The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic)

by grither55

Princess Azula believes that she was born with a divine right to rule, and she rules through fear alone. Until, a commoner girl enters her life by giving her a fire lily. Through this act, Azula finds herself undertaking a life-changing journey with her new companion to ascend the throne, save the world from an otherworldly threat, and find her humanity. Femslash.

38. In the Forest with the Team

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In the Forest with the Team – Chapter Thirty-Eight

The two noblewomen stood behind a tree gazing at an absolutely baffling scene.

Their ruthless leader was lounging on her side with their young friend in her arms.

They both knew by now that Azula's affection for Elle was genuine.

Anyone who thought otherwise…such as Zuko and Iroh only thought so because they have never seen Azula act this…

Compassionate.

Although like all of the other times that they have witnessed their friend express her feelings for Elle it only lasted for as long as Azula was under the belief that they were alone.

Not even so much as a second after hearing a leaf crunch Azula's amber golden eyes widened before her gaze narrowed into a ruthless glare once more.

Ty Lee sighed with a palm over her frustrated forehead while she watched her spoiled leader rudely shove the now pouting girl away from her.

"Ugh! Look at what you've done peasant! You sullied my armor when you pulled me down to the dirt! And there's even leaves in my hair!" Azula barked in a colder voice only to quickly leap to her feet while gulped under her terrifying glare.

"S-sumimasen! Sumimasen Azula-sama!" Elle cried out with a panicked countenance while her heart began to race once more when Azula pointed a domineering finger down at her.

Mai could only roll her eyes with a small trace of anger in her tawny gaze.

Even though Azula treated Elle far better than she has ever seen her treat anyone else.

And even though the princess was only pretending to be furious.

It still pissed her off when Azula shouted down to Elle as if the girl was offending her simply by existing.

Elle was a sweet girl. And Azula shouldn't be talking down to her.

"Azula! Why do you have to be so mean!" Ty Lee exclaimed with her hands on her hips while she and the other woman made their way over.

"You had better be sorry! Should there be a repeat of this! It's off to Boiling Rock with you!" Azula snorted with an uncaring huff while she watched her little handmaid began rapidly bowing before her.

"Yes Princess! Your loyal girl will remember your words!" Elle answered in mid bow only for a hand to swiftly pull her to her feet.

She turned around to find herself peering up at Mai's stoic face while the noblewoman gently pulled her up onto both feet.

And the spoiled princess turned to cast her subordinate a narrowed glare for interrupting one of the rituals of their relationship.

"If you ever want a normal girlfriend…one that's just a tad less overbearing. Just let me know and I'll help you find a suitable date." Mai announced calmly with her tawny eyes staring back at Azula's now wrathful face.

As much as Elle adored Azula she couldn't help but worry that someday the princess will only end up shattering her adopted sister's pure heart.

"No, you will not! I have already declared ownership over this one! She belongs to me!" Azula barked with her fists on her shapely hips while her two-childhood friends shared an exasperated glance.

"How many times do I have to tell you that Elle isn't a slave or a pet Azula? You can't own another human being." Ty Lee scolded with a shake of her head while the regal woman scoffed back at her.

"She is whatever I say she is. My word is law Ty Lee. And I say that she is my pet." Azula retorted with a huff while she lazily flipped her bangs from her eyes.

"W-what? Date someone else? Why would I ever want to do that oneesan?" Elle squeaked in an appalled voice that brought a smug smirk to her mistress's lips.

Ty Lee just sighed fondly while Mai squinted her eyes down at their little sister.

"I don't know Elle. Maybe because you could find someone who won't constantly belittle you and threaten to send you to prison?" Mai commented dryly while she gazed down at the younger girl adamantly shaking her head.

"You misunderstand oneesan! That's just Azula-sama's way of telling me that she loves me. When Her Highness says, it's off to Boiling Rock with you peasant! What she's really saying is I love you peasant." Elle insisted with a cheerful smile while her big sisters blinked down at her in amusement.

All the while Azula just glared at Elle with stern amber golden eyes while the younger girl bashfully smiled in her direction.

"Huh? You don't say little sister." Ty Lee chatted with a fond grin on her lips while Elle nodded exuberantly.

"Oh yes oneesan! It's all about translation." Elle declared with an innocent smile while the princess began to walk over.

"Very well Mai. If you wish I will permit the tiger monkey to go on as many dates as she likes. And I won't even interfere." Azula stated with a sigh while Elle gazed back at her with the most adorably horrified face.

"No! I-I…I only want you Azula-sama…" Elle trailed off in a sullen voice while Ty Lee patted her shoulder affectionately.

"She's just teasing you Elle." Ty Lee assured while Elle pouted beneath her hand.

"Really Azula? I find that hard to believe." Mai scoffed while Azula turned to her with a violent smile on her lips.

"On the condition that she defeats me beforehand in an Agni Kai!" Azula shouted in a prideful voice while her childhood friends comically winced.

"Uh…I don't think there is any woman out there that can defeat you in an Agni Kai Azula. Probably not even Zoi." Ty Lee commented with a sigh while Azula came to a stop before Elle to see that the girl was smiling once more.

"Well then it is clear that there is no woman more suitable to reign over this one's life!" Azula scoffed with a proud huff before tugging on her swooning pet by the collar of her shirt.

"That's my best buddy! She's the only one for me!" Elle cheered with admiration in her eyes while her big sisters listened in amusement.

"Well…at least you're smiling once again." Mai stated in a softer voice while she offered her young friend a fond smile.

"Yeah! You look a lot happier now." Ty Lee agreed in a warm voice while she grinned down at her adopted sister.

"That's because Azula-sama assured me that she would take care of it for me." Elle answered in a timid voice while the other two women turned to cast the princess a questioning glance.

"Take care of it Azula?" Ty Lee queried in an uncertain voice while Azula gazed at the both of them with a familiar expression of murderous intent in her amber golden eyes.

"Of course, Ty Lee. As soon as I kill the Avatar and end the war. I am going to discover how the girl made her way to the Fire Nation. Once I do…I am going to launch a preemptive assault on those that seek to harm her." Azula announced in a supremely merciless voice while she stared callously at her two stunned subordinates.

It was clear as day that a great change was taking place within Azula.

In all the years that they have known Azula they have never heard her declare war for the sake of another!

"You don't even know anything about these people Azula! How can you be so sure that you can accomplish that? You don't know what weapons they use. How many nations are involved in this 'redistribution' or even how big of an army we would be up against." Mai urged in a disbelieving voice while Azula's red lips pursed into a cold scowl.

"It doesn't matter. I will find the answers to all of those questions. And I will strike before they can even think of striking her." Azula insisted with her callous eyes narrowing into a piercing glare while her childhood friends listened in shock.

"A-arigatou gozaimasu Azula-sama…" Elle mumbled with her amber eyes averting from Azula's possessive gaze while she kicking at an imaginary pebble at her feet.

All the while Mai and Ty Lee stared on in wonderment.

This…wasn't like Azula. It wasn't like her at all!

"Cease that look at once! There will be no more tears for today!" Azula bellowed with a snap of her fingers while she glared down at her intimidated girlfriend.

"Azula…" Ty Lee trailed off in a sigh but even she still couldn't resist smiling at the strange yet adorable duo.

"Y-yes Princess! I'll be good!" Elle exclaimed with her hands folded before her while her girlfriend stared down at her with callous amber golden eyes.

