The boat continued to wobble on the calm seas. Azula stood at the edge of the boat, slouched over the railing. She looked out onto the sea, thinking of her plans. Azula was beginning to notice the deck seemed lower, closer to the surface of the water. She wondered if the boat was sinking. They would be reaching Ba Sing Se in a matter of hours, and Azula could not have the boat sink before then. She looked around for the closest servant near her.
"Guards," she yelled. The soldiers came running to her and bowed.
"Yes, Princess?" one of them said.
"Go below deck, all the way to the bottom of the ship and see if we have any leaks or cases of water flooding the lower decks." She ordered them.
"Yes princess." Another soldier said obediently. "What are we to do if we do have flooding?" he asked. Azula shot a glance at him from the corner of her eye.
"Fix it!" she snapped.
The soldiers then scampered away. Azula sighed. Were they any good? She could just throw them off the ship and do things on her own. After all, she saved most of them from a watery death by quickly disposing of the enemy ships. It was such an easy task, but they all were cowards. She was extremely disappointed.
Azula was boiling with anger in a matter of seconds. She was thinking of her father, she was frustrated that it was taking so long to reach Ba Sing Se, and even more frustrated that the boat might be sinking. Her plans were not going as planned. She stood up straight and turned away from the rails. She looked around at everyone working. It sickened her to see how slowly everything was going. She walked over to her throne, sat upon it and crossed her legs. She eyed everyone menacingly.
Boredom was taking over Azula. She needed to have some excitement. Clearly this ship wasn't the place for that. A soldier came running up to her. It was the same soldier who took her orders earlier.
"Princess," he said while gasping for breath. "The ship is sinking fast. We might not make it to shore!"
Azula glared at him. "We will make it to shore, no matter what the cost. Fire up the engines, fix the leaks, and get this ship going!" she ordered.
"But princess, it is a very bad leak. It may not be reparable. Would you come to look at it? We may need to abandon ship." The soldier informed her.
Azula looked on; in the distance she could just barely see the shape and soft blue color of mountains in the distance. "If you don't fix that leak and get us to shore as quickly as possible, I will punish you severely." She snarled.
The soldier sighed quietly; quietly enough that she couldn't hear him. "Yes princess." He said, and then walked off.
An hour passed and every servant was now below deck trying to fix the leak. They were nearing shore. Mountains were now clearly visible; more visible than they were an hour ago. Azula had high hopes that they would actually make it. Excitement filled her. She hopped off her throne and walked over to the edge of the boat. To her horror, the surface of the ocean was extremely high. It had to be at least two decks below her. Anger filled her once more. She stomped down to the lower decks. Puddles of water were all over the floors, and the lower she got the more puddles there were. She heard people crying out to each other, water splashing, and feet slipping on the watery floor. She checked to see how things were going. When she saw them, she wanted to kill them.
"What happened!" she growled.
"Ah, p- princess," one of the soldiers said nervously. "Water has flooded most of the lowest deck. There may be some damage to the hull as well. We need to abandon the ship."
Azula looked around. It was true that it was bad.
"You guys aren't trying hard enough!" Azula screamed.
She continued to stomp down the corridor and saw how fast water was flooding the ship. Angry and frustrated, she began to turn the water into steam by heating it with Firebending. She turned as much water as possible, and luckily the soldiers began to do the same and help. They turned so much water into steam, it was almost impossible to see anymore.
They turned water into steam on the lower decks until finally they found the cause of it, and sealed it up. Water still rushed in from the hole, but a lot less then before. Azula let her anger go, and went back up to the top deck to sit on her throne.
Azula looked out to the horizon. Excitement filled her. They were almost there. Any moment now…
"Princess, we are ready to hit land." A soldier informed her.
A smirk grew on Azula's face. "Good. Let's hurry up then, shall we?" she said elusively.
A few minutes passed, and they finally reached land. For Azula, it was like being one step closer to treasure. No. This was better than treasure. She contemplated every next step as they walked out of the ship and toward the city. Time was precious, and she would waste none of it. The time had come for her succession. Her fathers rule was fading, hers was growing.
Azula could but only count the minutes till she finally passed the walls of Ba Sing Se with her crew. She turned to them.
"I do not need your assistance any longer, you may dismiss yourselves." She said. A few of the soldiers tried to hide their anger and frustrations with her, but they left nonetheless. She turned to the city, gazing at it as if it were paradise. There was something about the city that she admired. It could be the gigantic size of the city, or the way each wealth class was divided (as it should be) or whether it was the grandeur of the city. Still it had something to it that made her choose it as her starting headquarters in the first place.
