Author's Notes:I'm so sorry! I hadn't realized that a little over a year PASSED since I updated this. I can't believe I really updated this LAST July '08--and it's almost August now of 2009. I have to admit the reason why I stopped writing this was because after the finale--everything came out even MORE out of character. Not to mention, I couldn't get passed Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal of Azula. In addition, Azula went insane...so that didn't help. But here I am back again...although I make no promises to finish this. In fact, this is a test to see if anyone still holds interest in this fanfic. If I can't generate enough interest--or I really can't bring myself to finish this fic--I'll simply just tell you what happens before deleting it.
Disclaimer:I still don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Azula was busy preparing for the party that would be held in Tai Shan's honor. She couldn't wait until her beloved son was returned to her. She also smiled at the thought of Sokka coming back, though quickly berated herself. Things with Sokka and her were so complicated at the moment. He had been willing to marry her and she would have gladly accepted had it not been for the mere reason of making things right. He confused her, and Azula was annoyed at the fact that she could no longer read him. It infuriated her that Sokka apparently did not know her if he truly believed that Hahn was the father and that she had many lovers after him and so on. He couldn't possibly have been in love with the real her, if he thought all these things about her.
"He was just jealous Azula," Iroh's voice broke her reverie. Azula mentally chided herself from not sensing her uncle come in. She refrained from asking how he knew what she was thinking about.
"Excuse me?" she asked characteristically. She tied the banner to the pillar and descended the latter afterwards. Normally she would have had the servants do this--but it was driving her mad to not have Tai Shan around.
The old man chuckled, "A jealous man is never in the right state of mind. They do stupider things than when they're in love."
"How's the invitations coming?" the princess decided to change the subject.
"They're going well," he answered. "The Northern and Southern Water Tribe have accepted. Chief Hakoda and his mother are definitely attending, they said. The only response we're waiting for is the Earth King's."
"I doubt he'll come Uncle," Azula remarked as she straightened an already straight chopstick at a nearby table. "After what you tried to do over a decade ago; and what Zuko and I succeeded in doing seven years ago, it's not surprising he's not too fond of our family."
"I don't think that's it," Iroh rubbed his chin.
"All right, it's me he has a problem with," she smirked. "I did threaten to kill him. An inch away from his temple, he would have been lobotomized."
Iroh looked at his niece, surprised to see the old her in that one line. She turned around to look the elderly man and laughed.
"Come on Uncle. Let me have some fun. Tai Shan's not here, so I don't have to be careful about what I say."
"Ty Lee," Haru began, "I've received a letter from my father that my mother is sick. I have to go to her."
Ty Lee gazed at him for a moment and then told him, "I'll go with you."
"You don't have to do that," Haru told her. He understood the importance of her being with Azula. He knew that she enjoyed being with them after spending most of the year with him, so he couldn't possibly ask her to come with him.
"I want to," she reminded him, "we're a pair." If he needed her, she'll be there because he would do the same for her.
Haru beamed and embraced her.
"You have to return for the party, all right?" Azula embraced her friend, as they said their goodbyes.
"No promises, but I'll try." Ty Lee smiled. She could only hope that Haru's mother's condition wasn't fatal.
The gang quickly left Kyoshi Island that morning. The villagers searched the island everywhere for clues but to no avail. Katara, since her brother couldn't exactly think clearly, deduced a theory that Tai Shan had been abducted sometime after she left Sokka and the boy in the hut sleeping to fetch water. Toph and Aang had been koi fish riding all night and most of dawn, that they were exhausted when they returned to the hut to sleep. Tai Shan was still in his bed next to Sokka when they returned but the two soon fell into a deep sleep that they didn't notice anything afterward. Tai Shan was most likely abducted after the Avatar and Blind Bandit returned and before Sokka woke up.
Sokka dreaded telling Azula. She would be heartbroken. The person or persons responsible would not get away with this. They would all raise hell against the perpetrator.
"I'm sorry Sokka. It's my fault. I convinced Toph to stay up late with me to go for a swim---if we hadn't done that then we wouldn't have been so tired--"
"It's not your fault Aang," Sokka told him.
"Yeah. You only wanted to show me some fun," Toph reminded her bald friend. He had wanted to help her with fear of water. "Besides, there's the fact that Tai Shan's a prince of the Fire Nation. He's third in line to the throne. From what I hear he may even be second since almost everyone's afraid of even passing the throne to Azula."
"There was no ransom," Katara interjected. "Why make us go all the way to the Fire Nation?"
"Maybe the kidnappers are there," Aang guessed.
