The door opened with a loud, creaking sound that made Sokka flinch. Azula pushed it open completely, and ushered her gladiator to follow her inside the room. The gladiator gazed about it in surprise, never having entered a Fire Nation armory before.
"We're lucky it wasn't locked," said the Princess, relieved at how easy it had been to enter the room. "I suppose they only felt the need to keep it shut when Zuko and I were children…"
"This place is creepy," said Sokka, gazing at the weapons with curiosity nonetheless.
"Oh, it is," replied Azula, passing through the rows of spears with sharp and deadly tips. "Which is why I loved sneaking into it whenever I could get away with it."
Sokka stared with interest at an assortment of chain-sticks before following Azula through the room, his eyes peeled at the sight of many dangerous and interesting weapons. There were staffs, knives, daggers, bows with their arrows, more spears, tridents, clubs, maces; and all the kinds of weaponry of different kinds and sizes. There seemed to be a replica of every single weapon Sokka had ever heard about in this room.
"When I was younger I was supposed to be forbidden from ever approaching this place," said Azula. "There was too much peril in this room for a little princess."
"And if you were anything like the Princess you are now, I figure that didn't stop you," said Sokka, smiling.
"Indeed, instead of stopping me, the prohibition only fueled my curiosity," said Azula, smirking. "The excitement that came from going against the rules has always held an undeniable appeal for me. And the stronger the prohibition, the more beckoning the challenge became. I'd make up excuses to be free to sneak around the Palace, such as lying by saying I would go play with Mai and Ty Lee at either of their houses when I would actually be hiding inside the armory.
"It was no easy feat to sneak into the room, of course. The Fire Lord had a wooden chest in which he kept a set of spare keys for every room in the Palace; only him, the top ranked Royal Guards and head servants would have every single key for the Palace. Yet the Fire Lord's keys were the least used set, and the easiest for his granddaughter to steal. On a certain occasion in which my grandfather had to attend a pointless ceremony to greet a nobleman, I snuck into his room and took his key to the armory. Nobody ever suspected I could have done something so bold, of course. Once I had the key, I could make it into the armory without a problem. I'd go inside hastily to make sure nobody saw me."
"So you were an evil mastermind even when you were a little brat?" Sokka asked, amused by her tale.
"You have no idea," said Azula. "I probably shouldn't be so proud about it, but I really can't feel any shame over it, no matter how hard I try…"
Sokka couldn't help but laugh out loud at her confession. Azula seemed surprised that her story would amuse him as much.
"I'm not surprised to hear that at all," he said, chuckling still.
"I will admit, though, that after a while the fun part wasn't looking at the weapons as much as it was going to Zuko to boast about my trips into the armory," she said. "At first he wouldn't believe I had done it, then he'd be jealous because he wanted to see the armory as well. I invited him a few times, but his strange sense of righteousness would tell him not to go with me. You could see the conflict written all over his face as he wondered whether to do it or not. In the end he'd settle for not doing anything, and threatening to tell our mother…"
"Did he ever do it?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yes he did," said Azula. "Once he told her, and my mother was about to tell me off for my misbehavior… but when I denied it she found she couldn't prove I had been in the armory after all. I'd hide my grandfather's key inside my boot, and since it was just one spare out of several, they never suspected I had stolen that one. The armory was intact, and so it seemed as if I hadn't set foot in there. Zuko then decided I was lying about my visits to the armory. Of course, I told him that I just wasn't stupid enough to get caught. He still wouldn't believe me, though, so every time I snuck into the armory I'd bring back a story about one of the weapons I'd seen…"
"A story?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, several of these antiques have stories behind them. The tales aren't fully explained, but the inscription below each one says who it belonged to," said Azula, stopping by a shelf and pointing at a golden dagger on it. Sokka stared at it with interest, noticing the caption she had just mentioned. "I'd only read the inscription, detail what the weapon looked like, and then run to Zuko with a makeshift story about my weapon of choice. He'd keep saying I was lying, but I wouldn't stop doing it… until our father caught me in the middle of a story of a sword that was wielded by a Fire Nation General as he fought singlehandedly against an army of earthbenders riding badgermoles. The general died quite honorably after slaying all his enemies, taking his own life with his sword because he had nothing to live for anymore."
"What a weird way to end the story," said Sokka, frowning. "What did your dad have to say about it?"
"He seemed to find it quite amusing, actually," said Azula. "Zuko told him all about how I was lying about sneaking into the armory and bringing back these awful stories to him. Upon that, my father frowned. I thought he was going to scold me, because he knew I had the courage and brains to get in there without being caught. But instead of reprimanding me, my father actually congratulated me, and asked me if by chance I had seen the Bloodlust Spear. The mere name scared both me and Zuko right away. I said I hadn't, and then he proceeded to tell us a terrifying tale of a spear that would fly into battle on its own accord, slaying every single man that stood in its way. It would murder and murder and coat itself in blood until its bloodlust was subdued, but that only lasted for a few years and soon after it would go on a killing rampage again…"
Sokka's eyes opened like plates, and he gazed about himself in horror, looking for the spear Fire Lord Ozai had spoken about.
"He warned me not to go into the armory again if I didn't want to rouse the spear, because if any human warmth reached it, it would awaken and hunt humans until its thirst for blood had been quenched. You can imagine just how horrified Zuko and I were after hearing that tale."
