# 2 days before the ship to Nanjing leaves #
The next day I went to see Lai to sell the jewellery I'd taken from the Fort. At first I was reluctant to sell it since them because they belonged to someone else, however I didn't want them to be sold to raise money to help support Azula's campaign in the colonies, even though Azula wasn't involved in it and technically we'd be using the money to support Azula. I then gave up rationalising and decided to sell them.
When I finally tracked Lai down I showed him the jewellery and he told me who'd pay a good price for it. Next he asked how it went with my "supplier" and I told him a fake story in which we went nowhere near the Fort (I didn't know who he might talk to). Afterwards I asked Lai if he had any more "jobs" available (we'd need to get as much money as we could for the trip) and he said he had some "deliveries" coming in that he needed "guarded". I then asked if he knew of anyone who could get Earth Kingdom clothes (going around the Earth Kingdom in Fire Nation clothes would make us stand out). I expected Lai would have to talk to his "contacts" to find someone who could get Earth Kingdom clothes but he knew of someone right away. All he needed to know were the sizes and style; he didn't ask why (no one ever asks why you want something). Though I knew my size, and I was fairly confident I knew Suki's and Toph's I was unsure about Ty Lee's and had no idea about Azula's. So I told Lai I'd check the sizes and make the order when we went to "guard" his "deliveries".
I then left to sell the jewellery and try to calculate what amount of supplies we'd need.
Normally out of Mai, Azula, and me Azula would be the first one awake and would wake the rest of us up. Today I was awake before Azula. I didn't want to wake her since I though she'd be up soon but as the morning went on she remained asleep. I didn't think it'd be wise to wake her up so I decided to let her sleep.
Even though Azula didn't want to see a doctor I decided to see one on her behalf to get some advice. Since Azula might wake up and wonder where I was I told Suki and Toph where I was and asked them to keep an eye on Azula. I then left the inn and went to see the local doctor.
The doctor was a middle aged man with short beard. Like most doctors he was very serious. When I asked him how to cure someone who hasn't eaten in a long time he recommended giving them food that's semi-solid, then gradually move onto food that's more solid. He also recommended that the patient should slowly increase the amount of food they eat each day until they're eating at a normal level.
After talking to the doctor I left and went back to the inn. Though when I got back to our room Azula was still asleep. Since it was nearly time for lunch I decided to wake her (she'd be cranky it I woke her but she'll probably be cranky if she doesn't eat lunch). I pushed her gently while saying "It's time to wake up Azula". Eventually she woke up and turned towards me.
"Why did you wake me Ty Lee, it's too early."
"Azula it's almost lunch time," I pointed out.
"I don't feel like eating," Azula replied. She started to go back to sleep.
"Azula no, you can't sleep all day. Isn't there anything you want to do?" I asked.
Azula looked at me, then she went back to sleep. How could she be so tired after sleeping for so long. I decided to wake her again when lunch arrived.
Ty Lee woke me again later and gave me some Juk to eat. I didn't feel like eating, since I still had stomach pains and was feeling nauseous (why'd I have to get sick now). I wanted to go back to sleeps since I didn't sleep well last night. However Ty Lee wouldn't let me go back to sleep until I'd eaten, so I started to eat the Juk just to shut her up.
While I was eating Ty Lee decided to tell me all about how great the Fire Nation was under Zuzu. Was she trying to annoy me! Most of it was useless information, though she did mention that Zuzu was retraining several of the younger soldiers so they could have non-military careers. Zuzu's foolishness wouldn't affect the army now but after years of reduction it would be drastically reduced in size. This policy had to be stopped before Zuko reduced the army to a level where it could no longer reconquer the Earth Kingdom.
Not wanting to hear more about Zuzu I decided to change the topic. During our last conversation Ty Lee had mentioned that Zuzu had surrendered much of the land the Fire Nation won during the war back to the Earth Kingdom (though Fire Nation colonists refused to become part of the Earth Kingdom). However she didn't mention what happened to the Air Nomad lands, since the only survivor was the Avatar and he couldn't live in on all the islands at the same time. When I asked Ty Lee about this she explained that the Air Nomad lands were given back to the Avatar but Zuko was going to look after them on behalf of the Avatar. Ty Lee also said that one of the temples belonged to a mechanical man and his family but she didn't know which one.
By this time I'd finished eating the Juk, so Ty Lee let me go back to sleep. However it proved hard to fall asleep, even though I was so tired. So I just lay around all day doing nothing. I want some Poppy Tea, Poppy Tea always makes the day go quicker.
That evening Suki, Toph, and I met up with Lai for our "work". I told Lai the style and sizes of the clothes we'd need (Ty Lee was reluctant to give me her and Azula's measurements but didn't want to leave Azula to tell Lai herself). Then I asked Lai if he had anything in stock that would fit. He said that tomorrow he could arrange for them to be sent here by the evening. I asked how he was planning to do this since it took two days for a ship to travel from her to Nanjing and he told me that the his "delivery ships" were faster than the ship we'd be taking. Since he had a reputation for being able to deliver I bartered with him over the price, then made the order.
# 1 day before the ship to Nanjing leaves #
Okay I've gotten all the food and camping equipment we'd need to travel from Nanjing to Hangzhou (at Azula's pace it should take 7 days). We weren't going to take Trail Mix this time because Azula couldn't eat it and it got boring eating the same thing all week. Now all we needed were the Earth Kingdom clothes.
