Hey everyone,
This one is being posted a little sooner than the others.
In this chapter we will meet both Zoe's mother Yoko and her little sister Sia.
I want to thank the several people that gave my story a follow over the last day or so.
And ask everyone to please continue to do so!
And as always enjoy!
Yoko – Chapter Fifty-Seven
An hour later.
At the castle of the Song clan.
Soldiers of the Royal Procession and the agents of the Dai Li waited in the halls of the castle on the ready to be summoned by their princess if need be.
Meanwhile, in a small room in the servant's quarters.
Elle sat gazing up at Azula while her mistress hovered over her with a sigh escaping her lips.
"You are to remain under Nako's supervision until I am concluded with business here." Azula announced in an authoritative voice as she reached out to cup her smiling handmaid's cheek.
"Yes, Mistress Azula." Elle agreed in a worshipful voice while Azula peered down at her with a charming smile on her red lips.
"And don't go wandering off the castle grounds." Azula commented as she twirled a fingernail in her hair while she held onto her young girlfriend's lovely cheek.
"As you say Azula-sama. Always as you say." Elle spoke sweetly as she pushed her face into the older woman's robed belly while her mistress sighed above her.
"Just…be a good girl for me." Azula sighed with her palms lowering into her servant's hair while she momentarily cradled Elle's head against her belly.
"A-Azula-sama." Elle murmured in an adorable stutter with her eyes closing against Azula's belly while the much taller woman petted her hair.
"That's my little lady." Azula stated with another sigh while she patted her giggling serving girl's golden head.
Elle just smiled with her face against the princess's stomach while long fingernails continued to pat her hair.
"P-please don't let anything bad happen to Mai." Elle muttered with her face in the older woman's toned stomach.
Azula just released a snide snort while she turned to glare at the nearest wall.
"I already told you that Mai isn't going to die. I am well aware that there would be no end to your tears if I let that happen." Azula grumbled with a roll of her elegant eyes while she gazed down at her handmaid's softly smiling face.
"Wakarimashita Azula-sama." Elle replied with a returning grin on her lips while she blushed when she received another pat to the head.
"That will be all for now peasant. I will see you when we are finished with Governor Yoko." Azula concluded with a sigh before she pushed her pouting handmaid away.
But even so.
Elle happily nodded while the callous princess gazed down at her with strict amber golden eyes.
And with that the princess exited the room and joined back up with her two childhood friends.
The princess gazed hard at their worried faces with icy amber golden eyes as they began to make their way into the castle meeting chamber.
"Do exactly as I say and keep your mouths shut unless spoken to. And above all. Try to look just a wee bit remorseful. That is…if you want to live." Azula ordered with her arms crossed over her breasts while Ty Lee flinched as she gazed at Mai's apathetic face.
"Got it Azula." Mai answered in an unusually wary voice as they strode down the hall of the vast castle.
At the end of the hall stood Zoi leaning against the castle wall.
Gone was her armor and weaponry.
She now stood in a red long-sleeved shirt with black dress pants, and a red tie round her neck while she turned to meet Azula's almost amused gaze.
"You almost look like nobility. But not quite." Azula commented as she surveyed Zoi with her nose wrinkling while Zoi released a defiant scoff.
"What are you my mother?" Zoi replied with a trace of light hearted annoyance in her voice before she started striding down the hall.
Mai and Ty Lee grudgingly followed after Azula.
While Ty Lee continued casting her princess a pleading look.
Only to find themselves pausing when Zoi froze in her tracks in front of them.
It soon became apparent why.
Standing in front of the warrior was a younger woman of around perhaps twenty years of age.
She almost looked like a younger and more proper Zoi!
Except her dark hair was in a top-knot.
The young woman wore elegant red robes and her golden eyes were staring back at the warrior in shock.
"I take it that this is your…" Azula trailed off in a mildly intrigued voice before she watched in surprise when her soldier pulled her sibling into a sisterly embrace.
Team Azula gaped in disbelief to see the ruthless warrior openly expression affection that Azula would never show Zuko.
"Sia! How have you been? How has Nen been? Both of you well, I hope?" Zoi greeted with a small smile while she embraced the younger girl under her arm.
Only for a rare spark of hurt to flash in her eyes when a hand quickly pushed her back.
"You can't just come back and hug me after you left me behind for some stupid mission. You haven't even written me in eight months." Sia responded with bitterness in her voice while the older sister's face took on an expression of great remorse.
The curt greeting took all three members of Team Azula aback.
And Azula was already casting the young woman a narrowed stare over how she openly referred to her mission was 'stupid'.
"I…I know that I messed up but…" Zoi spoke with the words dying in her throat while Sia turned away.
"I only came here to see if you were alright after your recent assassination attempt." Sia stated with shared hurt in her golden eyes as she gazed down at her feet.
"I…understand. Thank you for coming." Zoi muttered in a tone of soured spirits while her sister turned to face her princess.
"Princess." Sia commented as she lowered herself down to the ground as she momentarily prostrated herself while the princess gazed at her coldly.
Only to stand up before the princess could respond and then she quickly departed through the curtains into the meeting room.
As Mai and Ty Lee now glanced in the direction of the now annoyed princess.
Ty Lee could only sigh as she gazed at Azula's aggravated face.
It was good to see that the younger sister was seemingly more tolerable than the older.
But understandably distant after not seeing her older sister for a year.
"Disrespectful brat." Azula complained in a moody voice while Mai rolled her eyes at the back of her head.
And strangely enough it wasn't just because the girl dubbed her mission stupid.
Her warrior's greeting was a warmer one than she would have given to her own brother.
And the girl had the nerve to openly throw it back in her face with no regard for proper conduct in front of royalty.
And without speaking another word Zoi entered through the curtains into the meeting chamber.
Team Azula followed soon after.
And soon enough they were kneeling on the floor before a low formal meeting table while Azula sat on a platform above them in a plush throne.
The princess reclined with a bored sigh escaping her lips as she gazed at the long table before her.
Mai and Ty Lee were on one side.
The two women were gazing around the room with open fear in their eyes.
And across the other side of the table was Zoi and Sia.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes over how her soldier was so pitifully trying to win back the young woman's affections.
"Oh, come on now Sia." Zoi sighed as she leaned into her bandaged fist while Sia poured herself a generous cup of wine.
All the while Mai watched with a twinge of smugness in her eyes when the younger girl ignored her sister.
And then began unceremoniously gulping down the healthy cup.
"Are you trying to drink me away?" Zoi asked with a trace of disappointment in her voice while the princess snorted at the head of the table.
"This is pathetic Zoi." Azula taunted while she stared on in annoyance just as the younger now slammed the empty cup onto the table.
"I'm sorry…did you say something?" Sia answered with a twinge of sass in her voice while Zoi turned away in a sigh.
"Where is Governor Yoko? I do not like to be kept waiting!" Azula demanded with a puff of fire escaping her nostrils while her friends winced over her volume.
"Finishing up with Governor Ukano I presume." Sia replied dryly in a tone of little care with her words causing all of Team Azula to gaze at her in shock.
"My…father is here?" Mai questioned with both worry and shame in her voice while she sunk back in her seat.
"Of course, he is. Did you think that you could try to strap a bomb to back of the intended heir of the Song clan and not face any comeuppance? Not too bright are you." Sia inquired with a lovely brow raising inquisitively while Mai's face took on an ever so slightly angered stare.
And once more Ty Lee shivered while she sat with Azula's icy eyes glaring back at Mai once more.
"Tell me…Sia. Why wasn't I informed that Governor Ukano would be here?" Azula queried in a beyond strict voice while the young woman shrugged her shoulders.
"I have no clue as to why that would be Your Highness. I just got here myself. In any case…" Sia trailed off before she spun around to the curtains when they were suddenly parted.
Standing in the doorway was an imposing older woman that suddenly had all but Azula falling silent under her glare.
An older woman in her mid-forties with piercing golden eyes now stared back at them as she swiftly strode in.
She had long wavy hair that was elegantly tied in the customary top-knot.
Her magnificent red robes flowed with her every step while her jaw clenched at the sight of Mai's fearful face.
A black sash was tried around her waistline and she wore similarly colored sleeves that hung before her tightened fists.
