Chapter 3: A shifting wind

Feeling the touch of his hand on hers sent Azula's mind into a disparaged mess. She realizes no one has treated her like this in a long time.

With concerned eyes and a careful touch, Kaze inspects Azula, looking for all visible injuries.

His eyes focus on the most apparent, her lower lip and her right ankle, which by now looked as big as a lychee nut.

"I… I can help with that" Kaze says, attempting to hide his exhaustion from Azula, while pointing at her lower right leg. He looks at her, waiting for permission to heal her.

But Azula just stares, eyes trained on him. 'How? Why?... Who is he?' Her mind jumbles through multiple questions, all unable to be vocalized.

This continues for a small eternity, until a voice finally snaps her out of her thoughts.

"Um… I'm just going to-" Kaze starts, pulling water from the pond and covering his hand. He then starts moving it towards her injury.

Azula looks down, and sees the water start glowing, as she feels relief quickly climbing through her leg.

It felt like a cold stream of water was flowing through her body, and she's left speechless as her inflammation starts to disappear slowly.

Determined to find out what exactly was happening, Azula finds her voice and asks.

"H-How-" She says, eloquently.

Kaze looks up at her, hand still sticking to her ankle. "How… what?" He then points at down at the glowing water. "Oh! This? Well uh, I'm a… waterbender?" He says, chuckling lightly, eyebrow raised.

She realizes he was teasing her.

"Don't mock me!" She says, her usual sharpness returning to her voice. "What I'm asking is… Who are you?! Why are you here?! And-" she grabs Kaze by his shirt "Why did you help me?!"

Kaze is startled by her sudden outburst but feels through his shirt how her arm seems to be trembling.

"I… saw the assassin guy heading to the palace, and I got worried." He said, as soothingly as he could, slight apprehension as he's reminded of the last time he tried helping someone. He then looks at Azula, who seemed to be waiting for him to continue. "And… uh, well… that's it?" He gets out, bracing himself for another outburst.

"That's… it?" Azula seems offended by his words. "What do you mean that's it?!" She screams, pulling his shirt tighter. "You're a kid, and a peasant! How could you possibly had thought you could just barge in here and take care of my business!"

"Hey! I saved you didn't I!" He pushes back, startling Azula. No one other than her parents has ever talked to her like that. "Plus! I'm pretty sure you were inches away from being cut in half right before I blasted that weirdo on the ground!" He yells, pointing his finger at said weirdo on the ground.

"Geez! What are you, some sort of princess?!" He asks, and then it clicks in his head.

He studies the girl properly now. She's dressed in expensive looking red fabric, detailed with golden accents, she has a top knot holding her hair up regally. He remembers hearing that members of the royal family tie their head up with something bearing the royal symbol as a show of status. And there it was, a small crown holding her hair up while bearing the symbol of the Fire Nation.

"Uh… are you?" He asks slowly.

Azula's face takes an unamused look, one eyebrow raised. "You… don't know...-" Her fists clench once more, as she pulls Kaze harder from his shirt. "You don't know who I am?! I'm Princess Azula! Future crown princess of the Fire Nation, the greatest firebender to ever be born!" She practically screams in his face. "And you haven't answered me! Who. Are. You!?"

"Oh! Yeah um… My name's Kaze." He stammers out, sheepish smile on his face.

"Okay then Kaze" Azula's eyes narrow. "You'll tell me why a water tribe warrior is doing in my home, and I might just not BURN that smile off your face!" She says, menacingly pushing fire from her left hand.

Warrior?

"Wait, I'm not a warrior! I just happen to be a waterbender, that's it!" He says, sweat pooling on his forehead from having fire so close to him.

'Not a warrior?' Azula thinks. He must be lying! If he isn't a warrior, then how did he just defeat a trained assassin with such show of power. "Stop lying!" she screams, pushing the fire closer to his face.

"I'm not! Promise!" Kaze says with rising panic. "I don't know all the details but-" He tries to compose his face and meet Azula's eyes. "But my dad! He was a waterbender!" He says, making Azula roll her eyes.

"Oh wow, who would've thought!" She says sarcastically, quickly losing her patience, her jaw clenching tightly, eyes narrowing further.

"No! I mean-" He scrambles for words in his head "I mean that- My dad was a waterbender! But my mom is from here! From the Fire Nation!"

Azula's eyes widen at his words, fire extinguishing in her hand. "T-That's not possible!" she narrows her eyes again "I said, stop lying!" But Kaze's eyes tell a different story. Being the master liar that she is, she can tell when others are trying to lie to her. And with the way this boy in front of her seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve, Azula realizes he must have been honest with her so far.

