Azula and Zirrinni were on the deck as Azula practiced generating lightning.
"That was almost perfect." Li, one of Azula's twin advisers, said.
"Just one hair out of place." Lo, the other of the twin advisers said.
Angered, the princess brushed the stray strand back in place. "Almost is not good enough." She said then tried again.
"I have a technique you may be able to benefit from, Azula." Zirrinni said.
The princess turned to her guest. "And what might that be?" She asked, intrigued.
"Water isn't the only element where its benders have healing abilities. My father taught me how to use firebending to heal."
Azula was even more intrigued now. "How is this done?"
"To heal with firebending, your energy must be centered. If you connect the energy from your inner fire with the inner fire of another living thing and focus on helping this thing or person instead of harming them, then you'll be healing them with your firebending."
"Have you used this technique before, Lady Zirrinni?" Lo asked.
"Yes. My father had found a fire ferret in town before he taught. The poor thing had a fever until I helped burn the fever away."
"Very impressive." Li said.
"Yes. Impressive, indeed." Azula agreed.
The captain soon stood beside Zirrinni. "Pardon my interruption, Your Highness, but thanks to Lady Zirrinni's help with the tides, we'll be able to dock the ship before long."
Azula smirked. "Thank you, Captain."
He bowed then walked away while the princess turned to Zirrinni. "Your waterbending skills are impressive, Zirrinni."
Zirrinni blushed from embarrassment. "It's thanks to my mother's teachings."
Before long, they reached their destination then Azula and Zirrinni went ashore then awaited their moment to announce themselves to Zuko and Iroh.
"These shells are very pretty." Iroh said. "They'll be enjoyable keepsakes for years to come."
"We don't need useless things. Have you forgotten that we have to carry our things on our own now?" Zuko asked.
"Hello, brother. Hello, uncle." Azula said and the two men turned to where they'd heard Azula's voice come from.
"Why are you here?"
"Where I'm from, we exchange a 'Hello' before resorting to questions." Azula said as she and Zirrinni walked to the two of them. "Becoming uncivilized so quickly, Zuzu?"
"I told you to not call me that!" Zuko snapped.
Zirrinni cleared her throat then bowed to Iroh. "It's truly an honor, General Iroh."
"You know my name, but I'm not certain I heard yours." Iroh said.
"Forgive me. My name is Zirrinni. My father, Tanzo, was one of your top lieutenants."
Iroh looked at the girl more closely then smiled softly. "You certainly resemble your father."
"Why do you have on a blue shirt?!" Zuko demanded.
"Zuko!" Iroh scolded.
Zirrinni just chuckled. "It's okay, sir." She said to Iroh before turning to Zuko. "My father and sister are from the Fire Nation, but my mother is from the Northern Water Tribe."
"Tanzo was banished for having fallen in love with a woman from the North Pole." Iroh explained to the siblings. "I have heard that Zirrinni here is an exceptional bender."
"Not just in firebending, but waterbending as well." Zirrinni added.
Silence reigned for a few seconds. "So, what do we owe the honor of your visit, niece?"
"Seems to run in the family how both of you are so quick to get to the point!" Azula said as she crushed a seashell of Iroh's with just her index finger and her thumb. "As you wish. I've brought a message from home. Family is suddenly very important to Father, so he's changed his mind. Rumors have begun to spread of plans and treacherous plots to overthrow him."
Zirrinni stayed quiet then took a risk. "No matter what happens in it, family are the only people who can be fully trusted." She said and to her surprise, Azula didn't get mad at her.
Instead, the princess continued. "Father has come to regret your banishment and wants you home." She said but Zuko was stunned silent, causing her to look to her older brother. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
Zirrinni cleared her throat again. "Zuko, you should be happy or even excited about this news. You just got some really good news."
"I'm sure my nephew just needs some time to-" Iroh started.
"Don't interrupt, Uncle!" Azula snapped then looked at Zuko. "I haven't heard a 'Thank you', yet. Neither Zirrinni nor I are messengers. We didn't have to make this voyage."
The three heard Zuko talking to himself about this news.
Azula was about to speak when Zirrinni beat her to it.
