His fingers drummed against the wall, the rhythm erratic yet constant.
What on earth was she doing? How long did it take to prepare for an hour or two spent moving in a small area at a slow pace?
His fingers stilled as his brow wrinkled, worry beginning to surface in his mind.
Maybe the offer hadn't been genuine - just another one of her little tricks. Perhaps the whole thing had been false; there would be no dancing, just a normal meeting.
He certainly wouldn't put it past her to toy with his emotions like that. But then again, it would work in his favour if it did turn out to be a lie. Though his relief still wouldn't overshadow his annoyance.
His patience began to thin with every passing second, the tap of flesh on stone boring into his consciousness like a thought-devouring parasite.
He'd lost count of how long it had been since she'd disappeared into the room, and his fingers itched to reach out and discover what lay within for himself.
He'd had enough. Pushing away from the wall, he straightened up and strode to the door. Just as he was about to grasp the handle, it swung open, smashing into his outstretched palm.
Pain shot through him, and he swore, jumping backwards as Azula stared at him in bemusement.
"Careful, peasant. Wouldn't want you to injure yourself before your lesson can even begin," she admonished.
Sokka gritted his teeth and shook his hand to ease the ache.
"Not my fault you've made me stand out here for hours. My legs have gone numb," he griped.
The woman rolled her eyes, thoroughly unsympathetic to his plight. Wordlessly she walked back into the room.
Sokka followed after her, suppressing the urge to mutter obscenities under his breath. He cast a glance around the room, his eyes widening.
What he had taken to be a simple lounge turned out to be some sort of miniature ballroom.
Golden arches aligned the walls, with pure crimson tapestries hanging above them. Paintings of long-dead nobles and royals looked down on the marble floor and at the back a stage rose out of the floor, made of some gleaming exotic wood.
He whistled lowly, admiring the many intricate details.
"You Fire Nationals don't know the meaning of the word 'modest', do you?" He laughed.
Azula raised an eyebrow a fraction, her lip curling into the slightest smirk.
"Why lie? Our greatness should be there for the world to see," she stated.
Sokka scoffed, his nose wrinkling.
"Yeah, 'cause that sort of thinking has served the world well, hasn't it? Besides, judging by the dust in here nobody's seen this for a while. What happened - was Daddy too busy trying to murder the planet to throw a party every once in a while?"
His casual reference to her father darkened Azula's face considerably, and she turned away from him to stare up at the paintings. One of them was of a woman Sokka didn't recognise, but her golden eyes had a hint of familiarity.
"My mother loved it here, it reminded her of her home. After she killed Grandfather to save Zuko's life, Father had the doors barred and never looked at it again. Zuko tried to sneak in once, but he got caught."
Sokka wondered what his punishment had been. Perhaps the Fire Lord had more scars than he knew of.
Azula shook her head roughly, banishing old memories. She stared at Sokka intently, and he matched her gaze.
"But enough about that. I told you I'd teach you how to dance, did I not?"
Nodding grimly, Sokka awaited her instructions. A brief spark of hope flared within him that this would be quick, easy and above all painless.
"Very well. We will begin with something simple."
She offered him her hand, and he stared at it in confusion for a moment, before realisation set in. He gently took it with with own, briefly marveling to himself how small and pale it seemed in comparison to himself.
In the back of his mind there was no small amount of relief that she no longer sported the claws of her youth - he had no desire to be raked by talons. Though of course, her fingers were no less deadly - the streams of fire she could conjure at will attested to that.
"Put your other arm on my shoulder," she instructed.
Sokka flushed, not moving a muscle. His inactivity seemed to frustrate Azula, and she huffed lightly.
"We're here to dance, not hold hands like lovesick teenagers," she snapped.
Gingerly, he grasped her shoulder as lightly as he could, barely gripping her with his fingertips. Azula growled, clamping down her own hand on his until his palm lay flat against her collarbone.
"I swear, it's like you've never touched a woman before," she muttered.
Sokka opened his mouth to refute her point before deciding it wasn't worth the effort and pursing his lips.
"Fine. Now what?" He grunted, trying to ignore the warmth he could feel radiating from her flesh.
"Traditionally, the man leads. But seeing as how you're both inexperienced and undoubtedly inept, you'll have to follow me."
She took a step backwards, her iron grip dragging him along with her. His feet shuffled and snagged along the shining floor as they went, but he eventually began to get used to the motions.
"Is this it?" He asked after a while. "We're just going around in circles."
He winced at her flat stare, but tried to continue concentrating on not falling over or worse - stepping on Azula's toes.
"Perhaps it's less wild than jolting around like you've been electrocuted or whatever it is you do in your frozen wasteland, but this is how we are in the Fire Nation; dignified and sophisticated," Azula explained.
Sokka grumbled, momentarily taken off guard by a sharp turn.
"Yeah, yeah. I don't know why I was worried, honestly," he mumbled.
