More often than not, Song had a hard time finding things to do around the house. Cleaning constantly through the day was an unnecessary waste of energy, doing it twice a week was more than enough, especially when Sokka was hardly home lately. At times she would fill up her free time in the company of the house's pet, Hawky, but she couldn't do that at the moment. The bird had returned a week ago, with her mother's reply to her letter, and she had given Hawky a few days of rest before sending him to Ba Sing Se with yet another message.
She was more than happy to talk to her mother, but the thrill and excitement of reading her letter was quickly replaced by impatience and eagerness to know more about her mother's life in the Imperial Palace. And sending the hawk away yet again also gave her a sense of loneliness. Sokka was never around nowadays, busy training as he was, and while Song had made some acquaintances in the city by now, namely store clerks or other slaves who were tasked with shopping for their masters, she wasn't quite friends with any of them. There was nobody with whom she could share her time with as of late.
Therefore, she had taken to reading about the Fire Nation's methods of healing. She was impressed by some of their approaches to treating diseases and wounds, for they had much more sophisticated medicine than what she had learned back in her hometown. She had already finished several books, with which she had learned more about the human body and many diseases, and she was tearing through a brand-new scroll she had bought a few days earlier when she heard a soft knock on the door.
She frowned, unsure of who it might be. Sokka? Surely not, he wouldn't knock the door on his own house. The Princess? Why would she come if Sokka wasn't around? Or maybe…
When she opened the door she confirmed her suspicions, and she smiled brightly at the man standing at the house's entrance.
"Captain!" she greeted him, smiling. He wasn't wearing his uniform, his getup was far more casual than anything she had ever seen on him before. His face was in plain sight, and there was a very troubled expression across it. "What a surprise to see you here!"
"It must be indeed," he said, looking at her insecurely. "I apologize for dropping by on such short notice."
"None of that," said Song, still grinning at him. "Is something the matter, though?"
"Uh, well…" Rui Shi said. "I merely thought… are you busy? If you are, I will not bother you. I can just…"
"I'm not really busy," said Song, smiling. "I was only reading a scroll, but I can do that later. I have lots of free time lately, after all. Did you want something? Or were you just dropping by to visit?"
"I, uh… well, perhaps a bit of both," Rui Shi conceded, and Song laughed softly.
"Well, if that's the case, come in," she said, stepping away from the door and allowing him to enter the house.
Rui Shi nodded at her gratefully as he walked towards the living room. He took his seat on the large red couch, his back straight at first until he sighed and dropped against the backrest, a hand on his forehead. Song approached, looking at him worriedly.
"Is something wrong?" she asked him, and the man groaned in response. She gulped. "Okay, then, uh… how about I get you some tea?"
"That would be very nice," Rui Shi said, and Song smiled weakly before going to the kitchen.
She returned after ten minutes, carrying two cups on a tray that she set on the small table in front of the couch. The Captain was still slumped when she reached him, but he sat upright again as she took her seat next to him.
"I hope you enjoy it," she said, with a friendly smile as he took his cup in his hands.
"Thank you," he replied, sipping his drink before sighing again and setting it on the table once more.
"Captain…?" said Song, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you here, if I may ask? The Princess isn't here, if you came looking for her…"
"I know she's not," he said, grimacing. "But I wasn't looking for her, or the gladiator. I only wanted to talk to someone I can trust… someone who might understand my situation, and someone in whom I can confide without taking a dreadful risk by doing so."
"Is that me?" Song asked, surprised.
"Indeed," said Rui Shi, nodding. "You were my best option. None of my fellow guards can hear of what troubles me, so I could only come to you."
"Huh," said Song, slightly pleased to know he trusted her, but worried about whatever was bothering the Captain nonetheless. "Well, there's little risk of me telling anyone anything you don't want them to know. I can keep secrets from Sokka, and I wouldn't give away your secrets to the people at the market, so…"
"There's no need to keep secrets from the gladiator, not when he's the one who keeps a secret of his own. Well, if what he's doing can even be deemed as 'keeping a secret', to begin with," he said, rolling his eyes, and Song grimaced.
"W-what is that supposed to mean?"
"What it means is that…" Rui Shi started, looking at her matter-of-factly before freezing in his statement. "Well, you… you know, don't you?"
"Know what?" Song asked, grimacing.
"About 'them'," the Captain said, emphasizing the last word, and Song bit her lower lip.
"What exactly about them? Would you be more specific?"
"Specific? Regarding what?" the Captain said, his eyes narrowing. "Is it that… that there's more to their relationship than I understood?"
"Uh, I… well, I seriously don't know," said Song, swallowing hard. "I mean, I don't know what you might have understood, but I do know that…"
"That…?" Rui Shi said, raising his eyebrows and compelling Song to finish the sentence when she fell silent.
"W-well, that they're somewhat in love, right?" said Song, shrugging. "I mean, I've always picked up that vibe coming from him. Even when we had just met, I thought it was weird for him to speak to the Princess so casually, and when she said she'd leave he didn't want her to, so… I always suspected there was something going on with them."
"So, you think something is going on, but you don't know for certain?" Rui Shi asked.
"I haven't caught them doing anything inappropriate, if that's what you thought," said Song. "It's just the way they act around one another that made me think of it. Though, well… he also kissed her once, I think."
Rui Shi scowled at that, a vein pulsating dangerously on his temple upon those words. Song grimaced and moved away from him warily.
"I'm not sure if it happened, though, really! It was back when she was sick," she explained. "I was going to assist her with a bath, and he had helped her to the bathroom. When I got there he was gone, and she had asked 'did you just kiss me?', which I assume she had meant to ask him, but he had left already so he wasn't about to answer her question… but I don't know for certain if he kissed her, see?"
"Of course he did," said Rui Shi, a snarl on his face, and Song swallowed hard again. "He has been doing it for hell knows how long. In fact, it must have been happening since ages ago. I'd just been too stupid to notice it."
"Well, in all fairness…" said Song, biting her lip. "Even if their feelings for one another are obvious, it doesn't look like they've acted on them fully. I mean, the Princess would usually come here just to spar with Sokka, and they never did anything suspicious while I was around…"
"Surely because you were around. The Princess is reckless indeed, but she wouldn't be that foolish," said the Captain.
"The thing is, I doubt they even remember I'm around when they train together," said Song, shrugging. "I'm just trying to be, uh, positive here? And that's why I want to think they didn't do anything they shouldn't have…"
"In all honesty, I hoped for the same thing," said Rui Shi, sighing. "She always treated him differently, but I didn't think she would ever consider getting involved with him romantically. She is the Princess, after all, and she knows her duties well enough. I've thought she lacks common sense in many occasions, but she is loyal to her nation and her father first and foremost. So, for her to do this…"
"Why would it have anything to do with her nation, or her father?" Song asked, frowning. "Not that she should get involved with Sokka, she probably shouldn't for her own good, but… if two people fall in love, isn't it their problem?"
"It is, so long as one of the people in question isn't a royal," Rui Shi replied. "And if the other isn't a slave, either."
"So, you're saying you wouldn't get involved with a slave…?" Song asked, before thinking about what she was saying.
"Me?" Rui Shi said, frowning. "W-well, there's no stopping me from being involved in whatever relationship I want. It isn't advised, though, for Royal Guards to have families and lovers. They must be ready to forsake their very lives for the sake of the member of the Royal Family they guard, so…"
"Right. It's a very rough way to live, though," said Song, looking at him sympathetically.
"It is. Especially when you don't expect to live much longer anyhow," said Rui Shi, sighing and Song's eyes widened.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, worried. "Why wouldn't you live much longer?"
"Well, if the Fire Lord finds out about the Princess and the gladiator, not only will he burn the slave to cinders, but he will kill me, too," said Rui Shi, simply. "He will hold me responsible for it, for not keeping the Princess protected from a man who could soil her dignity. But that's not all: if I don't inform him about this, and he finds out later on, he will hold me accountable both for not keeping the Princess away from Sokka and for not disclosing the truth to him. So… what am I supposed to do? There's nothing to be done about it, seems like. No matter what I do, I'm not bound to survive this disaster."
