Insanely long chapter alert. A lot going on in this one. It seemed that nothing wanted to click just how I wanted, and I'm not exactly sure if it's because of my writing skills or my execution of it. Perhaps I'll go back and redo this chapter one day.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
Azula watched as Ty Lee pulled on the dark cloak that she was to wear on her mission. The tiny acrobat nearly disappeared in the sea of dark cloth before she poked her head out of the collar, grinning and giggling. Ty Lee was always happy, even when she had the potential to be put in danger.
"Now remember, Ty Lee, if someone asks who you are, you don't tell them your real name." Lu Ten said, standing beside Azula as he appraised the bubbling girl. "You're Amai Uso and you're waiting for your elder brother," He looked towards Zuko, who would play the role of Ty Lee's pseudo-brother should the situation need his appearance. "What's your name again, Ty Lee?"
For a moment, Azula thought she saw a flash of annoyance in Ty Lee's eyes. The girl was sweet and optimistic, and naïve sometimes, but she wasn't stupid. "Amai Uso." Sweet lie. "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to see the princesses, they're probably pretty. It's kind of sad that we can't be friends with the Water Tribes, they have pretty eyes."
Azula frowned. Ty Lee couldn't have taken more than two breaths in her whole statement. "I'm sure they do, Ty Lee," The Fire Nation princess said and shook her head. To her left, Mai let out an exasperated sigh. The three of them had been childhood friends and like Azula, Mai knew just how hyperactive Ty Lee could be.
Lu Ten cleared his throat, "Come on, we have to get in position." He said and knelt down to gather the city map into his arms and tucked it into his shirt against his chest, and readjusted the collar of his shirt so it would be better concealed. "We don't want to miss our opportunity,"
To make this city ours, Azula finished for him in her mind. She knew that the others were thinking the same thing. The oil lamp across the room winked out with a snap of Lu Ten's fingers and the tiny room went dark, the air cooling on Azula's skin.
The door of their temporary residence was opened and the tiny of amount of starlight streamed in, casting skinny shadows on the walls and floor. Azula stepped onto the porch and stopped, clasping her hands behind her back. The dividing wall reminded her yet again that she remained in the lower part of the city, where the heathens and hooligans ran rampant through the streets.
"I never noticed how…suppressive that wall looks." Lu Ten said his voice close to Azula's ear. His golden eyes looked up at the block of stone, and he frowned. "These people are trapped in the section that they are born in, with no possibility of ever rising in rank. They're trapped in the slums for their life." The prince met Azula's gaze for a brief moment, and she thought she saw something that looked like discomfort in his eyes. "And no one cares."
Was Lu Ten the showing a moment of weakness? Was he really feeling sympathy for the waterbenders? Azula narrowed her eyes, without words for a moment. These people were trapped, she realized, and for a moment, she found herself sympathizing with them. But they were weak, they couldn't change things for themselves, so the Fire Nation had to step in and change it for them.
By taking their city.
Ty Lee leaped from the porch, flipping into the air and landing neatly on the ground, her hands held high in the air with a grin on her face. She was most childlike of them all, even though she was probably the one who faced the most danger. Despite her cheerful disposition, Ty Lee was perhaps one of the strongest non-benders Azula had met, and in some ways, she admired her.
Unlike Azula, Ty Lee was open and sugary, ever so easy to trust, and a loving friend. She was sweet where Azula was sour and soft where the Fire Nation princess was as hard-edged as a rock. Azula was jealous of Ty Lee's social abilities, but she would never say such a thing out loud.
Azula set her foot on the ground and paused, the thin hair on her arms prickling. It seemed that a cool breeze had ghosted over her skin, causing an uncomfortable feeling to dance under her skin. Do you ever feel like…you're being watched? And suddenly she did. She felt as though some unseen person was staring down at her, biding their time. Waiting for her to let her guard down.
But she would never do such a thing.
Above their heads, the sky was black, littered with an uncountable amount of stars that pierced the night. It was as quiet and as empty as always near the wall. No one was watching them. Azula looked back at their leaning house, and then towards the wall.
The Fire Nation princess blinked and turned her attention back to the others, realizing they were staring expectantly at her. Lu Ten had his hand on his hip, the corners of his mouth turned downward in a disproving frown. "Did you hear my question, Azula?" He asked, and Azula thought she heard a tinge of amusement in his tone, as if he was mocking her. "I was asking you if you could help me boost Ty Lee and Mai over the wall, since they don't have the benefit of firebending their way over."
Inwardly, Azula berated herself for being so easily distracted. "Of course I will," She said and lifted her chin, narrowing her eyes. She had never been so addlebrained, especially when she was moments away from showing her glory. "Let's do it."
"That's my girl!" Lu Ten said and chuckled at his own comment. But it seemed that as soon as he began laughing, he fell silent again, suddenly serious. His lips fell into a straight line that wasn't quite a frown, and the Fire Nation's Crown Prince stepped towards the eerie area beneath the wall's shadow. Azula could see the uncertainty in his gait, though, and she knew that he was nervous. Perhaps she was, too.
As she crossed the distance between the leaning house and the wall, Azula felt as though she was exposed to the eyes of people she did not know. She closed her eyes and opened them slowly, her skin hot. And then she was in the shadows again, hidden. She exhaled, her breath coming out with a whoosh.
But then, Mai was standing beside her and when Azula looked up, Ty Lee was already standing on Lu Ten's shoulders, agile and light as she dug her fingers into stone ridges that jutted from the uneven wall, lifting her body up easily, as though she weighed nothing. Her eyes were set in concentration and her brown braid was thrown over her shoulder as she pulled herself towards the top of the wall. "This is easy, Mai, and it's fun!"
Mai made a sound that obviously showed she begged to differ. Azula looked at her friend and appraised her, wondering how she could lift her. Mai was tall and thin, she looked unnaturally light, but Azula wasn't so sure if she wanted to heft her friends onto her shoulders or not.
As if Zuko had read her thoughts, her older brother brushed by her and took her place, dipping his knees and hooking his fingers together. Mai looked at him hard for a moment, and Azula thought she saw her lily white skin turn a pale pink for a moment, before she set her booted foot in the cradle of Zuko's palm. He heaved her up and the pale skinned girl grabbed into the cranny that Ty Lee's foot had just been settled in.
Watching her friends climb up the wall, Azula took the moment to consider what her life would have been like if she hadn't been born a bender. That would have never happened. There hadn't been a non-bender in generations of her family's line, and she had descended from two firebending families. Even Zuko, no matter how pathetic he was, came from a line of powerful benders.
Inhaling deeply, Azula willed the flames that burned in her to move towards her feet, to give her the ability to soar through the air with fire at her feet. The Fire Nation princess stepped away from the wall, just barely within the cover that the shadows provided. She exhaled and charged towards the barrier, her eyes narrowed. Blue flames erupted from her heels and she was propelled upward in the air, launching vertically towards the top of the wall.
The cerulean colored fire dissipated and Azula landed in a heap on top of the wall, facing the higher ring of Ba Sing Se. To her left, Ty Lee and Mai were pulling themselves up into standing positions, panting and heaving for breath. Scaling the wall by hand took more effort than firebending, Azula noticed before turning her attention towards the sight below her.
As if it had been bent into the wall, there was a tiny house that sat in barrier's shadow. It looked too run down to belong on that side of the wall, and Azula wasn't sure why it was even there. For the time being, she overlooked it and turned her attention to the greater sights. Ba Sing Se's ring of nobility consisted of rows upon rows of expensive estates and palatial buildings, their roofs shining. Azula had to admit that the view was beautiful, and had she been a painter, she would have called it Under a Moon God's Eye. As she stood above it all, on the wall, she felt as though she was the lord of the city. The lord of all good things.