"No kidding," said Sokka, gulping. "That's spookier than all the Water Tribe ghost stories I've ever heard…"
"It is, but it was a fake tale, just as fake as the ones I told my brother," said Azula, smirking. "Of course, I didn't know that at first. Both me and Zuko spent nights on end with nightmares about that spear coming out of the armory to get us. It wasn't until I grew a little older that I began suspecting my father was just trying to keep me out of the armory, because it was simply impossible to keep me out of it just by telling me not to go in there. I snuck in again after a few years, and I inspected the whole place thoroughly. There's no such thing as the Bloodlust Spear in here."
"Sounds like a pretty extreme way to keep a kid out of where she shouldn't be…" said Sokka, gulping. "Can't imagine what I would have reacted like upon hearing such a story as a kid."
"Well, it actually spared me more trouble," said Azula, sighing. "Zuko would go to my mother every time I told him a scary story about the weapons, and she'd always tell me to quit harassing my brother… but I didn't want to stop. He had accused me of lying when he had been the only person I'd been honest with. It was very immature of me to act like that, but I wasn't too good at keeping my emotions at bay when I was much younger."
"Well, we were all kids once," said Sokka, smiling at her and shrugging. "I snuck into a few Water Tribe armories myself, though they weren't half as fancy or creepy as this one. And I would also listen into the war meetings my father would hold from time to time…"
"Oh, I used to do the exact same thing until I was invited to take part in them," said Azula, smiling. "If I hadn't been, I'd likely still listen in on them."
Sokka chuckled and followed her as she continued walking, leading him towards the last shelves at the back of the room. It amazed Sokka to realize they had been somewhat similar as kids… there was a chance they would have gotten along quite wonderfully if they had known each other from a young age. Though of course, there was absolutely no chance they could have met each other as children. Even the relationship they held nowadays, as complicated and troublesome as it was, had been absolutely unpredictable for Sokka. If anything had been different, he probably would have only ever met Azula as an enemy, and he would have never come to see her as anything other than that…
"And here they are," said Azula, smiling as she stopped in front of the shelf they had just reached. "At last, the swords."
Sokka had to admit it was quite an impressive display of swords. There were several broadswords like the ones Prince Zuko had mastered, but also jian swords like his own. He was also surprised to see hook swords, like the ones the Savage Hook had wielded. All sorts of one-edged swords stood to the left side of the wall, while the two-edged swords were assorted to the right.
"Well… I can only teach you how to use jian swords, so I suggest you take one of those," said Sokka. "Pick whichever you like best, and we'll get started on your training right away."
Azula nodded and smiled, staring at the weapons without being able to suppress her glee. After years of staring at them from afar, of wishing to hold one of those swords, to take them in her hand and discover the secret arts to wielding them… it was hard to contain her excitement. She walked down towards the corner at the right, recalling a beautiful sword that hung on the wall, her favorite weapon to stare at when she was a kid.
"On my many trips to the armory I'd gaze upon this one," she said, smiling and stretching her hand towards the sword. "I always wondered what it might be like to use it…"
She picked the weapon up, surprised by its weight and by the tingle of joy she felt upon holding it at last. What she had never been allowed to do, what she had always been told not to do… she was finally doing it. And she couldn't have been happier about it.
"Are you sure that one will work for you?" asked Sokla, raising an eyebrow as he regarded the blade. "The hilt looks too large for your hand..."
"You can tell that easily?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you'll scarcely find a blade to suit you perfectly unless it was made for you. And even then, the sword is bound to have its flaws…"
"Then I suppose I should make my own sword one day," said Azula, a glint of determination in her eyes. She had always liked this blade, but the thought of holding a weapon that was hers and hers alone…
"That's the plan, in the long run. But Piandao taught me how to use a sword first, and then how to make one," said Sokka. "So that's what we're going to do."
Azula placed her free hand on her hip, making Sokka grimace, figuring she was about to throw one of her trademark comebacks at him merely by her gesture.
"Do tell, though… if I won't be able to handle other swords properly, because they're not perfectly fit for me, shouldn't you teach me how to make my own sword first and spare me from learning with a sword that wasn't meant for me?"
Sokka stared at her blankly, and Azula raised an eyebrow as she awaited his answer.
"Y-you… well, I… how about we just get started and stop with the weird questions?!" Sokka squeaked, as he turned around towards the door again.
Azula rolled her eyes, but smiled at the thought of having gotten the better of him once more in an argument that he thought he was winning. When was the last time she had done such a thing…? She couldn't remember, but she sure had missed the pleasant feeling of accomplishment that she only enjoyed so much when she was dealing with Sokka.
They chose to train in the open grounds of the Palace. There was a training room inside the Palace as well, yet Sokka insisted it would be better to do it outdoors. Azula complied and led him towards a spot that stood far from the buildings and yet remained distant from the walls, where she figured they wouldn't be disturbed in their training.
"Well, then, the first thing you'll need to know," said Sokka, unsheathing Space Sword and smirking slightly. "Is that you really shouldn't get frustrated with yourself if you don't get everything right on the first go. I mean, even I, Piandao's most talented student, had a hard time finding my way with swords at first…"
"Interesting… I'd never heard a man boosting his own ego in such an obnoxious manner," said Azula, staring at Sokka with raised eyebrows. "And that's considering I've spent my life around pathetic noblemen whose only activity seemed to be to talk wonders about themselves…"
"But what sets me apart from those noblemen is that what I'm saying is actually true," said Sokka, smirking proudly now.
"Which you believe justifies your arrogance?" asked Azula, skeptical. "Well, wonderful swordsman, I'm certain I could beat you up without breaking a sweat as I am, without knowing how to use a sword."
"But you're here to learn how to do it with a sword, aren't you?" asked, Sokka, lifting the blade and smiling now at Azula.
