Sokka entered the stable and eyed the Princess carefully before approaching her. He didn't know if she had fallen asleep, giving in to the exhaustion of such a hectic day, but he dropped his guard when he saw her eyes were still open.
"Has everything been dealt with?" Azula asked, lifting her head towards Sokka.
"Yeah, the Rhinos are all locked up and tied down," said Sokka, dropping on the ground right next to her. He had been imprisoning the criminals with the help of the villagers while Azula stayed with her dragon. "The four non-benders were tied up with ropes, and the villagers had a strong chain we could use for Mongke."
"Good," said Azula, nodding in approval.
The villagers had been quite kind to them so far, to Azula's surprise. They had thanked her and Sokka for saving them, although they kept some distance from the dragon, fearing its large jaws and deadly fire. There hadn't been much to offer a Princess in such a small, poor village, but the old lady who had been present during the Rough Rhinos' assault had told Azula that she had a small stable in which her dragon could rest. The Princess had been impressed by the offer of kindness and she had accepted it gladly; her dark dragon was worn out by the longest flight he had undertaken in his life, and he needed to replenish his energies.
Thus, the old woman had opened up her empty stables for the dragon to rest. The creature hadn't been too enthusiastic about entering what seemed to be another cave, eager as he was now to see the wonders of the world, but he complied when Azula promised he would be out as soon as he had rested. She was sitting on the ground right before the dragon, staring at him as he slept with his tail curled around himself.
"So…" Sokka asked, looking at the Princess. "What are we going to call our new friend?"
Azula frowned upon that question. Indeed, she hadn't thought about names just yet… how careless of her.
"I… I'm not sure," she muttered, eyeing the dragon carefully. "I suppose there are several names that would suit him."
"How about… Knightmare?!" he asked, smiling. "It could be a play on knight and nightmare! What do you think?!"
"I think I'm not going to ask you for advice on naming anything, that's what I think," said Azula, rolling her eyes.
"Hey!" Sokka squealed, apparently hurt by her response.
Azula ignored him as she folded her arms over her chest, thinking carefully about what she would choose. Her election couldn't be something fleeting, she was looking at what could easily be the last dragon alive. But… no, she couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let that happen. Her forefathers had been stupid to let dragons die… they had been stupid to kill them, actually. She would do everything in her power to make up for her ancestors' mistakes. She had to bring the dragons back somehow, and she would. This dragon was just the first out of many that were yet to come, she knew it. And thus…
"I think I'll call him Xin Long," Azula declared, smiling. "New dragon. The first of the new generation of dragons."
Sokka was surprised by her choice, but he smiled as well and nodded in approval.
"Sounds good," he said. "Though I still might call him Knight…"
"Don't even think about it."
"But-…"
"He's Xin Long, I said," Azula growled, glaring at him. Sokka pouted and folded his arms over his chest.
"Fine, then," he huffed in resignation, looking at the sleeping dragon. "Say, how did you know where to go and how to find him…? I mean, you did say you felt the fire, but how did you do that? Why could you feel him?"
"If you think Xin Long might have been trying to reach out to me intentionally… I doubt it," said Azula. "I'm not sure, truth to be told. Either of the two firebending techniques I used while in the cave must have resounded with his own fire, I believe."
"Then… if they resounded, does that mean you two were meant to find each other?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "Was he always meant to be your dragon?"
"No, he… he wasn't," said Azula. "He always had a choice. He could have chosen to eat me instead of riding off through the tunnels with us. He wasn't meant to be mine, it wasn't his destiny or anything of the sort… ultimately, allowing me to become his rider was something he chose for himself."
"Huh…" said Sokka, impressed. "And now you mention it… for a moment back there I actually thought he had eaten you."
"Oh, I know," said Azula, smirking. "Your desperate screams were loud enough to be heard all the way to the forest, I'm sure…"
"Not funny," grumbled Sokka. "I was really worried back there."
"You feared you'd be next, I'm sure," said Azula, still smiling cruelly.
"Well, yeah, but that's not why I yelled anyways!" grunted Sokka. "You're really mean, you know? You heard me scream like that and for once you didn't bother telling me to quiet down! I had every reason to fear you were gone because I couldn't see or hear anything!"
"And yet I wasn't gone. You had nothing to worry about," said Azula, shrugging.
"Well, not anymore, I know now you weren't eaten…" grunted Sokka before turning towards Azula again. "But… what exactly happened, then? I saw him open his jaws and then it was all dark until he started spewing blue fire."
"He accepted my offering, that's what happened," said Azula. "I thought it was clear enough."
"B-but why did he open his jaws…?"
"How did you expect him to accept the offering?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "He ate my fire, that's what happened."
Sokka stared at Azula in total surprise until he seemed to grasp the concept.
"Huh. So then he ate your fire… and turned it into his own," he said. "Interesting."
"It's the dragon and rider's bonding ritual," said Azula. "Naturally, it's interesting."
Sokka smiled at her typically proud responses and he focused on the sleeping dragon again. Azula's gaze drifted towards her gladiator, and she looked at Sokka kindly for a moment before turning towards the dragon again. Her chest began aching as she tried to find the words she had to say, words she never thought she'd have to utter… let alone to him.
"Sokka… about the things you did in the forest…"
"Which ones?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Which ones could I possibly be talking about?" Azula asked, slightly flustered.
"Well, I did lots of things in that forest and I'm not proud of every single one of them" he declared.