"You had better peasant…. because you no longer have a need to cry." Azula stated with her lips curving into a tight snarl just before swiftly reaching out to seize the gasping girl's wrist.

Once more the two noblewomen exchanged a stunned glance with one another before gazing back at their leader in astonishment.

'There are days where I still can't believe that Elle has had this deep of an impact on Azula! I never thought I would see the day when Azula tells a girl that she has no need for tears!' Ty Lee thought with her eyes agape in amazement.

"A-Azula-sama…" Elle stuttered in a voice of limitless worship only for a blush to overtake her cheeks when Azula gently grasped ahold of her palm.

"I will protect you from these people. From everything…and everything." Azula declared with a ruthless growl while her pretty handmaid emotionally clutched onto her hand.

Not a word was spoken by the amazed Mai and Ty Lee.

Because if they so much as spoke a single word then they knew well enough that Azula would slap Elle's hand away.

"My…my princess charming…my princess right." Elle mumbled in a lovably abashed voice while the princess stared down at her in approval.

"If anyone ever raises a hand to you again. I will kill them! If I should ever meet anyone that has raised a hand to you in the past…I will kill them as well." Azula hissed with fire escaping her lips while Elle eagerly nodded her little head in understanding.

Despite how touching Azula's blossoming affections were.

The two noblewomen couldn't resist the shiver that traveled down their spines.

The people that hurt this girl likely never imagined in a million years that their victim would one day win the affections of a ruthless princess from a faraway land!

"I-I trust in you to protect me Azula-sama. I…I trust in my hero." Elle confided with her emotive amber eyes peering up at Azula's stern face in admiration.

"Then stop your crying peasant! Because I already promised that I would protect you." Azula snapped before releasing her admirer's hand while the younger girl blushed under her strict gaze.

"Yes, Your Highness! I'll stop crying!" Elle cried out with sweet laughter lacing her voice while the scowling princess turned away.

"Aww! That was so touching Azula! You two are so cute together!" Ty Lee gushed with a broad grin while her leader glared at her from over her shoulder.

"Well Elle…it looks like you're safe. Not free…but safe." Mai commented in her usual deadpan while TY Lee smiled in humor alongside her.

"You misunderstand once more oneesan! It's the opposite. I wasn't free until I met Azula-sama." Elle spoke with a chipper nod while Mai blinked down at her in bewilderment.

The girl's baffling statement earned her even further gushing from TY Lee while the princess's crimson lips began to curl into a pleased smirk.

"You have just as strange a notion of what constitutes freedom as you do in caretakers and heroes." Mai replied in a softened sigh while Elle just smiled brightly.

"I think it's sweet! Strange. But sweet!" Ty Lee quipped while she watched Elle dashed off to retrieve her backpack from the forest floor.

"Then take heart Ty Lee. Because the tiger monkey is about to become even freer than before." Azula remarked with a noticeable sadistic undertone to her voice that had both of her friends shuddering in pity for the poor girl.

"Uh…what do you mean by that Azula?" Ty Lee asked warily while the younger girl now knelt on the ground with her back turned to them.

"What you do you think I mean? That assassin may well have been after her." Azula answered in a quieter voice with her lips pursing into a regal scowl while the two women turned to her in surprise.

"That doesn't make any sense Azula. We didn't even know about Elle's powers until a few hours ago. And we're stranded on Shantu Island. The only way that the assassin would have even had been able to communicate with his employer is if the one who hired him had witnessed her power." Mai argued while the princess listened with her possessive amber golden eyes never leaving the petite girl's back.

"My uncle saw every moment of it." Azula retorted with anger in her cold voice while the two noblewomen stared back at her in shared concern for the girl's safety.

"Your uncle fled Azula. I have not seen sight of one messenger hawk, and we have been unable to contact reinforcements." Mai explained in a hushed voice while Azula folded her arms over her breasts.

"You…probably won't like this suggestion Azula…but what makes you so sure that it wasn't Zoi that ordered the attack?" Ty Lee inquired in an uncertain voice while Azula stiffened with her paranoid eyes glaring ahead.

"Zoi may possess a barbaric sailor's mouth…and she may be prone to occasional defiance. But her loyalty is to the Fire Nation. And unlike Zuko. I have not betrayed our nation. She has no reason to order an attack on my life…or Elle's." Azula scoffed with her fingers curling up on her biceps while her childhood friends nodded obediently in response.

It was clear that Zoi had impressed Azula so deeply that the princess seemed opposed to the notion that the warrior would order a man to try to cut her line.

"Look Azula…I probably shouldn't even say this. But…it makes a lot more sense that he was after your life. The awakening of Elle's power was likely just a coincidence. And…the assassination was likely plotted out weeks in advance." Mai muttered while TY Lee flinched when the princess clenched her fists with her amber golden eyes shimmering in increased paranoia.

"From this moment forward I will root out the traitors by their necks and send their heads to both my fat uncle and dear brother! I'll even send them in lovely gift boxes!" Azula announced in a monstrous voice while her two subordinates shuddered in fear.

Mai just stood silent while she gazed away with conflicted tawny eyes.

She couldn't let Azula kill Zuko.

And yet at the same time if she defies Azula again she will be risking the destruction of her entire clan!

And she was well aware that a severe punishment awaited her after they return to the Capital.

As for what…she could not say.

But for even as wicked as Azula undoubtably was.

She would much rather Azula choose her punishment…than Governor Yoko.

Just thinking about the head of the Song clan deciding her fate was enough to send a shudder down her spine.

"J-just please don't hurt the loyal Azula. Y-you have a great deal of loyal people serving under you and you never even acknowledge them. Like that pilot…Nako." Ty Lee attempted to reason while her friend glared at her over her shoulder.

"I have acknowledged Nako! I gave the girl a generous promotion and I intend to reward her when we return." Azula insisted with her hands on her biceps while she returned her gaze to her handmaid's back.

Well…in that general vicinity anyhow.

"Yeah…but I seriously doubt that you even knew she existed until today. I'm just saying…that there are many loyal people out there that you haven't even…" Ty Lee trailed off before folding her arms while she turned to Azula in disapproval.

"What?" Azula growled out in a possessive voice while the other two women eyed her pointedly.

"Elle's head is a little higher up Azula." Ty Lee informed in a helpful voice while her leader finally removed her eyes from Elle's backside.

"I own her. I will look wherever I please." Azula snorted in a pompous voice before returning her ogling eyes to Elle's lovely rear pointing out behind her.

"I always took you for a sadist Azula. But not a pervert." Mai spoke wryly only for Azula to roll her amber golden eyes while still gazing at the girl's ass.

"And I suppose you never once looked at Zuko in the six years you were together?" Azula questioned in a mocking voice with her eyes locked on the back of her lovely handmaid.

"I never said that I didn't. But Zuko wasn't thirteen…" Mai answered while the princess's fists began to clench once more.

"I caution you to remember that your life is in my hands Mai. With but one word I can easily convince Father to disgrace your entire clan. With that being said…do mind your own business. Hm?" Azula sneered with a cold smile on her lips while she watched Elle begin to stand up.

"It's all in here. That's good to know. Now I just hope my artbook survived the fire…" Elle mumbled with a finger on her chin while the three women listened in amusement.

"Servant! You dropped something just to the right of you." Azula declared with a smirk on her lips while her two friends turned to her in disbelief.

