Chapter 20
Azula's song for this chapter is "This Girl Is On Fire" by Alicia Keys.
It had been planned months ago by her father. Despite their ongoing conflict, the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom had agreed on a limited truce for a contest of champions, harking back to an ancient tradition of athletic competitions between nations, in which the Avatar clashed with challengers from all four countries. Eager to exhibit his pet, Ozai had gladly granted unusual concessions. Both countries had agreed on the hosting nation guaranteeing the safe return of its guests with deposits of cash and even captive hostages, before choosing randomly where the contest would be held. (Since the Earth King had no reason to trust the Fire Lord, his diplomats had ensured that simply murdering his champion would have been financially ruinous, in addition to dishonorable.) When Caldera was selected as the site, the earthbender had been willing to travel alone, but the negotiators had refused to allow it. Apparently the champion was not only a fearless fighter, but well-connected.
Now, Aang was gone, and the winner of the earthbending wrestling circuit was on the way to face Azula.
Distracted by her kidnapping plot, and then by her interrogations, the young Fire Lord had completely lost track of time, until the earthbender was about to arrive.
Azula didn't bother to practice. She was the best firebender alive. So what if she'd been unable to bend lightning since returning from the desert? It didn't matter that her aim was off and her speed unremarkable. No earthbender was a match for her.
"You're afraid to practice because you know you're not ready for this fight," Mai whispered.
"Shut up!" Azula snarled, frightening the servants, who hadn't said a thing.
The troubled Fire Lord watched an array of big, brawny men in green disembark from the airship that had brought them, wondering which one was the champion. She was startled when a small girl with spiky black hair walked up to her and thrust out her hand.
"You must be the Fire Lord. I'm Toph Beifong. Seven-time Earth Rumble champion, reluctant heiress, all-seeing blind girl, queen of sass, and your worst nightmare."
"Welcome to the Fire Nation," Azula replied, taken aback by the contrast between the girl's brash delivery and her high-pitched, feminine voice. She was half a head shorter than the Fire Lord, with her athletic figure clothed in an androgynous green tunic. Long bangs obscured her face. But when Azula looked closely, she saw that Toph's eyes were clouded, and there was something a little off about the tilt of her head. As hard as it was to believe that the Earth Kingdom's best fighter was blind, it certainly seemed true. Maybe this match won't be so difficult, after all, she thought to herself as she shook hands. She smiled, and spoke warmly to her guest. "If you'll follow me, there is a feast prepared for you and your retinue."
After a short walk to the grand dining room, the champion and her people sat down to a table filled with udon noodles, ash banana bread, and smoked sea slug. Dessert would be moon peach cake, a pastry from Ba Sing Se prepared in honor of the visitors.
When her guests had been served, Azula opened conversation. "My late father set up this competition, as you might recall. What made you want to prove yourself against me?"
"Mostly because I was bored. I've dominated Earth Rumble for seven years now, so it was about time for me to face some real competition. I really wanted to fight the Avatar, but he's not here."
"I regret that fact much more than you do, believe me." Azula murmured, looking down at her plate.
"Yeah, I heard he jilted you. That must have been pretty embarrassing." The gossipy, mocking expression on the girl's face made the firebender want to slap her. But she just clenched her fist in her lap, determined not to let Toph know she'd been bothered.
"Yes, well. I was so busy that week, the humiliation barely registered," she asserted, careful to keep her manner light and breezy. "Aang killed my father on his way out, so I had to deal with his funeral and my coronation."
But it didn't work. Instead of politely offering condolences, Toph grinned in a way that nearly unnerved her host. "You know, my earthbending is extraordinarily sensitive. I can sense heartbeats through the vibrations in the stone floor. Your pulse speeds up when you lie to me."
Azula covered her surprise by taking a long sip of her wine. She knew she was an excellent liar, and had even trained specifically to suppress her physical tells, including heart rate. Either she was off her game, or Toph had inside information, which she could only have gotten from Aang himself.
No matter: she couldn't let it rattle her. She raised a skeptical eyebrow and spoke archly, injecting her tone with all the doubt and disdain she could muster. "Such an unbelievable ability would be useful indeed. Perhaps you would be better suited to a career in diplomacy or espionage. Unless you're just bluffing to try to get under my skin."
Toph threw back her head and laughed. "My lie detecting is a cool party trick, but I definitely do not have the patience or tact needed in those jobs. I'd just end up insulting someone and starting a fight. Trust me, I'm much better in the ring." She leaned forward, her voice lowered but full of confidence. "And Princess Pyro, I never bluff. I talk lots of trash, but I always deliver."