"I'm not talking about your random reaction about riding a dragon, if that's what you're worried about…"
"W-what…? W-wait, what?! Hey, I didn't react that way because of the dragon!"
"No need to try and save face, Sokka, I already thought quite lowly of you even before you got a-… well, what you got over Xin Long…"
"B-but it wasn't over the dragon!" Sokka insisted, desperate. "You know, never mind that. What were you going to say?"
"Uh…" Azula's focus had drifted towards Sokka's blunder, and in the process she had forgotten all about her previous attempt to express something to her gladiator. Returning to what she had been about to say seemed twice as uncomfortable as before… "I was just going to-…"
A soft knock in the barn's door interrupted Azula and startled them both. They turned towards the sound to find the old woman smiling kindly at them.
"Is the dragon comfortable?" she asked, entering the hut.
"It seems he's having some unusual dreams," said Azula, smiling and making Sokka raise an eyebrow at her. How did she know what the dragon's dreams were like? "But he's resting well enough as it is."
"I'm glad," said the woman, relieved. "I came by to let you know I just finished making a stew, in case you're hungry."
The eyes of both Sokka and Azula opened wide at those words. Stew? Food? They had almost forgotten that they needed to eat at this point in time… although their stomachs hadn't, apparently. A low grumble shook Azula's belly and she stood up. Sokka bolted to his feet groggily, staring at the woman with grateful tears in his eyes.
"Stew… I'd really like that, yes," he said, the idea of having something to fill his stomach making him feel hungrier than ever.
"It might not be what you're used to…" said the woman, shyly. "There's only so much food we can work with in such a small village."
"Believe me," said Azula, as they both walked towards the old woman. "Anything you might have made will be much better than what we're used to at the moment."
The woman didn't quite understand what they meant, but she decided not to question the Princess. She smiled kindly and led them towards her house. She had already set down the table for them to eat, and she gestured them to sit down as she brought the stew out of the fire. Azula took her seat and watched her worriedly as the woman struggled with the large pot's weight. Sokka walked towards her and took the pot from her, smiling at the woman reassuringly and bringing the stew to the table.
"W-why… thank you," she said. "Such a gentleman!"
"Only when he feels like being one, don't get your hopes too high with him," said Azula, smirking.
"Now that's really unfair, you know?" grumbled Sokka, placing the pot in the center of the table.
Azula didn't say anything else, her smile still present on her features. Sokka took her plate and filled it with the stew before doing the same with his own…
And when they both started eating they simply couldn't stop anymore. Azula didn't care for once about the Earth Kingdom qualities of the meal, about the lack of seasoning or the simplicity of the food… she just ate rabidly, even putting aside some of her table manners as she dug into the stew. Naturally, Sokka was beyond any table manners at this point. He had started eating with chopsticks, but he had set them aside soon enough. He picked up the plate and flung most its content into his mouth, swallowing everything he could in large gulps. As soon as he was done with the first serving he helped himself with more.
"My…" said the woman, watching their despair as they ate for what felt like the first time in years. "You two must have been really hungry."
"You have… no idea," said Azula, panting after finishing her plate and reaching out for more stew.
"How long have you been without food, Princess?" she asked, aghast.
"Uh… how long was it?" Azula asked, frowning. "I… I think this is our first meal today, isn't it?"
"Yep!" said Sokka, already reaching out for a third serving. "Thanks for your kindness, old lady!"
Azula kicked him under the table at his remark on the woman's age. Sokka grimaced at the pain and glared at Azula.
"You can't just call someone 'old', idiot! Especially if they're giving you free food!" she grunted.
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine," said the woman, chuckling. "Old age is only a fact, it's not as unflattering as it might seem. In any case, my name is Zhen…"
"Well, then, I'll have you know, Mrs. Zhen, that this is the best stew I've ever had!" said Sokka, smiling broadly and digging into his plate again, the memory of Azula's kick long gone already.
"Considering you've been almost a day without eating, I'm not surprised," said Zhen, grimacing. "Why would a Princess subject herself to such starvation…?"
"Oh, I really didn't bring it upon myself if that's what you're thinking," said Azula, after gulping down some of the stew. "Well, not intentionally, that is…"
"It's a very long story," said Sokka, smiling at the woman as she eyed them with confusion. "And there's no point in worrying about it now that everything's better! Right?"
"Right," said Azula, nodding as she returned to her meal hastily.
The woman was still impressed by their behaviors, but she smiled as she watched them eat with such enthusiasm.
"Not often are pots cleared after a single meal in this house," she said, chuckling.
"Do you live alone?" Sokka managed to say between chews.
"Oh, no, I have a little girl who lives with me. She's already asleep," she said, smiling. "She was amongst the crowd when the Rough Rhinos appeared. Her parents are gone, and I raised as if she were my own grandchild. But as you can imagine, a child and an old woman can only eat so much…"
"So are we eating your supplies for the week or something…?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, no, no," said Zhen, smiling. "Don't worry about a thing, Princess."
"But it's…"
"Excuse me…" whispered another female voice, interrupting the conversation.
A young woman, around Azula's age, was standing on the open doorway, holding what seemed like a freshly baked pie in her hands.
"My family wished to express our gratitude to our saviors… so I made this for them," she said, after Zhen beckoned her to enter the house with a gentle smile.
Sokka grinned happily at the thought of more food. Azula glared at him in disapproval before turning to look at the new arrival.