"Now that sounds much better…" said the Princess, smiling back and unsheathing her own blade. She dropped the scabbard and held the sword in her left hand, gazing at the details of the crafting quickly before focusing again on Sokka.
They stood staring at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. Sokka remained immobile, knowing well enough that Azula could be dangerous if he dared jump forward just to take her by surprise. He knew just how deadly she was an ally: as an enemy she was a thousand times as lethal. Even if this was just mere training, he wasn't going to take any chances with her, especially when she wasn't yet a master of the weapon she was using.
As Sokka expected, Azula took it upon herself to attack first. What was he waiting for? Was this his idea for teaching her the ways of the sword, standing four feet away from her and stare at her intently? What exactly was she supposed to learn from that? She frowned and attempted to stab at Sokka quickly, taking into account every detail about the effort she had to make to counter the steel's weight. The blade felt somewhat unbalanced, and it moved a little too far to the left to her liking…
But her sword's balance was the least important thing to her when Sokka parried her blow with such a swift and efficient movement that she was forced to drop her sword instantly.
"Uh… sorry, got a little carried away there," he said, smiling uneasily as she bent down to pick up her blade, a frown on her face.
"You seem awfully wary of me… aren't you a great swordsman, Sokka? What do you have to fear from a mere amateur like myself?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You are not a mere amateur, Azula," said Sokka, chuckling. "You are Azula. It wouldn't have surprised me much if you had been the one to disarm me instead on your very first attempt to use a sword."
"That's a lie," said Azula, smirking. "It would have surprised you, and you would have gotten stupidly frustrated…"
"Yeah, well, didn't happen so no need to elaborate on it," the gladiator retorted, his eyebrow twitching. "But I'll say, though, that you shouldn't hold your sword as you did. You were grasping it too close to the hand guard. There's enough room behind it to hold the sword properly. Since your hand was in contact with the hand guard, the impact shook you even more than it should have, and you made it much easier for me to disarm you. Watch out with that, alright?"
Azula seemed slightly bothered at being lectured at first, but she obeyed Sokka nonetheless. So long as he was her master, the only thing she could do was to listen to what he had to say. By the time she was better with swords than he was, she'd be the one telling him how to hold his sword…
"It's… heavier like this," she muttered, when she held the sword as Sokka told her to.
"Well, it's steel after all," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly. "It's bound to be heavy… you can handle it, though, can't you?"
"Yeah, I think so," said Azula, struggling to keep the sword steady in her hand.
"Alright then, let's go again," said Sokka, and he was the one to take the first step this time around.
Azula parried Sokka's blow, but the weight of her blade made that single movement quite a struggle for her. Sokka attempted to attack again, and Azula's arm shook upon the vibration that rang through her blade. At this rate, she would end up dropping it again… Sokka raised an eyebrow when Azula grasped the hilt with two hands and swung the weapon down on him. He only had to take a step back to evade her blow, and the Princess provided him with too wide an opening. He swung down Space Sword towards her left flank, and he saw the panic in Azula's eyes when she thought he would wound her…
Before he knew it, Azula had let go of her sword and thrown a fistful of flames towards his hand. Sokka jumped back, escaping the fire almost by sheer luck, and he squealed in dismay, not having expected her to bring out her firebending powers in the middle of a sword duel.
"Hey! That's not fair! Firebending is off the table!" he declared, glaring at Azula as she lowered her sword.
"You were about to cut me! Was I just supposed to let you get away with it?!" she asked, glaring right back at him.
"Of course I wasn't going to cut you! How could you think I was going to do that?!"
"You swung your sword straight at me, how was I supposed to know you'd know just when to stop it?!" Azula retorted.
"You had too big an opening, I was just trying to make you realize that," said Sokka, sighing. "Holding a one-handed sword with two hands… it's going to end just as it did right now."
"Well, I'd hold it with a single hand, but it's too heavy for me to move it properly," Azula muttered.
"You'd need to exercise your sword hand a lot to get used to that sword's weight, but you're already quite strong as you are. I guess the sword is just not good for you," muttered Sokka, thoughtful.
"How about you spare me, then, from building unnecessary muscles, and just show me how to make a sword more suitable for me?" she asked, running out of patience. The sword she held was beautiful, but beauty wouldn't teach her the ways of the sword.
"Uh… how about we give this sword one last go and then we think about what we ought to do next?" said Sokka, frowning. "One more round of sparring and then we'll decide."
Azula puffed in annoyance but complied, lifting her weapon with her left hand.
"And no firebending this time, alright?" said Sokka, getting ready as well. Azula rolled her eyes at him.
Sokka moved forward and Azula parried his blow. He proceeded to attack to her left and she managed to deflect his movement again. Next he moved to the right and she still managed to stop him, but at the cost of taking one step back. Sokka's attacks were slow, and Azula would have felt slightly insulted by realizing he was obviously holding back… but on these circumstances, she was actually glad he was doing so. One day she'd be the one holding back against him, she could only hope so…
"There, much better," said Sokka, smiling as he tried to strike her shoulder but Azula put his sword aside with her own blade. "You really need a sword that works for you, but if you're able to do this much with that one, you're bound to do great later."
"Huh," was all Azula could muster as she ducked to avoid one of Sokka's blows. Sure, she was doing better in a matter of performance, but her left arm was strained due to the amount of energy she had to put into each motion. She couldn't keep up at this rate…
Sokka attempted to attack her again when she stood up straight again, and she decided to evade him instead of parrying the blow. She twirled to her left and tripped Sokka to the ground with her feet when he hadn't expected it. When he turned around he found Azula aiming the heavy sword at his neck.
