The trip on the carriage wasn't much fun for anyone, although Sokka was particularly uncomfortable by it. Ty Lee had fallen asleep halfway to their destination, and she hadn't found anywhere better to lay her head than on his shoulder. His arm was numb, but he didn't dare move and wake her up. To his slight irritation, the Princess had also dozed off with her arms folded across her chest. Not even as she slept she seemed to stop machinating evil ploys… or so thought Sokka, as he glared at her. Mai was the only one who was awake, aside from Sokka, but she was merely gazing through the window, her mind off someplace else as she stroked her belly.
It was irritating that Sokka couldn't stare in front of him without his eyes falling upon the sleeping Princess. He tried to avoid it, but somehow his eyes kept focusing on her… well, it wasn't that big a deal anyway, was it? The only other conscious person in the carriage hardly seemed to remember he was there, so it wasn't as if she would judge him for looking at the Princess…
Truth to be told, he had been unfair earlier. It did seem like she stopped thinking about cruel plots when she was asleep, at the very least. Right now she looked somehow calm, at ease… though maybe she wasn't. The arms crossed across her chest were proof of her aloofness: she seemed to be isolating herself from the rest of the world somehow. Sokka wondered if her friends were aware of the problems that troubled her, or if she had kept those matters secret even from them… Why did she need him so badly? Why him and not some superior fighter? He wasn't that great a gladiator, he had no doubts about it… and also, why did she want him to become the top gladiator of the Superior League? It made no sense no matter how he tried to think about it… what secrets did this woman hold behind those tightly closed amber eyes?
The carriage came to a halt suddenly, forcing him to come back to reality and to stop trying to unravel Azula's secrets. The brusque halt made him notice his eyes had been intent on studying the Princess without his awareness. Both the sleeping girls had woken up by their stop, and to Sokka's relief, Ty Lee finally got off his shoulder, letting him massage it in an attempt to get the blood circulating through his arm again. Azula's eyelids fluttered open and Sokka could see her pupils were trying to get adjusted to the light as she blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hands.
"Had a nice nap?" he asked her, smirking slightly.
Azula hadn't intended to fall asleep at all, but she hadn't been able to help herself. All conversations had dwindled and died down after a while, and the movements of the carriage had lulled her into a light slumber. To think the slave in front of her had witnessed her sleeping face… a mild blush showed up on her face as she glared at him.
"Sure I did!" said Ty Lee, smiling. Sokka raised an eyebrow, wondering if he hadn't made it clear he was talking to the Princess.
"Uh… good to know," he muttered, smiling a little. "Why did we stop?"
The carriage door swung open then. The driver held the door's handle on his hand as he bowed and stated:
"We have arrived to Lady Ty Lee's home" he stated.
"We're at the Capital already?" mumbled Azula. "That was fast… or maybe I slept too much."
"The second option sounds more accurate" said Mai, smirking a little.
"Well, this is my stop!" said Ty Lee. "I'll see you girls next week... I hope we won't have to ride across the country again by then."
"We probably won't have to," said Azula, still drowsy.
"And you..." said Ty Lee, smiling kindly at Sokka. "I hope things go well for you. I might catch one of your matches some day, maybe. See you!"
Sokka had half expected Ty Lee to throw some insinuation at him, or at least to wink towards him. But her smile seemed sincere and honest this time, and there was no romantic intent on her words… why had her demeanor changed so abruptly? As the girl got off the cabin, Sokka couldn't help but think Fire Nation women were crazy.
The driver returned to the front of the carriage, and they were back on track soon afterwards. Azula kept staring through the window until Ty Lee's house disappeared from sight.
"Where will we drop you off, Mai?" asked Azula.
"At my house, I already instructed the driver to leave me there." replied the woman. "I know my parents' house is closer to the Palace, but I'd rather go home for the day than deal with them."
"Are they back in the city right now?" asked Azula.