"It really does sound bad," said Song, grimacing. "B-but surely the Princess wouldn't let things come to that, right…?"
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Rui Shi, frowning. "We had a… an argument, if you will. And she, well… she said I was free to do as I wished with the information I have acquired about her and the gladiator, but that I'd do best to weigh my options properly. Telling the Fire Lord might be no use, even if I did speak, because she hasn't lost her maidenhood to him yet, she says."
"Which is good news, right?" said Song, and Rui Shi shrugged.
"For now. But it's a matter of time," he said. "They have gotten along quite well for too long, and from what I can tell, that won't change for the worse anytime soon… and if it doesn't, chances are she will surrender her maidenhood to him eventually. I doubt she can remain chaste forever if she's involved with him."
"I suppose," said Song, sighing. "But then, as of now, you can't inform the Fire Lord of what's happening, because you have no evidence of the relationship… but were you going to inform him? Did you really mean to…?"
"I thought it was the right thing to do, according to what my code of honor as a guard establishes," said Rui Shi, sighing. "But… I don't want to. I truly don't. I never wanted to, and I will gain nothing from doing so."
"You don't want to, then? That's a relief," said Song, sighing and smiling a little at him. "I mean, you should look out for the Princess's best interests, but if you told the Fire Lord about this, well…"
"There's no telling what the consequences will be," said Rui Shi. "If there was any proof to back my accusations… well, for one thing, the gladiator would be history."
Song gulped at that, looking at Rui Shi with worried eyes. He wouldn't dare do that, would he?
"But the Princess… well, she would fall from grace, no doubt," said Rui Shi, shaking his head. "Everything she has worked for, everything she has accomplished, would go forgotten under the weight of this scandal. Her father would never trust her again, and she certainly would never become Fire Lord. And that's only the beginning of it. Who knows what else the Fire Lord would do to punish her? If he fought an Agni Kai with Prince Zuko over a minor offense such as speaking out of turn in a war meeting, what wouldn't he do over something like this?"
"It sounds worse with everything you say," said Song, biting her lower lip. "And… well, they know they're taking a big risk, don't they?"
"Of course they do," said Rui Shi. "But… I don't know, they don't seem to realize there will be no payoff to this in the end. There's no way this will end well, and I said as much to the Princess, but she didn't listen to me. She's being more reckless than ever… well, if I'm quite honest, she has always been reckless to no end when it comes to Sokka."
"Always?" Song repeated. "Ever since she hired him, then?"
"Pretty much," said Rui Shi, sighing. "But I honestly thought she would have more sense than this. Even if she fancies him, for reasons beyond my understanding, she shouldn't have let it fester to this point. And she has known so from the start."
"I suppose people stop thinking clearly when they're in love," said Song, sighing, and Rui Shi winced at the word. "Even the Princess's judgment grows clouded because of it."
"Even if that's so…" said Rui Shi, gritting his teeth before sighing and shaking his head. "Love. Love, really? It's unbelievable… why? Why him, of all people?"
"I can't say I know why, but she usually looks happier when he's around," said Song, shrugging. "Same goes for him. He's almost always thinking about her, if she's not around, and when she is he can't take his eyes off her. So, I can't say I know why, or how it happened… but if anything, it seems they're happy. And that's quite rare, isn't it?"
"You'd think so, but I doubt it," said Rui Shi, sighing. "It's not rare at all for a man to be smitten with the Princess. Any ordinary man would be, especially if he spends that much time in her company."
"Heh, well, she is beautiful," said Song, with a weak smile. "But, see… not all love is returned. A lot of people love others without gaining anything from it. Many love from the shadows, afraid that exposing their feelings might hurt them in turn. Others love briefly and grow bored easily. So, for two people to fall in love like this… for the two of them to be so genuinely happy around each other, it's almost a miracle."
"You think so?" Rui Shi asked, raising an eyebrow, and Song smiled.
"Yes. Love is a tricky matter, Captain, and it goes wrong more often than not," she said. "One-sided love can be very painful. If one person is more invested in a relationship than the other, well… it's hard to cope with it. So, I think they're both really lucky that they found one another. I know you're not fond of the bond between them, and I'm sure I wouldn't be either if I were in your place, but it still amazes me, in a sense."
"Huh," said Rui Shi, raising his eyebrows. "If anything, it speaks well of you that you can be amazed by it and not just horrified, like I am. I suppose you're right on some level, but happiness… happiness is fragile, ephemeral. It will disappear eventually. This relationship between them, it might not last at all, considering how rocky it has been up to date. Should I stand out of the way and let the Princess ruin her life over a fleeting instant of joy? Is that the right thing to do?"
"Well, thinking about it on a large scale of things…" said Song, after sipping her tea. "I've been through some difficult times in my life, Captain. My father was taken away, and I was forced into slavery… but precisely because of the hardships I've endured, I can appreciate the happier times as much as I do. I can cherish the time I shared with my family because I was truly happy back then, even if it didn't last as long as I would have wanted it to."
Rui Shi nodded, lowering his gaze. Song smiled at him weakly.
"I do understand your point of view, Captain. But… I think happiness is worth it. Life ends quickly, and it passes us by without our awareness. The next moment might be the last, for all we know. So, it may be innocent of me to say so… but what little happiness I can get until that last moment comes, I will cherish it with all my heart."
"I can understand that too, Song," he said. "But when finding that happiness might also put it at risk… is it still worth finding it? If the Princess truly loves that gladiator, being with him will most likely bring his demise, unless they actually manage to keep their affair secret somehow. She would end up causing the death of the very man who brings her happiness. Is it still worth it this way, Song?"
"I… well, I don't know," said Song, shrugging. "I suppose she must think it is, though, if she's taking the risk for him…"
"It's absurd," said Rui Shi, shaking his head and leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. "Protecting the one you love should be a priority, but she's not going to protect him this way."
"No, she won't," said Song, sighing. "But the happiness of the one you love is also important. That's the point of love, isn't it? You want the one you hold dear to be happy, no matter what it costs."
"The cost just might be too steep to afford in this situation, though," said Rui Shi, a hand going up to his hair now. "So it boils down to whether she cherishes his safety or his happiness the most, doesn't it?"
"Well, it also boils down to whether you cherish her safety or happiness most," Song said, simply, and Rui Shi frowned. "I'm not saying you love her, Captain, but… that's what you have to decide at this point, isn't it? You can tell the Fire Lord about your suspicions, maybe tell him the Princess surely remains pure but that Sokka is a threat to her chastity, and you could keep her virtue safe that way. But if you do that… well, you'll get him killed, and along with him, her happiness, I wager."
"And I'd also bring trouble to you, wouldn't I?" said Rui Shi, looking at her sideways. Song shrugged.
"I guess so, but I'm not that big a problem, am I? They could simply send me back to the market, I guess… I don't want that to happen, don't get me wrong, but…"
"That's probably right, I suppose. You shouldn't face such hardships for this," said Rui Shi, sighing. "Still, it would be an inconvenience for you too."
"Oh, please," said Song, smiling. "Don't worry about me. I'm the least of your concerns."
"Not at all," said Rui Shi. "You are a concern too, whether you think so or not. You're yet another potential victim of this disaster. A most willing one, it seems, but you still are."
"I just…" said Song, sighing. "I've been with those two for close to a year now, Captain, and… it's amazing how the status of their relationship changes Sokka's mood completely. When they had that fall-out he was the most miserable man I'd ever met, but when they came back from this last trip it was the entire opposite of that. His happiness becomes contagious, even if I don't know for certain what it's about. And… well, it may be stupid of me to think this way, but I really like it when he's happy. His mood improves, he's helpful around the house, and talking to him is fun. And well, friends want their friends to be happy, right?"
