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.

145. The Dark Sage and the Component

Hey everyone.

I am back for another update. I am still alive, but I am extremely ill.

I want to thank everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed since the last update. And as always, I hope that you all enjoy it.

The Dark Sage and the Component - Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine

The three aristocrats were now staring back at their young friend in utter disbelief while the girl continued to waltz towards Silah without a care in the world!

As the agents of the Dai Li stared down at the girl from their positions with bewilderment showing in even their stoic gazes.

They knew very little about the peculiar foreign girl.

All they knew was that their powerful princess had taken a strange liking to her.

And they remembered watching the princess brutally kill the rebel commander for attempting to assassinate the girl when they were stranded on Shantu Island.

That and that the girl somehow possessed the power to defeat the Avatar Cycle in her blood.

Raolan stared down with a rare expression of genuine bafflement in his green eyes as he observed the girl walk with no defensive posture whatsoever about her!

And the soldiers of the Royal Procession that were crowding around outside the palace walls as they too gazed back at the nonchalant girl in confusion.

Silah stared over her shoulder with chilling dark green eyes as she watched the girl saunter towards her.

"Foolish peasant. Stay away from her." Azula barked in a severely strict voice with her callous amber golden eyes glaring at her young girlfriend's waltzing back.

Only to find herself staring on in annoyance and even something akin to a sliver of concern when the girl continued to approach the woman.

"What…is Elle doing?" Zoi asked in a similarly puzzled voice as she glared daggers at Silah's porcelain face while the woman gazed intently at her adopted sister.

She watched with focused golden eyes as she took note of the way the artist's face almost seemed to glisten unnaturally in the sunlight.

Almost as if…her face was too perfect.

"Did I just hear you right? You want…to speak with me?" Silah questioned in a detached voice with her dark green eyes gazing in mild interest at the girl's smiling face.

"Yeah! You must be the Dark Sage Silah." Elle greeted in a seemingly carefree voice as she walked with her hands holding onto the straps of her backpack.

The three Fire Nation women still gazed on with their eyes agape in utter bewilderment as they never once took their eyes off the monstrous woman.

"I am and you're…the Component." Silah replied in a cold-blooded voice with her eyes observing the girl walk towards her.

Her dark green eyes scanned the girl as she tried to ascertain if the girl was truly as simple minded as she appeared.

Or…

If it was all an act.

"I am many things! My name is Elle Turner! I am the daughter of Lana and Elias Turner; I am a follower of love and peace! I am the personal royal servant to Princess Azula! I am the royal cherry picker extraordinaire, expert royal sandwich maker and I even brew up a fierce cup of tea!" Elle exclaimed in an innocently prideful voice as she puffed out her chest while she walked towards the taken aback woman.

Her three friends stared on with still puzzled looks in their eyes as they attempted to gauge their young friend's actions.

Azula rolled her amber golden eyes as she held a hand over her irate face.

'Naïve girl! Don't tell her that you're a pacifist!' Azula thought with her infuriated amber golden eyes still glaring back at the puppeteer's confused face.

"A slew of irrelevancy…amidst one or two valid points…" Silah trailed off with just a small trace of amusement in her otherwise inexpressive voice.

She still studied the girl with icily dark green eyes as the handmaid came to a stop several paces away from her.

"I am also an artist! I am a painter and a poet! I can paint up a storm and I can woo the best of them with my rhymes! And of course, I am also the Component!" Elle cried out in a stunningly cheerful voice with her amber eyes gazing up into Silah's suddenly interested dark green eyes.

Azula scowled over her plated shoulder with her boot tapping in impatience on the stone ground below.

As she tried to squash the sliver of affection that was arising up from within her belly.

Zoi and Ty Lee still gazed on with perplexed expressions in their eyes.

And it had not gone unnoticed to the three highborn women that their enemy's eyes had lit up with an unmistakable gleam of interest when the girl announced that she was an artist.

"You're…a fellow artist? I too am also an artist and an inventor. I create toys and dolls." Silah stated with a rising passion in her voice as a smile began to form on her pale lips once more.

While the Fire Nation women glared at the woman's back with unhidden revulsion in their eyes.

And yet to their disbelief…

If they didn't know any better.

Silah almost seemed to be regarding their innocent friend with a flicker of respect in her eyes that had not been present moments before!

Elle momentarily suppressed a shiver as her amber eyes glanced over the puppets standing stationary behind the pale woman.

'Keep your cool Elle! You can do this!' The handmaid thought as she steeled her bravery as she smiled back at the taller woman's lovely yet eerily smiling face.

"So, I've heard…you're that Silah puppet lady that I've…heard so much about." Elle commented in a baffling easygoing voice while she stared up at Silah's pale grinning lips.

The three aristocrats gazed on with their eyes intensely searching their companion's face to get a read on what she was doing.

"The one and only. I am all of that and so much more." Silah remarked in a voice of underlying conceit with an uncanny smile gracing her pale lips.

Only for her brows to arch when she watched the smaller girl place her hands on her hips in a pitiful attempt to appear intimidating.

And just like that the handmaid's face took on an unusually serious expression once more as she gazed back up into the puppeteer's amused dark green eyes.

Elle and Silah stared each other down as the Sun shone high above them.

As a warm breeze swept the puppeteer's green kimono about while menacing dark green eyes stared down at the young girl's still frowning face.

The highborn women stared on with their eyes gazing rapidly between the two as they prepared to act to defend their young friend should the need arise.

While the Dai Li and the Royal Procession gazed on from the sidelines with still confused expressions in their eyes.

"Before we go any further…I am going to give you a warning. It's the only warning that I am going to give you. So, I suggest you remember it." Elle began in a sterner voice as she pointed a finger up at Silah's chillingly smirking face.

Azula rolled her ruthless amber golden eyes once more as she glared at her handmaid's back with fire spewing from her glowering lips.

