As the vanished from the sky Katara was in her room putting clothes in a bag. Hama had told her that the reason the mission would take so long was because Katara would have to take out most of the guards that were constantly around the prince. The young waterbender had scoffed saying it would be easy but nodded as Hama instructed her with the proper procedure to take down the prince. She'd heard he was a fairly strong firebender although not as strong as his sister but still pretty strong. She warned Katara about his skills.
Tying her hair up in a ponytail Katara swung her bag over her shoulder and exited her room. Hama gave her a pack of food before hugging her and wishing her a safe mission. Katara headed out into the night and tried to think of the quickest and stealthiest way to the palace.
It didn't take long to reach the gates of the palace. It was surrounded by large walls with guards patrolling in pairs. As a pair walked by Katara summoned some water from the trees nearby to lift her swiftly and silently over the walls. The palace courtyard was fairly nice and full of vegetation which would be useful for Katara's mission. She quickly jumped into a bush as a girl with her hair cascading down her back wearing a crimson nightdress walked by with a girl with pigtails wearing a pink shirt and pants.
"Ty Lee, must you follow me everywhere I go?" the one in crimson asked. Her voice made Katara shiver. She could hear evil in the voice.
The one in pink giggled and flipped to walk on her hands. "Of course, without Mai here I'm bored."
Once they were gone Katara silently crept towards the palace entrance. She swept water over her feet freezing it before climbing a golden pillar to walk on the ceiling without detection. She halted when she saw a tall man walking down the corridor. He looked to be the Fire Lord seeing as he wore the fire crown on his head. He looked smug and from where she was Katara knew she could easily take him down but her mission was the prince. The Fire Lord would be later.
It seemed like she'd been walking the ceiling forever. It was the easiest way to got through the palace without being seen or having to sneak outside. She'd heard some guards talking about the prince. Before she took down his guards she'd have to know where the prince was so she could find out which were his then make her move.
Following one guard's words that the prince was in the garden preferring to be alone Katara quickened her pace to a window. She gazed around the garden and spotted a small pond with a figure sitting beside it, she could hear turtle-ducks quaking.. Twisting her body she made a jump out the high window to land quietly on her feet behind a tree that was near the figure. She was in the perfect position to strike him down but she knew better than to go against Hama's plans. He was talking to the turtle-ducks.
"I know I haven't been here for awhile but I've got some bread for you." His voice was soft and gentle.
Katara steeled herself like she'd been taught. Hama had told her that some firebenders tried to sounds sweet but it was a façade to cover their cold hearts. The prince was silent and unaware of how close he was to a person who could end his life. Katara hoisted herself up into the tree but grunted softly making him spin around to find the source of the sound. She scolded herself and sat still and quite. She was relieved as the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. It was the girl, Azula from earlier.
"Hey Zuzu, I see your feeding the vermin gain." Azula said referring to the turtle-ducks.
The prince growled. Katara watched him stand and stalk towards the palace. Azula just chuckled and stared at the turtle-ducks. Blue flames appeared in her hand. Katara's breath caught, she was gonna burn the turtle-ducks! Moving her hands Katara cast an invisible water shield over the creatures pretecting them from the evil blue flames. Azula looked displeased as she tried time and time again to burn them but to no effect she scowled and stalked towards the palace herself. Katara sighed pleased with her self and slipped out of the tree to crouch by the pond. She gently stroked the turtle-ducks and noticed that the bread the prince had offered them lay forgotten on the ground. She broke it into equal pieces and tossed them into the pond before making her way to the palace.