"Alright… you have great footing," said Sokka, grimacing at being threatened. "You are a great fighter, no kidding, but you ought to defeat me with a sword, right? That was the whole point of this, wasn't it?"
"I couldn't… I really couldn't keep up with that pace," said Azula, reluctant to admit weakness, but unable to do anything else. She put the sword away, to Sokka's relief, and sighed loudly as he stood up. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this properly with a sword that doesn't suit me."
"Well… there are other things you could learn before we hit the forge anyways…" muttered Sokka, slightly unwilling to change the order of the training Piandao he had undergone.
"Such as?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… Pai Sho? And calligraphy... Oh, and there's also landscape painting…"
The look of incredulity on Azula's face made Sokka flinch.
"I don't need nor want to play Pai Sho," she grunted, glaring at him. "I already know how it's done, and I actually could beat my uncle at it when I was only ten. As for calligraphy, I've done my fair share of it throughout my entire life. There were days in school in which all we ever did was practice calligraphy. And landscape painting… I could do it, but is it really necessary for me to draw landscapes before having my own sword?"
"Well, I just… that's the way Piandao taught it all to me, I just figured I'd do the same to teach you," muttered Sokka, scratching the back of his head.
"But it's not really necessary to do it in that order, is it?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I suppose not," said Sokka, sighing and shrugging. "We can't quite do everything I used to do with Piandao anyways. He'd take me fishing and he'd make me reorganize my surroundings…"
"Sounds like a hard thing to accomplish in a royal garden," said Azula.
"Is there a forge we can go to, though?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Royal Workshop is right outside the Palace walls," said Azula. "The blacksmith who works there is the one who made the armor you wore before my uncle's earthbending twat nearly killed you."
"And we can use his forge at will, just like that?" asked Sokka, distrustful.
"Do you forget who you're talking to, Sokka?" asked Azula, smiling at him with condescendence.
"Oh…" said Sokka, blinking a few times upon recalling his sparring partner was the Princess. Azula had returned to her role without much difficulty after their time abroad, and she more than happy to get her way again in everything she set her mind to do.
"Let's get going, then," said Azula, jerking her head towards the Palace gates, gesturing for them to take off right away.
It didn't take them long to reach the Royal Workshop. Sokka stared at the building in mild confusion, not quite grasping how a forge could be elegant… yet this one was, at least on the outside.
"Quite a fancy place for a blacksmith, isn't it?" he said, raising an eyebrow as he followed Azula inside the workshop. "I guess it's what you ought to expect from most places in the Fire Nation Capital... But it's still weird."
"I suppose," replied Azula, leading Sokka through the vestibule and into the actual workshop.
Sokka was relieved to see it wasn't as neat on the inside as it had been on the outside. The wide workshop was more than just a forge; it seemed that whoever worked in here was a master of metals, wood, leather and all sorts of different materials, given all the supplies they could see in the different areas of the Workshop. There was a mechanic door on the back wall, which would shut the forge away from the building's back yard, but it was wide open at the moment, allowing them to look out into the garden behind the building. All in all, the workshop was quite an interesting place, much like the armory had been.
"Well, then, let's get started with whatever we're supposed to do…" said Azula, heading towards an assortment of different types of metal stacked in a shelf.
"Just like that?" asked Sokka, surprised by her boldness. "Don't we have to talk first to whoever is in charge…?"
As soon as he spoke, a door on a wall to their left was opened and a man entered the workshop, holding a pile of parchment in his hand. He was short, but with a very broad chest. His arms were strong and powerful, and his face was lined with a trimmed, yet bushy, black beard.
"Uh… P-Princess?!" he said, surprised to find her in his workshop. "Why, I didn't expect…! Y-your saddle, I'm just starting to work on it, but it will be finished as quickly as possible, I guarantee it! I'll have it ready for you in a few days, at most! I'll get all my assistants to work on it, but I gave them the day off today since I have to draw the designs first… Nevertheless, I'm working on the saddle, rest assured! It's my main priority, as it should be!"
He babbled on, obviously in fear Azula had come to demand him to deliver her the new saddle immediately. Azula raised an eyebrow at his rambling, and she nodded once he finally fell silent.
"Good to know. Keep up the good work, then," she said. "I didn't come here to get the saddle, though. It would be beyond unreasonable for me to ask for it right now, don't you think?"
"Uh, well, perhaps," said the man, relief washing over him when Azula confessed she hadn't come to threaten him.
"There's no need to fret," said Azula, waving a hand carelessly. "Get it done on your own time. Just make sure it's the best saddle possible, will you?"
"Naturally, I shall, especially since it is for our Princess," said the man, growing out of his unease slowly, but surely. He turned towards Sokka and raised an eyebrow. "Is this the gladiator, by any chance?"
"Indeed," said Azula, nodding. "The one you built an armor for, about half a year back."
"It was a good armor," said Sokka, smiling politely at the man.
"Oh, I heard it didn't serve you too well against General Iroh's new gladiator, though…" muttered the blacksmith, looking grim at the thought of his great cobalt armor, wrecked. "I figured you might come to get a replacement eventually…"
"Oh, I made a new armor myself, actually," said Sokka. "With some material from Shu Jing…"
"Is that so? Well, if it has served its purpose then I'm glad you managed to make a new one, gladiator," said the blacksmith, smiling. "But… if you're not here to get a replacement for that armor, then what service do you require of me?"
"I actually require a sword this time around," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest.
"Uh… for the gladiator? Will he use two blades now?" asked the blacksmith, confused.
"Who said it was for him?" asked Azula. "It's for me."