"Indeed," said Rui Shi, sighing. He had once told the Princess he would be her friend if she needed him. Since that day, he had acknowledged he thought of the Princess as more than just his charge. "So, as a friend, I should want the Princess's happiness… but as a guard, I want her to behave as expected from her, without falling in love with foolish men like the gladiator. And I can't make my mind up regarding if I should put my foot down on the matter, or let it slide and forget about the consequences until they catch up with us all."
"It's not an easy decision, no doubt," said Song, looking at him worriedly. "But I guess you just have to do what feels right. I won't lie, I'd rather you don't tell the Fire Lord about this, for all our sakes, but if you do, I'll just request that… that you tell the Fire Lord not to kill Sokka. He doesn't deserve to die for this, and… well, it would destroy the Princess if it did. Loving a woman shouldn't be a crime to be murdered for."
"Loving a Princess is, though. Especially when such love is more intimate than it should be," said Rui Shi, sighing. "Nevertheless, I do understand your point. And… well, I can't sell them out to the Fire Lord. On some level, I want to… but just imagining myself doing it makes me not want to do it altogether. As much as he may be a fool, I cannot blame Sokka for loving her. As I said, I couldn't blame any man for being smitten with her. But if only that were the full extent of it…"
"What will you do about it, then?" said Song, raising an eyebrow. "Will you tell him to stop their relationship from reaching a physical level?"
"I could do so, but it will do no good," said Rui Shi, shrugging. "It won't stop either of them. If anything, it seems they've resisted the feelings for as long as they could have. And at this point they won't fight against them anymore. They're tired of dancing in circles to no end."
"It's hard to blame them for that, I'll say," said Song. "I mean, if I had such strong attraction towards someone, I probably would succumb to it without putting up much of a fight, no matter the situation. The fact that they've had this much willpower still amazes me."
"Indeed," said Rui Shi, sighing. "But if this carries on at this rate…"
"Yeah, nothing good will come from it," said Song. "Not for the rest of us, at least. They'll have their fun, no doubt about it… but we won't."
"Not at all," said Rui Shi. "Still, I don't dare do anything. Not as I am. As much as the Princess may say she doesn't care for what I do, it's clear that our relationship hinges on what I decide to do regarding her situation with Sokka. If I were to tell on them, she would loathe me for it, even if she says otherwise. If I don't, I'd remain loyal to her, but I betray the Fire Lord. It's…"
"It's not an easy choice at all," said Song, biting her lip. "Your honor hinges on this, doesn't it?"
"Indeed," said Rui Shi, squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath. "What is more honorable, betraying your charge or betraying your liege lord?"
"It sounds like there's no honor in either thing," said Song, sighing. "Well… I'd suggest you don't betray yourself, mainly. Do your duty or keep her safe… it's up to you."
"Isn't it ridiculous, though?" said Rui Shi, smirking. "My duty is to keep her safe, after all. But now the one I must protect her from is her own father, the man to whom I swore my oaths as a Royal Guard. If he found out about this, there's no telling what he would do to her."
"Hopefully it won't be anything that bad…" said Song, but Rui Shi snorted.
"Bad won't even begin to cut it. It will be much worse than that," said Rui Shi, shaking his head. "Ugh, this is giving me a headache. Why did she have to fall in love with the gladiator, of all people…?"
"There, there," said Song, patting his shoulder as he dropped his face on his hand. "If anything, you don't have to take action in any way just yet. You have time to figure things out, right?"
"I've had nearly two months to figure this out, Song," he said. "And the more I ponder it, the less I know what to do. I came to you hoping that talking about this would help me, and maybe it has. It's already a weight off my shoulders to have someone else I can discuss it with. But I still don't know what to do, and that's what I had hoped you would help me with."
"Oh. Well, drat," she said, guiltily. "I'd be glad to help, especially after all you've done for me, but… I really don't know what to say. But if you're sure they're going to sleep together eventually, that it's just a matter of time and that there's no way of stopping it, then I suppose the only thing you can do is try your hardest so the Fire Lord doesn't hear of it. I know it's not an honorable course of action at all, but… but it's the only thing I can think of right now that wouldn't cause anyone's death…"
"Indeed, it's not honorable," said Rui Shi. "But it might be for the best. If anything, the Princess should have learned by now that if she wants to continue with this relationship, she needs to hide it better. If anyone else were to discover them… well, we've already established it would be dreadful. For all of us."
"It sure would be," said Song. "So, you won't tell on them?"
"There's barely anything to tell at this point," said the Captain, looking at her matter-of-factly and she smiled at him.
"Don't worry, Captain. Everything will work out for the best, I'm sure of it," she said, squeezing his shoulder. Rui Shi sighed.
"I hope so, Song," he muttered. "I truly hope so."
He still didn't feel any better about the relationship between the Princess and the gladiator. He doubted he ever would. But even deciding to take no action was a decision of a sort, despite it didn't feel like one right now. Surely he would grow used to it… and hopefully the Princess would stop being so hostile towards him once she knew he wouldn't get in her way. It would be much easier for Rui Shi to help her protect her secret if they were on good terms. Of course, he didn't want to keep any secrets from the Fire Lord, but at this point he had no choice. And even if he'd had a choice, he probably would have chosen to keep the secret anyhow. His duty was, first and foremost, to look after the Princess's wellbeing. His vow as a Royal Guard wasn't to inform the Fire Lord regarding his daughter's activities, but to protect her from harm. And if the Fire Lord was the one who could harm her, what was he expected to do but look out for her?
He sighed, hoping that the words would sound more convincing in his head one day. They sure didn't just yet. Of all people, why the gladiator? He doubted he would ever understand the answer to that question.
Azula finished the last movement of the routine, her landing light and steady. Plums of golden fire dissipated around her as she took deep breaths, her body stabilizing again after the strenuous display of firebending she had made. If she'd had more time to master the golden fire, using it might have proved less tiring. But the efforts she had put into her new brand of firebending were paying off regardless: The Head Sage's mouth was agape as he stared at the Princess, barely giving his eyes credit for what he had just witnessed.
"Princess, this is…" said the Head Sage, his eyes wide as he failed to find words to convey his thoughts. "How did you…? W-what is…?"
"It's… well, orange fire wasn't going to work for me," Azula told him. "I was sure I could find a way to firebend as you wanted me without resorting to orange flames, though. And after much training and meditating, I developed this new firebending technique. It doesn't feel quite the same as regular fire does…"
"No, by all means, it feels nothing like it!" said the Sage, shaking his head vigorously.
"Which is why I wanted to show you the results of my training beforehand," said Azula. "I know this is not the sort of fire used in these performances, so I'll understand if you think I shouldn't use these golden flames. If that's how you want it, I'll only resort to blue fire, which, as I showed you, isn't quite as stiff as it used to be…"
"Oh, the improvements with the blue fire are remarkable too, no doubt," said the man. "I was just… so surprised by the gold I didn't pay enough attention to the blue. But you… you really created a new firebending method, Princess? Single-handedly?"
"In all fairness, a few external factors helped," said Azula, with a weak smile. She wasn't going to explain how she had found the key to golden firebending. Amazing as the skill might be, she wasn't about to disclose the nature of her feelings for Sokka to the Head Sage. "My dragon amongst them. Some of the books I read gave me hints as well on how to bend this way."
"It's… it's truly unbelievable," said the man, blinking blankly. "I… how does it work? What sort of properties does it have?"
"I don't know yet what this fire's purposes are, Head Sage," Azula said, raising her hands defensively. "I might find out in due time, but…"
"Oh, but we should study it!" exclaimed the Head Sage. "This sort of phenomenon… we did it too when you first started to bend blue fire, remember, Princess?"
"Indeed, but the only difference there was the temperature," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "This fire, on the other hand, doesn't feel like combat firebending at all. It's something else."
"That seems to be the case, yes," said the Sage. "Which is why it would be best to look into its properties, Princess, whenever you have time to spare…"
"Well, I suppose we could do that one day," she said, shrugging. "But then… you will approve of me using this fire for the ceremony tomorrow?"