The stars twinkled and Azula breathed quietly, her fingers twitching as she took in the sight. She was reminded of Sanjiv, the dragon that had never quite been hers, and she whispered the name under her breath. Why was it that she could have everything in the world but a dragon that had supposedly chose her? Why was it that she got everything but what she wanted the most?
"It's…so serene up here." Ty Lee said, breathless, and Azula nodded absently. "I didn't know it was so beautiful from this position." She sighed romantically, clasping her hands. "Wow!" Mai snorted, but even from where Azula stood, she could see the awe in the willowy girl's pale eyes.
And for a moment, Azula put aside their vulnerability to marvel at the city. One day, soon, it would be hers and she would be able to enjoy its beauty any time she wished. She turned her gaze towards the middle of the ring, and her eyes widened. There was a great complex, so huge that she could see all of it, with a main building that had architecture that far surpassed the surrounding residences. Walls surrounded it, blocking it from the outside world. The palace of Ba Sing Se.
Zuko clambered his way up beside her and for once, Azula did not taunt him. She wanted him to see Ba Sing Se without her interruptions. Today, she felt civil. She looked down at him and the corners of her mouth twitched as he straightened.
It wasn't everyday Azula stopped to admire something, so she made the best of it. Her breath caught in her throat, she took in as much of the city that she could and she tried to reconstruct it in her mind's eye, imagining the pagodas and temples of the Fire Nation mixed among them. She liked what she saw, and she smirked. It would become a reality, one day.
"Come on," That was Lu Ten, "I know that you guys would love to sightsee and everything, but we have don't have the liberties to do that, now." He pulled his map from his shirt and unrolled it, holding it out before him as he studied. He bit the bottom of his lip as his eyes moved from the map to the city. "That's the palace," He said after a moment, and Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "That's our target."
The Crown Prince turned his amber gaze to Ty Lee, "You'll get as close the palace as you can," He told her, "And we'll be in this alley, two streets over from the northern part of the palace." Ty Lee craned her neck, looking down at the map. She nodded enthusiastically. "Get the princesses and the prince out of there and to that alley. Maybe the Avatar, if the rumors are true. I don't care how you do it, surprise me. Just be safe. It's all fair games in war."
Ty Lee nodded and moved to leap down onto the roof of the house, but she stopped and turned to her allies, lifting her hand in the Fire Nation salute. "For the Fire Nation!" She said with a smile and leapt from the wall's edge, landing on the house's top. Ty Lee was light footed and agile, her feet barely making a sound as she scuttled across the roof.
Azula watched her friend jump from the house-which she figured must have been empty-and disappear into the dark. For a moment, she felt a pang of jealousy. Ty Lee would get the glory, not her. Her chance would come, soon.
"Let's go." Lu Ten said after a moment, rerolling his map and placing it back in his shirt. He raised his head to look up at the sky, and he breathed out a wisp of smoke before jumping onto the roof. He wasn't as nearly as graceful Ty Lee, though, and he landed heavily on the roof. "We can only wait, now."
Following her older cousin's lead, the Fire Nation princess dropped onto the house's roof, her knees buckling for a moment before she held herself up. She walked along the rooftop, hearing the sound of her comrades behind her. Lu Ten was standing precariously on the edge, his toes hanging over the side, but as Azula went to his side, he seemed stable enough. He turned his head to her and his signature goofy smile spread across his face. "It doesn't' feel real, does it? It feels like a dream."
In a way, it did. Azula nodded once, slowly, and lifted her chin to the sky. "It does feel like a dream," She replied, "It feels like a dream. Only, unlike most dreams, this one will become a reality. I guarantee it." From the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Ten blink, and she smirked. "I guarantee it." Then, she laughed.
If it had been possible for Yue's blood to freeze in her veins, it would have. She looked up at Katara, whose face had fallen into a straight line and swallowed forcibly. "Hello, Katara," She said, and she wished that she could think of a witty comment like Sokka could. "It's nice seeing you," She offered, and then realized that she sounded incredibly stupid.
Katara looked to Aang, and an unreadable emotion flashed in her eyes. She looked as though she was about to speak, but before she could open her mouth, the Air Nomad had brushed by her, shoving his way through the waning crowd. The dark haired princess turned to watch him, until he was obscured by the bodies of the noblemen and their pretty wives. Then, she moved her attention back to Yue, shaking her head. "What a bad thing you've done, Yue, you've made your little Koinu sad."
Yue rose to her full height, but she couldn't quite tear her eyes from Katara's. It was as if the dark princess's gaze had paralyzed her, rending her movement invalid. Beside her, Sokka was craning his neck anxiously, looking for the boy. He took a step towards the crowd, but before he could move, Katara had grabbed his arm, halting him.
"I would let him sort this out by himself," The Southern Water Tribe princess said, "Because in all honesty, Yue, I think you've done enough damage." She tilted her head, and Yue felt a pang of discomfort. Katara had struck a nerve with that comment, because she had caused all of this. And it hurt to hear it from the one person who hated her most.
Katara was silent for a long moment, and then she moved away from Yue, disappearing back into the crowd with her dark hair swaying behind her. As she watched, Yue decided Katara was the most beautiful and most vile person she had ever seen.
Sokka looked at Yue as if to say: You got dealt a bad one this time, his gaze sympathetic. "Katara's right, you know," He said slowly, "I think it might be best that we leave Aang alone for a while. I don't think he would want to see any of us after he just learned what he did."
Yue opened her mouth to protest, and then dropped her shoulders in resignation. "You're right," She said finally, "I should have…I shouldn't have said anything," She hung her head, "And now he'll never trust us any more, if he ever comes back. What if he stays angry at us forever, Sokka?"
"Oh, now you're just being cynical, Yue." Sokka said and waved his hand in dismissal. "Aang's a monk, isn't he about all that past forgiving and whatnot?" He patted Yue's shoulder, "Seriously, I know you see the bad in pretty much everything, but lighten up. Being pessimistic is my job!"
Right about now, Yue didn't think that was possibility.
The Northern Water Tribe princess shook her head and leaned against the wall, trying to gather her thoughts into something semi-cohesive. She felt angry and sad, and scared and upset. Her stomach had turned itself into a knot and she imagining herself undoing the tie. She imagined working her fingers to mentally free herself, but it seemed that with every tug she gave, the more the knot tightened.
A servant stopped in front of her, holding a tray out to her. "Care for any honey-glazed dumplings, Princess?" He offered the tray to her, smiling kindly. He couldn't have been much older than her, and Yue politely plucked one of the warm dumplings from the tray, nodding in gratitude. "Anything for you, Princess," The servant said, and walked away.
Yue looked at the dumpling, with its crisp glaze and warm exterior. It was stuffed with bacui berry filling and a small bit of the sweet filling dripped onto Yue's fingers. She bit into it and tasted the sweet juice of the berries erupt onto her tongue, and for a moment, she could almost forget that she was supposed to be worried.
But then it seemed that her stomach remembered, and the berry filling turned sour in her mouth. The honey glaze was too thick and she forced it down her throat, wincing as she swallowed. It left a bitter aftertaste on her tongue, and her mouth suddenly felt dry. She felt bad about what she had done, and it was showing through her stomach.
Was regret supposed to hurt so much? Was guilt supposed to ruin her appetite? Yue turned her attention to the noblewomen, with their painted lips. They were pretty and lethal, able to ruin a career with one rumor, hiding innocently behind their fans and long sleeves.