The blacksmith's eyes widened upon that statement. The Princess wanted a blade for herself…? Not only had it been a great shock for the general population to watch her return to the Capital on the back of a dragon, with a set of chained criminals walking right behind her, now she also wanted to use a sword...? The Fire Lord's daughter was full of surprises.
"W-well, that sounds… marvelous, truly," said the blacksmith, smiling. "A Princess who has mastered so many ways of fighting will be a wonder to behold in the battlefield, if there were need for you to take part in the war. But in this case, what would you rather have me make first, the sword or the sad-…?"
"Wait, wait, wait…" said Sokka, taking a couple of steps towards the blacksmith. "We didn't come here so that you would make it. We came here because you have a forge. But you're not the one who will make the sword."
"I'm not?" asked the man, astounded.
"No, you aren't," said Sokka, firmly. "The sword is for the Princess… so the Princess herself has to make it."
Azula seemed a little surprised by Sokka's statement, but she didn't complain. She stared at him in slight concern, while the blacksmith blinked repeatedly as he looked at them.
"T-the Princess…? Undertake such rough task? Are you really going to do this, Princess?" asked the blacksmith.
"So it seems," muttered Azula, still looking at Sokka. "But at the very least you'll tell me how to do it, won't you? You can't expect me to get it done if you don't tell me how…"
"That's what Piandao did with me, he told me what to do and I'd do it," said Sokka, smiling. "And I'm sure you'll be able to do it just fine. If something gets too hard for you, let me know and I'll give you a hand,"
"O-oh… me as well," said the blacksmith. "If there's anything you need, I'll be willing to provide… but are you sure about this, Princess? Will you do the forging yourself?"
"I don't wait for others to provide the fire which I bend," said Azula, determined. "It only makes sense for me to build my own blade."
Sokka smiled at her reasoning, and the blacksmith still seemed somewhat uneasy about the whole matter. Yet he nodded and welcomed them to use his installations as they saw fit.
"What metal should I use?" Azula asked, approaching the stack of steels available for forging.
"It really depends on what you wish the final product to be like," said the blacksmith, walking alongside her and showing her all the metals he could supply her with. He talked about the qualities of this or that one, but there were so many different steels that Sokka was certain the man's explanations would drag on for ages.
"What do you want your sword to be like, Azula?" he asked, interrupting the man's rambling about copper and iron alloys. "We'll make use of a light one, that's for sure, but… is there anything in particular you want?"
Azula turned to look at Sokka. He knew her well enough to be aware of her quirks as a Princess… naturally, no regular, common sword would be of her liking. There had to be something to set it apart from all others, much like Sokka's own. Azula frowned and stared at the hilt of Sokka's weapon for a moment before making up her mind about what she wanted and turning towards the blacksmith.
"Is there any chance I could have a sword with, say… a white blade?"
Sokka raised an eyebrow at her question, and so did the blacksmith.
"Well… this one over here might give you the color you want, if that's what you're after…" said the blacksmith, kneeling and searching through his shelf for the exact metal he had in mind. "It's quite a rare steel alloy, but I've found it makes blades of great quality. The original metal is found in mines, naturally, and it's processed afterwards for usage in Fire Nation factories. Its popular name is sterling steel."
As soon as he was done with his talking he stood up, with a pale steel alloy in his hand.
"I believe this will serve for the purpose you have in mind," said the man.
"Most likely," said Sokka, taking it and smiling at him. "Well, I can take over from here. You can go back to working on the saddle now."
"Oh, yes, of course, although I'm mostly finished with my designs now," said the man, eyeing Azula with uncertainty. "What I need now are the creature's measurements…"
"Is that so?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that can be arranged easily enough."
She closed her eyes shortly and fell silent for a while, making the two men eye her in mild confusion.
"What exactly…? Are you calling the dragon?" Sokka asked, astounded.
"What else could I possibly be doing? He'll be here shortly," said Azula, turning towards the blacksmith. "You can take your measurements when he arrives. In the meantime, we'll be working on the sword. I'll let you know if we need anything else from you."
"Of course," said the man, nodding. "Good luck, Princess."
The man retreated towards a desk on which he spread out his plans for the dragon's saddle, and Sokka and Azula were left with the material for the blade they would begin forging shortly.
"We're bound to use a little over half of this block of metal, to make the weight and length of the sword suitable for you," said Sokka. "It's the whole point of this, after all. You'll have to build up some muscle anyways, to make sure you can handle it well. It's not going to be light as a feather, a sword too light is bound to be useless."
"I figure as much," said Azula, nodding. "Well, then… when do we start?"
Sokka would have answered the question if the earth beneath their feet hadn't shaken when something heavy collapsed on the blacksmith's back yard. Azula didn't need to wonder what it was, naturally. She smiled and forgot about the sword for a moment, walking to the back of the room to greet her dragon.
"Well, that wasn't such a bad landing, for once," said Sokka, a little bothered by Azula's quickness to forget everything around her upon Xin Long's apparition.
"Oh, my…" said the blacksmith, forgetting about his papers as he stared at the dark dragon in awe.
"You'll let that man take some measurements of you, alright? He's not bound to harm you with it," said Azula, patting Xin Long's snout gently. "If he bothers you much, make sure to let me know."
The dragon groaned what seemed a positive response, to which the blacksmith grew uneasy. Nonetheless, he got ready to figure out all the pertinent measurements required for the dragon's saddle.
"So… we were in the middle of forging a sword, weren't we?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, we had hardly even begun," said Azula, turning towards him. "What do we do first?"