"B-But that's-" She starts, grip on Kaze's shirt weakening. "That's treason! Having a child with the enemy is a crime worthy of death!"

And with the mention of his mom, Kaze's temper rises a bit, frustration etched in his face. "Listen-!" He says, taking her by the wrist on his shirt with surprising strength. "Let me just heal you, and then-" He trails off, letting his anger calm for a bit. "And then I'll get out of your way and go home. Okay? Just-"His eyes focus towards the ground. He then grabs her hand with both of his. "Just please don't tell anyone! I can't lose my mom too…"

It is here that Azula remembers her injuries. Looking down at her ankle, she notices it's now back to its original shape, the pain being just a ghost of what it was.

Once again being reminded of the boy's incredible proficiency with his bending, brows furrow once again.

"Heal my face next…" She says, her voice barely a whisper. "And I might just consider it…"

But Azula's menacing tone flies above Kaze's head, as his eyes take a sparkle look and he smiles a radiant smile. "Really?! You got it then!" He says as he pulls more water from the pond, and without warning puts his fingers on her bloody cut on her lower lip.

This action startles Azula enough that she drops her hold on his shirt, and only manages to stare wide lidded at the boy who seemed to be only focused on healing her wound. He's never met anyone so brazen and unconcerned by her status.

She flinches slightly as she feels the same cold sensation she felt on her ankle a couple of minutes ago.

"Don't worry. I'm almost done!" He says, noticing her jump at his touch.

Azula's frustration grows, and for some reason, she can feel her cheeks heat up at his words. She averts her gaze, not daring him see her pathetic display of emotions.

"There!" He shouts, startling Azula. "Your ankle will still need to rest for a bit, but all in all you're all good now!" He gives her another one of his radiant smiles, as if she was some sort of glacier he was trying to melt down.

Azula touches her face, then attempts to move her ankle. Realizing there was no trace of pain or discomfort, Azula's thoughts wander.

'I feel… completely fine… Did he lie again?' She thinks. But no. He hasn't lied so far, so why would he now. He probably didn't realize his healing fixed her injuries fully.

'Is he… not aware of his power?' She finally notices, eyes widening at the revelation.

"Well I uh… I'm just gonna go now…" He stands up and starts making for one of the walls. "It was nice meeting you, Princess Azula!" He says with a genuine smile, the type Azula hasn't seen in anyone for years.

Against her better thoughts, her mouth moves on its own. "Wait!" She yells, as Kaze turns around and looks at her, slight confusion in his face.

"What's up?" He asks.

"I- um…-" She starts, but whatever she was going to say gets interrupted by the sound of metal armor and loud footsteps through the garden.

"There they are!" Is the last thing they hear, before Kaze is tackled to the ground.

Ursa has been trying to enter her daughter's room for who knows how long. But no matter how many times she calls out to her, the only sound she receives is that of muffled sobbing.

'What did that man do to her now!" Ursa thinks as her eyes narrow in fury.

Determined to find out what exactly, she turns around and makes towards her shared room with her husband.

Her pace is quick, fists tight on her sides, with an expression that sent any servant that was unfortunate enough to meet it cower in fear.

Reaching the door of their bedroom, she slams the door open.

"What did you do to our daughter…!" She says through gritted teeth, not allowing any eavesdropper to listen in.

"I taught her a lesson." Ozai simply answers, not bothering to acknowledge her entrance.

"She failed me and punished her accordingly. That's it." He says, as if just having to talk to his wife is a major inconvenience.

"She was bruised! She was limping! How dare you treat your daughter like that!" Ursa strides with fire in her eyes towards her husband. "She's just a little girl!"

"She is the future of the Fire Nation!" He shouts in a deep growl.

"I cannot have her fail me like Zuko did!" He stands up from the bed and stands in front of his wife.

"How can you treat them like that?! They're children, they are not tools for you to just use until you can throw them away!" She practically screams, her higher pitch reverberating through the room.

"Quiet!" He shouts, pushing through Ursa towards the door.

"It doesn't matter now." He says, the corners of his mouth rising in a menacing grin. "After tonight, Azula will learn to never settle for anything but perfection." And then he leaves.

"What…? What does that-?" She tries to say, but is promptly interrupted by a loud sound in one of the surrounding gardens.

Worry reaching a peak in her mind, she rushes out and heads towards the noise, but is promptly stopped a figure clad in armor, who is standing next to an entourage of Royal Guards by the exit to the back gardens, where Ozai was standing as if waiting for a signal.