"Oh, a warning? And what happens if I don't heed this warning?" Silah pondered in an overwhelmingly terrifying voice as she stared down into the girl's glaring amber eyes.

Only for her dark green eyes to watch intently as the girl's Component chi began to radiate off her body once more.

As the Fire Nation women and the soldiers stared on in captivation as an aura of chi consumed the girl's body!

And not even seconds later the puppeteer responded in kind with her own dark energy beginning to emanate from her lightly blowing kimono.

"If you ever try to hurt my princess or my oneesans again! I am going to plant a boot-full of mystical barrier splitting energy right up your doo-dah!" Elle growled in a no-nonsense voice as she swung her foot forward for emphasis while her energy exuded from her body as she scowled.

She glared up into the far older woman's now blinking dark green eyes as an uncomfortable silence took over the area outside the walls of the Royal Palace.

And that was all it took for the three highborn women to hold their hands over their faces as they shook their heads fondly while they all groaned simultaneously.

As the soldiers of the Royal Procession were gazing on out from underneath their helmets in even more bewilderment than before.

And even the hardened men of the Dai Li were gazing on with blinking eyes as they exchanged confused looks with one another.

'Doo-dah! That is not how you make a threat!' Azula thought with unfathomable irritation in her rolling amber golden eyes.

She still glared back at the puppeteer's utterly bewildered face.

Only to find her callous amber golden eyes widening a fraction in complete disbelief when Silah's face lost her emotionless composure!

As Zoi and Ty Lee gaped on with disbelief in their eyes.

While they watched Silah's brain almost seem to visibly shut down in the face of the enigma that was Elle!

And not a second later all aristocrats stared on in shock when a puppet fell over onto its face in the stone ground!

They gazed around them in a mixture of shock and humor as the puppets were dropped to the ground by their master's retracting nearly invisible cables.

And even the mighty warrior king had fallen to the ground on his lifeless face!

Silah now stood above her puppets with her dark green eyes still blinking madly as if she were struggling to process the threat.

"I…don't believe it Princess. In all the time that we fought that monster in the valley she never once lost her composure. Not to me and not to you, and not to anyone. Elle…actually threw her off her game." Zoi commented in an astonished voice with her golden eyes blinking at the scene.

A prideful scowl graced the princess's lips as she balked at her servant girl in astoundment.

'Is…she controlling those cables with metalbending…and why aren't there any cables attached to the warrior Earth King?' Azula mused with her merciless amber golden eyes glancing at the downed puppets while she glared in the puppeteer's direction.

"I'm…sorry child. Could you repeat that? I haven't heard that one before in my two hundred and one years of life." Silah responded in a perplexed voice with her gloved fists hanging at her hips while she blinked down at Elle's growling face.

Azula, Zoi, and Ty Lee surveyed the comical scene with still present shock in their eyes.

The soldiers of the Royal Procession and the Dai Li balked over how old the woman claimed to be!

"I said I am going to put a boot of Component energy up your doo-dah! Your no-no region!" Elle shouted in an adorably serious voice with her finger still pointing up at Silah's confounded face while dark green eyes still blinked over her.

Team Azula still held their hands over their sighing faces.

And if not for the monstrous woman's foreboding presence they would have snorted with laughter over their young friend's hilarious attempt at intimidation.

As Silah still looked as if she was trying to recover from the hilarity of the girl's threat.

"My…doo-dah…what a strange girl…are all of your people from where you come from like this?" Silah asked in an incredulous voice as she raised a gloved hand to her hair.

Her eyes stared down at the young girl's amusing face as the handmaid's fist fell back to her side.

"I…believe what she means to say is that she is going to split you in half from the cunt up." Zoi informed in a stony voice with her golden eyes glaring back at Silah's recovering face.

Azula ran her flawless fingernails over her forehead as she sighed into her open palm.

"Y-yeah. I think she means crotch!" Ty Lee called out in a comical voice while the princess rolled her eyes beside her.

Only for the trip to gaze on with returning astonishment in their eyes when the anger in their companion's face seemed to face back into her usual smile.

"Nope! Just me. I'm one of a kind. The only one in the whole wide universe!" Elle replied in a return to her relaxed voice while Silah's lips curved into an intrigued smile.

The three highborn women glared at Silah in disapproval of the growing interest in her demented eyes.

Only for the trio to stare on in growing shock when the sound of unrestrained belly shaking laughter resounded into the air beyond the palace walls.

Silah now stood laughing in amusement with both her clothed hands holding onto her belly.

All the while as something similar to a genuinely amused smile adorning her freely chuckling lips.

The team gaped between Silah and their smiling young friend with sheer incredulity flashing before their eyes.

And what truly stunned them more than anything else was that it almost sounded as if for the first time since they had met Silah…

That she was for once laughing in good-natured amusement!

"You amuse me child. I think…that I may like you!" Silah declared with her laughter dying down as she removed her gloved hands from her belly.

She raised an entertained clothed fist to her chuckling lips as the young girl grinned back up at her.

The three Fire Nation women bristled with their eyes communicating a lethal protectiveness as they glared back at the seemingly immortal woman.

And that was all it took for the princess's callous amber golden eyes to form a truly malicious stare as she stared imposingly back at Silah's smirking face.

"Thanks! Coming from a remorseless killer I'll take that as a compliment!" Elle exclaimed with her amber eyes still peering up at the puppeteer's porcelain smiling face.

The highborn women still stared incredulously at their young friend's back in bewilderment over what she was trying to accomplish.

"It's such a shame that your life-force is but a fleeting candle in the breeze. I am almost disappointed…that they are going to kill you." Silah spoke in a merciless voice with her gloved hand falling from her lips while she stared coldly down at the girl's gulping face.

And just like that an ominous breeze swept through the air outside the palace walls.

