Yay! New update, and the last one before events coincide with the second season, and Azula can actually get into the action. She always was the type who thrived in the field, doing things.

At least I've taken the chance to try and insert several scenes of Azula being, well, Azula here.

Thanks for all the positive reviews, everyone.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"An assassination?" Ozai's voice was low, and all the more terrible for it. "You are certain?"

"Yes, my liege. The explosion was witnessed firsthand by General Iroh. He –"

"Former General."

"My apologies. The former General stated that he had went out for a walk to enjoy the night air. And that he had scarcely departed the ship when it exploded. He goes on further to state that due to Zhao assimilating Lord Zuko's crew into his own armada, the engines were inactive, and thus there was no possibility of a malfunction being the cause of the explosion, and certainly not one with the strength to completely destroy the entire ship."

From her vantage point, Azula could tell that her father was angry. For the apparent death of his son? No, probably not, she thought sourly. Maybe he just hated being reminded of Zhao's harebrained scheme.

The war council had been called with startling haste, with many of the officers unable to make it any reasonable timeframe, and as such the hall was remarkably empty. Azula swept her gaze over the assembly – most of them appeared dismissive of the loss of a single ship and one exiled prince, eager to get to the rather more pressing topic of what to do about Zhao. Azula knew instinctively that she couldn't expect any of them to care about Zuko in the same way that she did, and that an exiled prince really had no standing any longer in the Fire Nation, but nonetheless she had to exert some effort to keep the anger from showing on her face.

The Fire Lord was silent, apparently pondering the next course of action, and Azula took a deep breath before speaking out loud.

"I believe Admiral Zhao is responsible for this." She said clearly, and instantly the room erupted into a hubbub of consternated remarks. It wasn't every day that the princess of a country accused a high-ranking official of assassination.

She wasn't just making the accusation for the fun of it, though. First, she had good reason to suspect that he really was the one behind this attempt on her brother's life. Second, she knew general opinion of Zhao in the court was at an all-time low, which would help immensely in convincing the others that she was right. Third, once Zhao could be found guilty – or even suspected – of the deed, her father now had every reason to call off the attack and order him back home, where he could be tried. Fourth, her offering this out to her father would lead to his opinion of her improving, which would definitely help in securing her ability to move freely. Fifth and finally, she just really, really wanted to make the bastard squirm.

It's amazing how so much can ride on so little, really…

Her train of thought was derailed by her father speaking up again, drying up the murmurings as effectively as a blast of superheated fire evaporating a puddle. "That is a heavy claim to make, my daughter."

"And I believe I can back up this claim, father," Azula replied smoothly. First, establish means. "We know that this assassination was carried out by bombs, spread across the ship in a manner designed to reduce the whole thing to a wreck in a single blast. This would require the work of a sizeable crew in order to place the explosives quickly enough that they wouldn't be discovered in the process. Hiring such a bunch would take a significant amount of money, more than your average peasant or soldiers. But that would be something that the Admiral has plenty of." Motive. "Furthermore, Zhao has good reason to want Zuko gone – the reports we've been receiving have made clear that the two of them have been in constant conflict over the pursuit of the Avatar. For all his resources, Zhao has still failed to capture the Avatar by himself, and worse yet, Zuko has actually come closer to success than him a couple of times – certainly sufficient reason for someone as spiteful as Zhao to want Zuko out of the way." And modus operandi. "Lastly, everyone who knows the Admiral has spoken of his flair for the bombastic." I would use the word 'hamminess', but that works too. "This attempt is… well, loud and attention-seeking, as far as assassinations go. It would have been more efficient to simply have Zuko's throat slit in the middle of the night, but whoever it was chose an explosion." None of this is particularly implicating, really, but at least some of the people here are stupid enough to buy it. And some of those that aren't just want to see him take a fall, so I should have some popular support. She left unmentioned the additional details that made her absolutely certain that it was Zhao – there would be some uncomfortable questions about where she'd gotten the information from, and if she really needed to she could save it as a trump card for later.

The one big question was her father. He was most certainly not stupid, but he couldn't be particularly fond of the Admiral right now, so maybe…

"Let us say that your belief proves correct, daughter." His tone was unreadable, and Azula's brow twitched ever-so-slightly in frustration. It was far easier for her to read a person's feelings from the expressions on their face, but the flames surrounding the Fire Lord prevented anything of that sort. "What then, should be done?"

