Chapter 4

Azula stood in the stables of her father's estate on Sozin's Island, using a brush to comb the mane of one of her two horses, a light brown mare she had named Goldflake. Having just finished a match, she was still wearing her full polo uniform, the helmet, knee-guards and elbow pads all included, as well as the white trousers and a red jersey sporting the number one on its back. Following Azula's failure to defend her World Junior Championship title in Pai Sho, her father had cut off nearly all of her social interactions, and playing polo with her father and his rich and influential friends was pretty much her only remaining option for socializing this summer. Of course, following the tournament her father had kept her out of the limelight not only as a punishment, but also because he didn't want everyone to talk about him violently beating his daughter. It was a beating which Azula felt she thoroughly deserved, after letting her father down like that.

Not being allowed to go back to Li and Lo's Boarding School for distinguished young Fire Nation ladies to finish the semester had been a blow, but it hadn't felt devastating now that both Mai and Ty Lee were no longer attending the school. Most of the other girls at school were Azula's sycophants, but Mai and Ty Lee… well, they had been almost like friends to Azula. She hadn't really thought about them being friends, though, not until they had lost their connection. And perhaps they had been more than just friends in Ty Lee's case, but… well, it wasn't worth dwelling upon. The main thing was, she had finished her semester in the care of private tutors, and her father had already warned Azula that she would not be returning to Li and Lo's in the autumn, continuing to work with her private tutors. Perhaps if she played well at the Fire Nation qualifiers for the U18 World Junior Championship in late October, Ozai would consider letting Azula rejoin her peers at Li and Lo's, but until then she was to remain in isolation as a form of punishment.

Of course, things weren't all bad and there were definitely worse places to be stuck at than Sozin's Island. Her father had bought the entire island some ten years ago, turning it into a private resort for the family, his friends and business partners. It had everything, a private dock for yachts, a golf course, a polo stadium, a dressage arena and many other amenities, not to mention the splendorous three-story mansion itself, secluded by palm trees at the center of the island. Staying on Sozin's Island allowed Azula to spend time with her horses, Goldflake and Innocence, which was one of her favorite pastimes after Pai Sho. In fact, even up to the age of twelve, Azula couldn't decide between becoming a professional Pai Sho player or a dressage rider. In the end, she had chosen Pai Sho, largely because she reasoned that her father would approve of her decision, himself being a grandmaster and the reigning Pai Sho World Champion. Now, Azula at times wondered whether she had made the right choice. Her father didn't know much about dressage, but he knew everything about Pai Sho. He was merciless when it came to pointing out every single mistake that she made at the Pai Sho board.

Following her humiliating loss to Katara Enuaraq, Azula was absolutely determined to never allow a repeat of such a pathetic performance on her part. She was happy to be pushed very hard by her father whenever they practiced together. Ozai had made it very clear that a reoccurrence of such an embarrassing defeat would have dire consequences. While the bruising and the black eye had faded within a week and a half, Azula had been walking with a limp for about a month before her ankle healed fully. But that particular injury had been her own fault. She had hurt herself while trying to escape her father's punishment, falling and badly dislocating her ankle and straining her Achilles tendon. Why did she even try to flee from a beating she so richly deserved? She could tolerate a few backhand slaps to the face and having her backside whipped mercilessly with her father's leather belt. So what if it left her crying through the several sleepless nights that followed? She just needed to toughen up. Who else did she have looking out for her other than her father? There was nobody else. Ozai's love was tough but fair, she would be the first one to acknowledge it.

And so, over the past few months Azula had been working extra hard to make sure that she would never again disappoint her father like that. She studied as many of the recent games as she could find, especially her defeat to Katara, trying to learn from her mistakes. It was a painstaking and arduous process, but Azula was absolutely determined to squeeze out every little advantage she could during these summer months while her competitors were probably partying and wasting their time like stupid teenagers used to do. In autumn, she would be competing against girls and boys older than her, sixteen and seventeen years of age, far more experienced players than her. Azula knew that she would need to be at her best to progress to the next stage of the tournament. This summer, her father was taking an increased interest in her training and fortunately, Ozai seemed to be pleased with her progress so far.