Azula could feel her face heating up with pique at the condescending nickname, which doubled when she remembered the blind girl could sense her rising blood pressure, if her claim was true. She lifted her chin and steadied herself. "I suppose I'll see that tomorrow. I'm sure you're a worthy opponent, but I haven't met my match yet. I hope you're prepared to lose."
Toph smirked, shaking her head. "Liar, liar, pants on fire."
Azula marched into the arena in her armor - not the jewel-encrusted breastplate she'd worn at her coronation, but the red padded leather she used to wear on campaign, with a few added embellishments to denote her new rank.
The arena had been renovated to the specifications agreed upon by the committee that negotiated the terms of this competition. Most notably, the tile floor had been changed out for a deep substrata of tightly packed earth. Surveying the arena, its stands full of excited citizens, Azula could not help remembering the first Agni Kai she had seen here. This was where Father had punished Zuko, burning him. She had cheered Father on at the time, understanding that her older brother's disgrace elevated her own standing. But afterward, seeing his injury had horrified her. Once Zuko was gone, Mai defended him to his sister, offering a perspective Azula couldn't help but find persuasive.
Now, Azula's feelings toward Zuko were….complicated. She felt an ingrained aversion for his idealism and gentleness–signs of weakness, according to Father. She couldn't deny that it had been brave of him to question the general's plan, and sometimes she admired that courage. Not that it did him—or the young soldiers he tried to defend—any good. The naive, trusting way he had thrown himself on his merciless father's mercy had nauseated her. In the same position, she would not have been so foolish. She would have fought Ozai to the death and won. (Yes, even at age ten!) She pitied Zuko for his exile, and she had been taught to always mix pity with contempt. She had been glad to see him leave–glad Father could not hurt him anymore, and glad he was out of her way. Nevertheless, she did miss him occasionally, and had fond memories of the silly games they had played as children. Teasing him had been so fun! He fell for her tricks every time.
After Zuko's maiming, his sister had lived every day with the knowledge of what her father was capable of, and the certainty that if she made a wrong move, she would be next. Witnessing Father's continuing and escalating brutality, especially as it later focused on Aang, had only increased her determination to protect herself by pleasing her sovereign. But her devotion to Ozai had never been more than a facade. She was loyal first of all to herself. On that fateful night, she had surprised even herself by extending her self-protective instincts to the boy she loved, but she had known for a long time that she was perfectly willing to use deadly force against her own father if necessary.
Azula put memories of her father and brother aside as she stepped into the ring. Toph Beifong entered the arena from the opposite side at the same time, wearing inflammable armor in the green and white of her native land. Why is she barefoot? the Fire Lord wondered, wrinkling her nose at the thought of all that dirt between her toes.
The contenders met in the middle with the two referees, one from each country. A booming voice over the loudspeaker announced the names of the two benders. The crowd obliged with polite applause for the challenger, then thunderous cheers for Fire Lord Azula.
"To win, a player must force her opponent out of the ring. Time is limited to ten minutes," the announcer explained. "Begin with a bow." Azula obeyed, looking up at Toph as she bent over, trying not to feel unsettled by the girl's incessant smirk. "Now, fight!"
Immediately, Azula struck, shooting a barrage of fireballs directly at Toph's armored chest.
Toph stepped smoothly to one side, dodging the first fireball, then rapidly launched four dirt clods that perfectly intercepted the next four fireballs before they could come close to hitting her.
Seeing her attacks so easily countered gave the firebender a moment's pause, but she didn't let up. She had to bombard the earthbender with so much firepower, it pushed her back out of bounds. She demonstrated every kind of attack she knew: blazing darts, fire streams, flame charge, a spin kick that created a diagonal arc of fire.
But the Beifong girl didn't give an inch. She remained in the center of the ring, redirecting and deflecting every single scorching assault sent her way. Azula couldn't help letting out a growl of frustration, which elicited a laugh from Toph.
"What's wrong, Princess Pyro? Can't figure out how a blind girl can block every one of your attacks?" she gloated. Then she stomped a dirtball out of the ground and kicked it directly at Azula's stomach. She had to hit the ground belly first to avoid it.
The Fire Lord had expected to win this match quickly. She thought it would be a lark, a rout, a fast ego boost. It was quite demoralizing to find herself actually struggling.
The crowd had also anticipated an easy victory for their monarch. Now they were quiet, unsure how to react. Azula looked up into the stands, where she could feel her people turning against her.
"Of course they're disgusted with you!" Ozai spat into her ear. "A match like this should be a simple win for a firebender of Sozin's blood! The Fire Lord isn't supposed to have any trouble defeating a filthy dirtbender! You might as well fall on your knees and beg like your worthless brother!"
