Chapter 8

It only took a couple of nights before the warm welcome the Resistance had given to Avatar Aang dissolved in disagreement.

The Resistance was a democratic organization, with decisions reached by consensus. That meant lots of contentious debate. During the weekly strategy meeting, Jet proposed a raid on the armory of the nearest Fire Nation fort. When Zuko protested that the plan was too ambitious, and hastily thrown together, without the usual attention to getaway routes and preparation surveillance, the bushy-haired freedom fighter scoffed.

"We don't need to waste our energy planning last minute escapes! And we don't need to risk our lives on piddling little sabotage missions anymore. Now we can go big. We have the Avatar!" He gestured grandly to Aang, whose eyes were guarded and wary. "We all know what he's capable of! We heard what happened in Caldera when they first captured him. How big was that crater? Two miles? Three? And that was before he mastered all four elements! All Aang has to do is go in there and get all glowy, and those ashmakers won't know what hit them!" Jet punched his fist into his palm gleefully. "And that would just be the beginning! In a matter of weeks, we could take back all of the territory the Earth Kingdom lost in the last century!"

"Now, Jet," Iroh objected. "Have you discussed this plan with Avatar Aang?"

"I'm telling him now," Jet turned to Aang grandly, as if inviting him along on a wonderful journey. "How would you like to win this war for us, Avatar?"

Aang stood, and everyone looked at him. He opened his mouth, and closed it again. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, as the moments lengthened, and he still could not speak. His thoughts were racing, but none of them resolved into anything coherent. His gaze swept the room, from Jet, to Sokka, to Zuko, and finally Katara. Ashamed, he looked down.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and ran away.

Katara found Aang in the earth shelter he'd constructed for Appa, curled up between his bison's first leg and his big head. "Are you ok, sweetie?"

He looked up at her. He could understand if she agreed with Jet's plan, and wanted to persuade him to go along with it. He knew he could hold fast to his values under any pressure, even from her, but dreaded the gulf that could grow between them if she couldn't sympathize with him, at least a little.

She saw his inner conflict and sank down beside him, covering his hand with hers. Her touch instantly assured him. "It's ok. I'm with you."

"You are?" He exhaled his relief, and finally found himself able to speak. "I mean, you told me what you've been through, about your mom, and how you thought they killed Sokka, and all the southern waterbenders. It would make sense if you wanted to fight back, using every weapon at your disposal…."

"You're not a weapon," she replied firmly, shaking her head.

"I know, but these people are counting on me…."

"And if you let that outweigh your own conscience, you'll regret it forever," she finished, her voice firm and decided.

His tension dissipated, as he realized with gratitude that she did support him. Afraid of what that choice was costing her, he looked down into his empty hands and explained softly, "I just remember the way I lost control, all the people I killed…."

"I know. I think you do have more control now, but that's not the point. No one should ever put you in that position again." She swallowed and gathered her own courage. "I understand what it feels like to reach inside yourself and find a power that's…..scary." For the first time, she told him about the way Zhao had attempted to assault her in her jail cell. He held her hand, pale and serious, as he listened. "I didn't know I could do it. And I'm glad I was able to….defend myself, but now, I think about trying to use that ability again, even just to train and refine it, in case of an emergency…..and it feels wrong. In that moment, I was desperate, and doing that to him wasn't as wrong as what he would have done to me, but when I think about using that….skill in other contexts, planning to take control of someone's body that way, I feel sick."

"You do understand." Aang whispered, his throat tight with regret and empathy. "I wish you didn't."

She leaned her head into his shoulder. "Same."

His arm circled her shoulders, and they held each other, as night fell quietly around them.

Retiring Captain Jinan took his replacement to observe the Fire Lord's first training session since her coronation.

Raiden watched Azula sparring with three other firebenders, as if she were a lion eagle playing with a few baby rabaroos. She could not only produce blue-hot flames, and lightning, directing them to targets with startling exactness, but she moved with such speed that it was impossible for any of her opponents to touch her. Though he could tell her trainers were skilled, the girl did not even seem to be trying, as she scored point after point. If it had truly been a deadly battle, instead of a training exercise, her first strike would have killed each one of them.

"She's been away from the training field for weeks, but you can't tell at all." Jinan mused.