"Azula!" Ty Lee scolded with a huff while Azula just smiled when Elle turned around to face her.

"I did Mistress? Where?" Elle pondered naively before turning around to peer down at the forest floor.

"Foolish girl. It's right by your feet." Azula taunted with a hand beneath her chin while both women cast her a scolding stare when the girl began to bend over once more.

Only for her smile to vanish when Mai grasped ahold of Elle by the back of her shirt once more.

"You didn't drop anything. Azula is just…being an ass." Mai spoke with her hand pulling Elle up while the girl peered up at her in puzzlement.

"But Azula-sama said I did." Elle protested adorably while Azula smiled at her in approval.

"Azula says a lot of things. Most of them lies." Mai sighed while Elle held her backpack close to her chest.

"Oh! Well, it's not my place to question her will. She must have had a good reason for stating as such." Elle exclaimed in an innocent voice while Mai walked alongside her groaning in mild annoyance.

"Humph. The girl understands her place in this relationship." Azula boasted in a prideful voice while she watched her pet scamper over to her side once more.

Despite her princess's surprising perversions.

Ty Lee couldn't help but smile at the two once more.

They certainly were cute.

Elle padded back over to the princess's side before she peered up at the older girl with a bashful blush on her cheeks.

"Azula-sama…" Elle began in a lovably timid voice while the princess peered down at her with a fist beneath her chin.

"Hm? What is it servant?" Azula purred with a finger curling up underneath her chin while she stared down at her grudgingly adorable pet.

"Would…would you please bend over to my height?" Elle requested with a shoe tracing a line in the grass while Azula quirked a brow above her.

"Oh, very well. I suppose I could." Azula sighed with a wave of her hand before stooping above the much smaller girl's head.

Only to blink her amber golden eyes in surprise when Elle stood on her toes and then planted a shy kiss on her cheek.

"I-I…just wanted to give you a k-kiss for carrying me up the cliff…" Elle stammered in a love-struck voice while the princess stared down at her with increasingly possessive amber golden eyes.

"That's so adorable Azula! She's such a sweetie." Ty Lee gushed while her fellow noblewoman sighed alongside her.

Though Mai without doubt agreed that Elle was a gentle hearted girl.

"You are most welcome peasant. You can repay me by massaging my feet later." Azula stated in a tone of absolute smugness before planting a palm in her blushing pet's hair.

"I-if that's what you want Princess…oh no!" Elle cried out with Azula's hand in her hair while the woman stared down at her in genuine puzzlement.

"What? Is it an assassin!" Azula snarled with a puff of fire escaping her nostrils only to relax when her handmaid pointed at her wrist in horror.

"Y-your bracelet. It's…gone." Elle answered in a distraught voice only for her princess to stare down at her with deadpan amber golden eyes.

"Oh. Yes, it must have burned to ashes in my battle." Azula commented in a casual voice while her childhood friends turned to her in disapproval.

"O-oh…." Elle mumbled in a downcast voice while Azula growled down at her.

"I told you no more crying!" Azula barked with a glower while she compressed her pouting handmaid beneath her petting hand.

"C-can I make…you another one Azula-sama?" Elle inquired in a hopeful voice while she listened to the older girl grunt in aggravation over her.

"It…isn't really necessary…of course that isn't to say that I didn't like it." Azula attempted to explain with a huff only for Elle's shoulders to slump once more.

"O-okay…" Elle trailed off in a voice of low self-worth while Azula continued to scowl down at her.

"Azula would be happy if you made her another one little sister!" Ty Lee called out with a nod while she directed her spoiled friend a pointed look.

Elle's eyes perked up just before peering up into Azula's cold amber golden eyes while the regal princess still grasped at her hair.

"If you like…. I suppose…that I could permit it." Azula relented with a twinge of embarrassment on her cheeks before turning her glaring eyes away from her girlfriend's excited face.

"Yay! I am so relieved to hear that you will remain a part of our friendship link!" Elle chirped before assaulting her older girlfriend around her belly.

"Yes…servant I will remain a part of the link." Azula agreed with a sigh before placing her palm back in the girl's hair while Elle snuggled into her belly.

"I…love you Azula-sama." Elle murmured in a love-struck voice with her face buried in Azula's plated belly.

"I…can see tell. And I…am fond of you peasant…. very much so." Azula grumbled with her petting hand in her handmaid's golden hair while the girl remained bent over embracing her stomach.

"That's pink. Don't you think so Mai?" Ty Lee pondered with a warm smile while her friend folded her arms over her chest.

"Elle is. But not Azula." Mai replied in a softer voice while she eyed the sweet girl hugging the princess's belly.

"Y-you…and Mai aren't going to fight anymore, right?" Elle queried with her amber eyes peering up at her much taller girlfriend pridefully scowling down at her.

The innocent question took all three highborn women aback in some way or another.

Especially after hearing Elle's recent heartfelt confession.

"If Mai can refrain from getting on my nerves…I suppose…that I could refrain from destroying her in turn…" Azula scoffed with her eyes briefly sweeping over Mai's composed face while her palm continued to dance through her pet's golden hair.

"How generous. Since I can see that it bothers Elle…I will do my best to avoid any further arguing from here on out." Mai admitted in a softened voice with a sigh while Ty Lee happily patted her shoulder.

"We're not going to fight Elle. We promise!" Ty Lee assured with a bright grin while Elle smiled over her shoulder at her.

"It…makes me happy to hear that. Because I…don't like to see my family hurt each other." Elle muttered with Azula's hand still petting her head while amber golden eyes stared down at her in approval.

All of Team Azula was touched by the pure hearted declaration.

Even Azula herself.

"Well, as the matriarch of this 'family' I can assure you all that we will function much more efficiently if all three of you heed my absolute will." Azula announced in a conceited voice only for a loud growling sound to resonate into the forest air.

All eyes drifted to Azula's armored stomach.

Only for Mai and Ty Lee to watch comically when Elle sprang to her feet in a trained panic that only served to produce a wide smile on Azula's lips.

"O-oh I forgot that I can't cook you a meal…sumimasen Azula-sama…" Elle spoke with a shy blush on her cheeks only for her girlfriend to pat her head once more.

"See. I told you that I had her trained to stand when she hears my belly growl. This is the ideal servant right here. She is truly attuned to her master's needs." Azula remarked with a refined smile gracing her lips while Elle beamed up at her when her stomach rumbled a second time.

"That's…uh great Azula…" Ty Lee sighed only to blush when her stomach began to complain as well.

And soon enough Mai's as well.

"It would be nice to find some food." Mai stated in a mildly amused voice.

All the while musing just how they were going to find Elle something that wasn't meat.

And then the princess finally removed her hand from the smaller girl's hair just before gently pushing her little girlfriend away.

Only to scowl when her handmaid attempted to pull a puppy dog pout on her.

"That will be all for now peasant. If you remain on good behavior then I might consider petting you later." Azula snorted in a haughty voice with her fists on her hips while she watched her admirer's face brighten after hearing those words.

"Wakarimashita Azula-sama!" Elle cheered with a hand in the air while Azula eyed her in puzzlement only to shake her head sighing a moment later.

Her girlfriend was a strange one.

But to her liking all the same.

Not a second later Elle's cheeks turned pink when her stomach began to complain as well much to the amusement of her three older friends'.

"Well, I do believe Mai has a good point. Now would be a good time to find something to eat…that doesn't taste like peasant slop." Azula grunted with a moody frown on her lips while she began to walk forward to rejoin her friends.

