Chapter 13: The Lawless Shores

Following the battle with the pirates, the remainder of the voyage passed without major incident. As the Fire Navy warship continued sailing around the northern edge of the Earth Kingdom, Azula spent the majority of her time practicing her firebending or standing near the prow, eyes fixed intently on the horizon. At night, her sleep remained troubled by nightmares that she couldn't remember, but that left her lying awake in a cold sweat, all possibility of rest lost.

It bothered Azula that she couldn't remember the dreams. Fear was a natural part of life, but the princess had never allowed any fear to rule her or even influence her actions - apart from the fear of failure, which she had always dealt with by the simple expedient of never failing. That something could disturb her on some primeval level and not even leave a memory of itself behind was itself disquieting. Azula had trained her mind ever since she was a child to be a precise tool for analyzing and solving any problem she might face, and there was nothing someone like her found more frustrating than an unknown factor.

Still, she was able to draw some measure of comfort from Ty Lee's loyalty, even if she had come to realize it was something she didn't fully understand. The only person to whom Azula had ever felt that kind of loyalty was her father, but that was different- Father was the single strongest influence on who she had become, and he was the ruler of her nation on top of that. She'd always expected absolute loyalty from others, of course, but that was the sort of thing one took for granted- she was royalty, and fully capable of using her firebending and cunning to enforce obedience if her birthright failed. Of course people were loyal to her. Mai and Ty Lee had been closer to Azula than most, true, but the principle had been the same.

When she'd gone to Kyoshi Island to retrieve the acrobat for her mission, she's expected that Ty Lee would go along with her- after all, she always had (with one notable and humiliating exception which Azula preferred not to think about). Since then, however, Ty Lee's determination to help the princess through her troubles had proven to go beyond mere loyalty to a deposed royal, even though she had shown just before Ba Sing Se that she was perfectly willing to challenge Azula if she felt the need. That was a newer development, one of which she was uncertain of its meaning. If it had been anyone else she would have expected an ulterior motive, but the notion of Ty Lee as a cunning schemer was laughable enough that even Azula's paranoid mind couldn't entertain it for long.

"It's called friendship, Azula," a calm voice said nearby. Azula turned her head and was not at all surprised to find her mother standing on the deck next to her. "Sometimes people are loyal to each other not because they want something or because they're afraid, but because they actually like each other."

"And what have I ever done to make people like me?" Azula asked darkly. "I was never in the business of being liked. That implies equality, and royalty have no equals. Everyone else should respect our power and fear it being turned against them. It is the natural order of things."

"Apparently Ty Lee disagrees," Ursa said. "She no longer fears you, yet seems determined to stand by your side nonetheless. Would you throw that away just because of your pride?"

Azula turned back to the ocean and stared into its depths. "No," she finally whispered. "During the last few weeks of the War I chased everyone who ever cared about me away, and then… you know what happened. You are what happened."

"Maybe Captain Shin is right," Ursa continued. "Maybe fear isn't the only reliable way to ensure loyalty. Maybe fear prevents true loyalty."

"Then where does loyalty come from?" Azula snarled. "Love? Father always said he was the only one who loved me, but then he abandoned me because he didn't want to share his glory with the one person who worked tirelessly to help him get it. In my experience love is just another way people manipulate each other. I'm better off without it, thanks."

"You only say that because you've never really learned what love is. You never let yourself. Azula, you've spent your whole life trapped in the destiny that your father set for you. Isn't it time now to think about what you want from life?"

Azula snorted. "Now you're just sounding like Uncle."

"Maybe Uncle was right, too."

"Uncle may be a great firebender, but he's a silly old fool who thinks more about tea and food than about his royal birthright. He told me where to look for you, but otherwise I really don't think his so called wisdom is worth considering."

"You don't believe that," Ursa said sadly.

"How do you know what I believe?" Azula demanded. "You're not my mother. You're just a shadow from the past- you don't even exist."

"I do exist, Azula, inside you. Everything I say comes from you, remember?" Ursa gave her daughter a final sad smile and faded away, leaving Azula standing alone in the prow. Looking back towards the main deck of the ship, the princess saw Ty Lee standing there, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Azula?" the acrobat asked. "Who were you talking to? There's no one there!"

The princess turned to face her friend. "Nothing," she said. "Just a memory."

/

After several weeks of continuous sailing, the ship finally came within sight of its destination- a rugged, thickly wooded land with mountains rising up further inland. The shores were rough and rocky, and there was nothing resembling civilization in sight. It was a land vastly different from the orderly, efficient Fire Nation, but Azula could feel an air of brooding menace that hung over the place. Out here, her royal blood would count for nothing to any outlaw or petty lord she stumbled across- only be keeping her wits and firebending at their sharpest would she survive. Though the prospect of somewhere where royalty received little respect went against every aspect of Azula's beliefs, she nonetheless felt a slight thrill as she watched the coast go by. There was little that gave the princess as much satisfaction as facing a challenge and overcoming it.

Captain Shin joined her by the rail. "Are we close to our destination now?" she asked him without preamble.

