"What are you doing here, Azula?"

The Princess pursed her lips upward, suggesting to Mai that she did have something to discuss; it wasn't like her to show up without reason, though she wouldn't be surprised if she simply wanted somebody to talk to. Ty Lee wasn't around, having gone off to the circus a few months prior, so she considered that perhaps Azula was bored and wanted to socialise. Of course, she'd never said she was bored, and would argue that she was always trying to become a better Princess, and that she trained and prepared herself for leadership every single day. She knew that would be a lie, but she would say it, no matter what.

"Oh, can't I have a chat with my friend?" she asked her, making her roll her eyes; she had no issue with them talking, but Azula going all the way to her house, presumably by herself, was a little out of the ordinary.

"You can." she confirmed, before gesturing toward her bed, "You can sit there, if you want." she suggested; she heeded her suggestion, and sat down, and the Princess turned back her way, looking rather pleased with herself- perhaps it was good news.

"Did something happen?"

"Well, nothing's happened yet." she noted, before her expression became more serious, "My grandfather is quite ill at the moment. Uncle says he might only have a few days left."

"The Fire Lord is about to die?" she asked her, finding herself surprised that they were discussing that matter of all things; from what she knew, Azula didn't like her grandfather, though his death was obviously important, given it would push her up the line of succession.

"Well, I don't know." she admitted honestly, "But I assume so." she acknowledged, before smirking, "I'll be third in line to the throne."

"I know that." Mai retorted, having already heard it a million times; the Princess was excited to be getting closer to the throne, and thus, the responsibilities she believed to be afforded to her, ignoring the fact she was fourteen years old, "Is that what you're here to talk about? Being more important?"

"Not really." she clarified, "I actually wanted to know how you are going."

She narrowed her eyes, finding the question to be rather suspicious; she didn't think Azula to have much ill intent in asking it, but she knew that she liked to snoop around- what exactly she wanted to know was beyond her.

"That's... an odd question of you to ask." she admitted, before gesturing to her desk, which she was standing beside, "School work, you know... the same boring stuff I've been doing for the past nine years." she clarified, before sighing, "My father's been grumbling about not being nominated for his plan to take Omashu. You know, because he thinks he's a master strategist."

"He's not terrible." Azula acknowledged, before chuckling, "I did snoop over some of his documents a few weeks ago."

"Of course you did." she noted, "Has your Uncle mentioned Omashu? Who's taking charge of the operation?"

"No." she shook her head, "It's not really the kind of thing my uncle and I would discuss. I'd assume that the war council is taking control of the operations." she clarified, before pursing her lips upward, "You didn't want to discuss the military strategies of the Fire Nation Army with me, did you?"

"Well, when my father doesn't shut up about it, it's a little hard to get out of my head." she admitted, the Princess raising her chin up slightly.

"A bit like firebending."

"Lo and Li, or your father?" she asked, the Princess cringing slightly; obviously she was in a rather similar situation, except it wasn't her father's career, but the expectations Prince Ozai held of her.

"All of them." she admitted, before raising her hand up, looking at her nails "I prefer my military history tutorials, because at least I'm not hearing the same things over and over again. Lo and Li can be such bores at times."

"They're two old ladies who like to creepily speak over the top of each other." Mai observed, "I'd prefer to listen to a crying baby."

"How is Tom-Tom? I didn't see him when I walked in."

"He must be sleeping." she deduced, before narrowing her eyes; her baby brother wasn't that annoying, though it was a little unusual to be dealing with a baby when she was already a teenager- she'd never had a sibling before, and watching her mother coddle him, she would almost say she was jealous, "And he's alright. He's a happy baby, always laughing and playing with stuff he shouldn't be."

"Ah, so you have that in common." Azula noted, making Mai furrow a brow; she certainly wasn't happy as a child, at least not openly, and by the time she reached adolescence, she had grown to be stoic and serious, the kind of image that her friend told her she wished could emulate- it took practice and a unhealthy amount of fear, so she had told her that it was not the right thing to wish for.

"I wasn't happy." she argued, the Princess raising a finger.

"No, I meant the playing with stuff you shouldn't be. I have a great memory of an eight year old Mai stealing cutlery from the school's canteen to throw them like darts." she reminded her, making her smile, if only for a moment.

"Well, I was bored. You bullying the other girls into submission got boring pretty quickly." she argued, making the Princess smirk.

"I think you chose a brilliant hobby. I assume your father doesn't approve of it."

"He's more concerned about me trying to stab someone if I get annoyed. He fails to understand that I don't lose my cool."

"If you did, you wouldn't be Mai. You'd be Zuko." she clarified, making her cringe; the Fire Nation Prince was quite a reactive and temperamental person, at least in comparison to his sister.

"He gets angry about two things. Firebending and..." she began, before cutting herself off, knowing she shouldn't mention the second thing he would claim to be the source of his frustrations- his own father.

"Father." Azula deduced, Mai not even having to finish her sentence for her to figure it out, "He's just jealous."

"I know he is." she agreed with her, before she glanced over to the window, "He's not even that bad at firebending."