Only to pause in mid step when she realized that her handmaid had yet to follow her.

She turned around to direct the girl a stern stare only to blink curiously to see that her servant was digging through her pack once more.

"Don't worry Azula-sama! I think I have some food leftover in my backpack!" Elle announced in a joyous voice while all three women stared at her back in surprise.

"Hear that Azula? Elle's got food!" Ty Lee exclaimed with a grin while Azula just rolled her eyes while gazing down at their young friend.

"What manner of food is it? Is it from the palace kitchens?" Azula pondered with a hopeful smile that soon gave way to a frown when the girl shook her head.

"Nope! It's from back home!" Elle chirped only for the three to gaze at her in complete disbelief.

"You have food in your backpack from your homeland that you didn't eat when you were starving on the streets?" Azula demanded with her brows furrowing inquisitively while she stared down at her handmaid's back once more.

"Yep! I liked the fruit that I got from the fruit stand better! It was a bit more…fulfilling? But this is still yummy!" Elle explained in a hurried voice while Azula scrunched up her nose in comical distaste.

While the three gazed at one another before returning their focus to their young companion's overjoyed face.

"Well…that sounds promising." Azula complained with a finger rubbing the bridge of her nose while she watched her girlfriend scamper over to her side once more.

"Oh, come on Azula. Now isn't really the time to be picky." Ty Lee stated in an appreciative voice.

That was when Mai quirked a brow in curiosity when she noted the girl was holding a small sealed bag with a decorative foreign label that clearly gave away what the contents were.

"Is that…candy?" Mai questioned dryly with her words invoking even further annoyance from her leader.

"Candy? Of all the things you could have packed in your bag you left home with candy?" Azula snorted with distaste dripping from her voice while Elle beamed up at her.

"Yeah! Felix threw out all of my vegetarian meals so all I had left to bring with me was candy!" Elle admitted with a shrug while her princess released a heavy sigh.

The three girls were once more reminded that Elle's brother was the complete opposite of the kind hearted girl that they have come to know.

"What an asshole." Mai muttered with disgust in her voice that was shared by the scowling Ty Lee.

"Wouldn't it seem more logical if you…just ate meat until you found something more suitable to your tastes?" Azula asked in a voice of genuine bafflement only to be even further confused when the girl angrily shook her head.

"No! I don't eat meat. Period. It's against my principles." Elle insisted with a shake of her head while Azula continued to scowl down at her.

"Against your principles? I trust you realize that you're going to have to eat meat to survive on this island?" Azula questioned in a harder voice only for her frustrations to soar when Elle adamantly shook her head once again.

"Nope! Not happening! I'll find some berries." Elle retorted with an innocent nod while the princess stared down at her in disbelief.

"No. Listen here girl-" Azula attempted to lecture only to be cut off by TY Lee's hand.

Her amber golden eyes burned through the other woman's skull while her subordinate nervously met her gaze.

"No Azula. If you truly care about Elle then you need to respect her beliefs. There's got to be lots of fruit on this island! We'll find her something." Ty Lee assured only for Azula to turn away with a foul tempered glower on her lips.

She knew that Azula was just concerned about making certain that Elle stayed well fed while they were on this island.

Even though the princess was to say the least rather oppressive towards her adopted sister.

It was still sweet of Azula.

She truly doubted that Azula would show such concern for anyone else other than Elle.

"Wrong Ty Lee! I will dictate my girlfriend's life as I see fit! It's for her own good anyhow." Azula retorted with her arms folded over her bust leaving TY Lee to sigh in exasperation.

"Just ignore Azula and tell us about the candy from your homeland." Ty Lee instructed with a smile while her controlling friend glared at her through the corner of her eye.

"Well let's see…I have some twizzlers!" Elle exclaimed in an enthused voice Azula stared down at the small bag of red ropelike candy with her amber golden eyes shimmer in comical annoyance.

"Twizzlers? That's an odd name for a candy." Mai commented with an amused countenance only for the princess to purse her lips in a spoiled show of disgust.

"It sounds like commoner food." Azula snorted with her face scrunching up in distaste while her two-childhood friends cast her a pointed stare.

"Are you even capable of talking to Elle on equal terms Azula? I get sick of seeing you talk down to her." Mai stated with a frown while Azula turned to glare at her.

Even after all her leader has done for Elle there were moments where she couldn't believe that the girl had the patience to put up with Azula.

And the princess couldn't help but scowl at her friend with a sliver of anger in her stern eyes.

It grew tiring listening to her subordinates constantly nag at her as if she was abusing the girl.

Elle was perfectly content with her as she was.

And she was perfectly content with Elle as she was.

She couldn't help but muse that their bond was something only that they could understand.

Perhaps…that was yet another reason why she was so fond of this one?

"It sounds like commoner food because it is commoner food!" Elle declared with a radiant countenance while she held the small bag up before her princess's repulsed face.

"Ugh! Of all the things you could pack! You have unrestricted access to the palace kitchens and this is what you pick!" Azula snapped with her boot tapping upon the forest floor while Elle's shoulders began to slump.

And just like that the princess was once again inwardly kicking herself for forgetting just how fragile her admirer's mental state was.

"Sumimasen…" Elle trailed off in a more downcast voice while Azula glared down at her only for Mai to anger her by pushing her aside.

"You're such an ass Azula. Thanks for the food kid. We'll gladly eat it." Mai assured before she offered the sullen girl a pat to the shoulder.

While she watched in relief when Elle cracked a smile once more.

"O-okay. I know it's not really fit for nobility and royalty but I just thought it would suffice for an hour." Elle admitted in a bashful voice while the noblewoman patted her shoulder in reassurance.

"We'll all friends here. There's no division. Despite what Azula believes." Mai remarked with a smile while Elle held up the bag in offering.

The princess's amber golden eyes flickered in increased ire while she stared at her the other woman's back with an imposing glare.

Only to find herself scowling even further when TY Lee shook her head in disapproval.

"Seriously Azula. What did you pack?" Ty Lee chastised in a protective voice while her entitled friend glared after her.

"An entire warship of foods that's what I packed." Azula answered in a venomous voice while her controlling eyes observed her handmaid begin to hand out the candy to her subordinates.

"And it all burned in the fire. We should just be thankful that Elle is sweet enough to have anything for us to eat! I would love to try your twizzlers Elle!" Ty Lee cooed with warmth in her eyes while she watched the adorable girl blush under their combined attentions.

"Alright! I have twenty twizzlers pieces here. Help yourselves. Do…do you want some Azula-sama?" Elle pondered with a self-conscious expression while her mistress surveyed her with a cold frown on her regal lips.

"Azula would be happy to try some little sis! She's just too proud to admit it so she has to act like a grumpy pants!" Ty Lee exclaimed with a twizzler in hand while she turned to smile at Azula only for the regal woman to release a haughty snort.

"Oh! I get it now! It's sort of like how she always yells at me after we share a cuddle." Elle chirped with a sunny smile while her big sisters now smirked in the scowling woman's direction.

"Fine! I'll eat some of your stupid commoner food if it will make you quit sulking!" Azula huffed with a flip of her ebony hair before stomping over while her pet beamed up at her.

All the while her amber golden eyes glanced about at her two friends faces while the two women took a curious bite out of the red sticks.

