"Cousin!"
Lu Ten turned his head around to see Azula, his eight year old cousin racing toward him, standing in a firebending form; he chuckled at her sudden appearance, thinking that she wanted to spar with him, to try and stop him from leaving the Capital with his father.
"You can't leave without my permission." she declared confidently, the Prince scoffing at her words.
"And how exactly do you intend to stop me, Princess Azula?" he asked her, before she threw a fireball above his right shoulder, perhaps as a warning of what was to come.
"By beating you in a duel. If an eight year old can beat you... then you won't stand a chance against those dirty earth peasants."
"Okay, I see your point." he considered, amused by the fact that she could give a rather reasonable argument; if she could beat him, he certainly would need to reconsider his training regime, "How about you test me then? Father doesn't want me on the ship until sundown."
"Face my fury!" she proclaimed, before breathing out a stream of flames, which impressively soared above his head.
"Oh, so you're using Dad's move." he noted, Azula crossing her arms in defiance.
"I learnt it myself!" she declared, obviously not wanting him to think she'd learned it from Iroh; it wasn't like he ever taught her much firebending- he was much more interested in her Pai Sho skills than her bending.
She then proceeded to leap forward, sending a fireball toward Lu Ten, who weaved out of the way, before taking his own stance, "Okay, then, I believe you." he gave her a reassuring smile.
That smile was only momentary, as he immediately moved into his fighting mindset. He thrust his fist forward, sending a quick jab her way; she squatted his flames like they were a bug, before she swung her foot out toward him, sending a wave of flames right toward his head. He ducked under her attack, before making a low, sweeping kick, sending flames from his foot, a rather simple move. Azula jumped over the attack, taking advantage of her other great skill- acrobatics. She landed on her hands, which was impressive enough, before she aimed her feet right at his head. He raised his arms up in front of him, blocking the stream of flames she sent out of her feet; he stumbled back from the force of the attack, retaking his stance as she continued her relentless assault, spinning herself around to land back on her feet before she sent a quick succession of jabs in his direction. He was able to block them, seeing that they were all aimed for his torso, before he raised a wall of flames between him and his cousin; with her field of view blocked, he was able to take advantage of the situation, stepping to the side before forming an arc of flames which cut through his own defences. He didn't hear a yelp or any kind of response from Azula, and was shocked when his defences were dispersed, her little hands continuing to send out impressive amounts of fire in his direction.
"I thought you were tougher, Lu Ten!" she smirked at him, the Prince trembling as he was forced to go on the defensive, blocking each of her fireballs as they increased in pace and irregularity, now aiming to strike his peripheries.
"Don't try and wake the dragon." he warned her, before raising his right leg up, making a high kick toward her chest; she ducked under his attack, though he'd expected that.
Lu Ten then charged a fireball up in his right hand, thrusting it along before he released it right at her abdomen, throwing her back. She grunted as she fell down onto the stone tiles, but immediately pulled her legs back. He was forced to duck under the fire streams she sent out of her soles, which were surprisingly potent; it was rare to see anyone who could do much more than a small jets from their feet, while his cousin had the strength in her soles to probably launch herself into the air as if she were a mythic airbender, those who were refuted to be able to glide through the air like any ordinary man or woman would swim through water. He moved back into form once she return to standing on her feet, and then raised his arms, blocking the next fireball she sent his way; Azula then stepped to his side, before jabbing him in the gut, making Lu Ten grunt as he stumbled back, reorienting his stance to make sure she didn't get behind him. When she reached forward to land a flame covered hand on his chest, he made use of his longer arms, grasping her by the wrist, stopping his cousin in her tracks.
"Oh..." she mumbled, her eyes darting up to meet his own, "This is the part where you'd kill the earth peasant, right?"
"Uh... yeah." he nodded, somewhat uneased by his cousin's talk of death; for an eight year old, she was rather focused on the war and the things that came with it- mostly the undesirable parts.
She pulled her right arm free of his grip, before she crossed both of them, looking at him with an impressed look; it was as if she were the master and not the student- though she was a prodigy, Azula still had a lot to learn before she'd be a master of their bending art.
"Good job, Cousin. I'm sure you'll go great in the war." she complimented him, making the young Prince smile, appreciative of her support; though he wouldn't admit it to her, he felt nervous to be jing his father on the front, even though it had been his dream for years.