Zuko always used to shrink under those kinds of insults from Father. He would cringe, and whine, and shrivel up into hopelessness. Azula, however, had always been able to use Father's abuse to motivate herself. She gathered herself, newly determined.
Fireballs clearly weren't working; she needed an attack so big and overwhelming it couldn't be blocked.
As she stood, Azula focused her chi on a vertical plane in front of her, pulling heat from the ground with her fingertips. She created a giant flaming barrier that stretched from one end of the ring to the other. Her opponent disappeared behind a seven-foot wall of fire. And then, with all her strength, she pushed it toward Toph. The earthbender would have no choice but to retreat beyond the boundary line, or get burned.
But her fire dissolved into stone. Toph put up her own barrier to counter her fiery attack: a sheer, twenty-foot wall. Which was moving her way. Fast.
Azula's only hope to stay in the match was to climb. With a running jump, powered by a bit of jet propulsion from her heels, she reached more than halfway up the wall. But she started to slide down, until she burned holes for her fingers and toes to grip. The wall continued to move toward the boundary behind her, even as she scaled it. Just before it crossed out of bounds, she leapt from the top, remaining in play.
Toph clapped four times, slowly. "Not bad, Princess Pyro. You're actually the second best opponent I've faced in years. After I finish stomping you, I could stick around and we could practice together. Looks to me like you could use a friend."
"No thank you, Ms. Beifong. I don't need any friends." she retorted primly as she walked back toward her opponent, who still stood in the exact middle of the ring. Her breath came fast from her frantic climb and jump, but she tried to conceal how winded she was. She couldn't help feeling somewhat grateful that Toph seemed to enjoy showboating verbally, as it gave her a much-needed break from the match's action.
"Your heart rate tells a different story. And so does your empty royal box." She pointed to the section where Azula had sat with her uncle as she watched her father burn her brother's face.
"It's common knowledge that my living family members are traitors. I assure you I have plenty of companions." So they were all paid. So what. She kept her voice strong and confident. "And I certainly have no desire to spend any more time with a boorish, barefoot, rubble-brained crag."
That infuriating smirk didn't move from Toph's lips as she shook her head. "Insulting me is a mistake, Liar Lord. Do you want me to tell everyone the truth about what happened on your wedding night?"
Enraged, Azula charged. Hand to hand fighting, that's what this bitch was asking for. Probably she'd never been chi blocked; feeling her limbs go numb would wipe that grin off her impertinent face. Hitting her directly would be delicious.
"That's your only chance to win anyway, taking away her bending," Mai remarked from the sideline.
"It's not my only shot, it's just good strategy," she muttered, just as she arrived in front of her opponent and swung.
Toph dodged fluidly, then cocked her head, quizzical. "What was that? Talking to yourself, Queen Kooky?"
Azula jabbed at the pressure point in earthbender's shoulder, but her hand got knocked away by the other girl's elbow.
"Is the rumor true, then?" Toph batted away another punch to her hip. "You hear voices in your head and talk back to them? You really are crazy?" Gossipy glee filled the girl's high-pitched voice.
Anger and chagrin filled Azula as she continued to stab with sharp fingers at the various spots where Toph's chi converged, never once landing. Meanwhile, the smaller girl continued to taunt her. Her voice lowered; the goal now was psychological intimidation, not showing off for the crowd.
"I met him, you know. Your ex. He came out to one of my wrestling matches, and we sparred. Only guy to beat me in years. I felt bad about losing until I found out he's the Avatar." Azula hesitated, which gave her opponent a moment to bend a dirt clod to hit her in the back. She wasn't sure what made her feel more off balance, the blow from behind, or the unsettling information about Aang's movements since he left the Fire Nation.
"I met Katara, too," Toph went on. By now she had covered herself with rock armor, and stopped bothering to evade Azula's punches, since her hits only hurt her own hands. "She's sweet. Nothing like you. What I can't figure out is why a guy like Aang—" she spun away from Azula's kick, surprising her with a hard elbow in the eye on the rebound, "would ever have been engaged—" she socked the stunned Fire Lord in the stomach, "-to someone like you. Almost as if it wasn't his choice." She finished, bashing her opponent in the forehead with her own rock-helmeted head.
Azula staggered back, clutching her aching head, her feet barely under her. Her hair had fallen out of her topknot and into her eyes; she knew she looked a dirty, unkempt mess, and that made her feel even more out of control of the situation. There was no way to chi block the earthbender with that improvised armor protecting her. She couldn't win, and now hoped only not to lose. At this point, her best shot was to simply avoid getting hit and try to outlast the clock.
