"Pri…Princess Azula. What an unexpected honor this is to have you with..".

"You may dispense with the pleasantries War Minister. While I am pleased to see that your time in this country has not dulled your deference to your anointed superiors, I'm afraid that we will have to cut your grovelling to a minimum as the Firelord has ordered me to take control of this project in order to get you back on schedule".

It greatly amused me by how well Ozai's favorite child continued to use the truth in order to tell a lie. For while it was true that her father had indeed expressed his desire to speed up this latest attempt to step out of his brother's shadow, Ozai had said nothing about usurping Quin's authority.

Something which I did not hesitate to point out.

"Forgive me for saying this princess, but I do believe that your father had expressed a considerable degree of confidence in War Minister Qin's managing abilities. Which would mean that while he wishes for you to lend your….inspirational talents to this project, overall control of the operation rests in the hands of the man who is responsible for building this…weapon".

It really is fun to needle the princess in this way, especially when one considers the reactions of those whose position/abilities makes them less than immune from the volatile temper of Ozai's favorite child.

During the course of our journey to the front lines, both of Azula's companions had silently watched in shock, and in the case of the knife thrower more than a little carefully guarded envy, as I continued to make it clear that I was not some weak willed courtier with connections to the throne.

Of course she hadn't taken it overly well, and I had to on occasion use my powers to speed up my body's ability to heal, something which I am sure incensed her to no end, but surprisingly it turned out to be a mutually beneficial for both of us.

It was rather obvious that for all her skill and power, Ozai's daughter was rather inexperienced when it came to dealing with an opponent who didn't get incinerated during the first fire blast. Whereas I, who have until recently been deprived of a target who possessed the ability to stand against me, have allowed myself to grow slightly lazy. Yes I can kill a man with the snap of my fingers, and yes I possessed the ability to easily defeat the physical embodiment of a 1000 bending spirits, albeit one that was lacking in training, but these required little to no effort on my part.

But with Azula, I was greeted with an ever changing opponent.

One that was quite amusing to watch as she struggled to pass off my little acts of insubordination as nothing more than a result of an eccentric personality.

"Considering the lack of progress that has persisted since Minister Qin started production of this weapon, and the fact that my father has expressed an interest in seeing this brought to completion as soon as possible, I believe that I have a much better understanding of the Fire Lord's expectations that you Lord Ketsueki".

Debatable since I am the one Ozai relies on when he wants someone to experience a violent, but vanishing end, but I suppose I'll keep my mouth shut since daddy's little monster is about to fulfil her part of the bargain.

Which funnily enough Quin seems to suspect despite being in the dark about our little deal.

"I assure you your highness that my men are working as fast as they can".

….

Raising a slightly questioning eyebrow at the man's rather obvious attempt to appease her, and doing her best to ignore the smirking expression that had come over the latest irritant in her life, Azula allowed a smirk of her own to cross her features as she once again proved why she was the Fire Lord's favorite child.

"Then perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them. I trust that amongst the officers that have been assigned to you, there exists one whose performance is…shall we say lacking"?

Receiving a hesitant nod from the bearded War Minister, Azula merely raised an eyebrow as Qin rightfully guessed the purpose of her question.

"There..there is such a man your highness, but it is to be expected for a project of this scale. And considering that Captain Ako is a member of the family that happens to contribute a sizeable portion of its yearly income to the war effort, I think this…teaching session is unnecessary".

Adopting a look of surprise that only an idiot would believe to be genuine, Azula kept her tone friendly as she addressed the man her father had intrusted in developing the weapon that could achieve what her traitorous uncle could not.

"Considering that MY family is the one who controls which front, or special project, gets the necessary resources to carry out their mission, I believe that I have first priority instead of some social climber who believes he can achieve glory by solely relying on his family's financial resources. And since I would hate to explain to my father why my little demonstration cost him his most promising engineer, I suggest you get a move on before I lose my patience".

Smiling as Qin rushed to collect the soon to be dead Captain, the Princess of the Fire Nation found herself frowning as Ketsueki decided to comment on her negotiating technique.

"I must admit that I'm rather surprised at you Princess. I would have thought that after finally being allowed off leash, you would have grown past the need to use your father as an excuse to get what you want. But I suppose since you have a total of 4 defeats to your name, which is rather close to your brother's total I must add, you need something to remind yourself that your power still surpasses those around you. Except me of course".

Gritting her teeth of murderous irritation at the mocking tone of her most annoying traveling companion, though she had to concede that he at least had the presence of mind to lower his voice so that only the 4 of them could hear it, Azula managed to keep her more violent impulses in check as she addressed the annoying male.

"And the same could be said for you Lord Ketsueki. While I confess that I failed to reach my desired outcome against those I had been tasked with eliminating, I at least have not spent the better part of my life training to defeat one specific foe only to fall short at the last possible second. So while my failures might be in greater number of yours, I believe the quality of your defeat is rather higher than mine".

Savoring the irritated expression that had come over her father's competent, yet annoying minion, the Fire Nation princess was surprised, and more than a little disappointed, at how quickly Ketsueki recovers.