"We don't have the kind of money they would ask for," Sokka explained. "Azula does. It would also force me to confront Azula about what happened to our son."
"Whoever the bastards are, they're sadists," Toph conveyed. They were obviously trying to devastate Azula. If they wanted only a ransom they could have already contacted them somehow, but they were in it for the long run. They wanted Sokka and everyone else to go to the Fire Nation to tell the mother of her missing child and make her suffer.
Azula rushed, as she saw the bison flying over the city, outside to greet her darling son only to realize that his presence was missing from the group. She looked at the boy's father questioningly, "Where is my son?" she demanded sharply. He told her as his voice cracked what happened.
Three days passed since Azula and her family received the news, and within those three days, she had to be sedated several times. The princess felt like she was going to be torn asunder, and she cursed the criminals for what they did to her son. She quickly expelled the dark thought that wondered if this was how the grieving mothers felt when they lost their children in the war. She felt her heart ache when she remembered mocking her uncle for his weakness after her cousin's death. She hated feeling powerless and vulnerable--and unlike her uncle, she would ensure the perpetrators suffered a horrible fate for what they did. No matter who they were, if she had to burn them alive, she would do so.
Despite being sedated, it did not stop Sokka and Azula from fighting. Azula had briefly entertained the idea that Suki may have kidnapped her son in retribution for Azula's past transgressions against her years ago. Sokka attempted to assure her that Suki was not of that nature, but Azula would not listen. She was furious already when she found out that Sokka had taken her son to meet his girlfriend. She told her former lover that people "aren't always what they seem to be!" She added that Tai Shan had no business to see Sokka's girlfriend and that he didn't need to see her. Sokka could not say anything in return sans that Suki and him were over long ago, and he was merely tying up loose ends. "And if Suki and I truly friends...why would she take my son from me? If she wanted me back, why would she do something so stupid like this--because no one in their right mind could fall for someone who did that."
Azula could not help but admit he was right; in addition, Suki utterly had nothing to gain and she would have placed her island under the Fire Nation's wrath. A leader like her isn't stupid--there's no way a small island could stand against the Fire Nation. In the end, she relented. Unfortunately, it did not end there. When Sokka found out that Azula had sent the Dai Li after them to watch over him and Tai Shan. He could not believe that Azula didn't trust him with his own son. The princess bitterly pointed out that her son ended up abducted anyway. She wondered if something happened to the Dai Li because it was strange that they did not show themselves to her after three days. No report, no nothing--who could have defeated so easily?
It was apparent who the felons were after though. Tai Shan was just a means to an end--he was an innocent victim pulled into chaos simply because of who his mother was. They were after Azula, there was no doubt about it. She paced back and forth the garden, wondering when she would receive word from the kidnappers. Iroh's disposition was grim, and he had not touched his tea yet. They were all debating who could possibly be responsible, and the Dai Li were brought up several times however there were others who knew of Tai Shan's relation to the princess. "Azula," the old man called. "The letter you wrote to Sokka long ago, how did it end up in his possession?"
She looked at her uncle, "What? You mean it wasn't you?!"
He shook his head. "It's true I kept the letters but I never divulged the information in them to anyone--not your brother or mother. The day Sokka found out, the letter to him was gone, although your letter to Tai Shan was still there."
"Then that settles it," Toph interjected. "It was the Dai Li. Who else would have access to the Fire Lord's chambers?"
"What would they possibly gain though?" Aang thought out loud.
Sokka restrained himself from yelling at Azula, but he couldn't help but be furious that she trusted them more than she trusted him--and look where it got her? The men she ordered to keep her son safe were the ones responsible for kidnapping him! His eyes wandered to the blue sky where a hawk descended down upon them. It had an Earth Kingdom symbol on it. Iroh carefully took the parchment out of the small wooden container. After reading the letter, his expression became sadder. Ursa urged him to tell them what was in the letter, like everyone, she wanted to know if it was from the Dai Li.
"In exchange for the young prince of the Fire Nation, Tai Shan, hand over the Princess Azula in his stead. I hereby revoke my clemency toward her crimes against the Earth Kingdom and its King. Failure to cooperate will result in dire consequences." Iroh looked at the Avatar. "It's signed the Earth King."
A/N:If you guys thought I went too fast with the whole Suki/Sokka thing, I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't wanna drag it out. Anyways for those of you who didn't see the outcome of this, please know I had this planned out early in the beginning (it's not out of whim) but I was debating on whether doing it because it would mean the story would be a little longer, something I'm not sure I can see through. So please review!