The Commander in charge of the blockade looked ready to burst a blood vessel.
Azula found it rather comical to watch the man's eyes bulge and his face flush a deep red as the Avatar's sky bison flew away into the distance. He was so caught up in his rage that he had not even noticed the royal vessel that came up beside him. True, it was a lot smaller and less embellished than all the other royal vessels, but it still held the royal insignia upon its flags.
Normally, the royal family would never travel on a boat so small, but it was quicker, and less likely to draw too much attention. Azula had protested against using it at first, but Lu Ten had just argued back that, as a mission given to him by the Fire Lord himself, her cousin was not going to trade speed for luxury.
One might think that, going by those words, Lu Ten was eager to serve his nation and the Fire Lord. They'd only be half right. Lu Ten is loyal to the Fire Nation as both a Prince and a member of it, his loyalty is to the people within it and their wellbeing. His loyalty is not to the Fire Lord.
As a Princess, Azula had learnt from a young age to observe and identify the subtleties hidden within each person's language and behaviour. And out of everyone, the people she always found most interesting to read was her own family. Especially her father.
Ozai had always seemed very indifferent, looking at everything as if it had personally offended him. But when it came to her Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten, Azula's father seemed to almost always be in a simmering rage, glaring at the pair as if he could set them on fire with his eyes alone (he probably could if he tried hard enough).
When his brother had not returned from Ba Sing Se, Ozai had been in a most cheerful mood. Azula was pretty certain she had almost seen him smile when they received the news. Azula was of an opposite train of thought during that time, especially when a report came in stating that Lu Ten had been killed in battle. Her uncle and cousin had always been so kind to her, acting more like family than her father ever could. And wasn't that the real kicker? Perhaps if she had been born a boy, her father might have actually taken an interest in her. In most areas of the Fire Nation, women were completely equal to men, never being seen as lesser or greater. Yet, the royal family had always been one of old beliefs, despite Sozin's desire to take the nation into a new age, and it wasn't too many years before Sozin's reign that women were not given the same equality. Azula always thought that that line of thinking was complete and utter bullshit.
The only time she could recall her father taking an actual interest in her was when her fire started coming out in blue bursts instead of the common red and orange. She had been so excited when her father inquired about her bending with her instructors, thinking that maybe now she would get his attention! Her hopes were quickly extinguished when they told him that 'no, she can't immediately move up to advanced classes, she has to master the basics first.' Ozai wasn't very happy about that and left promptly, not even sparing her a glance.
Still, Azula's (nonexistent) relationship with her father was still a much better relationship than the one that Lu Ten had with him. Before Ba Sing Se, Lu Ten had barely any contact with Ozai, content to never acknowledge his uncle's existence. However, after the siege, the pair seemed to have begun their own private war that no one else was privy to. Now, Azula had come to expect all the glaring and the mocking smirks from her father, but Lu Ten? Definitely not. Still, it was hard to deny it all when she could clearly see her cousin give her father a death stare every time appeared in view. For her, it was hilarious to watch, if not also a little bit concerning.
"-After the Avatar. Now!" The sound of the Commander screaming at his men pulled Azula back into reality, and she schooled her expression into one of extreme boredom.
Lu Ten cleared his throat from his place beside her. "If you are quite finished with your incessant shouting, commander Zhao, perhaps we might be able to start getting things done?"
Azula did not think it was possible for the man to get any more red than he was, and it took all of her concentration to stifle a laugh at his stilted movements as he turned to face them. Having realised who was addressing him, Zhao quickly made his way to the side of his boat and bowed deeply, not wishing to show any more signs of disrespect towards his superiors.
"C-Crown Princess Azula, Prince Lu Ten!" He stuttered out. "P-please forgive me for-"
Lu Ten held up a hand to silence the man. "The Avatar, Commander, whom you so excitedly reported about to the Fire Lord, is currently speeding away from our sight as you continue to grovel before us."
Zhao was so shocked by the Prince's unusually harsh words that he could only continue to gape and nod his head. Lu Ten turned away from the side of the ship, apparently done with talking to Zhao, and instead turned towards their captain.
"Jee, see to it that we set sail to follow the Avatar's course immediately."
"Yes sir!" The older man bowed and left towards the back of the ship.
"You are relieved of your duty to capture the Avatar, Commander Zhao." Lu Ten's voice made the man snap back to attention. "There is no longer a need for you or your men on this mission. You may return to your usual patrols. Thank you for your service to the Fire Nation"
With that, their ship began to sail away, leaving a protesting Zhao and his mini army behind. Azula couldn't help but grin.
"I don't think I've ever heard you speak like that before." She remarked, turning towards her cousin who began to lean against the railing.
"Like what?" He raised an eyebrow.
"As if you couldn't care less about the person you are talking to."
He huffed a laugh. "Well, Zhao has always been a pain in the arse, so I might as well treat him like one. The only way to actually make him listen to you is through authority, and even then, he hasn't always had the best track record in listening to his superiors."
Azula hummed and joined him next to the railing. The Fire Nation army was all about honour and respect, everyone in their nation knew that. For someone with such a lack of respect or regard for authority, it's a wonder that Zhao has been able to find his way through the army ranks at all.
"He can't be that much of an idiot to disobey an order from a Prince though, is he?"
He gave her a wry smile. "I suppose that's what we'll later find out."
{~}
"When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came…"
Shyu's words continued to echo in Aang's head as they waited for the Fire Sages to come along and open the large doors in front of them. He knew that as the Avatar, certain things were expected of him, duties to fulfil. When he ran away all those years ago, anger and fear were driving his thoughts, and his responsibilities as the Avatar were the last things in his mind at that time.