"It's not bad." Mai muttered with a softened smile on her lips before swallowing her mouthful.

It had a rather plain taste but she wasn't going to make the girl cry over it.

"Really?" Elle inquired in a hopeful voice while Ty Lee patted her shoulder.

"Yeah! It's good. Thank you, Elle." Ty Lee replied while the younger girl's cheeks took on an adorable shade of pink just when the princess stopped over the love-struck girl.

"For your sake servant you had best hope that this food does not disappoint me!" Azula exclaimed in a beyond spoiled voice while thrusting a domineering finger in her gulping handmaid's face.

And once more the two noblewomen just sighed in renewed sympathy for the sweet hearted girl.

It was obvious that Azula was slowly but surely developing romantic feelings for their young friend.

But that being said…

They had a good feeling that this was going to become the norm of the strange couple.

"I-I strive to please you Azula-sama…all I want is to make you smile…" Elle stuttered in a lovable voice while her mistress peered down at her in approval.

"Azula…just give the poor girl a break. She's just trying to be nice." Ty Lee pleaded with a heavy sigh while Azula stared down at Elle when the gentle girl held the bag out before her friends scrutinizing face.

"Hm. I am well aware Elle. Now I demand that you give me only the finest in that bag. You can give the lesser ones to Mai and Ty Lee." Azula ordered with a refined smile on her regal lips while she watched her handmaid sift through the bag only for her friends to roll their eyes at her back.

"Poor kid." Mai commented while Ty Lee nodded in agreement only for Azula to glare at them over her shoulder.

"W-will you sit with me while we eat Azula-sama?" Elle requested in a spellbound voice while her heart began to race under Azula's domineering amber golden gaze.

"That's a great idea Azula! We could sit and talk! Just the four of us! We can rejoin with the others when we're done!" Ty Lee agreed in a cheerful voice before seating herself on the forest floor.

In any case it was a welcome relief to get off her broken ankle.

"Anything to spend less time around that Song clan bitch." Mai responded with a brief scowl before sitting down beside TY Lee.

And finally, Azula released a heavy sigh while she continued to peer down at her lovely girlfriend's abashed face.

"I suppose I could permit it. You are a well-behaved servant. But I will only say this once! Sit. Not snuggle!" Azula declared with a fist on her shapely thigh while Elle rapidly nodded her little head in excitement.

"Yes Azula-sama! Let's have lunch together! As a family!" Elle cheered with unwavering cheer that moved all three of her highborn friends.

Even Azula herself couldn't help but find the girl's infectious enthusiasm to be somewhat endearing.

And then Elle eagerly seated herself across from her two big sisters' while the noblewomen gazed at her fondly while she shyly beamed up at them.

"Humph. Just don't forget that I am the head of this 'family'." Azula scoffed with a smirk before plopping down on her exhausted bottom beside her much smaller handmaid.

"Whatever you say mother." Mai taunted with a sliver of a smirk while Ty Lee giggled in amusement when Azula glared back at them.

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that." Azula snorted with her palms on her knees only for her belly to rumble thunderously while she expectantly gazed down at her servant to feed her.

"Here mom eat as much as you like!" Elle cried out with an innocent countenance only Azula to stiffen in humiliation while the other two chuckled at her expense.

"Silence! Or I will strike you both into the ashes of oblivion!" Azula bellowed with her teeth ground together while she held out her open palm when her handmaid handed her a single twizzler.

"But Azula…that has to be one of the funniest things I have ever heard." Ty Lee snickered while she chewed on her food.

Azula just pursed her lips into a wrathful scowl before peering down at her happy pet through the corner of her eye.

"Elle." Azula began with rare embarrassment in her cold voice while the young girl peered up at her.

"Yes Azula-sama." Elle asked in a sweet voice while she chewed on her licorice.

"Do not ever call me that again. Especially…not in front of my army." Azula commanded with a twinge of pink on her cheeks while she glared at her still laughing subordinates.

"Yes Princess! As you command!" Elle quipped with her words earning her a pleased stare from Azula before the regal woman bit into her snack.

Her three subordinates stared at her curiously while she chewed on it with a prideful scowl on her lips.

Just before swallowing it with an audible gulp while her amber golden eyes shimmered in annoyance when she sensed two pairs of eyes staring at her pointedly.

And a third pair of eyes gazing up at her with a hopeful glimmer that she strangely didn't desire to shatter.

"It's…good servant." Azula spoke at long last with a stoic countenance while she gazed down into the much smaller girl's overjoyed amber eyes.

All but Elle knew that Azula was telling a lie.

But it didn't matter.

All that mattered was that the princess cared so much about the girl that she was willing to pretend to like a food to keep the girl smiling!

That in itself was just nothing short of astonishing!

And they knew well enough that this softened side of Azula was for Elle alone.

"I-I am so happy that you like it Mistress! Have another!" Elle squealed while the princess wrinkled her nose before grasping at the second offering sighing heavy all the while.

"You are a good girl Elle. You please me greatly." Azula admitted with another sigh while she bit into the bland candy just before patting her innocent handmaid on the head.

"Aww…" Ty Lee gushed while she smiled at the adorable sight that was the princess patting the beaming girl beneath her palm.

"Azula-sama…" Elle trailed off with pure hearted laughter lacing her voice while Azula's callous gaze peered down at her in recognition of her loyalty.

"So, tell me Elle. Is this something commonly ate by your people?" Mai asked in a curious voice while she gazed at her young friend's bright countenance.

"I guess so! It's just one of hundreds of candies that were mass produced for sale. Mass produced treats have always made manufactures a good deal of money not because the food is high quality but because they are available most places. We call it junk food! It has no nutrients whatsoever and absolutely no health benefits!" Elle announced with cheer to her amused friends.

"Why does that not surprise me." Azula scoffed with a roll of her eyes before swallowing the rest of the candy to quiet her growling belly.

This wouldn't keep her hunger quelled for even an hour.

They will have to hunt to get an adequate meal.

And she couldn't help but wonder about how she would handle her little girlfriend's absurd diet.

The mere thought of her most loyal follower starving while they awaited rescue was an oddly unpleasant one.

"One of the reasons why I would buy these is because they are safe to eat! There are no animal products in it!" Elle explained with a joyful nod while the three listened in slight puzzlement.

All the while realizing just how much thought the young girl put more thought into her vegetarian diet than they had first thought.

"Safe to eat?" Azula snorted in a pompous voice before furrowing her brows while her handmaid held up the package before her eyes.

"You see Azula-sama! They like to sneak gross ingredients in foods that they hope people won't notice. I have to read the labels very carefully to make sure that there isn't gelatin in it." Elle stated with a radiant expression while the princess began to rub the bridge of her nose in rising aggravation.

The three women exchanged a glance as they began to realize that it would be next to impossible to convince the girl to eat anything they hunted for dinner.

"Gelatin Elle?" Ty Lee queried in a kinder voice than Azula while Elle's face took on a rare expression of disgust.

"It's a boiled product made out of skins, tendons, ligaments and crushed bones that holds many foods together. It's gross and I won't eat it. I only eat gelatin free candy! Like pralines!" Elle exclaimed while Azula's amber golden eyes continued to twitch in frustration.

"It's good to know that you focus on the important things servant." Azula remarked flatly while her chipper handmaid beamed up at her.

"Thank you, Azula-sama! Would you like a third one?" Elle pondered in a doting voice that the princess just adored.