"I would advise that the Admiral be recalled immediately to stand trial. And if found guilty, to be summarily executed on charges of high treason." Her voice was cold.

"Treason?" One of the generals spoke up. "The victim is a disgraced exile. What-"

"Exile or not," she spoke over his words as she turned her gaze upon him, making him blanch visibly. "He is still royalty by birth and blood. That can never be stripped from him," she paused briefly. "Not even by the Fire Lord."

Absolute silence fell upon the room, and for a moment Azula wondered if she'd miscalculated and pushed things a bit too far. But then her father spoke up. "What my daughter says is indeed true. If Zhao is guilty, he is guilty of spilling the blood of the Royal family. But perhaps," and here his voice carried the silky tones of amusement. "Death would not be the best judgment to pass upon him. Perhaps the Admiral would do well to experience the same sentence I set upon the boy."

Azula didn't bother to keep the smirk from her face. Your verdict's already been decided, Admiral. You're doomed.

"Order an immediate recall of Admiral Zhao, and the dispersal of the fleet he has gathered. Once he enters the Fire Nation, he is to be arrested."

Well. This had rather handily solved the issue of Zhao's little adventure to the North Pole at the same time. Azula's eyes narrowed as she calculated the timing. Assuming the messenger hawks were not waylaid by anything, it would take a week for the message to reach the fleet – the assault should have begun by then. But they'd still have a chance to pull back before casualties became severe.

She'd settled her personal grudges with the man and prevented a potentially catastrophic campaign from taking place, all in one fell swoop. All in all, she thought wryly as she stood to leave the room, the results of the meeting had been rather satisfactory.

Especially since the private report she'd received had informed her in no uncertain terms that her brother was still very much alive.

(X)

Once secure in her own room, Azula pulled out the scroll and began to read through the letter again.

Azula,

By the time this message reaches you should have received word that I've been caught in an assassination attempt. Don't worry – I did get caught in one, but I got out of it mostly okay.

If you're wondering why this came so much faster than usual, Uncle has gotten hired by Zhao as a consultant for the attack on the North Pole and has access to Admiral-level resources again. Getting this letter out wasn't easy, but he managed. Also, I'm stowing away on the flagship.

The princess shook her head. While she certainly couldn't fault the audacity of the scheme – after all, she'd probably have done the same thing in similar circumstances – she silently wondered if Zuko could pull something like that off for long.

The Avatar's heading to the North Pole as well – he needs someone to teach him Waterbending, I guess. The Southern Water girl with him is apparently also a novice, so she wouldn't have been of much help to him. Maybe she wants to learn the trade too.

Ah, yes. She thought. Those two Water Tribe peasants that kept getting mentioned over and over. I guess I shouldn't have to worry about them. The boy wasn't a bender of any sort, and if the girl honestly thought that she was going to learn waterbending techniques from the Northern Water Tribe… She rolled her eyes slightly and returned to the letter.

Once we get close enough to land I'm sneaking off to find the Avatar – Zhao seems to have put that goal aside in favour of invading the North Pole so hopefully I won't have him breathing down my neck this time. Even if he does though, I'll be ready.

It just occurred to me that this letter might reach you before all of my others about what I've been doing these past couple of months while chasing the Avatar. Well, there's nothing I can do about that, and I don't really have that much time to write since I'm pretending to be an ordinary soldier on duty, so I guess I'll end off here.

See you soon.

Your brother,

Zuko

She gave another weary sigh as she finally rolled up the scroll again. She hated feeling helpless, and that was exactly how she felt right now.

All right. She thought to herself as she stood from her chair. I guess it should be time, more or less. She pursed her lips. Or should I wait? Maybe the results of this invasion could be used to help sway him… The princess shook her head as she settled herself down again. Maybe a chance to talk in private with Father first would help… I'd be able to source out what he's planning…

Yes, that would probably be the best way to do things for now. Preparation was key, after all.

(X)

It was several days later when it happened. She'd been able to secure a relatively quiet dinner with her father one day before. That was a rarity in and of itself, given how often he entertained nobles and merchants during his mealtimes; she'd sat in on one or two of those sessions, mostly to observe with glee as the hapless fools were invariably made to dance to the Fire Lord's tune… or else.

