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The Golden Girl in the Rain – Chapter Three
Azula sat gazing out of her palace window as the thunder crackled over the distant skyline.
She reclined in her throne with her hand resting upon her chin while she sat gazing down a paper in her study.
The peasant girl had been simple to track.
As she predicted the girl was living on the street.
And it wasn't exactly hard to track the only person in the Capital with golden hair.
As she sat in her study with her cold eyes swiftly over to the corner of her desk.
She once more gazed upon the fire lily that sat in a small vase.
It had been a day since she had last seen the peasant girl.
With annoyance flowing through every fiber of her being she sighed heavily while pushing herself to her feet.
"I already have plenty of pets as it is. It is…not like I need another." Azula spoke in a frustrated voice as she gazed down at the document.
But even still.
She found herself sliding the rolled-up paper into her robes all the same.
Azula's eyes flickered to the fire lily once again with a frown pursing her usually cruel lips.
Perhaps there was merit to it to bringing her back as her pet.
Even if she has plenty of other pets.
This one would be a golden pet.
Perhaps she should claim her?
Before someone else does.
And she already knew that if she doesn't claim her.
That it would only be a matter of time before someone else did.
She had been so caught up in her musings that she didn't notice her friend in the doorway.
"Azula?" Ty Lee asked while blinking at her leader's back as Azula spun around to face her with a stoic countenance.
"What is it, Ty Lee?" Azula replied as her hands fell to her sides while her friend surveyed her curiously.
"I was just wondering if you had any plans for what you wanted to do today." Ty Lee pondered as she stood peering back at her friend.
Mai stepped up behind Ty Lee as they waited expectantly while their eyes were noticeably drawn to the fire lily upon the princess's desk.
"I have to go take care of something. I will be back shortly." Azula answered in her usual voice while they gazed at her in a puzzled manner.
The two had noticed that their leader had seemed distracted over the last day or two.
It was quite unlike Azula.
"That is a really pretty fire lily, Azula! Who gave it to you?" Ty Lee conversed as Azula stepped past them while closing the door to her study with evident annoyance in her eyes.
"No one gave it to me. I picked it myself." Azula commented curtly before promptly walking down the hall with her two friends gazing after her.
"Weird. But whatever." Mai stated in her typical gloomy tone while sighing as she followed after her more optimistic friend.
"I wonder who gave Azula that fire lily?" Ty Lee spoke while walking alongside her friend who simply shrugged in response.
"Who knows." Mai replied in an uncaring voice while Ty Lee continued to mull over the matter.
Sometime about an hour later…
The princess's royal carriage came to a stop as she exited into the rainy streets of the commoner city giving her guards the order to remain behind.
Fire Nation commoners were not allowed to enter Hari Bulkan unless it was to serve the Royal Family or the Fire Nation nobles.
Commoners were only permitted to enter to in the homes of the highborn, or in the shops and restaurants that catered strictly to the Fire Nation elite in the royal district inside Hair Bulkan.
The only other way a commoner would be able to enter Hari Bulkan would be if they had an explicit permit from the Fire Lord.
And that happened only on an exceedingly rare occasion.
As a result, this was one of the districts was where the commoners lived below Hari Bulkan.
And then to their confusion they observed their princess depart into the damp city street.
This particular section happened to be where the lowest of the low dwelled.
Azula strode through the street with her cold eyes remaining peeled ahead before she came to a stop before a hunched over figure with golden hair.
Elle sat shivering with her face hiding in her knees while stern eyes swept over her pitiful form.
"Peasant." Azula greeted as her voice cut through the air causing the petite girl to fall back in surprise.
Elle sunk back against the wall as she peered up at Azula towering over her.
Her eyes widened in shock to see that Princess Azula had bothered to track her down.
"Y-yes, Princess?" Elle stammered while the aloof woman peered down at a bruise gracing her right cheek.
"Ugh! Come with me before I change my mind." Azula ordered as she swiftly turned away with her words prompting the younger girl to fall on her knees.
