Disclaimer: As you all know...I did not create the world of Avatar. Please read other disclaimers for more info. Thank you.

Chapter 15

The long road before them seemed to never end. They were well supplied and had not run into trouble for a couple of days. Orso never heard of the trouble that they caused the drunks and they never spoke of it. It was a moot point. Someone lost an eye but no one lost a life.

The plan so far was simple. They would rendezvous with the Serpent and then go find the Empress. It seemed that Orso was ready to join in on their adventure. He had known the hardships of war and the disadvantage of not being the conquering race. The Fire Nation citizens reaped the rewards while everyone else was forced to forfeit whatever was deemed fit.

It also appeared that Orso had lost his love for speech. He had been quiet since he came back from Yat-Sen. He came back well supplied and with a heavy purse. Inara did not bother to ask him how he acquired everything for nearly nothing.

So they rode along quietly with the grunts of the ostrich-horses to fill in the spaces. Sokka had affectionately started calling his Bato as reference to his father's friend. Really it was meant as some kind of familiar comfort and he was tired of numbering the animals.

"How much longer?" Sokka finally asked like an irritable child.

Orso sighed. "A day or two, it depends."

"At this rate Azula will be able to amount more forces and attack from who knows where."

"They are meeting somewhere near the Boiling Rock," Inara said. "That is the only reason why Edo and Mongke would have been in the area."

"That is a large, open area," Sokka said.

No one could dispute that. They all knew how immense the open waters were. It was their territory that they had taken from the Waterbenders. They were now forced to hide on blocks of ice to build their cities.

It was also true that they would all rather be riding the waves in a ship than bouncing along on the back of an ostrich-horse. The animals unfortunately attracted the flies and smelled. Sokka had cursed loudly when he stepped in one of the ostrich-horses droppings. It was just another despoilment to his boots.

Sokka threw the reins of the supply animal to Orso. He was growing bored and needing some stimulation. So he went ahead as the lead scout. His senses would at least be at use. His wit did not seem to be in demand at the moment. There were no sharp comments on him or his family to fend off and they were not discussing anything that required his experience in strategy.

Then he was not quite sure what he was in scout of. The road was quiet. They had not passed anyone in a few hours. The possibility of an insane princess being in the area had not fallen on deaf ears. The locals were speaking of it at the last outpost that they had stopped at. That would explain why many were avoiding the roads. The possibility of crossing Azula's path was frightening.

Frightening, that was slightly absurd considering they were trying to cross her path. What some people do. Most people settle down and have families or at least animals. No, not Sokka, he has to pretend to be living out his more formable years out all over again. But that was when he was only 15. Now he was well into his 22nd year of life.

Even though the road was quiet, it still did not mean that it did not require his utmost attention. He scanned his surroundings and tried to ignore the noises that Bato made. He heard nothing. That was what disturbed him. Even though no one was on the road, the quietness made his stomach feel uneasy.

He narrowed his eyes and looked into the woods that surrounded them to each side. Not even the birds rustled in the limbs. The sun was bright and unrelenting above them. The shadows that the trees cast were of little help. Yet the beams of light that showed through the leaves caught his attention. There were dust particles that sparkled and almost looked like tiny sprites dancing in the air.

Sokka then pulled his ostrich-horse to a halt. He thought he had seen a figure crouching behind a tree. There was a slight curve in the road that gave him an advantageous view of most of the tree. If he had seen a person, it would have been a hand slip around the trunk.

He heard the ostrich-horses stop behind him when he put up his hand. Orso slowly dismounted from his beast and wiggled his toes on the ground. Inara followed suit and slowly placed her hand on her sword.

Sokka did not move. He was too busy looking for whoever he had seen. He had not heard the scramble of someone climbing a tree. He did not see a hurried flight further into the forest. Whoever was there, was still there.

Slowly, he reached back to his boomerang. He did not want to let whoever was out there close enough to use his sword. Maybe they could keep the stalker at bay and not get hurt. He had seen Inara secretly tending to her dislocated shoulder whenever she thought no one was watching. His leg still ached from the bruise.

Then came that all too familiar scramble. He heard the leaves rustle angrily as feet and hands disturbed their resting place. Inara and Orso backed up keeping their eyes on the tree that danced wildly without the wind as its partner. Sokka could not move. He had waited too late.