"Of course. I like them so much that I just can't contain my excitement." Azula answered with her sarcasm soaring over her girlfriend's little head.

The handmaid then held up her hand while she passed another to the sighing princess before she passed out more to her more polite big sisters.

"Azula-sama?" Elle began in a childish voice in search of the powerful woman's guidance.

"What now Elle?" Azula answered after biting into the infernal stick while her childhood friends smirked at her expense.

"I forgot to ask. Has there been any gelatin in the palace foods that I've been eating?" Elle questioned in an adorably concerned voice while her big sisters gazed on in humor when the princess's amber golden eyes widened in ever soaring aggravation.

"No peasant! There haven't been any crushed bones in the food that I've been feeding you!" Azula snapped in a foul tempered voice with a puff of fire escaping her nostrils while Elle smiled up at her.

"I knew I could count on you to take care of me Azula-sama! T-thank you." Elle cried out before embracing Azula's belly in another hug while her girlfriend grunted above her.

Ty Lee and even Mai managed to quirk a smile over the young girl's innocent personality that somehow got to Azula of all people.

A girl so sweet and gentle that she didn't even protest when Azula called her a whole host of demeaning names.

"Hm. It's clear that this one flourishes under my rule." Azula stated with her lips curving into a pleased smirk while she stared down at her worshipful handmaid already pushing her face into her belly.

"She does Azula. She certainly does." Ty Lee said with a finger wiping at her eye while she smiled warmly at the sight of the lovable girl cuddling into her princess's lap.

"Pet, I said sit. Not snuggle." Azula commented in a beyond dominant voice while Elle peeked up at her with a pout on her grudgingly adorable face.

"Although I really wish you would stop calling her that…" Ty Lee trailed off in a sigh while Azula reclined like a true queen with her young friend hanging onto her side.

"B-but Azula-sama…" Elle whined only to gulp under her mistress's terribly imposing glare.

A glare so fierce that she couldn't help but back away like a saddened puppy with her tail tucked between her legs.

Only to blush in surprise when a strong hand grasped her head and shoved her face back into a plated stomach.

"Such a clingy little thing you." Azula sighed with a shake of her head while the smaller girl relaxed under her petting hand.

Just before she reached into the bag once more while her belly continued to rumble loudly with her young girlfriend's face propped up upon it.

"Well! At least we got some food in our belly." Ty Lee spoke with a nod while her gloomy friend also nodded in agreement.

"I-I have more candy if anyone's interested!" Elle chirped with a smile while Azula's palm continued to caress her hair while she reached for backpack once more.

"Joy." Azula snorted once more yet her amber golden eyes never ceased peering down at her young friends ever bright smile.

And then to the curiosity of the three highborn women they watched their young friend hold up another colorful bag for all to see.

"This is one of my favorites! It's called sour patch kids!" Elle announced in a cheery voice while her companions gazed at the bag in puzzlement.

"Sour patch kids?" Mai asked with amusement in her voice while she observed her leader scrunch up her nose in increased distaste.

"Yep! It's sour candy!" Elle cried out in a jubilant voice while her princess slapped a hand over her forehead.

"Sour candy…" Azula grumbled with annoyance flickering in her amber golden eyes while she listened to her handmaid tear open the bag.

They really needed to find something better to eat!

"Mhm! It's sour and then sweet!" Elle informed in a helpful voice while her three highborn friends gazed at her humorously once more.

"Yes, Elle I know. I read the label." Azula answered with a finger massaging the bridge of her nose.

Over the prior two weeks during their hunt for the Avatar she had deciphered much of the girl's foreign written language.

And now she was learning to be able to read and write in the girl's language with some inconsistency.

But almost wasn't good enough.

'Soon I will master it.' Azula thought with her lips pursed into a cold scowl while her eyes burned with the flames of war.

Only to find herself torn from her thoughts when the young girl thrust the bag of candy before her cringing face.

"Well! It sounds good Azula!" Ty Lee stated with her cheer hiding her uncertainty while Azula glared at her through the corner of her eye.

"Help yourself Princess!" Elle cheered before popping one into her mouth with a cheerful smile while her girlfriend eyed the bag warily.

"Yeah Azula. Be a sour patch kid." Mai encouraged with an amused smirk while Azula's face contorted into a furious glower.

"Shut up Mai. Just shut up or I will destroy your entire clan." Azula hissed before hesitantly grasping at several of the sugary treats with her amber golden eyes almost grimacing at the bizarre food.

'If father saw me like this, I would never live it down!' Azula thought before dropping a candy in her mouth only to find herself struggling to force down the disgust while she ate the unpleasantly sour food.

"Here oneesans. Five four each of you!" Elle called out with a nod before dropping five into each of her big sister's open palms.

"Thank you, Elle." Mai offered while also hiding her reservations before chewing on one of the candies.

Only for her tawny eyes to widen while TY Lee watched her eat it with a never wavering smile.

"Thank you, so much little sister!" Ty Lee spoke before doing the same only to find her cheeks cringing over the strong flavor.

"And you get ten Azula-sama! Because you're the princess and the head of the family. So, you get a bigger serving." Elle announced with a respectful nod while the princess's amber golden eyes glared ahead in humiliation.

"You get ten Azula." Mai teased after swallowing the candy while she inwardly suppressed her shudder over the unpleasant food.

"I…am honored. I truly am. But I can't help but feel…remorseful eating more than you." Azula began with a stoic face while her childhood friends observed her in amusement.

The mere concept of Azula feeling guilt over taking more than she needed was a laughable one to Mai.

"Oh no! Don't worry about it. It's more important that you eat because you fought a long battle! You can even have my last two if you want." Elle answered with a gentle hearted smile while Azula's eyes grimaced outside of her line of vision.

"No. You need to eat as well. The last thing I need is you collapsing on me. Have three…no four more." Azula remarked before dropping several back into the girl's palm while she blinked up at her.

"But you need it more than me!" Elle insisted while her big sister's watched in amusement.

"Oh no. I insist you eat it. Your body is far too feeble. You need as much nourishment as you can get." Azula ordered in a flat tone while the handmaid finally nodded in agreement before chewing on the remaining candies.

"If you say so Azula-sama!" Elle agreed with a happy countenance before happily eating the food.

The three women gazed at their young friend oddly in complete bafflement that she enjoyed such a sour tasting food.

"And I want all of you to know that even if we starve, I won't eat you." Elle confessed with a broad grin while Team Azula gazed at her funnily over the strange statement.

"That's really sweet of you Elle. We won't eat you either!" Ty Lee assured while Mai stared at their young friend in bewilderment.

"That's reassuring to know. Sadly, I can't say the same. We may have to eat you if food becomes scarce." Azula commented with a wicked smirk while she watched Elle's expression take on a comically horrified one.

"R-really?" Elle squeaked in an uncertain voice while the princess smiled devilishly.

"Really." Azula purred only for Ty Lee to sigh loudly.

"Azula's just teasing you Elle. She won't eat you." Ty Lee sighed only to smile humorously when the innocent girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's good to know! I wouldn't want Azula-sama to go Elizabeth Báthory on me!" Elle chimed while Azula and the others furrowed their brows in curiosity.

"Who is Elizabeth Báthory?" Mai queried in a mildly interested voice.

All the while musing that it was likely someone cruel if she was being compared to Azula.

