Tempting Tui
Azula really should have listened to her ship captain.
-[[[]]]-
Azula, Fire Princess and favored child of Fire Lord Ozai, found herself annoyed at being assigned such a menial task as capturing her idiot brother. But Father's word was law, and so here she was. Traveling to the foul, stinking Earth Kingdom aboard a ship with a royal entourage in tow.
The assignment wouldn't take long. A few sweet words and Zuko would be in her clutches, and then she could turn her attention to more important matters. Maybe Azula would take the helm on the search for the Avatar, surely she could succeed where Zuko and Zhao couldn't. Bringing the Avatar back to the Fire Nation in chains would surely cement her favored spot in Father's mind.
She looked out over the tides, a cool breeze caressing her face as she scanned the nearly cloudless horizon for danger. Footsteps against metal rang out behind her. One of her underlings with another meaningless, idiotic question, Azula presumed.
"Princess," her ship captain said. "I'm afraid the tides will not allow us to bring the ship in before nightfall."
What a silly notion. The Fire Nation fleet was not a collection of wooden dinghies like those in the Northern Water Tribe. The craftmanship of the average Fire Navy vessel laughed at the concept of the tides. Let the other kingdoms worry about push and pull of the ocean, the Fire Nation had a world to conquer.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but I do not know much of the tides. Can you explain something to me?"
"Of course, your Highness."
"Do the tides command this ship?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
Fool of a captain. Azula didn't spare a glance on the man, but he was likely standing mouth agape thinking about her question.
"You said the tide would not allow us to bring the ship in. Do the tides command this ship?"
"No, Princess."
"Well then, maybe you should worry less about the tides who've already made up their mind about killing you, and worry more about me, who's still mulling it over."
And then Azula faced the man to punctuate her point. The Captain gave Azula a quick, sharp salute before turning on his heel and practically running in the other direction. There wasn't much of a need to threaten the man, truth be told, but having such control over other people's lives awoke a special sort of joy in Azula.
The Princess cast her attention back to the sea. Time to wrap this annoying detour up, and return home.
-[[[]]]-
-[[[]]]-
Father was not going to be pleased.
As Azula walked out into the night, the full scale of the damage to her ship became clear. Smoke billowed out from the bow, though that was no different from the inside of the ship. Azula likely would be knocked out or worse from smoke inhalation had she not controlled her breath. The entire ship leaned to one side, though not enough for her crew to start sliding off the deck.
Azula didn't know how, but her precious vessel had ran aground on a rocky outcropping. The old women, Lo and Li, walked on either side of Azula as she surveyed the damage. Father had sent with Azula one of the best crews he could spare, far from the rag-tag group of lowlifes and failures that accompanied with Zuko when he was banished three years ago.
The moon hung full in the sky. Tui was laughing at her.
Near the edge of the bow, Azula could see her ship's captain directing some underlings. He caught Azula's gaze, hesitated for a moment, then began walking over. The dread in his face and his steps was palpable.
"Your Highness," the Captain said. "the damage is quite extensive. We're sending word to a nearby outpost, they should be able to get you to shore sometime tomorrow."
"Hm."
The Captain was on tenterhooks. Azula could practically see his toes curling inside of his boots. "You can say it, Captain."
"Say what, Highness?"
"Didn't you say the tides wouldn't allow us to get to shore?" Azula met his eyes with a curious gaze. "It would appear you were right. Say it."
"I…" The Captain's eyes went wide, and he shook his head. "I would not presume to impugn upon your judgement, your Highness. If you wish the moon plucked from the sky, then it is our duty to figure out how to do so. This was a failure in our judgement, not yours."
"You sure?" Azula raised an eyebrow at the man. "You likely won't get a better chance."
"Again, it is our fault, not yours. I consider myself honored that you have not thrown me off the ship."
To her surprise, Azula found herself chuckling. She wagged her finger at the captain. "You are a clever man, Captain. Good. I'm in a bad mood and I was simply looking for a reason to electrocute you."
The Captain gulped. "I-I am glad you found reason not to do so, Highness."
"I am as well. You might prove more entertaining than I thought." Azula turned away from him, heralding the end their conversation. "Dismissed."
Azula noticed a glance pass between her mentors, Lo and Li. Sometimes, Azula wished she was privy to the wordless conversations the two women often had. The ocean and the sky wished they were as in-tune as these two women.
"What?" Azula asked. "If you have something to say, speak."
"You need to do things better," Lo said.
"You cannot browbeat your way through the Earth Kingdom," Li said, right after.
"Sometimes you will need to listen."
"And adjust."
"I'm still looking for potential candidates for lightning target practice, you know. I would mind your words." Azula couldn't turn a violent hand towards the old women, though. A weakness in herself, but even she hadn't been able to stamp those out completely. "Leave me. I want to think."
Azula turned her gaze towards the moon. The Captain was right, and her mentors were right, if through no other proof than cause and effect. She had given an order, and this was the consequence. The whole world worked this way. But she was still the Princess. Her judgement was beyond reproach, just as her Father's judgement was beyond reproach to her or even Zuko, lowly worm that her brother was. And Father would not suffer failure, even from her.
Next time, Azula's ears would be wide open. As they said in the Fire Nation: 'one defeat can be the gateway to many victories'.
-[[[]]]-