"When are we going to get there? I'm sick and tired of being stuck in this crappy metal boat!"
Sokka rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, a frown on his face as he tried to ignore the Blind Bandit's protests. She had spent the entire trip complaining about their schedule, for it failed to include any instances where she could step out of the Royal Barge and enjoy the feeling of the earth under her feet. Her mood had only worsened with every passing day, and she often resorted to picking on everyone else as a method to cheer up a little.
"Don't call it that, Toph," said Iroh, grimacing. "I'm certain my niece won't appreciate any slights against her ship…"
"Meh, ship, boat, what's the difference?" said Toph, pacing around the deck with her hands linked behind her head. "It's still a crappy thing floating over water, and that just means it sucks."
"Uh… I may be wrong, but I think the more offensive part was calling it 'crappy' instead of saying it was a boat," Sokka said, through gritted teeth.
"Now, now, you're not going to defend this big metal nonsense of a boat, are you, Dog?" asked Toph, stomping on the deck loudly while walking by where Sokka stood. "It's so boring! There's nothing to do here!"
"Well, if you want something to do you could always train with me," Sokka said, with a pleased smile on his face. Toph scowled.
"Oh, haha, I'm so funny, I'm the funniest guy in the world," she mocked Sokka, deepening her voice to imitate him. "You think that because there's no earth here I wouldn't be able to beat you, huh?"
"Well… yeah," said Sokka, shrugging.
Toph blinked a few times before sighing and shaking her head.
"Sadly true. But don't worry. Once we're in solid ground we can go ahead and train all you want! And I'll kick your ass as I've never ever failed to do before."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you," stated Sokka, folding his arms over his chest. "Last time we faced off you underestimated me, and it didn't end all that well for you, did it?"
"Uh, sure it did: I won," said Toph, frowning and turning towards him, her hands balled into fists and settled on her waist. "You don't think that because you bested me over two objects you're better than me, do you? Because, in case you need a reminder, I had seized all the other eight and I walked all over you in the end."
"Maybe, but we still found out that you're not smart enough to outsmart me through the Scavenger Hunt," said Sokka, smiling.
"Doesn't seem I need to be smart to beat you to a pulp, Dog," Toph growled, and Iroh finally stood up from the place he had been sitting at, brewing tea.
"Now, now, there's no need for arguments or bitterness over here," he said, placing a hand on Toph's shoulder. "We are all very tired, for it has been too long a voyage and we could all use some rest. Relax and drink some tea, Toph, will you?"
"I'm not the one who needs to relax! I'm fine!" she declared, and Sokka rolled his eyes before stepping away from them, moving towards the area of the deck where a dragon was placidly sleeping, his rider caressing his head.
The trip to Ba Sing Se had extended for several more days than they had anticipated. Traveling all the way to the other end of the world was going to take a long time, but the tides had been against them throughout the entire trip. A raging storm had only served to delay them further, and with all those inconveniences, they only had one day left to reach Ba Sing Se on time for the tournament. The unexpected issues had soured everyone's already sour moods, and Azula was probably the most irritable of them all.
After their latest conflict, the relationship between Azula and Sokka had hit a stop that neither of them had anticipated. Sokka felt at a loss upon it, always hoping to find the right moment to speak to Azula privately… but he was having a hard time to do so when either Royal Guards or their new partners were constantly around, stopping them from being alone at all. She wasn't acting as distant as she had back when they had journeyed to the Former Earth Kingdom the first time… but there was still coldness, and a lot of bite, in most words she sent his way.
Sokka reached her, looking at her worriedly for a moment before sighing and stepping towards the nearest enclosure of the ship, letting his back rest against it. Azula didn't react, even though she clearly noticed he was there.
"Say…" he muttered, trying to start their first proper conversation since they left the Fire Nation: he couldn't help but hope that talking would help appease her anger towards him somehow. "Why are we doing this at all? And why with them, of all people?"
For a moment he thought Azula wouldn't respond, but eventually, she did.
"Is it really that hard to guess?" she said, raising an eyebrow and continuing to slide her hands over Xin Long's slick hair. "Our concern was that we might lose points if we joined this tournament, but if we join it with that girl as your partner, that's quite unlikely to happen. She's never lost a fight, and we know she can take on multiple fighters without a hitch. We won't be risking anything by entering this event with her."
"Eh, maybe that's so, but…" said Sokka, grimacing. "I'm getting the feeling she's planning on knocking me out when the fights begin because I'll get in her way."
"Then don't get in her way," said Azula, shrugging. "It's that simple."
"N-no it's not," said Sokka, grimacing. "You remember what the Green Gates is like. There are real rocks in there, big ones she could use to kill anyone if she felt like it. And…"
"Ah, you're exaggerating matters," said Azula, shaking her head and standing up. "She didn't kill you when her old sponsor had told her to, why would she do it now?"
"I kind of hurt her pride back in the Ring of Ash, if you might recall…" said Sokka.
"Oh, indeed," muttered Azula, sighing and stepping towards the enclosure as well, standing right next to him. She frowned as the ship drifted past what looked like tall, thin stone peaks… was this the Serpent's Pass? "I recall you let that nasty little dirt worm grab my hairpiece, that's what I remember most."
"I… I had told you of my plan already, you knew what was going to happen," he said, blushing a little. "Though I didn't want it to happen at all, but it was the only way to make sure we'd take points in the end…"
"And miraculously, it worked," said Azula, nodding. "Surprisingly, you're only twenty spots away from her. I was certain that after her result in that event she'd shoot off immediately towards the first hundred fighters…"
"Well, it takes a while to rise that much, doesn't it?" said Sokka, smiling a little. "The ranking isn't something to take lightly, not even for her."
"Which doesn't bode too well for us," said Azula, frowning. "If the upper gladiators are such a threat even for her, this tournament may not be a smooth ride… but then again, the Blind Bandit really has gotten this far without a single loss. With that track record, we should do fine. So long as you don't make any stupid mistakes that cause you two to lose your matches, we should be fine."
"It's going to be a bit hard, though," said Sokka, grimacing. "We don't exactly get along with those two… they may be compatible with one another, but that doesn't mean they'll be compatible at all with us."
"If there's someone I know my uncle isn't compatible with in any sense, it's me," muttered Azula, sighing. "If I didn't expect this operation to benefit us in the end, I wouldn't have accepted his proposal at all."
That was a lie, of course, but Sokka didn't have to know it. Maybe their odds of winning were quite high with the Blind Bandit as their partner, and they had a great chance of securing heaps of points in the Green Gates… but Azula's true reason to accept Iroh's request had been one that hardly had anything to do with the tournament itself. And it was the actual reason why she had been keeping her distance from Sokka as of late. If he only wanted to talk about the tournament, she wouldn't mind… but she definitely didn't want to discuss the matter that had caused them to drift apart recently.
And almost as if he could read Azula's mind, Sokka seemed to decide it was time to attempt talking about the matter now, to Azula's chagrin.
"I figured as much," he muttered as a response towards her previous words. "U-uh… say, Azula…"
"What?" she said, frowning. Just his voice tone gave away that she wouldn't like whatever he was going to say next.
"I just wanted to… well… talk?" he muttered, nervously. "See, uh… what did you hear when you found me at your door, exactly?"
"Nothing much," said Azula, shrugging. "I was just heading towards my room once I was done submitting our entry to the Tournament. You were rambling nonsense about smiles and misery, and I figured I shouldn't intrude upon your heartfelt moment with my door, but alas, it was too promising an opportunity to miss it…"
"Y-yeah, right…" said Sokka, grimacing. She really hadn't heard anything, had she? "Well, then, I… I really wasn't talking to your door, you know?"
"Then you were talking to yourself?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow. "There was nobody there, after all."
"I… I just thought…"
"You think too much when you don't need to, and when you do need to, you forget how to make your brain work altogether," Azula declared, making Sokka freeze. "Your thoughts at the moment really weren't that important, if you ask me."
"That's not…!" Sokka exclaimed, before sighing and shaking his head. "Look, I just have something I want to tell you, if you don't mind…"
"As a matter of fact, I do mind," muttered Azula, frowning. "You're making a fuss over nothing as ever, aren't you?"
