming each other isn't going to help. It hasn't, for all this time."

"Then cease your pointless nagging," Ozai snapped. "I expect no room for error in this operation. Giving the scum the slightest chance to prevail, even a measly advantage, is…"

A mistake, a great, grave mistake that had already seen to the death of a man who should have been invincible. They had already assumed once that the Blue Wolf could be killed easily, like any other man… and the ruins of the Grand Royal Dome now stood as a monument to that fallacy. Committing the same mistake twice… the possibility dwelled in Ozai's mind, gnawing at him, causing him to rethink his strategies over and over again, to ponder if perhaps more soldiers would be the right solution…

Fifty ships. It had to suffice. However difficult the wretched monster might make it, it would have to suffice.

He glared at the map pointedly, as though expecting to witness in it the chaotic battle where his worst enemy would finally be slain in battle, when he heard noise outside his study. Zhao raised an eyebrow too, glancing back at the door instants before the General of the Guards pushed it open, with a younger guard beside him.

"To what do I owe this new impertinence, General?" Ozai snapped: Zhao's dismissive behavior had already displeased him enough, he certainly lacked the necessary patience to endure whatever Shaofeng might want now.

"I realize you had something important to discuss, but… this guard bears important news. Urgent, perhaps," Shaofeng said, his voice unusually anxious. "The physicians and the Head Sage have been summoned to Princess Azula's quarters."

The words took a moment to sink in on Ozai: it was no surprise that Zhao would frown and rise to his feet immediately, staring at the Imperial Guards with perplexity.

"The physicians?" he repeated. "What…? Why, exactly? She hasn't been the epitome of health since her chi was corrupted, but I've seen no signs of illness that would warrant such a reaction…"

"There's next to no information so far," Shaofeng said, turning towards the guard beside him. "Do share what you know with the Fire Lord, will you?"

"Of course, sir," said the guard, bowing curtly towards Ozai. "Servants spoke of the Head Sage's presence in the Palace. One of them dared follow him out of curiosity and found his destination was the Princess's bedroom. The physicians had been outside the room at that moment, but all of them entered the room with him when the Head Sage arrived. The servant only got there briefly after the Head Sage did… so he couldn't overhear enough to determine what was happening. This is the full extent of my knowledge."

Zhao huffed, frowning before turning to Ozai again. Surely the Fire Lord wouldn't react well to the unexpected news, but perhaps he would play the stoic, unconcerned father…

Ozai rose to his feet, eyes wider than they'd been in many weeks, shoulders so tense it seemed the slightest bit of pressure might snap them off his body.

"Azula is…?" he managed to say, shuddering violently, furiously…

He strode around his desk and rushed towards the door. The guards stepped out of the way immediately, and Zhao nearly leapt to follow him, unsettled by his friend's reaction.

"Ozai! It may be nothing serious…" Zhao said, though he found that he couldn't even convince himself of that. Nothing short of a life-endangering sickness would have seen Azula summoning the physicians, or anyone, to her room. These days she would simply lie quietly in bed, as though practicing for death, as far as he could tell…

"Oh, save it!" Ozai retorted, moving faster yet. "That fool… that fool must have been caught doing something she shouldn't have, once more! Yet again, she shames and humiliates me with her foolishness…!"

Whatever Ozai had expected, Zhao seemed utterly unaware of it. But the Fire Lord's heart raced, sending a troubling mix of panic and fury through every nerve ending of his body. He had seen that strange, death-like vacancy in his daughter's eyes… he had pushed her, forced her to do countless things she'd never wanted to. He had made her part ways with her wretched lover, abandon her role in Fire Nation society, forsake her every ambition, endure his use of her friends and her dragon as his hostages… and he had assumed she would be strong enough to withstand all of it.

But perhaps he had been wrong. Azula had proven remarkably weak as of late in many regards. Perhaps her will to live was at an end by now… she might have acted on the impulse to end it indeed, the damn fool. But… no, she couldn't have. There was no way his daughter could have attempted to take her own life, no matter how distraught she might be. She was his daughter, curses, she wasn't so weak, she wouldn't turn her back on life when she still had a duty to her nation, to her Fire Lord…!

But did she? Hadn't he stripped her from all such trappings, all such purposes? Hadn't he stolen her every reason to live and breathe, her every reason to fight and prevail against the worst of odds? Hadn't he taken everything he could from her, constantly threatening to take more if she dared step out of line?

No, no, no. If she had been quite so stupid as to take her own life, it was Azula's responsibility, not his. He hadn't done anything to push her to such extremes. He had expected better than this from her. He had demanded better than this. If she wasn't strong enough, then it was her own fault, not his…

The gold-and-red door stood before him at last: he hadn't even laid eyes upon it since demanding for repairs for it. His chest ached with how powerfully each heartbeat pounded inside it, but he stepped forward, hands unnaturally cold as he dreaded what he'd find inside the room. His mind unhelpfully supplied him with a possibility, an image, unwanted as it was: the beautiful, young woman, lying pale amidst the pillows, unmoving, drawing no more breaths. The face of the child he had once held closely, that he had comforted with vicious but effective words whenever she came crying to him… the daughter he had rejected for her mistakes, and the last true family he still had left.

He stopped right in front of the door, unable to reach for the doorknob. Zhao stepped around him, ignoring Ozai's frozen panic, and he pulled the door open violently.

The physicians who crowded the room, though at a fair distance from the dais, had been watching the Princess intently until the door was yanked open loudly. Immediately, the Head Sage withdrew his hands, and the sparks of fire dancing on his fingertips faded into nothingness as he glared accusingly at the door…

Zhao froze in place, standing awkwardly at the threshold, his eyes meeting Azula's fully for the first time since that dark night. Apprehension, displeasure, reproach… all of them colored that golden glare. She seemed instants away from snapping at him, from sending him away with the harshest words she could muster… but if she truly felt that urge, it faded immediately when sheer panic threw her off:

Ozai stepped past Zhao, bumping his shoulder lightly with his own as he entered the room.

Not for the first time, Azula wanted nothing but to fade into oblivion. To shrink and vanish from her father's line of sight… to disappear from the face of the world altogether. Anything, so long as she didn't have to confront him, speak to him, face him at all… anything so she could be spared more sorrow. Immediately, she felt vulnerable, broken, incapable of lying the way she knew she'd have to… the way she'd been sure she'd be able to. He'd find out, of course he would, and once he did, he'd force her to abort the child, make her conceive one that was actually Zhao's next, and then kill her once it had been born… no, perhaps he'd just kill her immediately now and be done with it. Perhaps that was all he'd care to do…

The reverent silence in the room only heightened as most its occupants bowed deeply towards the Fire Lord. His chest heaved as he stared at his shameful daughter… his shameful, living, breathing daughter who sported no slit wrists, no swords through her gut, no signs of having attempted to strangle herself, either. So… perhaps this wasn't an attempted suicide, despite his expectations. Despite his fears, rather…

"My lord…"

The Head Sage's voice, insolent as it seemed, reached Ozai and snapped him out of his prolonged disbelief. He blinked himself back to awareness, finding the Sage had bowed his head in a rather halfhearted reverence… but so shocked he was by the developments, by a strange relief upon learning his daughter hadn't in fact attempted to take her own life, that he couldn't even scold the Sage for his behavior.

"Rise," he said, curtly.