Out of fear of his own disadvantage, he blindly threw the boomerang into the tree. He could hear it scream as it ripped through the leaves and saw it come out cleanly from the top. It circled back around and into the tree. Before it could come back to his hand a black figure exploded from the green canopy. Sokka grunted when a foot kicked him square in the chest sending him falling to the ground.

"It's a scout! Spread out!" Orso yelled as the masked warrior landed nimbly on the ground.

There was calmness about the scout as he waited for them to make their move. It was a standoff between the two sides. The scout was still crouched ready to attack at any moment while Sokka was still on his back. Slowly, he pushed up on his elbows and started to pull his feet towards him. The scout only watched waiting for the moment to strike.

Sokka's heel caught on a pebble. It rolled under his foot making only a whisper of a scratch. It was enough to put the scout's nerve on end. He suddenly jerked and Orso responded by trying to swallow the scout into the ground. This did not even faze the scout. He shot a grappling hook up into the tree to pull himself out. The ground followed like an inverted whirlpool grasping desperately for his feet. The scout kicked at the earth causing the rock to explode.

This gave Sokka a chance to leap to his feet. He pulled out his sword and watched as the scout climbed to a branch of the tree and then leap back down to the earth at them. Orso tried to attack but was rebuffed by the scout's agility. The energy it took to throw rock after rock at the scout did nothing for him. The scout skipped over each rock and landed abruptly behind Orso. He was bashed over the head with a heavy pole before he could turn around.

Orso hit the ground and the earth trembled. Inara bent a blast of fire at the scout. It was like a dance. The scout spun and pushed the fire away causing it to fizzle out while it lost its energy. Another fireball came from Inara and he dodged it and would not stay still. It was a frantically moving target that she could not pin down and the scout darted away into the trees.

"Don't let him get away!" Inara yelled.

Sokka took to the trees chasing the scout down. The scout glanced back of over his shoulder at Sokka as they raced through the tree branches. He began to slow. Was he wearing down or was he baiting. Sokka did not have a chance to find out. The scout jumped up further into the tree and then quickly doubled back over top of Sokka's head. He was heading back towards Inara and Orso.

Sokka nearly fell over trying to stop. He then thought about it and jumped to the ground. He had lost enough ground as it was and was not gaining any in the trees. He could see plainly where the scout was heading. He wanted to make sure no one could report on Azula's possible existence in the area. Rumors were one thing, eye witnesses were much more convincing.

He was far enough behind the scout for him to take much notice of him. Sokka dug his heels into the ground as he kicked up dirt and stone to keep pace. He could see the bright red flames of Inara's fire when the assailant leapt from the trees at her. There were some screams as he burst back out of the woods into the road.

"I just need on shot," Orso said now on his feet again.

Inara was over to the side grasping her left shoulder. She was still ready for an attack but Sokka didn't know how long she could hold up.

"Just one shot," Orso said directly to Sokka.

Sokka nodded. He screamed at the top of his lungs and ran head first with his sword drawn over his head. The scout turned towards him. Sokka didn't have a chance. His sword hit square on the pole and sliced it in half. But the scout was faster and immediately kicked Sokka square in the chest. Sokka let out a loud grunt as he fell to the ground.

Inara took advantage of this moment of devoted concentration on Sokka. She ran up behind the scout and clung to him for dear life. "Now Orso!" Inara yelled.

That was the one moment Orso needed. The scout could not leap into the air with Inara clinging to his back. Orso quickly dissolved the ground and the two slowly sank into it. Inara did her best to keep the scout's arms at his side. Orso did not stop until the scout was nearly chest deep in the earth. He then carefully released Inara and she scrambled out onto solid ground still looking like her left shoulder bothered her.

Sokka got to his feet and walked over to the scout. "I wonder who he is."

"It's not a he," Inara said and pulled off the mask.

"What, are you disappointed?" Princess Azula ask acidly from the ground. Her lips curled into a menacing smile.

Sokka had to restrain every muscle in his body from kicking her head like it was a ball. It was sickening, but an image of her head flying through the air and bouncing off of a tree came to mind.

"You seem to be without an entourage," Inara said mocking the princess' predicament.

Azula's smile turned into a scowl then. "Well, you cannot always rely on others."

"Really," Sokka retorted remembering the pain in his leg and Inara's shoulder.

He looked at Azula closer. He noticed that she had a bruise showing on her collar bone and a scratch along the side of her face. She did not seem to be the kind of princess that would allow such injuries.

"How did you come by the bruise and scratch?" he asked bluntly.