"You can place it on the table, dear," said the old woman, taking the already empty stew pot away as Sokka devoured the last scraps on his plate.
"My husband would have brought it himself, but he was injured…" said the girl, smiling uncomfortably as she followed Zhen's instructions.
"Huh, is he the one who got wounded on the knee?" Sokka asked.
"Yes… did you meet him?"
"Oh, just saw him in passing while I was helping take care of the Rough Rhinos," said Sokka. "He was the only injured person I saw, so I figured as much…"
Azula frowned at the conversation and continued frowning as Sokka took a slice from the pie and gulped it down right away.
"Those are good berries in that pie!" he said before taking another bit off the food.
"Is there something wrong…?" the woman asked, staring at Azula with concern.
"W-why… no, not at all. We're grateful for your kindness," said Azula, nodding at the woman before taking a slice of the pie for herself.
"We're the ones who are grateful," said the woman, beaming. "If it weren't for you… well, I wouldn't even want to know what our village would be like right now… I suspect there wouldn't even be a village anymore."
"Maybe not, but there's no need to think about that right now," said Zhen, smiling. "We're safe thanks to the Princess and her guard."
"G-guard?" Sokka repeated, choking up slightly on his food.
"He's not…" said Azula before freezing in the middle of the explanation. No… these people didn't need to know what Sokka truly was. She had put aside her usual reservations regarding peasants for a while now, but she only could ignore them for so long. "Well, he's the kind of guard that gets me into trouble instead of keeping me from it, if you get what I mean."
It took Sokka a moment to realize why Azula hadn't clarified he was her gladiator. If these people to realize that he was her slave and not her ally, their kind treatment would surely stop being as kind as it had been so far. These people had no idea the Princess sponsored a fighter in the arenas, and he was certain they would all be better off if the villagers remained in that blissful ignorance.
"Oh, I figured as much," said the young woman, amused. "No chance the Fire Nation Princess would wind up here if that weren't the case."
"Well, I wouldn't put the blame of the whole situation on me, truth to be told," Sokka grunted, earning himself a glare which he matched without a problem.
The two villagers seemed slightly uncomfortable by the glare contest between the Princess and her protector. The young woman chuckled a little before bowing down to the two of them.
"In any case, I'm glad fortune brought you two towards us. Speaking in behalf of the whole village, thank you for saving us."
The glaring stopped as both Sokka and Azula gazed at the girl in surprise.
"You're… you're welcome," the Princess muttered, turning to her meal again as she wondered when had been the last time a commoner had felt grateful towards a member of the Fire Nation Royalty.
"Glad to be of help," said Sokka, smiling broadly.
The woman smiled back before turning towards Zhen.
"I think I'll go back to Kang now, he must be hungry too," she said. "Keep taking good care of our saviors, Zhen."
"I will do my best," said Zhen. "I shall pray for a quick recovery for Kang."
"Thanks for the good wishes," said the girl, smiling. "I hope you keep enjoying your stay in the village, Princess, guard," and thus, the girl had bowed quickly at them and she left the house.
Azula didn't take another piece of the pie, wary as she was all of sudden. Her ravenous hunger had kept her from being cautious of Zhen, but for some reason the pie had put her on her guard once again. Perhaps they had saved the village, but that didn't mean these people's intentions were as pure as they seemed. She was the Fire Lord's daughter, after all… and this was an Earth Kingdom village. Azula couldn't even fathom thinking of this place as a Fire Nation colony, because it was obvious it wasn't one. Azula rather doubted that any of the villagers were Honorary Fire Nation citizens; there wasn't a single Fire Nation soldier keeping tabs on the village. She didn't ignore the hatred the Earth Kingdom folk held towards the Fire Nation, and she doubted their hatred would subside only because the Princess had saved them from a band of criminals. The food they had been given could have been poisoned: these people could try to take her as hostage in an attempt to regain their rights, much like Sokka had wanted to do when they had first met…
Sokka didn't miss the sudden darkening in Azula's semblance. He was quite confused by it as he ate, wondering if perhaps she didn't enjoy the berries as he did…
"I hope the food was to your liking," said Zhen, smiling gently. "If you wish to replenish your energies further I have a room available I can offer you…"
"That sounds great," said Sokka, beaming.
"There's only one bed, though" said the woman, looking slightly troubled by the matter "And even if you were willing to share I'm afraid it's too small…"
"I'm certain he's willing, but I assure you I'm not," grunted Azula, making Sokka blush slightly.
"I never said I was…" he grumbled, although the red on his cheeks was enough to ascertain Azula's words as true.
"I guess we could… take turns, maybe," said Azula, shrugging.
"Then you'll stay?" asked the woman happily. "Very well! I'll get the room ready for you."
Sokka smiled as he watched the woman head into another room. He turned again towards Azula to find that she was still looking distrustful.
"Uh… something the matter?" he asked.
"Well, for one, we've dropped our guard too much," said Azula, sighing. "If there was something bad in this food, we're done for."
"Huh? Something bad? You really think…? Azula, they wouldn't poison us," said Sokka, shaking his head.
"You seem so sure of it," muttered the Princess, folding her arms over her chest. "How do you know?"
"Azula… I get that you are a high-born girl and you have no idea how the minds of the meaningless peasants work," said Sokka, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "But we saved these people's lives! They're showing us genuine gratitude, and we should welcome it with open arms rather than question it…"
"Indeed, we saved them just now, but we also brought forth the disgrace of their nation," said Azula, frowning. "Well, you didn't, but I did."