Behind him, Zhao shifted quickly through the cluster of people crowding the Princess's chambers: he had spotted someone within the room who, as far as he was concerned, had no reason to be here. Rei trembled as she gazed at the Fire Lord, perhaps finding him every bit as terrifying as she expected him to be… but that was of no concern for Zhao. He stepped up to his own daughter, clasping her arm and pulling her towards him.

Rei gasped silently, but she didn't protest. She glanced at Azula one more time, finding the Princess was far too distraught in her own father's presence to notice Zhao was ferrying her away… Rei swallowed hard and followed the Admiral, hoping deeply that Azula would be alright. It wasn't as though she could do anything for her, not really… but now that Zhao seemed so keen on yanking her out of the room, Rei suddenly realized just how much safer she felt in the Princess's presence.

"You shouldn't have been there," Zhao determined, harshly, as he continued to ferry her through the corridors. Rei swallowed hard, lowering her gaze. "I brought you here so you'd clean that room, not so you'd listen in on whatever's happening to any members of the Royal Family. The next time you notice anything like this is happening again, do us both a favor and leave before it gets any worse, do you understand?"

"I…" Rei started, but she couldn't finish voicing her true thoughts.

For a strange, wild moment, she had wanted to retort. To tell Zhao that the Princess had told her she didn't have to leave, not unless she truly wanted to… and as much as the Fire Lord had scared her, she hadn't wanted to. But how to speak such words when she had no strength, nothing but fear and uncertainties dwelling in her heart?

So, instead, she simply said:

"I understand."

With her head low, Rei trudged onwards, waiting patiently for the Admiral's tight hold on her arm to ease up once they reached their destination… hoping said destination would be close by, for that very same reason. Being pulled around, pushed about, being told she had made mistakes and shouldn't have acted as she had, was a life she knew far too well… and one she certainly hadn't missed, let alone had she expected to face it again by Zhao's hand, for he had been the only person she'd known and trusted in the Palace upon first moving there.

As Zhao dragged Rei away, Ozai stepped closer to the Princess's bed. Her anxiety flared up, her throat closing in the more he approached, but she remained powerless, as ever, to stop anything he dared do. The Fire Lord's feet led him to stand by the Head Sage's side, glaring at him as though demanding for an explanation.

"My lord…" said a familiar voice, pitiful as it sounded: Ozai turned his harsh glare on Fei Rou, who bowed quickly again in his direction. "I intended to inform you as soon as we had confirmed the diagnosis for certain. The Princess exhibited… symptoms of illness this morning."

"And you only intended to inform me of it once you knew the source of this sudden sickness?" Ozai hissed. Fei Rou gritted his teeth.

"Well, I… I would have meant to inform you of her condition for sure, but in order to appease your mind, I…"

"Get to the point!" Ozai snapped. Even if he wasn't speaking to her, Azula flinched in the bed, instinctively. The most unpleasant twists and tingles crowded in her gut, and she felt an irrational urge to hug herself and turn her back on the man… no, to hug her womb, rather, and protect her child from her father. "If you intended to find out the truth, then you'd better have done it already, Fei Rou."

"He has," and this time, it was the Head Sage who spoke. Ozai scowled, turning his fury towards him. "I have only just confirmed the head physician's suspicions through energy reading: going by the small size of the chi cluster around the Princess's womb, her pregnancy cannot be further along than one month. But… it is, indeed, pregnancy. She is with child."

The words, reiterated so many times, didn't sink in right away. Ozai's irritation dwindled visibly, replaced by confusion… wordless, blinding confusion. His lips parted, as though he meant to speak, but he said nothing and closed them again… and then he tried anew but failed once more. Azula shuddered in place: had he heard those words? One month? Had he understood them? Her heart clenched as she dreaded the certain, explosive reaction her father was sure to undergo…

"What did you just say…?" the Fire Lord finally managed to utter: his voice, quieter than usual, carried an urgent, dangerous tone that almost saw Azula losing herself to panic as an urge to cry nearly overwhelmed her.

"I said the Princess has been pregnant for a month, maybe less," the Head Sage repeated: he emphasized the time most deliberately, and his cool glare contrasted sharply against Ozai's heated own. "The concentration of chi in her body invites no other interpretation: she is pregnant."

A hint of fury seemed to cross Ozai's face then… only to be replaced, again, by perplexity. By utter cluelessness… by the sudden realization that this wasn't, by the Sage's words, another sign of his daughter's deceit. No… if the child was only conceived a month ago, then…

A month ago. The wedding had happened a month ago.

A gasp shook him, loud and visibly. His body shuddered, startling every onlooker with the odd fragility of a man as sturdy and invulnerable as Ozai. Even Azula glanced at him in a strange mix of fear, apprehension and concern: was he alright? She could have sworn she'd never heard her father making a noise like that…

Instinctively, instantly, he had assumed the worst: that whatever child she could have conceived was but living evidence of her accursed sin, an atrocity whose father would be none other than the Gladiator whose death he'd been orchestrating for months.

Yet… one month. If it was one month, it couldn't have been that bastard. If it was only one month, the likeliest culprit, the only possible culprit, was…

His eyes fell upon his daughter again: the reproachful guilt in her gaze struck him harder than a slap to the face might. Silently, wordlessly, she seemed to ask him if this wasn't exactly what he'd wanted… what he'd demanded of her. She seemed to scold him for his reaction, to resent him for it… while still fearing him too strongly to give voice to such thoughts.

He had seen eyes of resentment many times before. He had seen fear, hatred, displeasure of all sorts, and he had known himself powerful, too powerful, to be affected by it. For the first time, those feelings, present in his daughter's golden eyes, blended into the tension of her shoulders. Her unusually small shape in that bed seemed to deliver a blow to his soul unlike anything he had experienced before.

Not even Ursa had looked at him that way. Suddenly he wondered if she would have, if he had ever pushed her as far as he had Azula.

For the first time since this debacle had begun, Ozai took a step back.

Then, another. And another.

He climbed off the dais, then he turned on his heels and made for the door.

Azula watched him go, anxiously, her whole body clenched with tension until he faded from view. Until the resounding footsteps of the Fire Lord no longer reached her ears…

She nearly crumpled in place, releasing a heavy breath accompanied with a slight whimper. She buried her face in her hands, as though that could contain the tears that had suddenly surged in her eyes. Her chest ached, her heart raced as her stomach threatened to upend again… she'd drink the damn ginger brew, whatever it was – truthfully, she hadn't found the scent all that revolting, but she'd known cravings and rejection of certain foods were known signs of pregnancy. Now, though, she would reach for any possible solution, anything she could do to stop her body from reacting adversely…

"He's… he's gone now, Princess. Don't worry."

Fei Rou's reassuring words didn't help matters much… but they didn't worsen them, either. Azula nodded, only remembering now how many onlookers there were… how vulnerable she had shown herself before all of them just now. As if that were anything new, truly… by now, showing herself strong and confident was a far greater rarity than letting people see her most defeated, devastated self.

Yet Ozai had walked away, doing nothing to hurt her this time. Her overwhelming, surging fears that he'd see through her newest deceit had been proven wrong… he hadn't seen through her, or else he would have made clear he had already. And even if he had, initially, the Sage's wise choice to emphasize lying about how long she had been pregnant had certainly done enough to send Ozai away, for now. She couldn't lower her guard, though: perhaps Zhao would try to convince Ozai that this couldn't be his child, the man could certainly be persuasive, and he'd likely be quicker to suspect foul play than Ozai had been…

Though he had entered the room with Ozai, hadn't he? Where was he now?