"W-what do you mean, over nothing?" said Sokka, gulping. "Azula…"
"The whole matter really is nothing to me anymore, but apparently it still is to you," she said, shrugging. "And I honestly am not in the mood to hear you make up excuses for the way you acted. We both know that you're not the kind of guy who keeps his innermost thoughts hidden, after all, so telling me now that you didn't mean any of what you said…"
"Well, I wasn't going to say that, but I know that what I said wasn't fair to you," said Sokka, frowning. "I know I keep making mistakes when it comes to us, but…"
"Us?" Azula repeated, a sarcastic smile on her face. "This has nothing to do with 'us', whatever that means. This is about you and me as completely different and separate beings, with our own flaws and issues. You are brutally honest and not very bright, and in the mean time, I'm a selfish hag. Did I miss out on anything?"
"Wha-…? No! Who the hell said that about you?!" Sokka exclaimed, looking at her in disbelief. "That's not it, not at all!"
"Ah, so now it turns out you don't think I'm selfish? Or is it you don't think I'm a hag?" she asked, still smirking.
"Neither! Nobody said that, Azula! I'm trying to say that I acknowledge my faults, Azula, not that…"
"Well, then, I acknowledge mine too," Azula said, frowning now. "But it's not something I need to tell anyone about. I already know where I went wrong, and it's too late to fix my mistakes now. And you have yet to understand how that works, from the looks of it…"
"Azula, I know I can't take back what I did wrong, but…" he said, frowning. "It doesn't mean I don't feel bad for treating you as I did. And I think I get why you're so annoyed, but what I wanted to tell you about that is that I really don't…"
"You owe me no explanations, and I don't want to hear it," said Azula, shaking her head. "Whatever happened has happened. There's no point in dwelling over it anymore."
"Yeah, right," said Sokka, folding his arms over his chest and turning towards her. "If it's so pointless and useless to try to do anything about it, why are you so insistent on not letting me talk at all?"
"Because I already know what you're going to say," Azula replied, simply. "You may be unpredictable in some regards, but when it comes to problems between us you're immediately apologizing in the most heartfelt way ever in hopes to get back on my good side."
"You think I'm just trying to get back on your good side?" Sokka repeated, blinking. "You don't really think I mean the things I say?"
"Whether you mean them or not isn't really what matters," muttered Azula, her gaze lost in the seas that extended towards the horizon. "Because you will mean them again next time. And the next time. And then again, on the next time…"
Sokka dropped his gaze, feeling even more miserable now. Azula trusted him in many regards nowadays, it seemed… and one of them was in messing up constantly, apparently. The thought was downright depressing.
"Azula, I don't… I don't plan on there being a next time at all, you know," he muttered, sighing. "I'm too impulsive at times and I blurt out things without even thinking. And more often than not, those things just hurt the people I care about when I'm being too stupid to notice it. So I'll do my best not to do that anymore…"
"What a nice resolution! Such a good guy, who would think the Dog has manners of any kind?"
Sokka froze and frowned deeply upon the intrusion. Azula's eyebrow twitched as well, but she hardly reacted when Toph stepped between them, a grin on her face and her arms across her chest.
"Seems like you've trained him quite well, huh, Jewel?" she asked Azula, still beaming.
"I doubt I have," Azula retorted. "Yet I find it odd that a Dirt Worm would be able to recognize manners when she sees… oh, right, I forgot it was a Blind Dirt Worm, on top of it all, so she really can't see anything."
"Hey, that's not very nice, preying on someone's disability like that," said Toph, reproachfully.
"Mind you, I'm not trying to be nice at all," Azula responded, glaring at the girl.
"Well, well, what a fun gathering seems to be taking place here," said the other person present on the deck, also approaching them right after Toph had.
Azula's eyebrow twitched more now. It wasn't only that she wasn't in the mood to deal with any of these three people right now… it was that she definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with all of them at once. Sokka was already being enough trouble, and keeping a front before him was already quite a tasking effort… but now her uncle came to claim her attention, on top of it all. This wasn't her lucky day.
"We could move over to the center of the deck, if you want some tea," said Iroh, beaming. "I just finished brewing it!"
"I believe I have refused all your offers of tea since this trip began, and my stance on the matter remains firm, Uncle: I still don't want any of your beloved tea," she said, slowly, as though she were dealing with a three-year-old who still had trouble comprehending words.
"Ah, but I should still ask!" exclaimed Iroh, shrugging. "One day you might change your mind! And why wouldn't you want any tea of mine anyhow? Toph can guarantee I'm a great brewer."
"Oh, yep, he actually is," said Toph, nodding.
"Mind you, the testimony of a girl who eats mud for a living really isn't worth much, Uncle," said Azula, with an unpleasant smirk. Sokka found himself unexpectedly relieved over not being on the receiving end of that smile.
"Heh, first, she thinks I have no manners and now she thinks my senses aren't any good," said Toph, snickering and placing a hand on Iroh's shoulder, as though that were the most hilarious joke ever told. Azula frowned at that.
"Ah, well, don't take offense by that. Azula is always rather harsh with people she's not friends with…" said Iroh, nodding.
"She's harsh with people she's friends with, too," said Sokka, smiling weakly. Azula glared at him. "N-not that I'm saying we're friends or so, I just meant… well…"
"Shut up," Azula grunted, and Sokka scowled.
"Fine, fine, geez, everyone gets to talk but I've got to keep my mouth shut…"
"Ha, as though you were physically capable of not talking for over ten seconds," Azula snapped, her glare still fierce.
Toph and Iroh were rather surprised at that unexpected row between the Princess and her gladiator. Toph ended up laughing while Iroh still stared at them, rather confused.
"Seems like the Dog is right, she's even worse with people she's closer to," she said, chuckling.
"Closer? You think I'm close to this blockhead?" Azula asked, pointing at Sokka, who naturally took offense at that.
"Wha-…?! What the hell, Azula?!"
"Ahahaha, oh, I'm keeping that one! Blockhead, that's perfect for him!" Toph exclaimed, laughing even harder now.
"Well, oddly enough we seem to agree on something for once, Dirt Worm," said Azula, smiling, and Toph beamed back while Sokka scowled.
"Sure we do, Spicy Princess!" Toph replied.
Azula rolled her eyes at the nickname and turned towards Iroh once she felt his gaze upon her. The man seemed intent on studying her and Sokka, for some reason…
"What's so interesting, Uncle?" she asked, irritated. He couldn't possibly have picked anything up about their… turbulent relationship, could he have?
"I'm simply wondering… how the two of you ever manage to get anything done," he said, making Sokka and Azula frown.
"Excuse me?" said Azula. "Get what done, exactly?"
"You're sponsor and gladiator, but you're always fighting and arguing, and you seem unhappy around one another…" said Iroh, stroking his beard. "Perhaps you both get crankier when you're traveling? Yet… it isn't very good for a fighter to have such an unstable relationship with his sponsor"
"Handing out advice now, are you, Uncle?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't recall asking for it."
"And we really do get along… sort of," said Sokka, shrugging. "The fact that we fight and bicker as much as we do is just proof that we're not afraid of being who we are in front of one another, see? Ours is a relationship of understanding and, uh, mutual trust…"
"Why, yes, I trust you'll make a fool of yourself more often than not, that's right," said Azula, nodding and making Sokka freeze in the middle of his spirited speech.
"You know, that's not really helping," he said, scowling at Azula.
"I honestly don't see why you should judge us over how we handle each other, Uncle," said Azula, looking at Iroh with derision. "I don't advise you on how to deal with your fighter. I could just as easily tell you not to give her so much tea, to say one thing. For all you know she'll end up having an emergency in the middle of the fight because you keep asking her to sample your every brew, but see, I really don't care about the state of her bowels. Hence, you shouldn't care about the state of my partnership with Sokka either."
Sokka couldn't help but laugh at that while Iroh frowned and Toph shrugged.
"Well, I can't say the urge doesn't hit me at times in the worst situations" she admitted, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. "Though I figure the Royal Jewel has to hit the bathroom once in a while too, or are royals exempt from such lowly needs?"