Why do I have to suffer like this day after day! Today I tried to use threats to make Ty Lee get me some Poppy Tea but this failed since it isn't sold in the Fire Nation (Ty Lee wasn't lying when she said this). If I wanted Poppy Tea I'd have to import it from the Earth Kingdom. Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Lai was as good as his word and when I met with him he had the clothes all ready. Judging by the look of the clothes they were either brand new or were second hand but hadn't been worn much. I asked Lai where he'd gotten them and he said that he knew a good tailor in Hangzhou who was always looking for work. Seeing as how there was a good market for clothes in the Colonies I asked why this tailor didn't make Fire Nation clothes and sell them here. Lai replied that there were high import tariffs on anything made in the Earth Kingdom and that anyone who wasn't a Fire Nation citizen couldn't set up a business in the Colonies. This didn't seem like something Zuko would allow, since he wanted to foster greater relations with the Earth Kingdom. When I asked Lai who made these laws he replied "Jiating". Lai then explained that Jiating kept all the import tariffs money for himself and didn't declare that he was collecting this tax so Zuko would never know about it. I asked if there was anyway to avoid paying this and Lai replied sadly "Become a smuggler, though you'll never get a good price for your wares". I wondered if this is why Lai had become a smuggler. I didn't ask him because I knew he wouldn't tell me.
# Departure Day #
Even though the departure was mid-morning I wanted everyone awake and ready, and that included Azula. When Azula and Ty Lee finally arrived Azula looked terrible (for someone who spent all day asleep she looked very tried) and her personality was worse. She wanted to know what was going on and why she had to wear Earth Kingdom clothes. So I told her that we were going to travel to Nanjing to Hangzhou and wait there for Aang, who'd take us back to the Fire Nation. I then explained that since we were travelling in Earth Kingdom territory we'd need to blend in (Azula could wear the coat she got from the Fort over her Earth Kingdom clothes on the boat). Though I could have also gotten her Fire Nation clothes I only got Azula Earth Kingdom clothes so that if she escaped she wouldn't be able to easily travel in Fire Nation areas.
After that Azula demanded lip paint and some hair accessories to tie up her hair. I explained that this would be a bad idea since she'd be recognised, due to all the wanted posters. This really annoyed Azula and wanted to know why Zuko had put a bounty on her. I reminded Azula that everyone though that she was leading an army against Zuko, so it was only natural that he put a bounty on her (I'm sure he'd remove it once he got the letter that I sent … I forgot to send the letter to Zuko). Not wanting to reveal my forgetfulness I told everyone that I needed to send Xiaohong to Aang and quickly left. Once at the Post Office I sent Zuko's letter to Mai (Zuko wanted us to send our reports to her since his letters may be intercepted). I then gave Xiaohong his letter and told him to go to Aang. Now that I had fixed my error I went back to the inn to wait with the others. Since the Fire Nation army hadn't made any moves so far such a short delay couldn't cause that many problems.
"Fire Lord have you though any more about your representative in the Colonies?"
I hadn't though any more about this, I'd been busy recently trying to figure out where Azula's next rally would be (she seemed to be able to move from one place to another with incredible speed). The representative idea wasn't a bad idea, since it would empower someone local to quickly respond to emergencies and help coordinate the various colonies. My father and grandfather had both objected to this idea since it would weaken their power, though I supported it. However its main weakness was that if my representative sided with Azula she could very easily take complete control of the Colonies. If I appointed a representative I'd have to be sure I could trust them.
"I'm still considering potential candidates," I replied, though this was a lie.
"General Shinu from the Colonies has requested your permission to use the Scouts from the Fire Nation army to hunt down escaped criminals. Do you want to approve this?"
I'd forbidden most generals from using the army unless I ordered it or in cases of self-defence to make it harder for Azula to start an uprising. Though there were many reports of generals disobeying this order and ordering small groups to act as their bodyguards. The Scouts were Komodo Riders who were trained to move quickly over various terrain. They weren't strong fighters to the amount of damage they could do to Earth Kingdom settlements would be minimal and it would be obvious if they were being misused. Besides they might even be able to track down Azula.
"I'll permit this but only to track down dangerous criminals." I decreed.
Notes:
1) Azula is having sleeping difficulties due to her withdrawal symptoms. Also people who've experienced severe starvation are lethargic because their bodies are trying to conserve energy by preventing them from moving so much (when the human body is starved it destroys muscles so that the person cannot move as much, this reduced how much a person can move and helps preserves fat stores).
2) Irritability, nausea, sleeping difficulties, and stomach pains are all opium withdrawal symptoms. So are cravings for opium (Poppy Tea).
3) The 'mechanical man' Ty Lee mentions is the Mechanist, who is currently living in the Northern Air Temple.
4) Hangzhou is the name I gave to the Earth Kingdom port city in 'The Storm' (Season 1, episode 12). Hangzhou is another city in China, that was once the Capital of China.
5) General Shinu is Fire Nation general that first appeared in the 'The Blue Spirit' (Season 1, episode 13) as Colonel Shinu, the commander of Pohuai Stronghold and director of the Yu Yan Archers. In 'Souzin's Comet' he appeared in the Fire Lord's War Room, where he'd been promoted to general.
6) WHO information about treating malnutrition and other associated problems:
whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1999/a57361.pdf