"Well, he's not great either." Azula argued, "I'm far better, and you know it. Everybody knows it."

"Maybe I should warn him about Lo and Li. Then maybe he wouldn't be so jealous." she suggested, making the Princess laugh.

"Oh, he doesn't like getting chided, so he'd hate that." she noted, before raising a finger to her chin, "Has he been complaining to you much lately?"

"The usual." she admitted, her straight face faltering for a moment; Zuko was getting worse when it came to his jealousy over Azula, and she had a feeling that if nothing was done about it, things would flare up sooner or later, "He went on a tirade about something your father said about Lu Ten. He's obviously on edge."

"Grandfather is about to die. He knows that my father doesn't want uncle to be the Fire Lord." she stated, as if it was a well-understood fact; Mai didn't discuss such matters with Zuko, but she was rather surprised how willing Azula was to address it.

Her eyes narrowed momentarily and she looked over toward the window, "And with what he said about Lu Ten... I can agree with Zuko."

"That your father was wrong to say he was a failure?" she asked, the Princess nodding.

"My cousin fought for his country. He died in the name of our victory over the Earth Kingdom. My father hasn't fought for his nation like Lu Ten did." she admitted, before narrowing her eyes; she seemed to be rather angry about it, but she was keeping her cool- she wasn't as good as Mai, however, and she could see through the cracks of her visage of coolness.

"So, you two can agree on something." she noted, making the Princess chuckle.

"I think Lu Ten is about the only thing we can agree on." she admitted, the sound of pain in her voice audible; whether it was the fact her brother hated and despised her for no good reason, or that her cousin had died in the first place, Azula was not happy.

She hadn't really seemed to be happy since then, at least not how she had once been. She could almost say Azula was cheery and bright-eyed when she was a little girl, but the girl before her was a shadow of that; pent up with feelings of sadness, fear and anger, all tied up with her cousin and how her family life had turned out. Mai was lucky, given that her parents, though strict and demanding of her, didn't seem to get worse; if anything, her mother and father had become softer, and a little more considerate, ever since Tom-Tom was born, though that was probably because they were more focused on him, and thus, were more lenient. Maybe it was because they cared less about her, but she decided to push that thought away.

"Mai, you seem troubled." Azula observed, and she narrowed her eyes; she wasn't going to falter in front of Azula- she didn't want her to think any less of her, to think that she couldn't handle what life had thrown her way.

"I'm fine." she retorted, perhaps a little too snappily, as her friend straightened her posture, and seemed more intrigued; she didn't press the issue, however, and turned her gaze toward the door.

"I want to get out of here." she admitted, Mai raising a brow.

"My room?" she asked her, before smirking slightly, "Did you want to go off and make some trouble?"

"Well, I didn't mean your room." she admitted, "I want to get out of the palace."

"Are your tutors really that annoying?" she asked her, making the Princess snicker.

"Well, they'd follow me anyway. I don't think I'm going to get out of my firebending training even if I left the palace." she argued, before her expression became more serious, "But I do want to go out there. I need to serve my country."

Mai furrowed a brow, realising that those words were rather euphemistic; service to the Fire Nation could only mean one thing, "In the war?" she asked her, the Princess shaking her head.

"There's not much of a war left to fight. I know that there's things that need to be dealt with, however." she admitted, before smiling, "Hopefully I can make use of my uncle's future position as Fire Lord."

"What, are you going to ask him for an army?" she asked, amused by the rather absurd, but realistic possibility.

"No, just a ship." she admitted, before rising up to her feet, "I best leave you to your homework, it sounds like you've still got some to deal with."

"Urgh." she rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me." she sighed, looking over to her desk for a moment before she turned her gaze back to her friend, "I guess this is goodbye. Are you going to make any more unexpected visits?"

"Well, if I told you about them, they wouldn't be unexpected, would they?" she suggested, before striding toward the door, "I may. We'll see what happens in the next few days."

"A coronation and a funeral." she deduced, given what she had said earlier, making the Princess raise a finger to her chin.

"How do you think I'll look in white?" she asked, making Mai narrow her eyes.

"I'm really not the person to be asking about fashion advice."

"You like dark red, and that's about it." Azula observed, before she made a smug smile, "Well, I think it might look pretty." she suggested, before she raised her hand up to clarify, "Not that I think it'll be better than my royal armour."

"Do you even have an excuse to wear that?" she asked the Princess, who pursed her lips upward.

"I just might, soon enough."


Azula understood that emotion and firebending were well and truly intertwined; one could not have firebending without emotions, and yet, with too much, or too erratic an emotional state, one might find oneself unable to control one's firebending. She was in control. but barely, as she trained with her guards; the thoughts of what had happened to her uncle were running through her mind, and she kept imagining what she was going to do to those responsible. She wanted to remain calm, and focus on keeping her breathing steady, but she couldn't help herself; the emotions were boiling away inside of her, demanding to let out.