"We can give you a little time to process this, Zuko." She said, ignoring a look Azula gave her that seemed to be a mix of shock and slight anger. Zirrinni simply turned to Azula. "He should be allowed time to mull this over is all I'm saying, Azula. Let's give him the evening, at least."
Azula thought about it then nodded. "Very well. We'll come to call tomorrow. Have a good evening, Zuzu."
The two girls left. Once on the barge, Zirrinni immediately turned to Azula. "I'm sorry, Azula. But you saw him in there. If I were in his place, I'd need some time to process such information."
"I'm not too mad at you, Zirrinni. You were a big help."
"All I did was tell the truth. One can put their trust in friends, but family are the only ones who can be completely trusted. My parents taught me and my sister that."
Azula nodded. "Let's train for a little while."
Zirrinni nodded then the two began to spar, with Zirrinni using waterbending for defense and firebending for offense.
Once the sun had set, the teenage girls stopped for the night. Zirrinni saw Echo resting on the deck of the ship and smiled.
"Be ready in the morning, Zirrinni." Azula nodded.
"I will, Azula." Zirrinni said.
With that, the two went to their rooms and prepared for bed.
Zirrinni was dressed in the morning when a knock on her door drew her attention. "Coming!" She said then opened the door to see Azula herself greeting her.
"Morning, Zirrinni." She said.
"Good morning, Azula." The dual bender echoed then the two headed for the deck of the ship together. Before long, they saw Zuko and Iroh arriving. Even from the distance they were to the ship, Zirrinni could tell Zuko was happy to go home but Iroh seemed a bit suspicious.
"Welcome, my family." Azula said then bowed to the two, who bowed back to her. Zirrinni bowed as well. "I'm glad you made the right decision." She added as the four stood up straight.
"Are we to depart?" The captain asked.
"Set course for home, Captain."
"You heard her! Raise the anchors! The prisoners are coming home with us!" The captain said.
Zirrinni sighed and facepalmed herself while Azula glared at the captain. Iroh fought off the royal procession while Zuko threw the captain off the ramp.
"You lied to me!" Zuko said to his sister.
"You say that like I've never done it before." Azula said then walked away as two more of the royal procession attacked Zuko but he made quick work of them then turned to Azula, whose back was still facing him. Zirrinni pulled water from the ocean and the water surrounded her arms as she was ready to fight him.
"Out of my way!" Zuko demanded.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Zuko." She replied.
He charged at her and the two fought. When she found the right moment, Zirrinni smirked then began shooting streams of fire at Zuko. Fueled by his anger, Zuko shot off a massive fireball at Zirrinni, resulting in her briefly screaming as she was thrown at the side of the ship and hit her head before passing out.
He then turned to his sister and tried to attack her but she dodged his strikes. "Father said Uncle is to blame for the loss at the North Pole and that you're a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar. The only reason he wants you home is to lock you up so you can't embarrass him anymore."
Angered even more by that, Zuko continued trying to land a hit but couldn't. When she stopped his last attack, Azula smirked then shot off a stream of fire. When he looked at her, she was charging up a lightning attack but Iroh grabbed her hand and redirected it to the cliffside and kicked his niece overboard. The now fugitives then made a run for safety.
After finally getting on the ship, she ran to Zirrinni. She hid it well, but she was worried about the girl. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry for long, as the dual bender began groaning, hinting that she was starting to come to then she slowly sat up.
"Captain-" Azula started.
"Don't worry about it, Azula. My head's just sore. I'll live." The dragon rider assured the princess.
Echo surfaced from hunting in the water and looked at her mother, concern evident in her eyes.
"I'm alright, girl." Zirrinni assured her.
At the resort Zuko and Iroh were staying, Azula announced that her brother and uncle were traitors and warned them that harboring the two would face her father's wrath. "There will be no place left for them to hide." She said.
Zirrinni stood silent nearby before the two returned to the ship.
"Well, that whole thing was a fiasco!" Azula said.
"We'll catch them, Azula. Hunting takes time and patience. Whether it's a herd of fox antelope, tiger seals, even other people." Zirrinni assured her. "Have faith, Your Highness."
Azula calmed down and nodded. "Thank you, Zirrinni."
Zirrinni smiled and nodded.
That's chapter three
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