Author's Disclaimer: I don't own a thing belonging to "Avatar: The Last Airbender!" Nada thing.
Author's notes: For all of you not liking Zuko, he's not in this chapter. You're welcome.
CharlieBarrow: For all the messages and all the suggestions and all the wonderful thoughts and feelings, thanks, guardsman :P
Maraghoul: for forming the initial bones of the story :P
QueenTyzula: No Zuko for you! I know you're just going to have to survive :P
Harley Quinn Davidson: we should all give Azula a hug. And wind up a crispy critter :P I want her to get well too.
Lill: Thank you for the kind words.
N3phtys: I hope the story doesn't seem boring or stagnant. Writing in weekly intervals sometimes slams one back to an original point and it's like I'm trying to expand from that said point each week. I just want the story to progress for the characters in a slightly realistic way. And Azula drinking at a bar with Zirin would be rather funny :P
"Stoking the Fire"
Chapter fifty-seven "Fond memory"
"You're not to firebend. Orders from on high," one of the soldiers sniffed. He puffed out his chest. One of the healers sighed, exasperated.
"She's not to be toyed with. And that's not even when she's in the mood to snipe you back," he said. Azula merely stared at the men with a dull expression. Ty Lee wasn't in the room. She had been at her side since she awoke, and had no idea what the once concubine was doing. Had she abandoned her? Much like she'd done? Azula swallowed, feeling an odd twinge of guilt. She remembered how haughty she sounded ordering Ty Lee and the traitors buried up to their necks. Ty Lee must be getting her revenge….
The healers in the room demurred to another of their rank that entered. His eyes were quick and clever and his beard fell almost to his waist. He sat on a stool beside Azula's bed, eyes twinkling in greeting. "I think we can begin without you prone and restrained. Does that sound agreeable, princess?"
Azula blinked slowly. Her mind was wary, looking for a trick or a trap. Zuzu must have commanded him to see if she was looking for escape. She decided to go with the safe answer.
"If that's your wish, healer."
"It is. And I think it's yours," he said. He signaled and one of the healers brought out the restraint keys. Azula waited on the mattress even after they unlocked her manacles. At the man's gesture, she finally sat up. Her right thigh began cramping immediately and Azula winced.
"Where are the Kyoshi Warriors?" she asked. The two women that came with Ty Lee were nowhere to be seen either. A horrible clawing sensation crept up Azula's spine.
The man looked confused then placed who she was referring to. "Lady Ty Lee's friends. They're running an errand for Lord Takumi. Worry not, princess, no one will disturb us."
That's what Azula was afraid of. She sat on the edge of the mattress, long legs dangling. Her long black hair hung over her eyes, limp and loose.
At the first question, Azula collapsed inward.
"How would you describe your relationship to your friend?"
Azula cringed.
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"How long has Princess Azula been this wayward?" Lord Takumi asked. Ty Lee sighed, exasperated.
"Ever since the Fire Lord applied some torture. It didn't help her mental state after losing," Ty Lee admitted. She fingered the end of her braid. Her hair job was rather messy today and she wished she didn't look as frazzled as she felt. She couldn't place it, but Takumi's questions were too personal. He was a few years older than her, and seemed nice enough, and she should be grateful. He WAS housing a traitor to the crown. But anytime he asked about Azula, his eyes were too shiny and intense. It put a shiver up Ty Lee's spine.
"I saw some of the cuts on her arms. Pity she's been marred. Well, she'll recuperate," Takumi was saying. Ty Lee licked her lips.
"I hope…"
One of the healers knocked, entering, all bows. "My lady, can you join us? The princess isn't responding."
Ty Lee gladly rose to her feet. She bobbed a bow to Takumi.
"Until later, my lord."
"I look forward to continuing our conversation later," he smiled. Ty Lee felt uneasy as she followed the bearded man to the princess's bedchamber.
Azula was un-manacled, staring uneasily at a new bearded healer asking her a series of questions she didn't deign to respond to. Azula's shoulders straightened as she scented Ty Lee's chi. The acrobat sat beside her on the mattress,
"Can you answer any of his questions?" she asked sweetly. Aula turned anguished eyes to her.
"He asked…." She cringed in on herself. Ty Lee wanted to touch her so badly but she had to play her hand, stiffly and coolly. It contrasted with the emotion welling in her heart. Her fingers coiled in on themselves.
"It's okay. One moment at a time," the healer smiled. Azula's head bowed, her hair hiding her eyes. She wished Ty Lee weren't there. She wished she had won. She wished she were on the Fire Throne…. Didn't she? That would mean Zuzu would be dead. Azula closed her eyes.
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"Are you sure this a good idea?" Ty Lee fretted. The healer of the mind smiled. He had Azula blindfolded with a scrap of fabric, and she was unfastened to feel more at ease. But Ty Lee could read the tenseness in her cross-legged form. Her hands were clenched into fists on her knees, and her loose black hair bannered over her shoulders. The healers had allowed a few moments for her to dress, so she was clad in a wrinkled tunic and trousers. Her feet were bare, however.