"I read about her in a history book in my library. She was a Hungarian noblewoman. Kind of like you and Ty Lee! But she is infamous for having murdered as many as six hundred and fifty peasants throughout her reign over four centuries ago. Mostly young girls." Elle responded with a nod while all but the princess stared back in horror.

And the two noblewomen couldn't help but feel even further horrified that when the girl said that she was 'like' them in status.

"T-that's horrible." Ty Lee mumbled while the princess listened in increased inquisitiveness.

"You've piqued my curiosity. Tell me more about this woman." Azula ordered with a composed face while she glared at her two subordinates chiding faces.

'Oh please! They act like I am going to start burning peasants at the stake!' Azula thought with a sliver of offense in her cold eyes.

"Well, she supposedly beat the girl's, tortured them, mutilated them, cut off their hands, froze them to death, burned them and all other sorts of nasty stuff." Elle spoke with a shudder while her big sisters sat wide eyed in shock.

Azula seemed like an angel in comparison to this woman!

"Disgusting." Mai snarled with clear revulsion in her eyes.

And for once even Azula seemed somewhat taken aback.

"Hm. How unfortunate for the poor peasants that lived under her." Azula stated after regaining her composure while she sat with a hand on her knee.

And even though she wouldn't say it aloud.

She was mildly bothered that her handmaid would even jokingly think that she would ever do that to her.

"W-what's the point in such cruelty?" Ty Lee pondered in a disturbed voice while she too shivered in disgust.

"If the stories are true, they say that she was a sadist and that she enjoyed it. The stories vary though. Some sources even say that she bit the flesh off their faces and that she indulged in cannibalism. The most common tale is that she bathed in their blood to maintain her youth!" Elle declared with another nod while the three women listened in a speechless silence.

It was clear that even Azula thought the woman had been outright mad.

When Azula thinks someone insane that speaks volumes about their actions!

"Eating peasants. How revolting." Azula snorted with a seemingly uncaring voice while she turned to scowl at her horrified subordinates.

"I can only hope she died painfully." Mai muttered in disgust while Ty Lee nodded in agreement.

"Well! There's a historical theory that she was innocent and that she was framed by other powerful people who wanted her land. They locked her in her tower and she died inside it after four years of imprisonment." Elle concluded with her head still pressing against Azula's side while the princess held a thoughtful finger to her chin.

"Yes, I do suppose that would ruin one's reputation beyond repair." Azula commented while her subordinates relaxed slightly under the mention that the noblewoman may have been innocent.

"Still. That's…a really unnerving story. You do know that we would never hurt you like that…right?" Ty Lee asked in a worried voice only for her leader to roll her amber golden eyes.

"Of course, I do oneesan. I was just sharing a bit of history." Elle quipped with everlasting cheer while they stared at her oddly.

"Please Ty Lee! I think the tiger monkey knows well enough that we aren't going to chop her up and bath in her blood!" Azula scoffed with a dismissive wave of her hand while TY Lee nodded after sinking back into her seat.

"Yeah…I know Azula. I just don't want Elle thinking that we'd ever hurt her. That's all!" Ty Lee answered in a sisterly voice while she smiled once more at the younger girl leaning against Azula's belly.

"Still, she has given me a good idea…" Azula trailed off with her red lips curving into a smile while the two-noblewoman stared at her in disbelief.

"I have?" Elle pondered with a blink of her eyes while Azula nodded above her.

"If I start spreading word that Earth Kingdom nobility tortures and devours their commoners and peasants then they will practically beg for Fire Nation governance!" Azula exclaimed with a proud smirk while her two subordinates tried not to groan.

"Do you seriously think anyone will believe that Azula? It's incredibly over the top. No one will buy it." Mai snorted with a roll of her eyes.

"You may be right. Perhaps if I removed the cannibalism from the story, it will make it more believable?" Azula replied with a refined smile on her regal lips while she absentmindedly caressed Elle's golden head.

"Even then it's still obvious propaganda." Mai answered in a deadpan voice.

"Peasant." Azula spoke with a hand beneath her chin while Elle smiled up at her.

"Yes Azula-sama?" Elle responded in a doting voice that earned her a smile of approval from the powerful woman.

"Tell me about another historical figure from your homeland. It doesn't matter who. Whoever comes to mind." Azula ordered with a nod while she allowed her girlfriend to lean into her armored belly.

"Something less gruesome perhaps?" Ty Lee requested only for her leader to roll her eyes at her once more.

"Oh…okay so someone other than Vlad the Impaler…" Elle trailed off with her words causing all but Azula to shudder while the princess smiled in increased interest.

"Disregard Ty Lee. I want to hear about this Impaler." Azula commanded with a snap of her fingers while her childhood friends sighed in defeat.

"His reputation is just as infamous as Báthory. He refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire. They once asked him for payment…he impaled them instead and the Ottomans moved to punish him! He won his fame in the history books when he defeated an army of twenty thousand Ottomans and impaled every last one of them on the banks of the river." Elle announced with her three highborn friends listening in fascination.

They were all surprised by the eclectic history of their young friend's mysterious homeland.

And the two noblewomen couldn't help but shiver over the look of excitement in Azula's amber golden eyes.

"Interesting. Perhaps…I shall do that to the rebels?" Azula hummed with a cold smile while her subordinates excluding her handmaid shuddered in pity for the poor fools.

"Please don't give Azula too many ideas little sister." Ty Lee begged with a nervous countenance while her friend continued to rub her chin in a scarily thoughtful fashion.

"They even say that when the second wave of invaders arrived that they fled as soon as they saw the forest of their twenty thousand deceased comrades." Elle continued with an animated countenance while Azula listened closely.

"I can't say I blame them." Mai sighed in her usual monotone voice.

"But he is most famous for inspiring the classic horror novel. Dracula!" Elle revealed with her little arms folded over her chest while the three gazed at her curiously.

"Dracula?" Ty Lee asked in an uncertain voice.

"Do you have legends of vampires here Azula-sama?" Elle queried with a finger under her lip while Azula furrowed her brows down at her.

"Vampires?" Azula repeated in a puzzled voice while the girl nodded.

"Inhuman monsters that are rumored to drink the blood of humans to stay immortal." Elle clarified with her words provoking recognition in her caretaker's eyes.

"We have legends of something like that. But we don't call them vampires. What does this have to do with this Impaler?" Azula pondered with a hand in the girl's hair and the other on her kneepad.

"You see Azula-sama. He was known for dipping his bread into his impaled enemies and eating it afterward!" Elle cried out while the three gazed at her in a taken aback manner once more.

"Charming." Mai commented dryly while she eyed her adopted sister oddly.

What a strange girl indeed.

"Vlad the Impaler was a large part of the inspiration in Dracula. It is one of the most famous horror novels of my homeland. It tells a story about a vampire named Count Dracula!" Elle informed in a spirited voice while they blinked at her in understanding.

"I see. I understand now. I presume you've read this…Dracula?" Azula questioned with a tilt of her head while the smaller girl nodded up at her.

"It was in the family library. Along with the history books." Elle answered without delay while Azula eyed her closely.

It was yet another reminder to all three of them that the girl's brother kept their innocent friend locked in a house for several years.

"Tell me more…. of your history." Azula ordered once more with her palm still kneading her adorable pet's plush head.

"Perhaps something a little pinker?" Ty Lee asked once more while she smiled at Elle so lovably holding onto Azula's armored belly.