"Well… not something that will interest you much, truly," said Sokka. "We have to heat the metal in order to work with it. It must be heated so we can fold it several times, which is how the blade is made… and that takes time. So I guess you can frolic with your dragon meanwhile and I'll just put the metal in the forge…"
"Wait… the forge's fires will take a long time to heat the metal, you're saying?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah, it's how it always goes. Metal doesn't grow bland in a heartbeat, you know?" said Sokka, shrugging.
"But… we don't need to use the forge," said Azula, looking at the old foundry. "We'd have to set it on fire first, and then we'd have to spend ages making sure it's hot enough… when we have a better alternative right here."
"What, you plan on using a neat firebending trick on it or something?" asked Sokka. "Or will you ask your pet to do it instead?"
"Pet?" Azula asked, affronted. "Pet, you said?"
"What?" said Sokka, folding his arms over his chest. "He's your animal buddy, you two have a bond beyond reasoning and you love spending time with him… isn't that what is usually regarded as a pet?"
"A dragon is not a pet, Sokka," Azula said, shaking her head in disbelief. "A dragon is a companion, a partner… he's my dragon, and I'm his rider. As you say, it's a bond beyond compare. You can't just equal a majestic dragon to a common pet…"
"Sure, then, he's not a pet… but, say, can I have my own pet?" Sokka asked, his eyes lighting up with the sudden idea. "Just talking about pets made me think about it…"
"What the…?" said Azula, staring at him in disbelief.
"Well, you have a dragon! I ought to get something too so that we both get to be riders, you know? That way we wouldn't just meet in battle blade against blade, but also riding our own animal companions!"
"Of course…" said Azula, grimacing. "An animal companion such as what, exactly?"
"Uhm, well… a wolf, surely! You're the firebender with a dragon, and I'm the Blue Wolf already, so I should have a wolf!"
"Why, let me know when you find one of those large enough to ride," said Azula, rolling her eyes and making Sokka flinch.
"Uh… I didn't think about that," he admitted.
"You don't think much overall, I believe…" said Azula, sighing and taking the metal block from Sokka's hand.
"What are you…? Wait, are you really going to have Xin Long shoot fire at it?!" Sokka asked, shocked.
"Of course not," said Azula, stretching the metal towards her dragon. Xin Long seemed surprised at first, but after his rider communicated her thoughts to him, he grasped what she wished him to do.
And to Sokka's further astonishment, Azula tossed the metal block upwards and Xin Long caught it with his mouth, securing the metal by shutting his teeth together tightly.
"W-what are you…? What are you doing?!" Sokka squealed, losing his cool in a matter of seconds.
"It will be much faster and easier this way" said Azula, smiling.
"What, you think he'll eat it and shit the finished sword or something?!" Sokka shouted, aghast.
Azula's hand went to her forehead. She could hardly believe the amount of nonsense Sokka had been saying in such a short time span. She had forgotten just how absurd her gladiator could be if he only put his mind to the task…
"He's way more efficient a forge than that old one," said Azula. "His fire is hotter than regular fire, just like mine, and he'll be able to heat the metal in less time. He'll spew it out when the metal is hot enough to be folded."
"Huh," said Sokka, blinking rapidly at the thought of using the dragon as a forge. "Well, if it works… but did he swallow it or something?"
"No, it's only in his mouth," replied Azula. "He's coating the metal with his fire. Since his teeth are firmly closed we're safe from the inferno within his jaws. If he were to open them, though…"
"Make sure he doesn't," muttered Sokka, gulping. "You have already burned me before, I don't want to get burned by your pet now…"
"He's not a pet, I said!" Azula bellowed, but Sokka only waved a hand in dismissal of what she was saying.
As Azula had planned, Xin Long was able to heat the metal in record time, and soon enough he had spat the red-hot steel out for them to begin folding it. Sokka began with the process, to make sure the sterling steel had been heated properly and it could be molded to their needs. He surrendered the hammer to Azula afterwards and led her through the hammering of the metal while she struggled to strike the blade properly. They folded the material on itself once and gave it to Xin Long again so that he could join the fold together perfectly. They performed the same procedure several times until the metal finally was thin, compact and strong.
Sokka guided Azula through making the shape of the blade, and she followed his instructions dutifully. They removed some of the material, just as Sokka had said earlier, since the sword was going to turn out too large and too heavy for Azula to hold if they had used the entirety of the steel block available. It was already dusk by the time they were ready to cut the shape of the sword to fit the hilt and pommel to it. The blacksmith had already measured Xin Long and he had no more business in his workshop anymore, but as he was leaving he told them to stay for as long as they needed to. Sokka and Azula thanked him for his help, and proceeded to work with the sword's hilt now.
"A gold hilt, huh?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "I should have figured. We can work with gold, it shouldn't be so hard. I assume, though, that you'll want it to have a particular engraving of some sort on the hand guard, won't you?"
"It would be fitting, I'm sure," said Azula, wiping away some of the ashes on her forehead with a free hand.
"And as for the grip… You'll have to wrap it with leather," said Sokka.
"Black leather" said Azula, smiling and nodding as Sokka looked through the available leather, showing the best of them to the Princess.
"This one looks promising. You're bound to end up getting blisters on your hands regardless of how smooth the leather is, anyway," he said. "It's what usually happens when you first start to handle a sword."
"A firebenders' hands are strong after training around fire for so long," said Azula. "If I could withstand and control heat with them, I'm sure I'll be able to put up with blisters."
"Then let's keep going," said Sokka, smiling as they continued with their work.
It was already dawn by the time they had the finished product before them. Sokka had submitted the blade to a few treatments once it had been shaped properly, and afterwards they adjusted the hand guard, grip and pommel into it to make the sword whole at last.