From where she stood, she could see Kuei with his awkward stance-maybe he had broken his leg as a child, and it hadn't healed properly?-and his bear Bosco, with the advisor Bima, engaged in an animated conversation. Where was Long Feng? Perhaps, Yue thought, he was somewhere else in the crowd, where she couldn't see him.
Sighing, Yue peeled herself away from the wall and made her way across the room towards the exit, her eyes drooping. Maybe if she was away from all the goings-on in the ballroom, she would be able to calm her skittering nerves. It wasn't exactly against protocol to leave being the last guest, but she trusted that Sokka would cover for her should someone question her whereabouts.
"Pardon me," The princess said softly and gently brushed by what she thought was a noblewoman. She looked up apologetically and saw that it was an elderly woman who seemed as though she was of Water Tribe descent, even though that was fairly common. She had a mane of gray hair and a face creased with wrinkles. Her eyes were just as pale as her hair and they glittered in surprise as they took in Yue's appearance.
"You must be Princess Yue, with hair the color of virgin snow." The woman commented and Yue nodded awkwardly. She did not know this woman, but she felt warm inside when the elderly woman smiled at her. "Oh my," The woman said, "Aren't you beautiful!" Her gnarled hands took a lock of Yue's hand and she ran the pad of her thumb down the white strands before she pulled away, a glint of embarrassment in her eyes. "Please forgive me for being so rude, Princess; you know an old lady like me gets carried away so easily."
Yue shrugged and the corners of her lips turned up briefly. "That's alright," She said, and looked longingly towards the door. The woman seemed to sense her tension, for she stepped aside and patted Yue's hand as if to say: Everything will be fine. Yue wished she could believe it, though, and she sighed inwardly. If there was really a time where everything was always fine, she would have wished that she had been born into that time instead.
Pushing open the ballroom door, the Northern Water Tribe princess looked back at the strange old woman-she was seemingly without a husband-before letting the door close behind her. The two guards that stood at the door nodded to her and she whispered a polite greeting in return.
For a heartbeat, she was tempted to search for Aang, to try and finish what she had been trying to say. Where had he run off to? What he hurt himself? But then, she was reminded of what Katara had told her. As disturbingly malicious as the girl was, she had been brutally honest. Don't rub salt into already raw wounds. She would give Aang time to sort through his emotions while she sifted through her own, and then she would try to fix what she had broken.
Turning her feet in the direction of her private rooms, Yue looked down at the endless green of the floor and blinked. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a princess with responsibilities. She had to rectify her own mistakes now. No one would fix things for her anymore. No one would solve her problems except herself.
As she increased the distance between the ballroom and herself, Yue took in her surroundings, the hallway was empty and quiet with all the staff in various other parts of the palace, tending to their guests. The silence oddly reminded her of the little blind girl she had earlier that day, Toph. In a way, the girl had been the reason Yue had done what she did. A child as bold as Toph would inspire anyone to voice their feelings.
She wondered if Toph had ever made mistakes as big as the one she had made.
Her door was unlocked-she trusted the servant enough to not snoop around- and she opened it easily, stepping inside. It was dim inside, as she had expected it to be, for there was only a single, controlled candle that cast shadows against the walls and vanity. Yue closed the door behind her, moving cautiously to towards the candle as to avoid injuring herself.
There was a lantern set beside the candle that would give her more light to work with. Slowly and with great care, she lifted the candle and held it to the lantern's wick, watching as the room brightened and her shadow lengthened.
It was by this light that she rummaged through her belongings and unearthed her travelling outfit, the purple tunic and black pants that she had worn on their voyage to Ba Sing Se. She set it on her bed and looked down at it for a long moment, running her hands over the fabric before she pulled her yellow dress over her shoulders, replacing it with the tunic. Pulling on the black pants that went underneath, Yue looked down at herself. She was reverting back to the past, and she wondered why it was so much easier to regress to the past, when facing the future was inevitable.
Neatly folding her dress, Yue set it in the drawer of her vanity before reaching for the amulet with the water from the Spirit Oasis. Her fingers fell onto the familiar crevices of the object and she tightened her grip on it as she lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
With her eyes closed and her fingers wrapped around the amulet, she could almost imagine a time when things weren't so complicated, and she didn't have so much bearing down on her shoulders. She could close out all the chaos for just a brief while. And just…
Rest.
"I'm bored." Mai announced, huddled against Azula in the shadows. For once, Azula agreed with the monotonous girl. It seemed that they had been waiting forever and still nothing happened. For a moment, Azula wondered if Ty Lee had gotten distracted by whatever shining objects that may have caught her attention. "This place is stupid."
And because Azula had nothing better to take her frustration out on, she rammed her elbow into Zuko's side as he knelt beside her. Maybe it would spark some life among them. Her brother let out a surprised gasp as the force of her elbow jamming into his ribcage, his eyes brightening in shock. Azula smirked to herself, proud of her small victory.
But then Lu Ten spoke up, his tone sharp, "Don't think I didn't see that." He said and turned to face his young cousins. "Azula, this isn't the time to take your anger out on Zuko," The prince reprimanded and narrowed his eyes, "I didn't put up with Ursa's ranting just to bring along squabbling children. You should know better than that."
The tips of Azula's ears burned and she exhaled to ease the heat in her face. "Yes, dear cousin," She said caustically and rolled her eyes skyward, "We'll behave, won't we, Zuzu?" She sneered, turning towards Zuko. "Won't we?"
Zuko looked at her as if he wanted to say something unkind-not that she would have been affected, he had poor comebacks-but then he clearly thought better of it and settled to glare instead, realizing that Azula enjoyed goading him on. His eyes, though, were narrow and intimidating when he was angry, and had Azula not known him better, she might have felt perhaps the slightest pang of unease.
She knew Zuko, though, and she made it painfully obvious by laughing quietly to herself. Lu Ten grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him, his eyes serious. Azula inhaled sharply as her older cousin shook his head.
"Azula, you might scare everyone else, but don't think I won't send you right back over that wall and make you sit all by yourself." Lu Ten said, slowly, "Now, sit on this side, so you and Zuko won't go at each other again."
The Fire Nation princess rolled her eyes and pulled her knees up to her chest, sparking a tiny fire in her left hand. She stared at it for a moment, watching the blue flames dance and writhe in the air as she fed them, mesmerized. Every time she inhaled, the fire grew, and everything she exhaled, it shrank. Controlled. Steady and unchanging. Tamable.
Squinting in concentration, Azula willed the fire to take shape. She pinched her fingers together and opened them again, the flames flickering. She could feel Mai's eyes watching her, but when she lifted her head, the older girl turned her head, feigning disinterest. Azula smirked and turned her attention back to her work.
Maybe if she created something in Sanjiv's likeness, it would lessen the blow of the dragon abandoning her. Maybe she could forget about it, after all, what was it that she had been taught? If something is gone, don't miss it. Grief is weakness, and weakness leads to defeat. Azula blinked and clenched her fists, the fire in her hands growing into a thin wisp.
The blue fire spread out into a long, sinuous shape and Azula smiled broadly. It was a vague idea of what Sanjiv looked like-she was a warrior, not an artist-but to her, but she had accomplished something. It wasn't quite perfect, but it would be. Soon.
Letting the flames fade away, Azula leaned back, adjusting her hair. Was Ty Lee making any progress? Where they getting anywhere? Or was this all a waste of time?
"This is boring." Mai said and let out a loud, exasperated sigh. Azula looked up at her, pressing her lips into a firm line as the taller girl stared at her through her ink black bangs, frowning. If Mai hadn't been so pessimistic, she would have been one of the prettiest girls Azula had seen, with her lily white skin and midnight black hair.