Agents of the Dai Li greeted her with much loyalty and respect. Fire Nations soldiers bowed to her. Some wondered what her business was here. Still she continued her approach to the palace. More Dai Li agents greeted her. It was as if she was already the Queen.
"Princess Azula!" An agent called out to her. "What an honor it is to have you back in our city. Do you need anything?"
Azula looked over to him. "As a matter of fact, bring to me the top Dai Li agents. I will be meeting with them to discuss important plans. I will be sitting on my throne, in the palace. Please make sure they aren't late as I will be most displeased." she said.
The soldier nodded, and then walked off. Unlike the soldiers on her crew, he didn't scurry away like a cowardly dog. She walked up the steps to the palace. It was a very long way up, but Azula took no notice as she continued to think about her plans. Her ambitious thoughts made her excited. She loved being able to rule. This time however, she wouldn't rule secondhand, like she did with her father. This time she was Queen.
In the palace Azula found her way to the throne. No one sat upon it. She walked swiftly to it, and sat down on it. She crossed her legs and embraced the feeling of ruling this kingdom. With her as queen, all that was needed was the extermination of her father, and then she could finally take the throne as Fire Queen in the Fire Nation. She liked that idea. Her thoughts were interrupted by a Dai Li agent.
"Princess, the agents are here to discuss matters with you. They are most excited to see you." He said.
"Bring them in." she replied.
The Dai Li agent turned and gestured about a dozen or so agents in the room. They all lined up in a fashionable order before her. She stood up.
"The time has come for me to rule." She began. "My father no longer has the wit to finish this war. That is why I am taking charge. I come before you to set up and army. We will launch an assault on my father and bring him down. Once he is finished off, I will take the throne as Fire Queen. For now however, I will take the throne as Queen of the Earth Kingdom. My rule will help bring the downfall of my father, and the rising of my rule."
She looked around at all the agents, and began walking around them, inspecting them carefully and giving them intimidating looks. She continued on.
"Once we have brought down my father and I have taken the throne, we will launch one final assault on the world, and fully conquer it."
Every Dai Li agent did not move, but continued to look straight.
So," Azula started to speak again. "I need you to establish our rule over this city, and this nation. It shouldn't be too hard. I practically rule already. I just need to make sure everyone follows my orders. If that means pain, then give it to them. Bring them to me if you must. After you all have made it clear to everyone that I now rule this nation, I need you to start gaining strength for a battle. All Dai Li agents will take part in this battle, and each and every one of you will fight. We will win, and I will take the throne. Should any of you turn against me," Azula paused. "I won't hesitate to bring you down. I will wipe out every single coward and weak link in this army so it will be flawless." She looked around menacingly.
Each and every Dai Li agent kept silent and still like statues. They did not dare make sudden movement in case Azula took it as an attempted assault. She turned her back on them and straightened the hair that was loose over her face.
"So, does anyone have anything to say?" she said coolly. No one replied.
"Very well then, you all are dismissed." She told them. With that most of the Dai Li agents walked out the door in an orderly fashion. A few Dai Li agents stayed in front of her, ready to serve her.
"Each of you will guard and serve me. Should I request anything, it will be done. Understood?"
The Dai Li agents nodded, and then two went over to the doors, four stood beside her and five more stood around the room in case she requested anything. Two stood before her.
"Princess is there anything you need from us?" they asked.
Azula shot a quick glance at them. She wasn't happy with carrying the title of princess still, but she let it go.
"Yes. Go find the Avatar." She said as an evil smirk grew wide across her face.
"Of course princess." And the two Dai Li agents left. For some reason Azula knew they would return empty handed, but she did not care.
Azula sat back on her throne, and thought of the recent events. How easy it was for her. Why couldn't her father be so smart? Had he would have done this, the war would be won and over by now. Victory would have been obtained. Azula however was honored that she was the one who would do the greatest things in this war. She would be the most respected and feared person in the world. She liked the idea of it.
Here she was, in the city of Ba Sing Se. Her plans were going into play. It was almost like a strategy game. All she had to do was come up with the strategies, then sit back and watch as victory came closer and closer to her. Nothing could stop her. Her ascension, her rising to power was just beginning. By the end of it all, she would be the most powerful person in the world. She returned to Ba Sing Se, and in a matter of hours took complete control over it.