"You know, I think this conversation is somewhat getting out of hand…" said Sokka, grimacing as he saw Azula was about to retort…
But the Princess froze when she caught sight of someone else on the deck, moving towards them.
Xin Long was awakened by the sounds of the arguing voices, but he had simply listened to them bicker until he saw Rui Shi had appeared on the deck. He jumped happily to greet the Captain, surrounding him with his body and squeezing him before brusquely releasing the man, which made him spin in circles on the deck as he tried to find his bearings anew. Azula rolled her eyes at that, hardly believing the Captain of her Royal Guards had wound up in such a silly situation. The other three also turned towards him, eyebrows raised as he approached them.
"P-Princess, I, uh… do excuse me for that unsightly mishap," he mumbled, gulping and bowing his head before her. Azula simply continued to look at him with disapproval.
"Is something the matter, Captain?" she asked, moving past the other three in order to address Rui Shi comfortably.
"Yes, Princess," said the Captain, nodding curtly. "I'm afraid I have some bad news… though I'm certain you must have figured them out by yourself already."
Azula frowned, her glare becoming glacial as she regarded her guard with irritation. It wasn't his fault, of course, but any unexpected setbacks to her plans would never fail to be a source of displeasure for her.
"The Barge won't reach Ba Sing Se in time for the event, will it?" she muttered, gritting her teeth. "Even when we're making better time now…"
"It will take two or three more days for the ship to reach Lake Laogai as intended," said Rui Shi, nodding. "We have only just reached the Serpent's Pass, after all. At this rate, it will be impossible for us to arrive on schedule."
Azula rolled her eyes and shook her head in disapproval, her previous irritation near shifting into rage upon the news.
"So, after undertaking such a long voyage and putting up with two more fools than I usually bargain for, you're telling me every effort we have made is useless?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "You're saying I'm to return home empty-handed, Captain?"
"I-I… I'm sorry, Princess," said Rui Shi, grimacing. "But nothing can be done about the ship as it is, we're going at full speed already…"
Azula huffed in annoyance and shook her head. The other three didn't seem any happier than she was about the Captain's report.
"We're not going to make it?!" Toph exclaimed, aghast. "Well, what the hell? I was stuck in this metal thing for two weeks for nothing?! I don't get to beat anyone up?!"
"Now, now, Toph, there's no use in yelling at anyone…" said Iroh, patting the girl's shoulder.
"This can't be that hopeless," said Sokka, frowning and stepping towards Azula.
"What's on your mind now, Sokka?" Azula asked, almost sarcastically.
"I'm thinking we have Xin Long, right?" he said, gesturing at the dragon. "He could fly us into the city while they take the ship to the lake, can't he?"
"That would be a wonderful solution, if only it were just the two of us," said Azula, frowning. "But the saddle only fits two people, and I rather doubt Xin Long can take off at all with Iroh on his back. Haven't you seen the size of him?"
"Oi, I'm not so fat!" exclaimed Iroh, before whispering at Toph. "Am I fat?"
The Blind Bandit shrugged carelessly, trying to keep Iroh from the truth to spare his feelings. Her response didn't seem to soothe his concerns at all.
"Well, but the two of us together have to be heavier than him, don't you think?" said Sokka.
"Maybe, but I'm not letting Iroh travel by himself on my dragon," said Azula. "According to what I know, he murdered the last one he encountered, so I cannot trust he won't do the same to Xin Long if he's not being supervised, see?"
"Ah, that's… we are in a different era now," said Iroh, frowning and folding his arms over his chest. "I won't kill your dragon if that's what you fear."
"Your word on the matter hardly holds any meaning, Uncle. You're not riding him, not now, not ever," Azula declared, glaring at Iroh. He recoiled upon the sight of her angry eyes.
"Such coldness…" he said, grimacing.
"Well, can't say riding a beast would've made me feel any better about this trip," said Toph, scratching the back of her head. "But if that doesn't work, what are we going to do? I sure as hell am not going back to the Fire Nation just like this…"
"But the first fight is scheduled for tomorrow," muttered Sokka, frowning. "And there's no way we can get there on time if that's the case…"
"I wouldn't quite say… that there is no way for us to achieve that," said Iroh, stroking his beard thoughtfully. Azula turned and glared at him.
"What now?" she muttered.
"I'm not too familiar with this area, I will admit that, but during my journey with Zuko we traveled through these very territories once. And if my memory is correct, if we already crossed the Serpent's Pass, then by heading north-west we should find the ferry station. From there, we could enter Ba Sing Se on train…" said Iroh, thoughtful.
"What?!" Azula exclaimed, looking at Iroh in dread.
"As a matter of fact…" muttered the Captain, nodding. "I'm certain the ship's captain could maneuver into the station so we can all head into Ba Sing Se, even if just through the train…"
"Y-you're kidding… you have to be kidding," said Azula, staring from one to another in utter dread. "I am NOT riding on that filthy train ever again!"
"What, you don't like filth, Princess?" Toph asked, snickering.
"Indeed, which is why I want nothing to do with you," Azula responded bitterly, and Toph only laughed harder.
"Well, Azula, the train might not be so bad this time," said Sokka, tapping his chin with a finger. "If anything, this seems the only reasonable way to make it there on time without killing your dragon in the process…"
"I wouldn't have killed the dragon!" Iroh insisted.
"Perhaps not intentionally, but your weight would have done it if you didn't slay him with your own hands," said Azula, rolling her eyes before turning towards Sokka. "You're… you can't actually be proposing this. You really don't expect me to sit through another wretched trip on that train…"
"It's not bound to be as bad as your first ride, you already know what to expect," said Sokka, smiling weakly. "And it's probably the only means we'll have for reaching the Imperial Palace on time, as we planned."
Azula frowned at that. Not because of what Sokka had said, but because she distinctly felt Iroh stiffening after Sokka talked. There was no reason for her uncle to act with unease when Sokka was agreeing with him…
"I still don't like it," muttered Azula, shaking her head. "Reaching the Palace on a train is definitely not the way I expected this trip to end…"
"Well, it's either that or turning back to where we came from," said Sokka, sighing. "I know it's a nasty predicament, Azula, but this is the only way. Though, well… if you decide it's better to go back to the Fire Nation, it's fine. I'll back you on whatever decision you make."
Azula raised an eyebrow and looked at Sokka with confusion. He looked at her nervously, trying to give her a kind smile, but it didn't seem to appease her at all. Was she thinking he was only trying to get to her good side again…?
"So, if I decide we're going back, you'll accept it without a hitch?" she asked again.
"I'm not very fond of the idea, but I'm not exactly thrilled about joining forces with her," said Sokka, pointing at Toph, who stuck her tongue out at him. "And let's face it, our last visit to Ba Sing Se wasn't exactly fantastic even though it started out alright…"
"That's true," said Azula, sighing. "This one is already beginning badly. I don't even want to imagine what else might happen, at this rate."
"You're being ridiculous, both of you," said Toph, shaking her head. "What's the worst that could happen? It's just a dumb city with a bunch of walls and an Arena where I'll beat people up. Quit being so dramatic, it can't be that bad. Or are you two going to back down just like that as soon as you find the first obstacle in your way?"
Azula looked at Toph with irritation, yet also with determination. And as soon as Sokka saw that look on her face, he knew this discussion was over. Now, without a doubt, Azula wasn't going to let this trip go to waste. Never before had she surrendered without trying her hardest first… and even if her hardest wasn't good enough, she would find a way to succeed on the next opportunity that presented itself. That was her nature, after all…
"Back down, you call it?" she muttered, gritting her teeth. "As if… but in a way, you're not wrong. We can't just let this city get the better of us all the time, can we?"
"I guess not," said Sokka, sighing in defeat. "So… we're going for it?"
"If she puts it that way, it's hard not to," replied Azula. "I'm not faltering because of some train. We will reach the Palace anyways, so we should face no problems with this in the long run… or so I hope."
"Very well, then," said Rui Shi, nodding. "I shall inform the Captain of the change of course so we can head into Ba Sing Se at…"
"Uh… not so fast, Captain," said Azula, lifting one finger and making the man frown underneath his mask.
