Azula

Although a part of me realized that I could have handled that entire situation with Ozai better it was too overshadowed by my instincts to protect Katara. I know I would have had to deal with Ozai and Sozin somewhere down the road but from how easily Sozin agreed to an Agni Kai he no doubt had one final part for his son to play before he died by my hand. But that was in the morning, tonight I was taking Katara out so that we can explore our relationship. If everything goes well maybe just maybe we could be an actual couple before I send her back. It's not like we didn't have the time. Now I just had to form the perfect plan involving the best locations that my kingdom had to offer and make sure we were left alone to enjoy it. With one snap of my fingers my team of spies and agents appeared in a puff of smoke.

"How can we be of service mistress Azula?"

"You men are the best of the best and you have never failed in your duties and now I would have you serve in a very important mission."

"Name it and it shall be done." As usual the men standing before me were the absolute symbol of professionalism. Usually I only used these men when I needed someone eliminated quietly and without leaving a speck of evidence but right now I needed to pull out all the stops and I knew these men wouldn't fail me.

"There are seven key locations that I need scouted and any disturbances dealt with. Make no mistake gentlemen this mission is of vital importance to me."

"Have no fear mistress we of the Dai Lee have never once failed a mission nor do we intend to start now."

"Excellent, here are the locations and what I need you to do once it's clear of disturbances. Go there and ready them for my arrival by sunset." As each man is handed a scroll I also mentally recall each man's unique skills until I came to the stealthiest member of the group. When I stopped in front of him he immediately bows in respect and awaits his command, seeing as the other members of his group had vanished to do their job the moment they received a scroll.

"I have another job planned for you."

"I live to serve mistress."

"Good, now your assignment is to gather as much information as you can about any plots Sozin might have. If you find he has a plan then you're to sabotage and turn it to my favor." It was against the rules to sabotage the duelists before a match but Sozin is smart enough to find some way to incapacitate me or exploit a weakness during the match. So while I'm busy enjoying my night with Katara I'll have my best men snooping about hopefully destroying any plans Sozin might have concocted.

"It shall be done." As he vanished along with the rest I sent word to the maids to have everything set up for stage one of my plan. Stage one just involved us having a superb dinner as we got to know one another before moving to stage two. Now all I had to do was check up on Ty lee and then I could began the plan.

When I opened the doors to her room I heard the sound of two voices. Katara had returned to her room hours ago so it couldn't be her. My guard was instantly raised, only myself and Katara were allowed inside so whoever was in here would pay dearly.

Using the foliage as cover I snuck close enough so I could hear the conversation taking place.

"Are you sure this is wise? Azula has become more distracted by her bride as of late but she still keeps a watchful eye on this forest dweller."

"Wise or not we're under our master's orders now remember to only add three drops of blood to the healing tank so the curse can stay strong."

Not on my watch you don't

As one of the men took out the vial I decided I'd had enough of stealth and with a swing of my hand sent a focused blast of flame into the man's hand completely engulfing it and the vial destroying it entirely. Upon seeing that they've been discovered both men dropped to their knees begging for mercy.

"Who told you to do this? I'll only give you this one chance."

"We don't know honest! We were approached by a cloaked man and told to contaminate the healing tank with the blood vials, but we never saw their face!"

"How long has this been going on?"

"Not long after lady Katara arrived. At first it was every few days but when Ty lee started getting stronger our master told us to increase it nightly but with the added security we haven't been able to act until now."

At least I managed to stop them from making it worse and Katara should be able to fix any damage they caused. At least when Ozai dies tomorrow the curse should be broken. Now to deal with these traitors.

Before they could register what was happening two streams of lighting pierced their hearts killing them quickly and cleanly. It was the only mercy I could grant them knowing what they've done. If what they said was true then Katara's treatments were working and whoever was behind this saw that as a threat. But that was a matter that would be solved tomorrow on the battlefield. After using my fire to completely destroy their bodies I moved to examine Ty lee's body to see how she was holding up. Her face had regained most of it's former glow and her upper body looked healthier but when I cast my gaze lower my soul filled with dread. Her entire legs had turned a horrid black that stopped just past the knees. Katara's treatment might have been working to slow the curse but only the death of the caster would completely fix her.

"Stay strong Ty lee this will all be over soon" I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before I left and made my way back to my room to retrieve Katara. My date was currently standing in front of my full length mirrors holding one of the outfits I'd sent over before moving on to the next mumbling something about trying to fight the right one. Personally I thought she looked beautiful in anything but there was a part of me that just wanted to see if she could find the right outfit to leave me in awe. Without her noticing I closed the door and knocked, smiling as I heard her quickly shuffle about.

"Katara are you ready?"

"Just a minute!... I'm still putting on the finishing touches."

"Well please hurry up I can't wait to show..." I never got the chance to finish for as I was about to she opened the door and my entire mind went blank.

Gone were normal water tribe clothes and in their place was an elegant red dress with a matching red top exposing her right shoulder. Her hair was tied in a topknot and around her neck was a golden choker. It took all of my focus not to imagine her out of the clothes.

"Do... you like it? I've never worn anything but my water-tribe clothes so I'm not quite sure how to wear this."

"I can honestly say that you look ravishing."

With blushing cheeks she extended her hand which I grasped.

"Come along my dear the night is young and I have so much I want to show you."

As we walked hand in hand to the dining hall I couldn't help but notice her rapid heartbeat and the blush on her face.

She's as nervous as I am, good thing I've had years of practice hiding my emotions or I'd probably be too timid to speak.

Finally we arrived and two of my maids opened the door to the dining hall which I had decorated just for this occasion. In the middle of the room surrounded by hundreds of floating candles of different colored flames was a small round table. When we got closer Katara let out a gasp as the flames grew brighter and even took different shapes.

"I see someone was busy preparing for today." She says as she slides into the seat I pulled out before sitting in my own.

"Yes well I am the Queen as such should pull out all the stops for my most important people." One motion from me and two maids appeared and poured some spirit wine into our glasses. As soon as mine was filled I raised it in a toast.

"To tonight and whatever it brings." As she brought it to meet mine I saw a genuine smile on her face.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this goes. And who knows I might actually be calling her my wife when this is over.