"Just stay away from the boulders; I heard they're huge and can crush a person just like that." she imitated the motion of a boulder crushing a person with her hands, her closed fist the boulder and two fingers the helpless Fire Nation soldier- him, in this context; Lu Ten gulped, before placing an affirmative hand on her shoulder, appreciative of the thought she put into her advice, despite how it made him feel.
"I'll keep that in mind, Azula."
"I apologise for my tardiness, my niece. I simply wanted to see you off."
Azula turned around to face the Fire Lord, who had still only be enthroned that afternoon; in the span of that afternoon, he had called on a ship and recruited some of the finest men, at least in his opinion, to serve on her ship, which was a Royal Barge, the kind that he himself would travel in if he were to visit the colonies, for example. She thought she ought to bow, perhaps out of respect, but instead, before she could say a word, her uncle gave her a hug. It was a tight one at that, and she became uneased by the knowledge that the detachment of Imperial Firebenders who had come to protect her had just seen her Uncle embrace her like she was a little girl.
As soon as she could get free of his grip, she did, and she dusted down her robes, instinctively checking her hair to make sure it was in place; she couldn't be looking dishevelled, especially when she was just about to take command of a ship, "There is no need to apologise, Uncle. You are the Fire Lord now."
"I guess I do have a few extra privileges." he chuckled to himself, before glancing back toward her, with the same warm smile he had been baring that afternoon when she first spoke to him, just after his coronation, "I truly hope you have a successful journey. You may find more than you expect out there."
"I don't think there are any more lesser people to go subjugate, if that's what you were thinking." she noted, knowing of course, her uncle wouldn't be thinking about that; even if he was the Fire Lord, he was still Uncle Iroh- he had given up fighting after Ba Sing Se, after what happened to her cousin, "Unless you wanted me to go conquer Omashu for you?"
Her uncle shook his head, obviously having come up with something else, "I was more thinking along the lines of learning about the world. There is much more to see than what the Fire Nation's education system has provided you with. Even the best tutors haven't visited uninhabited islands, the poles or even the Air Temples." he acknowledged, the Princess nodding along.
He did have a good point- she was going to go to places most people wouldn't dream of going, and not in the positive sense; there was really no reason to go visit such places unless once was intending to find the Avatar, which she was.
"You are right. There is much to see, and many places to scour. I'm sure you've seen a few of them already." she acknowledged, her uncle nodding, his expression shifting to a serious one.
"Yes, I have. I have already sent a list of locations and their coordinates that will be of interest for your search. There may not be that much for you to find, but I'm sure you might be able to learn something of the Avatar's whereabouts."
"What would have changed in the forty or so years since you went on your journey, Uncle?"
"The Avatar must have gotten a lot older. Avatars are extremely powerful benders and are refuted to have long lifespans, but that doesn't mean they don't age." he acknowledged, "Not that anyone has sighted him. For all I know, he could be in the Spirit World."
"Would he escape aging there?" she furrowed a brow, knowing of all people, her uncle knew a fair bit about the spirits and their domain- people could supposedly reach it, and he had, though it was a dangerous place.
"Maybe. Perhaps he might be stuck there." he acknowledged, "But I have a feeling he must be alive, somewhere in our world." he added; the way he spoke of it made it sound like he had some authority on the matter.
She didn't know what kinds of spirits he had communicated with on his spiritual journey four years earlier, but she guessed that they might have known something about the Avatar's whereabouts.
"I don't mean to intrude, but would you have any idea how to best communicate with these entities. I personally doubt their powers, but if you say they are far greater than humans, then I think they'd be the best call for finding the master of the elements."
"Uh..." his eyes widened, obviously not expecting such a forward question, "I will have to console with the Fire Sages on such matters, but I can send you a letter as soon as I can on whatever I can find from them."
"I thank you for your forward-thinking, Uncle." she made a small smile, before turning her heels, "If that's all, I think I'll go meet my new crew."
"Oh, I ought to formally introduce you." Iroh stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest, "It is my honour as your uncle and as the Fire Lord to do so."
"Go ahead." she gestured up the metal boarding plank, which her Uncle began to stride up, the Imperial Firebenders bowing to him in deference as he made his way past them.
She followed on after him, and after her came the guards who two a two by two formation. When she reached the deck, she saw everybody that had been onboard, moving around supplies and getting everything ready for departure, now still, kneeling in respect to their Fire Lord.