"Yeah... they're dropping by for a few days. I can't wait for them to go back to Omashu already."
"Omashu..." repeated Azula. "That name really rubs me the wrong way. They should change it to something more suitable for a Fire Nation colony."
"Something like what?" asked Mai.
"You won't even let a city keep its name?" grunted Sokka, interrupting the conversation while glaring at Azula.
"Maybe, maybe not. What is it to you?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow as he stared back at her, defiantly…
"Cut it out," said Mai, surprising them both. For just a brief second they had forgotten she was on the carriage with them. "If you want to argue, do it on your own time. I don't want to hear your dumb spats."
"Hey, they're not dumb!" said Sokka.
"They are to me," said Mai, yawning. "Politics are boring."
Azula rolled her eyes, used to her friend's attitude, but she decided not to add any comments to that. She knew she shouldn't allow her emotions carry her away just because the slave kept pressing her on subjects they would never agree on. Still, arguing with him was far more fun than she expected it to be. It probably hadn't been that way back when they had first met… or had it? She sighed, trying to pull herself together somehow…
Next to her, Mai caressed her womb once more, and the movement caught Azula's eye. She hardly knew anything about gestation, but it was likely the bumpy ride and latest happenings hadn't been too kind to Mai nor to her baby.
"Are you faring okay?" asked Azula.
"I think so," muttered Mai. "But I'm feeling somewhat sick right now. I was told this pregnancy flu was variable for each woman… and it seems mine comes and goes as it pleases. It's so annoying…"
"Oh… so you're pregnant," said Sokka, understanding now why the woman stroked her belly.
"How observant of you," Azula mocked him, to Sokka's irritation. "We should give you an award for that."
"Hey! Quit being so…!" started Sokka, but the carriage stopped again, interrupting whatever he was about to yell at Azula.
The driver opened the door again as he announced they had arrived at Mai's home. She had never been more relieved to see to her house.
"Good, I can finally leave you two to your pointless quarrels," she said, smiling slightly. "I'll see you both around… I might watch a few of your fights, gladiator. It wouldn't hurt to see how you fare against professional fighters. And Azula… good luck."
"Good luck?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"If you don't know what I mean just yet, you'll probably find out eventually," said Mai, giving the Princess a frightening smirk. "As commoners say, 'hang in there.'"
"What are you talking about, Mai?" asked Azula, but her friend stepped down from the carriage, chuckling.
The driver returned to the front after closing the door, and Azula kept glaring at Mai until the girl entered her house and was blocked from sight.
"You have… weird friends, I'd say," muttered Sokka.
"They're really odd indeed," said Azula. "Though I normally understand what Mai's trying to say when she acts enigmatically…"
"Ah, she's just playing you, don't sweat it," said Sokka, shrugging. "It's the same thing you've done with me, isn't it?"
"I don't know. It's Mai we're talking about… she's not the type to do those things," mumbled Azula, crossing her arms and legs as she pondered the meaning of Mai's words.
"Still, I have to say they don't really come off as the type of people I'd expected to see hanging with you," said Sokka. "You don't seem to have very compatible personalities, I think… I don't know any of you well enough to say anything for certain, but the little I know makes me wonder how on earth you became friends in the first place."
"I won't deny we're very different from each other," muttered Azula. "We met when we were very young, at the Fire Nation Royal Academy for Girls. I instantly seized everyone's attention, since I was the current Fire Lord's granddaughter, but I didn't want a group of moping idiots following me everywhere just because I was a Princess. So I was as harsh as I could be towards every single girl at school, pushing them away… and only two of them stuck by me despite it all. I would always reduce Ty Lee to tears with my words or my fire, but oddly enough, she'd always come back with a smile on her face. As for Mai, she never cared for what I said and she had quite a crush on my brother… so, by the end of it, they were the only two girls I ever befriended."