She glanced about the room as another spike in her anxiety made her stomach twist and clench: Renkai was there… but Rei wasn't standing beside him anymore. Zhao was nowhere in sight.

"Renkai…" Azula called him, her fearful eyes upon him next. "Did… did he take Rei?"

Renkai seemed to hesitate before nodding. Azula's fingers dug into the fabric of her bed covers, and the sound of a rip startled the nearby physicians. Fei Rou had meant to warn her not to overstrain her body, no matter how tense she felt… but he wouldn't need to do so, as the Princess released the fabrics quickly and raised her hands to her mouth.

"Princess…!" he gasped. The Head Sage, beside him, clenched his fists.

"Goodness, get her a basin, now!" he commanded to the physicians.

One of them rushed into the bathroom, picking up an empty basin hastily and nearly tripping over himself as he offered the large metal bowl to the Princess. She leaned over it and hurled, relieving herself from nothing but bile, once again… but the impulse had been too strong to repeal this time. She crouched where she sat, shivering violently, again despising showing this side of herself to so many people… yet she could only be grateful she hadn't showed it to her father, too.

Would Rei be alright? Would Zhao demand she spied on Azula for him too, much as Mai was supposed to, for Ozai? Or had he simply dragged her out because he believed she had no reason to stay in her room when something so serious was being discussed? She hoped, truly, that whatever his reasons, he wouldn't mistreat Rei in any way. The young girl had insisted he never had done so, but the past months had resulted in far too many changes… most of them dreadful changes, too. If Zhao suddenly behaved in unusual ways as a volatile, irrational reaction to those many changes, all Azula could hope for was that Rei wouldn't be the one to pay the price for it.

---

"You can get to the kitchen from here, can't you? Find something to eat, or maybe prepare something for yourself, if nothing's ready right now."

Zhao had finally stopped dragging Rei through the corridors. She did know how to reach the kitchen from this corridor, but the truth was that she couldn't possibly be hungry after such a chaotic morning. Still, as always, she nodded. As ever, she accepted the Admiral's choices for her, unwilling to antagonize or displease him in any way.

She walked in the direction of the kitchen, quietly, her head bowed down in submission. Zhao watched the girl as she took the next corner in the Palace… as confused as she might be about his latest orders, she was better off protected from the chaos that ever worsened between Azula and Ozai. If only she knew just how bad that particular conflict could get, she'd be grateful for his intervention. Ultimately, Rei didn't need to be a firsthand witness to the ferocity, the wrath, of a Fire Lord who, as of late, could not be reasoned with…

"ZHAO!"

The bellow startled him, despite being the perfect confirmation of his latest thoughts. Zhao gritted his teeth as he turned on his heels, hoping deeply that Rei hadn't heard that while suspecting already that she would have… still, she should know better than to stick around and overhear whatever Ozai might have to say next when he was in such a foul mood.

Zhao had expected Ozai to be outraged for just about any ridiculous reason by now: perhaps he'd scold him for not looking after Azula, no matter if Zhao had done a far better job of it than Ozai had, as of late. He'd brought Rei to clean up after Ozai had seen to it that the Princess would no longer have a staff to take care of her: wasn't that something?

Going by the fury in the Fire Lord's eyes, it simply wasn't.

"Do excuse me for leaving too quickly," Zhao said, curtly. "I was only seeing to it that…"

"Did you touch her?!"

The question petrified Zhao, immediately. The implications that it carried didn't quite dawn on him immediately: instead, his mind quickly pinpointed that whatever Azula's ailment might be, Ozai had somehow decided it was his fault.

"What… what's that supposed to mean?" he managed to say: Ozai continued to stride towards him, powerfully enough that Zhao wouldn't have been surprised if smoke rose in the wake of each footstep. "I had nothing to do with whatever caused this today, Ozai! Why would I ever…?"

The Fire Lord's hands grasped his friend's armor violently, yanking him closely, as though he believed his sun-like glare might set Zhao on fire. Zhao immediately fell silent at the outrageous, confusing violence in the Fire Lord's behavior… unable to tell, even now, that whatever Ozai accused him of might not have been as baseless as he firmly believed it was…

"Did you lie with her?!"

Ozai didn't hesitate any longer. He wouldn't dance around the subject for another instant. He wanted an answer, plain and direct, an answer that would enable him to return to that room and rightfully point out Azula's attempt of deceit… deceit the Head Sage was an accomplice to, no less. It came as no surprise, not really, that they'd try to join forces to sabotage him…

But that was a hypothesis, so far. A hypothesis Zhao would clarify was true when he answered the question Ozai had posed for him, a vital question he needed to answer right away, and why on earth was it taking him so long to…?

Lost in thought, in his fury, Ozai had failed to recognize the change in Zhao's semblance until then. His own wrath suddenly slowed, paused upon finding horror in his friend's usually unreadable factions…

Horror? Fear? Realization?

"Zhao…?" Ozai's frown twitched, as a dawning, sinking feeling appeared to clench around his soul. A sinking feeling that Zhao's shivering frame could not do away with…

"I… n-no. Y-you're not saying…" he sputtered, gazing at Ozai in utmost fright. "No, Ozai. I… I don't believe it. You're not saying she is with…?"

"I'm… I'm asking you, damn it, if you laid so much as a finger on my daughter!" Ozai responded, shuddering as his knees threatened to give away underneath both their weights. "Answer me!"

"It can't be mine!" Zhao retorted, impulsively, inching away from Ozai, though the Fire Lord's hands didn't lose their purchase on his armor. "Ozai, if this is true then it's…!"

"It can't be?! Does that mean you didn't exercise your marital rights after all, then?!" Ozai asked, and his usual wrath seemed to take over once more. "If you say that it can't be, then the Head Sage is lying?! You did not touch my daughter one month ago, Zhao?!"

"I…!" Zhao started… and then he fell silent.

He couldn't lie to the Fire Lord whose glare scrutinized him so harshly. For once, he couldn't spin an explanation, tell Ozai what had happened that night, how Azula had nearly broken down before him, begging him to spare her from the consequences of failing in her duties to provide her father with an heir… he couldn't. It would make no difference… it would mean nothing to Ozai.

But… wasn't this what Ozai wanted? Wasn't this what he had been aiming for, all along? Wasn't this what was expected of himself… of Azula?

"W-why… why would it anger you so, if I had…?"

Ozai seemed instants away from shooting Zhao full of lightning, where he stood.

He almost shrieked as he shoved Zhao violently away from him. The Admiral tumbled to the marble floor, where his armor took most of the impact. He had shoved him? Shoved him, as though they were two drunken peasants arguing over some meaningless scuffle? As though he weren't the most important leader in Ozai's damned armies?

When Zhao rose to his feet, the fury in his glare matched the one in Ozai's.

"You did it. You did it! You dared lie with Azula, didn't you?!"

"Isn't that what you wanted me to do?!" Zhao retorted, no longer attempting to color his choices, his actions, in the most favorable light possible. Ozai was seeing red, and he would listen to no persuasion. Nothing would satisfy him, and frankly, Zhao was tired of accommodating his best friend's needs constantly. He was exhausted, all in all… perhaps he had been exhausted for far longer than he'd acknowledged. "Isn't this why you wanted me to wed her?! You said so yourself! You wanted an heir, a new one, anyone so you could do away with…!"

