Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

70. Chapter 70: Azula's Birthday 4

The Grand Royal Dome had never faced a ruckus remotely similar to this one. Fights had been hastily re-scheduled, the crowds were utterly bewildered, and the staff kept running back and forth, attempting to shed some light on the unexpected development that had brought on such confusion upon everyone in the Arena. Some sponsors complained about the delay of their fights, others demanded explanations… and when those explanations were offered they fell silent instantly. There was no way they would dare contravene the Fire Lord's commands, even if it meant their fights would have to be delayed for a few hours.

Azula's challenge to Kuan had taken everyone in the celebration hall by surprise. Mutterings and questions had arisen instantly, for it seemed everyone was quite interested in witnessing the fight for the Princess's hand in marriage. Without a doubt, it was the most intriguing happening to ever take place in all of the Princess's birthday feasts.

Ozai didn't seem overly pleased with the developments though, which had worried Azula to a certain extent. Even so, he had been quick to smile and almost laugh about the situation.

"Well, well… it would seem my daughter wishes to test her every suitor herself in order to make sure she has found the right man," Ozai had said, smirking, while Kuan recoiled, uneasy over the developments. "It might be that all men ought to overcome obstacles of the sort to earn the right to marry a woman."

"B-but my Lord…" said Kuan, looking at him with a grimace that attempted to be derisive. "What would a gladiator fight prove, for starters? It's… it's only a game, after all."

"Ah, but a man worthy of my hand should be capable of keeping up with me," said Azula, eyebrows raised. "Still, there's no need for you to accept this challenge if you don't believe you'll be up to the task…"

"I do believe… I am more than capable, of course," said Kuan, angrily. "If I didn't believe my gladiator is better than yours I wouldn't have brought him here. And I am more than ready to prove it."

"Sure you are," said Azula, smiling. "And thus? When should we hold this fight, Governor? I trust you'll be returning to your post in Gaoling once again in no time…"

"I… planned on leaving tomorrow," muttered Kuan under his breath. Naturally, this challenge hadn't been part of his schemes. He had meant to leave the Princess with the new gladiator, removing effectively the disrespectful fool who currently served as her fighter. He would return to Gaoling until Ozai appointed a substitute for him as Governor, and then he would have taken off to the Capital again in order to marry the Princess…

Or so he had thought. How had he been foolish enough to forget how feisty this girl could be? It actually made him wonder if all the efforts he was putting into this courtship were worth his while…

"Is that so? Then we ought to make haste," said Azula, pretending Kuan's quick departure troubled her greatly. "Do you believe we could put the feast on hold for a few hours, Father, while this matter is sorted out?"

"It can be done," said Ozai, looking around himself to find most people were staring at them, eyes wide while hoping to catch wind of what they were saying. "Albeit I figure you shall require the Grand Royal Dome?"

"It would be ideal," said Azula, nodding. "Though I wonder if the staff will comply with allowing our gladiators to collide there today without any prior warning whatsoever…"

"They will comply," said Ozai, at which Azula was surprised. "I rather doubt they would be as foolish as to refuse to cooperate with their Fire Lord. How long do you believe this fight should last?"

Azula glanced at Kuan's gladiator before looking at the man himself.

"What time limit would you propose, Governor?" asked Azula. "I usually lean towards ten minutes, give or take. We could head to the Arena and return to the Palace within the hour, if only the Governor complies…"

"W-wait, we actually will be doing this NOW?!" Kuan exclaimed, shocked. "H-how is that supposed to happen? He's… look at him! Can he fight without his weapons?"

With that, he pointed at Sokka. Azula raised an eyebrow, amazed by how desperate Kuan was that he would grasp at any potential straws in hopes to keep his name in the suitor contest for a little longer. She looked at Sokka, who returned her gaze with determination. Well, that was a good sign. It seemed he wouldn't need half as much motivation as he had back when she had needed him to rid her of Chan…

"It's too bad you took your time to look decent today to no avail…" she told Sokka. "But as you can tell, we need you in your fighting gear immediately. Go home, get your weapons and armor. I'll meet you again in the Royal Dome."

"Gotcha," said Sokka, smiling and nodding. He took a moment to stare defiantly at Kuan before leaving, hoping it would serve to trouble the man further.

"He's…" grunted Kuan, glaring at Sokka's back. "How can you allow a slave to speak to you like this, Princess?!"

"For one thing, he doesn't question me," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "And he doesn't ask me about the things I allow or don't allow. It's quite amusing when you think about it, for it seems that he knows his place much better than you know yours, Governor…"

"Now, now…" said Lieutenant Zhen, swallowing and trying to mediate between the pair while Kuan stared at Azula, scandalized, and she gave him one of her trademark smiles. Ozai could only grind his teeth while Mayor Kuan tried to appease his son. "There's no need for trouble here. We're all going to watch a fun fight, and that's what it's going to be, no more than that. So how about we all just enjoy the ride…?"

"Why, I believe I am enjoying it just fine as I am…" said Azula, with a proud smile before turning to her father. "Shall we, then?"

Ozai wasn't too happy when he nodded towards Azula. She knew she was playing with fire here, and she knew she could get burned… her brother had been burned literally by her father once, after all. Still, she wasn't Zuko. She had her own convictions, and she knew better than to cower in fear if worst came to worst. And she had played her cards in the most appropriate moment, too. It was one thing to speak out of turn in a war meeting, but this was only a social gathering. Contradicting her father's wishes wouldn't count as a slight against him under these circumstances.

And indeed, even though he wasn't pleased by the developments, Ozai had sent word to the Grand Royal Dome to inform them that they required the Arena's installations for an unofficial fight between his daughter's gladiator and another fighter. Most the feast's guests were quite excited about the happenings, for they wished to witness Sokka's skills as a fighter after meeting him just now, and they rejoiced in the opportunity to do so.

A procession of sorts that hadn't been seen in a very long time took place as the Fire Lord, the Princess and the noblemen were carried in palanquins through the city, all the way to the Grand Royal Dome. Most the people on the streets were rather confused by this, though several of them decided to tag along once the rumors reached them: a gladiator fight like no other would take place in the Dome over the right to court Princess Azula.

All in all, the Grand Royal Dome was currently facing the weirdest situation it ever had seen since its creation. Never before had the Fire Lord arrived with hardly any notice, in hopes to witness a fight that wasn't even supposed to take place today. And with him came a swarm of noblemen who were ridiculously demanding, complaining over the seating and declaring that the Royal Dome's accommodations were nowhere close to what they should be.

Shoji watched the disaster unfold before him with a grimace. He had been tasked with explaining the situation to the sponsors of today's fights, and they had been most unwilling to believe him until the Fire Lord himself strode into the vestibule, heralded and escorted by his Imperial Guards. To Shoji's relief, the sight of their land's regent was enough to shut up the sponsors that had been threatening to get him fired for his incompetence.

For once, he was more confused than relieved when his eyes fell upon Azula when she arrived, and he looked at her with wide eyes as she approached his counter, struggling not to ruin her dress as she walked as quickly as she could towards Shoji.

"What's going on, Princess?" he asked, worried. "Is it true that you're challenging a former gladiator…?"

"It is, and I will need all the information I can get on him," said Azula, pointing at the man in question with her thumb: Kuan and his fighter had entered the Grand Royal Dome behind her, and, unsurprisingly, Kuan was already shouting at the slave, telling him to do his job and defeat his opponent before storming off up the stairs.

"Huh… is that Blast of Death?" asked Shoji, surprised. "That's someone I thought I'd never see again…"

"Oh? And why is that?" asked Azula, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, he wasn't a very effective fighter," said Shoji, shrugging. "He did make it quite high in the ranking, but he had almost lost as many times as he had won. He took some bad injuries against DragonClaw once, and I hadn't heard from him again, at least not since I was told to remove him from the lists…"

"And how strong is this DragonClaw?" asked Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "Where is he in the ranking?"

"Right now? About 132, if I recall correctly," said Shoji, tapping his chin with his index finger. "Why?"

"Huh…" said Azula, smiling. "And Blast of Death fell against him?"

"Blast of Death is an odd fellow, honestly," said Shoji, shaking his head. "He's usually very methodic, but he's quick to despair when things don't go his way. He's a good firebender… not great, just good. He relies too much on his stances. It's something his opponents can exploit. Also, he might still be dealing with the consequences of the wound that took him out of the ranking… it was a pretty nasty blow to his right shoulder, I think. Or was it the left one?"

"You're not sure which one it was?" asked Azula, frowning.

"I'm sorry, it was a long time ago…" said Shoji, shrugging and looking at her apologetically.

"Indeed it was," said Azula, with a sigh. "Is there anything else I should know about…?"