"Don't tell me. You have decided you won't be taking your guards with you," he said, an eyebrow twitching.
"Don't take it personal, Captain, it's not the first time I do this and it most certainly won't be the last," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "I need you to make sure the ship will arrive safely in Lake Laogai. I can entrust that mission to you, can't I?"
"With all due respect… ah, well," said Rui Shi, shaking his head eventually. "Never mind. I don't know why do I still expect to sway your judgment when I have never succeeded at that in the past…"
"Indeed," said Azula, smiling weakly at him. "We will reunite in the Palace once again, and this time there should be no setbacks or trouble. If anything were to happen on your way to the Lake, send us a message."
"And if anything were to happen to you, please do the same, Princess," said the Captain, sighing and nodding. "As much as I am meant to obey your commands first and foremost, my duty is supposed to be to protect you… so please, avoid getting involved in any troublesome situations, if possible."
"I can't promise much, especially with the lousy company I'll have this time, but I'll do what I can," said Azula, nodding.
"Lousy company, she says," said Toph, shaking her head. "You know we're making your life far livelier than it ever has been!"
Azula glared at the girl, who simply beamed at her happily.
"You really seem to have too great an opinion of yourself, Dirt Worm."
"I can say that right back at you, Spicy Princess."
"Okay, okay, enough with the nickname back-and-forth," said Sokka, sighing. "We've got to get ready for disembarking, don't we?"
"Indeed," said Azula, nodding. "Though the trip is bound to take a few more hours still, but we ought to get ready anyhow."
The Captain was the first to head inside the ship, to inform the Barge's captain of their change of course, and Azula followed him, headed towards her cabin. Sokka was quick to trail behind her, and even though Toph was about to do the same, Iroh made no move just yet. Toph stopped by the threshold and placed her hands on her hips.
"You're not coming, Iroh?"
"I… I'm simply taking a moment to think about this, is all," he said, breathing deeply. "You are aware of what troubles we could find in this city…"
"I am," said Toph, frowning momentarily before smiling again. "But I get the feeling we'll be fine, Iroh. I don't know why, but… even if we keep bickering with those two, something tells me this won't go as badly as it could."
"Maybe your gut is telling you your feet will be on proper ground soon enough," said Iroh, smiling and approaching her. "And that happy thought has dulled your intuition, Toph."
"Oho, how funny," said Toph, punching him on the shoulder and making him wince.
"Now, now! I'm an old man…!"
"Yeah, you're only an old man when I punch you!"
"I only need to remind you of it when you do…"
Together they entered the ship, laughing, and they each headed to their cabins to gather their belongings. Sokka was the quickest to be finished, for even though now he had more possessions than he did when Azula first hired him, he still had a smaller pack than the rest of them. He returned to the deck and waited there, watching as land finally appeared on the far horizon.
Xin Long approached him and hit his shoulder with his head, and Sokka chuckled before patting the dragon's head.
"Should you join us over at Ba Sing Se, pal?" he asked. "Might be fun for you to hang out with us there… though it's probably crazy crowded, and I have no idea how these people would react upon seeing a dragon. You still remember how you freaked out everyone in Garsai, don't you?"
Xin Long responded with a growl, but Sokka didn't know what the dragon meant to convey to him. He simply smiled awkwardly and continued to stroke the dragon's scales for some time, until the creature leapt away from him and towards his rider, who had reappeared on the deck, a large pack on her shoulder.
"Woah!" said Sokka, surprised as she set down her bags next to the ship's rim. "What're you bringing so much stuff for?"
"Excuse you, but the last time we did something unforeseen out here in the Former Earth Kingdom, it went anything but smoothly because we weren't prepared for any trouble," said Azula, sighing. "So I'm doing the best I can to be ready for any eventualities that might arise…"
"That's very thoughtful of you," said Sokka, smiling. "Still, let's hope that all your caution is for nothing."
"Which is how these matters go, usually," said Azula, nodding. "When you brace yourself for the worst of the worst, nothing happens…"
"So you're playing with fate?" asked Sokka.
"Hoping to, at the very least," muttered the Princess. "The problem is… it's hard to play a game when you don't really know which pieces are on the board"
"What do you mean?" asked Sokka, frowning.
"Iroh," Azula replied, placing a hand atop one of Xin Long's horns. "He's hiding something."
"Huh?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that from the very beginning I found his idea of coming to Ba Sing Se beyond absurd," muttered Azula. "Why would my Uncle willingly come here? Why would he want me to come along, to top it all off?"
"This is where he failed the army, isn't it?" asked Sokka. "You mentioned something along those lines…"
"And where he lost his son, too," said Azula. "I believed he still grieved him, and returning to Ba Sing Se after that experience would be out of the question… but he seemed to think that dropping by for a Gladiator Tournament was a good idea. Why?"
"Maybe he's doing this to get over it?" asked Sokka, shrugging. "You really can't expect me to know what's going through your uncle's head. He's a weird guy, I've always thought so."
"He is," said Azula, frowning. "But it's more than that. He hasn't displayed any disapproval or discomfort so far through the trip, and he even seemed disheartened when we thought we wouldn't make it. He proposed our new plan, too, so now we can actually reach the city on time for the fight. Yet he still flinched when you talked… when you spoke of the Palace. You were agreeing with him, telling me this could be done, but when you mentioned the Imperial Palace, he reacted… strangely."
"Really?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something in the Palace that could trouble him?"
"I don't know… maybe," said Azula, frowning. "Maybe not."
"You might be looking too deeply into this," said Sokka, smiling at her. "Hopefully, your uncle was just reacting because a bug stung him or so."
"I'm not quite fond of being hopeful when it comes to him," muttered Azula. "As you said, you never know what to expect from him."
"Maybe you're just a bit too tense about the whole train thing…" said Sokka, shrugging.
"Undeniably so," Azula admitted, an eyebrow twitching. "Yet there should be no cause for concern anymore. I've found a way to resolve that particular problem."
"Oh? How?" asked Sokka, intrigued.
"I'll just lay down a towel before sitting down," Azula replied simply, and Sokka's face fell before turning into a disappointed pout.
"Huh. That's not particularly interesting," he said. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"What were you expecting?" she asked, looking at him skeptically.
"Well, you could have said you'd sit on my lap or something along those lines, that would have been way more surprising," he said, with a proud and dumb smile. Azula looked at him in disbelief before shaking her head.
"In front of my uncle and his pet? Yes, of course I'd do that," she said, rolling her eyes.
"So, wait, that's the actual reason why you wouldn't do it?" Sokka asked, looking at her in surprise.
"You know full well why I wouldn't do it, idiot," Azula retorted, flicking his forehead and making him jump back.
"Hey! You didn't have to do that!" he said, rubbing the spot she had hit with a hand.
Azula shook her head before turning towards Xin Long, communicating with him through her mind. Sokka sighed and dropped against the rim of the ship once more, his eyes set on her.
"Well, I had to try, didn't I?" he muttered, gulping. Her response hadn't been as cold as he had expected it to be, though. Testing the waters with a foolish attempt at flirting definitely hadn't been one of his finest ideas, but he'd had to try something regardless.
Azula caressed Xin Long's head while telling him he wouldn't be allowed in the city, most likely, and the dragon groaned in irritation. His mood brightened when she told him he was free to roam the nearby mountains, though, and he was almost cheerful thanks to that prospect when it was time for them to part.
The Barge docked at the ferry station, and once the ferry's staff had been informed of the situation, the sponsors and gladiators disembarked. Azula went first, with Iroh treading behind her and his gladiator following suit. And Sokka almost stepped on Toph when she abruptly dropped on the solid ground, her arms stretched out, her belongings scattering over the rocky landing site.
"Earth! Land! Oh, I'd missed you so much!" she exclaimed, happily.
Sokka raised an eyebrow and poked her with one foot, prompting her to push herself off the ground to regard him.
"What? You won't let me enjoy the feeling of nice, precious earth underneath me?"