"Doesn't sound much like friendship to me…" muttered Sokka, grimacing. "Sounds like Ty Lee is a masochist and Mai was using you to get to your brother."
"If she had been, she would have no obligation to spend time with me anymore," said Azula. "My brother has been gone for almost ten years, give or take, and Mai married another man. If she was my friend just so she could spend more time with Zuko, she would have no reason to keep me company by now."
"Huh… I see," said Sokka.
"There are other things that keep us together anyways," said Azula. "But I don't see why I should tell you anything else. You already know more than enough about it."
"Gee, so secretive," muttered Sokka. "I hope you know I'm curious by nature, so if you hide too many things it'll be hard for me not to go looking into them."
"Well, if that ever happens you just have to remind yourself of who you're dealing with," said Azula, smirking. "I thought you hated me so much that being under my service revolted you… yet now you want to know more about me?"
Sokka blinked blankly and nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. I forgot who I was talking to."
Azula chuckled and shook her head, staring out through the window again. Several people halted the happenings of their daily lives just to stare in awe at the magnificent carriage. Azula rather enjoyed the attention.
"But… can I ask what's your brother's story?" asked Sokka, and her satisfied expression vanished immediately.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at Sokka with slight irritation, but Sokka, despite starting to regret asking the question, didn't waver.
"My brother was banished," she said, curtly. "My father was ashamed of him and sent him on a quest so that he could learn the true meaning of honor as he attempted to accomplish my father's orders."
"Huh," said Sokka. "You seem awfully troubled by it… is it because you miss him?"
Azula laughed and stared at him in disbelief.
"Miss him? Who do you take me for?" she asked, making Sokka frown.
"I just thought…well, I miss my sister a lot," he said. "And I haven't seen her in two years. I just thought maybe you felt the same way about your brother."
"My life is far better without my brother in it," said Azula, and Sokka glared at her.
"Your heart is made of ice, isn't it?" asked Sokka.
"Sounds like a contradiction: a firebender with a heart of ice," said Azula, smirking. "Is your heart a piece of burning coal even though you're a snow savage, then?"
"My heart is a common, regular human heart," said Sokka. "I don't know what's wrong with yours, though… I bet you have ice flowing through your veins too. You're really mean. To think you don't miss your brother even in the slightest…"
"You don't understand anything about me or him," said Azula. "So you have no right to judge me."
"There it is, the girl of the mysteries…." said Sokka with a dramatic sigh. "Well, whatever. I don't even know why I'm bothering to ask all these things."
"Neither do I," said Azula, staring at her nails.
Sokka glared at her once more, especially since the claws he blamed for the scars on his neck were in plain sight at the moment. The carriage stopped once again, and the driver opened the door.
"The Royal Palace," he said, bowing and taking a few steps back.
Sokka's eyes grew wide instantly. Reality hadn't dawned upon him until then.
He was at the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
Azula stepped off the carriage quickly, and she expected Sokka would follow, but he didn't move. She turned and glared at him, irritated.
"Well? Do you plan to make a living from within the carriage or are you coming along, savage?" she asked.
"I'm just… taking in what's about to happen," he muttered, gulping as he picked up his pack and braced himself to enter the last place on earth he wanted to be in.
The Royal Palace of the Fire Nation awaited him, the open doors of the walls beckoning him and Azula to enter its premises. Not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would come here… well, maybe in his wildest dreams, when he thought he could get inside, slay the Fire Lord and free the world from the evil of the Fire Nation. But he never thought he'd be entering the premises of the Palace guided by the Fire Princess he loathed, by the Fire Princess who had hired him now to be her gladiator. The whole situation was so twisted that it wasn't even funny at this point.
"Something wrong?" asked Azula, the grimace on his face prompting her to inquire for the reasons behind his troubled appearance.
"I… I'm just trying to cope with reality," he muttered. "This is so unbelievable. I'm about to head into the Fire Nation Royal Palace… it makes no sense."