So, she let those feelings loose, in the form of flames coursing from her hands, mouth and soles; each form she used was more powerful than she expected, and she compensated by trying to limit the size of her attacks. It didn't do her much good as she continued to batter her guards; they were more than capable of defending themselves, but that didn't mean that they were ready for what she had in store for them. Two fire streams were sent right toward her head at the same time, and she immediately raised her hands up, sending the flames up above her; they turned into a mixture of blue and orange, and she struggled to hold onto them, and decided to retaliate instead of continuing to hold the flames off. she reminded herself that she was a firebender; strength was her best weapon, not redirection.

She made a wide sweeping kick, which sent a flat arc of flames out toward the legs of the Imperial Firebenders who surrounded her on the deck. She saw them move into defensive stances, and knew that her restraint had been a boon; she didn't actually want to injure them. Not because she didn't want to go all in her training, but because she knew if she was about to go after the men who wanted to kill her uncle, she would need every available man to help her. Her attacks held them back, even if only for a moment, before she was able to move onto her offensive; she sent a volley of fireballs toward the guards, which were almost blindingly bright, coursing out from her fists, and striking each of her guards in the chest.

They were pushed back, but all of them were able to maintain their footing; she decided after another of her guards tried to hit her with a fire blast to the chest to retaliate properly, and spun her foot around, charging a fire blast on her heel, before she sent it out, knocking said guard right off of his feet. The loud bang he made as he hit the deck monetarily distracted his comrades, before they moved to attack her again. Three of them sent fire blasts toward her at once, and she raised her arms up, creating a wall of flames around her, before she curled her arms in; she took a deep breath, before she let her flames out, creating two cutting arcs which sliced through her own defences and into the Imperial Firebenders.

She then charged two fire streams in her hands; holding them in for a few moments to build up momentum, before she launched herself up into the air, two jets on her heels helping her ascend even higher before she looked over the deck; she created two fire whips, one in each hand, and used them to strike two of her men down onto the deck by grappling them as she fell back down to the deck. Now, standing right in front of two of her guards, she shot both of them in the chest with two rapid fire blasts, disorienting them, before making a low spinning kick, which sent an encroaching wave of fire into their legs and forced them off of their feet.

The Princess then turned around, kicking her foot right toward another one of her guards who she had disoriented with her previous attacks; he raised his arms up to defend himself, but was too slow, and was knocked over by the fire blast she sent out of her heel. She immediately dropped down, dodging the inevitable counter attack by the Imperial Firebenders, before she spun herself around, creating another wall of flames, this time in all directions, the flames temporarily blinding her.

She pursed her lips upward, ready to finish off her guards, who tried to break through her defences, to no avail; she dispersed the flames, sending them outward, momentarily distracting them while she reanalysed her surroundings. There were three guards on either side of her, and she decided to attack the closest group with a few fire blasts in quick succession. The flames forced them back, and onto the defensive; one of them tried to send a fire stream toward her, but she raised her right hand up, parting the flames before spun her hands around, redirecting the flames instead right back toward the guards.

He stumbled back in fear as he tried to create a fire shield to defend himself from the fire stream, and she pursed her lips upward, "How feeble." she mocked him, before sending her own fire stream toward him, throwing him right off his feet and into his comrades who stood beside him.

The other two guards barely held their stances, and failed to hold her next attack off; a few light volleys, mostly to keep them occupied while she took advantage of her guards position on the deck. Azula jumped behind them with the help of her firebending; they might have thought she was intending to attack them in close-quarters, as they turned around, but that was really just a distraction.

The other three guards who were still able to fight had moved to attack the Princess, but had instead attacked their comrades with three fire streams at once; the attacks knocked them over, and their grunts suggested to her that the flames had hurt, whether from the heat or the force of the attacks. She then retaliated with her own fire streams, two coming out of both of her palms; the flames forced them to move closer to each other, all raising their arms up to create their own defensive wall of flames.

Having inadvertently blinded themselves, Azula took advantage of this by charging toward them and conjuring two fire whips, which she threw forward, grappling the legs of her guards as soon as their defences were lowered. Though they resisted, throwing their arms forward to attack her with fireballs all at the same time, this didn't do much, as she was far too agile to be hit by their attacks. She then finished them off with a wide sweeping kick, the blue flames that coursed out of her sole throwing them back across the deck, right into the railing.

She nearly winced at the sound of their armour striking the railing, but more than anything felt relieved in the result of her spar; she had beaten them thoroughly, which assured her that she was ready to face those who had tried to kill her uncle. She was yet to reach the coordinates given in the message, but she was sure that within a day, she was to arrive, and thus, would have to face whatever she found there.

A servant paced over toward her with a towel in hand, "Your highness." she bowed down toward her, the Princess taking the towel into her hand, and wiped the sweat from her face.

"Have the spa prepared for me." she ordered the servant as she handed her the towel, "I will go to it as soon as I have had my morning tea." she explained, the servant bowing.

"Of course, your highness. It will be done." she stressed, the Princess turning her heels at once, pacing toward the staircase that led down into the hull of the ship.

She needed to go have her tea, as well as talk with the Air Nomad boy she assumed would have already been escorted there; ever since he'd come aboard, he'd been rather timid, though she couldn't tell if that was his temperament or had more to do with the circumstances. In appearance, he was twelve years old, which was only two years younger than herself, and she assumed that his youth made him naive and immature. He had acted rather properly so far, but she couldn't be sure what his intentions were; Aang was the Avatar, but he had had little training or understanding of his role, and thus, was a lot less of a threat to her nation than a fully-realised Avatar.