"You're kind of in the way, you know, and I'm already carrying enough stuff to carry yours as well," he said, and Toph frowned. She began picking up her possessions, but she turned towards Sokka, confused.
"Why are you carrying so much stuff, and… why isn't the Jewel carrying anything? You're carrying her bags?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah," said Sokka, shrugging, already accustomed to the earthbender's ability to see even while she was blind. "She's pretty miserable about this whole thing, and carrying this crazy huge pack of hers wouldn't have helped improve her mood, so…"
"Eh? Eager to please the Spicy Princess, aren't you?" Toph interrupted him, smirking. "I'm starting to guess what's going on here, you know…"
"Guess? Guess what?" Sokka said, wishing his body wouldn't react upon Toph's words, but, despite himself, his heart was already racing.
"It's pretty damn obvious and you know it," said Toph, chuckling. "This lad is aiming way higher than anyone of his standing should…"
"What the hell are you even talking about?" Sokka said, rolling his eyes and resuming his walk, hoping to leave her behind fast enough to keep from hearing her response to his statement.
Still, he didn't get too far, for an officer of sorts had stopped Azula and Iroh, writing down information related to their arrival.
"What's the matter?" Sokka asked the Princess, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't we allowed to enter the city?"
"Of course we are," said Azula. "But they have to keep tabs on who enters and leaves Ba Sing Se. This officer here is registering all four of us."
"Then Princess Azula and General Iroh…" said the man who was writing down the information, a nervous looking soldier who glanced at the gladiators once he was done registering the sponsors. "And… may I have their names?"
"Oh, I'm Sokka," he replied quickly, to the soldier's surprise. Usually, masters were the ones that spoke for their slaves. Yet in this particular case, it seemed the slave wanted to represent himself…
And it was also the same case with Iroh and Toph, for the soldier noticed that the General wouldn't give away the girl's name. Still, it seemed Toph didn't want to give him an answer at all. The girl grinded her teeth before muttering, almost unwillingly:
"I'm Toph."
Sokka frowned and glanced at the girl with confusion while the soldier wrote down her name and informed Azula and Iroh of where they could board the train. Sokka wasn't quite sure right now, but he had distinctly recalled that, on their first encounter, the Blind Bandit had introduced herself with a last name as well…
The faded memory continued to poke at him as they waited for the train to arrive. Sokka didn't think he should ask the girl directly about it, though. He didn't think she would give him a proper answer.
Azula swallowed hard when the train arrived at long last, already uneasy by the idea of boarding it. The four of them were the only passengers right now, for the next ferry would arrive on the next morning, according to what the city's soldiers had told them.
"Apparently it's pretty late," said Sokka, as they entered the train. "You think we'll make it to the Palace before the night is out?"
"We'd better," muttered Azula, sighing and laying down her towel before taking her seat. Toph snorted as she sank into the seats across Azula and Sokka's, Iroh next to her.
"Seriously, how delicate can you be?" she asked, chuckling. "I thought you were tougher than that."
"Oh, you want to know just how tough I can be? I have no problem teaching you a lesson or two on underestimating me, Dirt Worm," Azula snapped back, crossing her legs and glaring at Toph.
"Heh, well, I already taught that one to the pair of you when we first fought…" said Toph, smiling, as the train began moving. "I doubt you'll be teaching me anything of the sort, Jewel."
"You two are never going to stop, are you?" asked Sokka, grimacing and dropping his head on his hand.
"I don't see why you're complaining," said Azula, raising an eyebrow. "I bicker with you like this all the time, don't I?"
"Heh, he's got to be jealous," said Toph, and Azula's eyes widened upon the mention of that very word. "He wants to hoard all your arguments for himself!"
"Huh? That's not something to be jealous of!" said Sokka. "If anything, I wish I'd stop arguing so much with her, but…"
"You're the source of most our conflicts," Azula completed, smiling unpleasantly. "It's in your nature to find ways to tick me off. In fact, it's in the nature of everyone in this cabin."
"Oh, come on, that's true for the Dog and me, but Iroh just wants to be nice by offering tea and you think he's trying to poison you or something," said Toph, waving a hand around. "He's not as conflictive as the three of us, right?"
Iroh didn't respond at once, for it seemed his mind had been elsewhere for the time being. He jumped when he realized everyone else was looking at him.
"A-ah, well, surely not," he said, smiling weakly.
"Is everything alright, Uncle?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I was simply on a daze," he responded. "There's nothing to worry about."
"I wouldn't quite define what I felt as 'worrying', but suit yourself…" said Azula, shrugging.
Azula turned her head around towards the windows behind her, and she watched the landscape with interest as the train progressed through Ba Sing Se's Agrarian Zone. Toph and Iroh were engaged in a trivial conversation on the other seat, and Sokka crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at Azula. Eventually, his blatant staring began to bother her.
"What are you looking at?" she muttered, irritable, and he gulped.
"I-I wasn't really…" he muttered, before gesturing towards the lands that passed them by down below. "I was just glancing at the Agrarian Zone and I happened to look at you, is all… see, this is apparently where the city's food is produced! How about that?"
Azula raised an eyebrow, and Sokka felt the color rising on his face.
"Well, it's easy to tell why you're so interested in the Agrarian Zone, if that's true. Food is the main priority in your life after all."
Sokka grimaced at that before noticing she was right. Food had been the main priority… usually. He should have been interested in the food, in the scenery, in the sunset… and yet he was only staring at her. His priorities had changed abruptly at some point, without a doubt…
"Nothing wrong with liking food, is there?" he said, shrugging. "I mean, so long as it's not rhino meat…"
Azula shuddered at that and shook her head, and Sokka chuckled.
"No rhino meat, please," she said, grimacing. "Even after all this time…"
"It's pretty hard to stop thinking about that, isn't it?" said Sokka.
"The day I eat any komodo rhino-based products again will be a very odd day indeed," muttered Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "And it definitely isn't going to happen any time soon."
"Well, I'm pretty sure it won't," said Sokka. "There's no chance that we'll end up in a situation as awful as we did last time, don't you think?"
"Don't jinx–"
"Azula."
The Princess froze when she heard her uncle call her name in a way that almost sounded nervous, interrupting what she was telling Sokka. She turned towards him, regarding him with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" she asked.
"I… I know it isn't what we planned," said Iroh, playing with his thumbs and not meeting Azula's gaze with his own. "But I, uh… I was just thinking about visiting the Lower Ring. And since we are already on the train, I thought we could go now… if it isn't a problem, of course."
Azula frowned. Yes, she definitely would mind in normal circumstances, even more so when said request came from her uncle, of all people. Yet there was only one reason why she imagined Iroh would want to head into the Lower Ring... And it was the very same reason why she had visited it back during her first trip to this city. She didn't think her uncle had ever visited Lu Ten's grave. Was he hoping to make up for that now?
She honestly felt like refusing to his request, and she would have... If only it hadn't been about Lu Ten. Her uncle was one of her least favorite people in the world, but even so, he had been her cousin's father. Lu Ten's grave deserved to be visited by him: Lu Ten also deserved an apology from Iroh, Azula believed, all the same as he had gotten one from her when she had visited him last.
"That's crazy," said Sokka, frowning. "Haven't we had enough problems for the time b-…?"
"Maybe," Azula said, ignoring Sokka's input. Her gladiator froze.
"Huh?! What do you mean, maybe?"
"I mean… I meant that we could stop by for a moment, that's what," said Azula, sighing in defeat. Iroh looked at her in disbelief, but soon enough with gratefulness.
"Thank you, Azula."
"Mind you, I'm not doing this for your sake," she muttered, and Iroh gulped.
"I know... I know."
"It's just going to be for a short while anyways," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "Our schedule is already a mess, after all, so this new issue hardly makes a difference. This is the last setback I'll stand for, though. We've had enough unforeseen nonsense happening to us as it is."
"Well, that sounds scary," said Toph, smirking. Azula rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do to the next setback we get?"
"I'm not bound to do something to the setback, but to the source of that setback," Azula stated, and Toph snickered. "And I don't believe you would really want to know what I have in mind for whoever causes more trouble to us."