"But of course!" said the Head Sage. "You must do it! If anything, it feels like the most suitable fire for a ceremony. I truly can't start to explain how amazed I am, Princess. What you've accomplished… it's unprecedented. Of course, you must be used to hearing that by now, but still…!"
"Thank you, Head Sage," Azula said, smirking. "It pleases me to hear you think so highly of my fire. Also… regarding how I acted when you first instructed me on how to perform this ceremony. I wasn't quite expecting you to find my fire lacking in any way…"
"Well, it was only because of how it felt, Princess, I had meant no offense…"
"I understand that now," said Azula, interrupting the man. "I didn't want to understand back then, but now I do. And I'm grateful. Hadn't you been sincere regarding my blue fire and its inadequacy for the ceremony, I wouldn't have discovered gold firebending. So… thank you."
"W-why, no need, I… I did nothing!" said the Sage, stunned, and Azula smiled. "Still, I would very much like to explore the capacities and boundaries of your new firebending style, if you'd be so kind as to let me do that. Surely not today, but one day…"
"One day," said Azula, nodding. "For now, I should rest. The ceremony is tomorrow, after all."
"It is," said the Sage, beaming. "And it will be an extraordinary ceremony, without a doubt."
"I hope so," said Azula, smiling before bowing her head curtly towards the man.
Azula left the Temple with a sense of relief nestling comfortably in her chest. She had partially expected the Sage to say golden firebending wasn't suitable for the ceremony either, seeing how different it was from both blue and orange flames, but she had still hoped he would approve of it. All her worries had been appeased now, however.
Azula stopped by the dragon refuge before taking her dinner in her room. Xin Long greeted her with enthusiasm, and he pranced around her in joy because of the Sage's approval of her bending. He knew just how distressed Azula had been about the man's opinion of her firebending, but now she was happy again, and so was he.
Azula laughed and hugged the dragon's neck once he stopped hopping at last, and he placed his head on her shoulder, groaning happily.
"I couldn't have gotten this far without you," she said, beaming. "Thank you, Xin."
She sat with him for a few hours, going over tomorrow's events in her mind. Xin Long lay relaxed on the ground, while Azula rested against his side, breathing slow and deeply.
"All in all, the ceremony should go well. Hopefully. So long as I don't trip halfway through, which isn't going to happen to me, nothing should go wrong," she said, shrugging.
Xin Long prodded her shoulder with his snout, asking her now about what would happen after the ceremony. Azula was taken by surprise by the question.
"Sokka has his fight in the Slate, that's what," she said, blinking a few times. The gladiator was ever present in her thoughts, but busy as she was preparing for the ceremony, she often forgot he had a major event to attend shortly after she was done with the ceremony. "Damn it. I should have told the Captain to get the Barge ready…"
Xin Long raised an eyebrow and Azula smiled at him.
"Well, maybe I can just pull Sokka aboard your saddle and the three of us can fly to the island, huh? Should spare us the hassle of stocking up a ship…"
Xin Long said he wouldn't mind doing that, though they would have to take breaks once in a while: flying was fun but also tiresome. Azula chuckled and shook her head, resting against the dragon's flank.
"It was only a jest, I'm not putting you through that ordeal. I'll just tell the Captain to prepare the ship before I go to dinner. That is, if I can find him. He has been out of sight for quite a while now. Not that I'm surprised…"
A small seed of guilt had been planted on the back of her head ever since she had spoken to Rui Shi for the last time. Her hostility towards him, born from the need to protect her relationship with Sokka and both their lives, might as well have won her an enemy, which was rather inconvenient at the moment. She had grown used to thinking of the Captain as a reliable ally: antagonizing him had bothered her, but she hadn't known how else to act back then. Perhaps if she talked to him again now she would make amends for their last encounter. If anything could be said for the man, it was that he was loyal beyond belief. That he had remained her guard for this long, without filing a single complaint about her treatment of him to Fire Lord Ozai, was an obvious indicator of that.
She sighed in resignation, folding her arms over her chest. Just as some things were finally falling into place, everything she had kept under perfect control before was starting to fall apart now. It seemed the universe was trying to make a point of telling her that she couldn't get away with everything she wanted in life, no matter if she was a Princess.
Still, she wasn't about to give up without trying. Maybe it would be hard to retain Rui Shi's loyalty by now, but she would do wrong to assume he was an enemy considering he hadn't acted on his information yet. He'd had over a month to inform the Fire Lord of his daughter's illicit relationship, and, seeing how Azula had faced no hardships over the matter, it seemed Rui Shi had chosen not to tell Ozai. It was something to be grateful for.
"But who knows what he'll do if things do get out of hand," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. Xin Long looked at her, aware of what she was thinking of. "Not that I won't do everything I can to avoid that, but I should make things right with him while I can. Still, for now, I should just think of the ceremony. I need to keep myself level-headed in order to bend properly, and worrying about this isn't going to help."
Xin Long nodded and surrounded her with his body, making Azula smile and sigh as she relaxed against him. Despite the circumstances, and despite the fact that she had practically assumed she would make a mess of the ceremony a month ago, her efforts had paid off for good. The gold fire would make this ceremony a unique one, she knew as much. But just as the Head Sage had wondered earlier, Azula as well was curious regarding gold fire's capacities. If it wasn't good for combat, what could it be good for? She wasn't planning on testing it out at the moment, but she was convinced the gold fire had qualities she had yet to unveil.
She lifted a hand and brought forth her inner fire in its pure form, and a plum of golden fire danced between her fingers. Merely looking at the fire made her feel at ease, at peace with herself, just as she felt nowadays when she was around Sokka. She wondered just how he would react if he knew he had been the key for her developing of a new kind of bending… but just as soon as she let her mind drift in that direction she realized she didn't want him to know that, ever. She was rather proud of her gold fire, but she didn't want him to know its true source was love. She didn't want anyone to know about that, but mostly, not him. She had yet to put her feelings for him into words, even if she thought she had shown them with her actions plenty of times by now. Surely he already knew… but she didn't dare say the words yet. Not just yet. One day, maybe. But for now, things felt right as they were. For the first time, Azula felt comfortable with herself, and her life, just as she was.
It had been a hard month for Sokka, perhaps harder than the previous one. Training with Wolf's Bane had helped greatly: fighting with two swords instead of one had given his abilities in the battleground a meaningful boost. The resistance training with firebending had been rather rough, however, since being locked within a heated earth dome had been nearly unbearable at first. After several days being subjected to the extreme temperatures he had started to grow used to it, though. He had taken to doing sit-ups while inside the dome to build his resistance to the heat, and today he had managed to complete over five hundred of them during the span of the two hours he had spent within the contraption: he took that to mean he would be able to take the strenuous activity in the Slate. Of course, the Millennium Dragon was the main problem he needed to worry about, but he had kept his mind focused on the heat resistance training for the past days regardless.
He had also sparred with everyone today, seeing as it was the last day of training, before entering the dome. Despite it had been an exhausting experience, it had been worth it: he felt stronger than he had ever been, and the others seemed to think he would do a great job in the Slate. Even Zuko had admitted to Sokka's improvement, rather reluctantly, but he had admitted it still. And despite Sokka was somewhat disappointed over not having seen Azula in yet another month, he hoped she would be pleased when she saw how much he had improved over the last thirty days.
Dinner that night was meant to be special, Ty Lee had said, since it was the last day of Sokka's training. Everyone was enjoying the meal gladly, except for Mai, who had returned home early, as usual. Sokka had been thinking about how he would show Azula his skills as they traveled to the Slate when he heard Ty Lee mention offhandedly that she only hoped there would be enough seats in the Arena for all of them.
"Wait… you guys are planning on coming to the Slate as well?" he asked, his daze broken when he heard the words.
"Well, of course!" Ty Lee said. "I'd think you wouldn't even need to ask."
"After all we've done to get you into shape we deserve to see that fight's result, don't we?" said Zuko, raising his eyebrow and looking at Sokka matter-of-factly.