Raiden nodded agreement, following the Fire Lord's flips and leaps with his eyes. Spying on such a person meant taking his life in his hands, it was clear. "Why wasn't she training?" He wondered.

"Doctor's orders. Maybe she was keeping herself fit secretly."

"Must have been…" murmured Raiden, watching Azula's lighting strike three dummies, one after the other.

The Fire Lord bowed to her trainers, and they returned the salute. She walked off the training field, her step as light as if she hadn't been exerting herself at all for the past hour.

She's headed this way! Raiden straightened his collar. Though the White Lotus had disillusioned him of the awe of the monarch that he'd been taught in school, old habits died hard. It was hard not to be nervous in front of a woman who was not only a volatile leader, but also a formidable firebender, and his new boss. The woman who would set the order of his life from now on. Whose secrets he was supposed to find out, and tell.

Jinan cleared his throat and addressed his sovereign. "My Lord, I must introduce you to Captain Raiden. He will be replacing me on my retirement from your personal guard."

The woman turned to Raiden then, the full force of her penetrating gaze pinning him. Up close, he found Fire Lord Azula's beauty even more startling than it had been at her coronation. Her vigorous exercise had had no effect on her appearance. Everything about her was precise, from the dark tendrils of hair framing her face, to the application of her deep red lipstick. For such perfection to exist in a human being seemed impossible, but there she was.

Automatically, she extended her hand to him, palm down. He lifted his fingertips to touch hers, and lowered his head, bowing over her knuckles, as tradition dictated. He noted her smooth skin, her nails painted black and sharpened. She reminded him of a cheetah boa he'd seen once while hunting. Along its curved back, the giant cat's spotted fur faded slowly into its scaly, snakelike tail. It perched on a rock above him and could have pounced if it had wished, its poison fangs plunging into his throat. For several moments, he had frozen, in awe of the beautiful, menacing creature, soft on the outside, all sinew and tooth and raw power inside. He had wondered if he was about to die, exhilarated to stand so near an animal that could rip him to shreds. When the cheetah boa finally turned away, he had the sense it was because it had judged him beneath its notice, even as prey.

"I am yours to command, my lord," he murmured the proper greeting.

"I hope you can match Jinan's marksmanship, Captain." Her voice was clipped, as pointed as her nails, her accent shaped by expensive tutors and elocution coaches. "He was one of the only archers who ever managed to graze the Avatar."

"I trained him, my lord." Jinan spoke up in support. "I refused to retire until Raiden's bow consistently exceeded my own." Raiden couldn't help grinning at his mentor's praise.

But the monarch didn't allow him to savor the moment. "Shooting at stationary targets or moving ones?" Azula continued to quiz him.

"Both. While standing and while running." Raiden answered.

She arched an eyebrow. "I suppose you'll do."

"It is a bit odd to guard a person who is perfectly capable of defending herself." The new captain ventured. "One feels superfluous."

Azula cocked her head at him. "Are you arguing for the termination of your unit, Captain?"

"Certainly not." He chuckled with a tight smile. "There are traditions to uphold. Livelihoods to earn. And just because you can defend yourself doesn't mean you should have to, my lord. Not when there are guards willing to lay down their lives to protect you."

"Perfectly correct, Captain. I'm sure you will execute your new duties with honor." She gave a small nod and turned away.

The two guardsmen bowed again, as Fire Lord Azula walked back toward the palace, trailed by guards and assistants. They watched her as she paused at the door, to allow a boy to open it for her. The servants seemed slow and clumsy next to her catlike grace.

Raiden was used to being around pretty girls, but the Fire Lord's beauty was practically supernatural. It came not from a vulnerable, ornamental quality that many girls cultivated, but from her strength and capability. That was why it was more properly displayed here, on the training grounds, than at a ceremonial occasion like her coronation. And she had wit as well, a poise and confidence that came from long acclimation to high position. He recalled the quirk of her lip as she gave the barest smile. It made him wish he were a painter, so he could study it for hours. She would keep his attention and challenge him in ways no other woman ever had.

She was also dangerous. A prodigious lightningbender who was rumored to be mentally unstable. But Raiden liked danger. There was a reason he had joined the guard and become a double agent. Deadly peril made him feel alive.

And nothing had ever made him feel more alive than just the touch of this woman's hand.

He was in big trouble.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review! I'll update again on Friday!