The Fire Nation symbol decorated her swaying garments.
And her black boots clicked upon the castle floors as she came to a stop before the long table.
And then she turned to face Azula's callous face as she bent down while she prostrated herself under the princess's scrutinizing gaze.
"Princess Azula, I would say that it is good to see you. But considering the nature of this visit. That would be a lie." Yoko remarked in a kowtow while Azula sat up in her throne.
"Greetings Governor Yoko. I have come to personally mediate and bring swift resolution to the dispute between the Song clan and the Saolin clan." Azula spoke with her palms folded in her lap while Yoko arose from the floor.
The older woman's cold eyes glared back at the shrinking Mai once more while Ty Lee trembled alongside her.
The most astonishing thing of all was the fact that if they had never met Ursa when they were children that they would have thought that Yoko was Azula's mother.
And then the matriarch of Clan Song turned to gaze icily back at her two daughters before her golden eyes narrowed at the two of them.
"Put your hair in a top-knot Zoi." Yoko commanded with her back now turned to the amused princess.
"I don't wear my hair in a top-knot." Zoi retorted in a stubborn voice while the older woman took her position at the table.
The two noblewomen cast her hidden gazes of amusement when her mother glared back at her.
"Put it in a top-knot." Yoko repeated with her rigid gaze staring back at Zoi's scowling face.
"Princess Azula doesn't care if I wear it in a top-knot." Zoi argued with her finger tapping on the tabletop while Azula rolled her eyes at her expense.
"Do it Zoi or I will do it for you." Yoko snapped with intensely hot yellow flames sparking to life behind her.
And both Mai and Ty Lee watched in hidden amusement when Zoi began to tie her hair in a bun for the first time since they've met her.
"This looks stupid. My hair is short. It doesn't tie into a proper top-knot." Zoi grumbled with her little sister pouring herself another tall cup of wine.
"That's right Zoi. Put your hair in a top-knot." Azula taunted in a smug voice with her finger pointing in the prideful woman's direction.
And then the older woman turned to narrow her eyes at her youngest daughter's buzzed face in anger.
Azula turned to gaze at the daughter with likewise disapproval while the girl began to down another cup.
"Put that away Sia! How dare you disrespect Princess Azula by getting yourself lushed in her presence." Yoko barked in a harsh voice while the princess turned to direct her an approving glance.
"You of all people should know that I am not doing it to disrespect Princess Azula. I am doing it to drown you out." Sia answered in a rebellious voice while an unnerved silence spread over the table while Zoi cast her a sympathetic glance.
That was when a pinpoint ball of fire hit the wine bottle and sent it shattering onto the floor.
The liquid spilled on the floor below while Ty Lee shuddered as she fell back in her seat.
"Speak to me like that again and the next one is going to impact with your flesh. My apologies Your Highness." Yoko declared with a glower on her lips while the princess turned to gaze back at her with coldly amused amber golden eyes.
"Yes well. I am used to Zoi's behavior by now." Azula stated in a sophisticated voice with her face leaning into her right fist.
That was when the curtains were brushed aside once more as everyone turned their head to gaze upon the newcomer.
Mai's eyes widened in renewed shame when she found herself gazing upon her father's distraught face.
He looked as if he had just finished a meeting with Azula!
And then Ukano quickly prostrated himself in greeting to the princess.
Before he then turned to gaze at his daughter with disconcerted tawny eyes.
"Mai…please tell me that it isn't true…" Ukano spoke in a torn-up voice while he gazed imploringly at his daughter's ashamed face.
Ty Lee set her palm on her friend's shoulder while Mai audibly swallowed down her nervousness.
And every set of eyes was now upon Mai as she tried to avoid gazing her father in the eye.
"It is true. I tried to kill Zoi because she was going to kill the man that I love." Mai confessed in a quiet voice while she averted her eyes from her father's ashamed gaze.
"You betrayed Princess Azula and tried to murder the firstborn of a fellow clan for your treasonous former prince?" Ukano questioned as he numbly arose while he made his way forward as his daughter gazed down at the table.
He had hoped that there was a misunderstanding.
That it was just Song clan slander!
"Treason…or not…I love Zuko." Mai mumbled in a far-off voice while her fellow noblewoman patted her shoulder.
The princess groaned under her breath while she massaged the bridge of her nose.
All the while glaring back at her friend with aggravated amber golden eyes.
'I explicitly recall telling her to act remorseful!' Azula thought with her palm over her sighing face while Yoko turned to glare a hole through Mai's skull.
"You tried to murder my first born. With a bomb to the back…and more at her feet." Yoko announced in a wrathful voice with flames accentuating her visage while her livid eyes never left Mai's guilty face.
"I…I don't deny it." Mai admitted lamely while even Ty Lee shivered beside her.
And her father's hands fell to his sides while he gazed between Zoi's still angered face and then to her even more furious mother.
"That's all you have to say after you tried to murder my daughter!" Yoko roared with her fist slamming onto the shaking tabletop while the two noblewomen recoiled under her enraged glare.
The princess sighed once more as she leaned into her palm while she eyed her friend in ever rising annoyance.
All of the sudden that beach day with her pet was sounding quite nice in comparison to this.
'I would much rather be laying on a warm beach with Elle spreading oil along my back.' Azula thought with a snort of fire releasing from her nostrils while she glared from one person to another.
"Please Governor Yoko! T-there must be something that I can do to remedy this offense!" Ukano exclaimed as he turned to Yoko's seething face only to find himself paling under her glare.
"She is my firstborn! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't wipe your clan off the face of this planet!" Yoko hissed with her fist tightening in her rage while the two noblewomen and Ukano paled in growing fear.
"In the interest of maintaining the strength of both clans for the continued war effort. I would sentence the Saolin clan to a period of three years as the subordinate clan of the Song clan." Azula announced with her arms on the side of her throne while her callous eyes stared about the room.
A look of rightful dread appeared on the older man's wary face as he turned to cast his ashamed daughter a mortified glance.
And a look of intrigue flashed in Sia's eyes as she turned to gaze at her older sibling's clearly victorious face.
And then they both turned to gaze back at their mother to see that the offer had not abated the matriarch's anger.
That was when the older woman spoke words that stunned all but her daughters.
"I decline your offer Princess Azula." Yoko responded in a still wrathful voice with her hardened eyes gazing back into Azula's narrowing gaze.
That was all it took for Ty Lee to shudder as she gazed between the impending stare down between the two powerful firebenders.
Ukano and Mai were as silent as a rabbit mouse while they waited for Azula to hopefully resolve the matter in a way that would allow them to continue to draw breath.
"You decline?" Azula growled with soaring frustration in her voice only to whip her head around when soldiers stepped into the chamber.
"I am the leader of the mightiest noble clan in all the Fire Nation and I am the governor of the most impregnable city after the Capital. It is near impossible to siege Fire Mountain. The same cannot be said for Ash City. Which will be a fitting namesake. By the time I am through with it." Yoko declared in a cold voice as she stood up with guards flanking her back.
The princess sat with her teeth clenched in her fury as she turned to glare at her childhood friends terrified faces.
"A-Azula. Do something." Ty Lee begged in a trembling voice while her leader continued to cast them stares of disgust.
"Zoi!" Yoko ordered with a wave of her hand while all eyes fell on Zoi as they watched the warrior quickly stand up.
The captain briefly made eye contact with the princess's displeased face before she unsheathed her sword as commanded.
"My apologies Princess. But I can't really disobey Mother. Most especially not for the Saolin clan." Zoi spoke with her blade now pointing back against Ukano's gasping throat.
"As your princess I command all of you to stand down! Governor Yoko! Order your people to stand down!" Azula snapped as she pushed herself to her feet while she glared around the room with terrifying amber golden eyes.
Yet to her growing aggravation and to some degree of respect the matriarch did not shrink under her glare.
It was just like before back on Shantu Island with Zoi.
Even though her authority over the military as princess far superseded that of Yoko as a regional governor.
These soldiers were willing to disobey her out a desire to avenge the assassination attempt on Zoi!
And while she knew that she could always call in the Royal Procession and the Dai Li at any time to put an end to this.
She also knew that it would do her no good.
Not if her goal was to keep Mai alive.