"And you believed that?! You were truly stupid enough to believe that?!" Ozai bellowed, shuddering violently. "What heir could I have possibly needed when I had already made you my Crown Prince?! You are the only heir I had required, curse you, Zhao! You were the one I chose, because you…! You were someone I could count on! You were supposed to be, at the very least, and instead…!"

"Instead, what?!" Zhao scoffed, jerking his head towards Ozai as he spread his arms gesturing at himself. "Do tell, what am I, in your magnanimous eyes now?! Am I another traitor, perchance, because you made me marry your daughter and forgot to mention you didn't intend for me to bed her at all, following your grand example?! Then you might as well have told me so, curses, you could have said it from the start, and I wouldn't have…!"

"It need not be said! Why would I have needed to state the obvious?!" Ozai exclaimed: a hint of despair clawed into his voice. Every violent gesture with his arms, every sudden movement, caused his usually luscious hair to lose its elegance – every hair out of place followed fit with each crumbling piece of his composure. "Are you a mindless beast, that you would see every woman in your presence as a tool through which to find release?! Are you guided by your base instincts to the same extent as… as she was?! Is that who I married my daughter to, Zhao?!"

"Of course not…!"

"Then why?!" Ozai shouted, his voice hitching higher, a spree of fire accompanying his hand as he tossed a fist downwards. Zhao swallowed hard as Ozai's questioning glare continued to bear into him. "Why, damn you…? Why?!"

"Because she asked it of me!" Zhao said, gritting his teeth. "Because she believed you wouldn't stop until she gave you what you wanted, and she was certain that she had no other choice! I…!"

"And you… you believed that? You were fool enough to believe that?!" Ozai roared.

"What was I supposed to believe?!" Zhao exclaimed. "I've watched from the sidelines as you continue to punish her for her misguided actions, as you keep tormenting her with this unwanted marriage, stopping at nothing until she finally gave in! You wanted her to bend to your will, to do as you asked, to stop rebelling against your every choice, and you succeeded at scaring her shitless from the consequences! And somehow, the one to blame for her fear is me?!"

"You intend… to continue placing blame on my shoulders? Blame for your actions, on my shoulders?!" Ozai exclaimed, glaring at him furiously. "Why do you think I chose you, rather than anyone else?! Why would I have wanted you to be her husband when thousands of fools would have leapt at the chance to become my heirs now that she has fallen in disgrace?! Have you given that any thought, Zhao? Or did you just take for granted that I was merely punishing her?! There were a thousand more ways to punish her, far worse than making her marry you!"

"You meant to punish me, also! Didn't you say that, too?" Zhao retorted. "Because I failed you, because my gladiator didn't kill hers, because…!"

"You utter fool…" Ozai hissed, trembling with fury again, shaking his head violently: his hairpiece appeared moments from falling off his topknot. "It was because I believed, fool that I was, that you would not take advantage of this arrangement! Because I thought you…!"

Because he had thought his best friend, of all people, would do right by Azula. That he would reel her back into control, ensure she remembered what her true place was… even if it was a place she had long lost. A place she had as good as sacrificed through her mindless, foolish mistakes.

He had thought Zhao was a safe choice. He had thought the man would have sense enough not to approach his daughter with selfish intent… he had thought he would have known better. If he had any such needs… well, Zhao had ever been an expert at dealing with those urges in his own ways, without requiring a spouse to handle it. Yet he had dared touch Azula…

And it had happened because he had shoved his daughter right into Zhao's waiting arms.

"You… you took advantage of the situation," Ozai said, shaking his head as Zhao snarled in his direction. "You took advantage of my daughter…"

"Your daughter, then? She's that again now, after all this?" Zhao spat out. "I thought she was forbidden from calling you her father: was that something else I failed to read properly, then? Was there an underlying intent to it too? Or perhaps you are making up all these secret, complex reasonings of yours on the fly because it never occurred to you that this is what marriage entails?!"

"You have no idea what marriage entails!" Ozai snapped. "You don't understand what the damn institution even exists for! The respect of such a bond… you would know nothing of it because you never cared to understand it! Whatever persuaded you into this irresponsible behavior…!"

"It was she who persuaded me into it, you damned…!"

"Don't you dare pin this on her! Not when the only damn culprit is standing right in front of me!"

Zhao's own, flaring temper appeared instants away from overflowing. The only culprit? Curses, this was but a game of actions and consequences, wasn't it? Azula had stood there, in that room, begging him to do exactly what Ozai now judged him for… and no, he was no fool as to believe she had truly wanted it. She had been guided by fear, by dread over whatever the consequences might be if she failed her father again. Ozai's certainty that Zhao would never do this… well, it wasn't entirely misplaced: Zhao hadn't wanted to do it at all. He had meant to leave her alone, and he had done so every night since then. Just that one night, and…

Just one night, and it had been enough?

Zhao scowled, his eyes leaving Ozai's frame. To hell with this… had he fallen for a trap again? Had he played into Azula's hand…?

"It… it might still be more complicated than you think it is, than even I knew it was," Zhao said, his emotion toned down again as he glanced at Ozai meaningfully. "She's… pitting us against each other. Perhaps she knew you'd react this way, and that this would drive a wedge between us… a wedge where she gambled that you'd favor her over me. Perhaps, even above this, she…"

"If she truly was that clever, she has certainly ensured she'll get away with her deceit," Ozai snarled, scowling heavily at Zhao. "And you… you would be ten times the fool I already believed you were if this is a trick and you followed fit with it, unthinking…!"

"I…! I never wanted to do it either, Ozai, damn it! If you trusted I wouldn't want to…!"

"I was wrong to, clearly! This absurd situation speaks for itself…!"

"If you believed I'd never act this way, doesn't it mean you ought to listen to me?!" Zhao exclaimed, desperate. "If you trusted I'd have better sense than this, don't you think maybe there's more under the surface than what either of us can tell just yet?!"

"Oh, what I think… is that I might not have known you as well as I thought I did," Ozai answered, his voice level again… coated with vicious hatred.

Zhao scoffed, shaking his head as well. That was it, then? That was how Ozai would choose to interpret the situation? The blasted fool continued to let his emotions reign over him, running away with him… all of it without ever considering that his perception of reality might be flawed beyond belief. Curse him for his selfishness… for his stubbornness and hotheadedness, too. Ultimately, all this boiled down to a simple, obvious fact: Ozai had been adamant about proving to Azula that her worst choices would have consequences, and now he seemed utterly unwilling to accept that the same was true for him.

"Play right into it, then. Let yourself lose your mind to doubt, why not?" Zhao snapped. "Drive me away, same as you did with her! Then you'll certainly do that with the child as well, and soon enough you'll have nothing and no one to count on as your heir! Maybe you'll be satisfied by then! But as for me, I've had enough of this. Enough of your shouting, enough of your blaming, enough of your damn warping of reality! Pretend you are innocent all you like, pretend none of this reflects poorly on you, because rejecting reality appears to be the only art you've ever perfected!"

"I ought to say those words right back at you," Ozai growled. "You had a role to play, a political role… and you've proven incapable of it. You've proven unworthy of it! Even the most simple, reasonable, obvious expectations had to be stated, outright, for you to follow?"