"No, it doesn't," agreed Azula. "But you're coming anyways. Move."
Azula walked past the gates, the men who stood guard next to them bowed down to her instantly. Sokka followed and was surprised, and annoyed, to see Azula didn't bother acknowledging the men who had honored her through the reverence.
"You should be a little nicer to your guards, you know?" he said, walking quickly to keep up with her pace.
"Why?" asked Azula. "They're doing their job, I've got my own matters to deal with. What am I doing wrong?"
"Well… thank them, at least, for doing that job!" said Sokka. "They'd probably do it with a smile if you're nicer to them."
"Their faces are always covered: they could be toothless and I would never know it," said Azula. "Thus, I don't care if they do their jobs smiling or not. It's their job; it's not as if they were supposed to enjoy it."
"Yeah, I guess that's true to the Fire Nation," grunted Sokka. "You guys don't care about anyone's feelings, for what I know."
"I never thought you'd be such a sensitive man," Azula mocked him, to his dismay. "I figured you were tougher than that…"
"Having feelings doesn't make anyone weak!" he squealed, blushing.
"I beg to differ," muttered Azula, as they walked inside the building.
Sokka forgot their discussion as he looked around, taking in every detail of the Palace. It was extremely majestic, so much that a man such as himself seemed completely out of place within it. Paintings by great artists decorated the walls, an extremely soft and clean carpet spread under his feet… this life was beyond him, no doubt about it. But it wasn't as if he wanted to live like this, to be honest. He would pick returning to his family over becoming a rich lord if he was allowed to choose whatever life he wanted…
"Where exactly are we going…?" asked Sokka, gulping as he continued to follow Azula.
"Is something the matter?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Let's just say I feel extremely uncomfortable here," he muttered.
"Don't worry, you won't be staying too long," said Azula, making him jump.
"Huh?"
"I'm simply looking for a servant," said Azula, stopping on an intersection of hallways and glancing around herself.
"Would any servant cut it?" asked Sokka, looking behind him. "There's a weird looking guy walking over there…"
Azula looked towards the direction Sokka was glancing at and nodded in approval.
"Yes, any of them would do," and, looking at the servant. "Gen, I need of your services immediately."
"Oh, Princess!" said the servant, cutting the distance between them with quick strides. "I'm glad you have returned!"
"Right," said Azula. "I need you to set up a room for this man."
Gen stared at Sokka, puzzled. He had to be sixteen years old or younger; the green in his eyes betrayed him as a former Earth Kingdom citizen.
"Who is he?" asked Gen. "He looks… strange."
"Is that any of your business, Gen?" asked Azula.
"W-well, it is, Princess…" muttered Gen. "Because if he's an important person, I should get a very good room ready…"
"Oh, don't worry. The simplest room available will be more than enough for a guy like him. And he's not staying for too long anyway."
"The simplest room?" grunted Sokka. "You know, you could be a little more courteous!"
"I think I've shown you more courtesy than anyone would have expected me to," replied Azula. "Besides, the room you'll get will be the best place you've ever slept in, even if it's the worst chamber in the Palace."
Sokka narrowed his eyes, irate; Azula returned his glare and Gen watched them both, confused about this strange man with blue eyes who accompanied the Princess. Who was he?
"Uh… I'll go get the room ready, then," said Gen, smiling as he tried to walk away.
"Stop," said Azula, holding Sokka's gaze for a second longer before looking at his body up and down, to Sokka's slight discomfort. "Do this moron a favor first and get him something decent to eat. Clearly he hasn't had a real course of food in years, if he ever had one to begin with."
"I had several back when I was at the South Pole," said Sokka, cranky. "And it's your fault that I'm underfed now."
"A gladiator will fare better if he's underfed rather than overfed. He'll be more agile," said Azula, smirking.
"You really are heartless, you know?" said Sokka, irritated.
"Uh… w-would you follow me, sir…?" asked Gen, uncomfortable by the spat between them.