"You? You weren't the one who took over the Earth Kingdom, Azula…"
"I might as well have been," muttered Azula. "My father did, and from what most people see, I'm just the same as he is. Why would they want to thank me when the nation I will lead one day was the one that took away the Earth Kingdom's pride and tore down their glory until they were nothing but a long gone memory?"
"Well…" said Sokka, frowning as he tried to find a way to counter her arguments.
"We're welcome here for now, but I think we'd do best to move on as quickly as possible," Azula muttered. "We don't know how long their kindness will last…"
"You know… maybe that's not really the way they look at it," said Sokka, looking at her earnestly. "Maybe you're judging them too harshly…"
"What part of what I just told you could be off-base, Sokka?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "Pray tell, if you were in their situation, would being saved from one Fire Nation threat by another Fire Nation threat make you change your mind about the Fire Nation altogether?"
"Well, there's a chance that… Maybe they just…" Sokka mumbled before Zhen returned to where they were.
"The room is ready for you now," she said, smiling. "I'm certain it's very rustic in comparison to what you're used to…"
"Well, I believe any bed is better than no bed," said Sokka, smiling and standing up from the table. He looked at Azula jerked his head towards the room, ushering her to follow him. Azula seemed slightly unwilling at first, but she followed Sokka regardless.
"Your kindness is well appreciated," she said to Zhen, tilting her head towards the woman. Zhen grew quite flustered at being thanked by the Princess, but she merely smiled and gestured towards the room.
"I hope you rest well, Princess. I'll make sure to have a good breakfast ready for you,"
"Why… that would be nice," said Azula, smiling a little awkwardly before entering the room after Sokka. Zhen walked off to the kitchen once more and Azula moved to close the door before deciding to leave it ajar just as a precaution.
"Well, who naps first?" Sokka asked, standing before the bed.
The sheets had been white once, albeit now they had a yellowish tinge to them, no doubt due to excessive use. Azula frowned as she looked at the mattress, figuring it was filled by straw… but at this point in time, she couldn't care less if it was filled with feathers or rocks so long as it was a bed. Just by staring at the mattress she felt urged to drop on it and sleep the past days away…
Sokka stepped out of the way when he saw the look on Azula's face. The Princess dropped on the bed, falling face-first on the old pillow that crowned the bed.
"It's a bed… a bed, Sokka," she muttered against the pillow. "I thought I'd never see a bed again in my life… I could pass out of relief instead of exhaustion because of this."
Sokka chuckled and dropped next to the bed, his back against the mattress.
"Say… about what you were saying out there," he muttered. "I think you might be wrong, after all."
Azula raised her head and looked at him doubtfully.
"What's so wrong about what I said?"
"Well… you saved the village," started Sokka before she interrupted him.
"We did," retorted Azula. "I didn't do much damage to the Rhinos on my own. If it weren't for you and Xin Long…"
"Okay, okay, the three of us did it," said Sokka, smiling at having his efforts recognized. "That's not really my point, though. The thing is… they hated the Fire Nation, and they probably still do. The Fire Nation wrecked their kingdom, and they might have lost family members to the war as well. The Rough Rhinos are a bitter reminder of that cruel, heartless Fire Nation that would kill them all to get their way… you, on the other hand, are the heir to the throne and you saved them from those thugs. You defended them and their homes. You're relatively a new face for these people… and to them, you are a hero. You saved them, Azula. Perhaps you are a part of the same nation that tore everything down… but you could change things for the better. You protected them, and they finally have something to thank the Fire Nation for. Don't you think there's a chance that they might be honest when they say they're grateful for what you did?"
"There is that chance, but… things aren't always as they look in plain sight, Sokka," muttered Azula, rolling on the bed and curling up into a ball, her back towards him. "Saving these people hardly means anything… especially considering that we weren't actually aiming at saving them. I was just trying to get the Rhinos, that's all I ever wanted to do."
"And yet you accomplished much more than that," said Sokka. "Why is it so hard for you to accept you've done a good deed, Azula?"
"Perhaps, then, it was a good deed… but they probably don't see me as a paragon of a better future anyways. If they have any wit in them, they won't think of me that way."
"Why shouldn't they, though?" Sokka asked. "I mean… the Rough Rhinos said something that made sense. Your father is a bad man, I don't question that even when I hardly know him, but he didn't do what the Rhinos wanted him to do. He spared the Earth Kingdom people and gave them a chance to become Fire Nation citizens. True, if they have a shred of self-respect they'd decline said opportunity, but nevertheless… he didn't slaughter them. The previous Fire Lord, Azulon, was it? He was proud of killing dragons… he wouldn't have had any doubts about murdering every single Earth Kingdom civilian in cold blood, would he?"