The three highborn women stared on with alarm in their eyes as they exchanged a worried glance with one another.

As the demented artist stood gazing down into the young girl's now recovering amber eyes.

"What does that monster know that we don't?" Zoi asked with her focused golden eyes glaring defensively back at Silah's pale smiling lips.

Azula glowered on in similar contemplation with her glacial amber golden eyes eying the two with all the gaze of a possessive lover.

"I…guess we'll just have to see how it flows, won't we?" Elle responded with a seemingly easy-going shrug as she took another step closer while her friends watched her closely.

And then she held out her hand before the far older woman's once again baffled face.

While wicked dark green eyes studied the girl's hand in incredulity as the handmaid held out her open hand before her puzzled face.

The eyes of Azula, Zoi and Ty Lee's jaws dropped in sheer disbelief to see the girl holding out her hand in offering of a handshake!

'What does that girl think she is doing!' Azula thought with her infuriated amber golden eyes glaring at the back of her serving girl's head in aggravation.

The girl was naïve.

But she knew that there was no way that she was this naïve!

Befriending Naoki and Katsu was one matter.

But the girl couldn't possibly be foolish enough to think that she could make friends with this beast!

"What is this? Do you think that you can protect the princess and her subordinates from me by showing me kindness?" Silah questioned with a sliver of curiosity in her impassively cruel voice as she gazed down at the girl's grinning face.

Azula and Zoi still glared back at the seemingly immortal woman with pridefully hateful eyes.

Only for the three women to nearly fall over in bewilderment when the girl cheerfully shook her head.

"Nope! It's just a gesture of goodwill! Only you can decide if it is any more than that!" Elle chirped in a cheerful voice while the much taller woman arched her flawless silver brows in consideration.

The three highborn women stared at one another once before they turned to gaze incredulously at their companion's back.

All the while as the princess's amber golden eyes stared at her young girlfriend with her lips sinking into a callous scowl.

Only for all three members of Team Azula to gaze on with rising alarm in their eyes when the monstrous woman reached out a gloved hand before their small friend's face.

All that that they could think about was that the deranged woman was about to do something heinous to their friend.

And not a second later all three Fire Nation women sunk into combat stances as they prepared to launch themselves forward to attack Silah once more.

Until they found themselves freezing up in mid movement with their eyes widening when an attack never came.

And not an instant later Silah's clothed hand grasped onto Elle's own as everyone else gaped on in astonishment over what they were seeing.

Silah and Elle now held onto each other's hands as they stared back into each other's eyes with the Sun still looming high above them.

Team Azula could only gaze on with their mouths falling open in utter bafflement.

Even someone as kind as normally kind as Ty Lee was rendered speechless to see her little sister actually shaking Silah's hand!

"I am not sure if I should classify you as courteous or foolish. Perhaps, I'll just have to settle for a mix of both." Silah commented with a spark of amusement in her otherwise impassive voice while she paid no heed to the princess's beyond enraged amber golden stare.

She smirked down at the girl's radiantly smiling face as the handmaid eagerly shook her hand.

And Azula now looked as her amber golden eyes were about to erupt from her incensed eye sockets.

Elle continued to enthusiastically shake the immortal woman's gloved hand with a still present smile on her youthful lips.

As the Royal Procession and the Dai Li still gazed on with disbelieving expressions in their eyes over the incredibly strange interaction.

Only for Silah's dark green eyes to widen ever so slightly when she watched the girl's fingers start to feel around the underside of her clothed palm.

She stared down with a ruthless gaze as she observed the young girl's amber eyes begin to stare intently back down at her hand.

Her sinister eyes widened to an even greater degree when she felt the girl's chi begin to emanate from her hand.

"Your hand…it feels…weird. It almost feels...artificial." Elle stated in a thoughtful voice as she chewed on her lower lip while Silah's piercing eyes narrowed down at her.

The three highborn women now stared at their young friend with understanding in their widened eyes.

And that was all it took for them to realize that the girl was using her naïve demeanor as a means to attempt to discern secrets of Silah's apparently immortal body!

As the princess stared on with her cold amber golden eyes now communicating a spark of pride as an approving smile pulled onto her lips.

'It would seem as if I am rubbing off on her somewhat after all…' Azula thought with her vengeful amber golden eyes conveying a pleased gleam as she never took her gaze off her enemy's porcelain visage.

And not even seconds after that the puppeteer abruptly withdrew her hand as she took a step back away from the girl.

Her dark green eyes formed a piercing glare as she stared back down at the young girl's smiling face.

Elle swallowed as she once again almost found herself shuddering under Silah's predatory stare.

Zoi and Ty Lee shared a look with ever so faint smiles of pride on their lips before they turned back to the now scowling puppeteer.

"You're shrewder than you let on." Silah commented in a cold-hearted voice with her clothed hand falling back to her hip while her dark green eyes followed the girl's mischievous face closely.

Until Elle took a step back herself with her amber eyes still trying not to flinch under Silah's quite frankly terrifying gaze.

"Speaking of the possibility of impending doom. I…. was wondering if you might be able to fill me in a little on what that may entail." Elle requested in her best effort at a brave voice as she stared back up into the far older woman's chilling dark green eyes.

The aristocrats now gazed on with comprehension in their still skeptical eyes as they shared a glance with each other.

'I see now…Elle seeks to try to find out what Silah knows about this Elder One.' Zoi thought with an ever-present protectiveness in her hardened golden eyes as she watched her adopted younger sister closely.

Azula still glared back at Silah with a still bubbling fury in her eyes over their encounters with the woman prior to today.

And an even greater rage now burned in her eyes over their recent encounter in the palace hallway.

Which was to say nothing of her own father forging an alliance with Silah once more after she tried to take her life twice over!

And that was all that was needed for her cold amber golden eyes to flicker with a tiny spark of hurt once more.