It wasn't that much of a walk down the staircase and along the hallway, where she passed by another of her guards, who bowed toward her in respect; she assumed that he was the one to have escorted Aang, given that he wasn't off training with the others. She passed by the room he'd been staying in, and the door was open, revealing that the room was indeed empty. Azula quickly reached her own room, and opened the door up at once, and noted that the young Avatar was standing by her desk, looking over a number of scrolls, which he must have taken out of the drawers. She rolled her eyes, frustrated by that fact people never seemed to understand personal space, and continued to look through her things.

"What are you doing?" she narrowed her eyes at him, placing her hands on her hips; he looked up at her, his expression surprisingly serious.

"How did you get these?"

"Answering a question with a question is rather rude, you know." she raised a finger up, before she gestured it down toward the scrolls he had pulled out, "Those aren't yours to touch."

"They aren't yours, either." he retorted with a cold glare, "You stole these from the Air Temples, didn't you?"

"Well, it's not really theft if nobody's owned them for a hundred years. They were just sitting around. Some of them I did... appropriate from some Earth Kingdom refugees, but that's beside the point. They weren't going to appreciate them."

"Appreciate them?" he scoffed at her words, "You've taken some monk's diary, and even some of the masters' airbending scrolls. They don't belong to you."

"Then who do they belong to, hmph?" she pointed toward him accusingly, "To you?"

"To nobody." he declared, his glare surprisingly angry; that anger was laid with an undertone of regret, which she assumed came from the fact he was the last of his people.

His shoulders slumped down, "They're nobody's." he admitted, before his eyes narrowed at her, "But you still shouldn't have taken them." he argued, crossing his arms, before he turned his head away.

"And what, just let them rot away and get blown away with the wind. I've been trying to learn from your culture before everything was lost." she argued, making him look back her way, now seeming more confused than angry.

"So you could find me?"

"To begin with, I did." she acknowledged the truth of the matter, "But I realised that understanding these scrolls is far more useful to see into the minds of your people. To prepare myself to meet you."

His glare became noticeably more suspicious, "You want me in prison. The whole Fire Nation wants me gone because I'm the only one who can stop them."

"I want to take you to my uncle." she argued, crossing her arms, "And you can't stop the Fire Nation. We've already won the war."

"So what..." he began, before turning his head around, glancing toward the table that sat on the other side of the room, "Why am I here?"

"Because I came to capture you." she answered his question as bluntly as she could.

"No, I mean... why am I here, in this room?" he asked her, "I don't know you... but I've heard about the Fire Nation. I don't know why you even want to talk to me."

"Because I want to understand you and your people." she clarified, making his expression soften; she gestured over toward the table, "Just sit down at the table. We're meant to be having tea."

"Uh." he glanced back around at the table, "Okay, we can do that."

"That wasn't a request." she narrowed her eyes at him, "Sit." she ordered him, the young Air Nomad moving over to the table, before he sat himself down; he glanced back over toward her, his expression suggesting he was a little confused as to why he was there in the first place.

"Where's the tea?"

"Coming." she clarified, "I already told the servants that I was having it. So, they'll be here soon." she explained, before straightening her face; she was being far too polite with the Avatar- she had to at least retain a visage of stern coldness if she wanted to extract the information she desired.

She strode over toward the table, and sat down across from him; the Air Nomad boy was cautious in his posture, but he didn't seem very afraid of her- merely suspicious. She could work with his suspicion, because there were things they could talk about; things that might alleviate any unease he had about being with her. It was not that she desired to make him an ally of her nation, but rather, to ensure that he was not their enemy. She had come on her journey of presuming she'd be dealing with an old and vengeful Avatar, who would want to hand down retribution upon her nation, at the very worst; she'd gotten the best case scenario- a mere boy who could only airbend, even if he had the latent abilities that could make him a force to be reckoned with.

"Am I meant to say something?" Aang spoke up, making her raise a brow; she realised that given her position of power, she ought to be the one asking the questions.

"No, I am." she clarified, "I will ask the questions, and you will answer them." she decided, the young Avatar nodding, though he seemed a little uncertain about it.

He probably thought he was being interrogated, and he wouldn't be completely wrong to assume that; despite her intention to learn from him, she was not going to force an answer out of him by coercion. She did not want to earn his ire, nor make him unnecessarily skittish around her; she wanted him to be an amenable prisoner, just as she hoped that in future, he would be amenable to her nation, and that if the worst case resulted, she might be able to reach some kind of agreement with him. She did not want to see the boy before her become the doom of the Fire Nation, if anything.

"Why didn't the Fire Nation find you?" she decided to ask him, thinking that after all they'd done to the Air Nomads, it made little sense that the Avatar himself was missing from the dead.

"Because I..." he began, before turning his eyes away; he was ashamed of whatever he'd done, and that intrigued her further, "I ran away."

"From the Fire Nation?"