"I suggest you leave it be for a while," said Sokka, as Azula held it proudly in her hand. "We still need to make the scabbard, but I'm exhausted by now and I'm sure you are too."
Azula was conscious of how tired she was, yet she didn't wish to rest. She wanted to try out her blade as soon as possible…
"We'll get it finished tomorrow," said Sokka, reassuringly. He hadn't missed the look of disappointment on her face upon having to part with her new sword. "And by then, you'll be another step closer to becoming a sword master."
The words worked to soothe her, and she nodded and smiled gratefully at him. Sokka couldn't help but feel amazed at the sight of such joyous smile. It was nearly as if she were just a small kid about to get the present she had always dreamt of…
Sokka returned to his home to find Song rubbing her eyes on the kitchen; she was getting up from bed by the time he arrived.
"Where were you?" she asked, surprised. "I figured you'd be back sooner…"
"I, uh… got caught up with something, you might say" muttered Sokka, smiling uncomfortably.
The color drained from Song's face as she began reaching her own conclusions. She stared at Sokka in disbelief as he began realizing what she had understood upon joining the pieces of the puzzle…
"You did not… after all the things you said, you spent the night with her?" she said, shocked.
"What? No, no! It's not what you think!" said Sokka, shaking his head. "I was helping her make her own sword!"
"You were what…?" she asked, her astonishment freezing as she stopped judging Sokka for a moment.
"She told me ages ago that she always wanted to use swords, and I promised I'd teach her how to do it one day! I figured I'd do it now, since I had a good chance to teach her," Sokka explained.
"Oh, really…?" asked Song, distrustful.
"Yeah! Don't you see all the soot on me?" he asked, spreading his arms to show Song his appearance. "It's because we were working at the forge, hammering metal and whatnot! So it's not what you thought, at all!"
"Huh…" said Song, raising an eyebrow at him but starting to believe his claim. She thought she had to push Sokka more towards making amends in his relationship with the Princess, but apparently there was no need to do such thing. It seemed Sokka was doing just fine on his own.
Azula arrived at the Palace to find the Captain had been looking frantically for her. When he finally saw her entering the Palace gates again he sighed in relief and walked to her with a stern frown behind his mask.
"What on earth happened, Princess? Where had you been? Your father asked about you at dinner, and the guards have been searching through the Palace for you…!"
"I was somewhat busy," said Azula, looking somewhat uncomfortable at being forced to make excuses for what she had been doing. "See, Sokka decided to teach me the art of the blade and…"
"Wha-… Sokka?" repeated the Captain, frowning. Azula had to fight a blush under his stare, even though she couldn't quite see the confusion in the man's eyes due to his mask.
"He just suggested he could teach me," said Azula, shrugging the matter off as if it weren't important for the Captain to know about it. "He's the best swordsman around, he needs someone to train with and I've always wanted to learn how to wield swords. It's a win-win situation."
"Is it, now…?" asked the Captain, frowning a little.
"There's no need to worry, Captain," said Azula, walking past the man and heading towards the dining room. "I was alone with him for nearly a week. If he wanted to pull something bad on me, don't you think he already missed the best occasion to do so?"
"I wasn't thinking that he would be the one trying to take advantage in an unusual manner…"
Azula stopped dead on her footsteps and turned to glare at the man, who, for once, didn't seem intimidated by her stare.
"What exactly are you implying, Captain?"
"Well, Princess… he's proven he won't do anything out of bounds already, as you said. What concerns me now, though, is that it would seem you've grown to trust him again much like you did before. Is that wise? What are you expecting to gain from this?"
Azula frowned before turning around again, muttering a quick response.
"You needn't know what I'll gain from trusting him again," and with that, she headed off to find something to eat, leaving behind a very troubled Royal Guard.
Azula rested for a few hours, yet the excitement prompted her to run right back to the workshop as soon as she had woken up. Sokka hadn't arrived yet, but the blacksmith and his apprentices were already hard at work, and they helped her in the making of her blade's scabbard. She chose red leather this time, and the contrast of the blade's colors against the scabbard's worked wonderfully.
Sokka arrived just in time to see the assistants and the blacksmith standing around the Princess in awe. He watched her release the sword from the dark red scabbard, and he as well held his breath before Azula's masterful creation.
The pommel was golden, with the Fire Nation emblem was engraved into it, much like the White Lotus on Sokka's Space Sword. The handle was covered in black leather, and the golden hand guard had been carved to resemble a dragon's head. The blade, just as the man had promised, was whiter than most steels. Light bounced in the most graceful manner against it.
Sokka gazed at the sword in amazement, realizing they had made the perfect blade for the Princess. The weapon was beautiful enough to match her majesty, and just by imagining what Azula would look like with the sword in her hand, charging into a battlefield on the back of her dragon, Sokka ran out of breath again. He couldn't help but look at her in admiration. She'd grow to be remarkable with that sword… so long as the sword proved to be as deadly in the battlefield as it was beautiful, just as Azula was.
"You finished it all on your own, I see…" he said, approaching the Princess with a smile on his face.
Azula was quite startled to hear him return, but she grinned back when she saw him. She swung the sword with her left hand surprisingly masterfully, as the blacksmith's apprentices jumped back in fear the sword might fly out of her hand by mistake. It didn't, and that was exactly what the Princess wanted her gladiator to see.
"This one seems to suit me much better. I can actually control it," she said, smiling at him "It feels right, as if it were..."
"An extension of your arm?" asked Sokka.
"Exactly," said Azula, proudly. "What do you think?"