Because she knew that Yoko could easily petition her father for the execution of Mai should their meeting here fall through.
And she knew that her father wouldn't show Mai even the slightest shred of mercy that she was damn lucky to be receiving from her.
And then if Mai was executed…
Then she will have to listen to her little girlfriend cry about it to her for all of her days!
"Why should the strongest clan yield to the treasonous clan? You come here to my city. And you insult me to my face. After all my clan has done for the Crown. After my daughter was nearly killed in your service. And you want me to yield for a traitor?" Yoko retorted with her fists at her hips while she met her princess's domineering stare.
This was not something that she would normally do.
But she could not let such a slight to her clan slide.
"P-Princess Azula I beg of you." Ukano pleaded with Zoi's sword at his throat while the callous young woman eyed him in annoyance.
"Under no circumstances are we to harm the Crown Princess! If Lady Ty Lee stands with the Saolin clan. Kill her too." Yoko commanded with a scowl entrenched on her lips while the soldiers rushed forward to apprehend Mai.
Azula stood gazing around the chamber while she watched soldiers seize Mai from behind.
"Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed only for Azula's cold glare to silence her pleas.
"Shut up Ty Lee! You've got no right to complain." Azula snarled with her arms folded over her breasts while Ty Lee sunk back in defeat.
"As I understand it there was a recent attempt on Her Highness's life. Tell me Zoi. How did Princess Azula handle her murder attempt?" Yoko pondered as she moved forward while the princess glared between her and her daughter.
"She set him on fire and pushed him down a cliff." Zoi answered with her blade digging into the older man's neck while his distraught tawny eyes swept about.
"The man was a nameless nobody. Mai is the heir to the Saolin clan. If you wipe out the Saolin clan it will fracture our strength. It will only serve to weaken us on Sozin's Comet." Azula explained in a voice of absolute authority while her icy gaze never left the older woman's face.
"You are correct Princess. A civil war would weaken us exponentially. If that is the price that must be paid then so be it. I will not allow this slight against my clan to stand." Yoko insisted in an equally rigid voice while she turned to glare at Mai's sweating face.
"You would knowingly cripple the Fire Nation just to make a point?" Azula inquired as she rose an inquisitive brow while she gazed back into the noblewoman's ruthless golden eyes.
There was no doubt that the Song clan was stronger than the Saolin clan.
The Saolin clan has a history of ineffectual leadership.
If she must choose between one or the other…
"I would. The Song clan must be respected. And this disrespect will not stand." Yoko spoke as she stood before Mai's restrained face.
Ty Lee gazed up with terribly worried brown-gray eyes while her friend stared back into the matriarch's cold eyes.
And not a second later the younger woman was sent soaring to the ground with a painful welt on her cheek.
"Do you really think that you can try to kill my daughter and live to brag about it?" Yoko questioned in a wrathful voice with her fist at her hip while Mai held onto her throbbing cheek.
Ty Lee gazed down at her terrified friend as her heart began to pound at the sight of Mai at the older woman's mercy.
But she knew better than to say anything more.
'Azula! Please! Mai saved your brother's life!' Ty Lee thought with her clammy hands grasping at the tabletop.
"What must be done to satisfy you Governor Yoko?" Azula asked in a scarily calm voice while the older woman turned to meet her gaze.
"The Saolin clan must feel what I felt when I heard that she almost took my daughter's life." Yoko remarked with her fists clenched at her womanly hips while she turned to glare back at Ukano's fraught countenance.
"What…what are you suggesting Governor Yoko?" Ukano inquired in turn with sweat dripping down his face.
"You will need my clan Princess Azula. Should a battle for the throne break out your victory will depend largely on my might." Yoko commented as she turned to gaze back into Azula's narrowing amber golden eyes.
'Battle for the throne? Does she know of my father's plans to crown himself Phoenix King?' Azula thought with her eyes flashing in renewed rage while she turned to scowl in the direction of her downed friend.
"Otherwise. I just may begin to question if you are viewing the situation in clarity. Or if your reason is clouded in bias for your treasonous brother and traitorous childhood friend." Yoko stated in an unwavering voice while the princess spun around with noticeable anger in her fiery gaze.
"You dare to threaten me?" Azula asked in a furious voice with fire spewing from her full lips while she glared at the older woman's steely face.
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to kill everyone in this room and leave to spend the day with her handmaid!
Sia still sat in her seat with a cup in hand while she turned to gaze at her older sister.
Zoi pressed her elbow in Ukano's throat while she met her little sister's gaze.
The meaning of the look was quite clear.
Sia was curious to see what would become of this dispute.
"No. I am warning you. I am going to decide a proper punishment for the Saolin clan. And hope that you will lend me your blessings." Yoko spoke in a sophisticated voice as she met Azula's frozen gaze.
But at long last Azula relented as she turned to glare back at Mai's bruised face.
The princess placed her fists on her hips before she terrified her friends when she waved a consenting hand in the air.
"Ugh! Whatever. Take the Saolin clan into custody!" Azula barked in a tyrannical voice while she ignored Ty Lee's pleading brown-gray eyes.
Mai was soon pulled to her feet by the soldiers while she hung in their grip as they began to escort her past the worried Ty Lee.
"If you must take a life Governor Yoko, I ask you to take mine." Ukano offered in a distraught voice while Mai turned to gaze at him in horror.
"N-no! Father!" Mai protested in a shocked voice while she was led ahead alongside her father.
"Zoi! Where is Chancellor Terak?" Yoko inquired as she turned to gaze at her oldest daughter's composed face.
"Skulking around the castle I presume." Zoi responded from where she stood behind Ukano while Azula also gazed around in search of the absent man.
"Bring him to me. He is just as much to blame for this mess as Clan Saolin." Yoko demanded with unexplained fury in her voice while Azula tilted her head in puzzlement.
The statement came across as a surprising one to both members of the Saolin clan and their allies.
"Really? How so?" Azula questioned with mild intrigue in her voice while she scanned her fingernails in an impassive manner.
"My sources confirm that witnesses confirm that the rebels slipped through the very area that Chancellor Terak was tasked with overseeing. If he had caught them in the first place then the ambush would have never occurred to begin with and Clan Saolin would have not had the momentum to make such a cowardly attempt on Zoi's life." Yoko explained in a rigid voice that was shared by the now glowering princess.
"You mean to tell me that I spent nine days on that wretched island because they slipped through under his watch?" Azula snapped with her jaw clenched in returning rage while she tightly gripped her fists.
No wonder the bastard had been so adamant about rushing to her aid!
He was trying to make up for his blunder!
"So, you mean the ambush was all the chancellor's fault?" Sia asked in a wryly amused voice while Zoi held onto her prisoner's shirt.
"Why does that not surprise me." Zoi snorted with a roll of her eyes only to turn towards the curtains when she saw a figure approaching behind the soldiers.
Everyone turned their heads to see a familiar man rushing in past the soldiers.
The princess's amber golden eyes narrowed at the sight of Terak's panting face he rushed in with his hands clasped in his robed sleeves.
Terak then rapidly dropped down as he prostrated himself in greeting to the glaring princess.
And then he pulled himself back up while he hurriedly resumed making his way forward.
"Greetings Chancellor Terak. As you can see. We are in the middle of dealing with the Saolin clan's attempt on my daughter's life. I have received word that you let the Dragon of the West slip through your fingers…in turn endangering both Princess Azula and my daughter." Yoko remarked as she turned to gaze at the approaching Terak.
As Azula glared callously back at the chancellor as he hurried into the meeting chamber.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense? Before I have you killed?" Yoko pondered in a frightening voice that sent a shiver down Ty Lee's spine.
The chancellor stepped forward with a finger under his chin before he turned to gaze into Mai's fearful eyes and then into Ukano's panicking tawny eyes.
Before he turned to meet both the governor and the princess's cold gaze.
"You speak wisely Governor Yoko. The ambush is completely my fault." Terak replied with a guilty shake of his head while his surprised audience all gazed at him as he made his way into the room.
Suffice to say everyone was taken aback by the man's readiness to admit blame.
The only two who weren't were Azula and Yoko.
Yoko furrowed her brows as she eyed the approaching man with a thoughtful golden gaze.
While Azula turned to eye the man with her red lips falling into a thin line.