But the appointment he'd had for tonight with a silk merchant had to be called off when word had reached him off his supply ships having been lost at sea to a freak storm, and he was forced to rush back to deal with the potential crisis. Azula could have tossed out a dozen reasons why this was an extremely bad idea, first and foremost amongst them being that he had displeased Fire Lord Ozai, but since it had opened the door to what she wanted, she couldn't really say she was bothered. If the subject came up at the meal and she was in a really good mood, she might even put in a good word for him.

She waited in reverent silence as the food was brought in and set in their place by silent servants. Her father had apparently opted for the simpler approach tonight; there were only five separate dishes, all of them excellent Fire Nation cuisine. As the cupbearers began to test the food for poisons, she sneaked a glance at her outside window, noting the full moon hanging in the sky.

After a moment, they began to eat. Although under normal circumstances spiced salmon and peppered pig-goat were amongst her favourite dishes, she barely noticed the taste as she chewed methodically. Her mind was too busy trying to anticipate her father's first statement – the Fire Lord always spoke first – and how best to respond to it. She thought she had a pretty good idea, but-

"You have done well, Azula." Oh, this was good. He never said her name unless he was very pleased with her. A genuine smile crossed her face as she nodded reverentially. "Thanks to you, we will be able to prevent that fool Zhao from a prolonged campaign in the North."

"I am honoured to hear your praise, father. I trust the message has been sent?"

"And is moving to him with all speed." In the relative privacy of the dining room, both of them could afford to relax the tiniest bit, to let the stern mask of absolute authority slip ever so slightly. Here, for a moment, they could pretend to be an ordinary father and daughter, and not two of the most powerful people in the most prosperous nation in the world.

"Good. His comeuppance is long overdue." Azula said, injecting an edge of bitter venom into her voice as she picked at her rice with chopsticks. She'd eaten just enough before the meal to take the edge of hunger off – she needed absolute concentration for this.

"You seem bitter, my daughter." He had the slightest traces of levity in his voice, something Azula knew to be well wary of. "Surely his recent exploits have not given you cause for you be so opposed to him on such a personal level?"

"His actions hurt the Fire Nation, and have you not always said that we are indeed the nation, its beating heart?" She favoured him with a smile of her own. "And yes, his incompetence is rather unpleasant to me, not least of which is because he's spent so much resources and time chasing after the Avatar when he could have been doing more productive things."

"Oh? You do not believe the capture of the Avatar is vital enough for him to devote the time and energy to it?"

"He still has his responsibilities as a commander of the Navy. Chasing the Avatar is important, but he's still spent far too much time on it, considering the Avatar hasn't done anything particularly devastating to our cause yet. His… obsession with capturing the Avatar to the detriment of his responsibilities as Admiral speaks poorly of his self-discipline and control."

Her father was silent as he picked up his goblet and took a long drink from it.

Now, drop the bait. "At least others engaged in similar pursuits had nothing else they needed to be concerned with." That was close. I almost forgot to refer to him in the past tense.

"You are speaking of your brother." That was not a question.

"Yes. And Zhao saw fit to eliminate Zuko over a little competition over who could catch the Avatar. Once again, a demonstrated lack of self-control and clear-minded judgement." Azula lifted her own goblet, feeling the rice wine burn pleasantly down the back of her throat. "It's quite a shame – according to the reports Zuko got closer to success than Zhao ever did. It must have galled him, really."

She saw the look in her father's eyes, but kept her face impassive. That's right, father. We'll each play our own games. I'll pretend I care nothing for Zuko's apparent demise, and you can pretend you ever had any intention of Zuko being able to redeem himself via the Avatar's capture. Silently, she lifted another piece of meat to her mouth.

Her father was silent for a long moment. "So… you did this for revenge on your brother, then?"

Inwardly, Azula tensed up, but she managed to put a relaxed smile on her face. Just play my cards right… Act distant. "I can't say I'm overjoyed by what happened." She said dryly. "And what I said during the council meeting stands; raising his hand against royalty is something I can't overlook."

"That, I am aware of. I would not do so either." Her father lied smoothly.

Azula let a mask of thoughtfulness cloud her features, as if this were an idea she'd come up with on the spur of the moment instead of something she'd planned out for weeks. "Although, I do think that hunting the Avatar is a serious matter that should be paid attention to."

Her father shrugged. "You know as well as I do that I cannot simply order the armies to drop everything and pursue him. Like you yourself said, the Avatar is a potential threat, and all of the Fire Nation's resources are currently rather tied down dealing with actual ones."