"T-to where?" Elle inquired while kneeling before the looming woman's mesmerizing form.
"Out of the rain dummy." Azula snorted snidely as she placed a hand on her shapely hip while gazing down at the surprised peasant.
"T-thank you! Thank you, Your Highness!" Elle cried out with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she groveled low before the powerful young woman.
"You can grovel more later. I want to leave this wretched dump that you call home." Azula spoke with her nose wrinkling in disgust as she sniffed the air.
"I-I will not forget this kindness. I will never forget." Elle answered as she rose with her face stained with tears and raindrops as she began to follow the older girl.
"You had best not, peasant. This is not something I usually do…" Azula grunted as she stopped before her carriage with her guards exchanging many bewildered looks with one another.
"D-do I step inside…with you?" Elle asked nervously while peering up at the princess as she took a step inside her royal carriage.
It was the equivalent of a death sentence to take a step inside Princess's Azula's royal carriage without her explicit permission.
There was only one seat inside of this particular royal carriage and it was a luxurious throne.
"What do you think? Just get in, and take a seat on the floor." Azula commanded as she pointed at her boots while she glared at her petite admirer as the timid girl followed suit.
Elle stepped inside as the guards observed in a speechless silence while she worried that she would tarnish the interior of the beautifully ornate carriage.
And with that the carriage began to ride through the street while the girl took a timid seat on the floor.
While the tall princess sat imposingly upon her cushioned seat with her palms folded in her lap while her callous amber golden eyes gazing down at the commoner seated at her booted feet.
While the young girl gazed up at the looming face of the scrutinizing princess with gratefulness shimmering in her wet eyes.
"You need a bath." Azula remarked in a rude voice while gazing over the now crimson faced girl with a frown of disapproval on her features.
Though she will admit that she has seen far dirtier peasants.
It would seem that the girl had been making an effort to at least try to keep clean.
"I…know. I…apologize. I…don't have a home." Elle stated meekly while sinking back as far as she could from the powerful woman.
"You don't say?" Azula scoffed while leaning back on her cushions as she placed her palms in her lap.
Why exactly she felt compelled to take in this girl was beyond her…
Was it the golden hair?
Was it the fire lily?
Or was it something else?
"Not just that. I…have no one. I have no homeland…no anything." Elle admitted as she sunk into her knees while the young woman surveyed her closely.
"No homeland? You aren't a Fire National? Are you Earth Kingdom?" Azula questioned with evident distaste in her voice while she leveled the girl with a harsh stare.
"Oh! No. I am not Earth Kingdom. It is…complicated. I am from another land that I think is very far away." Elle declared while peering out of her knees at the princess's puzzled face.
"There is no way that you are from the Water Tribe. Your skin…is much too…light. Just what land do you speak of?" Azula inquired as she straightened with a sudden sense of curiosity in her voice.
"U-um…you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." Elle muttered while she smiled back at her crush despite their difference in status.
"I demand that you tell me anyhow. I will be keeping you from this moment forward as my servant. You will hide nothing from me. Is that understood, girl?" Azula remarked while gazing down at the timid girl with imposing amber golden eyes.
And then to the princess's surprise the girl fell forward onto the floor of her carriage with her face pressing into the flooring.
As she beamed up at her with a tear now streaming down her cheek.
It went without saying that she was not expecting such a joyful reaction to servitude.
"Wakarimashita!" Elle cheered as she hunched over on the floor with the princess inspecting her with fascinated amber golden eyes.
"I will take that as a yes." Azula stated calmly while peering down at her new pet with an amused look in her controlling eyes.
"Sure! I'm a simple soul, Your Highness. I am not much for hiding anything. Of course, I'll tell you!" Elle chirped while peering up at the older girl's imposing face.
"I am certain that this will be revelation that will shake the land. Go on." Azula ordered while waving her hand before her as she fixed the girl with a stern stare.
"I think I'm from another land that isn't on your maps." Elle blurted out while remaining prostrated upon the floor as she beamed up at Azula while the woman gazed down at her with stunned amber eyes.