From where he sat next to Zuko, Lu Ten leaned over Azula to look at Mai. "Thank you, Mai," He said rather sourly, "For stating the obvious. You took the words from my mouth." Then, he smiled, "Sing along, anyone?"
If there had even been a time when Azula and Zuko fully agreed on something, it would have been now. "No!" They both said in unison and their gazes met. The corners of Zuko's mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smile and Azula smirked back.
While Azula enjoyed every opportunity to humiliate her brother, there were times where they could both lay down their arms and simply enjoy each other's company. And despite herself, Azula felt warm inside, and for a brief while, she was content to share this humorous time with her brother, where there was no rift between them. They were just siblings.
The door of Yue's room was thrown open, banging loudly against the adjacent wall. Yue opened her eyes and let out a gasp of surprise. Standing in the doorway was Sokka, his eyes wide as his shadow stretched across the wall. Yue sat up, forcing her eyes to open fully. She hadn't known she had fallen asleep and when her gaze flickered towards the lantern on the dresser, she saw that the wick had burned to its halfway point.
Sokka stood there, struggling to catch his breath. After a moment, he looked up and Yue saw that his eyes were wide with alarm. "It's Aang," He said, "He's missing." The Southern Water Tribe prince leaned against the door, looking back over his shoulder. "Aang's missing."
Yue's eyes widened and she stood quickly, untangling her legs. "What?" Her voice raised an octave and Sokka nodded. "What do you mean he's missing? How do you know that? What if he's just still out gathering his feelings together?"
"Because, Yue," Sokka answered, "It's the middle of the night. The celebration has been over for nearly an hour now. I went to see if he was in his room, and he wasn't. He's nowhere on the palace grounds." He frowned, "I even got the guards to help me search, and he's gone!"
Suddenly, Yue wished she could crawl back into her bed and pretend nothing was happening. She could pretend the celebration had never occurred and everything was the same. Everything would be alright. "Maybe…maybe he went out into the city. Maybe…I don't know." She reached back on her bed and snatched up her amulet, pulling it around her neck before reaching for her sack of possessions that lay at the foot of her bed.
As she strapped her bag on her shoulders, Sokka looked at her with a look of confusion. She turned back to him, "I'm going to go get him." She declared with a tone of finality that made Sokka clench his jaw. "I got him into this, Sokka, so it's the least I can do. I don't care if I have to search the Lower Ring, I'll find him."
The prince stared hard at her for a while, and then he stepped aside as she moved towards the hallway. "I'm coming with you," He said, "Aang is my friend, too." The gangly boy pulled Yue's closed behind him and looked down the long corridor. "He's my friend, too."
Yue shouldered her bag and took off in a light jog, Sokka striding behind her. The palace was near silent at night and the only thing she could hear was the distant closing of a door on another hall, most likely a servant carrying out last minute duties before bedtime.
The palace of Ba Sing Se was built to be circular, with the throne room in the center of the building. As Yue rounded a corner of one of the shorter halls, she tried to remember which corridor led to the outer sanctum. That one…She turned, her bag weighing heavily on her shoulders. Every moment makes a difference.
Her shoes slick on the polished floors, the Northern Water Tribe princess looked up at the large double doors that keep the palace of Ba Sing Se safe within its walls. She dug her toes in the ground, sliding to a halt in front of the entrance. "Help me push this open," Yue said quietly, and pressed both of her hands on the door, bracing her feet. "We don't have much time."
Sokka pushed his hands next to hers, and together they gave a great heave, throwing their bodies against the door. Yue winced as her muscles strained-she had never pushed something so heavy-her feet slipping forward.
And then, with a loud creak, the door was pushed open. Yue stumbled forward with a gasp. Sokka tumbled over her, letting out a whoosh of breath. Looking up, the Northern Water Tribe princess turned her attention to her surroundings. They were in the main courtyard of the palace, where the starlight fell untouched on the stone, casting it into a silver light.
A long shadow spread over them and then there was Suki, landing in a crouch in front of the two teenagers. She had been standing on the top of the wall, Yue realized, and as she walked towards them, Yue felt her stomach drop.
"What are you doing here?" Yue growled, narrowing her eyes. She had an eerie feeling that Suki hadn't been there by coincidence. The Kyoshi Warrior was dressed in the same outfit that she had worn at the celebration, her fans hanging at her sides.
Suki lifted her shoulders, "Don't get so angry at me, I'm just the messenger." Yue relaxed her shoulders for a moment, "Of course, I can go on and you'll never know where Aang is." The bright haired girl commented, straightening her shoulders. "The Dai Li's got him."
Yue knew what the Dai Li were. They were the secret police of Ba Sing Se that had once been founded by Avatar Kyoshi. During the initial occupation of the city, the original governors had decided that such a thing was too good to pass up. Yue didn't like the idea of it very much, and she didn't exactly understand what they did that was so secret. But…why did they have Aang?
As if she reading the struggle on Yue's face, Suki spoke again, "They've got him somewhere, but you have to figure out where," The Kyoshi Warrior said before she heaved herself back up onto the wall, walking along the top with her arms outstretched at her sides. "Katara knows where."
Yue's eyes widened and she looked up at Suki. "What are you talking about? Take me to where Aang is, now!" Suki looked down at her almost pityingly. "Where is he?"
The bright haired warrior smiled, "I'll show you, if you can keep up with me." She took off down the side of the wall and Yue let out a cry of surprise. Suki looked back at her and Sokka, running along the length of the barrier.
"We have to go after her!" Yue exclaimed and turned towards Sokka. But the boy was already climbing on top of the wall, being much more athletic than Yue. He crouched down and wrapped his hand around Yue's forearm, hauling her up onto the top of the wall.
"I'll go after Suki," Sokka said and Yue nodded, "And you go find Aang." He straightened and turned in the direction that Suki had taken. "Be careful." The Southern Water Tribe prince and ran along the wall, even though the Kyoshi Warrior had already disappeared from sight.
And suddenly, things were going too fast for Yue to keep up with again. She could barely wrap her mind around one thing when another was thrust at her. Shaking her head as if to clear it, the tribal princess set one foot in front of the other, trying to level out her balance so high up on the wall. Her bag cutting into her shoulders, the princess moved along the stone, though not as quickly as Suki or Sokka had.
She moved as quickly as she could without the risk of staggering and falling. She normally wasn't so clumsy, but she was scared and uncertain. What if Aang got hurt before she found him? What if Katara hurt him? What if Sokka couldn't stop Suki?
The waterbender stopped, standing on the edge. A dog in desperation will not hesitate to leap over a wall. Below her was the city in all its nighttime glory, and somewhere out there, there was Aang. He needed her. And the world needed him. Closing her eyes, she jumped. There was no time to waste on petty fears. Yue gulped and resisted the urge to yell. The wall wasn't so high, but it was tall enough to give her a rush of adrenaline that pushed out the uncertainty. Her legs flailed for a moment before she landed rather roughly on the street below, her hands burning.
Picking herself up, Yue brushed her hands and clothes off. She had no idea where she was supposed to go, but she decided her best bet was to be further away from the Higher Ring and closer towards the lower part of Ba Sing Se, where strange goings-on wouldn't be as noticeable. The people in the Lower Ring wouldn't recognize the child Avatar.
Her heart pounding in her chest, Yue took to the street. Her shadow was short and close to her body, as if reflecting how she felt at the time. She felt terribly, terribly small, as if she was the size of an insect in a world that was not her own.