"No need to be so formal with him, he's a slave. You're welcome to think of yourself as above him, Gen," said Azula. "And he's called Sokka."
"Oh, then, sir Sokka… I mean, just Sokka!" he corrected himself as Azula raised an eyebrow towards him.
"Right…" said Sokka, and with a last glare towards the Princess, he followed the servant towards the kitchen.
Azula watched them leave and headed towards her particular office, a place where books and scrolls of her interest were stored. Once she was inside, she looked through several of them, browsing their content while making quick decisions. She studied the rules of the gladiator industry, and afterwards she took a catalogue filled with information regarding the most skilled warriors of the Fire Nation. A familiar name caught her eye, the name of a man who had trained her brother so many years ago… She wondered if he would agree to train a gladiator.
She spent almost an entire hour fixing her plans carefully until she reasoned that her newly appointed gladiator was bound to be in his room by now. She felt compelled to check on him, and she figured she should let him know he would only be spend one night in the Palace, so long as he was lucky enough to be accepted by the master she believed most suitable for him. But as soon as Azula stood up, the door swung open. The Princess looked towards it quickly, and wasn't too pleased to see her two advisers and caretakers staring at her sternly.
"Azula," said Lo, or who Azula thought was Lo. "Why did you leave this morning?"
"And where did you go?" asked Li.
"If you wanted to know so badly, you might as well have tagged along," grunted Azula, glaring at them both. "It was none of your business. I have errands to run now, so get out of my way."
"You don't need to be so abrasive, Azula," said Li.
"We are only ever trying to aid you," said Lo.
"Well, you've done a great job of it until so far," said Azula, sarcastically. "I don't need any assistance from either of you at the moment, though, so you're as good as useless at the moment."
"Azula, we are simply concerned for your wellbeing," said Lo.
"After the news you received this morning…" said Li.
"Yes, I'm supposed to be extremely shaken over that, I know," said Azula. "But I'm not. I'll get my way somehow."
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked both old ladies at unison.
"It means what it means, you don't need to know," grunted Azula, frowning as she headed to the door, walking past both women, but then she stopped on her tracks. "Although, if you wish to make yourselves useful somehow… tell my father I wish to meet with him. We need to discuss a matter of great importance regarding my engagement. And once you're done with that, send word for my Barge to be staffed quickly. I need to travel tomorrow morning. Make sure all preparations are ready by then."
"But Azula…" said both of them, albeit they knew Azula would ignore them now.
Azula didn't feel much remorse for dismissing Lo and Li in this manner; they were becoming extremely irritating lately. If they knew what she was up to they would surely report to her father… and she was the one who had to explain the situation to him. She needed to do so as carefully as possible, or else everything would go to waste.
Lo and Li used to be her most trusted advisors, the people she turned to every time she needed help… they were her firebending mentors as well, despite not being benders themselves. But, as of late, they seemed to do nothing but keep an eye on her, watching her as if by her father's orders, as if she wasn't to be trusted… she had no idea if she was simply being paranoid nowadays or if her fears were completely understandable, but she couldn't bring herself to confide in Lo and Li anymore, for her own reasons.
She walked down one of the most secluded hallways of the Palace and headed towards a room with a half open door, the plain chamber she had instructed Gen to set up for Sokka. She didn't know if the gladiator was finished eating yet, but she realized he was when she peeked inside the room and saw him spreading the contents of his filthy bag on the mattress. The delicate sheets were now covered with dirt, weapons and a handful of worn-out clothes that contrasted clearly with the neat room.
"You're about as subtle as a komodo rhino," Azula said, her eyebrows rose.
Sokka hadn't noticed she was at the threshold of the room and he jumped instantly, his knife in his hand.
"D-don't sneak up on me, will you?!" he yelled, irritated.
"You should be a better listener," she said, smirking. "A good warrior would have heard me approach."
"Yeah, yeah, very funny," he replied.