Only to force herself to furiously shake her head as she exhaled flames from her seething lips.

'I cannot afford to show any further weakness in this filthy woman's presence! I'll handle Father later. Right now…I need to put all of my focus on Silah.' Azula thought with her calculating amber golden eyes remaining focused on Silah's shimmering face in the radiant sunlight.

"Nice try child. But I am not Mava. I do not give information away for free. You and your princess will just have to figure it out for yourselves. If not…then I suppose you'll all just have to die." Silah replied in a devious voice with her cruel dark green eyes staring back down at the young girl's shivering face.

Team Azula glowered back at Silah's conceited face once more as the handmaid frowned while she still gazed up at the woman's merciless visage.

Before Elle turned around to walk away with her hands clutching at the straps of her backpack.

The three highborn women watched the girl pad back over to their side with their eyes still glaring in Silah's direction.

Until they found themselves turning to glance down at their young friend when the girl came to a halt before them.

Elle now peered back up into Azula's harsh amber golden eyes.

As Azula begrudgingly turned to lean down to listen closely to what her faithful servant had to say.

Zoi and Ty Lee huddled around their adopted sister to also give the girl their full attentions.

"She…she knows Azula-sama. She knows about the voice that I heard in my head. It…it wasn't her. But she knows who it was. I can tell…just by looking in her eyes." Elle whispered in a hushed voice as Azula's imposing amber golden eyes gazed back down into her unnerved amber eyes.

The three women glared out of the corner of their eyes at the puppeteer's heartless face.

As they watched warily as the warrior king silently arose once more to stand behind his master.

"And you actually think that she is going to tell you that information? She isn't your friend. She is our enemy." Azula responded in a severely domineering yet attentive voice as she leaned over her young girlfriend so that the girl could speak in her ear.

Her possessive amber golden eyes stared down at her beloved's pensive face as the handmaid bit her lip.

As Zoi and Ty Lee scowled in agreement with their princess.

"Elle…she tried to take you when you were unconscious under Mava's ritual. She's…she's pure evil." Ty Lee advised with unmistakable fright in her concerned voice as she stared back at the younger girl's reflective face.

Only for Elle to glance up into Zoi's always gallant golden eyes when the older woman set her hand on her shaking shoulder.

Zoi stared down at the smaller girl with an ever-vigilant scowl on her sisterly lips.

As the serving girl gazed in appreciation back up at the warrior's watchful countenance.

Even though their relationship had started off on a rocky foot because of the captain's feud with Mai.

There were no words to describe how special Zoi was to her now.

They have since formed an inseparable bond.

She has even welcomed her into her family with open arms and she now saw now saw the woman as someone that she could not live without.

'Zoi is steadfast…she's the oneesan that will always have my back. She's…always looking out for me…. protecting me.' Elle thought with her grateful amber eyes peering up at the warrior's almost maternal face as the woman gently grasped her shoulder.

Azula and Ty Lee took notice of the captain's protective instincts as they listened intently.

All the while as the highborn women never stopped watching the apparently immortal woman through the corner of their eyes.

"Elle, Ty Lee is right. I won't hippocow shit you. All three of us have killed people. Even Ty Lee. We are not pacifists by any means. But that woman is one of the most wicked people that I have ever met. Nothing you say or do will change that she is evil to her core." Zoi explained in an imploring voice with her protective golden eyes staring down at her adopted little sister's far too compassionate face.

Azula scowled with her arms folded over her plated chest as her amber golden eyes glared down at her girlfriend's sensitive face.

Silah stood with her almost ghostly silver hair blowing lightly in the wind behind her.

Her penetrating dark green eyes stared back at the group with an always present predatory gleam in her gaze.

"I…. know that oneesan Zoi. But sometimes…as long as you have something to offer in return…it can be possible to make a bargain with even the evilest of people." Elle replied in a deeply thinking voice as she gazed up into Zoi's doubtful golden eyes.

Azula and Ty Lee exchanged a look with their gazes expressing a similar skepticism.

Only for the three aristocrats to turn gaze back down at their young commoner friend when the girl gazed seriously back up into their eyes.

"Just…look at her and the way that she looks at the way that she looks at this city. She gazes upon it…as if it is the dullest coat of paint. If she is as old as she says she is…I'll bet she was here many times long before any of you were even born. You can tell just by looking in her eyes that the Fire Nation is of no interest to her." Elle muttered in a soft-spoken voice while her three highborn friends stared back at the pale woman in contemplation.

A sense of unease briefly flashed before the eyes of the Fire Nation women.

Over the mere prospect of the monstrous woman having explored their city many times over long before they were born!

As the princess's callous amber golden eyes sparked with offense over Silah having the gall to regard her great nation as inferior!

"You three are out of your element…none of you are in any position to bargain with her." Elle stated in a quiet voice with her amber eyes staring back at the artist's composed face while her teammates listened beside her in speechlessness.

Azula glared down at the young girl with an imposing anger in her eyes over being told that she was out of element by her own servant girl.

"Really servant? We're out of our element and you're not?" Azula questioned in a coldly haughty voice as she loomed over her young girlfriend's face with a regal scowl on her proud lips.

Only for her amber golden eyes to form another supremely strict stare when her serving girl nodded her little head without hesitation.

"That's so Azula-sama. You three have nothing to offer her but your lives. But…I do." Elle insisted in a stunningly resourceful voice that took her three highborn friends back.

The highborn women gazed down at their small friend with bewildered expressions in their eyes.

Only for the girl to turn to gaze back at the monstrous woman before they could even so much as say another word.

Silah stood still with her eerie eyes turning to glance back at the girl almost as if she was waiting for her to strike a proposition.

Just before the girl stepped out from underneath the captain's taken aback hand while her amber eyes stared back into a predating dark green gaze.