"I thank you all for your service to our great nation." he smiled at them with open arms, "I apologise for having you all mobilised on such short notice, but my niece, she desired to leave as soon as possible." he explained, making her twitch; he was almost blaming her for his own decision, and even if what he said was true, that didn't mean she wasn't offended, "I hope you can serve her with honour and distinction. This is a great honour, to go on a journey to find the Avatar." he explained, before he gestured to Azula, who was now standing on deck, behind him, "Please, I'd like you to show your respects to my niece, Princess Azula."
The crew members stood up, now giving her a more respectful bow; as with everything in the FIre Nation, different degrees of authority awarded one with differing degrees of respect. She was not getting the welcome of a Fire Lord, or the Crown Prince, but of a mere royal, which was less respectful than the one her uncle had received, even if she was fourth in line to the throne.
"Thank you, Uncle." she made her own bow toward him, appreciative of his words, no matter how they might have skewed her first impression with the crew, before she turned toward her new crew, "I hope to lead you across the world, so that we can find the great enemy of our nation. I will not fail, and any failure from any one of you will be dealt with accordingly. Is that understood?"
"Yes, your highness." all of them spoke at once, their voices going over each other, though they all spoke quietly enough that she could simply smile at their act of deference rather than be annoyed by it.
"Now, I want this ship ready to leave port by sundown." she explained, gesturing to their west, to the sun, which sat a little bit above the horizon; within the hour, the sun would be gone and the light of day would fade into twilight, "So I suggest you all hurry yourselves along." she warned them, raising her hand up, gesturing for them to begin; they did just that, moving into a flurry, taking crates across the tent and down into the brig, and moving bags of armour, food and other essential supplies into their hold.
"I think you've got the commanding part down pat, my niece." Iroh commended her, making her look at him with surprise; for someone who was reputed to be so nice, she was surprised he approved of her style of leadership, "Though, it can help to give an inch of kindness to your crew."
She raised her chin up, feeling that she shouldn't address that matter specifically; if word of that got to her father, she might find herself in some strife, even if it was only through coldly worded letters instead of his actual voice.
"I'll treat them how they ought to be treated." she simply declared, "They are here to serve. If they serve me well, they will earn my respect, otherwise, my ire."
"I understand." her uncle nodded, trying to keep a straight face; he obviously didn't agree, but starting an argument with her would not end well; that was something she was rather skilled at, having tested her skills out regularly on her elder brother, who seemed to find it his duty to question everything she did, "Did you want to ask me anything else before you set off?"
"No, Uncle." she admitted, before narrowing her eyes in thought; she could ask anything of him now, seeing that he was the Fire Lord, "I do want to ask something of you, though."
"Oh?" he raised a brow, "Another request?" he tried to hold back a laugh, "Was the ship and crew not enough?"
"This doesn't have to do with the Avatar, Uncle." she warned him, before stepping ahead onto the deck, so she wasn't looking him in the eye; she didn't want him to try and read her emotions, not when it might adversely affect his response, "The Fire Nation has won." she simply acknowledged the fact of the matter, "Don't make the mistake of growing complacent in our victory." she warned him, hoping that he would read between the lines.
"I've made that mistake before." he conceded, Azula turning around to face him, seeing the bittersweet look on his face.
Maybe he was speaking of what happened to Lu Ten; she had never learned the details, not wanting to anger her Uncle. He mightn't have been like her father, but supposedly, when he wanted to, her uncle was one of the best fighters alive, despite his appearance as a lazy and jovial old man.
"Now, I must be off, Uncle. I hope that your reign is as prosperous as that of your father." she bowed to him in respect, as a final farewell, Iroh looking at her with an appreciative smile.
"We will see." he conceded, obviously unsure exactly where things were heading, both for their nation, and more specifically, for their family.
Those words proved to her she was aware of the circumstances as he was; anti-Fire Nation forces would want to have him and the other members of the royal family killed for their role in the war, and his own brother would likely want to take the throne from under his feet, whether subversely or through an open revolt- the latter was admittedly not her father's style. He had taught to be cautious, to wait and listen for what one's enemies decided to do, and act with the power of knowledge. Prince Ozai would not go storming into the throne room and demand an Agni Kai with the Fire Lord; that was a quick way to a painful death by her uncle's irrefutably powerful lightning generation skills.
She turned around, facing the bridge of her ship, which took the form of a pagoda, "I must thank you for the ship. It is quite suitable for someone of my rank."