When her father wasn't away to take part in a Pai Sho tournament or on one of his frequent business trips that could take him all over the world, they would often play in the evenings, sitting down in his large study at the Sozin's Island mansion. Azula had never managed to last more than thirty moves against her father, but she felt that lately she was becoming a little better at resisting her father's attacking style of play. Her father often received visitors on the island, and among them were many skilled Pai Sho players. Ozai never missed an opportunity to pit Azula against his guests, testing her, claiming that facing more diverse opponents would help her improve. Ozai's right hand man at the Nakamura Industries, Zhao Sakamoto, was a frequent guest at the estate and Azula was asked to face him on many occasions. She utterly hated playing Zhao because his style was as slippery as was his personality. He always managed to lure her into one trap or another, and it always made Ozai displeased with her.

Another powerful Pai Sho player who visited occasionally was Long Feng, an influential politician and power broker from Ba Sing Se. Azula had played his daughter Joo Dee in tournaments before, on both occasions trashing the other girl soundly. Those victories had felt particularly sweet because Joo Dee was under the false assumption that the shared business interests between their fathers meant that there was also some kind of connection between her and Azula. An irritated Azula had made it very clear to Joo Dee that she did not consider the other girl to be her friend. In fact, she considered the other girl unfit to even tie her bootlaces. As far as playing Long Feng, Azula did rather well against the man. She had actually managed to escape defeat in one of their games, a fierce contest in which she had tricked Long Feng into a clever exchange of tiles which had led to an unavoidable draw. Her father had been very proud of her following that game, while Long Feng was left walking around for days with a particularly sour expression on his face.

"Ah, Azula," the girl was suddenly interrupted from the reverie of brushing her horse's mane by a man's voice nearby. She looked up, noticing none other than Zhao Sakamoto, also still wearing his full polo uniform, white pants and the black jersey of the opposing team, number three on Zhao's back. "Your father was wondering where you had disappeared to," Zhao remarked casually, smiling at her.

"Is he looking for me?" Azula asked, aware that she sounded nervous.

"No, I don't believe so, don't worry," Zhao continued to smile. "I must congratulate you on a great game earlier, Azula. I wish your father wouldn't always have you on Team Red. I could do with a number one like you." Number one was basically the attacker of the polo team, and was the position usually assigned to the youngest and least experienced player. That didn't mean the position did not require skill, however, and Azula was a very skilled polo player, despite being by far the youngest on either team.

"I don't mean to slight you, Mr. Sakamoto, but I prefer playing with my father," Azula replied politely. It was definitely true, although Azula sometimes wondered if perhaps playing on the opposing team would be easier on her. At least then she wouldn't have to face her father's wrath if she were to let her team down.

"And Ozai is clearly unwilling to let you out of his sights. Not that I can blame him… you are blossoming into an exceptionally beautiful young woman, Azula," Zhao said, his gaze lingering on her. "In fact, given how you look in that polo uniform, many would say that you already are an exceptionally beautiful young woman."

Azula blushed, unsure of how to react to Zhao's words. A part of her enjoyed the compliment because it wasn't something she heard often. Nobody dared to say something like that to the heir of Ozai Nakamura. However, there was something about the way Zhao acted that made Azula feel just a little weird. She would turn fifteen in month and a half, and she didn't think that older men were supposed to say such things to fourteen-year-old girls. And then there was the fact that Zhao's much younger wife had died rather unexpectedly a few years ago. Azula was aware that there were a lot of dark rumors about what exactly had happened, despite her father always slapping down such talk about his right-hand man.

"I don't think my father would approve of you saying things like that to me, Mr. Sakamoto," Azula replied eventually.

"Your father is very protective of you, and I can understand him completely," Zhao nodded, the smile never leaving his lips. "You are wise to rely on him, of course. However, it always helps to have more friends, and I'd love to be your friend, Azula. You know what they say… don't keep all of your eggs in one basket. You can never be too sure of what the future might bring."