And perhaps it was paranoia, but she felt as though someone was watching her as she wandered the streets. She felt preyed on, as if at any moment, someone would swoop down and snatch her up. Her nerves were on end and if someone had spoken to her at that moment, she would have screamed.
Aang was somewhere and she had to find him. She had to. There was no other choice.
When she thought about it, she realized that she hated Katara. Really, she did. She knew that Katara had ordered the Dai Li to take Aang. She was the most vile, evil person Yue had ever met and the older princess had no doubts that the dark haired princess had been the mastermind behind everything, willing to do everything just because she hated Yue.
Well, Yue hated her back, so she supposed the feeling was mutual between them. It seemed that Katara had done nothing but antagonize her, and if it came to them facing each other, she wouldn't hesitate to fight her. That was one thing she was certain of.
Looking back of her shoulder, Yue saw that she had been walking rather quickly. She could only see the roof of the palace complex's tallest building and with every step she took, the streets became narrower and the building's roof grew smaller. Her eyes flicked back to the distance that she had put between her and palace, and for a moment, she thought she was imagining things.
Standing there as still as a stone was a figure that was distinctly feminine, their face shadowed by the hood of a cloak. Yue froze mid-step, squinting in an attempt to see better. The cloaked figure stared back at her and Yue was sure she saw the glint of grinning white teeth. Her imagination seemed to get the better of her.
But then she blinked. The grinning, hooded girl took a step and it was then that Yue realized it wasn't just a figment of her imagination. Yue stepped back and like a preying animal, the other girl sprang forward, her arms outstretched.
Yue cried out and staggered, eyes widening. She didn't recognize the girl and for a brief heartbeat, she wondered if was Katara, having gone out to finish what she had started. But when the girl's hood fell away, it was not the Southern Water Tribe princess.
Instead, it was a pale-skinned, gray eyed girl that Yue had never seen before. She appeared to be the same age as Katara, though, and Yue considered the idea that the girl might have been another one of Katara's followers.
There wasn't time to fully analyze the idea, though, because the cloaked girl rushed at Yue, pulling her cover off even as she ran. Yue took in her pink clothes before it occurred to her that the girl had every intention of attacking her-she could see it in her eyes-and it was in her best interest that she ran.
So she did. The Northern Water Tribe princess forced her legs to go faster, her hands searching her sides for her water canteen. Her belt was empty though and her fingers brushed through the air. No. Her heart pounded against her chest cavity as she judged the distance between her and the girl. It was rapidly closing as the girl's gray eyes bore into her back. She was faster than Yue had thought.
The white haired girl ducked into the nearest pool of shadows she could find-an alley between a high class seamstress and a scroll shop. She let out a breath of relief when the girl who had been pursuing flew by the alley, not knowing that her prey had ducked behind the buildings.
Yue pressed her hand to her chest and gasped for air. She had never run so much in one day, and suddenly she wished for it all to be over. She wished that Aang would magically appear and they would be friends again. She wished that everything would go back to normal.
And perhaps the Sprits were against her that day, because suddenly golden fire flashed by her feet, nearly catching the bottom of her pants on fire. Suddenly there was a fist in her back, jabbing into her shoulders and spine. Confused and alarmed, the princess yelped. Her arms were alarmingly numb and throbbing. What's happening!
From behind her, the pink clad girl who had been chasing her appeared, grinning deviously. If Yue hadn't been so confused and in pain, she would have glared at her. So she opened her mouth to scream, hoping that someone-anyone-would hear her cry and save her from this strange girl.
But before the sound could clear her lips, a calloused hand was wrapped roughly around her mouth. Her head was painfully jerked back and she smelled the sour breath of her captor. Mumbling against the man's hand, Yue twisted her head in an attempt to free her head.
As she struggled, yet another man appeared from shadows, juggling a golden flame on his fingertips. Firebenders. Yue's stomach dropped as she looked back at the girl in pink. Fire Nation. She had been captured by the Fire Nation. How had they gotten into the city? Why hadn't they been alerted of their presence? Why was everything going wrong?
"I said grab the girl, Zhao, not choke her to death." The man said and the fire in his hand dissipated. His golden eyes-Yue had never seen such a brilliant eye color-flickered to Yue's and he frowned before his hands took a lock of her white hair. "Then again, it might not make much difference, will it?"
Azula looked at the girl struggling in Zhao's iron grip, her pure blue eyes wide with fear and confusion. She looked to be Zuko's age, but she looked as if she would snap in two at any moment. She looked weak and Azula figured that she was, if she had been captured so easily.
Her gaze flickered to Ty Lee, whose eyes were filled with a mixture of pride and anxiety. Azula sniffed. The acrobatic girl had chased the white haired girl right into their trap. Azula had never seen white hair on someone so young before, and the Fire Nation princess wasn't sure if she intrigued or disgusted by the sight.
The girl seemed to crumble when Azula, Mai, and Zuko stepped out to complete the half ring that surrounded her. Her eyes widened and she began to protest again, kicking weakly. Azula narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists.
Zhao released the girl and she tumbled forward, nearly crashing into Azula. The female firebender stepped back and the white haired girl caught herself. Her arms hung limply at her sides, thanks to Ty Lee's skills at blocking the chi flow.
"So," Lu Ten said and caught the girl firmly by the shoulders, though not roughly. "What's your name? And don't lie to me, girl, because if you haven't noticed, your life is in our hands right about now." Azula was surprised to hear Lu Ten's dark, serious tone. It was unlike him, but everyone, Azula noted, had their secretive sides.
The girl glared at Lu Ten with a look so dangerous that Azula blinked. "Let go of me," She growled and she looked rather pathetic with her arms hanging limply at her sides. "Go back to the Fire Nation, where scums like you belong. Let go of me!"
Lu Ten looked hard at girl and then laughed, but he removed his hands from the girl's shoulders anyway. "See, I let you go. But I need you to answer some questions, if you don't mind." The pale haired girl opened her mouth to protest, but then Ty Lee had ducked down and jabbed her twice in the legs with her fingertips.
Azula watched as the Water Tribe girl fell to her knees, her legs rendered useless by Ty Lee's devastating blows. And she thought she saw a tear trickle down her cheek as Lu Ten picked her up by her armpits, slinging her over his shoulder.
"We're taking her back to the wall," Lu Ten explained and the waterbending girl looked as if she was about to scream in his ear. Azula glared at her, as if silently daring her to do it. The girl returned her solid stare, though, and had she not been immobile, Azula was sure she would have hit her.
"I would really prefer that you put me down," The girl said, furrowing her brow. "Please, I have to help my friend! I have to help the Avatar!" She cried and her voice cracked in desperation. "I have to help him, he's in trouble!"
That sparked Azula's interest. She looked up into the waterbender's blue eyes and frowned. "So the rumors are true then, heathen?" She demanded, and the girl glared at her, "The Avatar is allied with the Water Tribes. That makes him a heathen, too."
The princess sniffed, "Aang's not allied with the Water Tribe's, that's what I'm trying to tell you!" She wriggled against Lu Ten's strong hold, but the Fire Nation Crown Prince tightened his grip around her waist. "You don't understand. I have to help him. He's in trouble! He's just a twelve year old boy!"
Azula looked skeptical, "Why should we believe you?" She asked, "Don't think I can't see through you," She said, and unclenched her fists. "The Avatar can't be a little boy," She declared and looked up at the sky, "If that was true, I'm an eighty thousand year old lion turtle." The firebender took the girl's chin in her fingers and smirked, "When your precious city is ours, you'll suffer in the ashes of your humiliation."