"If your damn statements kept claiming the opposite of whatever you truly wanted from me, over and over, I have trouble understanding how you expected me to follow anything!" Zhao snapped, stepping closer to Ozai… but only so he could walk past him, without even touching him.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Ozai shouted. Zhao glared at him from over his shoulder, fists tightened.

"To check on your daughter, where else?!" he snapped. "Or should I say my wife?!"

"Zhao…!" Ozai growled, viciously again…

But Zhao turned his head anew and continued onwards… with his back turned towards him. It would have been so easy… so easy to get rid of him, right then and there. To conjure a barrage of fire to unleash upon the man who had once been his strongest friend, the one he could count on at every hardship he faced…

But perhaps that was only a feeble fantasy on his part. Zhao… he had never really been that kind of a friend, had he?

Why hadn't he seen it coming? Why would it be any surprise, seeing as he had turned his back on him once before, so long ago…?

They were no longer boys by then. Older, grown and jaded, weary of a world that no longer appeared ripe for their explorations… a world that wanted nothing but to tear them down, to stop them from fulfilling their grand quest. Yet Ozai had foolishly and hopelessly believed his friend, his only friend, would stay by his side. He had to return to the military Academy, didn't he? He hadn't finished his education, and as he had been accompanying Ozai, his growth as a soldier had been delayed for several years. Still, Ozai expected he'd see Zhao sometimes. They'd have chances to talk, as they often had talked on the deck of the ship. They'd have chances to train together, as they did whenever they docked in-land to replenish their supplies. Perhaps, even, Zhao could become a guard, and Ozai could name him his captain someday…

"Ozai… I'll stay in the Colonies."

All his illusions had been shattered when he heard those words.

His friend had smiled sadly as he spoke them, his pack fastened over his shoulder as they made their final stop in Garsai before returning to the Fire Nation. Aghast, Ozai had shaken his head, uncertain if he wanted Zhao to explain himself.

"I… I have to report to the Fire Lord," Ozai had said, grimacing. "To tell him what we've learned in our voyage. Maybe he'll tell us to set out again, with better resources, with more men at our disposal to investigate every lead properly…"

"Yeah, well… maybe he'll do that," Zhao said, though the guilt in his voice suggested he spoke half-heartedly. "But if he doesn't… there's no way the academy will take me again. If I stay here, and I offer myself as a volunteer, they'll accept me for sure. I have more than enough sailing experience by now, I'm sure the navy will take me."

"But…"

But he needed him. He did, and he couldn't say it. He wanted his friend with him… he had counted on that, after all these years of traveling together: did he truly need to utter those words to ensure Zhao understood them? Did he have to beg him to stay by his side, to convey that facing his father and his nation alone was terrifying?

It turned out that yes, he did have to. For Zhao disembarked and left that day, after a kind farewell and reassurances that they'd meet again. With that, Ozai was left to sail alone back home… and what awaited him in the Fire Nation almost made him wish he'd chosen to fight in the frontlines alongside Zhao:

"You failed. You miserable, pitiful fool… you failed, and you've come home with your tail between your legs, your head bowed, just to beg forgiveness for your incompetence yet again. There's no boundary for your shamelessness, is there?"

He knelt before his father, in the Throne Room. It had rained that day: he had been soaked thoroughly on his way back to the Palace. He had been a boy when he left, and he returned as a man grown…

A man who had finally understood the purpose of his mission, no matter if his father hadn't spoken it aloud.

"After every opportunity I gave you, after providing you with every tool needed to succeed…"

Opportunities? Tools? He had only ever humiliated him even before his voyage began. He had mocked him from the beginning, obstructed his efforts to recruit men to his cause… he had set him up for failure all along. The realization had been painful, gradual. He had known, deep down, that something was most definitely wrong in his mission, and that awareness had only increased after the director of the military academy had called his quest a fool's errand… but for a long time, he had tried to believe otherwise. He had done his best to convince himself that he had a chance to succeed, that he could track down the Avatar, no matter if every sign appeared to suggest no one would ever have that chance…

Four years at sea had certainly done away with such hopes and finally forced him to confront the true meaning of his father's choices. Every word uttered by Azulon saw his son's fury building, strengthening. He had wasted his time by his father's design. He had given his all in a task only meant to ridicule him. What on earth would Azulon have done, if he had succeeded? How would he have spun the situation in his favor? How would he have found a way to present Ozai as the flawed one, the weak one, the failure in their family, if only he had succeeded…?

He would have if he'd had the resources, the chances… he could have done it. It wasn't his fault. His failure wasn't his fault.

"Now that you've dishonored yourself and your Fire Lord in this manner, I expect you shall know better than to continue begging for any quests and missions the way you ever did. You'll also know better than to question your brother's achievements, for you, of all people, have no right to speak against Iroh's slaying of the last dragon when you couldn't even track down a miserable old man like the Avatar…"

Ozai's eyes shifted towards the father who sat arrogantly on his throne, surrounded by flames. No, he hadn't found the Avatar… but he hadn't found the corpse of the last dragon, either. No decaying, massive carcass like the one Iroh had described… no villages, no towns, had witnessed any battles in the distance, nor had they reported sighting any dragons. For four years, he had sought glimpses of either the Avatar or the dead dragon… and both appeared just as mythical, as nonexistent, as the other was.

But Iroh's lies couldn't be contested without proper evidence. His deceit had proven most effective, albeit his unwillingness to report on the location of the dragon's corpse certainly spoke ill of how believable his claims were. If he could just shed enough light on Iroh's lies… if he could just prove his brother a miserable failure, much like himself… much like his damn father, who hadn't found the Avatar either, who hadn't impressed any dragons, whose grand hunt for them came from nowhere but misplaced resentment…

All because one dragon had rejected him: it was no surprise, for if Ozai had a choice, he would have rejected Azulon as well. If only he were as mighty as a dragon, he would have scorched the arrogant Fire Lord to cinders and done away with his miserable existence at once…

"You will withhold all your baseless ambitions from now on. If you truly are a Prince of the Fire Nation, act like it. Face your shame, the consequences of your failures, with your head held high. Accept that you have no place but the one I choose to give you. Respect the orders of your Fire Lord… and you may yet become more than a pebble in a shoe, someday. Are we understood?"

Yes, he wanted his father dead. Every second he spent in his presence only convinced him of that further.

He had no power to do it, to avenge himself and restore his honor by proving Azulon had none of his own… but one day, perhaps, he would have that power. And he would make certain his father rued the day on which he had decided to look down on him, the day when he had decided to make Ozai the scapegoat of his own failures. Until then, however…

"Yes, my Lord."

The words he spoke half-heartedly, resentfully, conveyed his submission… his surrender. For years, he would keep his head down, he would accept his status as a near-prisoner in his own home. He would bide his time… and then he'd strike. By then, his father would regret crossing him, his brother would regret looking down on him…

And Zhao would regret abandoning him to face his nightmare of a father alone.