"I guess, but… wouldn't you guys rather stay here?" said Sokka. "Those festivals will start tomorrow after all, and it might be more fun to stay here and enjoy them than to come watch my fight, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but these festivals happen every year," said Ty Lee, shrugging. "Meanwhile, you fighting in the Slate? That's not going to happen too often, right?
"I doubt it," said Sokka, grimly. Even if he hoped his training would keep him from dying while fighting the Millennium Dragon, he didn't expect to win the fight, and only the winner earned the right to challenge in the Slate. It wasn't very likely the Millennium Dragon would want to challenge him again to the Slate after defeating him the first time.
"Don't be so negative, maybe you'll do better than you think," Suki said, smiling at Sokka. He gave her a crooked grin and shrugged.
"Well, I might not make a total fool of myself, but I still don't think I'll win," he said, earnestly.
"I just hope Azula doesn't hear you being so downcast about it," said Ty Lee. "She'll want you to win, I'd think. It's Azula, after all."
"Oh, well…" said Sokka, despite knowing otherwise. Azula had given him a month to train before sending word to Shoji about the Slate because she didn't want him to fight unless he was ready. She didn't need him to win, her main interest was for this fight to provide Sokka more recognition than he already had, which would result in more challenges from worthy opponents. But neither Ty Lee nor the others knew that.
"You think she's all set for tomorrow's ceremony?" Ty Lee asked Zuko.
"Well, we'll only know for certain by watching her," he said, shrugging. "But it's Azula, so I doubt there's much to worry about. She's bound to do just fine."
"Huh? Can we watch the ceremony?" Sokka asked, surprised. He tried not to look too eager about the prospect of seeing his sponsor again.
"Well, I'll go see it," said Zuko. "Mai will come too, I think she's bringing the rest of her family along."
"And I wish I could watch it too," said Ty Lee, sighing. "But I'll be at the port making sure the ferry I rented for the Slate is ready to go. And Haru and Suki will help me with that, right?"
"Yeah" said Haru, smiling weakly. "Not like it makes much sense for us to watch the ceremony anyways. We're slaves after all."
Sokka froze at that, wondering if the same applied to him. He had expected Zuko's words to mean that he would be welcome to watch the ceremony too at first, but now…
"Don't be silly, Sokka," said Ty Lee, smiling when she saw the disheartened look on his face. "You're probably free to go, aren't you?"
"If my Father didn't mind his presence during Azula's birthday, I doubt he'll care this time around either," said Zuko, shrugging. "Fact is, watching this ceremony isn't something restricted to nobility or so. So long as you get there early you should get to see it. And even if the Temple gets too packed, you might get to watch the procession as the beacon is brought outside once the ceremony is over."
"Then I really could go watch?" Sokka asked, his eyes lit up once more.
"Just be there early," said Zuko, and Sokka smiled.
"Sure thing," he said, smiling.
The thought of watching the Princess's ceremony served to cheer Sokka up for the rest of the night. As though he were a child again, excited over his first hunting trip with his father, or over his next birthday, he struggled with his sleep, his mind full of thoughts of Azula. He had missed her more than he could say. He only hoped they could make up for the lost time during the upcoming weeks…
It was odd that he was able to stop worrying over his survival at the Slate by thinking about Azula. When he thought about the fight he had a hard time imagining what would come after it. He had trained too hard for too long with a single goal in mind and seeing past it wasn't easy… unless he thought about her. He could forget the very fight, his worries and fears because of Azula. Whatever lay in store, he knew he could get through it if he was with her.
But for now, the one who had to overcome a great hurdle was Azula. Sokka wanted to believe she would be able to handle the ceremony, even though she had been so pessimistic about it when they had last met. He wished he could have seen her again before her performance, to make sure she would be okay, but there had been no opportunity for that. She would do a great job, though, he was certain of it. The Sages could say what they wanted about how her fire wouldn't suit the task, it amounted to nothing to Sokka. He believed in her, and he knew she would prove herself before the entire city on the next morning.
He woke up an hour before dawn, still feeling tired but too excited about the ceremony to get another minute of sleep. He bolted out of bed and dressed up, gathering his weapons and bags for the trip to the Slate, for he figured they would take off right away once the ceremony was finished. He had meant to have a quick breakfast, but his appetite prompted him to raid the kitchen and eat to his heart's content, as ever. By the time he was finished Song was already up, which alerted him of how much time he had wasted with food. He said his farewells to Song, who hugged him and wished him the best luck for his fight in the Slate before he could take off.
"Just be careful with that fight, okay?" she asked him, and he patted her back.
"You can trust me, Song," he said. "I'll be fine. And I'll be back soon to eat whatever's left in the kitchen…"
"You mean nothing? You practically cleaned us out," she said, giggling a little as she pulled away from the hug. Sokka chuckled and waved at her, his bags slung on his shoulder.
"See you soon, Song!" he said, and she watched him with a fond smile as he raced down the streets of the Capital.
The Temple stood near the Palace, and Sokka made its way towards it while taking in the many unusual sights across the city. There were ornaments on every street, people setting up food stands and stashes of fireworks that were meant to be released through the week. Despite the early hours, Sokka saw more people than usual in the city today, although they weren't just the noblemen that populated the Fire Nation Capital. Instead, the people on the streets were commoners and merchants, hard at work with their preparations for the festival. On some level, Sokka was sorry to miss most of what would take place during the week, but the prospect of getting away from the fuss and spending more time with the Princess made him forget his misgivings right away.
He reached the Temple to find many noblemen and their families were already there, greeting each other at the Temple's entrance. Steps led the way up to the gates in the wall that surrounded the main building. There were several buildings within the Temple, and on its center stood a very tall tower: rows of torches lined the wall and the steps that led to the Temple, something Sokka noticed as he climbed his way to the front gate.
He asked a Sage for instructions on where the Ceremony would take place, and he followed the firebender's directions into the main hall of the Temple's central tower. He soon found himself in a large, tall, dimly lit chamber. Sokka was reminded of the Throne Room as he looked around himself, detailing the tall red columns and the polished floor. The Ceremony Hall wasn't empty, for there were other Sages within the room, speaking amongst themselves in low voices. Since it didn't seem they cared for his presence, Sokka decided to take his time to detail the ceremonial aisle better. There were curtains drawn across large windows, and a structure shaped as a bird, with its wings spread wide open, stood at the furthermost end of the room. Sokka raised an eyebrow as he studied it, noticing the colors of the statue afforded the bird's feathers a semblance with fire.
"A phoenix, huh?" he asked, rubbing his chin with interest.
There was something positioned before the phoenix that caught his attention: it was a golden, round platform, suspended by golden chains so it would hover just before the phoenix's beak. On the platform rested what seemed to be tinder for a torch, shaped as a flame. Sokka tilted his head sideways, noticing the tinder seemed to gleam for some reason, and he guessed an accelerant had been poured over it. Why, though?
"So, you really got here early, didn't you?" said a voice behind him. Sokka tried not to jump before turning to greet Zuko with a smile and a wave.
The Prince was wearing armor similar to the gold-and-black outfit Azula always wore, to Sokka's surprise: he had never seen Zuko in such a getup. His hair had been drawn back into a top-knot, and he looked tenser than Sokka had seen him in a very long time.
"Early enough, I think," said Sokka. "You alright? You look… fancy."
"Fancy?" Zuko repeated, his eyebrow twitching. "I'm… I'm fine. It's just a complicated occasion, is all. My father will be here, and… I just have to keep him from noticing me."
"Oh. Well, no need to worry, he's bound to be watching Azula through the ceremony anyhow," said Sokka, shrugging. "You'll go unnoticed if that's what you want."
"Heh, doesn't matter what I want, really," said Zuko, but he smiled a little. "How are you feeling? Ready to go to the Slate?"
"I suppose as ready as I can be," said Sokka, scratching the back of his head. "To be honest, I'd rather just enjoy the ceremony for now rather than freak out over what might happen on my next fight."
"A good call," said Zuko, nodding.