"Heh, well, whatever it is, it sounds like fun to me," Toph said, smirking.
The train halted at the first station in the Lower Ring, and some people entered it in order to travel to other locations of the city. Azula, Sokka, Iroh and Toph stepped down into the platform, surprising the people who were waiting for other trains. Not often did the Lower Ring witness visitors who clearly belonged in the highest class of society.
"So... what are we doing here?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow, once they headed out into the streets.
"There's someplace I need to go, Toph…" said Iroh, biting his lower lip as Azula led the way, for she was the only one who had ever visited Lu Ten's hill before. "That's what this is about."
Azula kept flinching upon everything unsightly that caught her eye as they walked... Which was most anything in the Lower Ring, actually. At this rate, this new trip to Ba Sing Se would only worsen her opinion of the city. Still, she had no choice but to carry on. The sooner this was over, the sooner she would be at the Imperial Palace…
"It's getting late, Azula," Sokka said after a while, struggling to carry both her and his bags. "I seriously don't think we should be doing this. I don't know if trains still take off at this hour..."
"It is late indeed," said Iroh, grimacing. "And I'm beginning to feel hungry, too..."
"Ugh, so now you're hungry?" Azula snapped. "Why, you'll have to bear with it. Sokka is right, at this rate we won't make it back to the train station before they close it down for the night."
"Well, yeah, but it's not just Iroh who's hungry, you know…" confessed Toph, and soon after, a growl came from Sokka's direction, his stomach the source of it.
"Uh... Oops," said Sokka, smiling guiltily. Azula froze and stared at him in disbelief before her expression became indignation.
"You three are unbelievable," Azula said, shaking her head. "Fine, then! There's an inn nearby, we can eat something there. I would much rather have dinner in the Palace, obviously, but this will have to do for now, since you all seem to be incapable of enduring hunger for a few hours."
"How do you know there's an inn?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sensing it with my own two feet, yeah, but you can't do that, and you haven't asked for directions..."
"I know there's an inn because it's not the first time I've come here" she retorted, before stepping off towards where the inn awaited.
Sokka frowned upon that, wondering what she meant… until he recalled their momentary separation when they had come to Ba Sing Se the first time. Azula had ditched him and left him to wander the Upper Ring, where he had gotten the silly idea of writing haiku. And in the meantime, she had been visiting her cousin's grave… Iroh's son's grave.
Was that why Azula had accepted to do this? Sokka had been rather confused by her decision; he hadn't found any sense in it until now. Of course, that had to be it. Azula thought Iroh had to pay his respects to his son. Sokka looked at her, his eyes fixing upon the back of her head. He knew she held her cousin's memory quite close, but her relationship with him was still somewhat a mystery for him; yet it seemed fitting that she would want Iroh to visit his son.
The inn Azula had talked about definitely wasn't equipped to receive visitors like them. It was somewhat crowded, but there was enough room for the four of them. Iroh offered to pay for the meals, an idea Azula was quite fond of…
"Because I didn't bring any money with me, after all," she confessed, shrugging, as she, Toph and Sokka sat at a table they had found at the dining area.
"Well, that's nothing new coming from you," said Sokka, smiling. "I seem to recall you did the same thing back in our first fight…"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I forgot the bid's money on my ship during our first fight in the Superior League," replied Azula. "Which would have caused us quite some trouble if only Sokka had been as incompetent as most people take him for."
"Oh? So you're really not that useless, Dog? That's surprising to know," asked Toph, smirking and setting her feet on the table. Both Azula and Sokka recoiled at that.
"Would you behave yourself?!" Azula asked, glaring at the sole of the girl's feet with utter disgust, for Toph was sitting across her. "When was the last time you cleaned your feet?"
"What's it to you? They feel fine like this," said Toph, smirking.
"Oh, I'm sure they'll feel even better once I set those reeking toes of yours on fire," Azula growled, lifting a hand so that a blue blaze danced dangerously on her fingers.
To the Princess's relief, the threat served to get the Blind Bandit to stop being so inappropriate. She lowered her feet, scowling and shaking her head.
"Such a spoilsport, really," she grumbled. "Can't let a girl have her fun, no…"
"Ah, there you were!" Iroh exclaimed, approaching the group and settling on the seat next to his niece.
"Where's the food?" Sokka asked instantly, prompting Azula to roll her eyes, yet still smile weakly at his question.
"It will be here soon… but I have some unpleasant news," said Iroh, gulping. "I spoke with the inn's owner, and I found out you were right about the trains. The service stops at six… and it's already half past six by now."
"So… the train we were on was probably the last one to travel through city for today," Azula muttered, looking at the table in despair.
"Apparently so," said Iroh, looking rather guilty before lifting a hand. "But do not despair! I have already arranged things so that we can spend the night at this inn. We will have a roof over our heads, warm beds and good food, so we should be perfectly fine."
"Heh, I'm cool with this," said Toph, nodding in approval.
"Stay here?" Azula asked, an eyebrow twitching. "Y-you can't be serious…"
"Well, you can try to cross the entire city on foot, but according to the stories, it took Earth King Yi Ming two days to travel from one end of Ba Sing Se to the other one…" said Iroh, shrugging
"I know as much," snapped Azula, irritated. "My problem is, Uncle, that every plan we had established so far stated that we would be staying in the Imperial Palace by now. And in case you have failed to notice, this establishment in no way resembles a palace, let alone Ba Sing Se's… ah, well, I should cut you some slack on those regards. You've never even seen what the Palace looks like, after all."
"And neither have I!" Toph exclaimed proudly, and Azula rolled her eyes.
"Ahaha, well, I haven't indeed, but I shall eventually, won't I?" said Iroh, nodding. "In the meantime, this place should do for the night. It isn't so bad, is it?"
"I think it's cozy," said Toph, nodding. "The only problem is that it's mostly made of wood, but I can deal with that. At least the ground floor is literally a ground floor, no wood involved…"
"Heh, well… my opinion will depend on how good the food is," said Sokka, pouting. "I was really looking forward to a grand banquet-y meal, you know?"
"Well, this is the Former Earth Kingdom after all. You shouldn't have your culinary hopes too high," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "It's never going to be half as good as Fire Nation meals."
"I thought after our last trip you'd learned to enjoy their food," said Sokka.
"After almost starving to death, you'll mean," Azula corrected him. "After enduring such a catastrophe, any form of food will be perfectly welcome, no matter how lousy it really is."
"Starving to death… you two had some fun adventures in Ba Sing Se, from the sound of it," said Toph, intrigued. "I've never really heard of what happened with you two when you were here before."
"And you're not going to hear it any time soon," said Azula, determinedly, and Toph pouted.
"You're damn stingy, you know?" she muttered, before looking at Iroh. "So… how are we going to split up?"
"Split up?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, he's got two keys on him, I can sense them," said Toph, her feet caressing the ground. "I figure they're for our rooms, right?"
"Indeed," said Iroh, nodding and setting them on the table. Azula frowned.
"Couldn't you possibly afford four rooms, Uncle?" she asked, irritated.
"Most the inn's rooms were already occupied…" Iroh said, sighing. "And it was going to be cheaper this way, too."
"So, as it turns out, my Uncle is a cheapskate. Why am I even surprised?" grunted Azula, irritated.
"Eh… well, seeing as Azula seems to be anything but pleased with me, she shouldn't share with me," Iroh said, gulping. "So… it's either splitting by boys and girls or by sponsor and gladiator."
"I suppose," said Sokka, nodding.
"And it would only make sense for us to go by boys and girls, of course" said Iroh, nodding "It would be very inappropriate for the Blue Wolf to stay in the same room as the Princess…"
"Huh?! You think I'd do something to her?" Sokka exclaimed, looking at Iroh with a frown.
"I mean no offense, but can you blame me for thinking that way?" said Iroh, shrugging innocently. "A man in his prime like you could have a hard time holding back while being alone with as pretty a girl as my niece…"
"Heh, he thinks you can't be restrained," Toph said, punching Sokka on the shoulder and laughing.