"No, from the monks." he admitted, his expression becoming more uneasy, "They were trying to control my life; take away my only friend and my childhood. So I got on Appa and flew away."

"And then, somehow you found yourself frozen for a hundred years." she acknowledged the most absurd part of his story.

She believed it, if only because it was the only reasonable explanation to what she saw before her; a twelve year old Air Nomad Avatar, who by all accounts, should have been one hundred and twelve years old, which he was, but not in body.

"A storm." he admitted, "A storm dragged us into the water, and I think my past lives saved me, but I was frozen there for a hundred years, and it was like they never happened."

"That must have been quite disorienting." she observed, placing her hands between her, resting her fingertips just in front of her chin, "And your Water Tribe friends found you, I assume."

"Sokka and Katara freed me." he confirmed, before grimacing, "They're probably really worried about me now."

"They needn't worry." she assured him, "You are not in danger here."

"The tough looking firebenders that walk down the halls say something different." he noted with a grimace, making the Princess smirk.

"Well, they're here to ensure my safety... from you." she clarified, making his eyes widen.

"Wait, from me? I haven't done anything."

"It's called a precaution." she narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't you know what you're capable of?" she asked him, her question obviously rhetorical; she knew he had to understand the extent of his powers, even if he couldn't comprehend their nature- she wouldn't deride him for that, seeing that she couldn't too.

"I've heard." he simply responded, "Sokka said it was very scary."

"Well this Sokka fellow mustn't have much guts." she joked, before crossing her arms, "You are dangerous, Aang, even if you would profess to say you would never kill a person, let alone harm an animal."

"I wouldn't." he stressed, something she had expected him to do; he was an Air Nomad, after all, and Air Nomads loved their pacifism- that was part of what spelled their downfall, "But... they might think otherwise."

"Have you communicated with them?" she asked him, to which he shook his head.

"Not really. I felt something-" he began, before narrowing his eyes, "Should I really be telling you this?"

"Well, it depends on whether you trust me, Aang. I am a reputably good liar, but I can assure you that if I wanted to lie my way to woo you, I would have introduced myself in a very different fashion." she stressed, "I would have showered you with gifts and given you a feast."

"Yeah, the food really hasn't been the greatest." he observed, making her narrow her eyes; she was torn between feeling offended or glad that he was willing to be blunt with her- bluntness would get her straight to the facts.

"So you don't like Fire Nation cuisine?" she inquired, the young Avatar shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, it's not bad. I just think it's too spicy." he noted, "You need more variety." he suggested, making her scoff.

"I'm not going to personally plan your meals while you're on the ship; if you really have some complaints, go to the head cook. I doubt they'll listen, given they really have no reason to. You aren't the person who can banish them for making a poor meal."

"Have you- have you done that?" he asked her, the Princess raising her right hand up, glancing at her nails, which shone rather prettily with the little bit of light that came through the window into her room.

"I have learned to restrain my contempt for incompetence. I will banish individuals when they truly anger me." she clarified, remembering what she had done to Lo and Li, "Those who harm my efforts to achieve my goals."

"Am I... harming your efforts?" he asked, his voice understandably nervous; her cold glare could make anybody squirm, even the master of the four elements.

"Well, I can't exactly banish you, Aang. You're the person I've travelled around the world to find." she acknowledged, the young Avatar's eyes widening.

"How long were you looking for me?"

"Only a few months. I know that luck must be on my side because you appeared when I needed you to." she noted, pursing her lips upward, "Father was right."

He was obviously a little confused by her words, but before he could ask her what she meant by her words, a knock hit her door, "Ah, the tea's here." she observed, before clapping her hands, which signalled the servant to enter; the door was pushed open, and before her stood a servant girl, who was holding a tray with a teapot on it, along with a bowl of spiced rice crackers.

She bowed her head down in deference as she approached, before kneeling down, placing the tray down on the table between them; she placed the teapot and the bowl down, and proceeded to pour some tea into each of the cups that had been placed on the table already. Azula had already prepared the table herself, though she wouldn't dare mention it; she knew that was a job for servants, and couldn't dare denigrate her position as a Princess. Once the servant picked up the tray, she raised her hand up, the closest thing to a thanks she'd give the servant; Aang, however, was seemingly far more inclined to be polite.

"Thanks for the tea." he grinned at the servant, who seemed a little unnerved by being directly addressed; she nodded, before turning around, taking the tray with her as she moved back to the doorway.

She pulled the door shut, moving it slowly to make sure it didn't slam; the metallic clicking noise that was made as the door's lock shut indicated that they'd be alone again. She turned around, and eyed her teacup, before glancing back up at the young Avatar, who was sniffing the cup with interest.

"They make good tea here." he acknowledged, making her smirk.

"Well, of course they do. It's my ship. I wouldn't dare let them serve me bad tea." she assured him, the Air Nomad boy nodding, before he narrowed his eyes.

"You said your father was right... the same father you say might want me- uh- dead." he observed, making her cringe slightly; she realised that saying that might incentivise the boy to flee, which was exactly what she desired to avoid, "Right about what?"

"That I was born lucky." she declared, before her smile faltered; she didn't know why her father said it.