The room grew more crowded as time passed by. The Sages had stopped talking amongst themselves and instead were making sure to keep all the audience at proper distance of the ceremonial area. Sokka and Zuko chose to stand to one side of the room, hoping that most people would choose to stand in the center instead.
"Say, what's that platform supposed to be for, Zuko?" Sokka asked, pointing at the contraption.
"Uh, if I recall right, that thing on it is the beacon the performer must set alight with their fire," said Zuko.
"Really, now?" said Sokka.
"The tinder has special properties," Zuko explained. "It's meant to make it so the fire retains the same properties it had when the performer was bending it. See, when a firebender stops controlling his fire, it…"
"Oh, it starts behaving like normal fire. I'm aware," said Sokka, smiling weakly. Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Your sister has tried to set me on fire quite a few times. She succeeded once, and when she wasn't bending the flames on my clothes they changed from blue to orange."
"Huh. You know how it is, then," said Zuko, and Sokka smiled uncomfortably.
"Yep. All too well."
"Well, it sure is odd to see the two of you together like this."
Sokka and Zuko turned on their heels to find Mai behind them. Ruon Jian was holding their son, and he greeted them both with a smile and a nod, gestures Mai didn't extend to Zuko and Sokka.
"Hey, Mai," said Sokka, smiling a little.
"Morning," said Zuko, bowing his head courteously towards her and her family. Yuudai waved at him, and Zuko smiled warmly at the boy.
"Good morning to you both," she said. "Where's Ty Lee? Didn't she come to watch the Ceremony as well?"
"No, she went to the port to make sure our ferry was good to go," said Zuko.
"Huh," said Mai, surprised. "Well, it's good to know she's taking care of that, actually. Getting through the bay will be hellish today. If she's the one to deal with the hassle it'll be much better for the rest of us."
"Wait, you'll be going too?" Sokka asked, surprised, and Ruon Jian nodded, placing a hand on Mai's shoulder.
"We discussed it, and Mai really could use a break from changing diapers," he said, chuckling. Mai nodded, folding her arms over her chest. "I'll watch Yuudai for the next few days and she'll go watch you in the Slate."
"She deserves to come see the final result of your training as well, you know," said Zuko, and Sokka smiled.
"I was just asking, is all," he said. "I thought she'd rather stay with the kid."
"I'd rather take the kid and Ruon Jian, if I'm quite honest, but…" she started, but she stopped midsentence.
"But what?" asked Sokka, curious, but Mai refused to finish what she had been saying. Sokka would have asked her again about what she wanted to say if a sudden silence hadn't spread across the hall just then.
Zuko stiffened, immediately aware of who the latest arrival was, despite the crowd was already too thick for him to see the man personally. Nevertheless, he could spot the Imperial Guards around him, who gave away the Fire Lord's presence in the room. Sokka swallowed hard as everyone in the room bowed down to the most powerful man of their nation. He felt the urge to stay on his feet, to rebel against a man whose authority he didn't want to acknowledge… but Zuko, who had already knelt down, struck the back of Sokka's knees with his arm, forcing him to fall on the floor against his will. The gladiator scowled at the Prince, but he didn't move until the Fire Lord allowed the crowd to stand up again.
Before Sokka could so much as comment on how ridiculous it was for him to bow before Ozai, the Head Sage stepped forward into the ceremonial aisle. There was absolute silence in the room as he got ready to speak.
"Since the beginning, there was fire," he said. "The spark that has made us the proud, powerful nation we are, glows in the skies above to this day. To the sun we owe our very lives, and we shall now glorify it through an offering of the finest flames the Fire Nation can offer. Let the Ceremony of the Sun commence."
Sokka wondered if he was supposed to clap at that, but as he raised his hands he noticed nobody else was about to celebrate the man's words. He resolved to simply put his hands together, his fingers tapping as he waited eagerly for the next part of the Ceremony.
A door at the left of the ceremonial aisle swung open, and Sokka's breath hitched as Azula stepped out into the aisle. Her hair was held up in a top-knot by her usual hairpiece. The robes she was wearing flowed elegantly down her body: the main piece of her outfit was red, but the sash around her waist and the borders of the long sleeves of the robes were black. Sokka swallowed hard as his gaze fell upon her, and he was marveled by the hard look on her face. She was determined to succeed, he could see it in her features. And he believed she would do it. If someone could, it was her.
Azula walked towards the Ceremonial Aisle, her every step calculated and careful. She reached the center of the room and bowed towards the crowd, but mainly, towards her father and the Fire Sages. She noticed her uncle stood next to her father, but while the sight was rather surprising, she chose not to pay it any mind. She wasn't here to wonder at her father's unexpected choices in company, she was here to perform a ceremony.
With that, she turned towards Feng Huang's effigy. After performing another reverence towards it, she readied herself. She took five deep breaths before starting, five to make sure she would be calm and steady for what she was about to do. She needed to focus completely.
She lifted her hands and positioned them before her. Her palm was extended, and her fist was pressed against it. One more deep breath…
And with that, she brought forth the first batch of flames from her fist.
Everyone in the room watched in confusion as the Princess made her first moves. Her back was turned against them at the moment, which made it difficult for them to see, but had the fire she produced been gold, before turning blue as she manipulated it with her left hand?
Sokka's eyes narrowed as he stared at her more carefully. The flames now switched to the right hand, and they were blue, as always… but then she punched the air before her, and as she made the movement, the flames turned golden again.
A gasp ran through the crowd as Azula started moving backwards, her right foot drawing arcs of blue fire, her left foot doing the same with golden flames. Yet she closed herself to the sounds, to everything outside her bending. She was manipulating her inner fire at will, bringing it out when she needed it, and allowing its influence to diminish whenever she wanted blue fire to emerge instead. Gold and blue danced together, in a fierce exchange of flames.
When the time came to stop walking backwards, she stretched out her arms and drew out circles of blue fire with both her arms, but she shot a plum of gold through the rings of blue. Again, the crowd gasped. Again, Azula ignored the sound. She flexed her right leg and twirled with the left one extended, and the circle she drew on the floor down shifted between blue and gold.
She boosted her jump with blue fire, but as she kicked the floor, the flames became golden. The fire danced around her as she waved her hands from side to side, manipulating her flames into the desired shapes each time. Fire poured out of her with every movement. Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to be carried through the motions, her palms extended as she produced balls of fire, each one of different color. It was nearly a dance with fire, a dance that prompted her to jump, to wave her arms, to twirl in vortexes of flames.
She felt as one with her fire. Both the gold and the blue flames were part of her by now, as though she was the embodiment of both kinds of fire, united in a single entity. Her hands and feet unleashed her fire, her every breath fueled her power and gave her strength to shift between colors, to bend at will and to enjoy every single new movement she made. Her mind was relaxed despite the intense movements she was subjecting her body to, and her heart was beating furiously, as though by the fire's influence.
She withdrew her arms, charging her firebending so she could release two beams of blue fire that turned golden as she lowered her arms. She supported her weight on a single leg next, and she stretched out her arms as she kicked with her remaining leg. She stretched back her neck, and golden fire that turned blue burst from her every extremity and mouth. The leg on which she was supporting her weight pushed upwards, and with the other leg she created a full-body wheel of fire.
The last movements were next, and she knew just what to do, although it would be the trickiest part. She opened her eyes for the first time since starting the ceremony, and she took a step back as she aimed at the Beacon of Feng Huang. With another deep breath to fuel her flames, she used both arms to produce a cloud of golden fire, which she sent towards the tinder that waited to be burned. But right after releasing the golden flames she drew back her fists and shot twin blasts of blue fire forward.
Despite she wasn't supposed to do so, she didn't flow into the final set of movements for the ceremony right away. Instead, she waited to see the result of her last movement, hoping the blue fire would find the golden one just when it had to…
The Beacon was set alight with golden flames that soon shifted when the blue ones caught up with them. The combination of the fire set the entire room alight with colors that produced yet another room-wide gasp, and even a few squeals of surprise and amazement. Azula's face changed from eagerness to pure joy, and with that, she stepped forward, her right hand above her head, her left at her shoulder. With the second step she took, she charged her right hand as she moved it diagonally, blue flames pouring from it. She jumped, twirling in midair long enough to land perfectly, her fist producing a blast of blue flames as golden ones burst from her legs.