"I can't speak for my grandfather… you're probably right about what you said, though," muttered Azula. "But I have to say my father's resolution to create the Honorary Fire Nation citizen system wasn't exactly based on noble intentions, regardless of what it might look like…"
"What do you mean?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… he believed it to be a worse fate than dying," muttered Azula, sighing. "He proposed the Honorary Fire Nation citizen system during a war meeting. He said that, as Fire Nation people, the one thing we would loathe the most would be to have our nation stripped away from us, to lose contact with our roots… a nationality is a key part to someone's identity, he said. If we could take that from the Earth Kingdom people, they would be completely lost. They'd never be Fire Nation citizens, not for real… and they would be betraying their former nation just by accepting to become honorary citizens. If they refused to become honorary citizens, then they would still have nothing to claim allegiance to, because the Earth Kingdom would be renamed after the Fire Nation, and nothing would be left of what once was the largest nation in the world. So… perhaps you're right. Perhaps these people will see me as the new face of the Fire Nation, and they'll be glad that I saved them… but they'd be fools to believe it means that my father's Fire Nation is so much better than the one the Rough Rhinos claimed allegiance to. From the point of view of a peasant… it should be worse."
Sokka dropped his head, his fists clenched tightly. From the beginning he had known the Fire Nation Honorary citizen system wasn't but a pile of lies. But for the Fire Lord himself to have admitted that his intentions were as vile as they sounded…
"I'm not proud of this… despite what you might think," muttered Azula. "If I've learned anything from this trip… it's that these territories have never belonged to the Fire Nation, and they never will. There's nothing Fire Nation about these colonies other than the name… and I honestly don't find it appealing to consider Earth Kingdom people my fellow countrymen. They're not, and they never will be. Our fire will never burn in their eyes, just as their traits would have never been a part of us if it had been the Earth Kingdom conquering the Fire Nation. My father's decision was wrong. It won us the war, but it was wrong… and even though it saved these people's lives, it was a decision based on the wrong ideas. But… but I guess I learned this too late, didn't I? I'm in no position to do anything about what has already been done…"
"Wrong," said Sokka, dropping his head back on the mattress. "You're in the best position to change it. You are the Fire Lord's heir after all, aren't you? Maybe you can't do anything right now… but you can do something later. I don't even know what, but I'm sure when the time comes you'll know what to do."
"Sounds like you give me too much credit," said Azula, huffing.
"I give you all the credit you deserve," said Sokka, smiling. "I really felt angry just a second ago when you said what your father's intentions had been. But after what you said… I'm relieved."
"You're just pleased because you think your peasant wisdom has gotten to me," grunted Azula, bitterly.
"Well, can't help it if it has," said Sokka, beaming. "I'm glad, though, that it seems you don't agree with your father in everything just because he's the Fire Lord. You can be as loyal to him as you want to be… that doesn't mean you can't acknowledge he's done some pretty bad things."
"Right…" muttered Azula, frowning. Sokka could say all he wanted to say… it didn't change that she felt as if she were betraying Fire Lord Ozai by speaking as she just had.
"You can change your father's wrongdoings for the better, Azula," said Sokka. "I know you can. You can make amends for the damage he did to these people. You've seen just how kind they are… after days of struggling to survive, they've taken us in, fed us and given us a bed. You're looking for reasons to distrust them because you think you have to, for the sake of the Fire Nation or something… but I know that deep down, you're just as grateful to them as they are towards you. And I know that after seeing their true nature, you're not as pleased by your father's decision as you used to be."
"You seem so certain I'm that good a person, Sokka…" muttered Azula. "Considering you used to believe I was the epitome of cruelty, this is quite surprising coming from you."
"I've learned to leave behind my past reservations towards you, and you've given me absolutely no reason to regret having done that," said Sokka. "You're really not half as cruel as you pretend to be, you know?"
"You want to see just how cruel I can be…?" Azula asked, blushing slightly as she grew annoyed by Sokka. He merely chuckled.
"Fine, you're as cruel as you want to be… but Azula, you're not your father. Keep that in mind"
Azula frowned and stared at the wall in front of her with disbelief. Well… of course she wasn't her father, that much she had always known. But she was following in his footsteps, to become a leader just like Fire Lord Ozai was… or wasn't she? Was she supposed to find her own path somehow, someday…?
She cursed Sokka mentally for giving her such a headache when she had been so close to falling asleep just a moment ago. The bed wasn't all that comfortable anymore as her head became filled with a thousand thoughts, all of them claiming her attention when she wanted to give it to none of them. Damn Sokka and his skill for making a mess out of her…
"By the way… back in the barn, you were trying to say something. What was it?" Sokka asked, turning his head slightly to look at her.
The question was enough for all her conflicting thoughts to quiet down shortly. She blinked and forced herself to recall what he was talking about…
"I… I don't remember anymore," she lied, gulping. After what Sokka had just done to her already disorderly mind she really didn't feel like expressing gratitude of any sort to him right now. "The woman's interruption knocked my thoughts out of my head…"
Sokka chuckled and nodded.
"Well, that's okay," he said. "Get some sleep, then. I'll keep an eye open in case the villagers decide to prove your fears were right on track, okay?"
"Good idea," muttered Azula, sighing and closing her eyes.
Her exhaustion was such that her thoughts started dying out one by one until there was nothing left for her to do but sleep the night away, knowing her gladiator would keep watch for her yet again. Maybe he had a knack for messing her head up… but he had proved he could be entrusted with the task of vigilance, at the very least. She could cut him some slack on that regard.
Sokka sat beside her on the bed, fighting his own drowsiness as he finally realized that everything was over at last. Catching the Rough Rhinos, getting out of that horrid forest, clearing the misunderstandings from that night with Azula… it was all said and done at last. Their countless problems were finally starting to fade away.