There was something ominous about Zhao's words, despite them being said with a smile. Azula really didn't like where this conversation was going, starting to become nervous. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Sakamoto," she forced herself to reply politely. "But now I should go and find my father," Azula added, not wanting to spend any more time conversing with Zhao.

"You're still wearing your polo uniform," Zhao reminded her. "Shouldn't you change before going back to the estate?"

"Yes, I… I'll do that soon," Azula stuttered, cursing herself for not having changed straight away while the other players were still doing their mandatory post-match posturing. Despite having separate changing rooms, Azula still didn't want to change with Zhao lurking about. Their conversation had made it all the weirder. "Goldflake needs some more attention, though," she said quickly, hoping that Zhao would just go away.

"Well, she is a beauty of a horse," Zhao nodded, walking past her. "I'll see you back at the estate later. Ozai and I have come up with a couple of curious Pai Sho puzzles for you to solve."

"I can't wait, Mr. Sakamoto," Azula forced herself to smile politely, wincing inwardly. She much preferred a straight up honest game of Pai Sho to all those convoluted puzzles that Zhao and Ozai often came up to confound her with. It seemed that she was in for an evening full of frustrations.

A few hours later, Azula had managed to safely get through the dinner at the estate. It was as boring an affair as always, and she had to fight very hard not to let her boredom show because that would have surely displeased her father. Azula knew for certain that some of her father's guests had children of similar age to hers, and it surely was no coincidence that they were never allowed to travel with their parents to Sozin's Island. The adult children and toddlers were apparently fine, but if they were anywhere near Azula's age then Ozai didn't want them anywhere near his daughter. The upside of this decision was that Long Feng never brought Joo Dee with him, and Azula would have rather spent an evening reading the Fire Nation tax code than interact with Joo Dee.

Ever since she had been barred from attending Li and Lo's boarding school Azula had slowly grown to accept loneliness as her new normal. Certainly, she had plenty of distractions available to her regardless at which of the Nakamura estates she was staying. Obviously, Sozin's Island offered the most to do because it had Goldflake and Innocence, her beloved horses. The vast manor on the outskirts of Caldera City was where she had spent most of her childhood, back when her mother and brother still lived with them. Azula didn't like indulging in memories of Ursa and Zuko, and consequently, she no longer enjoyed spending her time at the manor, although she did miss its vast library with its countless history books about the empires of old, a persisting fancy of hers. And then there was the smaller Caldera City estate, a posh mansion that Ozai had bought when Azula had started to attend Li and Lo's. Sure, Li and Lo's was a boarding school, but Ozai was never going to allow his daughter to spend her nights with the other girls at the school. Buying an entire mansion nearby may have seemed excessive to many, but not for someone with the riches of Ozai Nakamura. Azula knew that her father owned vast properties all around the world, many of which she had never even heard about.

Her time spent at the smaller Caldera City estate was probably the happiest Azula had been over the past four years, ever since their family had been torn apart by those nasty divorce proceedings. While attending Li and Lo's school, she had come to befriend two girls whose company her father approved of. A year older Mai Syun was the daughter of a man named Ukano who was in charge of Nakamura Industries research and development labs, while Ty Lee Watanabe, a girl of Azula's age, was the daughter of one of her father's most trusted financial advisors. Despite both girls having some annoying traits, such as Mai often acting like a sarcastic know-it-all, and Ty Lee being almost obnoxiously subservient, Azula had become very fond of the two girls. Unfortunately, their friendship would not last.

As the three of them had grown closer, Azula began to use her father's frequent absences by inviting Mai and Ty Lee to stay with her at the estate. She didn't think that her father would mind, and Ozai probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid, if not for another recent development between the girls. There was one particular topic that was by far the most popular among the attendees of a girls-only boarding school, and that topic was, obviously, the boys. It was also a topic that simply would not be tolerated in Azula's life until her father had decided otherwise. Naturally, this only made Azula more curious about boys. Ty Lee and Mai did not face such restrictions from their families, and the year older Mai actually had some dating experience. Azula and Ty Lee were desperate for any and all boy-related information that they could get out of Mai, although in retrospect, Azula now believed that Ty Lee's interest had been entirely faked. Ty Lee had been interested in something else.