"That's real nice, though," grunted Sokka, an eyebrow twitching. "Hell, even if I wanted to pull something inappropriate on her, I wouldn't get away with it because she wouldn't let me! So if I were as bad as you think I am, I'd pay direly for it!"
Azula raised an eyebrow and looked at Sokka somewhat skeptically. Considering how several encounters between them had turned out before their latest spat, Iroh's distrust wasn't as misplaced as Sokka was trying to make it seem…
"Meh, whatever, the Princess is a delicate little flower and she shouldn't be near manly men like you, Dog," said Toph, mockingly. "So… there's a single option left now. We'll be sharing rooms, Jewel!"
"That's… no," said Azula, grimacing, and Toph beamed. "Just no. I cannot share rooms with her, of all people!"
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun! It's going to be like a sleepover!" Toph exclaimed, happily. "I've never been to one, so it'd be my first, hehe!"
"A sleepover? Really?!" Azula said, looking at the earthbender in utter disbelief.
"Yep! Just us girls, see! Sokka goes with Iroh, so you see, everything will work out just great," said Toph, happily.
"I think we all have different definitions on what's great… not saying that sharing with the old man will be too awful," said Sokka, grimacing. "But I'm afraid the two of you will enter that room, and only one will come out of it in the morning…"
"That just might happen indeed, I fear I'll end up chucking her out of the window at some point through the night," snarled Azula, as a waiter approached their table, balancing dishes in his hands.
"Well, well, we can worry about windows and sleeping later," said Iroh, happily. "For now, let's enjoy our food!"
With a defeated sigh from Azula, they started eating without a hitch. All four of them had been hungrier than they realized, and they dug into their plates ravenously, hardly chatting through the meal. Azula grimaced at the revolting way Toph ate, so revolting that it almost made Sokka seem civilized. And to think she'd have to share rooms with the same girl later on…
When they were finished dining, Toph and Iroh decided to order extra tea for them. Azula, naturally, was reluctant to indulge in her uncle's hobby along with them, so she decided to head to her room to check out its accommodations. Sokka tagged along, bringing her luggage with him.
"I acknowledge it, don't worry. This was definitely one of the worst decisions I've ever made," said Azula one they arrived in the room, sighing and sitting on the bed while Sokka placed her pack next to it.
"You think?" he asked, stretching after having carried the bag all the way to Azula's room. "I mean… we could be worse off. I still think we're not doing as badly as we were in the forest."
"Of course not," said Azula, shaking her head. "But as you pointed out earlier, this is only just beginning. We have at least five more days left of staying in this city. Do you really think an improvement is on its way?"
"Well, we can only hope," said Sokka, sighing and shrugging.
"Uh… thank you, by the way," said Azula, gesturing at the pack. "You didn't really need to do that, but…"
"It's the least I could do," he said, smiling weakly. "It's not a problem at all."
Azula nodded, and Sokka sat on the bed next to her, their gazes falling upon the mattress the Blind Bandit would occupy later. Azula sighed.
"This will end badly," she muttered, shaking her head. "And I have to endure all this nonsense because…"
"Because of him, huh?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "I never thought you'd accept any requests coming from your Uncle…"
"I'm not doing it for his sake," she muttered, irritated.
"I figured as much," said Sokka, nodding. "This is about your cousin, isn't it?"
Azula raised an eyebrow and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"Quite perceptive all of sudden, are we?" she asked.
"I just put the puzzle pieces together, is all," he said, shrugging and smiling. "The only moment we were separated during our stay in Ba Sing Se in our last visit was when you came to see his grave… did you stop by at this inn for a refreshment or something?"
"The Royal Procession did. They had endured a very long trip, after all," said Azula. "They rested here while I went up to his grave by myself."
"You expect Iroh to visit him alone as well?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.
"It wouldn't make much sense for us or the Dirt Worm to be there during his first visit to his grave, would it?" said Azula. "Though knowing my uncle, he might just bring her along anyways even when she didn't know him at all…"
"You think she might not respect your cousin's resting place…?"
"I think my Uncle should mourn him properly," muttered Azula. "And having a girl picking her feet on his grave might not help with that."
"I figure not," said Sokka, sighing and shaking his head.
He looked at Azula, finding her with crossed arms, a frown on her face. He bit his lip lightly before settling on a different position, his arms supporting his weight on his knees.
"About your cousin…" he muttered, insecurely. Azula's gaze flickered towards him before darting away again. "You've never really talked much about him. I kind of figure you got along with him, though…"
"I did, back in the day," said Azula, grinding her teeth. "He was a good man. Better than most… better than his father, without a doubt. I constantly wondered how could they be so different and still be father and son."
"He was better with you than Iroh, I take it? No dumb dolls as presents for you?" he asked.
"No, he… he actually played with me, and showed me his bending," said Azula, with a weak smile as she recalled some of her most precious memories. "He also liked to invent titles for me, though not of the sort the Bandit does."
"Oh? What titles?" Sokka asked, smiling as well.
"Once he called me the Wielder of the Ever-powerful Flame," said Azula, tapping her chin as she recalled with some amusement the moments she had shared with her cousin. "On another occasion he also deemed me the Master of Lightning. He had just showed me how he did it, and I was dazzled by it. I told him I wanted to bend lightning too one day, and he assured me I definitely would learn how, in due time. He also granted me the title of 'Strongest Dragon Ever Seen', Ruler of the Western Earth Kingdom Provinces… we hadn't conquered the Earth Kingdom yet, so it was obviously a makeshift title, but he acted as though it were real. Back then I was sure he would be Fire Lord, so I always took his word for fact. I figured he definitely would make me one of his highest ranked officers by the time he started to rule the Fire Nation."
"Huh. Well, he sounds like a fun guy," said Sokka, smiling. "I'm glad at least you got along with him, even if not with his dad."
"Yeah… so, as you can see, not everyone in my family was born inherently evil," said Azula, which turned Sokka's smile into a grimace.
"Come on, Azula, I don't think that way anymore and you know it," he said. "Zuko is gruff, your dad is creepy, your uncle is weird, your cousin was fun, so see? I don't blatantly call anyone 'evil', not anymore…"
"And… what would you call me, if that's so?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Y-you…" said Sokka, blushing and swallowing hard. "I think I told you once, didn't I? No three sentences would be enough to describe you… so a single word probably wouldn't work either."
"No?" asked Azula, her fists tightening on her lap as she dropped her gaze.
Well, this time she was actually looking for trouble, wasn't she? She shouldn't ask him questions of the sort… she should have known better than that by now. She didn't really want to know what he thought about her, especially after what had happened lately. She already imagined what sort of words would be crossing his mind right now to describe her, it wasn't that hard to do…
"B-but if you really want me to tell you, I can try to…" Sokka started when he found she looked somewhat upset now. Yet Azula shook her head, stopping him from saying another word.
"No need to sum it up, I really don't need an ego boost," she said, waving her hand around. "We both know you can't help but think I'm absolutely extraordinary, of course."
"A-ah, well… uh, wait why are you being sarcastic about that?" Sokka muttered, blushing, but Azula ignored him.
"In any case, I hope my Uncle will have the sense to visit Lu Ten's grave after he's done with his tea," said Azula. "Because I don't plan on allowing more distractions when it comes to this trip. I only accepted this detour because it was about Lu Ten, simple as that. I'm tolerating no more setbacks after this."
"That sounds about right," said Sokka, smiling a bit. "Still… I'm a bit worried about this whole thing. You said Iroh was hiding something earlier…"
"And you said I was just looking too deeply into it, didn't you?" said Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"But now I'm not so sure," said Sokka, looking at her earnestly. "You were suspecting Iroh was hiding something, but now I think it's not just him. Toph only gave out her first name when we were telling that soldier who we were. Why tell him the first one only, when she introduced herself with her full name when she first fought against me?"
Azula frowned and looked at Sokka, deep in thought.
"The fact that she has a last name is odd enough already," she muttered. "What name was it, exactly? Do you remember it?"
"Baihua? Boutei…?" said Sokka, grimacing as he struggled to recall what Toph had said on their first encounter. "It starts with a 'B', I know it does"
"Well, whatever it is, it really is odd," said Azula. "Few people boast about their last names, and I've never heard of a slave who has one… and she's willing to reveal that last name to you, but not to a soldier asking for her identity in Ba Sing Se?"