Azula narrowed her eyes at him. "How dare you speak to me you filthy peasant!"

"Alright, that's enough of the attitude," Inara said blandly. "You're not really a princess anymore and we're not in the mood for the dramatics. Just humor us and answer his question."

Azula remained silent. She was resolute in her decision. Inara stalked around her like she was an oddity to the world. Then again, she was buried up to the chest in solid rock. It was a position that Azula never thought she would be in.

Inara's patience was starting to wear thin though. Her shoulder hurt and she wanted to home. She had captured her mark but things were still so out of place that she couldn't just put her in chains and take her back to the Fire Nation. There had been too many enthusiastic whispers about the princess' supposed return. There might be many who would flock to the Fire Nation to throw open her prison door once more.

"We had an interesting run in with Colonel Mongke," Inara finally said quietly and watched Azula's reaction.

"That is interesting," Azula replied.

Sokka thought she was genuinely surprised to hear this.

"There was some talk of him and his men defecting from you," Inara continued. "They got tired of waiting and decided to skip along and hope word never got back to your brother."

Now Azula started to bare her teeth at her one-time informer. Inara seemed very amused by this and started to walk around the princess.

"Liar," Azula growled.

"I've heard worse," Inara replied.

Azula immediately took note of Inara's tone. Her countenance lightened up a bit and as realization hit her.

"Well played captain," Azula complimented her.

"You know they're dead," Sokka said.

"Karma eventually catches up to us all," Azula responded.

"Then it will be a grand theatrical performance for when karma finally catches you," Orso remarked harshly.

Azula strained her neck to get a good look at the large captain. She smiled a weird smile. It was somewhere between the devious and admiration.

"You are a strong fellow," she said.

Orso rubbed his face with his hands in exasperation. He walked several paces away from her and leaned against a tree like he could not stand to be too near her.

"Hmmm, touchy isn't he," she remarked wryly.

"It's the company," he answered.

"Ha, and you keep company with her." Azula tilted her head in the direction of Inara. "You think that she is better than me."

"I can sleep in peace when she is around. You," he said the word and found he didn't like the way it tasted in his mouth. "You would be more likely to kill me in my sleep."

Azula tried to shrug with little effect. "Maybe."

Sokka was getting tired of the pleasantries. "Those wounds," he pointed out. "Tell us how you got them. Don't tell us you got them from falling out of a tree."

"What if I did?"

"Then who threw you out?" Inara asked.

Azula had a disgruntled look on her face. She was breathing shallowly. With the earth around her, it was impossible for her to get a full breath in. If they wanted to, they could leave her there and she would ultimately die unless someone came along and found her.

"I don't know," she finally admitted. "I heard what happened to the Rough Rhinos and thought it best to go on without them. Along the way, someone attacked me. Don't ask who because I already said I don't know. But if you want to know the truth, their carcass is probably rotting somewhere out there. I wasn't going to take the time to look."

"Imagine that," Inara mused sardonically. "Someone would actually want to kill you."

"You should be grateful that they didn't," Azula snapped.

"And why should we be grateful?" Sokka asked.

"Well for one, I doubt Lady Inara could collect her bounty on me if she never found me."

"That is an inconvenience," Inara remarked.

"And two, your little merry band would never be able to find my forces and poor Zuzu would be waylaid with everyone scattered about looking for my lifeless corpse."

"I fail to see the second reasoning," Sokka said. "Should we feel better about you heading the invasion force?"

Azula paused for a moment and thought about it. "I do see your point," she confessed amused by her own words.

Orso made a few grumbling noises. "Then I say we leave her here. We can get a message to the Fire Lord."

"What if," Azula proposed quickly. "I take you to my rendezvous point."

They all looked at her in disbelief.

Azula continued. "I will take you to my rendezvous point to where my forces are to meet before we continue onto the next point. You must have considered that whoever tried to kill me is a threat to the Fire Nation."

"Or a sympathetic soul," Orso stated.

"I highly doubt that. I had a smaller rendezvous point set up for some renegade veterans, around 100," she said. "I found them all impaled in a valley. Do you know of anyone in your profession who has a flare for the dramatics? You need me as much as I need you."

Inara drew one of her knives. "Or I could just get the information from you."

"Please," Azula almost laughed. "That embodiment of honor won't let you do any of your little tricks on me and then you always risk the chance of someone sympathetic to my cause finding me. We might as well band together."

"We don't even know if your executioner is a threat," Inara said.