"That is the purpose for which it was built, my niece." he conceded, before his attention was drawn, along with her own, from the sound of annoyed voices down by the end of the boarding plank.
"Excuse me? Do you know who we are?" she heard the cry of an elderly woman's voice; Lo and Li had arrived, and were obviously offended by the guards standing in their way.
"That must be your firebending instructors." Iroh concluded correctly, turning around to face the plank, raising a hand, "Let them aboard!" he commanded, the guards stepping out of the way.
The twins made their way up the ship, hunched over, wearing their thick, dark red robes that covered them from the neck down. They looked rather annoyed, and given that there was not a palanquin waiting by the end of the pier, she assumed they had had to walk some portion of the way there. That would put anybody in a bad mood, especially if one was as ancient as them. When they reached the top of the plank, they bowed in deference to her uncle, their new Fire Lord.
"Your majesty." they both deferred to him with smiles on their faces; not of happiness, but as if they wanted to earn his favour.
"Good evening. I hope that you two will take good care of my niece's training while she is away."
"We certainly will." they both spoke up again, before Lo went on by herself.
"The Princess is the most prodigious firebender in a generation." she began, her sister taking over.
"She will study her forms and techniques well."
"By the time she returns, she will be a firebending master." the two sisters concluded at once, Iroh nodding along, seeming a little unnerved by their manner of speaking.
"That is what I like to hear. Do not ignore the other aspects of her training. She is a Princess as well as a great firebender." he turned to face her, Azula pursing her lips upward; she did like that her uncle appreciated her other skills, even the trivial ones, like her ability to go toe to toe with him in a Pai Sho game.
"We will not." they bowed in respect, before they shuffled along toward the bridge; they momentarily turned back to face the Princess, "We will commence your sets tomorrow morning on the deck."
"Brilliant. I'll have a whole arena to myself." she glanced around at the size of the metal deck which sat between the bridge of the ship and its bow; the two elderly instructors continued along toward the bridge, obviously intending to retire to their quarters- they were old, after all, and probably needed to get a good amount of rest before they began her instructions the next morning.
"I have a feeling you might enjoy this journey." her uncle commented, making her chuckle.
"I may." she conceded, pursing her lips upward, "It all depends on what results of it."
He nodded, before turning his eyes toward the plank, "I best head back to the palace. I'm sure I have some reports to look at, now that I'm the Fire Lord."
"Oh, then what were you doing this afternoon?" she asked him, the Dragon of the West gesturing around the deck.
"Other than procuring this magnificent ship? Uh, I meditated and spoke with your brother."
"What did Zuzu have to say?" she asked, knowing that any mention of her brother and whatever he had to say was worth pursuing; he mightn't have been her father, but her brother still had a knack for his secrets.
"That he was in disbelief over your decision." he acknowledged, the Princess holding back a scoff.
That was probably the most reasonable reaction, coming from the boy who thought that she wanted to spend the next few years of their lives constantly undermining him. However, that didn't mean she wouldn't do that; she intended to overturn the line of succession in a less direct fashion.
"I'm not surprised." she noted, her uncle placing his hands together, looking out toward the horizon idly.
"Neither am I."
Hearing a knock on her door, Mai raised a brow; it was nearly dinner time, so she was confused why anyone would be at her room; she considered perhaps the servants had come around to clean her room, and stood up, sighing as she realised she'd have to deal with people. Though school had been cancelled, due to a day of mourning of the death of Fire Lord Azulon, that didn't mean her father was going to tolerate her being idle. He told her to do some work that she had left over from the day prior; just some essay for her history class. She hated it, forced to write about something that didn't concern her in the slightest; it was an essay about some campaign by Fire Lord Sozin, which she had been allocated to write. Each of the girls had to write something about an important historical event in the Fire Nation's history, though with the oddities of their education system, it meant she would have to recount something about the war- that was all there was in the mind of her teacher, or really, any teacher. She stepped over to the door, and pulled it open, surprised to see that it was not a servant, or even her mother or father, but Prince Zuko; he had a serious look on his face, which suggested he'd come over to talk about their struggles rather than anything happy or amusing, which she'd honestly prefer, even if she would never admit it to him.
"Hi, Mai." he simply addressed her, before he narrowed his eyes at her, "Did you hear about Azula?"