"Silah…would I…be correct to presume that you are the highest dark sage in all of this world?" Elle asked in her best attempt at projecting bravery while Silah turned to face with a keenly arrogant gaze.

The Fire Nation women glared in loathing back at Silah's egotistical face as pale lips curved into a wicked smile.

"You presume correctly child. I am the highest and the grandest…there is no human being in this world that possesses more knowledge on the dark arts than me. All of the others…are mere bugs in comparison to me." Silah stated in a voice of uncanny self-assurance with her tall head held high.

Her gleaming eyes gazed back at the young girl's swallowing face as she watched her step forward once more.

She smirked back at the three aristocrats as they glared venomously back at her.

Only for the three women of Team Azula to turn to their young friend in shock when the girl bent over to bow in the evil woman's direction.

Azula's amber golden eyes now brimmed with an even greater intense royal wrath than before.

As Silah's sinister eyes reflected a flicker of something akin to an appeased gleam as she regarded the bowing girl in growing interest.

The soldiers of both the Fire Army and the Dai Li watched the exchange with still present marvelment in their eyes from the sidelines.

"Then…in that case. Dark Sage Silah…I would like to offer you a proposition." Elle remarked with rising boldness in her voice while Silah arched a perfect brow.

The three highborn women stared on with wary expressions in their eyes behind their young friend.

"A proposition you say?" Silah purred in a positively terrifying voice with her puppets rising up behind her for effect while a malicious smile graced her lips.

Her dark green eyes never ceased peering back into the young girl's amber eyes that tried so hard not to recoil under her gaze.

Only for the handmaid to shock her friends even further when a determined expression formed onto her usually carefree face as she arose from her bow.

"I challenge you to a game of quid pro quo!" Elle announced in an emboldened voice with her finger pointing back into Silah's intrigued dark green eyes.

Azula, Zoi and Ty Lee stood in a state of astonishment as they gazed at their companion's back in a sense of rising pride.

It was then in that very moment that all three of them once again understood that their little friend was truly growing before their very eyes!

"A game of quid pro quo? You presume yourself worthy of challenging me? You assume yourself worthy of my respect?" Silah inquired with building deliberation in her ruthless voice.

Another chuckle escaped her lips when the young girl put on her best intimidation face.

"I do. I am the Component and if I have the power to sever the Avatar Cycle…then that means that I am worthy of talking with you." Elle declared with a fist held up before her face while the puppeteer's pale lips pulled into an entertained smirk.

Team Azula stared on with fascination in their captivated eyes over watching the girl show such pro-activeness before such a lethal enemy.

"There are only two kinds of people in this world that I respect. Those that are my superior in absolute combat and true artists. I have yet to meet my superior in combat and there are very few artists that I recognize." Silah commented in a voice of immense conceit with her predatory eyes gazing back into the handmaid's struggling amber eyes.

The princess and the captain shared a roll of their eyes over the woman's absurd belief that her corpses qualified as artwork.

And yet at the same time the two firebenders couldn't help but feel an even greater desire to defeat Silah after hearing her boast that she has yet to fully meet her match.

"Allow me to make it as clear to you as I possibly can. There is no one here in this city that I regard as my equal. In fact, the only other combatant that I have even genuine respect for in this world is Mava." Silah called out with a strikingly blunt voice while the highborn women stared on in disbelief.

Her sneering dark green eyes passed over Azula and Zoi's outraged faces.

As the princess's angered only continued to boil over to even hotter levels over Silah daring to state before their own palace that she did not consider them her equals!

Her infuriated amber golden eyes glanced about at the soldiers still lingering close by as she turned to glare a hole through the woman's skull.

It couldn't be more apparent that the longer that this beast remained in their city the more it damaged the image of the Royal Palace gardens as an untouchable force!

'Just you wait Silah. I'll show you that I am much more than your equal.' Azula thought with her amber golden eyes forming a terrifying glare back at Silah's smirking face.

Elle almost swallowed as she stood attempting to keep up her brave front before Silah's cruel stare.

"Those are brazen words Silah. Coming from a woman who steals the powers of dying benders." Zoi snapped with venom in her voice while she glared back at the immortal woman in hatred.

The princess's amber golden eyes burned in agreement as she too glared back at Silah.

As Ty Lee tried not to shudder under the puppeteer's intensely predatory stare.

Only for the sound of Silah releasing a laugh to echo into the air as she tipped her head back with a perverse smirk forming onto her lips.

"Really Zoi? I plunder from the dying you say? Do you aristocrats not plunder from the entire world? All of the wealth that you nobles and the Royal Family own, everything in this city, was built by plundering from the backs of everyone outside Hari Bulkan around the entire globe. Is stripping people of their life's labor really any better than stripping them of their power in their final moments? I think not." Silah retorted in a profusely wicked voice with a dark smirk on her lips.

She took great delight in watching both the dutiful captain and the oversensitive acrobat recoil with their eyes flickering in guilt.

As princess continued to purse her lips into a furious glower as she glared piercingly back at her mortal enemy.

She gazed out of the corner of her angered eye when she saw the look of emotion flash before her girlfriend's amber eyes.

"That's beside the point right now Silah, but Azula-sama is going to make all of that better. I know she will. She's a princess for everyone. Not just the rich. She's going to help people." Elle stated in a voice of endless faith as she nodded her head while her princess stared on coldly from over her shoulder.

Zoi and Ty Lee just gazed at Azula's frigidly scowling face as the princess glared back at both of them with her intimidating amber golden eyes.

Only for the sound of the puppeteer laughing in cruel humor to resound into the air while all three highborn women turned to stare hatefully back at her.

"Of course, she is. She's a true humble people's princess. But you are correct about one thing child…that is beside the point." Silah replied in a voice of effortless menace as she smiled back at the young girl's struggling face.

The two noblewomen visibly flinched over the jab as the princess just seethed back at the smirking woman.