"You… don't seem to have many clothes," said Azula, walking towards the bed and picking up what she thought was a shirt, or was it? She couldn't even tell. Sokka snatched it away with a small pout.
"Well, what did you expect?" he grunted. "It's not as if I had the privilege to go out shopping if I wanted to."
"You'd like to go shopping?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow. "Not a very manly thing to do, if you ask me…"
Sokka flushed and glared at her, wondering why he had been charged with this form of divine punishment. He had always thought the universe hated him, but this was the final straw.
"I'm manly enough not to beat you up for that comment, how's that?"
"Gee, such a gentleman," Azula mocked him; Sokka rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her presence for as long as he could.
He set his club next to the bedside table and his boomerang and knife atop it, just in case he had to be at the ready. But when he was about to place his bomb bag inside a drawer, Azula stopped him.
"Don't get too cozy. As I said, you won't be staying here long."
"Huh? You plan to kick me out at some point?" asked Sokka, glaring at Azula.
"Not exactly," said Azula. "I plan on having you move somewhere specific once I've found the right master for you."
"Oh… huh?" asked Sokka. "Why not make the master move here? Surely you could pull some strings…"
"The man I have in mind lives in a faraway island," muttered Azula. "He wouldn't move here no matter the circumstances. Also, he's extremely picky about his students. Make sure not to come off as an inept savage, understood?"
"He's picky?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "And what are we going to do if he says he won't teach me?"
"He's the best sword master around… but if it comes to that, we can always resort to the second best, lesser as he might be" said Azula shrugging.
Sokka's eyes grew wide in surprise at hearing what his possible master's specialization was.
"S-sword master, you said?" he repeated. "I'll be taught how to use a sword?"
"You didn't expect to keep fighting with your primitive tools forever, did you?" asked Azula, smirking. "You need to upgrade your skills. As you are right now, even the worst of the professional gladiators would take you out."
"Yeah, I had already thought so, but you insisted on having me as your gladiator," muttered Sokka. "You should've thought about how low my level was before hiring me, you know?"
"Oh, I'm afraid you must be right," said Azula, dramatically. "I guess I should kick you out right now and find someone else. Is that okay with you?"
Sokka winced and stared at her with irritation.
"N-no…"
"Then quit complaining," said Azula.
Sokka rolled his eyes again and nodded.
"Fine, fine, whatever you say," he grunted. "Why are you here anyway?"
"On first instances, to see if you were comfortable in your new accommodations," she said. "Are they to your liking?"
"Well… you were right," he admitted. "This room is far more luxurious than anything I'm used to… it's slightly intimidating, but I guess I'll get by."
"You don't need to worry, you'll only have to 'get by' for one night," said Azula. "We'll depart to find your master tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow?" asked Sokka, surprised. "Oh… okay. I guess that's better than staying here anyways… this place freaks me out."
"You should stroll down the Royal Gallery," said Azula, smirking. "My brother was terrified of that place, if I remember correctly, and he was used to the life in the Palace… you definitely should go there sometime."
"Uh, I'll pass on that, thank you very much," said Sokka, yawning. "Well, this has been the weirdest day of my life, hands down… I'm just waiting for something to happen so that I wake up and discover everything's been a dream."
"I'm surprised you think of it as a dream rather than a nightmare," said Azula, smiling.
"Well, there's weird stuff in dreams too," said Sokka. "And you're the weirdest of it all."
"I'll take that as a compliment, Blue Wolf," said Azula, smirking. "Will you keep using that name in the Superior League?"
"Sure, why not?" said Sokka, shrugging. "Well, it's been fun chatting and all, but I think I'll jump into bed right now, if you don't mind…"
Azula grimaced and shook her head.
"I do mind… you shouldn't go to sleep yet, take a bath first. You're filthy and so are your clothes."
"Hey! I washed myself and my clothes back when I was at Hui Yi, just before you showed up!" yelled Sokka.