"Azula."

The Princess felt as though the floor had been removed from underneath her feet when she heard her father call her name. His tone spoke of displeasure… and being the object towards which he directed said displeasure was anything but reassuring. Maybe she really was playing too much with her luck…

"I need a word," Ozai said, as she turned around to face him. "In private. The Royal Balcony should do."

"Of course," she said, as compliant as ever. Shoji had frozen behind his counter as he stared at the Fire Lord in utter awe and disbelief. Never had he dreamt to be this close to the man himself…

Ozai began moving towards the stairs, still escorted by his guards. Azula glanced at the young man one last time before following her father.

"Send Sokka down to the stand-by room when he gets here," she told Shoji. "I have something else to tend to at the moment, as you can see, so clearly I can't wait for him here…"

"O-of course, Princess…" said Shoji, nodding hastily.

"Thanks for the information, as ever," Azula said, raising a hand in farewell.

"Good luck with the fight!" he exclaimed as Azula followed the group of Imperial Guards through the flights of stairs that would lead them to the Royal Balcony.

The balcony in question was, without a doubt, the most luxurious of all locations in any Arena of the Superior Gladiator League. To Azula's relief, it seemed that, despite the short notice, the staff members had been able to dust the whole place before Ozai's arrival. She was certain the Fire Lord wouldn't have taken well to finding the Royal Balcony in the state she had seen it not long ago, when she had looked for Sokka through the entire building after his fight against the Stingray.

Ozai ordered his men to stay outside, guarding the door, and he entered the balcony with his daughter treading behind him. He took a seat on the finest of the available armchairs, and he sighed deeply as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Azula didn't sit beside him, standing behind his chair instead, wary eyes upon her father's unusually slouched posture. The feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach increased with every passing moment.

"You do realize what a difficult position you're putting me in, Azula?" he asked, turning his head towards her.

"I do," said Azula, dropping her gaze. "I understand this isn't the way you intended the feast to develop, but…"

"What an understatement," barked Ozai, with a dry laugh.

"I just couldn't marry Kuan, of all potential suitors I might have," said Azula, shaking her head. "Excuse me for being so blunt, but I find the man to be completely deplorable. I cannot fathom wasting my life with a man such as him."

"All the same as you couldn't waste your life with a man such as Chan's son?" said Ozai, standing up again and looking at Azula with a raised eyebrow. "Azula… this is becoming ridiculous. You have a responsibility as the Fire Nation's Princess, and you'd do best to fulfill it already. It's been enough dillydallying. Choose a man and…"

"Father, with all due respect, I will not comply with your wishes," Azula declared, firmly.

Ozai stared at her, disbelief in his features. He had raised Azula so she would become a strong girl who would get her way more often than not, who would bow to no one other than him… was she refusing to bow down to him now as well? Was she truly defying his authority?

"And why is that?" he asked, frowning. The way his eyebrows moved together slowly sent a chill down Azula's spine. He was definitely upset… but mostly it seemed he was disappointed.

"Ever since I was a girl you have brought me up with the notion that the Fire Nation should be my main priority," Azula spoke before beginning to recite words that startled Ozai. "'My life I give to my country, with my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet may our March of Civilization continue'. Isn't that the way of it, Father? Isn't this what I should devote my life to? I am the Fire Nation's Princess, Father… and I'm certain there's still much more I can do for the Fire Nation other than taking a husband and making babies for him."

Ozai looked at Azula skeptically, not appreciating the derisive tone with which she had just spoken.

"For starters I don't even want to be a mother!" said Azula, looking at Ozai with disbelief. "It's… it's an idea that has never even crossed my mind. I can't simply put down everything I've worked for only so I can abide by traditions. It's a waste, Father. It would be one. I have much to give to our nation, and a husband would only be a hindrance for me."

"And so you believe we ought to discard traditions?" asked Ozai. "You do realize traditions exist for a reason? You do realize that you're the strongest firebender to be born into the Royal Family in centuries? And yet you refuse to marry and perpetuate your legacy…"

"I do, father, for I am not ready to become a legacy just yet," Azula stated. "It wasn't the same for you, for you would have still become Fire Lord regardless of having a spouse or not…"

"In case you have forgotten, I was never meant to become Fire Lord," said Ozai.

"And yet that never stopped you, did it?" asked Azula. "What you were or weren't meant to become… it made no matter, did it?"

Ozai froze upon that. Azula looked at him with determination, knowing her words had hit the right spot this time.

"You avoided being annulled, Father" said Azula "You found your chance and took it, and now you're the leader of our nation, as you should be for many years to come. And all the same as you, I refuse to throw away my life only to abide by stale traditions. You took the throne even when you were the second-born son, and I shall not marry any random suitor of mine unless he proves himself worthy. Isn't it convenient, even, Father? This way you won't have some pathetic, mindless bootlicker as your son-in-law…"

"So you say…" said Ozai, folding his arms over his chest. "And you seem to believe gladiator fights are the way to prove your suitors' worth. I fail to understand your logic."

"A sponsor isn't just a person standing by the sidelines, waiting to pocket the money once the fight has ended," said Azula, shaking her head. "A sponsor's job begins from the moment he selects his fighter. A sponsor has to keep said fighter as fit as possible, he must ensure his gladiator is strong enough to fight in the challenges issued against him. Any mistake by a sponsor could easily get his gladiator killed in the sand pit."

"And why is this relevant?" asked Ozai, frowning.

"A sponsor who makes the proper choices will have a successful career. A sponsor who doesn't is bound to fall before the first obstacle. Careless sponsors who don't realize the importance of their own actions, who leave everything up to their gladiators and care only for the money… they cannot compare to those who actually devote themselves to the job. And that's exactly why it's relevant. Because I refuse to marry a man who fails to realize the importance of his role in the big picture. I refuse to marry a man who will gladly take his gladiator's triumphs as his own when he has done virtually nothing to help his fighter achieve those victories. Because those men will treat our nation in the exact same way they treat their gladiators. They're in it for the money, they're in it for the glory. But when worst comes to worst, they won't have a clue as to how to face serious challenges. They'll blame others for their failures, they'll shake away their responsibilities and run away from them at first notice."

Ozai stared at Azula in utter disbelief. To his surprise, what she was saying actually made sense…

"If somehow you effectively manage to name me your heir, my husband will follow you on the Throne," said Azula. "And I rather doubt you want one of the men I just described to become Fire Lord once you're gone. All our greatness, everything we have worked for, it'll go to waste in the wrong hands."

"And discovering whether or not their gladiators can beat yours shall prove if they are worthy or not?" asked Ozai, frowning. "Your gladiator isn't all that strong…"

"Exactly," said Azula, with a smile. "I didn't need a strong, overconfident, powerful bender as my gladiator. I chose a non-bender… a strong non-bender, perhaps, quite witty and inventive, yet when it comes to physical prowess he's often overwhelmed by his opponents. And he has already reached the top half of the ranking. He wouldn't have risen any higher than the 300th slot if he had been sponsored by anyone but me. Do you understand what I mean, Father?"

Ozai sighed and looked at Azula with troubled eyes. It wasn't an expression she had seen him show often, let alone because of her.

"So, if someone wants your hand in marriage, from here on out he will have to fight against you to obtain it. Will that be the way of it?" asked Ozai.

"I believe it should be," said Azula, nodding.

"And if a man requests to marry you, and succeeds in his attempt to defeat your gladiator…" asked Ozai, stepping towards her and looking at her firmly. "Will you cease to resist and allow this man to be your husband?"

Azula swallowed hard. She sure didn't want to do that either… but she had little to no choice. All the same as it had been with Chan, she would only have one opportunity to rid herself of any suitors that attempted to court her. And one chance had been enough to defeat Chan… it should be enough for Kuan and whoever came after him. Still, she knew Sokka wasn't undefeatable. As much as he had grown stronger, there were still two hundred fighters above him, and there was no way of telling if he would have it in him to defeat them all. Yet she had no choice but to trust him. And nowadays she actually felt like trusting him. It wasn't as it had been during her situation with Chan… no, for Sokka had proved himself time after time. And if she was reading the signs right – which she deeply hoped she was – Sokka wouldn't want her to get married at all. She could trust he wouldn't mess things up… couldn't she?

"I… I will, Father," said Azula, nodding. "If a gladiator sponsored by one of my suitors were to beat my own, I would take said suitor as my husband."

"And that includes today's fight, of course," said Ozai. "If Kuan's fighter defeats yours, you will accept him without question."

"I suppose…" said Azula, and it didn't escape Ozai's notice how she had spoken the words with resentment.

He sighed and turned towards his seat again, sinking in it and shaking his head.