"What?" Azula breathed in a taken aback voice while gazing down at the peasant girl with a surprised stare.
That was not anywhere close to what she had been expecting the girl to say.
"Yep! I had never even heard of the Fire Nation until about a month ago. I ran away from…home. And then I somehow wound up here." Elle stated as she peered up at the beautiful woman's bewildered countenance.
"And you have no idea how that came to be?" Azula asked with an incredulous countenance while she leaned onto her knees as she scrutinized the young girl.
"Nope! I'm clueless!" Elle exclaimed as she shrugged while beaming all the while up at Azula's deadpan visage.
"I…see." Azula sighed while folding her hands in her lap with a mildly disappointed demeanor about her.
For a moment there she almost thought that the girl would possibly have knowledge that would benefit the Fire Nation's efforts in winning the war.
Though it was intriguing to consider the possibility that other lands may very well exist.
Although it remains to be seen if there was validity to the girl's words.
If there was one thing that she could tell...it was that this peasant girl had yet to tell a lie.
In all her life she has never seen anyone this transparent!
"So, after I got wherever I was I decided to start wandering. I figured I may as well get used to it." Elle commented while the young woman stared down at her seemingly pleased by her prolonged bowing.
"You just aimlessly wandered about?" Azula scoffed while studying the peasant girl's nodding face.
If nothing else the girl understood that it was proper conduct to prostrate when in the presence of royalty.
"That's so. That is until I saw the most beautiful girl there is. I-I have never seen a woman so divine…I just had to give you a flower." Elle confessed as she turned away averting her eyes with a blush trailing down her cheeks.
Azula glanced down at the bowing girl with her cold countenance expressing traces of a rare flattery in her usually cruel stare.
Simple was indeed an apt way of putting this naïve girl.
And yet there was something about her that was oddly endearing.
It was both baffling and pleasing at the same time to hear that this girl put more effort in delivering her a fire lily than doing something more constructive to better her situation.
"I am aware, peasant. There is no girl more beautiful than myself." Azula boasted while puffing out her chest as she smirked down at the damp peasant girl.
"H-her Highness is the most beautiful of them all…" Elle trailed off in a stutter that the princess was becoming fonder with.
If one looked close enough. They would have seen the faintest signs of a blush on Azula's cheeks.
It was subtle but it was there.
"So…you chose to abandon any thoughts of returning…to wherever it is that you came from…in favor of gazing upon me?" Azula purred as she tilted her head with an entertained gleam in her eyes.
"T-that is so, Princess." Elle answered while pushing her face back into the floor as she closed her eyes expressing her reverence for the lovely woman.
'What a strange girl indeed…but once I clean her up…this peasant will make for a rather pretty pet. A golden pet.' Azula thought as she began to rub her chin thoughtfully with her lips curving into a smile.
"Listen well, girl. Consider yourself fortunate that you caught my eye. I have decided to keep you as my pet." Azula announced bluntly in a domineering voice as she stared down at the girl's kneeling form almost as if she was daring her to protest.
Though to her surprise the girl simply smiled brightly up at her.
"Sure! I'm the princess's pet now." Elle agreed happily while Azula peered down at her with her lips curving into a smirk.
"It pleases me that you are quick to accept the situation. For your sake you had best hope that you never displease me. I do not like to be letdown." Azula sneered as her hands gripped her knees enjoying how the girl trembled before her.
"Yes, Princess. I will be a good girl." Elle assured as she returned to pushing her face against the floor while the carriage moved about in the rain.
"You had better peasant. As soon as we return…you will get yourself cleaned up and present yourself to me within one hour. Your training begins thereafter…" Azula remarked stonily as she tapped a finger on her knee.
"As you say, Azula-sama. Always as you say." Elle spoke softly while peering down at the floor.
"Azula-sama?" Azula pondered with another tilt of her head as she surveyed her new acquisition with growing excitement in her eyes.
Her new lovely little golden pet.