"What's going on?! That sounded close to Azula's room!" She asks, but is met with silence.

"Ozai!" Her voice is powerful enough to startle some of the guards standing close to her.

"I said quiet!" He yells "I'm making sure Azula learns what it means to fail." He then turns his head to look at Ursa over his shoulder. "Don't worry, she won't be harmed, just enough of a scare for her to fear for her life." He finishes with a sadistic grin plastered.

Ursa's eyes widen in horror, realization hitting her like lightning.

"You wouldn't…" she croaks out.

But before anyone could say anything else, a loud roar is heard outside. Like a raging, unrelenting monster was going wild in their gardens.

With confusion in his face, Ozai steps out, with the guards and Ursa following in tow.

"Look for my daughter!" Ozai orders, and so the Royal Guard hurries in different directions close to the source of the sound.

Ursa's worry slowly turns to dread, as she fails to find her daughter, the only source of light being the shining moon.

And then she sees it.

Azula, her precious daughter, and a boy, holding something to her lips with a strange glow.

But what really startles her is the look on her face. A look she hasn't seen for too long now. There's no anger, no edge to her features, just a regular looking girl. And what she does next almost make her believe she's dreaming.

Azula's cheeks seem red in embarrassment, as she averts her gaze to the ground beside her.

She wants to approach them, but before she could consider it, a guard makes his way besides her.

"There they are!" He yelled, as Ozai and the other soldiers make their way quickly towards the two small figures.

Ozai couldn't believe it.

The assassin he hired was supposed to be one of the best. Trained since childhood in the art of killing.

But now, she was laying on the ground unmoving, body completely drenched in water.

"My Lord!" One of his generals calls out to him.

"We have identified the boy to be the waterbender that was caught attacking civilians in Harbor City!"

Waterbender? But how? He then walks towards the boy who was being held by a guard by his hair.

He wasn't anything more than a child. How could someone like this beat one of his most trusted agents.

"You!" He growls, grabbing the kid by his neck and lifting him. "Who are you? Who sent you here?"

Kaze tried to answer, but the words drowned in his throat, the Prince's grip blocking air from getting in.

He then throws him to the ground. "No matter! Any enemy that dares step into my nation will be met with the same fate!" He yells, pure anger seeping from his eyes at the murder of one of his prized assassins.

"Execution" He finishes the thought, as Kaze's face contorts in fear. "Take him to the throne room. I'll deal with it myse-" But a voice interrupts him

'Execution…' Azula freezes at the word. The boy that fought against a fearsome assassin and saved her life just because he wanted to was going to be killed for it?

'No… He can't. He's strong, maybe even stronger than her. She couldn't let someone like that just die for nothing. Before she could prove reach his level, and then surpass him' Azula thinks as an unknown emotion sinks her heart to her stomach.

And so, without thinking, she protests.

"Wait! Father!" she yells as loud as she can, catching the attention of everyone around her.

"H-He saved me, and…" She looks at the limp form of the assassin who almost took her life "And I saw him effortlessly dispatch of the trash that threatened my life!"

"What are you saying, Azula" her father says, patience quickly wavering.

"H-He's not the enemy! He's Fire Nation, he told me his story and I can tell he told me the truth. And he's powerful!" She raises to her feet, both legs feeling equally stable. "He can be of use! He can serve the Fire Nation!" She says with as much confidence as she could muster.

Ozai once again stood speechless. His daughter who he trained to be ruthless was advocating for a peasant's life. Her eyes shined strong, the royal golden color glinting with the light of the moon. If what she's saying is true, and this boy had some Fire Nation origin, then integrating into their side of the war could prove useful. And, if this boy managed to best one of the Fire Nation could offer at such young age, he could prove to be a trump card no other nation could foresee.

But then again, allowing a waterbender, no matter his origin, into his ranks could be used to undermine his grandfather's hundred year campaign against the world by one of the many greedy bastards who only seek to seize the power granted to their bloodline.

His brows furrow, as he goes through every possibility, mind carefully piecing a plan. A confident smirk graces his lips before he turns towards the boy.

"It's rare that my daughter holds someone to as much regard as you boy…" He inches closer, his body towering over Kaze. "Very well" He puts a hand to his shoulder "If you are what she says you are, then I'll grant you one chance."

Kaze gulps nervously. "And what would that be?" He asks, fear still gracing his features.