"You know just how to make everything more difficult for your poor father," said Ozai, at which Azula raised an eyebrow. "I feel as though I had aged ten years in a single day after everything you've said and done today."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Azula, with a sympathetic smile. "For what it's worth, you don't look ten years older."

"I'd hope not," said Ozai, sighing. "Go to the sponsor's balcony, then, Azula. The sooner this is over, the faster we'll be back in the Palace. I didn't eat much at breakfast, for I hoped to enjoy better the meals during your feast… and now I'm positively famished."

"I'll make sure it's over quickly, then," said Azula, bowing down even though Ozai had his back towards her. "Thank you for listening to what I had to say, Father. It means… it means more than I could possibly say."

"You should be glad I hold you in such high regards, Azula," said Ozai. "Not many people can oppose my will and get away with it. You really are quite fortunate…"

"And I deeply cherish being so fortunate," said Azula. She knew more than enough about the sorts of things Ozai was capable of when he was very displeased "I will see you when the fight is over, then."

"Be quick about it," said Ozai, dismissing her.

Truth to be told, Ozai was intrigued by the upcoming fight, for he wished to see with his own eyes just how strong his daughter's gladiator was. He truly wondered if his reputation was well-deserved… but at the same time, Azula's latest trick had made a mess of his plans. Even if his curiosity regarding the gladiator would be quenched, his daughter still had no intentions to marry, still no interest in bearing children… But perhaps she was right. Perhaps it would be for the best, in the long run…

Sokka was struggling with the bindings of his left armguard when he heard footsteps approaching the stand-by room. He had arrived just a moment ago, after racing as quickly as he could through the city, and he was readying himself for his upcoming fight when he saw Azula entering the room.

"Hey…" he said, smiling weakly and still panting after his intense race.

"Did you run all the way here?" asked Azula, grimacing.

"And all the way back home, too," said Sokka, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I'm okay, though, I have more stamina than this…"

"I should hope so," said Azula, sighing as she approached.

To Sokka's surprise, she took his hand in hers and took upon the duty of tying up the laces of the armguard he was having trouble with. He smiled as she finished, and she looked at him when he dropped his hand, her eyes full of concern.

"Are you up for this? I know a fight that popped up out of nowhere might be troublesome for you, and considering your leg was cramped just yesterday…"

"It was, but it's not anymore, so why worry?" he said, smiling. "Besides, it really doesn't matter whether or not I'm ready… I'm going to do this no matter what. And I'm going to win."

"Why, good to know you're so confident," said Azula. Unfortunately, his certainty wasn't particularly contagious. "You should be able to beat your opponent. I've asked Shoji about him and he told me that he was removed from the ranking after a fight against DragonClaw."

"Who's DragonClaw?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.

"What does it matter?" said Azula. "DragonClaw isn't even in the top hundred fighters of the ranking and yet he defeated your current opponent, Blast of Death, giving him a bad injury that Shoji isn't even sure has healed yet. Taking into consideration that you defeated the Stingray, a man who was knocked out of the raking by Combustion Man himself, I believe you have a good chance to win this time as well. He's not bound to be as strong as the Stingray was."

"He'd better not be," said Sokka, sighing and nodding. "Anything else I should know about this guy?"

"He's methodical, relies too much on his stances," Azula muttered.

"Then he's like most earthbenders," said Sokka, nodding. "And I've been able to beat my fair share of earthbenders as of late. If his stances are a weakness of his, I should have an advantage of sorts…"

"You should, but…" muttered Azula, looking at him worriedly. "I don't know if it's just my idea, but you look… terrible."

"Well, isn't that nice of you," Sokka said sarcastically, an eyebrow twitching. "That's definitely the best inspirational talk you've ever given me, you know! A little support would be…!"

"I'm just asking you if you really can do this," Azula interrupted him, at which Sokka looked at her with a small grimace. "You weren't fighting at the best of your ability yesterday, and you don't look that much better today. If you can't beat this guy…"

"If I can't beat this guy, you'll end up marrying Kuan," grunted Sokka, frowning. "And that's the last thing I'll have happen on my watch. I'm not going to lose. I can't lose."

"You'd better not," said Azula, sighing before stepping back and looking at the sand ring through the golden grid. She smiled weakly for a moment before turning towards Sokka again. "It's quite a familiar situation, isn't it?"

"I guess" said Sokka, with a smile as well. "Just, with a different guy, and a different Arena…"

"And we're both very different from what we were back then," muttered Azula, turning towards the sand once more. So much had changed since their first fight in the Superior Gladiator League…

"Yeah. Both of us," said Sokka, smiling and moving towards her.

"As it was when we first became gladiator and sponsor, once again my life happens to be in your hands," said Azula, looking at him worriedly. "I hope I don't even need to ask you to take good care of it…"

"I was going to do that even if you didn't tell me to" said Sokka, chuckling a little. "Even back then I was set on beating the Spawn. Now I'm more determined than ever to kick this guy's butt."

"So, you're not going to ask for explanations today? Or claim I'm just bored and that I did all this because watching you die in the Arena might be amusing?" asked Azula, with a smirk.

"Maybe I will, if you insist that I have to take a bath because, how was it? Dumping water on a filthy wolf will only turn the stench worse?" he asked, trying to remember what she had said during the night he had stayed in the Palace.

Azula couldn't help but laugh at the memory. Well, she still would threaten to kill him if he dared say she wanted to bathe with him, but despite herself, she felt quite relieved as she remembered the beginning of their partnership. They had succeeded once when faced with this same hurdle… they could do it again. She was sure of it.

Sokka was somewhat surprised at first when she extended a hand towards him, but soon enough he had smiled and grasped it with his own.

"You know what to do," she whispered. "So… do it."

"You can trust me," he replied, holding back the urge to pull her in for a hug instead of just this handshake. "I won't let you down today."

"I hope not," she replied, releasing his hand and stepping back. "See you later, Sokka."

He smiled as she left the room, her back towards him. He looked at the hand she had just shaken, and he told himself this wouldn't be the last time he would touch her. It wouldn't be the last time he held her hand. He refused to let that be the case.

"See you, Azula," he muttered, even though he knew she couldn't hear him anymore.

After a short while, the golden grid was hoisted and Sokka was allowed inside the ring. He breathed deeply before stepping into the sand, and he looked at his surroundings in awe when he realized the Arena was full beyond its capacity, because to all the noblemen who had decided to come watch his fight. His gaze moved over to the balconies to his left, and his throat felt dry when he caught sight of Ozai on the Royal Balcony, sitting above everyone else in the building.

Still, when he dropped his gaze a little, he found Azula sitting beside Kuan. The sight of his sponsor was comforting, even when he already knew she would be there, for she always watched over him in his every fight. And it only made things better that she really looked absolutely breathtaking in that dress…

He was forced to pay attention to the ring and stop staring at the Princess when his opponent entered the Arena. The opposite gladiator wore an armor that seemed too small for him, and Sokka could only raise an eyebrow as he studied the man with confusion. Clearly, Kuan hadn't expected Azula's challenge… and thus he had gotten his gladiator the first second-hand armor he could find in the city. Considering the circumstances, it shouldn't be so hard to win…

Or so thought Sokka before he suddenly was struck by the urge to yawn. Dang. He hadn't had proper sleep in a while: this fight might not to go as smoothly as he hoped it would…

"My public!" exclaimed the megaphone man, clearly trying too hard to put on a good show for the Fire Nation's leader. "We have been honored with a surprise fight between our very renowned Blue Wolf and a former fighter of the ranking, Blast of Death! Do enjoy this showdown, for it is one of a kind and…!"

A gesture from the Royal Balcony made the megaphone man fall quiet. It seemed Ozai cared not for introductions and was telling him to get on with the matter already.

"A-ah, yes, let's… START!" the megaphone man exclaimed nervously, dropping the speaker once he was done talking, even forgetting to mention what the fight's time limit would be.

Sokka looked up at him with a raised eyebrow momentarily before focusing on the fight. He looked at Blast of Death, who was trying to move towards Sokka and struggling with his armor to do so.

"Got some trouble there, pal?" Sokka asked, stepping back cautiously. This one didn't seem to be as foolish as the Spawn… he'd have to be quite careful on how he went about this fight.

"You know, armor problems," groaned Blast of Death, moving his arms circularly. "I'm almost considering shedding it, you know… wait, why are we chit-chatting?!"

"I guess because you kind of look like you would be up for a conversation," said Sokka, but the opposite gladiator flung a flurry of fire at him, prompting him to jump back. "Hey! No need to be so aggressive! Jeez, you firebenders are so hot-headed…"

With that, Sokka started laughing, and Blast of Death looked at him in disbelief. Azula sighed heavily on her seat and brought a hand to her forehead.