"According to the information you received from General Iroh, yes," he said. "This coast is part of the place where your uncle indicated your mother was most likely being held. According to my map, there's a port a short ways down the coast- we should be able to put in there within the next day or so."

"Excellent." Azula looked out towards the lawless coast. "I'm coming, Mother," she whispered. "Then you'll see that I'm still in control. I know who I am." Shin looked at the princess quizzically, but knew better than to comment.

The next evening, the ship pulled around a rock formation that jutted out into the sea, and Azula had her first look at what passed for a port in this forsaken place. One glance was enough to confirm that while she was certain she had seen less pleasant places during her life, none were currently springing to mind. It somewhat resembled the port town where Shin had turned over the pirates to the Earth Kingdom authorities, but it was rather larger, built with no apparent sense of style or taste, and decidedly run down.

"That entire town looks like the Drill vomited slurry all over it!" Ty Lee said with a shudder as the ship moved into port. "Are you sure this is the right place, Azula?"

"I don't know if my mother is here or not," Azula replied, "but I do know that the kind of scum who live in places like this tend to know everything that happens around them, and are more than willing to give that information up, for a price. A Fire Nation noblewoman traveling alone is the kind of thing that would be noticed."

"Well, if you say so." Ty Lee stretched her arms and balanced on one foot, then the other. She wouldn't stay down for long, Azula knew. While Mai coped with the unforgiving life in a high Fire Nation noble family by shutting down almost all emotions, Ty Lee survived by always trying to find the bright spot in any situation.

As the ship pulled into the dock (no one challenged their arrival, and no officials or soldiers waited on the pier- port authority seemed nonexistent in this town), Captain Shin came to stand by Azula and Ty Lee. "I believe it would be best if I came with you both this time," he said. "These lands are dangerous, and I don't want to have to explain to your brother how I allowed you to be killed."

"Trust me, he won't care," Azula said. Shin ignored her.

"I'll bring two of my best firebenders with me," he continued. "The rest will remain here and guard the ship- if it gets stolen, we're walking back to the Fire Nation, something I don't think any of us wants."

"That's why you and your men will all be staying here," Azula said. "They may have noticed us in this port, but I will most likely travel further inland before I find my mother. Fire Nation soldiers in a place where even the Earth Kingdom doesn't have any real authority? You'd stand out in a heartbeat. I can't have you jeopardizing my mission."

"My men and I are quite capable of wearing clothing other than our uniforms, princess," Shin said evenly. "Besides, if you ran into serious trouble on your own, wouldn't you firebend to get out of it? I think blue flames would be as much of a giveaway as my soldiers."

Azula's eyes narrowed, her brain working furiously behind them. "I see it, now- you want to be with me when I find my mother, so that you can share in the honor and whatever rewards Zuzu will hand out when we get home. Well, I won't allow it! This mission is mine!"

"Azula, calm down!" Ty Lee said, but the princess ignored her, focusing entirely on the captain in front of her.

Shin stood very still, his eyes dark. "I have done my very best to help you in your mission, and have no desire to claim it for myself. If it would put your mind at ease I will of course remain with the ship, but I still recommend that you take two of my firebenders with you. You may, of course, feel free to disregard that advice if you so choose, princess."

Azula breathed deeply, in and out, allowing her anger to fade away. Like almost all firebenders the princess was an intensely emotional person, but she had learned long ago to channel her emotions into useful pursuits, rather than letting them dominate her. She certainly wasn't going to start letting the bizarre, unstable mood swings that had plagued her since coming out of the trance-like state she'd entered after her breakdown prevent her from practical considerations. "Very well," she finally said. "Send two of your best men with us. I can send one back to the ship for reinforcements in the unlikely event that I require more."

Shin nodded curtly. "As you say," he said, and then turned and left to select the men he would send with Azula.

/

The ship was tied up at the dock and lowered its ramp to the shore. Azula and Ty Lee stood at the top, the princess in the hooded cloak she had worn in Ba Sing Se, Ty Lee in Earth Kingdom green. Two grim-faced firebenders stood behind them, dressed as common laborers.

"Well, this is it, Azula," Ty Lee said. "We're gonna find your mom- I know it." She sniffed the air and winced. "I just wish we could've started looking somewhere that smelled a little better."

Captain Shin came forward. "Princess, Ty Lee," he said. "Good luck. Men- keep them safe."

"Aye, sir!" the firebenders saluted.

"Good-bye, everybody!" Ty Lee said loudly, waving to the ship at large. "We'll be back in a few days!"

"Come on, Ty Lee," Azula said. "Let's go." She nodded at Shin, who returned the gesture, and then the princess, the acrobat, and the two soldiers descended the gangplank and set foot on the shores of a land where no king ruled, and they hoped to find long-vanished royalty.

/

I feel like this chapter is mostly self-explanatory. We get a bit more focus on Azula's lingering madness and inner conflict as she hallucinates her mother and nearly blows up at Shin, and the mission has arrived somewhere in the general vicinity of its destination, but for the most part this is one of those chapters that lay the groundwork for what is to come. Next time, Azula and Ty Lee search, but they aren't the only ones interested…

-MasterGhandalf