"True. But as I recall, your father accepted my request to pursue this mission, which means that my defeats, as well as my victories, are my own. Whereas you were specifically chosen by the Fire Lord because he believed that your abilities would allow you to do what your predecessors could not. Which means that every time you fail, you run the risk of having Ozai look like a fool".

…..

There is something immensely satisfying in being able to deliver a stinging comeback after allowing oneself to be caught off guard.

However, judging by the mixed look of anger and, if my eyes aren't misleading me, terror that had come over the royal fire bender as she considered this rather brutal observation, I'm guessing that the idea of suffering one of Ozai's punishments had never before crossed her mind.

Which in itself is rather interesting if one considers the lack of patience the man has for failures, and those he deems unworthy of his favor. Though on occasion he has made exceptions

Until he crossed that line in the war room, Prince Zuko had never been physically reprimanded for his less than stellar performance at firebending, at least when compared to the others of Sozin's line. And Zhao, whose track record for success was even more laughable than the banished prince due to the level of resources he had access to, kept getting promoted until he commanded an entire theatre's worth of troops.

I like to think that Ozai was simply providing the ambitious officer with enough rope to hang himself, for if he hadn't, I might have to start seriously considering seeking a new employer.

Serving under a murderously ambitious tyrant is one thing, and has been the way my family has managed to survive the last 150 after my great great grandfather decided to end, in a limited sort of way, nearly 700 years of self imposed exile, but surviving under a short sighted fool is another.

Keeping that particular thought to myself, I merely raised an eyebrow as the rather developed pony tail girl decided to speak up for the unusually silent royal.

"Now Lord Ketsueki, I think your being a tad harsh. From what the reports say, the Avatar and his friends have managed to thwart all of our nation's attempts to capture him. But as far as I know, Azula is the only one whose managed to have them fleeing in terror. Which means the next time they interfere with a Fire Nation operation, she just has to show up to send them running again".

Wondering how this girl managed to remain so naïve despite years of exposure to the sadist that was the current, and preferred heir to the Fire Nation throne, I was prevented from tearing apart the bubbly girl's explanation by the returned presence of the man whose work rested on the brilliance of others.

"Apologises for the wait your highness. It took some doing, but I managed to track down the pris…I mean the captain, and he is now outside waiting for you".

Idly playing with the idea of closing the minister's windpipe for his interruption, though I abstained from doing so since I had no desire to be reprimanded by the man whose parenting style was clearly lacking, I merely raised an eyebrow in amusement as Azula readied herself to fulfil her part of our deal.

"Very good Minister. I trust that you have also gathered your other officers to witness my little demonstration"?

Fighting the urge to laugh at the panicked expression that had come over Qin's face, I managed to keep a snort of amusement from escaping as Azula acted in a manner that was far more merciful than she truly was.

"Oh I suppose I can without the audience today. Cause after all, rumors can sometimes be even more effective than demonstrations. Don't you think so Minister"?

Silently following the sadistic royal and her cronies, I couldn't help but find myself agreeing with the truthfulness of that saying.

For rumors, properly manipulated, could be a weapon that was far more powerful than the strongest bending.

Something which both myself, and my family knew all too well.

…..

Though she would never admit it out loud, for to do such a thing would be seen as a sign of weakness, Azula had to concede that Ketsueki had been right to ask her to do what she was about to do.

For the arrogantly smirking captain was proof that her father's efforts to reorganize the military was still incomplete.

She could understand the need to reward loyal and prominent supporters of the war effort with rank and position, but wealth was by no means a sign of competence.

Just from a look, she could easily tell what sort of officer Ako was.

Lazy.

Ignorant.

And worst of all, incompetent.

Such things could not be allowed to persist in the empire that her father was trying to build. And even though she was only doing this in order to satisfy her foolishly incurred debt, Azula nevertheless felt a degree of contentment for what she was about to do.

"Captain Ako, do you know why I have called you away from your duties"?

Smiling as the captain shook his head, the preferred heir of Firelord Ozai allowed her tone to become more friendly as she began to circle the soon to be incarnated army officer.

"I have called you here because I believe your example will serve as an inspiration to your fellow officers. That is of course you believe you are worthy of such an honor".

Smirking as the foolish man proceeded to nod his head like a fool, and well aware that she had the attention of not only the surrounding soldiers, but also her entourage as well, Azula's voice was one of pure contempt as she covered her clenched hand in her signature blue flames.

…..

ANNNNNND….another cliff-hanger XD

I do apologize for the wait, but you know how it is. Busy with life and other aspects that distract me from it XD

Anyhow, hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter.

Still working on the slow development of the Azula/OC relationship, but finally had a positive breakthrough, at least for 2 evil people. (i.e. Azula admitting that her punishment was worthy of her).

Anyways, will continue this scene in the next chapter, along with covering Aang's initial earthbending training. Which I can safe to say, might be a tad different from cannon due to the increased amount of fear he is experiencing.

Also dropped a tiny hint to Ketsueki's origins. Believe it will keep you wondering until I do the big reveal.

Anyways, plz review. No flames.

Til next time.