"So, I now ask you child. Are you either my superior in combat or an artist worthy of my respect?" Silah pondered in a spine-chillingly eerie voice as she stared back at the girl's slowly smiling face.

As the three Fire Nation women stared on with budding intrigue in their eyes over the artistic angle that the challenge was heading in.

"I make no claims that I am your superior in combat Silah but I do believe that I am a true artist!" Elle exclaimed as she held up a fist before her grinning face as she puffed out her chest while the far older woman eyed her in curiosity.

The trio glanced down at their young friend with their brows furrowing as expressions of fondness flashed before their eyes.

As the pale woman stood tall with her dark green eyes gazing intently back at the young girl's face with a sudden spark of inquisitiveness in her gaze.

"Before I will agree to this…quid pro quo. You must first prove yourself worthy of my recognition as a fellow artist. Show me your artwork and I shall be the one who decides your artistic merit." Silah commanded in a momentously serious voice with her merciless eyes taking on a beyond absorbed stare.

While the three highborn women rolled their eyes once more as they still glared back at the deranged woman's astonishingly earnest face.

"Filthy abomination. Like you are in any position to judge her artistic merit." Azula sneered with a curl of her snide lips while she stared hatefully back at Silah's unbothered face.

As the two noblewomen gazed at their leader with a momentary spark of awareness in their eyes of the significance of their princess's praising for their young friend's artwork.

The simple fact that Azula spoke such high praise of Elle before the Fire Army and the Dai Li truly illustrated the unfathomable depths of the two girl's unbreakable bond.

Only for the domineering princess to turn to gaze down at her little girlfriend through the corner of her controlling eye when the girl beamed brightly back at Silah.

"I have many samples of my artwork and more…right here in my backpack!" Elle cried out in an innocently prideful voice as she tugged on the strap of her backpack.

She met the gaze of the puppeteer as Silah's dark green eyes flashed with a gaze of rising interest as she turned to her in contemplation.

As Team Azula turned to gaze back at one another with expressions of uncertainty in their eyes.

The princess's amber golden eyes stared back into her captain's stony own as the two firebenders shared a glance.

Before the two turned to stare coldly back at the would-be immortal artist's rising smirk.

"I will permit…this talk with my royal servant. But it goes without saying…that it will only be done under our supervision." Azula commented in the voice of an absolute ruler with her baleful amber golden eyes penetrating the other woman's smirking countenance.

'The one and only reason that I will allow this is to see what information we can gleam from her.' The princess thought with her calculating gaze never leaving the puppeteer's sunlit face.

She was no fool.

She knew that there was no chance that Silah would reveal anything that would put her at a disadvantage.

But perhaps…they might be able to uncover a secret or two.

Ty Lee for her part could only glare on in distrust with a sisterly protectiveness in her brown-gray eyes at Silah's smiling face as the pale woman let out another soft chuckle.

Before Elle glanced back up when she felt Zoi's mighty hand lower onto her shoulder once more.

A grateful smile formed on her cheeks as she stared up into the older woman's solicitous golden eyes.

"Elle…do not forget for a moment who you are dealing with." Zoi advised in a quietly watchful voice with her golden eyes turning to cast the monstrous woman an unparalleled death glare.

Azula's callous amber golden eyes conveyed a fixating lethal vigilance as she stared chillingly back at her enemy's smirking face.

And even a woman as gentle as Ty Lee was glaring back at Silah with a narrowed glare that was much colder than her usual gaze.

The gaze of the three highborn women said it all.

Hurt our little friend and you will regret it.

"I…won't oneesan. I promise." Elle assured in a sweet voice with the warrior's hand still resting on her shoulder as all three women glared on from behind her.

And then the Fire Nation women watched with cautious looks in their eyes as the puppets surrounding Silah were consumed into the earth once more.

Until the sole puppet remaining standing behind the puppeteer was the lifeless warrior king himself.

Silah tipped her head back with a smirk still gracing her lips as she turned to gaze back into Elle's amusedly eager amber eyes.

Only for the eyes of the highborn women to stare on in murderous distrust when the woman raised her curling clothed fingers before her face.

"Then come…join me on a walk and show me your art. If I approve…then I will consider honoring a trade of information. You have one minute to make up your mind or the deal is off." Silah announced in a voice of uncanny captivation a she stared impassively back at the young girl's now slightly surprised face.

The aristocrats' gazes narrowed into even greater distrust over the prospect of their companion walking anywhere with Silah without their supervision.

And then not a moment later the hunter swiftly turned around and began to walk away with the warrior Earth King lifelessly following after her in an eerie fashion.

The meaning of the gesture was crystal clear to Team Azula.

It was Silah's way of infuriating Azula even further by telling her that it would be on her terms and her terms alone!

The princess's tyrannical amber golden eyes glared after Silah's walking back over the nerve that she had to dictate terms to her.

Only to find herself spinning around to glance down at her handmaid when her girlfriend cried out in alarm.

"W-wait up! I'll come!" Elle shouted in a hurried voice before she rushed past her taken aback friends while they gazed after her back in urgency.

"Elle! Hold up! Don't go anywhere with that woman without us!" Ty Lee yelled out in a fretful voice as she sprinted after the girl.

Azula and Zoi stared after their mortal enemy with a level of hatred in their eyes that they have never felt for anyone before in their entire lives.

Before the two firebenders scowled as they exchanged a quick look with one another before they darted after Ty Lee.

As Silah now walked with her Earth Kingdom garments flowing lightly with her every step while her puppet followed at his master like an obedient puppet.

She gazed out of the corner of her frightening dark green eye with a pleased gleam in her gaze when the girl soon joined her in step beside her.

Elle swallowed in intimidation as she peered up at Silah's much taller face as the otherworldly woman gazed back down at her.

She tried not to shiver when her eyes gazed over the puppet's deceased face as the man lifelessly walked behind his master.