"We'll see if you feel that way when you're in front of the world's elite, peasant. Perhaps you might not be so arrogant then," she sniffed.
"Arro-? Hmph," he snorted, sneering to himself.
For several moments they focused on the rhythm, before a thought occurred to Sokka.
"Azula?" He said.
"I hope this is important," she groused.
"You said that we have to have a date for this shindig, right?" He continued lowly.
Her fingers tightened in his, but she nodded.
"What of it?"
"Well, I was just wondering - who are you going with?" He asked.
The woman froze in place, Sokka nearly teetering at the sudden halt.
"What does it matter?" She asked shrewdly, her eyes narrowed.
Sokka shrugged.
"I suppose it doesn't, I was just curious."
For a moment she chose not to reply, giving him a long look.
"As it happens, I have yet to acquire a date," she confessed stonily.
Sokka's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Really? I'm kinda shocked," he admitted. "I would have thought you'd be swarmed with offers, seeing as how you're still a princess and all. And, y'know, you're not hideous, I guess."
It was probably a testament to his recent efforts that she chose not to brutally eviscerate him for his backhanded compliment.
"With a reputation like mine, men tend to be more than a little wary."
Sokka tilted his head in acknowledgement.
"Yeah, I can see why. Still, none at all? I thought at least some people would be brave enough. Or so stupid that they think it would get them into Zuko's good graces," he continued.
"I'll deal with the matter myself, when I see fit. Besides, I can hardly see women lining up to throw themselves at your feet," she hissed.
Sokka treated himself to a small smug smile.
"I've had more than a few ladies hint that they'd be interested in joining me for the occasion," he boasted.
"And yet you've still not chosen any of them. I'd heard rumours of your womanizing nature before, but I hardly expected you to admit it straight up," she declared.
"What? No! I- Forget it. I, uh… Well, wasn't exactly being a hundred percent honest there. I haven't really had much time to talk to other people. You've kind of been a priority."
"I'm flattered," Azula said, clearly anything but.
"Yeah well, you should be. But the thing is, I don't have a date. And you don't have a date…" He trailed off.
Azula's face was blanker than Sokka had ever seen it. Not one trace of emotion could be gleaned from her countenance.
"Is this your hamfisted way of asking me to be your date?" She said dispassionately.
Sokka swallowed.
"Um. Sort of, yeah. I figured it would be convenient for the both of us,"
Her cold stare obliterated any hopes he might have had.
"No. I won't be some get-out clause for you. Find some other patsy to be your arm candy," she snarled.
He opened his mouth to explain himself, but she was already gone, disappearing out the door before he could blink.
He stood there for several moments before slumping forward.
"Guess the lesson's over, then," he muttered.
That hadn't gone to plan at all.
Her fingers twitched in anger, energy rushing through the before blooming into flame.
The fire consumed the small pile of logs, reducing them to ashes in just a few seconds. It wasn't enough to quell her rage.
How dare he. Did he think that she was some simpering child, who'd fall at his feet? Or perhaps he believed she was so desperate that she'd take any offer at all.
She was Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, her power was beyond compare. Men cowered at the merest whisper of her name.
It had been she who single-handedly orchestrated the fall of Ba Sing Se, she who defended the Fire Nation during the Day of Black Sun, she who had laid low the Avatar himself and she who had nearly been crowned Fire Lord.
What was he to her? Just some worthless tribesman here to lick Zuko's boots. So what if he'd happened to show up to defend her from those filthy brigands? She could have dealt with them on her own.
She snarled to herself, pacing along as the embers winked out before her. Her black thoughts rose through her mind like smoke from a burning forest, before she sighed to herself.
She'd thought, just for the fleetest second, that there was something there. Something worth lowering her guard for. But it seemed she'd only opened herself to more hurt.
"Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way," she muttered.
Had she been wrong? Mai and Ty Lee had thought so. She could still see Mai's glower in her mind's eye, see the tinge of terror eclipsed by the strength of defiance on Ty Lee's face.
And where were they now? Happy, surrounded by friends and loved ones. While here she was, alone again.
Well, so much the better. If she didn't have to worry about anyone else, then she only had to worry about herself.
Glancing down at the still smouldering cinders, she watched the last remnant of her flame cling on to life, the blue spark writhing and dancing on its own.
Fire needed no friends nor confidants. It took what it wanted, and consumed them until there was nothing left to offer it. That was what being Fire Nation was all about.
She'd been tricked into thinking about other people, it had been a mistake to allow those beliefs to have any hold on her. That was how the airbenders had thought, and what good had it done them?
A little voice in her mind whispered that she was being irrational, that he had never meant to give her slight. No good would come of sequestering herself away - it had brought only ruin before. She ignored it.
She bent down, running her fingers through the pile of ash. Some of the powder slipped through the cracks, leaving a fine grey coating behind. She blew it away, until it was scattered it the wind.
Straightening up, she smiled to herself.
She didn't need him.