Her thoughts immediately hearkened back to her previous talk with the politician.
This man was no simple matter.
"You admit that you've failed me Chancellor?" Azula asked in a regal voice with her harsh voice cutting through the air like a whip.
"If this is true then you will be punished alongside the Saolin clan." Yoko stated as she tilted around to glare at the advancing Terak.
"I do Princess! I merit only the harshest of punishment!" Terak exclaimed as he nodded speedily while Mai gazed at him as if he had just grown a second head.
Many began to nod in agreement while the two commanding women observed his approach with suspicion in their eyes.
"Then that is what you shall receive." Azula snorted as she tapped her boot on the flooring while Terak gazed from one face after another.
"Yes, punish us! Flog us! Flay us! Crucify us! For we deserve nothing less! Is that not right Governor Ukano! Oh, the shame!" Terak cried out with a hand over his face while the two members of the Saolin clan stared at him in abject horror.
Ty Lee nearly fell out of her seat when she caught sight of the sadistic smile that was appearing on Azula's lips.
Left and right the soldiers began to murmur as they all gazed at the robed chancellor as he made his was forward.
"W-what are you doing Chancellor Terak? You should be dissuading them not encouraging them!" Ukano protested in fright while he shuddered alongside his daughter.
"We no longer deserve basic humanity decency! Tear us apart by the bone Governor Yoko! Use us for target practice Princess! For we have forfeited our right to live!" Terak told his stunned audience while he gazed around with a small smile on his lips.
The entire chamber now stood in a speechless shock while they gazed at the chancellor's eager face in fright.
"P-please don't listen to him Azula! He's clearly insane!" Ty Lee shouted as she stood up with the help of her crutch while she still gazed at her friend's amused face.
Yoko turned to share a knowing glance with Zoi before she gazed back at Terak's approaching face.
"Y-yes please don't." Ukano pleaded in a terrified voice while he gazed imploringly into his princess's callous amber golden eyes.
"If only I had known that General Iroh's spies had this great of a reach." Terak lamented with a heavy sigh as he hung his head while the crowd continued to gaze at him in confusion.
"Explain yourself Terak." Yoko stated as she gazed at the chancellor with curious golden eyes while her princess did the same.
"I hesitated to bring this to the princess's attention earlier because I feared that it would upset her too terribly." Terak commented as he rushed forward to the princess's side while she now gazed at him in noticeable entertainment.
"How kind of you to worry about my wellbeing." Azula stated dryly as she studied her well-manicured fingernails while she cast the man an intelligent stare.
"I have reason to believe that one of the prominent noble clans has betrayed our divine princess in a plot orchestrated by the Dragon of the West to coronate her treacherous brother!" Terak announced with a theatrical wave of his hand while Azula's amusement began to transform into a callous death stare.
"A treasonous noble clan…" Ukano muttered in bewilderment while Mai began to grit her teeth alongside him.
"A noble clan has betrayed me you say?" Azula questioned in a dangerous voice with her cold eyes gazing at her scheming adviser's face.
It was possible that he was just lying to save his own skin.
But at the same time…
Her uncle's ambush on her royal airship.
The assassination attempt.
The mysterious puppeteer and the rebel force.
All pointed to the possibility.
"Her Highness was placed on our most isolated island and then they tried to starve her out! They even tried to put a sword in her back! This clan has even stooped so low as to leave behind a band of savages to pick her off while she searched for food for her hungry people! This clan premeditated and coordinated this attack with the Dragon of the West! For shame!" Terak explained as he spun about the room while his increasingly astonished audience remained focused on him.
All around the room the soldiers continued to mutter in disbelief.
While their highborn leaders gazed from one another with paranoid looks in their eyes.
But none more so than Princess Azula herself.
Her teeth ground together over the mere reminder of everything that she has endured in those nine days.
Which was to say nothing of the stabbing of her treasured handmaid!
"No Azula. No." Mai spoke with rising terror in her voice while she shivered under Azula's vengeful glare.
"And last but most certainly not least…this clan sought to remove our famous hero Captain Zoi from the playing field by first disabling her airship and finishing it with an assassination attempt to the back!" Terak shouted as he turned to meet Zoi's narrowing gaze.
"Explosives in the fucking back." Zoi stated with her bandaged fist clenched in her fury as she turned around to glare at her attacker's sweating face.
Ty Lee's mouth dropped open in her horror as she watched everyone but her turn to gaze at Mai and her father with accusatory eyes.
"A-Azula Mai wouldn't." Ty Lee stuttered as she moved forward to tug on Azula's arm only for her hand to be coldly slapped away.
A flicker of hurt flashed in her eyes as she recoiled under her friend's piercing stare.
"I have heard enough of your soft-spoken weakness Ty Lee! And I am just as through with being questioned and disobeyed!" Azula bellowed as she loomed over her now frightened friend while Ty Lee shakily nodded.
"W-whatever you say Azula." Ty Lee mumbled as she turned away while her princess turned to glare at the horrified patriarch of the Saolin clan.
And Yoko turned towards the scene with a spark of satisfaction flashing in her merciless eyes.
'It doesn't matter if it is true or not. This is my chance to punish the Saolin clan accordingly.' Yoko thought as she walked forward with her fists at her hips.
"N-no Princess! It isn't true!" Ukano cried out as he thrashed in the arms of his captors while Azula exhaled flames through her furious nostrils.
"But it is true Governor Ukano. You forestalled my hunt for the spies and it is you who assisted the Dragon of the West in traveling through undetected. And it was thanks to you that General Iroh managed to ambush both airships leaving Princess Azula's forces stranded on Shantu Island." Terak accused as he stepped forward with a small smile on his lips.
Ty Lee stared between Azula and Terak with soaring dread in her eyes before she turned around to seethe at the man's back.
What a deceitful bastard!
He's just as manipulative as Azula!
"Deceiver! You lie!" Ukano yelled out with a brief burst of anger while his daughter thrashed in the grip of the soldiers.
"Release my father! Do what you want with me but let my father go!" Mai shouted while she glared hatefully at the chancellor through the corner of her eye.
"Do I? Then where is Prince Zuko!" Terak answered as he rubbed his folded sleeves together while Ukano recoiled with hopeless terror in his eyes.
The gravity of the accusations was now beginning to sink in to all in the chamber.
And Ty Lee couldn't help but drop her crutch in her growing fright as she began to realize just how guilty Ukano looked right now.
Mai's actions were nothing more than that of a woman acting in defense of her injured lover.
And yet this man was effortlessly twisting it to seem like a grand plot against Azula!
"I…don't know." Ukano admitted in a quiet voice while Azula still cast him a callous amber golden glare.
"How convenient. Considering that your daughter helped the traitor prince escape while striking down our noble captain." Terak spoke with his palms clasped together while his crafty smile continued to grow.
Sia exchanged a glance with her older sister before she turned back to the chancellor in question.
He truly was a silver-tongued devil.
"It wasn't a damned attempt to coronate Zuko! She was trying to kill the man that I love! So, I tried to kill her in turn! It was that simple Azula!" Mai hollered with humiliated anger in her eyes while all eyes in the room continued to stare upon them in accusation.
The princess could only snort through her nostrils as she glared at her captive friend.
And then she gazed around to see that the second admission of guilt only served as fuel for the governor's fury.
'Mai you are such a fool. You know nothing of tact.' Azula thought with a shake of her head before she turned around to Terak once more.
She knew well enough that the Saolin clan was not in league with her uncle.
Ukano was far too dense for such a manipulation.
However, the chancellor has presented her a well needed example.
The chance of there being a treasonous noble clan was quite high.
If there was one…it was one that was not present!
But this would serve well as a reminder that her will was absolute and that she was not to be defied!
"You tried to kill my daughter while she was in the princess's service! Fighting for our country!" Yoko growled as she moved forward like a bloodthirsty dragon while the two nobles paled in terror under her stare.
"P-please Governor Yoko." Ukano begged once more with his words dying in his throat.
"Did your daughter not try to murder my own blood?" Yoko asked with maternal ire in her voice while Ukano slumped in shame.
And Mai's hair began to stick to her sweating face while she averted her eyes from her father's ashamed gaze.
Ty Lee trembled in panic while she gazed on at the two with her eyes wide in horror.