"Seriously, you moron? Making stupid jokes now?" she muttered to herself.

"Oh, come on! Hot-headed firebenders! It's a classic!" exclaimed Sokka.

"Sure it is…" said Blast of Death, rolling his eyes before shooting more fire towards Sokka.

"You seriously have no sense of humor, do you?!" asked Sokka, narrowly evading the fire.

Firebenders were strong, but they could burn out quite easily, Sokka thought. So long as he kept his opponent shooting fire constantly everything should work out well by the time he managed a counter-attack…

But he didn't realize his lingering exhaustion was making him slower. Blast of Death's shot some blazes right after him… blazes that caught Sokka's boots and forced him to stop running from his rival order to stomp on the floor clumsily, trying to kill the flames while the crowd watched in amusement. Azula could scarcely hide her embarrassment.

"Do you see, Princess?" declared Kuan, next to her, with a proud smirk. "Clearly, my gladiator is superior. Yours… well, he's making a fool of himself, and if I must say so, of you as well. Given that he's your fighter, after all…"

Azula allowed her gaze to flicker towards Kuan shortly. The man was smiling proudly, sitting back on his chair, no longer as nervous as he had been before. It seemed his insecurities had been erased once Sokka started to behave as he had…

The Blue Wolf stomped hard on the ground, smacking his boots with his hands and glaring at Blast of Death once he was done with that. The firebender seemed more than pleased with himself.

"Those boots were pretty expensive, you know?!" Sokka exclaimed, irritable.

"Sure they were," said Blast of Death. "It's gotta be real nice, being the Princess's gladiator. You get everything you could ask for… though I really shouldn't even waste time imagining it. I'll find out for myself just how nice it is soon enough…"

Sokka stopped behaving as foolishly as he had so far. His eyes narrowed and his glare became harsher, something Blast of Death didn't ignore. Was this the moment when the Blue Wolf would start fighting seriously?

"You really want to be her gladiator, huh?" he asked, between gritted teeth.

"Any gladiator in his right mind would dream of being her fighter," said Blast of Death. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" said Sokka, with a crooked smile. "It's just going to remain a dream for you, pal. Because I am her gladiator."

"Not for long," said Blast of Death, smirking.

"We'll see about that," growled Sokka, and with a quick movement he whipped out his boomerang, flinging it at his opponent with more force and speed than usual.

Blast of Death attempted to predict the weapon's trajectory and he sought to keep it from spinning by shooting fire at it, but he failed on his endeavor when the boomerang curved upwards. The blade of the weapon cut across Blast of Death's face, spraying the sand with blood and making the entire crowd gasp in amazement. Just a short moment ago he had been making ridiculous jokes… and now he was fighting to the best of his ability, rendering the firebender almost defenseless thanks to his quick moves.

Sokka didn't stop at this, though. As soon as he had tossed his boomerang, he sprung towards his opponent, knife in hand. Blast of Death stumbled backwards, a hand on his face while he threw more fistfuls of fire towards Sokka. The Blue Wolf dodged the weak flames and caught his boomerang again before tossing both his weapons towards his opponent.

His double attack didn't cause as much damage this time, but both weapons effectively cracked through the second-hand armor Blast of Death wore. The knife sank into his breastplate, the boomerang crashed against his armguard and split it in half. Sokka jumped back after that, glaring at his opponent as he waited for the comeback he was sure would arrive soon.

Blast of Death swung his arms around erratically, to Sokka's surprise. Some flames erupted from his attacks, but they weren't powerful enough to threaten Sokka. The firebender wasn't holding a firm stance at the moment… he couldn't fight properly as he was. Sokka felt somewhat relieved by that, but he kept from attacking again while Blast of Death continued to unleash his flurry of desperate flames. For it was despair and nothing else that fueled his fire at the moment. And once he had tired himself out, once he had burnt his energies down, Sokka's chance to deliver the finishing blow would have arrived.

Sokka kept proper distance while Blast of Death kept losing himself in his fire. Eventually, though, the man seemed to stop his tantrum and he wiped his face clean with a sleeve before facing Sokka. The Blue Wolf had only given his opponent a gash on his cheekbone, which wasn't such a serious wound. Truthfully, Sokka wished he had delivered more damage than that…

Blast of Death was panting when he removed the knife from his armor, and its tip was coated with blood. He tossed it right back at Sokka, blazes accompanying it, and Sokka had to move out of the way again. And while Sokka was distracted, his opponent took a firm stance before jumping and sending a wheel of fire towards him. Sokka grimaced and pulled out his club, swiping away some of the fire, but his clothes still got caught by some of the flames when they reached him.

Again he had to roll on the ground to stiffen the fire, an activity he really shouldn't have gotten used to… but it seemed it was necessary whenever he fought against a firebender. Blast of Death sent fistfuls of fire now, and Sokka had to continue rolling on the sand to evade them. Despite his plans, it seemed his opponent hadn't tired himself out… whereas he was getting pretty tired. Why, of all times, did he have to fight for Azula's life when he was so exhausted…?

Nevertheless, he wouldn't give up here. He couldn't give up now. He gritted his teeth and lifted his hand towards his waist, picking the one bomb he had brought with him today. He also released Space Sword from its scabbard, and began drawing strategies quickly. If he tossed the bomb he would likely have a chance to attack his opponent, for smoke wasn't good for firebenders… the man would have trouble breathing, and no matter how steady the stance he took would be, he wouldn't manage to attack Sokka effectively because of that disadvantage.

Betting his success on a single bomb wasn't exactly reassuring, but Sokka had no other choice. Not when he was being chased by blazes wherever he went. Now, he just had to be closer to his opponent in order to throw the bomb effectively, or else…

Blast of Death stretched his arms out before sweeping them together in a loud clap, with a move Sokka had never seen before. A horizontal arch of fire was born after his movement, and Sokka had no choice but to duck to evade it. When he ducked, another fistful of fire awaited him and he had to jump quickly to keep from getting hurt by the attack…

And that was when the now familiar shot of pain coursed through his left leg as painfully as it had during his training with Azula. Sokka kept from crying out in pain, but his eyes widened, and he dropped his sword before falling to the ground, his now free hand rubbing his thigh as he grimaced.

Azula felt the color draining from her face. No, not now… why another leg cramp now, of all times? He had to get up, he simply had to! He needed to fight, he couldn't let this end here!

Blast of Death was surprised by Sokka's fall, but he didn't seem to be about to offer a hand to pull his opponent back up. If the Blue Wolf was down, he would do his best to make good use of this opportunity.

And Sokka knew his rival was about to knock him out for good. He didn't even need to lift his head to see it… yet he did anyways. And he witnessed in horror how Blast of Death was stepping towards him, an arm pulled back, threatening to end to this fight with one last fistful of fire.

What could he do? What should he do? There was no choice left for him other than falling prey to another fist of fire… but he could only let himself fall before one person's fist of fire. He wasn't about to give that honor to anyone other than Azula. And Azula… he couldn't lose today. If he lost, she would marry Kuan. If he lost, he wouldn't be her gladiator anymore. The price was too steep to afford it. By losing today he wouldn't lose a battle… he would lose her.

And the horrifying thought of being torn from her side gave him the boost of adrenaline and creativity he didn't know he had in him. If it was to stay by her side for a little longer, he would do anything…

Thus, he did what nobody expected him to do.

Blast of Death roared as he delivered his finishing blow, and he would make note of never screaming again in battle after what happened next. For, if only he had kept his mouth shut, the consequences of this incident wouldn't have been as severe as they were.

Sokka removed the latch from his smoke bomb in a quick motion, and proceeded to fling the small sphere towards his opponent… and the bomb so happened to fit perfectly inside Blast of Death's enormous mouth, who allowed himself a confused grimace when he felt the bomb passing through the arcs of his teeth…

And then it detonated.

Sokka found himself forgetting the pain on his leg when he saw the man stumble back, smoke pouring out of his nostrils and mouth. The bombshell dropped on the sand, still releasing some smoke… yet it seemed it had ejected most of it into Blast of Death's organism.

Everyone in the Arena was staring in sheer horror as Blast of Death stumbled and coughed uncontrollably. Kuan whimpered next to Azula, but she was so aghast that she hardly even noticed him. Sokka himself seemed rather shocked by what he had done, for he was staring at his opponent in horror as the man dropped on the ground, his violent coughs shaking through his body in a way disturbing enough to send shivers down Sokka's spine.