"It is an honorific that roughly translates to Lord Azula. From one of my native languages." Elle explained while Azula glanced down with clear approval in her controlling eyes.
"Hm. I see. Very well, servant. You may address me as such if you like. Though…do be sure to get that smell off of you." Azula commented as she scrunched her nose up while Elle flushed in embarrassment.
"I-I will." Elle mumbled lamely as she sunk into the floor like a puppy that realized that she displeased her owner.
"Good. You smell like a wet sheep-dog. You have been playing out in the rain for far too long." Azula snorted while glaring down at her new pet with domineering amber golden eyes.
"S-sumimasen, Azula-sama. I am s-sorry." Elle stammered pitifully while the woman rolled her elegant eyes down at her.
"Now I want silence for the remainder of the ride…I have some thoughts to consider. Just…be a good pet, and let me think." Azula sighed while brushing her hair out of her eyes while gazing down at her drenched pet.
Elle speedily nodded before sinking into the floor while shivering periodically due to her damp state.
Being the pet of a beautiful princess was much better than dying of hunger in the streets.
The twinge of a blush formed on her innocent cheeks as she hid in the floor.
It most certainly was.
Azula quietly peered down at her new handmaid with cold amber eyes before gazing away through the window of her royal carriage.
The palace loomed over the horizon while she silently pondered just what it was about this peasant that somehow…drew a shred of her pity.
For some reason she felt as if it was more than just her golden hair.
She really was not certain…
But she knew that she was most surely keeping her.
Yes, indeed she was.
Her very own little golden pet.
AN:
I decided that it would make for a more interesting story if Elle was from another world. It adds more plot lines to explore in the future than if she was from the Fire Nation. Details such as how she got there, and the connection between both worlds will be unravel as the story progresses.
Elle's world is from an Earth that was once much like our own, but eventually diverged down a distinctly different path that will be explored as the story unfolds.
Also, I do not speak Japanese, so I apologize if Elle's tendency to sometimes talk in Japanese offends anyone.
Elle is a girl of Eurasian descent, and her mother was of mixed English and Japanese heritage. Elle can speak well in Japanese, but she is still learning to speak it more fluently.
I also want to take a moment to lay out the language system for the story which will largely follow the canon language structure.
In canon the people of the Avatar world seem to somehow be speaking English, while writing in a form of written Chinese.
In almost all crossover media, and any story involving people from other world's meeting one another, there is usually some sort of question in the plot as to how they speak the same language.
Some people tend to analyze that sort of thing, and I can understand why.
But I can also understand that it's sort of something you have to look past in reading fanfiction.
I mean, think about it. If Naruto, Luffy, or any other anime character is sent to another world. How would they speak to the inhabitants of that world? How do you know they share the same language?
At the same time, it presents a major plot barrier. If you say they speak a different language then you are stuck having to create some magical plot device that allows Naruto or whoever to automatically learn the new language in the snap of a finger.
I don't like that and I find it silly. That is almost worse than stating that they speak the same or similar language.
So, here is my official explanation for the language system, both verbal and written.
In the Avatar world, in my story they speak a form of verbal English. But because those terms don't exist in the Avatar world. We'll just call it the common tongue.
For the sake of simplicity, Elle's spoken English is similar to the Avatar world's common tongue.
And despite the Fire Nation being largely based off Imperial Japan, we saw in the show that their written language is in Chinese.
Azula isn't familiar with Japanese terminology, because the Japanese language as we know it is foreign to the Avatar world. And that is why Azula was unfamiliar with Elle's Japanese honorific.
And just as we saw in canon, the global written language system is a form of written Chinese. This will be called common calligraphy.
So, let's do a quick recap.
The people of the Avatar world speak a global common tongue, which again is similar to our spoken English.
And their global written language is common calligraphy, which is written Chinese.
Azula, and the others will learn to read, and write in standard English writings as the story unfolds. And later on, when we get further into the story, Azula will learn Japanese as well.
I just wanted to clarify that right out of the gate.
I hope this helps people understand a few things. Thanks for reading!