"It…is true." Ukano mumbled as he fell back in Zoi's arms.
And then Terak spun around to meet Azula's icy gaze while she gazed at him in slight amusement.
"My divine princess I have worked tirelessly to uncover the chain of spies. I have already found one…indisputable spy who has eavesdropped on you on more than one occasion. Sooner or later that chain will lead right back to the source." Terak declared with menace in his step while Azula listened with grudging approval in her eyes.
"One spy for certain…and yet you openly admit that you have failed to foresee the attack on my airship?" Azula queried in a regal voice with her calculating eyes focusing on the man's narrow face.
"Yes, my princess. I have let you down by failing to find your uncle's ally. And yet unlike Governor Ukano…I bring you results." Terak responded with a hand over his chest while the princess gazed down at him in a contemplative silence.
Before the beautiful woman turned to glare at her horrified lifelong friend and her equally panicked father.
"Your daughter is your responsibility Ukano. As the heir of the Saolin clan Mai's actions fall upon you. She has cast her lot in with my traitor brother and by default…so have you." Azula remarked in a merciless voice with Ty Lee stumbling behind her in horror.
"N-no Azula." Ty Lee stammered weakly while she watched Azula walk forward.
"I…understand." Ukano agreed in a defeated voice while his daughter slumped alongside him.
"N-not my father Azula!" Mai shouted in an unusually saddened voice while Azula cast her a pitiless stare.
"The Saolin clan must be punished for the attempt on my daughter's life!" Yoko snarled as she stepped past her silent daughter's while she glared at the two intimidated nobles.
"Once more you speak wisely Governor Yoko. The Saolin clan must feel the pain that you felt, yes?" Terak pondered as he moved forward while the others turned to him once more.
"They must. I will wipe every single one of them off the face of this Earth." Yoko answered in a voice even colder than the princess's while Ty Lee trembled in horror.
"A-Azula you can't allow the familicide of Mai's clan!" Ty Lee exclaimed with returning bravery while the princess scowled as she gazed on at the scene.
And as much as Azula hated to admit it she couldn't deny that Ty Lee made a valid point.
"Lady Ty Lee also speaks wisely. Familicide is such a barbaric thing to stoop to. Perhaps…something else?" Terak purred as he glided forward while the acrobat and the princess gazed at him in surprise.
"Subordination will not abate me. That is an insult to the honor of my clan." Yoko declared with her white fists clenching at her shapely hips.
And once more Azula scowled as she resumed tapping her pointed boot on the floor.
Every time this infernal meeting seemed as if it was about to end it only continued on and on.
"A scarring of the face? Would that suffice Mother?" Zoi suggested with a hand at her side while her mother frowned thoughtfully.
And Ty Lee slumped as she looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
"No. It would not. I require something…less lenient." Yoko muttered as she still glared at the two terrified nobles.
The fact that Yoko openly referred the scarring of half of the face as less lenient only served to shock Ty Lee into an even further state of fear.
"I concur. Subordination is much like a slap on the wrist. Yet at the same time…the Saolin clan is still Fire Nation. Should we not show them that Clan Song does not lower itself to the level of a traitor?" Terak quipped with a finger under his chin while all eyes turned to him.
"What did you have in mind Terak?" Yoko queried as she turned to face the crafty chancellor's face.
"Y-you promised Azula." Ty Lee reminded with a tear dripping down her cheek while Azula turned to scowl over her shoulder.
"Perchance the Saolin clan would receive the most education from…" Terak trailed off as he turned to gaze upon the two captive's terrified faces.
And then he gazed between the ruthless princess and the vengeful Yoko before he spoke two word with a smirk on his lips.
"Five minutes with the crocodile-shark." Terak announced with his head tipping back while his golden eyes glimmered in delight over the unanimous shock that swept throughout the room.
"The…crocodile-shark?" Sia breathed as she spat out her drink with a noticeably pale countenance.
And just like that Azula gazed around with an inquisitive brow while she watched one soldier mutter in fright after another.
"W-what…is the crocodile-shark?" Ty Lee repeated with her eyes agape in dread while her lifelong friend still trembled in fear.
"I thought they went extinct." Azula commented in a still unsympathetic voice while she turned to the governor's suddenly pleased face.
"No. I have one in my sea cave down below." Yoko answered as she turned away with a growing smirk on her lips.
"Wouldn't it be more merciful if I were to simply scar one of them?" Zoi suggested in a slightly concerned voice while Ty Lee shook on her knees.
The fact that Zoi thought the punishment was too much spoke volumes over how extreme it must be!
Even Azula was staring at Zoi with surprise in her eyes to see her speak up for Mai.
"We must deter from future treason yes? Why not a punishment so harrowing…so terrifying that Clan Saolin will never even consider betraying Princess Azula again? No familicide. No scars. Just five minutes down below." Terak advised with a hand waving in the air at the noblewoman's increasingly terrified face.
"P-Princess Azula! I beseech you to show mercy on my daughter." Ukano exclaimed as he knelt on the ground while his daughter listened in rising horror.
For the briefest of moments Azula hesitated to response.
'I can't just let some beast tear Mai or her father apart. Elle will never forgive me. Yet I have to please the Song clan!' Azula thought with a rare spark of frustration in her beautiful amber golden eyes.
"I assure you Princess…it will purge all thoughts of Zuko from their minds. And in turn replace it with but one singular thought that Princess Azula is absolute." Terak spoke in an urgent voice as he turned to Azula who now gazed back at him with a flicker of interest in her controlling eyes.
"A-Azula." Ty Lee blurted out once more while Yoko waved a hand in approval.
"That is a marvelous suggestion Terak. You truly are a friend of Clan Song." Yoko announced in an approving voice with a smile forming upon her lips.
And for once the princess still stood with her mouth ajar in uncertainty while the chancellor nodded eagerly as he stepped forward.
"Yes. I am a loyal friend of the Song clan." Terak agreed as he paid Ty Lee's enraged stare no mind.
"Prepare the both of them…get the cage ready. Otherwise, I will use my influence to gather as many soldiers to my side as I can to siege Ash City at dawn." Yoko ordered with her arms folded over her breasts.
"Will they survive?" Azula inquired in a guarded voice while Ty Lee fell back onto her posterior in horror.
"Worry not. They will endure. Of course, if you have any compunctions with it, I could always contact Fire Lord Ozai." Yoko replied in a smooth voice as she turned to the princess's angered face.
All the while Mai and Ukano were now being dragged off while Azula stared after them with uncharacteristic conflict in her amber golden eyes.
"P-please spare my daughter!" Ukano called out in a distraught voice as he was drug down the hall.
"Do you see that Governor Yoko? It was I that set up your meeting with Governor Ukano. It was I that brought your vengeance to you. It was I that presented Princess Azula a solution that will not weaken the war effort." Terak remarked with a smile while Ty Lee bared her teeth at his open back.
And for once Azula was taken aback by the rage in Ty Lee's eyes.
"You bastard. I won't forget this. I will remember this very moment." Ty Lee hissed with her fist clenching in her fury.
"Well done, Chancellor. Zoi! Return the chancellor's crest. He is an honorary member of the Song clan once more." Yoko commanded with her hair swaying behind her while Azula now cast Terak a highly irate stare.
Ty Lee sunk to her knees with fists grasping at the ground in her anger.
That's what all that was about?
A stupid crest!
"Understood." Zoi agreed as she opened a cabinet in the meeting chamber before she turned around to approach the pleased man.
And just like that the crest was placed in Terak's waiting palm while he gazed down at it with delighted golden eyes.
Never even paying the princess's cold stare any mind.
"Remember it all you like. I don't need you and your family. I have the Song clan. The Wan clan is small and weak. Your family is nothing more than a bunch of frilly identical girls. While the Song clan is large and mighty. The Song clan is stronger than the Saolin clan! And your father Odok is weak while Governor Yoko is strong." Terak boasted as he stabbed the crest into his robes while he turned around to smirk at the unusually enraged Ty Lee.
The princess just stared in annoyance at the back of the chancellor's head.
"That's rich. Coming from someone with no combat skills at all." Ty Lee replied with her jaw clenched in her anger while Terak audibly scoffed.
