The young Crown Princess Azula continued to stare at the anomaly of a boy as she and this Ivan continued across the desert. This boy had done something that should have ended with her turning his face to ash. Yet, she had felt so flustered by the kiss that she could not. Her hand still felt warm from his touch, at least more than usual, as the wind brushed her face. In her mind, she could still hardly believe that this boy existed at all: even in all her years of study, could she find any mention of any people who fit his description. His eyes were dull and wide, and his skin was white like snow with a pinkish hue. His tongue was foreign to her, at least from what he spoke to his horse.
Here too, she was at a loss: Whereas she had only heard of ostrich horses, this creature was nothing like them, as it towered over her with its large head and muscular body. But, as she sat in the saddle, she also took note of the boy's strange clothes, with their course texture and elegance, clearly fitted to his measurements. His white linen pants appeared very tight, which was odd, with a pair of tall boots at his feet and the tails of his jacket hanging down from his back with the red interior buttoned to the outside at the corners. However, she was shaken from her thoughts when a cold wind blew over her, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She regretted failing to recover her warm cloak from the Great Drill. Ivan seemed to notice this and turned his head. "Are you cold?" he asked with that light accent and deep voice that intrigued her further.
"I'll be fine," she said as she turned away from him. She found she couldn't look him in the eye after what he had done. Besides, her firebreathing was already serving to return her body temperature.
In response, he turned his head back to face the front. "Alright, if you insist, Your Highness," he replied as she turned to look at the others. They were quite a ways behind, from what she could tell. She could see Ty Lee appearing to talk the ear off of the soldier steering their komodo rhino; while Mai and the War Minister went beside them. Behind them was the column of engineers and soldiers, as, after the defeat of the drill, they all had to walk back on foot. She was still annoyed by how easily the avatar had destroyed such an impressive weapon, not to mention the overconfidence of the war minister in not bothering to move the rest of the army forward to support their offensive.
As she turned around in thought, she noticed her friends and her main camp in the distance, its iron walls moving further away as they continued. "Excuse me, but my camp is that way," she said as she tapped him on the shoulder and gestured toward it.
"Oh, I thought you wished to see our army?" Ivan asked in confusion.
Recalling his earlier words, she internally nodded. "Yes, I do. Though I would prefer to freshen up first," she stated, causing him to chuckle.
"Ha, I think you look fine, Your Highness," he replied as Ivan turned to her with a slight grin. "Besides, I doubt my father will mind."
Something seemed off to Azula as they came within sight of the furthermost encampment. Even though they were still a distance away, she could see what appeared to be a massive flag of yellow, black, and navy blue with a majestic black two-headed bird in the center raised high above in the center of a series of camps that most certainly was not there a week ago. "What is that? I've never seen that flag before," Azula said as she pointed at it.
Ivan glanced at where she was pointing before turning to her with a slight smile. "That, Your Highness, is the national flag of Ruskia," he explained as they rode ever closer.
"So, I presume that would be your army?" asked Azula as she stared in masked amazement. It had to be the largest camp she had ever seen, and even from this distance, she could spot hundreds of campfires and plumes of smoke rising in the distance, with rows of white tents stretched out beyond the palisade walls of the humble Fire Nation fort protecting the southeastern flank.
In response, Ivan chuckled lightly before turning to her. "Well, not mine, my father's. He is the General," he finished before turning back to see in front of him. "I just hope he isn't too busy to see you," Azula stared long and hard at the sky as she realized what he had implied. Ivan was important: And she was grateful to have not seared his face. After all, it would be hard to imagine reaching any agreement after that.
As they rode into the camp, Azula couldn't help but stare at her surroundings in astonishment as they passed groups of men and women milling about by bonfires. Azula also could faintly hear singing, and she could smell something cooking as they arrived at the center of the camp, just below the flag from earlier. The soldiers appeared to wear clothes similar to Ivan, though some wore plain linen shirts and strange wool hats, while the few women she could see wore white dresses and head coverings. "Ваше Императорское Высочество. Ваш отец ждет вас," said a voice from below her, and she turned to see a man dressed similarly to Ivan speaking to him from the ground.