The stone room the healer of the mind had chosen was bare aside from a fountain inside that constantly streamed water, creating a pleasing sound. The healer sat on a stool; Ty Lee knelt on the ground beside him.
"I do," he answered Ty Lee. "We'll try a mind walking, and hopefully, a good memory will help jar her from her current state."
Azula inhaled raggedly. "Is Ty Lee still here?" she asked the room. Ty Lee perked.
"I am," she said. Her heart sank with dismay as Azula's shoulders slouched at the announcement. Then why did she ask if she was there? "Far be it for me to stop you, healer."
"I'll begin." The bearded man rang a bell and began talking in a low, soothing tone. "Forget what has passed. Your brother isn't here. Your friends are…..'
Inwardly, Azula cringed. Did he think Ty Lee was her friend? She'd used her during her heat, then buried her before the assault. She didn't think many would call that a friend. And Mai had long since considered them friends, ever since Zuzu….. Azula hung her head.
Mai….Ty Lee…. Despite herself, Azula could feel the heat of the Earth Kingdom plains. They had skirted the outreach of the widest desert of the continent. The engineers on board the metal carriage feared if they suffered a break in the middle of crossing it, they could be stranded. So, the carriage traveled on the edges of the plains of sweeping sand, bypassing the random villages strung at short intervals.
Azula listened to the healer's soothing voice as she fell inward, the darkness of the blindfold encapsulating the memory her mind struck upon. One of the afternoons they halted for a break so the engineers could check the engines. Azula found herself walking the desert terrain. Her boot toed a rock and she kicked it hard.
When she happened upon her companions, they were showing a lot of skin. Mai had shrugged her robes off, wearing a breast band and her skirt. She was laying on her side on the sand, giggling inanely, and that sight alone amused Azula to no end. Her eyebrow had raised and she remembered demanding what was going on.
"Found some fun juice," Mai slurred. She held up the round half of a plant that had been cut from its source. A heavy cloth was wrapped around it, and Azula could see it was to protect from the brambles of the plant. As she watched, Mai drank heavily from it, a line of the plant's juice dotting the corner of her mouth.
"What in…" Azula began when a familiar giggle ran out. Ty Lee had been climbing the nearby sand dunes, and she was even more underdressed than Mai. Heat slammed in Azula's face and between her thighs as her eyes roamed over pale flesh. Ty Lee was wearing only the simplest of shifts, her clothes discarded across the sand. The shift was of a silky fabric and fell to midthigh, exposing a lot of leg.
"Azulaaaaa," Ty Lee had called out. She stumbled and ran down the dunes, falling into Azula's arms. Azula's hands clasped her back tightly, roaming over bare skin. "You gotta try this stuff!"
"It's clearly made you two batty," Azula protested. But after some physical jostling, and Ty Lee had wrapped her arms around her neck, giggling into her ear, the princess had relented. Her breasts DID feel nice pressed up into her after all. So Azula accepted a section of the plant from Mai, who had cut a new piece. Her fingers had scraped against the linen wrapped around to protect her hand. After the first sip, Azula felt her eyes dilate to fine points. The sun beat hotter, and the light was so bright, she wanted to squint and hide.
"More!" Ty Lee had giggled. Azula drank again. Her throat felt parched, even as she continued drinking the sweet nectar of the prickly plant. She finished the section of plant, gasping as a line of juice dotted her jaw. Mai giggled and hacked eagerly at another cactus. As she handed out the new plant sections, Ty Lee sprawled on her side beside Azula's knee, the princess began to sweat heavily. She opened her tunic to the waist, the fastenings tearing under her grasping hands, and kicked her boots off.
"Damn, it's hot!" she had yelled. Ty Lee giggled and rolled against her. Soon she was teasing Azula to chase her and Mai called after them. The cactus juice made Azula's eyes dart as her constricted vision blurred with the shimmering heat of the wicked sun. Her shift slammed into being, cock throbbing against the lap of her trousers as she chased Ty Lee gallantly.
The high-pitched giggles from the acrobat set Azula's mind to red madness as heat surged through her blood.
Azula was reveling in the heat of the memory when the healer's voice intruded on her thoughts.
"Come back….come back…come back!" Suddenly a bell was rung and Azula cringed as she slammed back, her eyes darting behind the darkness of the blindfold. The memory had been a fun one, and she felt somewhat calmed. Even hearing Ty Lee whisper something to the healer of the mind out of her peripheral proximity.
"How was that, princess?" the healer asked. Azula pulled the blindfold from her eyes and blinked as the light of the room filled her eyes.
"Better," she admitted. Ty Lee's heart swam with hope.