Yet it was hard to believe Zhao had come to regret anything when he walked away now, just as he had so many years ago. He had been as furious as Ozai was… he had refused to accept his responsibility in today's unwanted revelations. Yet… he truly had done it. He had truly been so thoughtless as to bed Azula… the thought filled Ozai with fury he could scarcely control. It wasn't all that different from the rage that he'd felt upon learning of her deceit with her damn Gladiator… yet, from the beginning, he had known it had been by Azula's choice, in the case of the latter. With Zhao, however… he couldn't believe the broken woman who had shuddered and shrunk down under his glare, the woman who scarcely held his gaze whenever they met these days, who had broken down in tears while still attempting to stand by a love she'd lost, would ever willingly give herself to another man. Had she sought comfort in him, somehow? No… that sounded far too weak, no matter how broken Azula might be. Did she have a greater purpose in mind than he dared imagine? Had there been a scheme of a sort involved, like Zhao believed there was…? Perhaps so, and yet…

Ozai gritted his teeth, shuddering in place. No one could have ever persuaded him to do what Azula had done. For fifteen years, he had lived without knowing whether his own wife lived or died… and for that long, he had rejected anyone who dared even suggest he could take a lover or a concubine to substitute her. The mere notion was pathetic. He had but one wife, and one person with whom he could share himself in such a manner… he refused to settle for anything less, and anyone else would certainly prove lesser.

Yet… he had forced his daughter to settle for less than what she'd chosen, hadn't he? To take a husband by Ozai's express demands…

Curses, he refused to feel remorse for that. No, it was Azula herself who had settled for far less than she was worth, and she had dreamt up countless delusions to convince herself it was the right choice. Zhao was, certainly, superior to that Gladiator…

But she hadn't chosen Zhao.

If just for that reason, if just for that alone, he couldn't stave off the guilt that now permeated him.

He truly had thought Zhao wouldn't do this. He had believed, firmly, that his friend was better than that. That he'd hold back, the way any man with sense would have if they were expected to spend their nights with a woman who would never want them. Why hadn't he? Why…?

He couldn't understand it. It frustrated him… it infuriated him, and it filled his soul with a thirst for violence he couldn't placate. Yes, he wanted to unleash it on Zhao, for his insolent foolishness, for the utterly absurd choices that had as good as broken their friendship at this point. But he also wanted to unleash it on Azula… yet another fool who had landed herself in a predicament so unnecessary, so pointless… if only she hadn't been so eager to experience whatever affection she could grasp, if only she had any sense left in that head of hers, none of this would have happened at all.

But most of all, he wanted to unleash it on the Gladiator, the one who, above all else, could be blamed for every last one of these developments… he was the one who most deserved to burn in the flames of Ozai's righteous fury.

His feet began moving of their own accord, towards a lower level of the Palace. Towards the place that had seen him unleashing his wrath far too often these days, after many years without much use. Today, he would envision that insolent bastard as he poured his flames out in the Agni Kai Arena. He would burn the image of the man in his mind, knowing that his troops should be murdering him in cold blood by now, along with every last savage that lived in that frozen hellscape…

His path towards the Agni Kai Arena, fortunately, took him away from the corner Rei had left through, earlier. She, of course, hadn't walked as far as Zhao had expected her to: she crouched on the Palace's marble floors now, trembling, hugging herself in utmost horror. She hated confrontations and arguments… she hated them all the more when they proved as violent as that. For a moment she had feared the Admiral and the Fire Lord would take to battling in the middle of the hallway, but it seemed that Admiral Zhao had enough sense to simply leave…

Still, the words they exchanged haunted her. She had understood more than enough about them: the Fire Lord thought to preserve his daughter's purity by marrying her off to Zhao, someone he trusted… but men and women would do whatever they pleased in the privacy of a bedroom. Though it was hard to believe the Princess and Zhao had any such interest in each other…

Theirs had been a political union, that much was clear to Rei even before this argument had happened. Yet… so much of what they'd said seemed confusing. The Princess was being punished for misdeeds? So was Zhao, to a fault? The Fire Lord hadn't wanted a child, a new heir… he had solely sought to make Zhao his heir, nothing else? But the two men were close to the same age… an heir ought to be younger to carry forward a legacy, as far as Rei could tell. Was it he'd intended to return that status to Princess Azula, eventually? Perhaps it would be her role again, once the Fire Lord died…?

The more she learned, the less she understood. She knew she hadn't grasped at every thread of information they'd dropped in that argument… she knew she was nowhere closer to unraveling numerous truths just yet.

She also knew now that both her father and the Princess's appeared utterly unhinged, at war with each other… and as futile as it might be to feel that way, for she was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, Rei felt the urge to protect the Princess from their fury, somehow.

She lingered in place by the wall for another moment, simply breathing in and calming down. It wasn't the first time she'd heard violent arguments… so all she had to do was focus and calm down. To clear her mind, and once that was done… once it was done, she'd return to the Princess's room and pretend all was well. Even if Zhao was there, she could pretend she'd eaten a snack somewhat quickly in the kitchen rather than a full meal, as he'd likely expect… but she'd certainly go back, as soon as possible. After a day as chaotic as this one, she didn't doubt that room was the only safe location in this dark, unsettling, gargantuan building, and the less time she spent outside it, the better.

Said safe location would receive a furious firebender quite soon: Zhao snarled as he walked past a few physicians in the corridors – they were already returning to their assigned wing of the Palace. The inspection was done, then. Azula would tell him whatever the hell she had been diagnosed with, perhaps she'd even clarify she wasn't with child at all and that Ozai, unsurprisingly, had made a ridiculous, massive, unnecessary problem out of nothing.

The door remained open, for more physicians were leaving. Only a few remained, along with the Head Sage and Captain Renkai, who continued to stand by the Princess's cabinets. Zhao's eyes scanned the room quickly, as good as announcing himself through his powerful footsteps…

Azula winced at first, upon hearing them. Then her gaze fell upon him… and she seemed to calm down slightly. Judging by her initial apprehension, she had expected Ozai instead.

"Ad-… Prince Zhao," Fei Rou called him, as Zhao came to a stop at the foot of the bed's small dais.

Fei Rou hadn't left yet either, busy preparing another ginger brew now that the Princess had finally drained the first one. The basin in which she'd retched had already been taken away and would be cleaned by the staff from the physicians' wing. All appeared to be in order… and so, it would only be reasonable that Zhao should receive direct confirmation about his Azula's current state.

"Admiral suffices just fine," Zhao snapped at him: he preferred it, even, at this point. Who would have thought being a Prince would prove so much more irksome, complicated and infuriating than being a leader for the navy?

He huffed, glancing at Azula with a stern, furrowed brow. She lingered in bed silently, gazing at him with slight reproach, as though he'd done something wrong by her, too… it brought him to scowl all the more.

"Well? Are you with child?" he asked, blunt and harshly. As though the very words disgusted him… as though the very notion of a child's conception revolted him as much as the scent of vomit might – perhaps, some of it lingered in the air still, and that could be a partial source for his distaste.

Azula breathed deeply but nodded, unwilling to meet his eyes. Zhao's mouth opened, and he meant to speak again… but no sound came out.

Instead, he stared at her.

He studied her, good and long, for a suspended moment where everyone nearby seemed to blend into the scenery. He let himself retrace his steps… rethink his choices, up to that night. He did not care to recall their coupling – he most certainly had much better in the past, a woman who couldn't seem to stop crying made for a most unpleasant partner –, but he did mean to remember what had led to it… how she had acted right before it had happened. Her words… her behavior. Her willingness to go through with sex, even if her body had practically rejected him, and she'd forced herself, most evidently, to endure it…

The flames. The fire in which the Grand Royal Dome had been consumed. Back then, as well, he had been lenient. He had allowed himself to think perhaps she was pitiful, too young for her own good, innocent beyond her awareness… fragile, sad, devastated as she watched how the man for whom she'd lost everything fought for his life, which hung by a thin thread that hadn't been quite so thin, in the end. They got away with everything, though… and Hakkai paid for their actions with his life. If Zhao had pinpointed how dangerous they could be, from the very start… if he hadn't been so stupid as to feel compassion for them, he wouldn't have allowed Combustion Man to fight them at all. The Gladiator would have been burned to death as a common criminal, and the Princess might have spent the rest of her days in mourning for a man she didn't truly need, even if she had persuaded herself that she did…

But if he had just dared think beyond what was straightforward and simple, if he had just pondered their motivations, their course of action… if he hadn't underestimated them, damn it, he would have understood they were dangerous long before they could do anything to harm anyone.