And then in that very moment the hunter turned to peer over her shoulder back at the three faces of the highborn women.

Her pale lips pulled into a perverse smirk as she stared back into the ever-hateful eyes of the Fire Nation women.

Azula, Zoi and Ty Lee stared back into the puppeteer's dark gaze with expressions of loathing in their violently distrustful eyes.

And then in that instance…

Silah provocatively licked her pale lips in the precise second that she was staring back into the eyes of the two firebenders.

Ty Lee shuddered as she recoiled with a chill sweeping down her frightened spine.

As Azula and Zoi just glared back with the flames of war burning in their proud eyes.

And then the puppeteer turned away with another devious chuckle escaping her lips as she walked alongside the padding girl.

The three aristocrats stared furiously at Silah's back with an eternally present watchfulness in their eyes.

And with that the four members of Team Azula reluctantly departed into the depths of Hari Bulkan after their enemy.

As the agents of the Dai Li leaped down onto the barren ground surrounding the Fire Nation Royal Palace as they slammed their gauntlets into the earth.

And just like that the disruption to the landscape that had been caused by Silah's badgermole vehicle was nullified and the surrounding areas was returned to normal.

While the Royal Procession still gazed after the foreboding woman with expressions of uncertainty underneath their helmets.

Meanwhile, high up from the tower of the Fire Nation Royal Palace…

Ozai stared down from far above as he watched his daughter and her team follow the revolting witch into the city.

His rigid amber eyes still conveyed an expression of imperial fury over the public spectacle that the woman created with her arrival into the city.

And then his harsh gaze watched the strange young girl vanish into the distant depths of the city.

And even though he had been unable to hear the specifics of their conversation from this high up.

He couldn't help but notice that the girl seemed particularly attached to his daughter's presence.

'It would seem as if this girl is closer to Azula than she is letting on…' Ozai thought with his cold eyes gazing down from the window of his palace while a tight frown graced his lips.

It was plain to see that despite Azula's claims.

That his daughter was shaping the girl into being loyal to her and her alone.

And he would not allow such an action to go without being rectified.

But in the meantime.

He now saw that for as much as the woman's existence infuriated him.

That there was an opportunity to be found in Silah's defiance.

It was readily apparent from his failed attempt to assassinate her after she slew the warrior Earth King that she was much more dangerous than he had anticipated.

'To think that disgusting witch has the power to weaponize the bending of the dead.' Ozai mused with his amber eyes glaring down from the window in deliberation.

As he turned away while his soldiers closed off the main gates of the Fire Nation Royal Palace at long last.

He knew that he would have to be much more careful with how he dealt with her from this moment forward.

And that he would have to take extra precautions to ensure that no other powerful benders fall into her hands.

But despite all of that…

There was no doubt that the monster had her uses.

It had only been for a fleeting moment…

But he had seen the spark of fear in his daughter's eyes when Silah stepped into his throne room.

It would seem that whatever transpired during Azula's previous encounter with Silah had caused his daughter to develop a fear of the killer.

And now he could use that fear to his advantage…

To keep her and her new little weapon in line for the time being.

The barest hints of a cruel smile now pulled onto his lips as he exited the tower chamber.

And twenty minutes after taking a few turns down the halls of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.

A secret passageway opened up behind a painting with a burst of his firebending.

And soon enough he began to stride down into the hidden staircase with the revolving door closing behind him.

Until he came to a stop in a highly secret chamber with several torches lighting the walls of the isolated room.

It was a room so well hidden that it was cut off from the palace power system in order to protect the secrets within from unwanted eyes.

And now the Fire Lord stood over a table with his compassionless amber eyes gazing down at an ancient book.

He reached out a hand to open the book as dust flew into the air before his face.

It was an old long forgotten tome on Fire Nation history.

So ancient that many of its pages were either torn out or eroded.

And yet…he was still able to glean out a vital detail or two from its beyond weathered pages.

Something about a hallowed power called the Component Force.

And…a nameless founding Fire Lord.

His eyes now glanced down at the ancient text while his cruel smirk enlarged as his fingers fell from the worn page.

Before his devious amber eyes turned to gaze down at a second item lain out on the tabletop.

An ancient amulet.

And then his palm lowered to touch the amulet while an insatiable lust for power formed in his eyes.

While the flames in the torches shot up with a flare of his mighty firebending as a cold smile continued to grow onto his lips.

'I will uncover the secrets to Silah's supposed immortality as well as the fascinating enigma of this ancient war power!' The Fire Lord thought with his cruelly face accentuated by the flames as a ruthless smirk adorned his lips.

"I will reign supreme as the immortal Phoenix King of this entire world and these newly discovered foreign lands that Azula speaks of with this Component Force as my ultimate weapon!" Ozai declared in a profoundly tyrannous voice as he erupted into a cruel laughter that resounded off the walls of his hidden chamber.

And once he does!

Each and every person who has dared to defy him will be disposed of without mercy.

The Avatar himself.

Silah.

His brother Iroh.

His son Zuko.

And even his own prodigy daughter if need be.

Not one person who defies him will be exempt from his wrath.

And that…

He will see become a reality no matter what it takes.

AN:

Sakaewmatsui and loligang, thank you both for wishing me well. I appreciate you both thinking of me.

So, Silah and Elle met face to face for the first time. This was a moment that I enjoyed writing, because I found it fun showing Elle bewildering even Silah with her quirky personality.

Elle showed here once again that she is smarter than she lets on. She demonstrated guile by using her innocent and cheerful nature to get closer to Silah than Silah would have ever allowed Azula or Zoi. In an attempt to uncover the secrets of her seemingly immortal body.

Elle is showing that she is becoming more strategic by seeking out Silah in an attempt to get information from her about the Elder One.