He let out a sigh of relief and smiled to himself. He had been so hopeless, so desperate, but everything was different now. Finally, they could hold their heads high again and move past what had been troubling them. At the very least, he hoped they could…
Azula rose feeling a little stiff, but no more than she had after all those nights of sleeping on the hard ground. She rolled on the bed, rubbing her eyes as she stared at the wooden ceiling. She had a hard time recalling what had brought her to where she was now…
Her mind was cleared when she grew aware of the duality that connected her to Xin Long. The dragon was currently pacing inside the stable, growing bored and tired of being stuck in that small space when he knew there was so much more room outside. She smiled as she sensed the dragon and sat up on bed. She hadn't rested too much, there was still some exhaustion weighing on her, but she didn't feel like sleeping anymore. She raised an eyebrow upon seeing Sokka had dropped his head on the mattress and fallen asleep while sitting down, but she couldn't blame him for it. She climbed off the bed and knelt down beside him.
"Hey. You can take the bed now, savage," she said, trying to garner a response by being harsh to him.
Sokka shook his head momentarily, not even knowing what Azula had said.
"I'm awake, I'm awake…" he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, sure you are," Azula said sarcastically. "Come on. Get on the bed now."
"B-but Azula is there…" said Sokka dizzily.
"She's not anymore, in case you didn't notice," said Azula, struggling to hoist him and drop him on the mattress.
"She'll kill me… when she comes back…" he muttered.
"Then I suggest you to be well rested when you welcome death," said Azula, smirking at him. "Good night, Sokka."
"Night…" replied the slave, no longer trying to reason with what he thought was the voice of a dream.
Azula left the room after placing Sokka on the mattress, feeling quite relieved to discover that the old woman hadn't been plotting anything vicious against her. She felt a little foolish to suspect such a frail-looking person, but she could hardly be blamed for being wary of her surroundings in a place as foreign to her as this village. Azula would have been the main target for any attacks in case these villagers were as cruel as she feared they might be, but seeing how she had been safe for the night, she figured leaving Sokka to himself wouldn't end badly.
The night was quite dark, only illuminated by a sliver of moonlight. It was probably long past midnight by now, but she could still hear the voices of some villagers. Azula left the house quietly, gazing at the dark night sky while filling her lungs with the clean, fresh air of the town. Sokka had told her to enjoy the air, but she hadn't quite felt like doing so until now. It was truly wonderful to inhale such pristine air... She walked towards the barn, where the dragon awaited. Through their bond she sensed he was quite eager to set off into the skies again… but the same couldn't be said for Azula. Riding bareback might be fun from time to time, but not on the back of a dragon. Luckily her legs hadn't been injured during their flight, but Azula wouldn't feel too keen to set off to the sky again unless she could find a saddle of some sorts.
She communicated her need to Xin Long, who seemed somewhat confused at the image of a saddle, but he agreed to wait for her for as long as it was necessary. Azula frowned as she looked around the village, wondering where she might find what she required…
The voices she had heard earlier seemed to grow restless. Azula considered her options and figured it would be best to ask those villagers about the possibility of finding a saddle. She was certain the old woman would be asleep by now, and she had provided them with too much kindness as it was for Azula to ask for more. She had saved these men too, though, so perhaps they would want to be of service to her, just as Zhen had.
As she approached and began grasping fragments of their discussion, she realized she had been wrong to make that assumption.
"… Honestly, though, I'd rather they leave this village as quickly as possible. If she really is the Fire Lord's daughter she has no business here. This won't end well, I tell you," whispered a first man.
"You're such a fool. She saved our lives! And you plan on thanking her by kicking her, her man and her dragon out of the village?!" retorted another.
Azula frowned at the words, and a mild indignation was born in her upon hearing them refer to Sokka as 'her man'. That sounded plain wrong. What did they think the relationship between them was?
"It would be safest for us if they left quickly," said a third man.
"It wouldn't be kicking her out anyways, we can do it so that it looks like we're thanking her…" said the first one again.
"You're so stupid, both of you," grunted the second one. "They saved our lives from the Rough Rhinos!"
"And they could have saved more lives if they had been quicker! We're the last village in over twenty miles, why did they happen to find the Rhinos here if they're as kind-hearted as you think they are? It's too much of a coincidence!"
"You have no idea what their circumstances were," grunted the same man. "Didn't you see them? Do you think a Princess would be as worn out and filthy-looking if she had a choice?"
Azula's discomfort only seemed to grow upon every word they said. Well, now it turns out she was filthy-looking? Wonderful, wonderful… it seemed her suspicions were true after all. These people were desperate to get her out of their village… and she wasn't exactly eager to stay in it anyways. She had better things to do than to hear them badmouth her. But she really needed that saddle… almost unwillingly, she approached the place from where the voices were coming from, behind a house by the edge of the village.
"Maybe she just looks like that because she's trying to lure you into that stupid sense of security you're in," said the third man. "You're dealing with the Fire Nation, they always pull dirty tricks and schemes to get away with what they want."
"So you think she was allied with the Rough Rhinos all along?" asked the second man, skeptical. "You think this was just a ploy to make us see the Fire Nation as heroes just because she saved us from those guys?"
"What else could it be?" asked the first one.
"I have to say… I fail to see the purpose of doing such a thing," Azula interrupted, startling the three men.
They gazed at her in shock, some in horror, even. She was certain the two who looked guiltiest were the ones who had been claiming she was just tricking them… ah, it was always nice to make men like these feel like the fools they were.