"May I remind you that you're a 'wolf'?" said Azula. "If you dump water on a filthy wolf, the stench only gets worse."
Sokka frowned and sniffed his armpits. Either he was too used to his odor or the Fire Nation Princess had extremely delicate senses.
"You've probably spent ages without a proper bath… well, if you ever took one, that is," said Azula, shrugging and making Sokka glare at her again. "So go take one. There's a good bathroom two doors down."
"How would you know if I've taken a proper bath or not?" he grunted.
"It looks like you haven't, judging by where you came from and where you've spent the last two years of your life," said Azula. "You probably don't even know how to use soap."
"Well, seeing as how you're being so awfully insistent about me taking a bath, I'm guessing you want to be the one to teach me how to use it?" he said, winking at her.
He was amazed to see her blush intensely as she stared at him in dismay, disbelief and anger.
"What on earth are you implying, you disgusting savage?! Are you stupid?!"
"I'm implying you want to take a bath with me, of course!" he chuckled as he walked to the door, Azula's glare followed him closely as she blushed even more. "Okay, relax, girl! I was only joking! Although seeing you get flustered like this proves you're not really heartless… seems like you're capable of emotions, alright," he said, patting her on the head as he passed by next to her. "See you around, Princess…"
Her title seemed to lose all dignity when he was the one uttering it, and Azula couldn't help but feel outraged at the thought. How dared he speak to her in such manner…? If anyone seemed keen to take an accompanied bath it was him, not her! She never mentioned such a ridiculous idea! He was truly a pervert, wasn't he? Back when they met he had been talking about her 'blue fire', and now he wanted to bathe with her?!
She found herself even more flustered when she saw him take off his shirt as he walked towards the room she had signaled at him. His back seemed to mock her… and for reasons she couldn't understand, she couldn't get her eyes off it.
"Make sure you get plenty of rest, you savage!" she yelled. "You'll be up at six in the morning, you heard me?!"
"Yeah, yeah…" he said, shaking his hand carelessly as he entered the bathroom.
It took a few minutes for Azula to calm down, for her heart-rate to return to normal. She felt so humiliated… How dared he? And why hadn't she found anything good to retort at him with? She was never speechless… she always had the last say in everything, and she silenced everyone else with her words, not the other way around!
"Princess..." said a servant, bowing down after approaching her. "The Fire Lord is ready to see you."
"What...? Oh! Right," she had half-expected Lo and Li not to keep to her orders, and she could have been pleased to discover her assumptions had been wrong if she wasn't still so embarrassed by her gladiator's words. "I'll be there shortly."
The servant nodded and bowed again before leaving. Azula kept taking deep breaths to calm down somehow; she couldn't face her father in such a state of disarray… She forced herself to remember her goals, to try and think of Sokka not as himself, but simply as a gladiator she needed for her own ends. She knew she was nowhere near true tranquility, but she had no more time to waste dawdling and thinking about that despicable Water Tribe man…
She sped down the hallways, holding her head high as she thought over and over again about what she would tell her father… she halted in front of the Throne Room, took another deep breath and walked inside.
The red curtains by the sides of the door fluttered when she walked past them, the curtains behind which she had hidden several times during her childhood in order to sneak into war meetings she hadn't been allowed to attend. They were also the drapes from where she had seen her grandfather, Azulon, telling her father that he wouldn't allow him to become Fire Lord, because it was his first-born Iroh's birthright. To Azula's amusement, though, her father became Fire Lord anyway. She wasn't entirely aware of the circumstances that had allowed him to become the supreme ruler of the nation, but she didn't care much either way. Her father had gotten his way that day, despite the odds… and so would she.
She knelt down in front of the throne, her head tilted. The powerful fire surrounding the throne was very bright, so much that Azula could hardly make out the man's features through the flames.