Ozai turns around, before promptly directing some words to one of his officers. "Make sure our 'guest'-" He nods to Kaze "Gets some rest in one of the guest bedrooms. Tomorrow, he'll fight for his honor in the royal fighting grounds. Make sure you gather the capital's best firebenders." He says as he starts making his way back into the palace. He turns his head one last time "Do not disappoint me." He directs at Kaze, with a glare that sent shivers down his spine.

Kaze's hands tremble, as he realizes what his words meant. He'll have to fight for his life once again, and this time, he wasn't sure he would get as lucky as he did tonight. His eyes then snap towards the assassin, whose body was now being carried away by a couple of guards.

Azula lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Even if for just a while longer, Kaze would get to live.

She looks at his small frame, his gaze on the ground, hidden from the moonlight.

Azula starts moving towards him, but before she could advance one step, she hears the one voice she didn't want to hear.

"Azula!" her mother calls out to her, voice laced with panic and what seemed to be anger.

Once again, Azula thinks the anger is directed at her. Closing her eyes at the upcoming scolding, she drops her eyes to the ground, not wanting to see whatever expression her mother directed at her.

But what happens next catches her completely off guard.

Her mother's arms wrap tightly around her, as she drops to the ground and holds her as close to her body as she can.

The warmth seeping from her mother's embrace sends Azula's mind into a complete blank. The last time she's felt a touch like this was… a like ten minutes ago, when Kaze was taking care of her injuries…

She has only just met him, and he has already affected her life in the most unexpected of ways. The only memories she has of her mother embracing her are hazy at best, and the comfort and warmth that they brought along were nothing but an alien feeling at this point.

Not knowing what to do, Azula lets herself sink into her mother's arms, refusing to let any more tears to seep out of her.

"I'm sorry, Azula." She hears her mother say, voice trembling with sadness.

"I'm sorry for letting him hurt you. I should've been there, protecting you!"

Azula feels the tears coming from her mother's eyes staining her shoulder.

The moment last for a long time, but somehow, not long enough. A couple of small steps catch both mother and daughter's attention.

Ursa stands up and looks at the approaching figure of Kaze.

"And you-" she pulls the boy into another hug "Thank you for saving her!"

Kaze freezes for a second in surprise, but recovers quickly, the embrace not to foreign of a concept for him like Azula.

"Don't mention it! I wasn't going to let some random assassin guy just get away with killing the princess!" He smiles at Azula, his face barely visible through the hug.

Azula should've felt something different at this. Jealousy or anger at someone taking so much pride in taking the glory away from her. But her mental exhaustion, combined with the lingering warmth of her mothers embrace, make Azula's heart forget about her pride, even if just for a while.

So, she just smiles back. A small rise from the corners of her mouth, unlike her deceitful smiles she puts in order to get what she wants from others, a genuine happiness digging at her insides.

A guard approaches the three of them, before looking at Kaze directly.

"Boy! Follow me!" He said jerking him from his shoulder once Ursa releases him from the embrace. But he's quickly stopped.

"Wait." Ursa says with a commanding tone worthy of a Fire Lady. "I'll escort him to the guest rooms myself."

The woman then takes Kaze's hand in her own before walking back to Azula's direction. "Come on, Azula." She says taking her daughters hand on her remaining one.

Slightly taken aback, the guard does a quick bow and leaves the garden.

Ursa then starts leading the pair of kids back to the palace.

As Azula is guided through the palace, she can't help but steal glances at the boy who caused so much turbulence in her life for the past hour or so.

She can't help the amusement in her eyes as Kaze's eyes drift from edge to edge, completely enthralled by the Palace's many shining decorations.

She can't help but go back to the one defining moment of the night. Her, about to wage her life on a technique she's never managed to produce, until she's promptly saved by a mysterious, yet almost obnoxiously cheerful Fire Nation waterbender.

She starts thinking about what would have happened had Kaze not intervene in time. Would she blast herself from her attempt at lightning, leaving her helpless against the assassin had the explosion not killed her first.

Or maybe she might have been successful and destroyed the shadowy figure with a devastating strike of lightning. Her father would probably praise her for it, and everything would go back to how it was before her disaster of a demonstration she gave.

And then her mother would only continue to see her as the monster she was.

But now, as she lets her mother guide her with a gentle tug of her hand, Azula realizes that maybe, just maybe, what came to pass, was the best possible outcome.

And it was all thanks to blue-eyed boy who was currently busy counting the amount of food he saw as they passed through the kitchens, who by this time tomorrow would be fighting for his life against the Fire Nation's best benders.

He saved her life today.

So, she would have to make sure to return the favor.