"Bah! I have something greater than your combat skills. I have…a brain." Terak responded with a huff while Ty Lee gazed at his back in boiling anger.
Only for Yoko's terrifying voice to cut through the air.
"Chancellor Terak is right. Now shut your mouth. You have no voice here Lady Ty Lee. And I suggest you remember that Lady Mai was the one that started it by attacking my daughter's back!" Yoko snapped as she rounded around on the once more terrified Ty Lee.
"Y-yes Governor Yoko." Ty Lee muttered while she sunk back in defeat as the chancellor quirked a smirk at her expense.
"I suggest you watch how you speak to my subordinates if you wish to maintain working relations with me Governor Yoko. And you had best be sure that they survive this beast with all of their limbs attached." Azula ordered as she gazed over her shoulder at Yoko's still wrathful face.
"I will. And in turn I suggest you remember who the strongest clan is Your Highness." Yoko informed to the princess's anger before she strode down out of the meeting room.
The chancellor soon followed after her with the remainder of the soldiers.
Leaving only the two sisters, Azula and the distraught Ty Lee.
The first to break the silence was the youngest sister who was finally pushing herself out of her seat.
"Well. That was an interesting break from university. It served as a suitable reminder why I avoid coming here in the first place." Sia commented dryly with the enraged Ty Lee glaring at the back of her head.
And the princess just rolled her regal eyes when her subordinate resumed her efforts to kiss the girl's ass.
"So, does that mean that you don't want to go out for drinks tonight?" Zoi questioned in a voice of expecting disappointment.
"You couldn't send one letter?" Sia questioned in turn with hurt in her voice while Zoi flinched in renewed remorse.
"Sia." Zoi mumbled as she turned to gaze away while Sia bowed to Azula in parting before she headed straight for the curtains.
Only to vanish through the curtains soon after.
And then a few moments later Zoi followed after her sister while she soon also exited through the swaying curtains.
Leaving only the unusually conflicted princess and her distressed childhood friend.
"A-Azula? Aren't you going to make sure that they are going to be okay?" Ty Lee questioned in a quiet voice only to cower when a furious fist seized her by the collar of her shirt.
"How dare you! You have some nerve! You hope and long for my defeat and then you whine incessantly when Mai is punished for her betrayal! What did you expect to happen when you watched her put a bomb on Zoi's back!" Azula roared in Ty Lee's intimidated face while the noblewoman hung in her grip.
"I-I don't hope for your defeat Azula. I just hope that you'll learn to be…kinder." Ty Lee stuttered while the princess glared deep into frightened eyes.
"If you don't want to be by my side then just go back to your precious circus! I have Elle! Unlike you my servant is loyal to her mistress!" Azula bellowed with great anger in her eyes while guilt now flashed in Ty Lee's brown-gray eyes.
"T-that wasn't what I was trying to say Azula." Ty Lee murmured only to be shoved away while Azula just scowled at her.
"Save it. At least I know I can trust the tiger monkey." Azula grumbled before she turned away and began stomping out of the room.
Ty Lee swallowed in remorse while she watched her friend stride out of the room through the curtains.
Only to shakily force herself to stand not a moment later.
And then she grasped her crutch while she followed after her angry friend.
Elsewhere in the castle.
"What are you doing Elle?" Nako asked in a hushed voice while Elle stood peeking around the corner of a corridor.
"I am going to make sure that Mai is okay. I could have sworn that I heard screams." Elle answered as she chewed on her lip while Nako gazed at her in disbelief.
"A-are you insane? Princess Azula said for you to stay here." Nako protested with a refusing shake of her head while the smaller girl bit her lip.
"No. Azula-sama said to stay on castle grounds." Elle replied with a trace of innocent rebellion in her voice before she hurried down the hall.
All the while the panicking pilot rushed after her.
"S-she left us here because she didn't want us in there." Nako insisted in a panicked voice as she grasped the petite girl by the shoulder.
"Mistress Azula isn't going to hurt me for taking a peek." Elle retorted with a naïve shake of her head while Nako nearly fell over in frustration.
"Don't you understand Elle? We're commoners." Nako stated flatly while she crouched by the smiling teenager.
"Yep. We're commoners." Elle agreed as she adorably bit her lip while the older girl groaned in frustration.
"When royalty and nobility give commoners and peasants like us an order we obey! Because they are our rulers! We don't snoop on our rulers!" Nako exclaimed in an increasingly fearful voice while Elle's smile briefly gave way to a contemplative frown.
"I…don't agree with that. Such distinctions have no meaning. We're all the same underneath." Elle retorted with her hands grasping the straps of her backpack while Nako stared at her with frustrated brown eyes.
"It has meaning because they say it has meaning." Nako argued only for her hand to slip off the smaller girl's shoulder when she rounded the corner.
"Even so. I am going to go check down those stairs. You don't have to come. I'll go by myself and I'll even vouch for you if Azula-sama asks where you are." Elle explained over her shoulder as she hurried down a long hallway while the poor pilot stared after her in mortification.
"S-she told me to watch over you. That you were to remain under my supervision. G-get back here Elle." Nako called out in a distressed voice while she pulled on her hair in a panic.
Only for the younger girl to ignore her cries as she watched Elle vanish down the hallway.
Nako could only grasp at her head while she released another distraught cry before she ran after the naïve handmaid.
All the while hoping that Princess Azula was as fond of this girl as she thought she was.
Otherwise, everything that she has gained by winning the favor of her princess will be turn into ashes.
And then Princess Azula will revoke her offer to help her village!
That thought alone was enough to prompt her to bound down the halls after the younger girl.
While making certain that she ducked out of sight every time a castle servant or soldier walked by.
In a deep cellar room of the immense castle protected by a see-through barrier Ty Lee sat against a wall with unhidden fright in her eyes.
Azula stood with her arms folded over her breasts while she stared down with observant eyes as a cage was lowered into a wet cave below.
In the center of the dank cave was an ominous pool of water.
In the corner of the cavern behind an opening in rock a cage rattled while Mai sat with her heart racing beside her mutually terrified father.
The fact that Yoko had such a fondness for such a gruesome punishment method was all the more reason and more to be more afraid of her over Azula!
"I want them alive Governor Yoko. Is that understood?" Azula questioned in a callous voice while the older woman curtly nodded her head.
"Calm yourself Your Highness. This isn't about death. It's about making a statement." Yoko assured with a hand under her chin before she turned away from the princess's icy stare to wave the soldiers to continue.
Terak watched with fascination in his eyes as a bucket of fish was dropped into an open door in the floor below.
They all observed the fish drop into the large cavern while flames lit the walls of the wet underground tunnel.
"Ten years ago, I caught it after I investigated reports of a large sea creature attacking merchant ships. I have kept it underneath Fire Mountain ever since…and I have fed multiple prisoners of war to it." Yoko remarked in an eerie voice while Azula quirked a grudgingly curious brow.
And Ty Lee found herself unable to resist staring down in trepidation.
Yet even so.
The princess still frowned as she gazed at the back of the noblewoman's head.
'If I allow this creature to terrorize Mai and her father it could easily cost me their loyalty!' Azula thought as she exhaled fire through her nostrils.
Only for her amber golden eyes to watch closely when she caught hint of movement in the pool of water below.
Inside the cage Mai hung her head as she sat opposite of her silent father while they both watched the water ripple in fright.
"I…am sorry…Father." Mai spoke with her head hanging low while she felt her father set his hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright…a-at least we're together." Ukano responded with a gulp as he turned his head alongside his daughter to watch in terror as snout emerged from the water.
Within seconds the two members of the Saolin clan stared on in terror when a truly large reptilian mouth arose from the water.
Up above even Azula stared down with widening amber golden eyes as she turned to Yoko with a rare incredulous look in her eyes.
"A-Azula." Ty Lee sputtered with horror in her eyes while she trembled in terror in her seat.
And she wasn't even down there with that beast!
"This is…overboard. Take them out." Azula commanded only for the noblewoman to cast her a defiant glare over her shoulder.
"She threw my first born down a minefield! And now I demand retribution! If not, I will set sail for Ash City tonight with every soldier that will heed my call to war! I will burn it to the ground and wipe out every member of the Saolin clan from the face of this planet! Including the child! I will kill them all!" Yoko shouted in a voice that was just as monstrous as the creature below.