"Очень хорошо. Скажи ему, что я присоединюсь к нему через минуту," answered Ivan as the other man saluted him before turning and walking into what she assumed to be a headquarters tent.
"What was that about?" asked Azula as Ivan turned to her.
"Oh, he was telling me my father is waiting for me," Ivan replied as he turned and dismounted off the horse's side before turning back to her. "Would you like me to help you down?"
Azula merely scoffed before doing the same as he had done before dusting herself off. "Thank you, but I can handle myself," she replied.
"I see," he began before turning to a guard standing outside the tent. "Простите, не могли бы вы взять мою лошадь?" he asked the man, who nodded before walking up and taking the reins of the horse. Then he turned back to face Azula. "Alright. Now come," Ivan said as he walked up to the tent and held the flap for her.
Azula walked up to it, unsure of what was inside, before entering. When she was in the tent, she could see several older men sitting at a table with an improvised map based on the one inside her headquarters. All wore uniforms similar to the one Ivan wore, but with more gold embroidery and even more flamboyant headwear, not to mention chests well-endowed with awards. They also lacked the thing Ivan wore around his neck. In the center sat a middle-aged man with the same eyes and hair colour as Ivan, with his feathered hat on the table, and a blue sash across his chest. "Рад тебя видеть, Иван. А теперь, кто твоя подружка?" said the man as Ivan stood beside her.
In response, Ivan's cheeks tinted red as he gestured to her. "Father, allow me to introduce: Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Azula of the Fire Nation," he said as all the men in the room immediately stood up.
Then, she watched as the man at the head of the table walked over to her before taking her hand and kissing it, though he did it with much more confidence than Ivan had previously. "It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness. I am Grand Duke Nikolai Valdimrivich Asimov, commander of the tenth army," he stated with a bow before standing up. "Would you care for a seat?"
Azula carefully observed everything and everyone in the room as her mind wound up. While it felt strange, it appeared that a kiss of the hand was indeed a greeting, not just an excuse to kiss her hand, as she had thought when Ivan had done it. She also realized how strangely welcoming this man appeared, even though it was very formal. Not to mention, Nikolai was who Azula wanted to talk to, for, as he had just said, this was his army. "Yes, I would," she replied as Ivan walked over and brought out a seat, which she took before Ivan sat down beside her. "Thank you," she nodded to Ivan before turning to face Nikolai, who had just sat down, with the others following. Good to see they have manners. "Now that I know who you and your son are, what is your business here? As I've never seen nor heard of this Ruskia before,"
In response, Nikolai chuckled slightly, which reminded Azula of her uncle when he was in a good mood. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised, as I would be quite concerned if you had," he began as he sat back, relaxing slightly. "But, before we go on, I should like to know why someone of such importance would be here of all places. Considering that, from what I understand, this is an active war zone, is it not?"
Azula looked at him with suspicion before replying. "Isn't it obvious? I am the one in charge of this operation," she stated, which seemed to cause Nikolai to raise an eyebrow.
"That is interesting," he began as he stroked his short beard. "But I must ask, how are you in charge? After all, you seem at least as old as Ivan," he replied, though not an accusation. He just seemed curious.
Azula still took it as a slight. As though the man was questioning her authority and skill. "And how old is he then? I am fourteen, and I understand very well how these things work, and my father entrusted me to take Ba Sing Se. So who are you to question me?" she asked as she pierced him with a glare. However, the part about her father giving her command was not entirely true, as he instructed her to be subordinate to his generals.
The older man shook his head in response, though otherwise remained unfazed. "Alright, I understand. However, that still leaves another question. Where did you find her, Ivan?"