"That our mission has been accomplished," he stated, chuckling. "Hell knows how we're going to handle your Royal Deadliness now."
Azula chuckled at that and sheathed her sword again, beaming as she held the weapon in her hand.
"What shall you name it, Princess?" asked one of the apprentices, one out of many young, eager boys who stared at Azula with fervent admiration. A Royal who was willing to go down to a forge and do the job herself was a rarity nobody had ever heard about.
"How shall I name this sword…?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow. She frowned for a moment, unsure of how to answer the question.
"Well, it ought to be Light Sword, given that it's white and light!" said Sokka, smiling dumbly. Azula glared at him in disbelief.
"No, now I think of it, I know exactly what to call it…" she said, smirking at him after the idea came to her mind. "Wolf's Bane."
Sokka grimaced and his eyebrow twitched as the Princess delivered her trademark cruel grin towards him. Of course she would pick a name to irritate him…
"Well, unless you actually learn how to use it, I rather doubt it'll be much of a bane for the Blue Wolf, Princess," said Sokka, folding his arms before his chest.
"Indeed, you're right. My training ought to start right away, since we've got the proper sword at last," said Azula, smirking. "Or are you afraid it truly will be a bane that you can't handle?"
"You can go ahead and believe you have the high ground on most everything, Azula…" said Sokka, cockily. "But I wouldn't be so confident regarding swords if I were you"
"Shouldn't I be…?" said Azula, still smiling. "We'll see about that soon enough, I'm sure."
Azula paid the blacksmith for allowing them to use his installations, and after thanking him and his apprentices for their assistance during the process of forging the sword, she walked right back to the Palace along with Sokka. She gazed at her sword in wonder through the short journey, the smile on her face one of the brightest Sokka had seen since she had found Xin Long.
He smiled too at the sight of her joy, recalling the frown that had been ever present in Azula's face only a few months ago. He had made up his mind to ensure his sponsor would find happiness again, but he never thought it would happen so quickly… and even when he wished he'd be part of the equation to bring Azula happiness, he never figured he'd be in the solution as well. But given the way Azula was smiling at him again now, it was clear he had done his part to give the Princess happiness again. And he was more than proud of having helped her. He would do his very best to keep that smile on her face for as long as it was in his power to do so.
"Well, then… shall we find out how adequate my new sword's name is?" Azula asked, releasing the weapon it and dropping the red leather scabbard on the ground. They had returned to the area where they had trained on the previous day.
Sokka chuckled and released Space Sword from its sheath across his back.
"You ought to keep that scabbard on you, it'll get lost in the battlefield if you just drop it," he said.
"I'll figure the mechanics of that matter later," said Azula, grasping her white weapon accurately this time. "It truly seems to work much better than before…"
"It's a sword better suited for you, it's what's to be expected," said Sokka, lifting Space Sword so that the black blade was in contrast with the white one. "Say… did you pick a white sword so that you could wield the exact opposite to Space Sword?"
"Why, did it take you this long to figure it out?" asked Azula, smirking.
"You really can't help but want to go against me in everything, can you?" asked Sokka, more amused than he was bothered by the situation.
"It's the nature of things, Sokka, you should be used to it by now," declared Azula, swinging the sword circularly in quite a careless manner. "You and I are completely opposite people already. The perfect contrast of our blades is only another reminder of how different we are."
"Yet we're still getting along well, to my utter surprise," said Sokka, smirking and getting ready to battle. "Or at least, we're bound to keep getting along until I prove your sword's name to be nonsense… which is about to happen right now."
"Or so you'd wish…" said Azula, smiling back at him and lifting her sword as well, ready for their first real sword confrontation…
A/N:
So with this… I declare the Rough Rhinos arc to be over. At last xD I always knew this one would drag out for a while, but I didn't know we'd be so close to 50 chapters by the time it ended. To all of those who are desperate for the South Pole (yeah, I know there's tons of you waiting for it, I've read all those reviews and PMs as well xD)… the next chapter will be down South with Katara and Aang ^^ so you can look forward to it!
And now… the bigger announcement.
First, to all newcomers, upon reaching 500 reviews I held a celebration event over at my tumblr (you can find the link to it on my profile), in which every reader is welcome to ask whichever question they want about the story. Yes, it's a spoiler fest, and there's a lot you guys can get spoiled by asking xD there's so much more to come in this fic…
So anyone who wants to participate is more than welcome to do so! It's only a matter of going into my tumblr askbox and sending me the question you want me to answer. And you don't even need a tumblr account to send your questions ^^ I only warn you, though…any questions along the lines of "when" or "how many chapters", I won't be able to provide a good answer to. I've got no idea how many chapters are there left for anything, considering I expected this arc to wrap up around chapter 40 or so and instead it dragged on all the way to 46… so yeah, those questions aren't really going to get answered, and not because I don't want to, but because I simply don't know the answer to them.
To anyone who sent questions on the 500 reviews fest after the time limit was up, your questions shall be the first answered when the 1000 reviews event begins.
And since I just mentioned the time limit… due to the fact that we've reached 1000 reviews this time, and that I might not have enough time on my hands to answer everything within 24 hours, the time limit will be 48 hours this time around. But remember… this event will only begin once the review counter hits 1000. Sending questions beforehand is alright, but until we're up to 1000 I won't start answering… it's a celebration for 1000 reviews after all xD
I will likely repeat the rules in the next chapter if we're still not at 1000, but I figured I'd explain already so that you'd know what the event is about, since some of you asked.
Thanks, as always, for reading Gladiator, and we're off to a new arc by the time we hit chapter 48! :D