Everyone watched Blast of Death tensely as he arched his back and continued to cough. Sokka shuffled insecurely, his leg still hurting a little, but his attention was completely centered on his opponent. Was he supposed to do anything else after this? It seemed to him that Blast of Death was clearly unable to continue fighting after what had happened…

And when the man dropped flat on his stomach, still coughing, Sokka glanced up towards the judges' balcony.

"I really doubt he can keep going, you know…?" he said, waving at them. "Shouldn't you send medical support right away?"

The men at the balcony were startled by the gladiator's suggestion, but they were quick to act when they realized Blast of Death wasn't about to stand up and fight. Sokka looked down at him, a grimace on his face as he wondered if the man would recover after what he had done. Smoke was quite harmful to begin with, but a smoke explosion within someone's mouth… it had been Sokka's last resort, and he had gone for it without thinking about the potential consequences it might have on his opponent. Now he couldn't keep the guilt at bay as he watched the staff members enter the ring hastily to pick up the shivering, coughing man and carry him outside the sand pit.

"T-the winner is the Blue Wolf!" exclaimed the megaphone man, who had almost forgotten his duty as he watched in utter disbelief the events that had unfolded below.

The crowd only gave Sokka a polite clap, which hardly surprised him. It wasn't the first time he had given a fight an unexpected conclusion… but this was, without a doubt, the strangest of all the combats he had taken part in so far.

Azula was still staring at Sokka in utter surprise when she digested what this meant. Whether or not he had ended the fight in a very shocking manner… Sokka had won. He had won again, even though for a moment she had actually thought this would be the end for them.

She allowed herself a relieved smile, which soon turned into a smirk when she heard another whimper next to her. She looked at Kuan and found him glaring at Sokka with scorn. Well, that wasn't anything new…

"I suppose that settles it, then," said Azula, smiling and standing up. "Just as I said… your gladiator was no match for mine."

"T-that cheater! That can't be in the rules!" exclaimed Kuan, standing as well and snarling down towards Sokka, who was limping towards the stand-by room, rubbing his leg as he did. "He can't be allowed to do that!"

"If he weren't allowed, why would they have declared my gladiator as the winner, I wonder?" asked Azula, pointing at the judges' balcony. "I am terribly sorry for the fate your gladiator has undergone… I do hope he survives. Yet it's your fault if he doesn't."

"M-my fault?!" exclaimed Kuan, aghast.

"Why, of course. You witnessed my gladiator's ruthlessness first hand in Gladiator Rumble, didn't you?" asked Azula. "Or is it you forgot he cut off his opponent's hand instants before the fight ended?"

Kuan's already pale complexion became paler still. Azula could only smile as she watched him realize how thoughtless he had been.

"If you want to rid me of my gladiator, you'll have to try harder than that," said Azula. "Though I rather doubt you can do any better than this, honestly. I do hope you enjoy the feast once you return to the Palace, and that your trip back to Gaoling goes smoothly… oh, and please, do yourself a favor and try to find a wife whose pace you can actually keep up with, Governor."

Kuan's jaw dropped at her last jab, and Azula rejoiced upon the sight of her dumbfounded rival. Never before had she been happy to look upon the man, but seeing as this was bound to be one of the last times she'd lay eyes upon him…

"I'm grateful for your gifts, but as you must have noticed, I'm not taking the slave," said Azula. "You can keep him if he's still some use to you, but I won't accept him. That should be all, I believe."

With that, the Princess left the sponsors' balcony, leaving behind a man who could only stare, aghast, at the spot where she had been standing moments ago. Unlike how it had been back in Gaoling, this time around Kuan actually felt helpless. He had aimed at marrying the Princess since a long time ago… he was only a few years older than her, and since his first encounter with her when they were young, he had wondered what it might be like to become royalty by marrying her. Now, though… now all those dreams had been destroyed, cast into oblivion, both thanks to her gladiator and the Princess's own ability to get away with everything she wanted.

And on some level, he was actually relieved that his aspirations were smashed as they had been. He wouldn't admit it aloud… but the Princess was right. She truly was too much for him.

Sokka was resting against the wall, rubbing his leg in the stand-by room. To his relief, the pain was fading quicker than it had the day before. He sighed, telling himself to stop worrying about the fate of his opponent. Surely the man would be fine, even if the bomb's detonation had harmed him so badly…

But his thoughts were brusquely interrupted when he heard someone approaching. He lifted his gaze, his heart drumming in his chest as he guessed who would be rushing to the stand-by room at such haste …

His guess was spot-on, of course. There she was, still radiant in her outfit of the day… but what made her most beautiful was the euphoric smile on her face.

"You… you did it, you idiot, you did it!" she exclaimed as she strode towards him. "For a moment I could have sworn you were going to lose, but you…!"

Sokka ignored the pain on his leg as he moved towards her, meeting her halfway through the room. Azula found herself stopping on her tracks when she saw the emotions in his eyes. His azure eyes blazed with kindness, just as they had during that fateful night… but there was also relief. And there was a pure-hearted joy she wasn't sure she had ever seen in him until today.

She had stopped talking as she looked at him, and he had closed the distance between them, placing his hands on her shoulders before leaning down on her, his lips pressing against hers. Azula froze momentarily before relaxing in his arms, a hand moving towards his neck before she kissed him back. It wasn't hard to understand what he was trying to convey through the kiss… for she felt just as elated as he did to know their time together wouldn't be cut short as they had feared it would.

She shut her eyes tightly, amazed by the way he was kissing her. Even though he had claimed he would accept her marriage to another man as long as it made her happy, now she could feel just how unwilling he was to let her go. She had been quite hurt to think that it hadn't mattered to him… that he wouldn't have cared if she had married someone else. But this kiss said the exact opposite of that. The way he was embracing her, so intimately, so closely… she wanted nothing more than to keep feeling cherished by him as she did right now. She wanted to continue kissing him back, their hearts racing as they took such a dangerous risk…

But eventually she did realize just how dangerous it was. Despite herself, yet again, Azula was forced to pull away, but he continued catching her lips with his, even when she sought to tell him they couldn't carry on like this.

"S-Sokka…" she whispered, trying to keep herself from responding to his kisses. "Not now…"

Sokka breathed heavily, unwilling to part from her just yet. He couldn't control the bliss born out of being with her again when he had been afraid he would lose her. He had been determined not to let it happen, but the seed of doubt had been there all the same… the only way to fend it off, to make it disappear, was to make sure she wouldn't disappear… to make sure she was still here, that he could still be with her…

"Anyone could come in here…" Azula muttered, though her excuses almost felt foreign, as though someone other than her was saying them. She understood his despair all too well, and she didn't want to put a stop to this either… but alas, the conscience she hardly knew she had was speaking for her right now.

Even so, even when he knew she was right, Sokka couldn't let go yet. He leaned down, his head dropping on her shoulder as his arms surrounded her tightly. For a moment he wondered if he might ruin her dress… but that thought was just a fleeting matter soon enough, for it seemed Azula didn't care about ruined dresses; she wouldn't have hugged him back if she did.

Eventually she pulled away, against her better judgment. Or was it her better judgment that had compelled her to pull away? She didn't know, and she rather doubted she'd ever know. She gripped one of his hands with hers and pulled him out of the stand-by room… but she let go of him as soon as they entered the hallway. Sokka couldn't help but be slightly disappointed by that, but he voiced no complaints. As they walked together he realized just what big a risk they had just taken… ah, but it really had been worth it. Just as any risk he could ever take would be worth it when it came to Azula.

"You really should know better than to frighten me as you did" said Azula, glancing back at him to find him smiling weakly. "When you fell down I really thought that was the end of it… is your leg any better now?"

"It's still a little troublesome, but nothing I can't handle," he said. "But if you want to massage the wrong leg again, I seriously have no prob-…"

"Shut up," Azula growled, at which he chuckled. "I… I am very grateful to you yet again, and I owe you more than I could say, but I still will advise you not to push your luck with me, gladiator."

"Fine, fine…" said Sokka, still laughing under his breath while they climbed the steps towards the higher floors of the Arena.

Azula led Sokka to his medical check, where he was told his cramps would fade away in time so long as he had proper rest. The physicians also noted that he had sustained a few minor burns, and they treated them quickly. Once that was done, he was free to go.

Azula had already guessed the vestibule would be quite crowded, but it took Sokka completely by surprise to find as many people speaking excitedly and turning to glance at him as though he were some sort of hero. He couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow and stare, dumbfounded, at all those who approached to speak to Azula about her gladiator's prowess. Some complimented his fighting style, others told her his wits were extraordinary, and all the while Azula accepted their words as gracefully as she could, hoping nobody would notice just how flustered and agitated she still was after Sokka's kiss just a while earlier…

To Sokka's relief, neither Ozai nor Kuan were anywhere nearby. He didn't feel like dealing with either of them at the moment. He suspected the Fire Lord wouldn't be too happy about his triumph over Kuan's fighter, and he sure didn't want to hear Kuan whining about his loss either.