The Water Tribe teenager stared long and hard at Azula, as she was studying every detail of Azula's face, even the planes of her cheeks and the smooth curve of her lips. Her blue eyes hardened and Azula glared back at her, wrinkling her nose. "Why did you capture me?"
"Because we're going to kill you," Azula said blatantly and rolled her eyes, "Isn't it obvious?" She thought she saw alarm flash in the girl's cerulean gaze and she smiled, "Does that answer your question?"
After that, the Water Tribe princess was silent, as if she had accepted her fate. She closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head. Azula observed her for a minute, taking note of her dark skin-it was exotic-and her thick, pale hair that framed her face. For a native of the Water Tribes, Azula decided she was pretty, in an unusual sort of way. Quite honestly, she thought the people of the Tribes weren't the most attractive people, but the princess seemed to be a rare exception.
"My name is Yue," The girl said after a while. The wall had been growing larger and more prominent, and Azula could see the little house that was settled in the side of the wall. "My name is Yue." Her voice was quiet as she looked up at the sky. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly. "What is that?'
The Fire Nation princess blinked and raised her head slowly, searching the heavens for what had caught Yue's attention. Clouds had spread thinly over the sky, casting them in a dark light. Azula narrowed her eyes.
She saw nothing but the moon.
Azula frowned. Perhaps the girl was mad. Or maybe the waterbenders had a connection that was similar to the reverence that firebenders showed the suns. It could have been both. Azula didn't like the Water Tribes, and she couldn't bring herself to care about them enough to learn about their culture. They would replace it anyway, once the Water Tribe royalty was wiped out from the city. Then, they would move on to the poles and eliminate them, too.
She turned her attention towards the others and looked up at the looming mass of the dividing wall. It seemed less intimidating, Azula noted, from this side. Perhaps it was because she was on the side that made met her standards. She looked towards her friends.
They were standing in front of the tiny little house and Zuko was jiggling the doorknob, wrapping his knuckles against the hollow wood as he pressed his ear against it, a look of intense concentration on her face. He then leaned back and kicked the door, nearly toppling over.
Nothing happened, and Azula snickered behind her hand. But to her surprise, Zuko rammed his foot into the door again and it crashed inward, revealing a dark, dusty room. The firebending princess frowned, shocked that her brother had been able to do such a thing.
Lu Ten removed the waterbending princess-Yue-from his shoulder and she clung to the wall, pulling herself upright. Ty Lee had only temporarily blocked her chi and its effects were wearing off. Ty Lee made no move to reissue the paralyzing blows, though, and Azula sensed that the princess looked so helpless and pitiful; there was no need to block her chi again.
Azula pushed the Water Tribe girl in front of her, shoving her hands in her back. The princess stumbled as she walked over the creaking floorboards. She glared at her from behind, narrowing her eyes. "You're completely surrounded. There's nowhere. And it's not like you can do anything, you don't have any water."
Yue had just been in the motion of taking another step. She turned towards Azula, her eyes blazing with the fury of a thousand fires, and despite herself, Azula stepped back. The Water Tribe princess seemed to realize she was trapped and she stepped backwards, the floor creaking loudly.
Without warning, the floorboards under Yue's feet snapped and collapsed under her weight. Both princesses gasped in unison as the white haired girl disappeared with a cry. Everything happened so fast that it seemed to Azula that at one moment she had been glaring at the girl, and the next, the princess was gone.
Azula sprang forward-not because she wanted to save the girl, but because she wanted to see what happened. Behind her, Lu Ten turned in surprise, running to her side. He-and the others-hadn't seen Yue fall through the floorboards.
Peering down in the hole that Yue had disappeared in, Azula saw nothing but blackness. She was torn between frowning and grinning. Perhaps the Water Tribe princess lay crumpled and broken at the bottom of the pit beneath the house. Either way, the girl had certainly fallen to her death, for there was nothing but stone and water underneath the city.
Lu Ten looked towards Azula, his eyes glittering. He turned back to the hole, creating a ball of fire in the palm of his hand. The Crown Prince stuck his hand into the pit, shining the light from his fire down. Azula leaned over his shoulder, pursing her lips. She could see nothing.
"Oh, no!" Ty Lee cried, clasping her hands over her mouth. The teenage acrobat looked towards Azula, who in turn rotated her head to Lu Ten. "We have to see if she's alright! She could be hurt down there!" Azula shook her head, not quite sure what to say.
Had she...killed the girl? Azula had pushed her closer to the weak spot in the floor, and she had fallen through when Azula had been watching her? Did that make her…a murderer? An unsettling feeling rolled in Azula's stomach, and she closed her eyes for a long moment.
"There's no point in going after her," Lu Ten said finally, and Azula looked up. "We don't know what's down there, and she's probably dead." His voice became very quiet, "I don't know if that's a good thing or not. We just met her, and then she's dead."
Mai snorted, "First you want to kill her, and now that she's dead, you want her back. How stupid." She said and rolled her eyes as if to say, I'm surrounded by idiots. Azula glared at her, the back of her eyes stinging.
She had killed the girl, she knew it. Azula had never felt sympathy for those below her, and never had she felt qualms for pushing someone beneath her. Then again, she had never killed anyone either. Lu Ten put his hand on her left shoulder, and to her surprise, Zuko squeezed her right.
It didn't make anything better, though.
Yue screamed as she plummeted through the darkness, bits of the floorboard falling around her. One moment she had been standing on solid ground, and the next she was dropping freely towards the earth beneath the city. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, considering she had been captured by firebenders.
Firebenders! In Ba Sing Se! Even as she fell, Yue felt extremely weighted down. Her city had been invaded secretly and her friends were in danger. If her hair hadn't already been white, she was sure it would've turned gray from all the stress that was thrust upon her.
The ground reached up to grab her and she landed heavily on her side, gasping as the breath was knocked from her body. Winded, the Northern Water Tribe princess lay still, mentally checking herself for injuries. Nothing was broken, even though she had scraped her hands. They were red and sore, but she would live.
From where she lay on the ground, Yue lifted her head and took in her surroundings. She had landed in what looked like a cavern, dark except for the bright green crystals that pierced the damp earth beneath her. It smelled faintly of dirt after a fresh rain. Yue winced and pushed herself up into a sitting position, pressing her back against the wall.
Looking back up, Yue saw nothing but the darkness from which she had come. To the right, there was nothing. But when she looked to the left, the glowing green crystals illuminated a path that went further than Yue could see. There was no way out.
The Northern Water Tribe princess stood, picking up her bag and pulling it onto her shoulder. She had no choice but to explore in hopes of finding an escape, or else she would die and Aang and Sokka…where were they? She held her head in her hand, shaking it. She was scared and so much had happened in so little time.
Pressing her hand against the wall, Yue stumbled forward a few steps. The green light cast a sickly hue to her brown skin and dark shadows gathered where the light didn't shine. Yue blinked slowly and continued forward, digging her fingernails in the wall.
So much had happened, and she couldn't focus. She was scared and hurt. That Fire Nation girl had jabbed her fingers into her shoulders and legs and she was finally regaining the full strength in her limbs. She didn't know what the girl had done to her, but was disturbing and intriguing at the same time. How had that girl done such a thing?
The ground underneath her feet was damp, as if water had dripped from the ceiling and Yue wondered where she was. She had never known there were tunnels under Ba Sing Se. What were they for? Who had built them? What types of crystals were so bright that they illuminated the tunnel?
Where was Sokka?
Where was Aang?
The tunnel seemed to stretch and narrow until she was unable to extend her arms fully without brushing the other wall. The top of the tunnel was still high above her, but it felt as if the ground was sloping downward, as if she was going down a hill.