Azula just clenched her jaw together while she watched the crocodile-shark splash out of the deep pool of water.
And Ty Lee shook in fear at her feet as they gazed down at the immense creature as it slid across the cavern floor while both members of the Saolin clan cowered in fear behind the cave opening.
"I-it's huge." Mai breathed as she backed up in the cage with her heart racing in terror at the sight of the gigantic creature as it struggled to hold itself up by its pectoral fins.
Her father never said a word in response.
Not that she could blame him.
The massive creature pushed itself on its belly while it devoured the fish that the soldiers left for it in mere seconds.
Its 'grinning' gazed around only for his yellow eyes to catch sight of more prey.
"Four more minutes. If they are alive in four more minutes, I will let them out and let the insult slide." Yoko announced as she gazed at a clock on the cellar wall.
"T-this is insane." Ty Lee mumbled in a barely perceivable voice just as Ukano's panicked cries rang into the air.
"I-it sees us." Ukano whimpered alongside his frightened daughter as the creature lumbered forward.
The princess still stood rigid as she glared down through the barrier with beyond aggravated amber golden eyes.
Only for shouts from behind her to cause her to turn her head.
"Governor Yoko! We found intruders!" A soldier yelled out while the older woman turned to gaze back at them with cold golden eyes.
Ty Lee and Azula turned their heads only to nearly fall over when they saw a soldier holding onto Elle by the scruff of her shirt.
And not a second later Nako gulped when she too found herself under both Azula's and Yoko's domineering stares.
"What are you two doing here!" Azula barked with terrifying anger in her amber golden eyes as she rounded on the two commoners trembling faces.
"Are these two with you! They clearly need to be taught some manners!" Yoko snapped as she advanced forward only for her lips to snarl when her princess slapped her away.
"These two commoners belong to me. They are not for you to touch. I will handle their punishment." The princess commented in a voice of absolute authority while she glared down at the two fearful girls.
And despite Ty Lee's terror over the entire situation.
She couldn't help but feel slightly relieved to see her friend openly protect not only Elle but Nako as well.
"I-it wasn't my idea P-Princess. It was h-hers. You told me to stay with her so I stayed." Nako stuttered as she scooted back against the wall while Azula rose an inquisitive brow.
Only to find herself breathing a sigh of relief when Azula turned her disciplinary eyes to Elle's nervously smiling face.
"Naughty, naughty. Such a sneaky girl." Terak scolded with a shake of his head only to find himself shivering when Azula's tyrannical eyes burned through his skull.
And if it were any other time Ty Lee would have snickered at the man's expense for how quickly he was put in his place as soon as he glanced Elle's way.
"I told you to stay put Elle." Azula snorted with a puff of fire escaping from her nostrils while Yoko gazed at her in bafflement.
"N-no Azula-sama. You told me to stay on the castle grounds. And to stay with Nako. You didn't say that I couldn't come check on Mai." Elle murmured in a timid voice as she shifted under Azula's incredulous stare while the much taller woman loomed over her with her fists on her womanly hips.
"Servant…" Azula growled as she tapped her boot on the floor while she glared down at the two girls much like a pet owner would if her puppies disobeyed her.
"S-sumimasen Mistress." Elle stammered alongside the sighing pilot while the princess still fixed her with a stern stare.
The governor and the chancellor stared at the scene with puzzled eyes to see the ruthless Azula behaving almost fond to this little blonde peasant girl.
"Get these two out of here or I will punish them myself." Yoko announced in a stricter voice while she glared at Elle's trembling form with cold golden eyes.
"Well! What are you two waiting for! Go! I will appropriate your punishments afterward!" Azula shouted in a domineering voice while Nako stood up with Elle under her arm.
"Y-yes Princess!" Nako agreed with a swift bow while she tried to pull the younger girl away.
Only for Elle to remain planted to her spot with her widening amber eyes gazing down below.
"W-what's going on down there Azula-sama?" Elle questioned with worry in her eyes while Azula began dragging her out by the collar of her shirt.
"I said go Elle!" Azula yelled out only for her eyes to narrow when Mai's shout rang out into the air.
Damn it all!
This was precisely what she has been trying to avoid all of this time!
"O-oneesan! She's down there! W-why is she screaming!" Elle cried out after squirming her way free of her mistress's furious grip.
And then she scurried forward as she ignored the shouts of both her mistress and big sister.
"Elle! No!" Ty Lee called out as she watched in unbridled rage when Elle dropped through the trap door without hesitation.
"Is that girl suicidal?" Terak asked with tremendous confusion in his voice while Elle shakily slid down the rope below.
"Bring that cage up right now." Azula demanded in a far more furious voice than before while Yoko scowled back at her.
"Three more minutes." Yoko answered in a steely voice while the princess's eyes narrowed into slits.
And Ty Lee couldn't help but stare at Yoko as she waited for the moment when her friend would begin brutalizing her.
The crocodile-shark tried to push its snout into the small opening where the cage sat.
While Mai and her father sat as far back as it could go with their eyes agape in pure terror.
Only to find themselves jumping in startlement when they heard the water splash behind them.
The two were completely taken by surprise to find themselves gazing at the young girl's worried face.
And Mai sunk back into the cage wall with her worried tawny eyes softening at the sight of the soaked teenager gazing back at her.
"E-Elle! Get out of here!" Mai ordered while she watched Elle begin futilely fighting with the cage door.
"Y-you know this girl?" Ukano asked in bewilderment while Elle hurriedly shoved a small pick into the lock.
"N-no way! I won't leave you behind oneesan!" Elle exclaimed with her trembling hand fumbling at the lock while the snout slammed into the crevice once more.
"Oneesan?" Ukano queried with his terrified eyes gazing between the young girl and the sea beast.
"It…means big sister." Mai muttered with gratitude in her voice while her father stared at the girl in shock.
'How many times now? How many times has Elle saved my life?' Mai thought with bottomless appreciation in her eyes.
"You…adopted her?" Ukano whispered in a taken aback voice while he observed his daughter nod without hesitation.
"I did." Mai replied with a small smile that soon vanished as soon as she watched the creature's maw slide through the crack.
All the while Ty Lee's voice rang out from above while Elle hurriedly struggled with the lock.
"E-Elle!" Ty Lee shouted in a fraught voice while Elle knelt in the puddle of water.
And the head of the Saolin clan could only stare at the girl in disbelief that she was willing to thoughtlessly risk her life for his daughter.
"Get out of here kid! Just do as I say!" Mai commanded in a stern voice only for her eyes to widen in horror when the long mouth slid into the opening.
"A-and I said no! Eek!" Elle yelped in startlement as she turned over her shoulder only for her eyes to widen in terror when she found herself gazing into large yellow eyes.
Within seconds the pick dropped from her hand while Mai and her father shouted in alarm when the crocodile-sharks jaws nearly swallowed the girl whole.
Elle released a cry of fright as she fell back with her backpack slamming into the cave wall.
"Elle!" Mai bellowed in a horrified voice while she frantically grasped a hold of the lock pick.
And then she slid her hands through the bars while she began fighting with the lock.
All the while watching Elle back up in the water with a hand over her chest just as the jaws slammed down over her once more.
Elle recoiled with her eyes wide in fright only to release a pained cry another moment later as she held her hand to her bandaged chest.
Large yellow eyes gazed back at her paling face before the creature lunged forward once more.
While both Mai and Ukano shouts for her safety rang into the air.
And then…
Snap!
And soon after that a radiant flash of white light blinded everyone above and below.
AN:
Alright, so we finally met both Yoko and Sia with Yoko being the more malicious of the two. And part of Chancellor Terak's ploy has been unveiled.
In case anyone is wondering what the deal is with Sia. The problem is that Zoi has a tendency to vanish from Sia's life for long periods of time.
Zoi is a famous warrior, this means that she spends the bulk of her time away at war. As we saw Zoi is very skilled at getting the approval of the public. When it comes to maintaining relationships with an army, she is adept at it.
But Zoi is lacking when it comes to her personal relationships outside of her military life. The issue stems from the fact that is more often than not just not there.