"Is this good enough to rid you of that asshole, though?" he asked Azula, by the time they finally reached the building's doors. "Will he quit pursuing you now?"

"He'd better," said Azula, smiling proudly. "And with this, we've set a standard from here onwards. Every man who means to become my suitor will have to bring a gladiator with him, and you will have to fight them…"

"Huh?! W-what the…? What?!" he asked, dumbfounded.

"It's the agreement I reached with my father," Azula explained, as they moved down the steps that led to the street. Sokka slowed down, though, and the Princess's brow furrowed when she realized he was limping. "You're really not feeling better, are you?"

"Never mind, I can walk anyways," he said, with a smile. "The Palace isn't that far."

"Maybe you shouldn't attend an important event as the feast in your fighting gear, though," said Azula, smiling. "Could you change again, Sokka?"

"Uh… no, I can't," he said, looking irritated. "What for? It'll be a pretty damn long walk all the way to…"

"It doesn't have to be," said Azula, lifting her gaze to the skies.

Sokka did the same to find a dragon descending upon them. Sokka greeted the creature enthusiastically while Azula smiled at her animal companion.

"Hey there, pal! Should I say it's your birthday too?" he asked, patting the dragon's head when he landed before him.

"You could, maybe," said Azula, smiling. "In any case, after what you did today, you're allowed to ride Xin Long back home and to the Palace… but don't get used to flying solo, alright? It's not going to happen often."

"Huh? Wait, just me?" asked Sokka, surprised.

"I did bring my palanquin with me, so it's only fitting that I take it again while returning to the Palace," she replied. "Just be quick about it and get back to the Palace soon. Now you really will be the main attraction in the feast, after all…"

"Heh, attraction…" said Sokka, rolling his eyes before smiling when an idea touched his mind. "Well, I'm thinking being an 'attraction' might just be fun if I get to attract a particular Fire Nation Princess…"

"Oh, for crying out loud, don't twist my words to your liking! That's not what I was saying!" Azula exclaimed, as Sokka approached Xin Long and made for climbing his saddle, chuckling again.

"But it's too much fun to do it!" he said, smiling at her as he sat on the front seat on the saddle. He felt a surge of pride upon acknowledging that she was actually giving him leave to do this today… she was letting him fly the dragon on his own. That gesture spoke lengths of what today's events had meant for her… "Say… thanks for lending me your dragon."

"It's just because your leg is useless," said Azula. "Else I'd never allow it."

"I figured as much," said Sokka, chuckling. "So, once we're neatly dressed up we've got to go back to the Palace, then?"

"Naturally," said Azula, nodding before patting Xin Long's snout. "Be as quick about it as you can be."

"Sure thing," said Sokka, smiling proudly at her before taking the reins and shaking them slightly. "Let's go, Xin Long!"

Azula watched them leave with a grin. She figured witnesses might find her gesture of allowing her gladiator to ride her dragon quite odd… but, in turn, she found she didn't mind so much. There was just one thing that made her frown with confusion, and it wasn't related to the public's opinion of her…

"What exactly did he mean by 'we'?" she asked herself, before deciding it wasn't worth pondering. Surely it was merely another of Sokka's countless antics. So she sighed, shook her head and headed towards her Palanquin, where her Royal Procession waited for her.

She was forced to wait inside the immobile Palanquin for a few minutes until Ozai had finally appeared, so that they could head towards the Palace in the exact way they had set out of it. Azula found she didn't mind the delay, though. She was quite glad that the curtains were drawn, for she was sure she had the most ridiculous smile on her face at the moment. She was rid of Kuan, and she had found a way to keep suitors at bay for the time being… ah, despite it hadn't been easy, and that she had almost thought things would end badly for her, everything in her life was falling into place. And she was beyond delighted over it.

The feast continued as soon as both Azula and her father returned to the venue. Most the noblemen returned to the Palace right behind them, though Azula failed to see Kuan by the time she was back in the feast's hall. She couldn't help but smirk, imagining he would be too embarrassed to show himself in front of the rest of the noblemen after his failure earlier.

People congratulated her now for her success in the Arena, and now most the ones who had been on the fence about Sokka were complimenting her on his skills, even though she suspected some of those compliments were hollow. It didn't matter much to her that they wouldn't praise Sokka wholeheartedly, though, for it seemed they knew better than to put down her gladiator after watching him succeed in battle earlier.

And said gladiator hadn't reappeared at the Palace yet, which made Azula somewhat anxious, despite herself. Had he decided to ditch the celebration? It seemed unlikely, considering he hadn't gotten anything to eat yet. And Sokka wasn't one to run away from free meals, something she knew all too well… She sent a thought Xin Long's way, asking if Sokka had changed again or not, but the dragon seemed to be busy with something and he ignored her completely. He was probably hunting bugs again, Azula guessed, for she could see he was still in Sokka's backyard…

The feast carried on without another inconvenience after the sudden interruption over the challenge between Azula and Kuan. Young noblemen approached Azula constantly through the evening, all of them eager to talk with her and congratulate her for her birthday. She responded to their enthusiastic approaches with disbelieving smirks and dry sarcasm, and most of them failed to understand she was mocking them. She knew these were more of the fabled suitors her father had found for her… and each one seemed blander than the next. For what felt like hours on end, they all came to speak to her, trying to make conversation up until the subject of gladiator fights was breached… and by then they would ask if she meant to proceed with the rest of her suitors by challenging them to gladiator fights before allowing them the chance to court her. Azula's lively and positive answer to said question would stir their nerves without fail. She couldn't keep from smirking widely every time they walked away, disappointed, after discovering she wouldn't be easy prey for any of them.

She had just turned down one who seemed particularly appalled by the idea of so much as looking for a gladiator to fight against hers when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Is it true? You just had a fight with Kuan?"

"Why, I wish that were the case," said Azula, turning around to regard her brother again as naturally as possible. "Fighting him directly would have been quite amusing, I believe."

"You would have reduced him to a pile of charred bones, though," said Zuko, raising an eyebrow. "He's not even a bender, and he was never any good at fighting, if I recall correctly…"

"He seems to think he's very good at scheming, oddly enough," said Azula. "But he went against the wrong opponent if he really believed as much. You should have come watch. Tearing apart Kuan's pride was most entertaining…"

"Yeah… I guess so," said Zuko, with a grimace. He could easily picture his sister directing that very same sentence towards him instead… "Good to know you've enjoyed yourself, then. Still…"

"You had something to say earlier," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "What did you want from me?"

"Why would I want something from you?" asked Zuko, frowning.

"Well, why else would you seek me out?" Azula replied, looking at him matter-of-factly.

Zuko stared at her in surprise. Azula genuinely believed he would only ever approach her for a purpose… she actually thought he only interacted with her to achieve his own ends. The realization sat just as badly with him as being drenched in cold water. He did believe Azula enjoyed teasing and mocking him more than any younger sister should… but he had never realized that, just as he would reach his own conclusions about his sister, she would reach hers about him. And hers said that he would only bother coming to her when he needed something from her.

And if he thought about it for a moment, that had been true up to date. But only up to date. He was determined to change that today, so long as she would let him…

"What is it, Zuko?" Azula asked, growing slightly exasperated when he remained silent for too long a moment.

"I just… have something for you, is all," he said, sighing as he felt the heat rising in his face. Azula frowned when she noticed his cheeks had reddened.

"You have something…? What?" she repeated, in utter disbelief.

Zuko slid a hand into his pocket, and he took an object out of it. He extended it towards Azula, who frowned before letting him place the object on her palm…

"Happy birthday," he muttered, under his breath.

Azula's eyes widened when she looked at what he had just given her. Her mouth opened slightly as she regarded the dagger with utter confusion. It was the very dagger from all those years ago… a dagger she hadn't looked upon in ages. She unsheathed it, blinking as she read the inscription on the blade: "Never give up without a fight".

What had gotten into Zuko? Why had he suddenly given her this? Had he genuinely gifted her his knife?

"What the…? Zuko, what is the meaning of…?" she started, raising her eyes… to find he wasn't standing before her anymore.

He had known she would refuse to accept this if he waited for her response… so he had lost himself in the crowd before she could ask him if he had left his wits back in Ember Island. She glanced around her, hoping he might still be nearby, but she failed to find Zuko with her gaze.