An ominous feeling spread over Yue's skin as the emerald green light from the crystals brightened considerably, casting a large glow on the walls that surrounded her. Where was she? Yue brushed her fingers over the wall again and looked at the scraped skin on her other palm. If she had water with her, she would have healed it.
And just as the walls had narrowed, they opened again to a point where they were wider than before. Yue stopped and gasped at the sight that lay before. A river cut through the cavern, flowing in a direction that was not lit by the crystals. It was quiet and flowed gently, which made the place seem more eerie than it already was.
On the other side of the river, there was a door. It didn't seem to belong in the scene and Yue stared at it for a long minute, her mouth agape. What was this place? Why was there a door there, and who had built it?
"You can always go in, if you want." With a gasp, Yue turned, her blood chilling. The voice was monotonous, as if the speaker was bored. But she knew better. Coming from the direction in which the water flowed was Katara, her eyes dark in the green light. "Of course, you might see something you don't want to."
Yue narrowed her eyes. "Where. Is. Aang?" She demanded and looked towards the river, judging how quickly she could call it to her before Katara struck her down. "Where did you take him?" Katara looked at her, frowning. "Where is Sokka?"
Again, the younger waterbender looked towards the door. "There's no need for being so belligerent, Yue, you worry too much." She stepped towards the river bank, "You know when you know something, and you wish you didn't, and you'll do anything to forget it? Well, this is one of those times." She shook her head, "Everything I've done, it's been for a purpose."
The Northern Water Tribe princess glared at her, but dropped her hands. "Take me to Aang," She growled, and Katara dipped her head. "Where is he?" She clenched her fists as Katara turned towards the river and raised her arms, casting the water into a bridge of ice.
Katara gestured to Yue to cross the bridge, bowing mockingly to the older princess. Yue didn't trust Katara, but she knew where Aang was. She held that information over Yue's head, and as long as she did so, Yue had no choice but to believe her.
Stepping over the ice, Yue was reminded of the time she had found Aang, so long ago. She was finding him again, now, by crossing the ice. She would save him again. Behind her, Katara's eyes bore into her back and Yue quickened her step. If Katara was going to stab her in the back, she would be ready for it.
But the younger waterbender did no such thing and stepped around Yue as they set foot on the bank. Her thin shoulder brushed Yue's as she stepped around her and her signature smirk spread across her lips as she pushed the door open.
Yue looked around the shorter girl's shoulder, and gasped. There was a man dressed in dark green and brown robes, with a large hat covering his head. He was tall, and Yue could see he was fiercely intimidating, even though his back was to them. Beside him was Kuei's advisor, Long Feng.
Her stomach whirled and for a moment, she felt sick.
The man-the Dai Li agent-was standing over Aang, who was struggling against the ropes that bound his tiny body to an earthbent pillar. A lantern was hanging above his head, causing his skin to appear sickly and shadowed. They had bound him so tightly that he couldn't move and he whimpered pitifully, not seeing Yue. "Please let me out. Please?"
Yue understood now. She understood it all. They were going to brainwash him. You know when you know something, and you wish you didn't? Katara had ordered them to erase his memories. They were going to…erase him. Make him into the perfect Water Tribe Avatar.
And paralyzed by shock, she watched as the agent grabbed Aang's head and jerked his face up to stare squarely at the lantern, forcing his eyelids to remain open. The young Avatar fought against his restraints, struggling to shake his head free.
"Katara, no…" Yue whispered, turning to face the Southern Water Tribe princess. "You can't do this! Don't make them do this, you can't. Katara!" She grabbed the younger girl's shoulder, whirling her around to face her. "Stop them!"
Katara shook her head, apathetic. "You decided Aang's fate when you did what you did," She shrugged, "You made your choice. I've made mine. It's final." She jerked her shoulder from Yue's hand and turned back to watch. "You shouldn't be so rash."
And suddenly, the chamber exploded.
The door was thrown off of its hinges and Yue flew back with a shout, landing in the river with a loud splash. Katara landed roughly on top of her, her elbow hitting Yue in the chest. Winded, Yue lay in the water and gasped.
A sharp, fast wind blew around the cavern. The sound of a thousand voices came from the chamber in which Aang had been imprisoned, resonating in what sounded like "No!" Yue pushed Katara off of her and clawed her way back to the bank, crying out, "What's happening?"
Just as stunned, Katara shook her head, drenched in water. Yue turned her attention back to the now devastated chamber and squinted, trying to see. A foot came from the chamber and Yue gasped as Aang stepped out. But his feet weren't quite touching the ground and his eyes and tattoos were glowing white, his expression furious.
The ground underneath them shook and the crystals began to shake free from their clusters, flying around the room. Yue looked back towards Aang, who seemed oblivious to the action around him. "Aang!" She cried, dragging herself onto the bank, her clothes heavy and clinging to her. "Aang!"
The boy turned his head towards her, his eyes white. Instinctively, she knew he didn't recognize her. Not like this. But she would have to try anyway, or face the fact that he might hurt himself, or others. She heaved herself up and pushed herself to her feet, skittering across the floor.
"Aang!" The princess cried, and shielded her head from the high winds, her hair whipping about. She was nearly blown back, but she fought her way forward, grabbing onto Aang's hand. "Aang, calm down! Please!" She screamed over the wind, "It's alright!" Wrapping her arms around the boy's shoulders, the tribal princess felt her feet leave the ground. "Please calm down."
The wind around them died down a bit and the tension in Aang's shoulders lessened. Yue kicked her feet, pulling the furious Avatar back towards the ground and pulled his head towards her chest, feeling warm tears stream down her face. The air stilled and the boy fell limply into her arms, his eyes closed. Yue shook her head, breathing a sigh of relief. "It's okay," She whispered, "You're okay."
Aang opened his eyes and looked up into Yue's face, clinging to her as she was his life source. And perhaps at that moment, she was.
Even Katara was speechless. She had pulled herself from the river and was pulling the water from her clothes, dumping back into its source. Her mouth was agape and she looked at Yue as the older girl pulled herself away from Aang.
But before she could speak though, the sound of feet pounding from the tunnel took her attention. The Southern princess turned, distracted. Suki burst into the cavern, Sokka behind her. "I heard something down here," Suki said, panting between words. "I came to see if you were okay." She looked towards Yue, "What happened!"
The Northern Water Tribe girl had ran towards Sokka and thrown her arms around him, enveloping him into a tight embrace. The prince looked confused for a moment, but he hugged her back before holding her at arm's length. "Yue…what's going on?"
Yue turned to glare at Suki and Katara. "Your sister tried to brainwash Aang," Said boy stumbled over to her, just as dazed as she had been. Katara returned her bitter stare, clenching her fists. "Because she wants to keep everything the way it is."
Katara blinked and folded her arms. I suppose," She said slowly, "That means you're going to escape now." She shrugged, "Then go ahead, I won't stop you. I have things to do," She said, "But do note that when you leave, you'll officially become enemies of the Water Tribes for conspiring against the state."
Yue's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected the girl to give in so easily, but she had. And that's what unnerved her, not the charge of treason. Yue decided there were worse things she could do than plot to overthrow her own family.
Perhaps Katara had a merciful side.
"Follow the river and continue upward. You'll come up on the palace grounds." That explained her disappearance during the celebration. Katara nodded, "Yes, I'm letting you go free." Suki looked at her in surprise, "And you'll never come back. Or you'll be killed."
Yue knew better than to argue. When her life was in danger, she could put everything else aside. Nothing lasted forever. "Come on, Aang," She said and grabbed the younger boy's hand, tugging her closer to him. "Come on, Sokka."