Azula couldn't remember how exactly it had all started. She only knew that they were both thirteen when at some point Ty Lee had suggested that they practice certain things in anticipation of being able to date actual boys. And that's how it had started, with some chaste kisses exchanged tenderly during one of the many sleepovers at Azula's Caldera estate. They had been much too young to move beyond kissing, but months later the kisses had become far more serious, accompanied by plenty of petting that left them both breathless.

It took Azula some time, but eventually she began to heavily suspect that Ty Lee wasn't into these activities because she was getting ready to date boys. No… it was pretty clear that Ty Lee was firmly into her. And honestly, Azula didn't mind that. In fact, she felt rather flattered. She did feel something towards Ty Lee, even if she hadn't yet figured out what it was exactly. Azula was definitely enjoying herself a great deal with Ty Lee, but she still felt as if she wanted to see what dating boys was all about. She already had an idea that being with the right girl could feel seriously amazing, but she wanted to know if maybe being with the right boy could be even better.

However, it was on Azula's fourteenth birthday when the disaster had struck. Mai and Ty Lee were staying at the estate for the birthday party, and later in the evening, Azula and Ty Lee had become careless and overconfident. They had asked Mai to stand guard for them, but the older girl had probably become tired and annoyed with this new duty of hers, and had simply abandoned her post. That was when Ozai had stumbled upon them, Azula pinning Ty Lee down on the bed, her hands under Ty Lee's shirt as she sat astride the other girl, both of them sighing quietly into each other's mouths.

Ty Lee and Mai had been sent packing from the estate immediately, and the following day they had also been kicked out from Li and Lo's boarding school, Ty Lee for her inappropriate behavior and Mai for covering and failing to report it. In addition, Ozai had also dismissed Ty Lee's father, something that Azula felt terribly guilty for to this very day. As for Mai's family, they got off lighter. At least Ukano didn't lose his job at the research labs. And as for Azula… well, her final fourteenth birthday present had been the beating of a lifetime that had left her bedridden for days. She still remembered the shocked face of the doctor who had come to tend to her injuries, a man utterly loyal to Ozai, but still unable to suppress the horror at what he was seeing.

In the months following the incident, Azula somehow managed to avoid thinking too much about it all, largely succeeding in forgetting both Ty Lee and Mai. However, in her current isolation, the thoughts of Ty Lee in particular became very persistent on Azula's mind. Azula was still thinking back on some of their more enjoyable sleepovers as she made her way over to her father's study, where Ozai and Zhao awaited her for more lessons in humility through Pai Sho.

As expected, the Pai Sho board had already been set up when she arrived, Ozai beckoning Azula over and ordering her to sit down at the board. Azula peered at the placement of tiles on the board, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the strategy of both sides. "What is your first impression?" Ozai asked impatiently.

"Whoever is playing with the light tiles is clearly winning," Azula replied, earning herself a brief chuckle from Zhao and a disappointed frown from her father.

"First impressions can be deceiving, Azula," Ozai told her firmly. "Find a way for the dark tiles to win in seven moves. You have fifteen minutes while Zhao and I step outside for a smoke." With Zhao having poured them both a glass of whiskey, the two men went out on the balcony and lit up their cigarettes, starting to discuss something in hushed voices, while Azula remained hunched over the Pai Sho board, trying to figure out the puzzle while at the same time trying to ignore the distracting stench of tobacco drifting in from the balcony.

Minutes passed and Azula was failing to find the solution. The position of the light tiles appeared solid and impenetrable. It was the kind of frustratingly impenetrable bastion that she would expect Katara Enuaraq to build just to frustrate her. Hmm… perhaps that was the point of this particular puzzle, to show Azula how even the most seemingly impenetrable position might have some structural weaknesses. Azula began to reassess, trying to look for more unconventional ways to break down the defenses of her imaginary opponent, refusing to worry about the fact that the time allocated by her father was slowly running out.