She smiled to herself. The prize was in sight, "Well, not all," she said.

"Indeed?" From the look in her father's eyes, it was apparent that he knew full well what she was talking about. All she had to do was convince him of the merit of her idea, and that was going to be no problem at all. "Well, then, daughter, what did you have in mi-"

Through the window, the moon turned crimson – the colour of blood. Father and daughter were instantly on their feet – and Azula was able to note the naked alarm on Ozai's face. What was-

Zhao. The conviction burned its way into her mind as securely as any branding iron, and her face tightened in anger – and more than a hint of fear. What was that idiot doing at the North Pole?

A moment later, the door burst open, a guard stumbling into room. "Your majesty!" He sputtered. "T – the moon! It's turned red! The moon's turned red!"

"I can see that, you fool!" Ozai thundered. "Order an immediate meeting! Everyone is to be in the Royal Hall in half an hour!" Not even pausing to look at his daughter, he stormed out, his fists clenched tightly.

Alone in the silent room, Azula continued to watch the moon as scarlet light splayed across the entirety of the area. Her concerns were not assuaged by the moon gradually fading back to its pale white glow – especially not when the light was outright extinguished a moment later.

What in the world was going on?

(X)

The first reports had trickled in slowly over the course of the next week. Most of them were vague and contradictory, but sifting through them had allowed a fair number of significant and relatively uncontested facts come to light.

The first, most obvious, and almost certainly most significant fact was that the Fire Nation had lost. Badly. The vast majority of the ships had been wrecked beyond anyone's ability to salvage them, and the few that remained seaworthy were now limping towards the nearest friendly port for desperately needed repairs.

The second was that Zhao was no longer with the fleet. He had made land with a task force near the beginning of the assault, and while no one could confirmed actually having seen him perish, he was still nowhere to be found. So he was either a prisoner of the Northern Water Tribe or dead – Azula couldn't bring herself to care either way, aside from a brief spark of regret that she wouldn't be able to watch him get executed like she'd desired.

Third was the reason that he had gone ashore in the first place – this was trickier. Apparently one of his elite guards had made it onto a surviving ship, and according to his testimony Zhao had indeed been the cause of the moon turning red and then disappearing temporarily – although the report glossed over many of the details about how. Well, the problem had been fixed somehow, and there didn't appear to be any long-term consequences of his foolhardy venture, so they would just have to wait for the more thorough debriefing once those ships managed to make their way back to the capital.

Fourth was that Uncle had been confirmed present during whatever it was Zhao had been doing to destroy the moon, and that Zuko was confirmed alive. Well, Azula already knew about the latter, and so she didn't pay that too much heed. More troubling was Uncle's actions – he had deliberately assaulted Zhao's elite guard, and Zhao himself, ostensibly to dissuade Zhao from whatever it was he planned on doing to the moon… Azula shook her head wearily. The entire thing was just a giant mess.

Fifth was that the Avatar had been present during the siege of the North Pole, and that he had been instrumental in the staggering defeat of the Fire Nation Navy. Various reports spoke of a giant humanoid ocean wave fusing with the Avatar and destroying the ships with casual abandon – others likened it more to a giant koi fish. Azula was inclined to be sceptical – it was probably just a gigantic tidal wave or something… not that it made the Avatar being able to destroy their fleet so easily any less unsettling.

And problematic. Azula's eyes narrowed. The reports of the Avatar's earthshaking power at the North Pole stood in direct contradiction to everything else she'd learned about his abilities ever since he'd awakened in the South Pole. Mastering a single new element shouldn't have given him such a massive boost in power, after all.

There's something I'm missing here… and I don't even know what it is. She rubbed her forehead, irritated. The earliest the ships would be able to return to the capital for a proper debriefing would be in a month's time, and Azula did not have a month to wait. Much as it frustrated her to leave loose ends hanging, her plan still took precedence. The complete disaster that was the Northern campaign would alter some parts of it, of course, but in other ways, it would make it easier.

For one, she thought to herself as she hurried to the audience she'd scheduled with her father, it would make him more worried about the Avatar. More convinced of the threat he posed.