"Spartacus!" Elle exclaimed with an enthusiasm that the three found entertaining.

"Spartacus?" Azula purred with an amused smile on her red lips while her servant peered up at her with that innocent look that she just adored.

"He was a former slave of the Roman Empire, one of the longest lasting empires in the history of my homeland. It lasted…for over two thousand years. It was a monarchy for about…oh five hundred years. And then a republic for another five hundred…and then finally an empire for well over a thousand years." Elle declared with an enthralled countenance while Azula's eyes lit up in greater fascination than the others.

"The Roman Empire…" Azula trailed off with great curiosity in her eyes while her subordinates also listened in fascination.

Now this sounded like an intriguing tale.

Bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed was all well and good for a brief moment of entertainment.

But this…was of much deeper interest to her.

"The Romans kept many slaves…they say for every freedman there were ten slaves. They used to make their slaves fight to the death for entertainment. And then one day…a slave named Spartacus started a small rebellion that would grow to become the Third Servile War." Elle spoke with eagerness while craning her neck to stare up at her princess's intrigued face.

"A slave war? How terrifying." Azula snorted with a sophisticated smirk while she continued to pet her girlfriend's soft hair.

The two noblewomen sat in a nervous silence well aware that the Fire Nation had both Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe slaves.

Something that Azula has purposefully avoided telling Elle.

Likely out of fear that she would lose the girl's favor.

Not that Azula would ever so as such out loud.

"But Azula-sama! It was the largest slave rebellion in the history of my world. The slaves created an army and they marched on Rome!" Elle whined much like a child attempting to educate her parent while Azula glanced down at her with her eyebrows raised in grudging fascination.

"Was it now?" Azula purred in a chuckle with her well-manicured fingernails dancing in her blushing love's hair.

"Mhm! At their peak they were about seventy thousand strong. They managed to defeat several Roman legions. Spartacus was one of the few people to have made Rome feel fear." Elle insisted with an adorable gaze while she began to melt under her mistress's hand.

"Seventy thousand? That's a lot of slaves." Mai muttered with awe in her eyes while she listened intently.

"You've managed to catch my interests with this one. Tell me girl…did Spartacus win this war? I thought not. Slaves rarely win anything." Azula remarked in an uncaring voice only to find herself puzzled by her girlfriend adamantly shook her head.

"W-well he lost the war. Because of Crassus. One of richest men in history. Crassus defeated the slave army and crucified the last six thousand survivors on the Appian Way. But even though he lost! Spartacus went down in history as a hero…and look to his tale for inspiration." Elle responded with admiration in her voice while Azula scoffed above her.

"Crucified them all…" Ty Lee mumbled while gazing at Azula in discomfort that she found amusement in such a tale.

"Inspiration for what? He lost!" Azula protested with another snort while she resumed petting her lovely handmaid's golden head.

"Courage! I think he was a great man and I wish he would have won. Slavery is wrong. And even though the Romans have accomplished many great things. They had no right to deprive their fellow humans of freedom. It's just not right. Everyone should have the choice to do as they please. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else." Elle concluded her tale with her lips pursed into a frown.

The two noblewomen turned to cast the now baffled princess another pointed glance that prompted her to scowl deeply once more.

Only to peer back down at her girlfriend with her beautiful lips pursing into a frown.

"You are such a naïve little thing. But I like you all the same peasant." Azula admitted with a sliver of fondness in her callous eyes while she held the girl's face into her belly once more.

"I…love you Azula-sama…" Elle murmured once more with her hands holding onto her much taller girlfriend's belly while her head was tenderly petted by a strong hand.

'I wonder how long it will take Azula to say those same words back to you…' Mai thought with a bothered look in her eyes while she noted how Azula smiled down at Elle as if she was more a treasured kitten than girlfriend.

"Mhm. That's my little peasant." Azula purred with her fist restraining her little handmaid against her belly.

That was one thing that bothered Mai.

No matter how much she and Ty Lee tried to assure Elle that there was no division in status between them.

Azula would reinforce that Elle was a peasant every time.

And just as unnerving was the way that the girl would hang onto Azula as if she were her last lifeline.

It was all the more a reminder that Elle has been abused so terribly that the sweet girl has been damaged so deeply that she seeks reassurance in Azula of all people!

"M-my princess right." Elle mewled with her fists gripping the princess's plated belly while she listened it rumble once more.

But it did not bother her any.

"My lovely peasant…" Azula trailed off with a pleased smile on her controlling lips while her handmaid clung to her stomach like a lost child.

She sighed under her breath with her fingers trailing through plush blonde locks while the girl continued to make the most precious whines that she just adored.

What a good girl indeed.

This one will stay by her side forevermore.

AN:

So, this chapter was mostly team bonding.

And not only did Azula apologize to Elle. But Azula is willing to eat a food that disgusts her just to keep Elle smiling.

And Azula got to learn a little bit about the history of Elle's world. It is important to remember that Elle is a thirteen year-old girl with a stunted education. The knowledge that she displayed most likely came from something basic like a textbook on European history and another on general Roman history in her family library. This serves to demonstrate that Elle has a desire to learn, and that she tried to keep up on her own. Even if it was no substitute for proper schooling.

The biggest take away from this chapter is that we learned that the Fire Nation has slaves. This will play a bigger role in the story later on.

As I wrote the story, I debated if the Fire Nation should or should not have be dealing in slavery. Ultimately, I decided that it would be unrealistic if they didn't. Almost every nation throughout history has dabbled in slavery.

It is only in our modern times that it has become something that is openly condemned. Instead of slavery, elites in our modern day maintain their workforce through more subtle means like making people live paycheck to paycheck. Which can be considered a form of indentured servitude.

After seeing how the Fire Nation treated their earthbender prisoners on the warships, it made sense to include slavery in the story. And that's what I did.

And that was the slavery that Team Azula mulled over this chapter. The people on those ships and in Fire Nation war camps are forced to build and power the Fire Nation war effort.

If anyone is wondering why Elle hasn't seen slaves walking around the Capital, I decided that it would be more underhanded if they were kept from sight in the encampments.

It's not something that Elle will see because the Royal Family (Azula and Ozai) keep it from the public eye. If the people in the Fire Nation saw their war camps then they would be more likely to question if the Fire Nation is truly bringing greatness to the world.

There has been foreshadowing leading up to this that the Royal Family deals in slavery. For example, Azula has insisted multiple times now that Elle is NOT a slave. Even as far back as chapter fourteen. Azula asked Elle if she thought that she was a slave when Elle expressed surprise over being paid.

And in chapter nine, Mai inwardly wondered if Azula would be cruel enough to render Elle a slave.

The Fire Nation Royal Family is more advanced by showing that they understand that slavery is looked down upon and for this reason they make it a point to be discreet about it. Ozai (And Azula) are purposefully preventing their subjects from seeing the cost of their century long war.

It goes without saying that Elle will have BIG problems with this and that she will push Azula to free the Fire Nation slaves. However, this will not come into play until at least chapter sixty. We're a ways off from that.

If Elle can convince Azula to free the enslaved, it will ultimately showcase a significant difference between Azula and Ozai as the story goes on.

I also want to remind everyone that Elle's world has the same history as ours but as I will reveal later. Her world is distinctly different, so please keep that in mind. When I speak of her world, it is not 100% like the one we know.

Anyhow!

Next chapter is another short one. But we'll get to see more ElZula fluff!

Stay tuned for more!