"And when the fire lily dies

The shades of petals clothe the night"

Thunderous silence. At the endnote, the young woman flashed her stricken audience a brief but brilliant smile. With a little bow, she turned to resume her place at the side of her betrothed. Or would have, if his father hadn't intercepted by rising to clap his hands and address her in a booming voice.

"That was just beautiful! Come here, Azula! Let me embrace you, daughter!"

As Chief Hakoda pulled her down onto his lap, Azula shot him a tiny smirk. The combo of ale and fire flakes wasn't a particularly lucky one, even when downed with huge amounts of seal meat.

Well. If we had known that Water Tribesmen have a taste for Fire Nation women, we would have taken them down easily five years ago. Oh well. I guess it's too late for that now.

Applause was breaking out all around them. Chief Hakoda was patting his future daughter in law's arm, eyes straying a little bit too frequently down to her prominent cleavage.

"Azula, I swear you have the singing voice of a magical spirit! Before, I thought my son was very lucky to have caught the Fire Nation Princess. Now, I realize that his true catch is you."

Azula pushed the bowl of fire flakes towards him and slipped out of his grasp to seat herself in the place next to him. All around the long twin tables, Southern Water Tribe warriors, male and female, along with their offspring, ate and drank and joked. Azula stared in fascination at the barbarous display.

"This banquet is a very… ah, lavish gesture of welcome, Chief Hakoda."

The Chief gestured magnanimously, munching his fire flakes.

"Nothing but the best for you, Azula! Nothing but the best."

"Well, as you know Zuzu… That is, the Fire Lord, my brother, has set the date of the wedding to three weeks from now. As Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, I expect you'll lead the South Pole delegation at Capital City. The wedding's set to take place at the Temple of Agni."

The Chief stopped munching. An icy gleam appeared in his blue eyes.

"Yes, Azula. Of course. Except we have a ceremony planned for the two of you here, as well."

Her large golden eyes widened. Then, she checked her breathing expertly. "A ceremony, Chief Hakoda? For Sokka and me? Why, I'm sure that it will mean the world to him."

The blue eyes narrowed. "A Water Tribe shaman ceremony, Azula. My mother will lead it. It's necessary to call the spirits of the elders down to cement your marriage to my son. The union of Fire and Water isn't one to be taken lightly."

"No. No, of course not." Her eyes strayed distractedly to the left side of the table, where the Chief's daughter was perusing a slightly charred piece of parchment for the umpteenth time. A light flush coloured her dusky cheeks. Azula shook her head at the sight. Considering the shockingly neutral tones of her brother's letter, there really was no way the Waterbender could interpret it as anything other than the message of a friend. Except the shine in Katara's eyes told quite another story.

Ha. So, her hypothesis had proved to be true. Azula's smirk deepened. Meeting her betrothed's eyes, she felt momentarily breathless. He winked at her. And then he rose.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Fellow members of the Southern Water Tribe! I'd like to dedicate this song to my betrothed, the incomparable Princess Azula. It's called "She's my cactus juice".

Azula blanched significantly and reached out to grasp Chief Hakoda's arm for support.

"Oh no."

The Chief shot his Fire Nation daughter in law to be a benevolent glance.

"But oh, yes! Sokka's famous for his singing voice and lyrical talent. Now, let's sit back and enjoy his singing, shall we?"

She nodded as if hypnotized, a stricken look on her face. At the opposite side of the table, the young Water Tribe warrior directed a cheeky smile at her. And then, he opened his mouth.