"I really couldn't care less whether you see me as a heroine or not," she said. "I did what I had to do and that's all there was to it. I don't require anyone's approval, and I definitely don't need to trick you into giving it to me. I had a mission to accomplish, and accomplishing it is what I did. Now, you can carry on gossiping like the wives of noblemen if you feel like it, but I would appreciate it if you could tell me if there's anything in this village I could use as a saddle for my dragon."
The man who looked the least guilty took up a pair of wooden crutches and stood up, smiling weakly at her. Azula's gaze darted down towards his leg and she realized this was the man who had been shot in the knee, the husband of the girl who had offered her and Sokka the pie.
"There will be something, I'm sure… follow me," he said, limping away from the darkness of the house.
Azula walked after the man, pleased to see that the other two villagers had enough sense not to carry on their conversation while she was within earshot. She welcomed that little display of decency from them.
"I'm so sorry, Princess… how much did you hear?" Kang asked her, biting his lip.
"Enough to realize just how welcome I am here," said Azula, looking around herself. "Where did the Rough Rhinos wind up at?"
"They're tied up and locked in a spare room in Goro's house," replied the man. "I really meant to defend you, but they're just…"
"Radically against the Fire Nation," said Azula. "It doesn't come off as a surprise to me. As a matter of fact, I expected it. I also expected to wake up chained along with Mongke, truth to be told. I'm relieved those friends of yours didn't think of doing that."
"They're just wary, that's all there is to it," said Kang. "It's been too many years of watching the Fire Nation wreck our country, our beliefs, our families... They have a hard time believing good can come from the Fire Nation after all this time."
"Yet you don't seem to have such a hard time believing it," Azula muttered. "Why is that?"
"I... I guess it was mostly because of your companions at first," said Kang, struggling with his crutches. "For a moment I feared we'd just gotten out of one problem to jump into a worse one, but then you just ordered for the Rhinos to get tied down and you didn't ask for more than for a place where your dragon could rest. That much told me your true intent was to catch the Rough Rhinos and to ensure the safety of your team. I stopped judging you rashly as soon as I saw that. Your interests were obviously to capture them, and in doing so you saved our lives. True, I wish you had been able to save the other villages too... But I'm not going to blame you for not doing it. I'm certain that you would have caught those brigands sooner if circumstances had allowed you to do so."
"Indeed, it's what I intended to do. If only your fellow villagers were as understanding..." muttered Azula.
"I'm very grateful for what you did," said Kang, beaming. "If you hadn't showed up when you did, who knows how many other people would have sustained arrows to the knee, or the shoulder, or the head… You truly saved us. You saved them, but these guys are too blind by their hatred to see it."
"They must be certain the one who isn't seeing things clearly is you," said Azula. "Regardless… I appreciate your attempts to get them to see this matter from your point of view."
"It's the least I can do," said the man, smiling. "I think my wife gifted you one of her berry pies, didn't she?"
"Indeed, it was… quite delicious," muttered Azula, unable to remember just how good it was due to the wariness that had taken over her while eating said pie.
"She had just been baking it when the Rhinos attacked. She said that without your intervention, she wouldn't have made more pies for a long time… so she thought she should give it to you as a form of gratitude," said Kang, smiling. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Azula nodded as Kang turned towards a rugged house to their left. He led the way to the back of the building, where an ostrich horse was kept. Azula frowned as Kang gestured at the ostrich horse's saddle, which was hanging on the wall next to the house's back door.
"Here," he said, smiling. "I suppose it won't be a perfect fit, but you can try it out to see if it works."
"Are you certain of this? It looks like your only saddle... Can you spare it?"
"True, I don't have another saddle, but I'd like to give it to you if you need it," said Kang. "From the looks of it, I won't be able to ride for a while, and I could make myself a new saddle by time my leg gets better. You need a saddle now, and I'm more than honored to provide you with mine."
Azula nodded, taken aback by the man's selflessness. He was a mere peasant, an Earth Kingdom one, and yet he was far more respectful towards her than most noblemen back home. She thanked him softly before picking up the saddle, struggling a little with its weight.
"It might not be the best saddle for a creature like yours... I suspect you would be more comfortable with a saddle for one of those mongoose dragons or even the komodo rhinos..."
"But there's really not much to choose from, is there?" said Azula, flinging the saddle over her shoulder and starting off the journey back to Zhen's barn.
"Well, I could ask some of my friends to go look for the Rough Rhinos' steeds when dawn breaks. They ran off, but I doubt they went too far. We might be able to find them if we look through the forest..."
"Don't bother," said Azula, shaking her head. "If there's no need to go into that forest, it's best not to go altogether. This saddle ought to fit well enough."
Kang smiled and nodded as he followed Azula diligently through the village. The Princess could have walked faster, but she decided to fall back into Kang's pace. She eyed the man cautiously, unsure whether to ask him a few questions she had been pondering... Kang looked back at her, noticing she seemed uneasy.
"Is something the matter, Princess?"
"I was just wondering about something you said earlier..." muttered Azula. "You mentioned my companions had been the first reason why you hadn't regarded me with such distrust. Why?"
"Ah, well... I don't know much about dragons, but word was that firebenders were no longer trusted by dragons, and thus they wouldn't fight beside them anymore."
"Quite a fancy way to put it," said Azula, grimacing as she heard the man's tale.