"Do you want to chance that?" Azula asked. "There are many who want to see my entire family punished, even Zuzu."

It was an absurd idea. It was the worst idea. But it was also a logical idea. Azula knew too much about the impending attack. All they had was a Madame's vague report and Mongke's dying words. There was no way that they could give Zuko an upper hand without more information.

"She is lying," Orso whispered. "She always lies. Besides, I doubt whoever attacked her is a threat to the Fire Lord. I'm sure there are several men vying for that bounty."

"What if she is right? And we have to take into account that she has never been in this position," Sokka tentatively said.

Orso shot him a disgusted look. "Are you actually taking her side?"

"I am trying to do what is best," Sokka replied calmly. "I don't like the idea any more than you but there is little choice. We can't leave her here and we can't just kill her."

"Why not?" Orso asked.

Sokka ignored him. He had to or he would lose his own mind. "She's scared. She has been reduced to hiding. I think she would not do anything to jeopardize the chance or traveling in numbers."

"That is as long as we can maintain the status quo," Inara said. "Once it is tipped in her favor, we're dead."

"The status quo of the world is terribly out of balance now," Sokka reminded them. "We have to do something. We can't just let things keep going as they are."

"Have you two considered what will happen once we rendezvous with her troops?" Orso questioned meanly.

"She thinks I can still be bought off," Inara said. "And she knows the consequences of fighting a two front war. She will want to deal with whoever is trying to pick off her men before she proceeds any further. Hopefully the chaos will give Sokka time to escape. She does mind him much since he's not a bender."

"That's the first time I actually feel good about that reference," Sokka retorted.

"I'm not getting any younger," Azula called out to them from her earth imprisonment.

"Then just try dying," Orso suggested.

"I am surprised that you are taking so long to deliberate," Azula observed mildly. "Who is taking up my cause and who is staying to the just and right?"

Sokka turned tired of the debate. "Fine, you've got yourself a deal. But you are going to be on a very short leash."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," she mocked him. "But I am quite surprised that it was you who took me up on my offer. I believe you have been spending too much time with the fair Lady."

Orso grabbed Inara by her elbow. "This is a bad idea."

"We are all running out of tricks," she cautioned him. "Let's just tie her to one of the ostrich-horses and get going."

***

That night, Orso snugly tucked Azula in bed with her hands and feet buried in the ground. Once she removed the layers of black, she revealed her dirty brown clothes. She had been reduced to trying to blend in with the locals without a guar to escort her safely through enemy territory.

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Orso crept into the darkness. He had his ostrich-horse by the reins leading it carefully into the forest. He treaded quietly until he broke a twig beneath his foot.

"Earthbenders should never make an attempt at stealth," he heard Inara's snide voice say.

Orso held in a curse and follow the faint glow of a small flame. He found Inara tucked away into the hollow of a tree with a small flame levitated in front of the opening. She looked quite beautiful in the soft glow. The red flame brought out the gold in her eyes.

"I didn't want to wake anyone up," he said.

"Hopefully you didn't," she said.

"What is this about?" he asked. "Why did you want me to bring an ostrich-horse?"

"Because I want you to leave."

Orso was taken aback by this. "What…Why?" he asked flabbergasted. "Do you remember that you just took on Azula as a traveling buddy? You and Sokka are going to need as much help as you can get."

"That is why you can't stay with us."

"Listen, I know I was saying some harsh words back there but I really wouldn't kill her…yet. I won't do anything without your permission. I can…"

"It's not that," she interrupted him.

"Then what is it?"

She held up her hand for him to be silent. She listened to the night and glanced back and forth to make sure no one was listening. Orso squinted his eyes and could see the shapes of two bodies still lying near the fire of their campsite.

"100 men impaled in a valley," Inara repeated Azula's words quietly. "No one in the Assassins Guild does anything like that."

Orso let out a sigh. "Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that."

"I hate to admit it but Azula is right. There is much more at play than what we anticipated and neither of us has a ship at the moment."

"That can be remedied if we just go to the Serpent."

Inara shook her head with the firelight reflecting off of her black hair. "I need you to go on without us. You will travel faster if you are alone. I need you to go find our friends."

Her words quieted Orso for a moment. He looked her in the eyes and waited for her to repeal her plea but she didn't. He then nodded.

"Take care of yourself," he said. "And take care of him."

"I will. Take care of yourself too."

Orso tipped an invisible hat to her and then disappeared into the darkness.