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Chapter 12

Tea Time

"Don't forget to set out the lanterns for the party reservation," Iroh was saying as Mang pushed him towards the door.

"Yes, sir," she replied with a smile.

"And don't forget to keep an eye on the tea that's already brewing. It needs special attention to be properly prepared."

"It'll be taken care of."

"And don't forget-"

"Boss, it's going to be fine," Mang told him. "Dwight's in the kitchen right now taking care of the food and tea, I've got the floor covered, and Azula will be out of class in less than half an hour. We have everything under control so you just go take care of your errand!"

"Okay," Iroh smiled. "I can see everything will be fine. I should be back soon enough to help with the party, so don't worry if you start running short on tea."

"Just go!" Mang grinned as she gently kicked at the old man.

"I've got three cakes all set to go when the first guests start to arrive," Dwight said to Mang as Iroh left. "Gives us a good head start as long as there aren't too many early birds. Can't wait to see Azula when she gets back!"

"And why is that?" Mang asked.

"Did you see the number she picked out for this?"

Dwight could just picture Azula in it now. That strapless, sleek black dress that looked barely long enough to reach her knees. It was not often that she wore anything that did not look one hundred percent professional, but she had apparently made an exception for this reservation. None of them were familiar with the name on the docket, but there were more than enough in the guest column to indicate that it would be a lucrative afternoon.

"Anybody here yet?" someone hollered into the shop. "Guess I'm first to arrive then."

"Hurry up and get in the kitchen, Dwight!" Mang ordered. "You look like a mess!"

Dwight did not get a chance to see the people as they began to show up, but they were coming quickly after the first one arrived. It was not long before he was setting out whole cakes to be delivered to tables as well as trying to prepare some of the easier tea recipes. Every few minutes the orders and the noise seemed to grow in volume. The party would probably be in full swing before Azula could get back from class. Dwight decided it would be a good idea to check on Mang to see if she needed a hand out on the floor.

It hit Dwight almost instantly when he poked his head through the order window. As expected the Jasmine Dragon was nearly packed. There were almost no available seats in the whole shop. What had struck him however was not the size of the crowd, but the eerie familiarity he felt towards it. A few faces here and there he felt he almost recognized. One face he did. When the realization of what was about to happen began to sink in, he could feel the color draining from his face. He had to do something quickly.

"Hey, Mang!" he called as he ducked back into the kitchen. "Big problem back here! Need a hand!"

After a few moments of dodging between customers and tables, Mang pushed through the swinging kitchen door and found Dwight leaning over the prep table. He looked so pale that she thought he would either throw up or faint any second.

"Dwight, what happened?"

"I'm okay," he told her. "Just need some air. Do me a favor and open the back door for me?"

Mang did as she was asked. Dwight watched her every move as she unlocked the kitchen's back door and pushed it open. She turned to him with that worried expression on her face and he felt as close to guilty about this situation as he could get. He stood himself up, walked over towards the door and shoved her out of the building.

"You'll thank me later," he said as he pulled the door shut and locked it.

Not wanting to give Mang enough time to run around to the front of the shop, Dwight stopped thinking and started running on instinct. He grabbed two kitchen knives from the rack on the prep table and stepped out into the lobby. Everyone was so focused on whatever it was that they were talking about that it took them too long to notice what he was doing. Dwight wrapped both arms around the man he had recognized and crossed the blades of his two knives at his throat.

"Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon," Dwight said darkly. "Long time no see, Long Feng. Isn't this a little outside of Dai Li jurisdiction?"

"Well well well," Long Feng said calmly. "It seems that this place is not as its reputation would have me believe. They have rats in their kitchen."

A few of the Dai Li snickered and chuckled. Dwight tightened his hold on the knife grips and touched them to the long haired man's throat.

"Sloppy, old timer," Dwight told him. "You know I recognized half your men at a glance. These guys were a lot more efficient back when your little brother ran the show."

"You saw to it that he couldn't continue his work though, didn't you?" Long Feng replied, no longer smiling. "I'm not surprised you attacked from behind. It's your trademark strategy from back then, isn't it?"

"I watched that beast beat and rape my sister for two years before it killed her. If you're lookin' to make me feel guilty or cowardly for puttin' that bullet in his skull, then you're barkin' up the wrong tree."

"I had no idea that consent was considered rape these days."

"You know just as well as I do she only said that to keep me safe."

"And yet here we are," Long Feng said, his smile returning. "One of us with their life in the other's hands."

"What do you want with this family?" Dwight demanded.

"My boy, whoever said I was here for the family?"

Dwight did not have time to process that statement. He had been so focused on Long Feng that he only felt the thwack of hitting the floor before he even realized he had been struck from behind. He could barely make out the words "in the chair" before everything faded to black.

Much to his own surprise, Dwight woke up. He could not make out any shapes, but there were blurs of color and muffled sound around him. When he tried to lift his head it felt like nothing more than dead weight. He tried to rest it in his hands, but found that he could not move them. His arms were secured behind his back and his legs were bound to the legs of the chair he was sitting in. It was Long Feng's voice that pierced his daze

"Finally awake?"

"Why aren't I dead?" he found himself asking.