Zoi loves Sia and she would kill anyone to protect her. And yes, Zoi was there for Sia in the past when she was sick. But there were many other times when she just wasn't there. She gets so caught up in the glory of the battlefield that her relationships outside of the military are heavily strained.
In Sia's case Zoi didn't send a letter for eight months. Zoi, is poor at things like that. She most likely let a few months slip without giving it much thought. Before she realized how long it had been. By that point she knows that she messed up.
And so, she puts the issue aside because she is afraid to confront Sia's anger.
All and all, Zoi means well. She's just not as smooth with people as she could be.
Sia will appear a few more times in this arc. And then we will get to see her again in much greater detail in the coming war arcs.
She has little to no interest in the disputes between clans. And much of Sia's bitter behavior also stems from her dislike of their mother and dislike of the war. Sia is a nonbender and Yoko looks down on her because of it.
To Yoko, Zoi is the perfect daughter, and Sia feels overshadowed because of it.
Despite all of this resentment towards their mother Sia loves Zoi dearly. She just wishes that her sister would be there more for her. And less for the war effort.
Now as for Yoko. Yoko is easily the most powerful person in terms of influence among the high nobles. If Yoko is angry, the entire country feels it.
And while I know that Mai has a house directly across from the Royal Palace.
In my story Clan Song is the most physically powerful and independent of the clans. And Clan Saolin, Mai's clan. Is the closest to the Royal Family. Right along with Clan Wan, which is Ty Lee's clan.
Both of their clans are strong, with Mai's being somewhat stronger. But Clan Song is stronger because of their independent minded nature. Also, Yoko is a stronger leader than Ukano. To me Ukano always came across as a weak leader.
In my story, Ukano is a regional governor for a part of the Fire Nation under Ozai's appointment. And Yoko as we know rules Fire Mountain. The palace in the Capital is just their home that they reside in when they are there on royal business. And it is where Mai lived with Zuko for the bulk of the six years since the time change.
Fire Mountain is basically a series of mountains that surround the heavily fortified city, and one has to pass through the seaside gate to be allowed entry.
For this reason, it is near impossible to siege, and that along with Yoko's legitimate grounds for having this dispute brought before the Fire Lord if Azula should ignore her, is where she gets the confidence to confront Azula.
She is partly inspired by Tywin Lannister. However, unlike Tywin. She doesn't rule the Fire Nation through a puppet king. But she still has a terrifying amount of power at her disposal.
And she is not naive like Ukano. She doesn't rest on her laurels; she continues to seek every advantage that she can because she wants their clan to be respected at all costs.
If she lets Azula walk in to her palace and just dismiss the attempted murder on her daughter's life then in her mind, their clan will become a laughing stock. She feels that they have been dishonored and she the debt paid at all costs.
At this point Yoko cares more about Mai's murder attempt than Zoi herself.
As we saw, Zoi was actually more preoccupied with her sister giving her the cold shoulder.
And Yoko knows how to play her cards right. Vassal clan is not as much of a spit in the face as she claims. It is one of the highest dishonors a clan of nobility can face.
Despite the seven clans that govern regionally for the Fire Lord not being equal in wealth and status, no one of those seven clans has direct authority over one another. Only the Fire Lord, or another member of the Royal Family has that power.
But Yoko wants Ukano and Mai to feel a moment of overwhelming terror so great that they will never cross her again. And that's where Chancellor Terak comes into play.
Yes, Terak was trying to make up for his error. Basically, Iroh slipped through Terak's station. And being the snake that he is he got to work covering his ass.
Now, he may be a notorious liar but he is right about one thing. A noble clan did plot with Iroh to ambush Azula and after Iroh fled. The anonymous clan sent in Silah and the rebels to finish her and Zoi off.
In all honesty, there probably wasn't much Terak could have done to prevent that given that inside officials betrayed them. And given his preference with words over violence, they correctly deduced that he would be easier to bypass than a high ranking general.
However, being the intelligent man that he is Terak put two and two together. He correctly deduced the likelihood that a noble clan betrayed them, and realized that if he delivered the news to Azula personally that he would look more favorable in her eyes.
Not only that, but by being able to claim that he was the one who brought a rescue fleet and news that he has located one of Iroh's spies.
At the same time, he had to save face in Yoko's eyes. So, first he offered Zoi a chance to humiliate Admiral Raken, a man that he himself despised. In doing so, he presented Zoi a gift which makes her more likely to speak in his favor with Yoko.
And then he screwed Ukano over by facilitating the meeting between the two clans. And Ukano being the trustworthy person that he is foolishly came in fear for his daughter's life.
And then AFTER that he presented both Yoko and Azula with another gift.
He knew that Azula would be wrathful after hearing that one of the seven clans tried to assassinate her. And that she needed to make an example out of someone.
It doesn't matter that Clan Saolin made no attempt on Azula's life. A noble clan betrayed her, and fear will spread once work breaks out that Azula is alive and seeking retribution.
At the same time, Terak knew that the massacre of Clan Saolin would be counterproductive. And he knows how merciless Yoko can be. And that she would not back down until Mai and Ukano felt what she felt.
She feared that her daughter had died. So, in turn she wants one of them to fear that the other is going to die before their very eyes. An eye for an eye so to speak.
And the really genius thing about this is that it can even be twisted around as a gift to Mai and Ukano. If they escape alive, Terak can claim that he saved them from genocide and that he was actually just trying to mediate in the interest of the Fire Nation.
And in the end, he still came out more ahead than anyone. He regained his honorary status from Governor Yoko and he proved his usefulness to Azula once again.
And now he is free to continue his infiltration of the spies with Azula's continued blessing and the backing of Clan Song. This all serves to buffer his recent loss of status in the eyes of Fire Lord Ozai and his high generals.
In Terak's eyes, if Azula wins the throne. He will be able to finally pay back the rest of the aristocracy for mocking him for his poor talent at firebending.
And that brings us to another thing that I want to address. The crocodile-shark.
It sounds like a cheesy B movie creature. But I wanted Yoko to have a sea monster down below to serve as a metaphor for her merciless nature. And that popped into mind. And after looking at the countless bizarre hybrids in Avatar. I thought why not?
After thinking it over. I realized that it wasn't any stranger than a Lion Turtle.
And if anyone is curious this is the image that served as my artistic inspiration. I just made it bigger than the art was in comparison to the size of a human.
2010/09/29/shark-crocodile-art/
It serves to illustrate how strange Yoko is and how she is always pursuing all possible methods of power that bolster their clan.
Because I have a fondness for monster movies. I will say that we will see this creature at least one more time later on in the story.
So, anyhow. That answers much of the questions regarding the chain of conspiracy aside from the identity of the treasonous clan. Which we will find out later.
It's not Clan Song, and it's not Clan Saolin, nor is it Clan Wan. That leaves four more clans that we have not yet met, and of which at least one is treasonous.
And then there's our girl Elle.
She once again proved that she is willing to jump into danger for Azula, Ty Lee and Mai. And she may very well have saved Mai and Ukano's life.
Azula wasn't planning on letting them die but at the same time she had to abate Yoko.
Anyhow, we'll find out what happened with Elle next chapter!
I also want to let everyone know that there will almost certainty be no update next week because I am going to be hospitalized.
I have a rare chronic migraine condition, called status migrainosus. That is what they call a migraine that has not gone away for 72 or more hours.
I have had a migraine since October of 2017 for around 860 days straight and all attempts to abort the migraine cycle on an outpatient basis have failed.
The reason why it has persisted for so long is because it took me 18 months to get in to see a proper migraine specialist. And the longer you have a continuous migraine, the harder it is to treat. I can't put into words how painful it can be having a migraine for so long.
However, the good news is that I am going to the Jefferson Headache Center next week and they are going to give me inpatient treatment for five days up to two weeks. They are going to give me IV treatment with heavy medication in the hopes of making the migraine go away.
I have a sixty percent chance of leaving without a migraine. And, I am feeling hopeful that they will end this 2.4 year long cycle of migraine pain.
I won't have my laptop with me in the hospital. So, I decided to upload this chapter earlier than usual.
And I may do another before I leave. I will see.
Anyway! I want to thank all of you for sticking with my story for this long. And once I get out of the hospital updates will return to the usual!
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter fifty-eight! Acquiescence!