She raised a brow, confused what he was talking about; she'd spoken to Azula yesterday, when they'd been in class together, but that was it; she didn't seem out of the ordinary then, so she was concerned as to what might have happened since.
"What?" she asked him, not letting her lips falter, or her eyes move away, "What happened to Azula?"
"She's leaving the capital tonight." he explained, Mai cocking one eyebrow up, thinking that was an interesting turn of events.
"Is she going on a holiday?"
"Oh, I guess you could call it that." he raised a finger up to his chin, "She's going on a journey to find the Avatar."
"The same Avatar nobody's seen for a hundred years?" she questioned him once more, just to be sure he wasn't joking around.
The Avatar was so mythic to the world at that point that she thought he was just playing with her; Zuko did, despite his appearances, actually have a sense of humour, though it wasn't the best one around.
"Yep. A stupid idea, if you ask me." he crossed his arms, Mai remaining unamused by his comment.
"I didn't ask. I know that already." she rolled her eyes, already having presumed that from what she learned of the Avatar from school.
Fire Lord Sozin, and all of his heirs, barring Zuko, Azula and their dead cousin, had gone looking for the Avatar at some point; it was brought up to talk about the royal family's traditions, which she had a bit more personal knowledge on, given her relationships with both royal siblings.
She stepped out of his way and gestured over to her bed, "You can sit down, I guess. Was that all you had to come and talk about?" she asked him bluntly, just wanting to be sure she wasn't getting into more than she bargained for; her friendship, if she could call it that, with Zuko, could bring issue at times, seeing that she had been told things that were probably things that nobody outside of the royal family and the Fire Lord's inner circle would know.
"No, not just that." he admitted, "My father was perfectly fine with it." he acknowledged, making her raise a brow.
"Did he tell you that?" she asked the Prince, who sat himself down on the edge of her bed.
"No, I'm just good at eavesdropping." he added with a small smirk.
She let a smile out, amused by his behaviour; for someone who feared his father quite a lot, he was quite sneaky and rebellious.
"You aren't going around, dressing up and listening in to all of his private meetings, are you?" she asked him, already knowing that he had a knack for leaving the palace secretly; a few times he'd shown up at her house, and he even got her a mask and disguise, just so they could hang out around the capital without either of their parents looking over their shoulders.
"No, no, not all of them." he assured her, though he still admitted it, "He doesn't want me learning the ways of being a Prince, so I had to improvise in some areas."
"What's he going to do now?" she dared to ask, finding herself intrigued a little further; Zuko mostly conflicted with Azula over the right of who ought to be their father's heir, which made sense, given his seniority and her skills as a firebender and strategist, "You're the only heir he's got around if Azula's off on her impossible quest."
"I'll wait and listen to what he has to say- not to me, but to his entourage." he admitted, making her raise a brow; he was speaking of things like his father had a conspiracy planned- she didn't know too much about Prince Ozai, but such a scenario was disturbingly believable.
"Do you really think he's going to do anything... extreme?" she asked him, the Prince tensing up; she glanced out toward the window, considering what she already knew.
"He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants." he referred apocryphally to the situation that she already understood; Prince Ozai desired to be Fire Lord Ozai, and since the only thing between him and the throne was the fact his brother was alive, suggested to her that Zuko's father would commit treason of the highest order.
"I don't really know your uncle, but everyone I speak to holds him in high regard." she admitted, "Do you think they'll stand for... that?"
"I don't know." he admitted, though she was unsure if he was speaking truthfully; for all she knew, Zuko could already have a good idea of what his father wanted to do, and simply didn't want to tell her, out of fear that it might not end well for her to know such things.
"And what about Azula?" she asked him, unsure then why Ozai would let his daughter leave, especially considering that she was the favoured child.
"She's out of the way. Unlike Father, she actually respects Uncle. She would see his moves from a mile away, and maybe she'd warn him."
"Are you going to tell him?"
Zuko fell silent, and Mai felt a shiver down her spine; the Prince loved his uncle, she knew that, but how willing he was to sacrifice his own safety in his name, she did not know. He was willing to tell her things, but he didn't want to put her in danger; perhaps it'd be more dangerous to reveal his father's intentions and force him to enact his plans far more forcefully. All she could be certain of, was that despite the ceremonies, Fire Lord Azulon had not been succeeded by his son and heir, Crown Prince Iroh; he had left his home in disarray, and with one spark, it'd be burnt down in an inferno comparable to the mythic throne he had sat upon.