Having pushed herself to think outside the box, Azula finally saw a possible solution. Being several flower tiles down already, she hadn't at first even considered the possibility that a way to victory lay in sacrificing even more tiles, but that was indeed the path to victory. Moving her Rhododendron to where it could be taken by her opponent's Chrysanthemum was the answer. The Rhododendron was a clever bait because it couldn't be taken, not without seriously compromising her opponent's position. But Azula's Rhododendron was also threatening the opponent's White Jade, which was now forced to retreat to a less active square on the board.

Still, while this move had improved Azula's position, it did not outright win the game. There had to be more to this puzzle and she needed to figure it out quickly while her father and Zhao worked their way through their cigarettes and whisky. Perhaps if she kept up the pressure with her Rhododendron and continued to offer it as a poisoned sacrifice that couldn't actually be accepted…

"What do you know, Ozai, I think she's actually figuring it out," Zhao sounded impressed as the two men returned to the room, startling Azula as she was still deep in thought.

"She hasn't figured it out completely, but it's a good start," Ozai admitted grudgingly. "Alright, reset back to the starting position. Zhao, take the light tiles. Azula, show us if you have figured it out or not."

As Zhao sat down on the opposite side of the Pai Sho board, Azula felt reasonably confident that she had figured out the correct course of action, even if some doubts remained. Still, as she began to execute her plan to force Zhao to accept the Rhododendron sacrifice, the position of her opponent began to shake and crumble. Within five moves, she had pushed Zhao's harmony forming tiles back to the edges of the board and created the threat of forming a harmony ring herself. The only way for Zhao to prevent the loss was to sacrifice a couple of his tiles, but after that exchange Azula still found herself in the superior position.

"Hmm, well done indeed," Ozai admitted grudgingly, appearing impressed.

"Ozai, I think she's ready to take the U18's by the storm," Zhao nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?" Ozai frowned.

"I'm ready, father," Azula insisted, hating how she failed to sound as confident as she wanted to.

"You'll need to qualify first, remember," Ozai reminded her. "It's not going to be a formality. We've talked about this before, Azula. Playing the older kids will not be a walk in the park. This is what all the training has been for, daughter."

"I understand, father," Azula nodded obediently. She truly did understand what her father was trying to teach her. Azula's single-minded attacking style of play was well suited for success against the younger players who could rarely withstand her aggressive assault, but even on that level it had already failed against the defensive strategies of Katara Enuaraq. If Azula was going to succeed at the next level and become a pro player some day in the future, her game had to evolve and she had to become an overall more rounded player. She had to master the defensive aspects of the game and how to navigate the pitfalls of the endgame. So far, she had made good progress in her training, and to Azula's great relief, her father appeared satisfied.

Azula's personal goals for the upcoming year of competition were simple. Despite her father's warnings, she did not for a moment doubt her ability to qualify for the main championship event. And then, once there, she would meet her brother Zuko at the Pai Sho board for the first time since their early childhood. Zuko would be there as the defending U18 champion, and when Ozai had learned about his estranged son's victory, he had been absolutely mad with anger, once again taking his frustrations out on Azula by giving her a particularly severe hiding. It all just made Azula loathe her brother and her mother even more than she already did. It was their fault that she was being punished by her father. Zuko and Ursa had ruined the family, tearing it apart by her mother instigating the divorce proceedings. They had said all those terrible things about Ozai in the courtroom, but Azula knew perfectly well what loathsome hypocrites both Ursa and Zuko were. She couldn't wait to get back at them the only way she could, by crushing and humiliating Zuko at the Pai Sho board.

"Clear the board and step aside, Zhao," Ozai ordered firmly. "It's been a while since I've given you an honest test, Azula. Let's see how long you can hold out against me after all the training we've done."

"Of course, father," Azula said. She did feel as if the training had improved her game by leaps and bounds, and as a result she was not as nervous about facing Ozai as she had been before. Azula had firmly decided that she was done disappointing her father.

Next chapter: Let's take a look at Katara's summer as she attends Uncle Iroh's Pai Sho summer camp. All sorts of shenanigans and romantic complications are bound to ensue...