And as depraved as Silah is. Silah is showing a twisted level of respect for artwork and artists by agreeing to talk with Elle if she proves her worth to her as an artist.

And so Team Azula are now going on a walk with Silah, to try to see what information they can get out of her and to monitor her so that she doesn't cause any further chaos in the capital.

And we saw with Ozai at the end there that he is showing further disregard for Azula as his daughter in how he saw that Azula has a level of fear of Silah. And that he now wants to use Azula's fear of Silah to keep her in line.

He is also showing that he is researching how to possibly weaponize Elle that he has not yet disclosed to Azula. He isn't yet aware of Azula's affection for Elle, he just suspects that Azula is trying to make Elle loyal to her alone.

Ozai is becoming so consumed by his desire to conquer everything that he is losing sight of what he already has at home, his homeland. The Fire Nation is already straining itself from its army occupying nearly the entire world which is resulting in problems starting to break out in the homeland.

As a result of the heavy war tax increase that Ozai imposed to fund his global occupation, crop failures in the rural areas, and the public outrage in response to General Meram's public executions.

But Ozai is so obsessed with ruling the entire world that it is resulting in him focusing more on conquering the world than addressing the needs of the people.

Because in order to properly address the needs of the people he would need to take his attention off of conquering the world and focus on the needs of his subjects.

But Ozai is instead giving apathetic, half measure responses to the growing concerns of his people, and focusing more on expanding his occupation, while giving the impression to a growing number of people that their Fire Lord doesn't care about them.

What I am trying to show here is what happens when a conqueror becomes out of touch with his own people, and becomes consumed with delusions of conquest.

And since Ozai never truly loved his own family, it stands to reason that he wouldn't truly love his people either. And if he is willing to disregard his own daughter, it is not out of possibility that he could do the same to his own people as he becomes consumed with ruling the world.

The royal family has brainwashed their subjects with propaganda to be obedient to their Fire Lord since the days of Sozin.

And the royal family has also rewritten history to hide the history of the Fire Nation before Sozin from the people, ever since Sozin instituted a national policy of censorship to made it seem like the Fire Nation began with his conquest.

But all of that can start to come undone if people start to feel that their Fire Lord doesn't care about them. Especially when the Fire Nation now has a prominent revolutionary leader in the form of Sia.

Which is a mistake because even if the Avatar and all of the enemies of the Fire Nation are defeated, even if the Fire Nation finalizes their conquest of the entire world.

It could become destabilized at the home-front if the growing problems are not taken care of.

Ozai is also potentially overestimating himself, thinking he can obtain Silah's immortality, weaponize Elle, destroy the Avatar, and on top of all of that conquer lands that he has little knowledge of and has never been to.

This arc that we are going into is not like when Team Azula fought Silah beneath the Forgetful Valley. It is mostly about Team Azula attempting to get information out of Silah like they did out of Mava, while we learn more about Silah through her interactions with Team Azula.

I submitted a series of edits recently, I mostly edited out what I felt were too many uses of sentences starting with 'while'.

Also the artifact that Mava told Team Azula that they must find to use against the Elder One in conjunction with Elle's powers, I changed the name of it some time ago to the Forge of Light. So, if anyone brings that up, that is what that means.

I changed Rieko's name to Reiko. I realized that the way I was hearing her name in my mind was how Reiko is pronounced. Since I was hearing Reiko in my mind for so long, I chose to swap the two letters around and change it to Reiko. And it will be Reiko from here on out. It is only a swapping of two letters, so hopefully it won't bother anyone.

There might be a few more things I will edit if I get the time but those are the main changes for right now.

And lastly, my health, I am very, very ill and it isn't getting any better.

I flew out to NYC two months ago, I saw the pain doctor who the surgeon contacted to arrange my targeted nerve block, the pain doctor said he would help out and for me to fly out to talk with him. He told me in person that he would do the injection. I flew back.

I was told by my neurologist, that the plan is to get the shot, if it helps, the surgeon will likely do decompression surgery.

Then the pain doctor spoke to me again a month later, he backed out of the nerve block and told me he isn't going to do it now. I was distraught because it was my gateway to surgery.

My neurologist spoke with the surgeon, and the surgeon said that he still thinks it is possible that the neck compression of nerves is the cause. However, he will not operate without evidence. And without that doctor doing the injection, we have no evidence.

So, now my treatment has been set back. My neurologist is trying to find other ways to get evidence, because he still believes this is a high likelihood that this is the cause of my never-ending suffering.

He came up with a new plan, he is going to try to get me a spinal cord stimulator implant, which he says is the middle ground approach in absence of the nerve block. He says if it helps, we may be able to use that as evidence to convince the surgeon or another to operate.

But that is going to take a long while, likely much of the year. In the meantime, I am in agony without any relief.

I am having great difficulty functioning because the pain in my head, neck and ears is so sharp. I am lightheaded all the time, I can't move or even sit without feeling chronically nauseous.

I am young and have no broken bones, I even look healthy, yet my entire body hurts. I always feel so weak and stumble when I walk. And it is beyond disheartening that all I can do is sit around, suffer and wait.

I am just extremely unlucky, I have some sort of condition that is so rare that no one knows what to do to help me, and everyday I fear that I will never get better. And that this is lifelong.

Things are even worse now, because I was diagnosed with a right paralyzed vocal cord. And my voice has been hoarse for four months. I have been told that could be making my symptoms worse because it is giving me chronic inflammation which may explain why I am falling apart. And now I have to treat that to get my voice back.

Things are just really horrible, and I am struggling to cope everyday while hoping that someone will help me soon.

I am still writing, it is just moving very slowly. I just finished the second chapter of the next arc after two months. Things will keep moving more slowly for the time being, but with any luck, I will get some relief soon and maybe things will move along more quickly then.

Anyhow, that will be all for today though.

Stay tuned for next time.

For chapter one hundred forty! Predator!