The doors to the throne room creaked open and Azula entered. Her father was already there as usual, the fire surrounding the throne once more obscuring his face. Azula resisted the urge to frown – this was precisely why she'd waited for a private dinner with her father – the ability to read his moods would have helped immensely. Oh well, she'd already gotten a pretty clear idea of what he'd wanted from the meal – now it was just a matter of letting the pieces fall into place. Aided by a few slight nudges from her, of course.

She knelt down before the throne, keeping her head low. Once more, she sifted through the possibilities that her father would open with – probably something about the Avatar or Admiral Zhao –

"Iroh has betrayed us."

That… she did not expect. Of all the things he considered worthy of attention, Uncle's assaulting of Zhao was what he paid attention to? For a brief moment, Azula was left floundering, trying to decide what to say next. Finally, she settled on silence, trying to discern if her father was going somewhere with this.

"We could have succeeded in our invasion of the North had he not interfered."

If anything, that simply left Azula even more confused. If Zhao had succeeded in his invasion, it would have meant the end of the Moon, and she was reasonably sure that no one, Fire Nation or not, considered that a desirable outcome.

"I understand that Unc – that Lord Iroh believed Zhao's course of action to be… unwise." Silently, she cursed at her almost-slip.

"Regardless, he assaulted members of the Fire Nation and disobeyed orders from his nominal superior." Agni, why was father harping so much on the point? She knew he'd always disliked his brother, but-

Oh. Oh.

Two can play that game, can't they, Azula? Like she'd attempted her revenge against Zhao by cloaking under the veneer of protocol and justice, her father was likewise taking out his hatred on his brother by seizing upon his supposed betrayal as a means for punishment

In that timeless moment, Azula quickly reassessed the situation, trying to decide how this helped or hurt her own cause. Still, this was enough of an unexpected tangent to throw her off, perhaps it was best to let her father lead for now.

"What would you have me do, father?"

At this, the Fire Lord fell silent, and once more puzzlement coursed through the princess. If her father wanted to talk to her about Iroh… would he send her out after him? Well, that might make sense, and she could adapt that to her own plans easily enough, except he hadn't given the order for it. Why?

Unseen by her father, her expression hardened. Because Zuko's with Iroh, of course. And father doesn't trust me enough to send me after Zuko. Smart man.

"Truth be told, daughter, I had hoped for your view on this matter."

Azula bit down the instinctive reply. Careful, now… "Uncle is a single man." Analyse this from the perspective of someone really thinks Uncle has turned against the Fire Nation. It's what father wants to hear. "He may be a master Firebender, but he cannot make a great difference either way. Further, he has not been involved in any of the court's proceedings for at least three years. He does not have valuable information to give the enemy aside from outdated battle plans," Azula hesitated. "I believe it best that we do not waste much time or manpower on him. There are more important targets."

"Indeed." Azula could tell her father was pondering the issue. She frowned. They'd gone off on a rather unrelated tangent to her goal. Perhaps a more direct approach would be better.

All right. Here goes nothing.

"Father," she spoke deliberately. "I am your servant and I am ready to serve. Command me as you will."

There was a long silence. And then he shifted in his seat, imperceptibly. "You wish to be the one to track down Iroh?"

Distance myself emotionally from that. "As I said, father, I do not believe Lord Iroh to be of great importance one way or the other. I spoke of more… challenging hunts."

"The Avatar."

"Indeed, Father. You let Zuko out to pursue him at the age of thirteen. I am a full year older, and I am ready." Inject a competitive element into my words… don't let him suspect the truth. "I have trained all my life, been forged into the warrior you wish me to be. I will not disappoint you."

Silence. Azula kept her head low – she wouldn't be able to tell anything if she looked anyway, and the last thing she needed was for him to accuse her of disrespect. The only sound in the hall was the crackling of the flames as Azula waited with bated breath.

Finally, "Your words have merit, daughter. Indeed, I think it best that you be given a chance to prove yourself."

She kept her face neutral and composed as elation soared within her. Finally! Finally!

"Well then, by your leave, father, I will begin making the necessary preparations at once." She said in a neutral tone.

"I look forward to news of your success," that was the closest he would ever come to wishing her luck, or saying farewell, and Azula accepted it. Slowly, she left the grand hall, her mind already buzzing with numbers and supplies and routes.

Once alone, once she was in a quiet corner of a quiet corridor that no one could see her, Azula, princess of the Fire Nation leaned her head back against the wall and smiled.

Hang on, Zuko. I'll see you soon.

Chapter End

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