So, Ivan spent the next few minutes regaling Nikolai and the other officers with the tale of how Azula and he first met in excruciating detail. For the second time that night, she could feel a strange awkwardness grow over her as he mentioned every little thing. Why did she suddenly feel so warm? Was it all formality when Ivan kissed her hand? She didn't know, but she planned to get to the bottom of it and understand why she felt so strange. But, for now, Azula had a much bigger problem on her hands. Here stood a strange man with an unknown army at his back, and she still had close to no information on why they were there. Not to mention who they were or how they evaded her scouts. "Alright, now, I'm sure you wish to hear why we have come?" asked Nikolai, dragging Azula from her thoughts.
"Yes, I would like to know who you are and how you arrived undetected," she replied as she pierced Nikolai for any sign of dishonesty.
"Well, I should begin by stating that we mean you no ill will. Furthermore, we are not associated with any political faction you are familiar with," Nikolai began, with Azula being sure to pay close attention to his words and expression while carefully shifting her gaze to the others. After all, they could attempt to kill her if she didn't keep an eye out, and for all she knew, this was some elaborate plot. "We are also representatives of the military of the Empire of Ruskia and Tsar Vladimir II. And, as for why we are here, we require a safe place for our machinery for our war back home," he finished as she sat back and stared at one of the oil lamps as she considered her options.
From what Azula could understand, this man came here because his country was either desperate or looking for new territory, using economics as an excuse. Either way, Nikolai still had a large army at his back and seemed intent on using it. The question for her was, who would be on the opposing side? "That's good and all, but how do you plan to do that? As, from what I've seen, you might even take Ba Sing Se outright," she suggested before cocking an eyebrow. "How many soldiers do you have anyway?"
Nikolai stroked his beard again before turning back to her. "Roughly seventy-thousand men are at my disposal, your highness," he began as her pupils widened, though if you didn't know better, it would appear as if she didn't even flinch. But, from the moment Nikolai spoke. Azula's mind went into full gear as she considered all the possibilities. Never could she have imagined an army this size was feasible in such a small place, let alone having it on the side of the Fire Nation. Which previously had a much smaller army than the Earth Kingdom until their last major offensive and the capture of Omashu. "You are lucky to have met me, Your Highness,"
Azula turned to him with a curious expression. "And what do you mean by that?"
Nikolai chuckled slightly in response. "Well, the way we usually go about this Is that we tend to make deals with those who meet with us first. Which, of course, would mean you, Crown Princess," he began as a smile spread across his face. "Not to mention, from what your commanders have told me, you're winning this hundred-year war. Which is all the more reason for us to come to an accord," he then extended his hand in an unfamiliar gesture. "It's a handshake,"
Azula looked at it with suspicion before slowly extending her hand and grasping his, only to be surprised by his firm grip and the single, violent shake before he let go. "What does that mean exactly? Are you trying to break my hand?" she asked as she held her sore hand.
The man gave a short chortle in response. "Of course not. It is simply a sign of greeting or, in this case, agreement," he began while keeping a soft gaze on her. "So, if we help you finish this war, do you agree to allow us to retain all the territory we take?" his question caused Azula to pause as she thought over what he had asked. This man, who just walked into this conflict out of the blue, had demanded that she allows him to take land from the Earth Kingdom!? Worse yet, there wasn't that much she could do either. He held the numbers, was positioned right next to her army, and Nikolai had asked for an agreement that served him. But, on the other hand, the people of the Earth Kingdom had proven stubborn, even when conquered, so the idea of someone else dealing with them was rather enticing. Therefore, if these Ruskians found themselves tied down with their holdings, the Fire Nation could always swoop in and take the territory while they were distracted.
Thinking she had outwitted her opponent with her cunning plan, she smiled. "I accept this deal on behalf of my father, Firelord Ozai," she said confidently before standing up. "Now, if you will excuse me, I should like to get some sleep before we get everything sorted," she turned to leave, but Nikolai, it seemed, had another idea.
"Yes, of course. Ivan?" he began as Azula heard Ivan stand up.
"Yes, father?" he asked as Azula turned around to see what Nikolai was doing.
Nikolai then put a hand on Ivan's shoulder from the opposite side before turning him and gesturing to Azula with a gloved hand. "Why don't you escort the Crown Princess back to her camp? I'm certain she could use a guide,"