This was beyond ridiculous, this was… this was wrong, by all accounts. Zuko wasn't the sort of person to give other people gifts out of the good will of his heart… she had only been teasing him earlier when she said he owed her ten presents. She had never expected him to actually give her something… why had he done it? What was the purpose of this apparent gift? It had to be a trick of sorts, it couldn't be real. Zuko had never been the kind older brother who shared his treasures with his younger sister. She recalled having taken this very dagger from his possession a few times after he received it from their Uncle, and he would always make a ruckus over how she had stolen it from him. Their mother would berate Azula when she took it from Zuko… and the young Princess had frequently acted as though she hadn't really cared about the dagger, it wasn't all that great a blade anyways.

She had thought it was great, though. From the moment she had received a generic doll and her brother had gotten this meaningful dagger with such extraordinary history behind it, she had been irritated and had wondered if maybe Ba Sing Se's General hadn't had another weapon that Iroh could have sent to her… eventually, though, she stopped caring for the dagger. She stopped caring over who had it or which present she had gotten… because one day she would have the keepsakes from the battles she fought herself. She didn't want hand-me-downs from her Uncle, she didn't need them…

She hadn't thought about this dagger in a long time. It was why she was as surprised as she was by this sudden gesture of her brother's. Why was Zuko giving this to her? Was it that he didn't care for blades anymore, and he had decided to give her his scrapes? That seemed logical… maybe. Or perhaps he was giving this to her because he was asking for a truce, after the things Sokka had told him in Ember Island…

No, that was downright stupid. It was Zuko, after all. If anything, this had to be a ploy to make her believe he was trying to get along with her, when in fact he was only hoping to beat her once she was down. There could be no other explanation to this sudden ridiculous turn of events…

"Hey."

Azula was startled when she heard Sokka's voice. She turned to find him dressed in his elegant clothes again, though he looked even more tired now. Still… there was a self-satisfied look on his face that made her raise an eyebrow as she tucked the dagger into her sash.

"Why, look who has dressed up properly again," she said, smiling weakly. "How is your leg feeling?"

"It hurts less," he said, grinning. "I snuck some food on my way through the crowd too, so I'm feeling a lot better about life now!"

"Which was to be expected from you," said Azula, shaking her head but smirking nonetheless. "You're lucky there was still anything left, the feast is pretty much over by now…."

"Huh, if it's almost over then… do you think your presence here is absolutely necessary right now?" Sokka asked, moving closer to her as though he were conveying some sort of secret to her. His behavior made her raise an eyebrow.

"Well, it is my birthday feast… so I ought to be here until the end, don't you think?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"So, you can't take some time off?" he asked, grimacing. "I… kind of have something to show you."

"Now you as well…?" muttered Azula, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing, it's… it's nothing," she said, shaking her head.

She scanned the crowd, and found most guests left in the hall weren't bound to notice her absence if she took off now. Her father was currently speaking with a crowd of noblemen who had gathered around him, and the guests who weren't with him were either chatting amongst themselves or eating ravenously.

"Well… I suppose I won't be missed for the time being," said Azula, shrugging. "What do you want, though?"

"You're about to find out," he said, smiling before leading her outside.

Azula made a point to let a guard know she would be leaving the celebration briefly, in case her father asked for her. The man let her go without a hitch, and soon enough she was walking with Sokka through the Palace halls as he led her to the dragon refuge…

She had been rather busy keeping up with her discouraged suitors to pay much attention to what Xin Long had been up to. It wasn't until Sokka had brought her here that she started to pay attention to the information he was feeding her through their mental bond… and she frowned in confusion when she realized Sokka had done something to Xin Long that the dragon seemed to find quite amusing.

"Sokka…" she said, looking at him as they entered the refuge. "What exactly did you do to…?"

She fell silent when Xin Long groaned at her as a greeting, and her eyes opened wide as she took in the sight before them: her dragon had been clad in a magnificent dark armor with silver linings. Sokka snickered as he enjoyed the look of utter disbelief on her face. Azula approached Xin Long to ask him about this unexpected surprise… the dragon replied by saying that Sokka hadn't only dressed himself when he had gotten home.

"W-what is…? What did you do, Sokka?" she asked, looking at him in amazement. "How did you…?"

"Well, can't you tell?" he asked, chuckling. "I made armor for your pet!"

"My…" Azula instantly wanted to retort at that, but she held back as she turned to stare at the dragon again. "This is completely crazy, I… I hadn't heard about a dragon who wore armor before."

"No wonder you guys got them all killed, then," said Sokka, folding his arms over his chest. "A dragon needs proper protection! At least, I think so… and if he's 'your partner', you should give him some nice clothes and armor to keep him from getting all filthy as he did the other day, right?"

Azula found herself smiling in approval upon that last statement, and she looked at him in disbelief again.

"So, you're saying you built this… how did you do it?" she asked, as she walked around Xin Long, who was more than happy to parade his new outfit in front of his rider. "This is definitely new…"

"It wasn't easy, but I asked the Captain to take Xin Long's measurements, and then I had both him and Song helping me out in the workshop…"

"The Captain and Song? So… this is what you were hiding," said Azula, smiling as she ran a hand over the metal plates that covered the dragon's neck. "The reason why you were so sneaky, why she kept vanishing suddenly for no apparent reason… You were crafting this."

"Yeah, actually," said Sokka, smiling proudly.

"When did you do it, though? You had so many fights, and we were constantly training…"

"Well, the reason why I'm so tired… is because I used to work at night," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly now. "I spent most the night getting this done, trying to keep you off my trail…"

"Then this is why? For real?" asked Azula, looking at him in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. I just figured this would be a useful present for you, so the efforts and exhaustion would be worth it," he said. "But I kind of blew out my budget for the month by paying the blacksmith both for letting me use his supplies and for building the armor in his workshop…"

"I'm thinking you and Song could live off today's leftovers for a whole month, probably," said Azula, smiling. "Still… considering everything you did, I'm perfectly willing to give you some money. Loyalty should be rewarded…"

"You think this is some display of loyalty?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.

"The fact that you took time out of your life to build something like this without even being asked to do so says as much," said Azula, smiling at him. "You really didn't have to do this, Sokka…"

"Yeah, sure," he said, chuckling. "Just say you like it and stop being so stubborn, girl! It's a gift, it doesn't matter whether or not I had to do it…"

"A gift for me or for Xin, I wonder…?" said Azula, smiling as the dragon touched her forehead with his own.

"Well, I figured it counted for both…" Sokka muttered, while she walked towards the saddle that stood amongst the metal plates. "Off for a trip now, are you? Don't you have to get back to your feast?"

"They probably can make do without me for now," said Azula, settling on the saddle. "In the meantime, I'll make sure he can fly with me on his back, and…"

Sokka found himself smiling happily when she extended a hand towards him, just as she had when they had found Xin Long for the first time.

"You're coming along too," she said, beaming back as she helped him up the saddle.

The flight was rather comfortable, even though Xin Long was still adjusting to the armor. The dragon took the armor to be clothes instead of a protection device, and he kept saying as much to Azula. She chuckled and patted his neck as they coursed through the sky, congratulating him on not being naked anymore.

They touched down by the edge of the Capital's crater, and Sokka and Azula climbed off Xin Long's saddle. The Princess fixed the dragon's armor and made sure it wasn't bothering him, for Xin Long made a point of saying that the joint plates around his paws were somewhat tight.

"Eh? Really?" asked Sokka, grimacing as he sat down on the ground, glancing at Azula and Xin Long worriedly after she conveyed the creature's thoughts to Sokka. "Oops. Well, I can upgrade the armor later on anyways… I could add so many things to it, you know? Maybe something like a ball of spikes dangling on his tail and…"

"Do you want to turn Xin Long into a killer machine?" asked Azula, raising her eyebrows and making Sokka blush.

"N-no, I just thought… I just thought it would be cool, is all" he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand.

Xin Long decided to prance around the crater; chasing insects had always been a predilection of his. Azula smiled and watched him before dropping next to Sokka, who was startled when she sat beside him.

"Is it okay for you to sit on the ground when you're dressed like that?" he asked, nervously. Azula sighed.

"Maybe not. And that's why I don't wear dresses often. It's pointless to wear something elegant when it's going to be so impractical."

"Heh, well… it suits you anyways," he said, smiling.

"I think my armor suits me better," replied Azula, already wishing she could change out of these clothes into more comfortable ones.

Something was prodding at her waist, and she frowned for a moment before realizing it was Zuko's dagger. Or… maybe it was her dagger now. She removed it from where she had placed it, and Sokka stared at her in confusion when he saw the weapon.