Whether it was to agitate her brother, or to acknowledge the circumstances of her birth, she was unsure. All she knew that was that luck had come at a cost, the kind of cost she didn't really understand; she had never met her mother, because she had died giving birth to her. Iroh had spoken highly of her, but she didn't know whether to trust his judgement on the matter; he hadn't known her as well as her father had, and even then, he didn't speak of her. He avoided the topic of her existence like it was some kind of disease to be frowned upon.

"Born lucky?" he scrunched his lips up, "Like some kind of prophecy-" he began, before his eyes widened, "You don't mean he thought you were going to find me? Like it was your destiny."

"No, because I was born with great firebending potential." she clarified, "I don't think my father had considered the Avatar and my destiny until I brought up my decision to travel the world to find you." she added, explaining her doubts on her father's foresight; he was no idiot, but he was rather narrow minded about what he wanted in his children.

She didn't think her father had some kind of amazing vision of her future, he'd just heard some kind words from the Fire Sages, who were probably very worried about him having a fit after finding out his wife was going to die. Perhaps it was the only good thing that had come out of that day; it was a great firebender that he had wanted, and he received her, at the kind of cost that made it sound like it was almost on purpose- that her mother was some kind of sacrifice. The thought disturbed her, and that was something; she was not a person to be easily shaken, but that idea, it made her feel disgusted- like her very existence was an abnormality.

"Is..." he began to speak, breaking her from her chain of thought; she immediately picked up the tea cup in front of her, and began to sip on it, to make sure she didn't have to answer any questions he might have.

Once she finished drinking from the cup, she placed it back down and bore a fake smile, "It is good tea. Please, drink up." she suggested, the young Avatar cringing slightly, before he picked up the cup, forcing out a smile; he'd seen it, that was what she was sure of.

She wanted to snarl, angry that she could have even let him see her mask falter, but he had; she had thought too much about her father's words, and let down her defences, even if only for a few moments.

He drank down the tea, and placed his cup down on the table, "It is good." he agreed, his words sounding a fair bit more sincere than her own, before he scrunched up his lips, "Are you afraid of something?" he bluntly asked her.

"No." she stressed, "I'm not afraid of anything."

"Everybody's afraid of something." he acknowledged, before turning his eyes down to his teacup, "I'm afraid that I might... I might not be a good enough Avatar." he acknowledged with a rather timid voice; given he'd been frozen for a hundred years, it made a lot of sense that he'd be concerned about that.

"That's a reasonable fear to hold." she crossed her arms, before narrowing her eyes, "But I have no need for fear. I have control."

"And I... well, I don't have much." he noted, pouting slightly, "I won't be able to leave this ship, will I?"

"You will leave to come with me to meet my uncle." she clarified, "There is an end to this journey. And it isn't your friends coming to save you."

"Katara and Sokka are coming." he acknowledged, "I don't think they'll want to fight you, though."

"So, like any intelligent individual would, they'll stay away." she declared, pursing her lips up slightly, "I assure you, it's better if you stay here and don't stir up any trouble."

"For you." he noted, almost smirking, though her cold glare warded him from making such a move, "I don't want to get you angry. That lightning was scary." he conceded, the Princess smirking at the thought of his fear; she could intimidate the Avatar, the one person everyone ought to be afraid of, so she concluded that she had to be a very intimidating individual, something she took much pride in.

"Smart move." she raised her chin up, before picking up her tea cup, "You might be able to outwit my guards if you try hard enough."

"Really?" he asked her, almost seeming excited by the idea; she was more than ready to shoot down that suggestion.

"Of course not. You're a twelve year old boy." she retorted, "Or a very immature a hundred and twelve year old man." she added, knowing that was a technically correct way to describe him.

"I'm not that immature." he spoke up, making her laugh, and rather mockingly at that.

"Oh, really?" she raised her tea cup up to her cheek, "And how did you get caught by me, then?"

"Uh... I didn't run away fast enough." he concluded with a slight pout; she found the idea to be hilarious, given the whole fighting style of Air Nomads was about avoiding fights, which he clearly hadn't done.

"Well, that's just sad. I thought that was the one thing you Air Nomads were good at."

"I am good at it." he retorted, puffing his chest up, "You just wait and see." he declared, making her roll her eyes; she hadn't even needed to interrogate him to learn that, just to agitate him by mocking his abilities- she thought that in future, she might try that as an interrogation tactic.

"Telling your enemy that you intend to trick them is a sure way for your trick to fail." she explained, before clearing her throat, "Or as my uncle might say: to withhold the truth is to keep your strength."

"Is that an actual proverb?" he narrowed his eyes at her, obviously confused by her words.

She was simply saying something that her uncle might say, not actually quoting one of his many proverbs. The idea that she could be witty enough with her words to create a proverb herself was something that brought her pride, and she pursed her lips upward as she placed the tea cup back down on the table.

"It is now."


Upon hearing a knock on his door, Aang was sure something had happened; it was after lunch, and Azula had already told him that she had things to deal with, so he knew that she wasn't going to 'interrogate' him again. He would admit that their conversations were rather unusual, and that for somebody who was meant to be his captor, she was rather polite; he was glad she was being straightforward at the very least, but it was a little unnerving.