They had escaped. They had a plan. They'd set it in motion, and…

And what if this was still part of that plan?

From the first moment, he had impulsively thought the child had to be the Gladiator's… of course it had to be his. Who else could have been the father, truly? And yet… she had coaxed him into sleeping with her that night. Manipulation… that was all it had been. Her claim that they could try again after another month, if they failed the first time… it was but a clever ruse, a trick to lower his guard, to persuade him to do this when she had needed him to. The Head Sage… the man had always been a known supporter of Azula's. How hard could it have been for them to join forces in this deceit? He had to have lied, to have claimed the baby wasn't as developed, as far along, as it truly was…

He glanced at the man quickly: old and wizened, a sharpness of steel still gleamed in those weary eyes, as well as in the set of his shoulders. It seemed as though he were weighing Zhao, much as Zhao did the same with him now…

He wanted to ask him. To ask, point-blank, if this deceit was truly what it appeared to be. Perhaps there wasn't even a child, perhaps they were simply attempting to drive him mad…! Perhaps it was a play for power, pushing him away from Ozai's side so Azula could reclaim her rightful place as Crown Princess when Ozai's fatherly instincts, if he truly had any, kicked in hard enough that he'd finally forgive her and end their feud.

Then, she'd be sure to strike him down as soon as his guard was low. Zhao wasn't sure he'd even feel sorry if that happened, not after today.

Yet… there was an obvious fact that dawned on him now, as he pondered all those things:

Azula was using him.

She meant to use him as a shield… as a tool, as a weapon, as anything she felt like. She moved her pieces in the Pai Sho board with such gentle sleight of hand her opponent couldn't even tell she'd made a move at all – within moments, she would have conquered the board right from underneath the opponent's nose before he was the wiser.

He hardly had to formulate the question in his head, for he already had his answer: he refused to play along with her game.

He'd had enough of them. More than enough, at this point… he snarled, stepping away from the bed's dais and storming back to the door. Ozai, with his ridiculous, unspoken strategies and intentions, and his subsequent fits of rage when anything didn't go his way; Azula, with her manipulative nature, her ability to coerce anyone into making whatever choices she wanted them to without their awareness, turning the tides of any battle to her advantage, even when she was at her weakest… both were sleazy, devious, wicked and they had unleashed all their worst on him.

Neither of them would count on him as an ally anymore. Whatever role he still had to fulfill in this damn family, in this damn Palace, he'd fulfill it professionally and in no other manner. Curse them both… curse them and their mind games, stubbornness and willingness to use everyone around them. They deserved each other and every bit of pain they'd suffered over their self-destructive choices.

He didn't say a word. He simply stormed off, rushing down the corridor… then, he filed for the Palace's entrance. There, he sought a carriage… and he requested to be taken outside the Capital's crater, to Hong Qu. He'd return to the Palace eventually, certainly… but for now, he needed to get away. He needed distance… he needed to let his wretched problems fall out of focus. A few drinks, and a few other coping mechanisms, were certain to help with that.

To everyone else, Zhao's inexplicably brief appearance – finished with him storming off with a snarl across his face – had been as perplexing as Ozai's. While Azula didn't quite feel like throwing up this time, she still twisted awkwardly in bed, unsure of what to make of the man's reaction to today's big reveal…

"Oh, dear…" the Head Sage sighed, shaking his head as he glanced at Azula. "Are you alright, Princess? It… it has certainly been a trying day, all things considered. Not only did you learn you're pregnant, but…"

"The Fire Lord and Admiral Zhao's reactions shouldn't be cause for further concern, I hope," Azula dared say, breathing deeply. "It's… simply a lot to take for them."

"It's a lot to take for you as well," the Head Sage said, remorseful. "As always… if you need me at all, I'm at your disposal, Princess."

"Hmm… I guess Renkai may just have to run about to look for you again, if I do," Azula said, glancing at the guard with uncertainty. He tensed up once he realized she spoke to him, but he nodded in her direction, displaying no unwillingness to race back to the Temple if need be.

Fei Rou sighed, glancing at the guard from over his shoulder. Renkai remained stoic and unmoving under his scrutiny, but the physician guessed he would listen to his request anyway.

"I have some other patients I need to look after, too," he said. "See to it that the Princess drinks her brew, if you can, Captain. I'll deliver a note to the kitchens with the proper diet for her condition soon, too… but whatever she eats today, make sure she does it slowly."

"Very well," Renkai said, curtly. "I shall."

The Head Sage sighed as well, and Azula nodded in his direction upon recognizing the guilty expression on his face.

"You have your own duties to handle. You needn't worry about me anymore. I'll be fine," Azula assured him. The Head Sage gazed at her remorsefully, but he nodded in compliance soon.

"Again… if you have need of me, you need only call. As old as I may be… it seems I still have strength enough in these rusty legs to run back here as fast as possible," he said, with a gentle smile. "Have… well, the best day you possibly can, Princess. And… congratulations."

It only dawned on her then that nobody had spoken that word to her, so far. It seemed fitting that the first to do so would be the man who knew the truth… the man who understood exactly what she hid, and how much work she intended to put into protecting said secret, for as long as possible.

"Thank you," she said, earnestly.

The Head Sage nodded positively towards her. Fei Rou didn't quite dare follow the Head Sage's example, so he settled for a quick bow before making his way towards the door. Within moments, Azula was alone with Renkai… and as much as she had grown used to the man, to a fault, it certainly seemed odd that she'd feel safer while being alone with a known spy than she had felt throughout most that day.

"I don't think I ought to get used to saying this to you, but… thank you, Renkai," she said. He raised his head, notoriously surprised by her words. "For your quick reactions, and… for fulfilling my request, too. Rei told me you finally found the books. Were they…?"

"Expensive? No," Renkai said, quickly. "You may check them for yourself, see to it that they were the ones you had in mind…"

"They might not be… but there's nothing wrong with that, either," Azula said, sinking in her pillow heavily.

"I didn't mean to take as long with that task as I did, but… I hope they will suffice," Renkai said, softly. Azula nodded. "If you're feeling ill again…"

"I'm fine right now. I'll drink the rest of that thing in a bit," she said, brushing the hair from her face.

"Would you prefer it if I stand guard outside?" Renkai asked, softly. "If you'd rather be alone…"

"I don't know that I do… but if your presence becomes a bother, I'll let you know," Azula said, bluntly. Renkai almost smiled behind his helmet.

"Very well."

He had intended to stand silently by the cabinets still, waiting patiently for the Princess's next move… but a soft, shy knock on the door brought both him and the Princess out of their respective ruminations.

Renkai didn't hesitate to approach the door, pulling it open with a quick motion… to find a young woman at the other side, just as he suspected he would.

"Everyone's gone now," he said, bluntly. Rei swallowed hard and nodded.