"What's that? You brought me all this way to kill me with that thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why, of course I did, why else would I fly you all the way here?" Azula said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Sokka, I wouldn't need a tiny knife to kill you…"

"It's what I thought," he said, chuckling. "I'm pretty sure you'd do it with your fire…"

"Ah, yes, with my 'blue fire'. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't mind getting killed by it, would you…?" said Azula, at which Sokka blushed again.

"You're never going to let that one go, are you?"

"Well, why should I?" she asked, smiling at him.

"What's the knife for, though?" Sokka asked again. "Did you have it just in case you had to kill Kuan?"

"Slaying Kuan wouldn't have ended all too well for me, you know," asked Azula. "I actually didn't have this knife until just a while ago. In truth… Zuko gave it to me."

"Huh? Zuko?" asked Sokka, frowning. "Wait, is this why he was trying to talk to you? He wanted to give this to you…?"

"Apparently so," said Azula, looking at the dagger with a frown.

"Odd that he'd give you a dagger just like that," said Sokka, tapping his chin. "Is there anything special about it?"

Azula handed the weapon to him, and Sokka unsheathed it as she started to explain the dagger's story to him.

"That knife was given to him as a present by my Uncle. It was a very meaningful gift, as you can see, both for what it says and for how my Uncle came to possess it…"

"What it says?" said Sokka, frowning as he looked at the weapon. "I'm pretty sure 'Made in Earth Kingdom' isn't something remotely extraordinary…"

"On the other side of the blade, you blockhead," Azula growled, and Sokka turned the weapon around to read the actual inscription he had been referring to.

"Oooh… 'Never give up without a fight'" said Sokka, nodding. "Your Uncle got this for him?"

"Yeah, after defeating the General who was in charge with the defense of Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall," Azula explained. "He took said weapon from him, and sent it to Zuko… while I got a doll. A common, regular doll he probably didn't even buy himself. Hence, I was always… envious, I guess. I didn't think Zuko could appreciate the gift half as much as I could… thus I kept taking it from him when he least expected it until it stopped being funny. I'd almost forgotten about this dagger's existence until today."

"Zuko gave this to you, then? As a present for your birthday?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's interesting…"

"It's weird," muttered Azula, sighing before taking the dagger from him and slipping it into her sash again. "I can't figure out why he did it. Though I suspect it might have been because of what you told him…"

"Which would be a good thing, right?" said Sokka. "If he actually listened to what I said, maybe he'll start being a better brother to you…"

"Ha. Sure thing," said Azula, rolling her eyes. "You honestly think Zuko wants to make any efforts to be a good brother, after all this time? It's too much work, and for all he knows, he'll get no reward for it."

"You know, by judging his intentions as harshly as you're doing right now, you're treating him in the same way he treats you," said Sokka, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, most unlike Zuko, I'm not trying to convince people I'm a good person," said Azula, shrugging. "I don't need to be a good sibling to make peace with my conscience…"

"The fact that you know it should disturb your conscience is a good sign already," said Sokka, smiling proudly and earning himself a glare from Azula. "C'mon, you don't really want to tell me, of all people, that you're a bad person. Not after everything, Azula."

"It depends on what's your definition of 'bad person', I guess," she retorted, and Sokka laughed.

"Sure thing," he said, smiling. "But still… I think you can give Zuko a chance. What's the worst that could happen?"

Azula frowned and looked at him sideways. Truth to be told, she had no idea what the answer to that question was. She was proud to be stronger and better than her brother at everything she put her mind to. So, what did she have to fear from him…?

"In any case, though, meaningful dagger and all, I guess I still must have been the one who gave you the best birthday present, huh?" Sokka declared, his head held high.

"Oh? So sure of yourself, aren't you?" said Azula, looking at him with interest now.

"Well, at the very least, I'm the one who almost literally broke a leg for your present's sake, so for that alone I deserve some praise," he said, folding his arms over his chest. Azula let out a weak laugh.

"Is that so?" she asked, smiling as she looked at him.

Truly, he had done much more for her the last few days than she could have ever expected from him. It seemed he would always find new ways to surprise her, new ways to amaze her…

"I guess I should cut you some slack…" she muttered, nodding. "Despite that unfortunate leg cramp, you did behave yourself quite well today, gave me an unexpected present and helped me keep my freedom yet again…"

"Ah, well, you know…" said Sokka, smiling proudly. "It's just what I had to do, don't think that much of it."

"Oh, sure, don't think much of it, you say…" said Azula, narrowing her eyes as he laughed loudly. "You're pretty much begging for praise and compliments, Sokka."

"What gave you that idea?" he asked, trying to sound sarcastic, but he couldn't keep himself from laughing as she looked at him with disapproval, shaking her head even though she was smiling at him.

"You're incorrigible, you know," she muttered, and he seemed pleased to hear her remind him of it. "I will say, you turned this particular birthday of mine into a most memorable day…"

"Well, considering you're the one who decided to challenge Kuan out of the blue…" said Sokka, raising his eyebrows.

"Must I remind you that you expressly demanded I wouldn't marry him, of all people?" she said, looking at him with the same expression he bore on his face. Sokka laughed again.

"Heh, well, I can hardly believe I'm such a big influence on your life, Princess…" he said, looking at her sideways.

"You have no idea…" Azula muttered, sighing and lifting her head when a gentle breeze blew towards them.

Sokka stared at her, as ever mesmerized by her beauty. The sunset in the horizon colored the landscape before him, tinging everything with shades of gold. The entire world was a sight to behold, but none of it was in the slightest as breathtaking as she was.

"So… I suppose we've entered a cycle now, considering you gave me a birthday present out of the blue," said Azula. "When's your birthday?"

Sokka was startled by that sudden question. He straightened up and looked at Azula with confusion, and she raised her eyebrows, glancing towards him. Sokka gave her a weak smile and waved a hand carelessly, as to give it no importance.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It passed us by a few months ago," he said, shrugging. "And it's not like you've got to do anything for me just because I did something for you. That's not how it should work."

"Well, maybe that's not the real reason why I'd do it…" said Azula, disappointed to hear she had missed the right date.

"It's fine, really," said Sokka, smiling at her and shrugging. "I doubt people give their slaves any presents, so it's not like you had to…"

"Sokka."

He turned his head towards her just a notch, but her hand on his chin managed to move it to the right angle for her to kiss his lips softly.

Sokka's eyes widened at that. It didn't matter how many times he had kissed her by now, every single time it happened he felt as though the world around him would become a blur… for all he could think was real was her. And even after all this time, he could hardly believe Azula would kiss him as she was doing now.

He closed his eyes and grasped her shoulders gently as he responded. His hands caressed her arms while hers slid up to the back of his neck, bringing him closer as she shifted her body towards his.

"Huh… so now we can do this, then?" he asked playfully, smiling at her when she pulled away momentarily. Azula could only smile as well before leaning in again, their lips joining once more.

As their tongues met, Azula continued to move closer to him. Sokka's arms surrounded her, and she allowed herself to be enveloped by him. Never had she felt as willing to belong to him as much as she did now. She wanted to thank him for everything, to show him just how deep her feelings for him were…

Sokka seemed to have lost all inhibitions after their exchange the previous day, and he returned her affections hungrily, though not as desperately as he had back in the stand-by room. Even so, he was daring, far more daring than Azula had expected him to be. His lips left hers and moved down to her neck, and she gasped when he kissed her exposed skin. Not often did she wear clothes that showed cleavage… and he had decided to take advantage of her dressing choices for today. She couldn't say the fact bothered her in the slightest.

She slid her hands through his hair and hugged him tightly when his mouth stopped kissing her skin. Holding her in this tight embrace was starting to make him dizzy, but not in a bad way…

"Happy belated birthday, Sokka," Azula whispered, kissing the top of his head.

Sokka lifted his head and looked at her with a crooked smile, which she kissed off his face as his arms surrounded her even more tightly. Azula dropped her head on his shoulder, feeling his furious heartbeat drumming along hers.

His embrace was intimate, full of desire, which brought a smile to Azula's face. For it was her that he desired… it was her. Unlike all those who wanted titles, money, fame or glory, Sokka didn't care about any of those things. All he really wanted was her.

She hugged him as well, caressing his back as he moved his head down to find her lips with his once more. Azula closed her eyes and returned the kisses, unable to get enough of this exchange. All the same as he wanted her, she wanted him… nobody other than him. The rest of her father's noblemen were fated to end in the same way Kuan had, one way or another. She couldn't belong to anyone else… she didn't want to belong in anyone else's arms. For there was a man who had conquered her heart without hardly meaning to, and she couldn't be happier about it. He was the only man she wanted… he was the right one for her, she had no doubts of it. And today, more than ever, she was grateful to have him by her side. Today, more than ever, she was glad she had fallen in love with him…