He had no idea what was going to happen with her uncle, who from the sounds of how she described him, seemed like a kind-hearted and well-intentioned man; he was less looking forward to having to deal with the Fire Nation as a whole, knowing that the war was still a big problem that he had to deal with. He didn't know exactly what he had to do, but he was sure he had to do something; his past lives hadn't told him anything yet, but despite that, he understood the new world that he had found himself in. It was so wrong, and he knew that somehow, it had to be corrected.

He rose up to his feet, and approached the door, and before he could do anything, it opened up; one of the Princess's guards were standing before him and due to his intimidating helmet, he couldn't see his facial expressions, but his tone was rather suggestive on what was going on, "The Princess wants you out on the deck. Your hands, please." he asked, showing that he had shackles in his hands.

Aang grimaced, not wanting to put them on; no matter how well-mannered Princess Azula was, he needed to get off her ship and back to his friends as quickly as he could. That wasn't going to be very easy if his hands were shackled, but he thought it wasn't impossible. He decided to accept it, knowing that it was better to get out onto the deck and thus, a little closer to freedom; they had to be getting close to wherever her uncle was, and thus, were likely about to move into port.

Once he offered his hands out, the guard shackled them, and then gestured down the hallway, "Follow me." he simply told him, and with that, he did.

He made his way down the hallway, and remained quiet; the guard didn't speak to him and that was no surprise. He and all the others seemed to take their jobs very seriously, and unlike Azula, had no time for chatting. He led him to the staircase, where he was forced to cover his eyes; he hadn't been outside in a few days, and the light out of his tinted windows just wasn't the same. He cringed from the glare, but once his eyes readjusted, he just smiled, glad he could see the bright blue of the day-lit sky.

He glanced around the deck, and realised that their ship was indeed approaching port; it was a rather large stone pier that jutted off from the coastline, connected to a fortified outpost that reminded him somewhat of some small villages he'd seen in the Fire Nation, though it seemed a lot more dangerous than any of those. The thought of Kuzon made him smile for a moment, and noted for a moment how he missed his friend; he missed all his friends, and he was saddened by the thought he wasn't going to be able to see him, or anybody else that he used to know.

The guard let him along, and he noted that there were a number of servants and guards on the deck, which made him guess that they were about to go resupply their ship; they obviously needed food and fuel for it to keep on running, and that wasn't even considering the fact the Princess needed to reach her uncle. His life was in danger, from what he had heard, and she was obviously very worried about him; he felt that kind of worry assured him that despite her cold glares and seriousness, she was like any other person- she had fears, and she wanted to make sure her loved ones were alright. He turned his gaze to Azula, who was standing on the deck with her hands behind her back, wearing the same armour she had when she attacked Kyoshi Island. She turned her gaze around to face him, and her serious glare suggested that it was no time for chit-chat.

"Good, you're here." she observed, before she turned around, glancing back toward the pier; Aang could see some people walking down toward the end- perhaps they already knew the Princess was the one commanding the ship, and had come to pay their respects.

They must've recognised the ship before them; it was very fancy, and he guessed that only members of the Royal Family were permitted to use them. Looking amongst the individuals that approached the end of the pier, though they were rather far away, he could tell that all of them were soldiers. He couldn't see anyone as fancy or intimidating as Azula's guards, nor anybody who fit the idea of being the Fire Lord in his head. That told him that the Fire Lord was either not at the port, or he had simply sent the people before them out to meet them; maybe he had been injured in the assassination attempt the Princess had spoken of. That was probably part of the reason she was so concerned; she tried to act really cool and suave, but he could see through that. She was a lot better at it than Sokka, who at the very least tried to act tough and serious, but she wasn't that stoic.

As the ship slowed down to a standstill, he noted that a metal gangway was being pulled out by some of the sailors onboard, who immediately moved toward the gap in the railing to put the it in place; once the anchors dropped, with a loud splash on either side of the ship, the gangway was dropped as well, and put in place. He heard some mechanical sound, presumably the metal gangway being locked onto the ship's deck, as to prevent it from slipping down into the water below.

The Princess strode down the gangway, flanked by her guards, one of whom grasped Aang by the arm, taking him along; he heeded their pushes, and followed after her of his own free will. When they reached the pier itself, he immediately turned his attention to the men who had come to greet them; one of them, an older looking soldier, with graying hair and a goatee, stepped forward and knelt down toward Azula, an obvious act of respect.

"Your highness, I welcome you to my port." he simply addressed her.

"Is he here?" she simply addressed the matter she had sailed there to talk about, "At least, do you know where the men who tried to kill him are?" she asked, the fearful gulp coming from the soldier.

"Your highness, I bear terrible news."

The Princess clenched her fists, and stepped forward, stopping him from saying what Aang could only guess to be an apology for the very death of the Fire Lord; he didn't want to come to that conclusion, but the unease on the man's face said it all.

"Where... where are they?" she asked him, the soldier's eyes widening.