"It really makes you wonder what that's about," muttered Sokka. "Why would she hide her name? And why wouldn't she tell us why she's doing it? Because, for all she knew, we might have remembered what it was and given her last name to the soldier when she didn't. So… what is she up to, and why won't she tell us about it?"
"That's really not so hard to guess," replied Azula, sighing. "We don't trust them, they don't trust us. It all boils down to that."
"And it shouldn't be that way," said Sokka, sighing. "I mean, it's just logical that we don't trust each other. We've been enemies all along, so for us to try cooperating when we're all reluctant to do it probably won't end well for any of us."
"This whole matter is going to pose an issue in the long run," muttered Azula, shaking her head. "I really don't like the idea of our allies working with their own agenda. Their business could easily interfere with our objectives, for all we know. Allies you can't trust are as good as enemies."
"Indeed," said Sokka, glancing towards her. "But hey… even if they don't trust us, and we don't trust them, at least we've still got each other, right? That… that still counts for a lot. We've sorted out plenty of problems together, haven't we? So even if they're not totally trustworthy… at least we can trust one another."
"I… I guess so," Azula whispered, dropping her gaze.
Sokka looked at her worriedly. It wasn't like Azula to look so upset by those words. If anything, he would have expected her to look at him defiantly and mock him, asking if he was so sure he could trust her. If not that, then she should be embarrassed… though considering their relationship's latest derailment, she should have snapped at him instead, telling him she couldn't trust a man like him. But instead, she seemed insecure. It was as though she wasn't sure that they could trust each other at all.
But he trusted her. Even if she thought he was an idiot, for he was, he wholeheartedly believed in her. Long ago he would have never trusted her, of course, but after everything they had been through, he found that Azula was currently the person he trusted most. And no arguments they had could change that. If only he could make her see it…
He didn't know if what he was going to do would be any use, but his hand was already moving before he could stop it.
Azula was startled when she felt his hand atop hers. She stared at the contact between them, her heart racing in her chest as he attempted to soothe her concerns in the only way he knew how.
But Sokka had no idea why his words had struck her as they had. He believed he could trust her… or so he claimed now, after all this time. Could he really be so blind about how selfish she truly was? How could he trust her at all, when she was as unreliable as she was? She accused Iroh and Toph of not trusting them, but at the very least they were bound to trust each other. But she couldn't trust Sokka. She couldn't trust in his apologies, she couldn't trust his touch, she couldn't trust his words… all because she was too scared of being hurt by him yet again.
And if she gave the matter some thought, she actually had set everything up just so he would wind up hurting her again. Once they returned to the Fire Nation, Ty Lee would have rescued the slave and Sokka was bound to jump into the arms of the former gladiator, leaving Azula behind. And she would be left wondering what sort of idiot would let go of the man she loves when at long last it seemed he would finally become hers…
She withdrew her hand and stood up, and Sokka's breath caught in his throat. That she would reject him should hardly surprise him, but it still felt like being slammed over the head with his club. He swallowed hard as she moved towards the door, without looking back at him.
"But if we can't trust them at all, how are you supposed to fight alongside the Bandit tomorrow?" she muttered, hoping to change the subject quickly. "You can't hope to win a fight when you can hardly count on your partner…"
"I'll figure something out," said Sokka, sighing and standing up. "Even if they do have secrets, we're here for a Tournament, aren't we? We all want the points, we all want to win. So, at the very least, we can trust they're aiming at winning the Tournament, right?"
"Let's hope that's so," said Azula, though she sounded anything but hopeful as she walked outside the room again.
Sokka followed, crestfallen. It wasn't as bad as it had been during their previous trip through the Former Earth Kingdom… but it didn't mean they were doing well either. Because Azula didn't actually seem angry this time, she seemed depressed instead. And all he wanted was to change that, to cheer her up again and make her laugh whole-heartedly once more…
Toph was alone, sitting with her feet on the table again, by the time Azula and Sokka returned. Azula frowned and approached her, trying to ignore the smell that came from her feet.
"If you're done drinking tea you should go settle down in our room, don't you believe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't be so fussy, Jewel, I'll get going when I'm done relaxing," said Toph happily, smiling and placing her hands behind the back of her head.
"Where's Iroh?" Sokka asked, and Toph scratched her head before reaching towards her pocket with a hand.
"He left a while ago, but he left this for you anyways," she said, handing him the key to his room. "So you can start sleeping while he's off running errands."
"Running errands…" Azula repeated approvingly, folding her arms over her chest. "Do you happen to know what sort of errands? Or is it something private, perhaps?"
She already guessed where Iroh would be by now, but she still wished to ascertain her Uncle would be doing what she expected from him. That Toph had stayed behind was a good sign, for this way Iroh would pay his respects to Lu Ten properly…
"Oh? Private? Hell, no. He's shopping," Toph relied simply, shrugging and closing her eyes.
Azula's jaw dropped and Sokka stared at Toph in disbelief.
"Shopping? Shopping?!" the Princess exclaimed, aghast. "You're not serious, are you?!"
"Why would that be a joke? You have a weird sense of humor if you think that's funny, Princess," said Toph, raising an eyebrow. "Of course I'm serious. He promised he'd bring some clay for me, it's always fun to bend it…"
"S-shopping…" Azula repeated, with a snarl. Sokka grimaced.
"T-there, there, maybe he just said that to get her off his case," said Sokka, gulping.
"Oh, no, this is Iroh you're talking about," Azula said, her eyes narrowing. She looked so angry Sokka genuinely wondered if she'd set something on fire. "The Bandit has it right, I'm sure of it. The witless, idiotic oaf really must have gone shopping…"
Again, the only thoughts crossing her mind were those of distrust. She couldn't even trust that her uncle would visit his son's grave properly, of course not. His main priority had been to head outside and find souvenirs… the sole thought of it made her feel sick. What was that man playing at, and why did he have to play at it at her expenses? There really was no questioning it anymore: accepting this absurd deal was the worst decision she had ever made.
Her hands were balled into fists. Her teeth were gritted, her eyes closed shut. It was already over, but his weight was still atop her. He was unconscious now, it seemed, for he hadn't moved in several minutes. He had been drinking heavily before having his way with her, and whenever that happened he would usually end up falling asleep… unless she attempted to fight back. Then he would turn violent, and she couldn't overcome him while being chained, weak and underfed as she was. But she hadn't fought back tonight. She hadn't fought back in quite some time now.
She was chained to a pole by the kitchen, or what these men seemed to believe was a kitchen. Usually, when the worst one wanted to have his fill of her he would release her briefly, but not today. Today he had been too drunk to even think of what he was doing. But, unbeknownst to him, she was relieved by his inebriation this time around.
"What the…? Ugh, Yong, not again!" the other one exclaimed. He had only just arrived home for the day… if a place like this one could be called home at all, for starters.
The new arrival, Akira, approached his companion and pulled him off her. Yong groaned and complained, coming back to his senses briefly.
"See, bitch? I told ya'…" he said, a hand on her chin, forcing her to lift her head before Akira pulled him away completely. "I told ya' I'd be good when ya' started to behave, bitch…"
"Shut up already and come on," grunted Akira. "You fucker, just get into bed…"
Yong complained more, but Akira ignored him as he dragged him to the next room in the shack. She was left where she was, sitting on the wooden floor, her legs now closed all the same as the rest of her. She had shut herself away from everything, because it was the only way to endure the hardships she had to face…
But once she heard the bedroom door closing behind the two men, she opened her eyes.
A streak of fury appeared on her violet orbs, and determination coursed through her body. She had closed herself away for weeks now… but it was only for the sake of accomplishing what she should have done from the very moment she had started to be plagued by these misfortunes. She had come up with a plan, and this time it wouldn't fail. This time she would succeed, there was no questioning it.
She opened her right fist, and she looked down at the rusty key that sat on her palm. Simply gazing upon it filled her with hope, with unbridled anger, with razor-sharp determination.
One way or another, she was going to get out of here.