Sokka and Katara's explanation of the Hundred Year War was disconcerting enough for Aang when he first emerged from that iceberg. But when he saw the remnants of the Southern Air temple, the… remains, it was like someone had taken the truth and slapped him in the face with it. He knew, deep down, that if he had stayed at the temple, he most likely would have died along with his fellow Airbenders. He may be the Avatar, but back then, he only knew one element, and it would not have been enough against the might of the Fire Nation. But that still didn't prevent guilt from invading his thoughts whenever he thought of his people, and how he had abandoned them to their slaughter.
But the past wasn't the only thing that was weighing on his mind. While Aang had been occupied by reaching the Fire Sages to receive Roku's message, Sokka had been regaling them all with the wild tale of his experience in the Spirit Realm. He hadn't really been thinking about it too much, but as he mulled over Sokka's words, Aang realised something.
As the most spiritual people of all four nations, the Air Nomads knew of all sorts of spirits that roamed both the mortal and spirit realms, and Aang still remembered most of the stories told about them from when he was younger. Tengu's were also mentioned in those stories, but they did not align with the way Sokka had described it.
The Air Nomads always spoke of the Tengu's as tricksters; spirits that caused trouble but never any serious harm. Yet Sokka had described the spirit in a way that made it seem malevolent in a way, especially when he described the black blood and the dark mist (which was also pretty disgusting to hear about). Aang knew, of course, about dark spirits and their corruption, how they caused disruption and damage to the balance of the world. They only appear when they are consumed by emotions like hate, anger and fear, twisting their energy into something unrecognisable. The Tengu that Sokka described seemed to only be partially corrupted, as it did not attack him right away. Still, that was bad enough.
Since his disappearance, Aang wondered how many spirits had fallen into corruption due to him not being there to settle the balance between humans and spirits. With the Fire Nation causing so much damage to the mortal realm, the spirits that take residence in it are bound to be affected too. Hei Bai, the forest spirit is just one example of all of that.
It was times like these when Aang wished there was some sort of guide or manual that came with being the Avatar and how to deal with all the stuff that came with it.
Aang stiffened slightly in his hiding place when he heard the Fire Sages come rushing down the hallway, and he cast a nervous glance at Shyu who was preparing to convince the sages to open the doors. He hoped the guy was a good actor.
"Come quickly!" Shyu yelled. "The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!"
After questioning him, the Great Fire Sage ordered the other sages to get into position and proceeded to open the doors to the sanctuary. The blasts of fire that they sent forward were so loud that he had to cover his ears as the sound echoed throughout the room, thus making it impossible for him to hear anyone come up behind him.
When the doors finally started to swing open, Aang prepared to dash towards the opening, but not before something gripped onto the back of his clothes, pulling him back. Caught off guard, he stumbled back into a strong grip, holding him in place. A gloved hand clamped over his mouth as a sharp blade was soon raised against his neck.
"Stay still, Avatar, and no one has to get hurt." A calm voice spoke from behind him, and the gloved hand moved to grip his shoulder and nudge him forward. Not wanting to risk getting decapitated, Aang could only comply and step forward into the hall.
Katara, Sokka and Shyu already seemed to have started fighting the sages, but it soon ended quickly. Shyu was eventually pinned down by several sages, while a girl dressed in pink dropped down behind Sokka and jabbed a hand against his back, making him instantly drop to the ground.
Katara, still facing off against one of the sages, was the first to notice Aang and his captor. And the very sharp blade that was resting against his neck.
"Enough!" The voice behind Aang called out, and everyone froze in place, turning to look towards them. "Lay down your weapons and we can settle this peacefully."
As he said this, two more girls appeared out of the darkness. One of them stepped up closer to Katara, the glint of knives just visible hidden within her sleeves. The second walked over behind Aang to stand next to the owner of the voice, seeming far too relaxed for such a tense situation.
Two sages pulled Shyu up from the ground, pinning his arms behind his back while the rest of the sages stepped forward and bowed down low.
"Crown Princess Azula, Prince Lu Ten." They addressed the two behind Aang, and really? That was just great. Not only had they been captured by the Fire Nation, but it seemed that they'd been captured by Fire Nation royalty! Today was really not their day.
Distantly, Aang could hear the locks on the door begin to shift again. If I don't reach those doors now, I'll never be able to speak to Roku!
"Now, before anyone decides to-" The voice was cut off as Katara, with swift movement, threw her remaining water at them, causing Aang's captor momentarily loosen his grip and lower his sword as ice crept its way up his arm.
Not wanting to waste this chance, Aang sent up a blast of air, propelling him forwards towards the slowly closing doors. He didn't look back once, not even with all the yelling and blue (?) fireballs that came after him.
The doors were nearly closed by the time he reached them, and it was only through sheer luck that he was able to make it inside before they shut behind them.
Now, he was alone in the sanctuary, while his friends were still stuck on the other side.
-Azula is an extremely difficult character to write when following a canon setting. In an alternate universe where she's had a slight change to her childhood... let me tell you, it is not easy.
I believe that in any situation, Ozai is an asshole to his kids and has no redeeming qualities. As stated in this chapter, he really does not care. At all. The reason for his indifference towards Azula here will be explained later.
-Aang is also pretty hard to write. He is such an upbeat kid who's placed in multiple stressful situations that he has no idea how to handle, all the while still retaining his childlike innocence.
-The Fire Nation nobility sucks.
-Though I make no promises, I estimate that Zuko will appear in about two or three chapters. Maybe.
-With school starting soon, I can't promise that future chapters will be really long. I will still try and update when I can though.
Thank you so, so much for reading this! Don't forget to comment, it really helps to motivate me to write!