"That would be far too simple," Long Feng answered. "You are the key to everything, Dwight, even if you don't know it yet. Fire Lord Ozai is a man who possess power, intelligence and a fear inspiring presence. How can I topple a giant of that caliber? By striking at his weakness: His daughter. He specifically ordered all of the gangs in Serpent's Pass to stay away from this place. Why? Because of his brother? No, he couldn't care less for the man. His son? No, he already has that plan set in motion. So it could only be because of his precious daughter. And with you as my prisoner, she wouldn't dare do anything but as what I tell her to do."

"Do you really believe that?"

Long Feng and all of the Dai Li present turned toward the doorway of The Jasmine Dragon as Dwight lowered his head with a weak smirk. Of all the people to want to try and control they had certainly chosen the wrong one. Dwight could hear her footfalls as she let the door swing closed behind her and she entered the room.

"My dear Azula," Long Feng greeted. "So nice of you to join us. Please, have a seat."

"I don't think so," she replied. Her features were as still as granite. Her face betrayed no emotion or thoughts as her eyes pierced the man before her with an coldness that seemed to reach his very spirit. She began to walk around the lobby, no interest in the injured man at the table apparent anywhere to be seen.

"Perhaps you should reconsider," Long Feng advised as he motioned to Dwight.

"I'm fully aware of what you're trying to imply, simpleton," Azula informed him. "I'm just trying to tell you that it's not going to work. You see, there's something that you fail to understand with all of your posturing as a gang leader. Assuming that is what this group of rabble is supposed to be."

Many of the Dai Li shifted with the statement. However, all pretense of attacking her faded away when those ice like eyes landed on them.

"And what is that, my dear?" Long Feng asked.

"One little detail that seems to have escaped your attention, though it hasn't escaped anyone else's in this room," she answered. "Do you know the real reason why my father did not want anyone to come near this tea shop?"

"To protect you, obviously," Long Feng answered with a confident smirk.

"No, you fool," Azula smirked back. "It's because even with a thousand lifetimes to prepare yourself, you would still be too far beneath me to even reach the bottom of my feet."

Long Feng's eye began to twitch angrily at this little girl who dared to think she could talk to him this way. He clenched fist and glared at her before growling out an order to his men.

"Eliminate her!"

Azula only crossed her arms at the order. None of the Dai Li moved. None of them could will themselves to move even if they had wanted to. Did their boss not feel what this girl the way that they did?

"They aren't going to do as you tell them this time, little man."

"What's wrong with you?" he roared. "What are you afraid of? She's just a child! Are you so weak minded as to be afraid of her? They're just words! She's nothing!"

"Then come and prove it," Azula offered.

Long Feng stood still for several moments before deciding on a course of action. He took hold of one of the knives that had threatened his life just minutes ago and threw it at Azula. Only mildly surprised by the fact that he acted at all, Azula snatched the knife from the air and returned it with ease. The knife pierced Long Feng's palm and he screamed out in pain. All the Dai Li glanced back and forth from their leader to Azula.

"Get out of my house," she said darkly.

The Dai Li scrambled to take advantage of Azula's mercy. Two of them had the wherewithal to grab their injured leader and drag him out the door. It was not until they were all filing out into the street that they were greeted by another obstacle. The fat tea man who owned the place was burning a hole through each of them as they exited his shop, but he was not the one that they were now afraid of.

An elderly man with long white hair looked upon them with a stern expression. There was no anger on his face, nor was there contempt. It was something more terrifying when they met his eyes that awaited them. When Azula had looked at them they had felt like small children being stared down by a giant. This man's presence dwarfed even Azula's. It was like he was looking down on them from on top of the world itself.

"Never again set foot on this threshold," he said to them. "Mercy will not come a second time."

They ran.

Azula was sitting next to Dwight's chair untying him with the telephone pressed to her ear when the two men entered. Mang followed in closely behind them. When she had seen what was going on inside the shop after Dwight had locked her out she had immediately called Iroh.

"He's conscious," Azula was saying. "Barely. A severe blow to the back of the head. From the looks of it I would estimate between fifteen and twenty minutes ago."

"Will he be alright?" Mang asked.

"That depends on how quickly the ambulance gets here," Azula deadpanned. "I can't say after everything that has begun to happen that I'm surprised to see you, Grandfather Roku."

"I do wish that it were under better circumstances, Azula," Roku said. "We need your help. The Fallen Angels are about to be wiped out if we don't do something. Your uncle and I agree that the best course of action is to-"

"No."

Iroh and Roku exchanged looks before returning to Azula.

"Azula, if you don't help these people, then many of them may die," Iroh told her.

"That is not my concern," Azula said flatly. "They are not my concern. He is."

Iroh could not help but experience ambivalent towards the situation. On one hand, he was worried for the people that needed Azula's help and was frustrated with her selfishness. Then on the other there was the fact that she was showing concern for another human being in a way she never had before.

"What do you propose we do from here then, Iroh?" Roku asked.

"We shall just have to allow things to run their course," Iroh said. "We can not make her do something she does not wish to do."

"Do you think that they will be able to stop the attack without the help of Azula or Zuko?"

"I am not sure, old friend," Iroh admitted. "But I know that they will do all that they can."

A/N: I have made the decision that the flu totally sucks. As such, the flu does not get my recommendation. If you were considering getting the flu this year I totally suggest you spend your time on something else.