"The dragons didn't agree with the war, and so they left the side of the Royal Family. But then you came riding a dragon... The Fire Lord's daughter, on the back of a dragon. If the dragon saw it in him to trust you, then I guessed you must be a far better person than the rest of your family. Seeing how you saved us from the Rough Rhinos without hardly asking for anything in return, I'm certain the dragon's judgment can be trusted, and so can you."
"I see..." Azula couldn't help but feel mildly flustered at those words. She was no newcomer to compliments and praise, but she had never heard them in this way before. Was it true? Did Xin Long's judgment of her imply the beginning of a new era for the Fire Nation's Royal Family? Considering the dragon had been convinced to allow her to ride him because of her voice tone and the appeal of her fire, she rather doubted it.
"But there was also your other companion... You two look quite worn out, your clothes are a mess, but it wasn't hard to tell he's Water Tribe anyways. For a man like him to work for you..."
"Is that really much surprise?" asked Azula. "My authority is to be reckoned with, regardless of how dreadful I may look."
"I have no doubts it is," said Kang, smiling. "Yet he's Water Tribe, the only nation that still stands its ground against the Fire Nation. I don't know why he's working with you and I won't delve into it, but the way you both fought against the Rough Rhinos together, and the admiration he gazed at you with when you were beating Mongke down..."
Azula's eyes opened wider and wider at the man's words. Sokka had gazed at her with admiration? Now that was a new one...
"As I watched you two I realized just how wretched this war has been. You're from opposite nations, yet together you're so strong that you brought down a band of criminals as you did. Yeah, the dragon helped a lot, but you two took out most the humans, right?"
"I wouldn't belittle Xin Long's feats in the battlefield..." muttered Azula, growing uneasy at the mention of how good a team she made with Sokka.
"Oh, never," said Kang, chuckling. "I'm merely pointing out that you took out the band's leader, but he brought down three members of the group almost single-handedly."
"I ignore most of what happened with Sokka and Xin Long, truth to be told," admitted the Princess. "To bring down Mongke I had to focus solely on him during our fight."
"Well, at the very least you must have been relieved when you saw all the other criminals had been taken care of."
"I was," said Azula, nodding as they entered the old woman's barn.
Perhaps she made a better team with Sokka than she ever thought... It was hard to believe, considering the conditions of their relationship during the past few months. She wouldn't have wanted to work with Sokka at all a week ago… but she had been forced to. They had faced their differences and confronted each other until everything was out in the open at last… and perhaps that had helped turn them into allies again, and not just for the sake of survival. They hadn't been working together to accomplish their personal goals, as they used to when their strange relationship began. No, this time they had been working together to reach the same ends. This time they had actually been a team.
"I don't think we'll ever thank you and your group enough, Princess," said Kang, staring at the dark dragon in amazement. "We owe you too much, even though not everyone can see it. But I assure you over half the village is on your side!"
"Why, that's a relief," said Azula, smiling as she walked towards Xin Long.
The dragon seemed quite excited to see her again, although the bond between them prevented them from feeling as if they were apart at all. Azula patted the dragon's snout, and his whiskers shook as he sniffed the saddle on her shoulder.
"We're going to try this on you, if you don't mind," she said. "It's not going to hurt you, it's just for the sake of allowing me to ride you more comfortably… is that okay with you?"
Xin Long seemed doubtful about the matter at first, but he ushered Azula to try the saddle out anyways. He knew Azula well enough, even though they had only met a few hours ago, to be aware of how unwilling she was to hurt him. The Princess went to his side and flung the saddle over the dragon's body. It was slightly loose, too large to fit the dragon appropriately, but it seemed it would serve its purpose. She fastened the saddle's buckles and secured the saddle onto the dragon's back, all the while sensing that the saddle brought forth mostly curiosity and confusion for Xin Long.
"Well, it seems to work, Xin Long," said Azula, smiling. "Yes, that shall be your name. I hope it's to your liking."
The dragon stared at her with his head crooked slightly to the right, as if questioning her purpose on giving him a name. He had never felt the need to name something… it was curious that humans were so keen to do such a thing.
"I'll find a way to repay you for this saddle," said Azula, turning towards Kang. "I'll see if I can have one sent to you as soon as I reach the rest of my group."
"No need, Princess," said Kang. "As I said, we already owe you enough as it is. You don't have to repay us for anything. We actually should be doing even more for your sake!"
Azula was about to laugh his suggestion off before her mind lit up with an idea. She caressed Xin Long's mane as she eyed Kang cautiously. Her common sense beckoned her to think more about what she was going to do now, what her next stops and goals would be and how she would accomplish them…
"You honestly think you could do more? You're truly willing to do more?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… yes, although there's not much I can do with an injured leg," said Kang, slightly surprised by Azula's change of demeanor. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, indeed, I can't work with you if you're in that state. Given the situation, I'll need some of your fellow villagers to do a job for me," said Azula, smiling. "I'll be borrowing them for a little while, so long as they're up to the task…"
"I'll gather them at dawn, then," said Kang. "What is the task you have in mind for them...?"
"Guarding my prisoners on the road," said Azula. "But I won't be tagging along with them. My gla-... Sokka will lead them while I take care of another matter."
"Huh... Indeed, I can't help you with that, but I'll find people who can," said Kang. "What will you be doing, Princess?"
Azula smirked as she thought of the answer to Kang's question. She truly looked forward to flying through the mountains again on the back of her dragon, seeking her Royal Barge from the skies. It had been quite a while since she last had seen the Captain of her Royal Guards...