Her chest heaved by the time she was holding the final position. The crowd was silent now, and Azula wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. But she lifted her gaze towards the Beacon of Feng Huang, and she beamed with pride as she watched the colored flames burning brightly.
The Head Sage, who had already witnessed most of Azula's prowess, save for the multi-colored fire that now danced on the Beacon, stepped towards the Ceremonial Aisle again and turned towards the crowd: everyone was staring at the Princess with wide eyes, and quite a few of them with their mouths agape.
"The Beacon is lit! Let the Fire Festivals begin!" he exclaimed.
People started clapping now upon the man's announcement. A few of them even cheered, and a rumor of eager conversation spread across the room as Azula straightened herself, still looking at the Beacon with delight. Her gaze fell upon the Phoenix's effigy next, and she hoped this offering would be suitable for the Fire Nation's god.
"Now, you forgot to mention that last bit when you showed me what you would do for the ceremony, Princess Azula!" the Head Sage told her, as the room was filled with excited chatter. Azula turned towards him, a smile on her face as she shrugged.
"I figured I might keep this part a surprise, there was no fun in giving away all my secrets immediately," she said, and the old man laughed.
"You are truly one of a kind, Princess," he said, staring at the Beacon with amazement as well. "Never before had I seen this sort of fire…"
"Azula," said the next person who had dared approach the Princess after the ceremony, none other than Fire Lord Ozai. Azula turned towards him, pleased to see his wide eyes and the ecstatic expression on his face. "This was… That sort of fire, it was…!"
"New, yes," said Azula, smiling. "I trust you enjoyed the Ceremony, Father…"
"It was by far the most extraordinary performance I've ever witnessed in this Temple," said Ozai, a glint of pride in his gaze. "What you just did, Azula…"
"There are no records in Fire Nation history of fire bent in this manner…" said Iroh, who had stepped forward as well. Azula continued to smile as she looked at him, but she noticed that Iroh's expression wasn't the same as Ozai's. Was it confusion in his eyes? Disbelief? Fear? Azula didn't quite know why, but she was sensing something dark about him suddenly, something she couldn't remember feeling before, not even when they weren't on good terms… "That was… quite the sight to behold, Princess Azula."
"Why, thank you, Uncle," she said, smirking as she usually would, but still uneasy regarding the man's reaction and the strange sensation that emanated from him. "It's what I strived for."
"It's truly a pity the Admiral missed it," said Iroh, and Azula raised an eyebrow. "If there's a man who would have marveled at your performance today, it would have been Zhao."
As Iroh said those words, Azula understood why Iroh was next to Ozai today: had Zhao arrived on time, Ozai would have had his most trusted military leader with him instead of his brother.
"You said he'd be here soon, Father," Azula said, looking at Ozai. "Is something the matter?"
"A storm at sea delayed him," said Ozai. "But he will be here before the week is over."
"Good to know," said Azula, although she wasn't too pleased by the news. Zhao had been the last thought on her mind during the past weeks as she strived to master the golden fire. Chances were she would see him again as she returned from the Slate…
"And he will witness the power of your flames all the same, even if he missed the Ceremony," said Ozai, smiling. "Head Sage, proceed with the lighting of the torches."
"Right away, my lord," said the man, bowing his head towards Ozai and instructing the other Sages to help him lower the platform where the fire of multiple colors continued to burn brightly.
"In any case, Azula…" said Ozai, looking at her. "You did a splendid job, just as I expected of you. No, rather, beyond what was expected. As ever, you don't fail to amaze me."
"Thank you, Father," she said, smiling earnestly. "I'm honored to know as much."
"You have a trip to take off to now, don't you?" Ozai asked, and Azula nodded. "Very well, then, may fortune be on your side with your gladiator's fight. I'll be waiting for your return."
"I'll be back as soon as possible, Father. You can count on it," she said, and he smiled approvingly.
The Sages lowered the platform with difficulty and placed it atop a cart as noblemen and military officers approached Azula to praise her performance. She accepted all compliments with smiles, her head held high. They only backed away from her when the Sages moved the platform through the hall, leading it to the doors and out towards the Temple's wall. All the torches in the Temple would be set alight with the beacon's fire, as it was done traditionally. Through the entire week, the Capital's Temple would be lit by the same fire used for the ceremony.
Many people followed the Sages as they left the ceremonial hall, Ozai and Iroh included, although a few others lagged behind to congratulate Azula for her impressive performance. She only noticed the group by the wall when most people were out of the way already. And despite she recognized all five people with ease, her eyes were drawn towards one of them. She smiled and raised her eyebrows as they approached, all of them as amazed as the rest of the crowd had been.
"Alright, now that was just too much! Since when can you bend in many colors, huh?" Sokka asked her once he was close enough. Azula laughed and he beamed, looking at her with admiration.
"Not that long, actually, but long enough," she admitted.
"T-that was unbelievable," Zuko said, his eyes wide. "How did you do it? I mean… I'd never seen fire like that before!"
"Neither had I until I bent it," Azula said, smiling and shrugging. "It came as the result of a lot of hard work, plenty of meditation and relentless training for a month and a half, or so…"
"That can't be all there is to it!" said Zuko, stunned. "Azula, that was…! It just was…!"
"Truly remarkable," Ruon Jian finished, smiling at Azula. "I have to say, I'm really honored we had a chance to watch you perform. I never imagined a Ceremony of the Sun could be so amazing, but it really was beyond any other firebending performance I've ever seen."
"You just don't know how to be modest," said Mai, smiling as well. "You have to go all out and prove just how talented you are with every chance you get, don't you?"
"Oh, I just did what I had to do," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "Had I been given more time I might have been able to bend the combined blue and gold fire throughout the ceremony, but the odds were against me…"
"Come on, what you did already was absolutely fantastic!" Sokka said, beaming. Azula looked at him sideways, amused by his excitement. "I'd told you you'd be able to pull it off, and see, you did! And you blew everyone away at it, too! You really ought to be proud of yourself, girl."
"I'm proud enough, yes," Azula confessed, smiling. If there was something she wasn't short on, it was pride. Still, she wasn't quite as arrogant regarding her new firebending skill as she had been when she had initially developed her blue fire. Back then it had been the result of hard work and lots of training indeed… this time it was the result of embracing everything her father had ever told her to shut away from her life. Yes, she had worked hard, but the true key to gold fire lay within her… within the feelings she shouldn't have developed towards anyone, let alone towards the man she was talking to just now. "Still, I'm surprised you watched the ceremony. I didn't expect you to be here."
"Why not?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "You thought I'd want to miss out on this?"
"Not quite, but I expected you to be at the ship by now so we could set out to the Slate right away," said Azula, looking at him skeptically. "You have a big fight ahead of you, remember? Or is it my performance made you forget it?"
"No, I didn't forget," said Sokka, smiling a little. "But I figured I'd come watch you and then we could take off together, you see?"
"Logical enough, I suppose, but we really need to get going now," she said, sighing. "I have no idea if the Barge is ready yet, and we'll need to go at full speed to make it there on time…"
"You don't know if it's ready?" Sokka asked, surprised. "Why?"
"I only told the Captain to get it ready yesterday," she said, before giving him a guilty look. "The one who forgot about the big fight, as a matter of fact, was me. But never mind, we'll make it somehow…"
"Well, if you guys have trouble getting the Barge ready, you could come with us…" Zuko suggested. Azula looked at him in confusion.
"Come with you? And what do you mean by that, exactly?" she asked.
"After all we did to train Sokka, you didn't expect us to just stay in the Capital while he fought in the Slate, did you?" Mai said, raising an eyebrow.
"So, you're coming to the Slate too?" Azula asked, surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah. It's why Ty Lee missed out on the ceremony," said Zuko. "She wanted to come, but she chose to get our ride to the Slate ready just in case anything went wrong."