"The reports we have assume they are still located to the south of us. Their ship was scuttled by the efforts of the Fire Lord's men." he explained, the Princess gesturing for him to rise to his feet.

"What happened to my uncle? Is he dead, is that it?" she demanded of him, the soldier's expression turning to one of near pain.

"His majesty is missing in action. There were many fatalities, and the men had to flee northward. They only reached our base last night." he explained, the Princess narrowing her eyes.

"They fled?" she almost scoffed, "Without their Fire Lord? They ought to be executed for treason at this very instance." she demanded, making Aang tremble; she must have really held a lot of respect toward her uncle if she was willing to have his men executed for failing in their duties- the kind of respect that permitted murder.

"Your highness... they were told to flee by the Fire Lord himself." he explained, "He drew away the enemy while the others escaped."

"So where is he?" she narrowed her eyes, the soldier's eyes darting down.

"We have no idea, but our scouts are out searching the wilderness for him." he explained, the Princess sighing.

"Well then, does that mean he's presumed dead?" she asked him, the soldier nodding.

"We cannot be certain... but until he's found, your father is now the Fire Lord." he explained, making her raise her chin up.

"I'd like to speak with his personal guards." she explained, "I will not stand for this. Ensuring the enemies of our nation are found and annihilated is of utmost importance." she stressed, the soldier nodding, before he turned around, "Of course, Princess Azula. My men and I will take you to them at once. I warn, they aren't-" he began, before she raised her hand up to cut him off.

"Do not refer to me as Princess Azula." she demanded, the soldier's eyes widening with fear.

"My apologies, your highness." he bowed down in respect, "I mean no disrespect."

"No, I wish to be referred to as Crown Princess Azula." she demanded, the soldier's lips scrunching up.

'But your highness, Prince Zuko is-" he began, before the Princess gestured back toward Aang.

"Did Prince Zuko successfully capture the Avatar?" she questioned him, the young Avatar cringing with fear; he hadn't thought about it that much, just trying to process what he was learning, but he was in serious danger if her father was the Fire Lord, "No. I did. I am the Crown Princess; it is my right in light of my great victory."

"Uh, maybe not." Aang cringed back, catching the Princess's attention, as well as that of her guards.

"Excuse me?" she raised a brow, shocked by what he had just said, "You are my prisoner."

"Not any more." he decided, "I don't want to get cooked alive by Fire Lord... uh, whatever your dad's name is." he admitted, making her clench her fists; she was ready to go ballistic at him, and flames appeared in her palms.

"You have no where to run, Aang." she warned him, her guards grasping him by each of his arms, "And it's Fire Lord Ozai." she clarified, making the young Avatar cringe for a few moments, before he thought of something to say, to stall her from pouncing to knock him out, or worse.

"Well, you see... I learned a new trick on Kyoshi Island." he explained, making her raise a brow, striding closer, creating a jet of blue fire in her closed right fist.

"And what would that be?" she asked him, the young Avatar cringing back; all he needed to do was blast her guards away, and he could make his move.

He waited for her to get closer, before he threw his hands down, sending out a blast of air, which threw her guards back, breaking their grip on him.

"You little shit." she snarled, and immediately moved toward him, and he raised his hands up, funnelling air past his palms right toward her fist; the blast of air snuffed out her flames, and he almost sighed with relief, but decided there was something more important to address- a small, but considered farewell.

"I hope your uncle's okay. If I find him, I'll tell him you're a good niece." he simply acknowledged, before slamming his hands together, twisting them around to create a gust of wind which he directed right below his feet, throwing the Princess and her guards back.

Without a second thought, he blasted himself up into the air, jumping right off of the pier, and out onto the water; kicking his legs up, he created two jets of air underneath his feet. Though he obviously couldn't fly without the use of his glider, he certainly could stop himself from sinking into the water. He pushed his feet down and just as he guessed they would, stayed right above the water's surface; he would start to sink if he didn't start moving, which he did. Aang raced as fast as he could across the water's surface, and a few moments later, he heard the agitated voice of Azula shouting out.

"Knock him out!" she demanded of her guards, and he looked back momentarily to notice a few fire streams, one of them blue, heading right toward him.

He grit his teeth and raced as fast as he could; with his bound hands, he couldn't use their motion to further speed himself up, and was forced to cringe with fear as the heat of the flames encroached upon him. Despite that, he was quickly moving across the cove, right toward the shoreline opposite the pier. He'd need to run south, and hopefully, he could find Katara and Sokka on Appa, who must have been flying some distance behind the ship; they obviously didn't want to get shot down by Azula's men, so they were going to stay some distance away.

His sky-bison awaited, and with it, freedom, and all he had to do was make sure the Princess didn't try and burn him to a crisp before he got to his friends. She was scarily powerful, but he knew that there was one thing Air Nomads were good at above all else, something she'd reminded him of- evasion; he was going to need to do a lot of it if he wanted to stand a chance against her men. The strength of the Fire Nation came from their unrelenting resolve, so he'd need to find his own strength to match; he mightn't have known how to do it, but he was sure that as long as he could run, he would do his best to right his wrongs. Avatar Aang was going to save the world, and there was nothing anybody else could do about it.