"You have requested to meet with me, Azula," said the deep voice of the Fire Lord. "Lo and Li told me you wished to discuss matters regarding your marriage."
"Indeed, father," muttered Azula, nodding slowly before raising her head. "I didn't have a chance to convey my thoughts about this arranged marriage before… and I wish to do so now."
"What do you have to say about it?" asked Ozai.
Azula tried her best to keep calm despite how nervous she felt. She knew she could pull this off somehow; and truth to be told, she had no option but to succeed.
"I do not believe I should be betrothed to Admiral Chan's son," muttered Azula.
Ozai remained silent for a few seconds that felt far longer than they were. Azula's body was almost betraying her mind by having her shiver: it was the first time she had defied her father's authority so directly.
"What objection do you have to your engagement?" asked Ozai.
"I have met Chan's son already, and we didn't get along at all," said Azula. "I know enough about him to deem him unworthy of becoming my husband and a member of the Royal Family."
"I see…" muttered Ozai. "In all honesty, I don't believe there will ever be a man worthy of you, my daughter."
"In that case, I might as well be the one to select my unworthy husband, Father," said Azula, smirking slightly.
Ozai chuckled, to Azula's relief. This was going far better than she expected.
"Your wit becomes sharper every day, Azula," he complimented her, before returning to the topic at hand. "Regardless, I promised Admiral Chan I would reward him for his deeds at the South Pole in any way he wished. For me to call off your engagement, you must prove how unworthy this man is. If you succeed, I will offer the Admiral another reward in the form of anything other than handing you over to his son."
"I would appreciate that, father," said Azula, even though she felt compelled to tell her father the truth right away, to change the tides by letting her father know what had truly happened at the South Pole, but her mind stopped her on her tracks. If she were to tell him the truth now, obtaining a gladiator would have been for nothing…
"You will have one opportunity to prove his incompetence, Azula," said Ozai. "Use it wisely."
"I will, Father," said Azula. "One opportunity is all I shall need."
"I have no difficulty believing that," said Ozai, smiling. "Do as you wish, Azula. You have one month, though. The marriage contract is to be closed by then, and if you haven't proven Chan to be as undeserving of you as you believe him to be, you will be marrying him without protest."
"I understand. I will not fail you, Father," said Azula.
"You would only be failing yourself, Azula, if you fall short on this particular mission," said Ozai. "As I said, no man will ever be worthy of you in my eyes… marrying you to Chan's son or anyone else makes no difference to me. But I do advise you to begin searching for suitors. I'm not getting any younger, and it would be adequate for you to be married by the time you inherit the throne."
Azula couldn't help but smile at his words. She had known for a long time that her father wished for her to be his heir, but not often did he say it so bluntly.
"I will do so, father," she said, nodding. "I deeply thank you for allowing me to prove myself. I will do my best to succeed."
"I do not doubt that you will," stated Ozai. "You are, after all, my daughter. Make the most of this opportunity, Azula."
"I will," she said, nodding with determination and certainty. Failing had never been an option: Sokka had to defeat Chan's gladiator.
A/N:
It's been a while since I wrote an Author Note here xD I hope you guys are enjoying Gladiator! ^^ I leave you this note to ask you wonderful readers if you'd be so kind to make a Gladiator Sokka art so that I could use it as a cover and promotional picture for this fic… I would very much appreciate it if any of you could pull this off! I'm really short on money so I can't commission anyone to do this, and I don't think my skills as an artist are good enough for what I have in mind… so if you wish to help me out, just PM me and I'll give you in full detail what I want from the fanart. Thanks beforehand to anyone who gives this a go! ^^
I'm also going to direct you guys to another fic I've been working on in conjunction with a good friend of mine. It's called Apartment 614, and naturally, it has Sokkla in it ^^ what else could you expect if I'm involved with it? xD anyhow, it would mean a lot if you go check it out! ^^ That's all for now, folks! ^^ you can expect chapter seven sometime soon!