To her surprise, Sokka pulled his hand away from hers and stepped back, looking unsettled. Yue looked at him, shocked by his sudden change. She turned her attention towards Katara, who had turned to face her older brother, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Sokka," The younger princess said and pouted, "Don't you want our family to stay together?" She asked, her bottom lip trembling. "You can't leave me! You can't do this. I don't want our family to be broken apart." Yue glared at the girl as she clung to her brother's arm. "You can't break up our family!"
Sokka looked torn between his sister and his friend. Yue had never seen such torment in someone's eyes before. And she gasped when Sokka stepped back towards Katara and Suki, looking back at Yue as if to say, "I'm sorry." Katara smirked and wrapped her arms possessively around her brother. "I'm sorry…" He said quietly, "Blood before water." Yue could see the hurt in his gaze. "Blood before water," He repeated, as if he was trying to make himself believe it.
But…It was so unlike him. Or had he been lying to her all along? He was a liar just like his cold hearted little sister. Yue hardened her gaze and yanked on Aang's hand, turned her feet towards the dark part of the tunnel. "Oh," She said, turning back to Katara, "There are firebenders in your city." She ran then, pulling the Avatar behind her. And as she did so, she could feel tears reforming in her eyes as she blundered blindly.
She had no idea where she was going and she now officially an enemy of her own tribe, but right now she didn't care about any of that. All she cared about now was distancing herself from everything that had happened.
So she did.
Azula sat on the division wall, her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched the sky turn from black to gray. The sounds of the night began to turn to the ones of the dawn, hushed and soft. The others were back at their old hideout, but she had decided to rest on the wall for a while.
She had killed that girl, she just knew it.
The Fire Nation princess rested her chin on her knees, looking out towards the horizon. The city on the lake was quiet and the thick clouds were forming in the sky, approaching them. Azula watched them for a moment, observing their shapes.
Maybe, Azula thought, the Fire Nation didn't need Ba Sing Se. They could operate without it, couldn't they? They had been doing fine for years. It would be nice to have the city under their control, she decided.
And who was she kidding? It had just been one life, not a thousand. The Water Tribe girl shouldn't have been so stupid and she wouldn't have died. It was her fault, really, because she had stepped on the rotted boards, not Azula. Waterbenders were weak, Azula decided. A firebender could've saved themselves. She could've saved herself.
Azula sighed and looked off to the side, something blue catching her eye. She turned to face it fully, her eyes widening. Her eyes were deceiving her. Sanjiv? But the silver and blue dragon was recognizable enough. Wings churning the air, the dragon approached the wall, dark and sinuous. Azula felt the corners of her lips turn up into a smile and she stood as Sanjiv stopped in front of her, dark eyes piercing hers.
The Fire Nation princess found it dreadfully convenient that the dragon had decided to return at a moment such as this, but she smiled anyway, and it was a genuine one. She had missed the beast and as she pressed her hand onto Sanjiv's nose, she felt lighter than she had ever been before.
"You know, if you're going to be my dragon," Azula said and the dragon's hot breath warmed her face, "You're going to have to be more reliable. I do not stand for tardiness," Sanjiv flicked his tail, "Where have you been? It's been ages since I've last seen you."
She knew Sanjiv couldn't speak, but it comforted her to think that he might understand her. "How did you know to come to Ba Sing Se?" Had the dragon been flying above them all along, and had just now decided to reappear? Or did he have a connection with Azula that she didn't understand? "And why did you come back now?"
The dragon beat his wings and stared at her with his beady eyes, the whiskers on his snout twitching. Azula sat back, and her fingers ghosted over the rigid scales on Sanjiv's muzzle. She was content for the moment, even though she knew that anyone looking towards the dividing wall would see them.
They would see a dragon and his girl sitting on the wall, her hands brushing his scales, and perhaps they would wonder if they were imagining things. They wouldn't be, because Azula was very real and she would make sure everyone knew that. She-and Sanjiv-would become legendary.
So, she didn't mind when Sanjiv tore himself away from her and flew away. The dragon was temperamental, and had as much patience as she did when it came to frivolous activities such as cuddling. He'll be back, she decided. He always comes back.
She watched the dragon disappear back towards the sunrise, towards the future, and she pursed her lips. She wanted to flaunt her pet off, to back in the stares that everyone would give her. But for now, it was enough to see Sanjiv again.
After a while, when the sunlight was still gray, the firebender rose to her feet and arched her back in a cat-like stretch before straightening and looking out upon the city that would one day be hers. Peaceful…for now.
Ba Sing Se would be hers one day, but that was in the future and right now, she was tired from the long night. Despite being a firebender, she would sleep through the day to regain the energy that she so desperately needed. Pushing her pride aside, she descended from her perch on the wall and made her way to the tiny leaning house, rubbing her eyes.
She was tired and for once, she wanted nothing more but to rest. Lu Ten was standing on the porch when she approached the house and she knew that he had been watching her. Perhaps he had seen Sanjiv, too.
Lu Ten clapped his hand on her shoulder and the princess shrugged him off. Her cousin smile and his eyes twinkled with amusement. "Get some rest," He said, softly. "You need it. And Azula…" She turned back towards him, rolling her eyes. "You did well."
She didn't need anyone to tell her that, she already knew it.
When Yue finally stumbled to the surface, the sky was growing lighter with the arrival of the new day. Her grip on Aang's hand loosened and she wiped her hand across her eyes, trying to clear away the blurriness.
"Yue," Aang said softly and Yue straightened, opening her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, his gray eyes glittering. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? None of this would've happened. I could've handled it." He looked off to the side, "I kind of figured that something like that happened…I'm really the last airbender, aren't I?"
The Northern Water Tribe princess nodded sadly. "I think so." She smiled thinly, "But I also think if we look hard enough, we'll find something." She was sad, but she was tired too, mentally and physically. She had run through the city, been kidnapped, fallen through the ground, and calmed down the Avatar in just a matter of hours. She had had enough adventures for the night.
She looked up at the administrator's building that they had resurfaced behind. The official who ran the building would be asleep by now, as would everyone else. She turned her attention towards Aang, who was digging through his pockets. He revealed the bison whistle that he had stolen and held it out for her to see.
They had to get out of the city, and only way they could do that was by escaping on Appa. Yue leaned against the wall of the building, holding her head in her hands as Aang blew on the whistle. The bison was only a few courtyards over, and as much as Yue hated the animal, she decided she could tolerate him for a while.
Aang pointed upward and Yue followed his finger, struggling to focus. The great white beast was coming towards them. Yue stepped back as Aang outstretched his arms, eyes glittering with joy at seeing his bison again. She wondered, though, if the boy would've been able to recognize his pet if Katara had succeeded in brainwashing him.
That was something to mull over when she could think straight.
Appa landed heavily on the ground in front of them, rumbling deep in his throat. Yue stared at the bison before Aang took her hand and helped her up into the wooden saddle. She set her pack beside her, surprised that the straps hadn't broken in her misadventures, and rested her head on it.
"You'll love flying on Appa," Aang said as he took the reins that were attached to the bison's horns. "There's nothing like it in the world!"
Yue was sure that was the truth.
The child Avatar snapped the reins and enthusiastically called out, "Yip, yip!" In response to those words, Appa took to the sky with a great beat of his tail, flying towards the brightening horizon. Yue closed her eyes, then, and sighed quietly.
There were so many problems she would have to fix, and she would. Later. For now, though, she wanted do nothing but sleep.
So she did.
Amai Uso, according to Google Translate, are two Japanese words mean "sweet" and "lie". Put them together, and you have "sweet lie".