She started sprinting in zigzags around the ring, throwing in some gymnastic flips and spins, trying to avoid Toph and maybe entertain the crowd a little. Meanwhile, Ozai screamed more abuse at her from the sidelines. "Don't just run in circles! Turn and fight, maggot! Destroy that bitch! Burn her alive! You bring shame on your entire nation!" This must have been what Zuko felt like when Father "coached" him, she realized. His words broke her down, made her want to give up. She felt shaky and desperate, or maybe that was because she'd taken two hard blows to the head. Meanwhile, the earthbender simply stood in the center of the arena, arms crossed, not even bothering to turn to face Azula as she moved all over the arena.
"It's really too bad," the earthbender declared in a bored tone. "I actually thought you and I might get along. After all, we've got a lot in common. Two poor little rich girls with emotionally absent parents. Bending prodigies who regularly hand big strong guys their asses. Powerful women whose healthy self esteem comes from a simple, accurate understanding of how much better they are than everyone else. But you're nothing like I thought you'd be. You're so full of lies, you've deceived yourself. You're not even a challenge."
A hole opened in the ground just as Azula's right foot was about to come down, making her fall flat on her face. Pain shot up her leg; her ankle was probably sprained, if not broken. Before Azula could cry out, sticky clay closed her mouth. Then the dirt seemed to swallow her up: she was immobilized, nearly buried alive.
Suddenly she felt her body lifted to a standing position, the earth that coated her pulling her up despite her resistance. Before she could even wonder why Toph was doing this, her arms began moving of their own volition, as the earthbender controlled the dirt that enclosed her. Muffled by her dirt gag, she screamed with fury and humiliation as she was compelled to dance, a puppet in the earthbender's hands. Toph giggled, and the crowd, loyal and fearful as they were, could not help joining in. After all, seeing a monarch imitating an ostrich horse was incredibly amusing. Next, the earthbending master made Azula pretend to be a komodo rhino, while she teased the giant beast, then dodged its charge. Then she made her opponent kneel before her in worship, facedown on the ground. Finally, she forced the firebender to jig her way out of the ring, just before the buzzer sounded.
The earthbending official rushed over to relieve the Fire Lord of the dirt suit that Toph had dressed her in, though her skin remained filthy. The man practically fell over himself apologizing to her; she batted his hands away, and stood up as fast as she could, only to realize her feet were outside the boundary line. Meanwhile, the firebending referee moved to the center of the ring with Toph, who was holding her arms aloft in triumph.
The announcer boomed, "And the winner is…..Toph Beifong!"
Raiden watched in horror as the earthbending champion beat the Fire Lord nearly senseless, then humiliated her. The embarrassing dances and animal poses were certainly mean-spirited, but nothing in the rules of the competition forbade them. He noticed the officials frantically conferring with each other, probably afraid they'd be blamed for allowing the match to descend to this level. It was a relief when time was called.
As soon as the earthbender's name was announced, Azula screamed, "No!" and fell to her knees. She began sobbing and beating the ground, looking like nothing so much as a child throwing a tantrum.
Toph pointed at her defeated opponent and laughed. Soon the audience started to join in, nervously at first, then with increasing volume and boldness.
He had to do something! To lift her spirits, to stop her ridiculous display of temper, to remind her of the honor of her position. To turn the crowd away from callous ridicule and direct its energies in a more positive direction. But he had to act fast, so he went with the first idea that popped into his head.
Raiden took a deep breath and began to sing, in his strong, clear tenor: "Fire Lord, my flame burns for thee…" He elbowed Takeo beside him, and he joined in. Before the first verse of the national anthem was over, the voices of the guards were filling the arena, overpowering the jeers from the stands.
Soon, everyone was singing. Patriotic sentiments swept through the crowd, as they affirmed their loyalty to the Fire Nation. Seeing their champion defeated was disheartening, but the sound of the familiar song made them feel better about the loss. The firebenders in the crowd even held up little flames in their fingers, their small lights filling the stands like stars on a clear night.
Raiden saw Azula go quiet and still. She lifted her bloody head up, a confused expression wrinkling her wounded brow. "She hears us!" he rejoiced to himself, as he belted out the last lines of the anthem.
The final notes died out, leaving the crowd silent, watching with expectation. The Fire Lord stood slowly. Probably she was too sore to move quickly, but her deliberate movements had a dignified effect. Though dirt still covered her face and armor, her graceful, aristocratic bearing commanded respect. She faced her victorious opponent and gave a short, stiff bow. Then she turned to the crowd and made a deep, sweeping curtsy, one hand touching her heart. Perhaps she leaned too far, because she stumbled a little coming out of the bow. But she recovered, one hand to her bleeding head, the other on her back. Finally she turned and limped out of the arena.
Author's Note: What did you think of that match? Let me know in a review! I appreciate every one!