"I… should clean, then," she said. Renkai nodded and stepped back, allowing her into the room.

Rei's willingness to work was put on hold when her eyes fell upon the Princess again. She seemed… calmer now, to a fault. She even appeared relieved to see her, enough that she sat upright, pushing herself carefully on the bed.

"Rei…" she called, her voice trembling slightly. "Are you alright? Did… did Zhao do anything to…?"

"N-no. No, he… he didn't" Rei lied: the long sleeves would conceal the red marks on her arm, where his hand had gripped her with more strength than ever before. "Everything is… fine. He just… he thought I shouldn't be here when complicated things are happening."

"Well… that's hardly his choice alone," Azula said, lowering her gaze. "Of all people who have been in this room today, you're the only one I haven't felt like kicking out."

Renkai flinched at the Princess's admission, but he said nothing of it. Rei, of course, flushed crimson and laughed softly, playing with her fingers nervously. The strange argument she'd overheard between their respective fathers suddenly seemed irrelevant in the face of the friendship she'd slowly but surely crafted with Princess Azula. Whatever mysteries she had yet to unravel… she'd discover them in time, she guessed, while ensuring she wasn't bothering the royal with any insolent or unwanted questions.

"I hope I won't give you any cause to think differently anytime soon," Rei said, with a shy grin. "Of all places in this Palace… this is the only one I want to be in."

Despite herself, Azula smiled at the girl's words. Rei grinned positively again before taking off to gather her cleaning implements, as she ever did: Renkai followed through with his previous offer to stand outside, hoping not to get in Rei's way as she cleaned the room, while Azula lingered in bed, letting her eyes close… letting peace settle upon her weary soul.

It was done. Whether her father or Zhao suspected the truth yet, it made no matter… they couldn't confirm anything until the child was born, and that wouldn't happen for several months. Considering how quickly her life had turned around… seven months would be more than enough for a lot more things to happen, surely. Little by little, she'd unravel her child's future… and she'd figure out how to set her dragon free once more.

But as confusing and troubling as the day had been… today marked the first of her victories in what felt like ages. For once, she could let herself settle into a calm slumber, knowing she had outplayed her father and bought herself, and those she loved, a little more time, if nothing else…

---

Letters from the Palace had been no surprising occurrence in the small beach hut, long ago. The twins had kept correspondence with many of the Palace's residents throughout the years, friends they'd made, both young and old, through whom they often learned of the happenings in the Capital.

Then, months ago, all word had ceased. Nothing, not a single note, not the slightest sign of information… not from their friends, not from the Fire Lord, not from anyone who still worked at the Palace.

It might not have been all that suspicious, all that alarming, if not for the sudden visitor – and subsequent roommate – who showed up at their doorstep one morning. Strange things happened in Lo and Li's lives quite often… but taking in a near-total stranger and giving her a whole new life hadn't been part of that list, not throughout the many long years they'd lived so far.

She was the first official sign that something was terribly wrong. Everything else was offhanded information, in general… rumors, strange gossip that would spread through the island easily, but if there were no means through which to confirm them, they would become nothing but idle conversation topics that, as entertaining as it could be, didn't truly serve a purpose for either of the twins.

One day, official news had arrived and spread through the island like wildfire: all three women had been distraught upon learning, through an official announcement posted across many boards in Ember Island, that Princess Azula had been wed to Admiral Zhao, of all people. The two old ladies knew, all too well, that their protegee's relationship with her father's best friend had been complicated, to say the least… how could she be forced to take him as her husband? It seemed a most dreadful match, a most disturbing and distressing one…

And now, about a month since then, an actual letter from the Palace had arrived: a letter with a black ribbon, no less.

"It's an official message," Lo had explained to their newest tenant. "If not sent by the Fire Lord himself, then at least sanctioned by him. There are many colors, all of which have meanings of their own…"

"I see," the younger woman answered, nodding promptly. Surely they'd explain each color after Li was finished reading the letter…

But Li's frown revealed that the contents of the message might be too alarming to allow them to focus on their new friend's education in Fire Nation high class etiquette. She set down the letter and Lo reached for it quickly.

"What… what's wrong?"

Li couldn't seem to come back to her senses, not even when their newest roommate spoke to her directly. Lo soon gasped, glancing at her twin sister in chagrin…

"We can't go," said Lo, bluntly. Li nodded. "We… we are in no condition to even try, not anymore…"

"We are much too old," Li agreed.

"And with the Palace in such state of chaos…" Lo continued.

"We may do more harm than good," they determined, together, as they often did.

"What's going on? What…? Are you being summoned to the Palace? Is that what… what this is?"

Both Lo and Li answered the younger woman's question with a curt nod. She frowned, confused and surprised on equal measure over the news.

"Then… you can't say you won't go. They'll probably come here to drag you there against your will if you refuse. Going by how things have been lately, by everything that's happened…"

"You may be right. But the truth is, the Palace doesn't need us, Lo and Li…" said Lo.

"What the Palace needs is a midwife," Li finished.

With that, both the women turned to glance at her. The young woman gasped: a shiver ran down her spine, as she shuddered violently and shook her head.

"No… no. Y-you're not saying… no! She…! She may have married that man, but she can't be…!"

"She may not be pregnant by him…" Lo said.

"But it seems she is pregnant indeed, as per the contents of this letter," Li continued.

"Who sent it? M-maybe it's not a real message, because the Azula I know would have never…!"

"The head physician, Fei Rou, from the Palace. I recognize his handwriting, so it seems to be real," Li answered.

"He informed us when our Princess Azula was sick with that odd chi corruption you told us about, as well," Lo said.

"There is no reason to think he would be lying now," the two women concluded, together.

Their companion's mouth opened, and she couldn't help but cover her face with her hands. Of all things… of all things, a pregnancy, right now? Azula… she would be so angry, so frustrated… so depressed, too. Bad enough to be alone, shackled to a man she did not want and surely would never want… but bearing a child, too?

A child that might actually be Sokka's.

Lo and Li had as good as said as much.

"We may just be able to delay our answer for a few more days," Lo said, breathing deeply.

"But that delay would simply be for the sake of preparing you properly for this task," Li finished.

"We can't serve as midwives anymore."

"But you could do it in our stead."

And, in doing so, she would finally stop feeling so utterly useless, sitting in this shack, pretending to be someone she was not… though she'd have to continue pretending to be someone else if she took up this task indeed. But she'd do something… she'd provide help to someone who direly needed it. Someone she had counted as a friend… as one of the best of them, no less. Someone she hadn't even been able to say goodbye to… someone who had surely suffered through so much more than she could imagine since they'd last met, since that last meal they'd shared, carelessly promising they'd meet again on the next day…

"Or would you prefer not to involve yourself in this matter, Song?"

If she had ever felt a stronger sense of purpose than she did right now, Song didn't remember it. But her deep, mahogany eyes suddenly gleamed with determination, her hands fisted over her lap, her brow furrowed heavily: there was but one answer she wanted to give. However complicated this situation might be, however hard she might have to work in order to be even more convincing in the role she'd played during the past two months, she refused to let down one of her closest friends when she needed her the most… when a perfect, golden opportunity had fallen upon her lap to do exactly that – an opportunity that wouldn't be likely to present itself ever again.

Song nodded promptly, and relief filled Lo and Li's hearts even before she gave firm, strong voice to her resolve:

"I'll do it."