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Ursa looked out the carriage window curiously. Their driver was pulling the chicken horses to a stop before a sprawling manor. It was half carved out of the mountain side before them and the sight was impressive.
"Welcome to Mountainside Manor," Iroh said gallantly. He pushed open the carriage door and hopped out, holding out a hand to his lady. Ursa took it and calmly stepped after. She gave a hopeful smile to the lord.
"If I can just get a glimpse of Azula…..it would help," she admitted. Iroh nodded, eyes twinkling.
"We should send letters back to your son and daughter. Come, Ursa. Let's see how Azula is doing."
Despite herself, Ursa took Iroh's hand. He squeezed her fingers gently as they walked in to the estate. Servants bowed low, and a thin man with a skinny beard waited at the foot of the large stair case in the center of the entry way.
"My Lord Iroh! Lady Ursa! Welcome to Mountainside Manor. I am Lord Takumi; I greet you in my father's place," Takumi explained to Iroh's curious glance. Iroh smiled and held his hand out. Takumi knelt and pressed his brow to the intricately carved ring on his index finger. Ursa watched, curious. She knew the ring had a flower symbol on it, but not much else.
Takumi rose with the swiftness of youth and smiled. "You'll want to check in on Princess Azula. Her companions are with her."
"Please," Iroh interrupted. "We thought it best the princess not see us. Is there a way we can observe without her knowing?"
"Yes," Takumi decided. "They're in the gardens now. There's a high balcony way up that should shield you from sight. As long as you're quiet, they won't know anyone's up there."
"Thank you," Ursa said. She glimpsed the servants helping the driver carrying in their bags and upstairs. She didn't have time to request her things sent to a separate room. Iroh gently took her arm and they followed the young lord down a few twisting corridors and up a steep flight of stairs. When they exited to a balcony high up, they could see the sprawling gardens below. The people below were finger sized. They were so high up that Ursa slowly relaxed. One could sneeze and they probably wouldn't tell on the ground.
"Azula…" Ursa murmured. The four figures below were all wearing the imperial red tunic and trousers, but she recognized which one was her daughter. The long black hair tied back in a haphazard ponytail was an indicator. Her stance wasn't as confidant as it had been. As she watched, Iroh took her hand. Azula walked slowly toward a closed off area, staring at green buds that had yet to sprout whatever had been planted there. Imperial soldiers lined the stone wall of the inside of the garden, no doubt to keep Azula on house arrest. "I wish it hadn't come to this…."
She was unrestrained. That was surprising to Iroh, but he bit his tongue about it. "Me too, Ursa. She's out of bed. That has to count for something."
Secretly, he wondered about her mental state. The gait of the other three women was sloppy. They must be tired as well.
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Down on the garden grounds, Azula sighed. She hunkered down on her heels, staring again at the fire lily buds. Ty Lee took a chance and knelt opposite her.
"Why do you keep looking at them? It takes a while to grow," she said. Azula flicked tired eyes to her. She shrugged.
"They had these at the royal palace," Azula mumbled. Ty Lee nodded. Their shared past rooted them to the present.
Inside Ty Lee's mind, her thoughts raged war against each other. She wanted to touch Azula so badly. Even a clasp of the shoulder or a touch of the hand. Azula needed assurance at this point. Inside Ty Lee's mind, her thoughts raged war against each other. She still looked lost and her entire being slouched in dejection. She had to try. She had taken her from Zuko. She could only try.
But if Azula flung her touch aside, Ty Lee felt she would collapse into fearful tears. She grit her teeth and leaned forward. Azula stared up at her, curiosity in her golden gaze, as Ty Lee's small hand settled over hers. She squeezed the princess's hand.
Azula didn't back away. But the touch, as warm as it was, was brief. Blissful heat slammed through Azula's chest and pinked her face. She took a deep breath. Ty Lee retracted her hand before Azula could say anything hurtful. They watched each other, wariness across their features.
Despite her conflicting thoughts, Azula couldn't, in that moment, link Ty Lee to her brother. She was looking at her with far too much interest. And maybe, just maybe…..
Azula turned her head to the green buds. She wondered how long it would take for the lilies to sprout and take form. Weeks? Months? She wondered if they would be at this estate for that long.
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"They gave us the same room," Ursa said. Iroh stroked his shorter beard. The large bed in the room seemed to beckon him. He wondered if he should chance it. Ursa's heat was over, but they had still shared something primal and new.
"Perhaps we could both stay here. Our bags are here already," he suggested. His heart pattered when Ursa stood, thinking. She finally sat on the edge of the wide bed.
"We're here already. We may as well make the most of it." Her grin could only be described as cheeky. Iroh sat beside her. He took her hand, squeezing it softly.
"Your wish is my command." His returning grin was wide. Ursa leaned to kiss him.
End for now
End notes: Thanks for keeping pace. Enjoy til the next time :P
Most sincerely, pen
8/25/2017