"The bay is bound to be a mess right now," Mai commented. "The Festivals are only starting, so ships will be coming in at an alarming rate… it's a good thing Ty Lee chose to make sure our ship was ready."
"Then Ty Lee is doing the responsible thing and making sure all of you can go to the Slate?" Azula inquired, raising her eyebrows. "Well, that's rather surprising, coming from her. She must really want to watch Sokka's fight."
"She's been pretty eager about it, yeah," said Sokka, shrugging.
"Oh, well," said Azula, sighing. "Let's take off, then. If we're all going to the bay, we should get there as soon as possible."
"Are you going to change out of those robes first?" Sokka asked, and Azula nodded, as the group left the Temple's hall, following the rest of the people out of the building.
"I will indeed. Meet me at the Palace gates, I'll arrange transportation to take us all to the bay. Since we're all going to the same place we might as well take a single carriage," she said, and Zuko nodded.
"Sounds like a plan," said Zuko.
It took them some time to make it through the masses of people who were watching the lighting of the torches outside the Temple. More compliments rained upon Azula as she walked with the group towards the Palace, and she accepted each of them with a proud grin. Sokka watched her with a gentle smile on his face. He couldn't wait to have some alone time with Azula to ask her about her new fire, and to tell her just how amazed he had been by her performance. It was taking him every ounce of his willpower not to reach for her hand right now, but he proved capable of controlling himself, despite everything.
As they reached the Palace, Azula rushed to her rooms. She requested the carriage they would need to the nearest servant and she took off the ceremonial robes with some difficulty before changing into another set of robes, less formal and also less battle-ready than her usual style. Her armor was in her luggage, since she had chosen to pack it rather than to wear it during the trip to the Slate. She would put it on for the fight, but for now, she would resort to comfortable clothing instead.
The group was waiting for her at the Palace entrance, just as she had told them to be. By the time she had reached the front gates, Sokka and Zuko had already climbed on the carriage while Mai said goodbye to her family.
As Mai had predicted, the Capital's port was at its most chaotic state by the time they reached it. Azula berated herself mentally for not having thought of how complicated it would be to set out to the Slate in these conditions. It was too late to regret having accepted the Millennium Dragon's challenge, though. They had to reach the Slate one way or another, there was no way around it.
The carriage reached the Barge's docks with difficulty due to the large masses of people at port. When at last they reached their destination, Azula climbed off the carriage and led the way towards the Barge. The Princess frowned as she saw her ship's sailors racing back and forth, carrying bags or packages hurriedly: this didn't bode well.
The four of them climbed on deck, and while Mai and Zuko were mostly curious about the ship, since neither of them had ever climbed aboard it, Azula and Sokka were glancing about themselves in hopes to find the Barge's captain, for he might tell them if the ship was in the right conditions to set out. And they happened upon a certain captain indeed, but not the one they had wanted to find.
Sokka tensed immediately when he saw Rui Shi, and he inched away from Azula instinctively as they approached the man. Azula seemed to disregard the bad blood between them for the time being, though: she simply walked up to the man, who stiffened upon noticing the Princess had already arrived.
"Princess. I hope the ceremony went well," he said, bowing his head towards her as the other three caught up with them.
"Well enough, thank you," she said, nodding. "It seems the ship isn't ready yet, or is it?"
"As a matter of fact, the Barge is almost fully stocked by now, but it will take at least another hour of preparations before we can set out. And we're facing another problem: getting out of the port is going to be rather complicated under these conditions. As you can see, there are far too many ships coming into the bay for the Festivals…"
"But we can still make it to the Slate despite that, can't we?" Azula asked, frowning. The one thing that would dampen her mood today would be having to forfeit such an important fight over something outside her control.
"It won't be easy," said Rui Shi, sighing. "But we could make it, perhaps, if everything were in our favor once we're ready to set out. Still… it's unlikely for that to be the case."
"Really, now?" Azula asked, an eyebrow twitching as she gazed over her shoulder. There were too many ships in the port, and she couldn't identify the one Ty Lee had hired for this trip. Was it in better conditions to set out to the Slate than the Barge was?
"What are you looking for, Princess?" Rui Shi asked, and Azula turned towards him again.
"Zuko and Mai informed me they will be going to the Slate as well," said Azula, sighing "They told us they might be able to give us a lift there, if the Barge wasn't ready to go just yet."
"Is that so?" Rui Shi asked, and Mai nodded.
"It's just a matter of taking Azula's luggage to the ship," she said, shrugging. "The rest should have been taken care of. It might be easier for a smaller ship to transit the waters right now."
"A smaller ship might not get us there as fast as the Barge, though," Azula said, and Mai raised an eyebrow.
"At this rate, the Barge isn't even going to set out of the bay. Under those circumstances, I think a smaller ship will get you there much faster than the Barge could," she said.
Azula sighed and looked at Rui Shi.
"Are you sure the Barge can't be ready any faster?"
"I'm afraid not, Princess," said Rui Shi. "The traffic in Fire Nation waters right now is dreadful, it's true. So… I think Lady Mai has the right idea."
Azula's eyes widened, and Sokka's jaw dropped. Rui Shi had to be saying the words most unwillingly, but he had said them all the same. Azula looked at him in disbelief.
"D-did you just say… that Mai had the right idea?" Azula repeated. "Captain…"
"I'm going to… to trust your friends," Rui Shi said, curtly, and Azula froze where she was. "I'm certain they will see you to the Slate and back safely."
"Well, you could come along too, you know?" said Zuko, shrugging. "I mean, if you want to make sure she'll be fine…"
"Surely adding the Princess and the gladiator to Lady Ty Lee's vessel is already more than what your group had calculated," said Rui Shi. "I'd rather not impose. The Princess can defend herself well enough, in any case. I trust it won't be necessary for me to accompany her this time."
Azula stared at Rui Shi with a mild frown, knowing just why he was agreeing to this so easily. Normally he would fight toe and nail whenever she tried to shake him off… but not this time. And there was an obvious reason for it.
Sokka looked at the man guiltily, having guessed the same thing Azula had. The Captain still wanted to protect Azula, no doubt… and the best way to protect her would be through his ignorance. If he didn't come on the ship with them he would know nothing about whatever transpired between Azula and Sokka during the voyage, if anything did – and the Captain was certain something would. Pretending not to know of her illicit relationship with the gladiator was a risky move, but one he was making all the same, for Azula's sake as well as his own. The less he knew about Azula and Sokka's relationship, the better it would be for all of them.
"I can defend myself indeed," Azula said, frowning but nodding. "Well, then. If this is what you think will be best, then we'll go with Ty Lee. You can call off the men stocking up the ship, their work won't be necessary anymore."
"Very well," said Rui Shi, bowing his head down towards Azula.
"I only hope Ty Lee's ship is fast enough to get us there on time," said Azula, rubbing her temples with her fingers as she turned to climb down the ramp. "I'll see you when we return, Captain."
"Indeed, Princess," he said, nodding in her direction, as the rest of the group followed.
But before Sokka could join them, Rui Shi clasped his shoulder and forced him to turn towards him.
"I know, I know…" said Sokka, gulping. "I'm not planning on doing anything stupid…"
"Doesn't matter if you plan it or not, you'll surely do something stupid regardless," said Rui Shi, and Sokka grimaced.
"W-well, that's probably true, but still…"
"I only wanted to say…" said Rui Shi, taking a deep breath. "Do your best in the Slate. Don't get yourself hurt, let alone killed. She won't know how to live with that."
"Ah, I… I'm not planning on having that happen," said Sokka, looking at Rui Shi with surprise. "I don't know if I'll win, but I'll do my best to get through that fight as safely as possible."
"Do it, then," said Rui Shi, sighing. "For her sake. You matter too much to her for her own good."
Despite himself, Sokka smiled. He clasped the Captain's forearm with a hand and nodded towards him.
"For her sake," he said. "You can count on it."