Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

239. Chapter 239: The Ultimate Gladiator 10

The breeze in the heights of the night sky should have bothered Azula, but the Princess found it suitably matched the coldness that had taken hold of her soul. She shivered as she guided her dragon carefully towards Prison Tower, attempting to clear her mind from good and bad thoughts alike… attempting to focus on their mission alone.

Just as promised, Rui Shi and Fei Li had returned with her temporary replacement: Han was roughly of her height, and the least built of all her guards, too. Her royal nightgowns would be a good enough fit for him: she had instructed him to stay in the bathroom the whole night if he could, alleging to more privacy there than in the room itself, in case anyone came looking for Azula. She had ducked away in the private room briefly and changed into the uniform Fei Li had brought for her, finding it an unpleasant fit even before setting the helmet in place.

As per Fei Li's suggestion, she had asked Xin Long to land at the Capital's lake. They emerged at the tunnel exit closest to the location and Fei Li, dressed in his own, stolen Domestic Forces uniform, had checked that no one was nearby to see them climbing out before the Princess left the tunnel. Rui Shi lingered inside, nodding encouragingly at them.

"Be careful, and good luck. I'll go back to the barracks now" he'd said.

"Thank you, Rui Shi. Really" Azula said. The guard smiled weakly: it was odd for the Princess's voice to come from behind the intimidating, skull-shaped helmets worn by the regular Fire Nation army soldiers.

"Make sure to come back safely, both of you" he said, before pulling the trapdoor closed once more.

Azula had known there was little time to waste, but her heart's load lessened for just a moment once she saw her dragon anew: he groaned softly at her as she nearly broke into a sprint, on her way towards him. Her arms squeezed him in the tightest of hugs, and Xin Long groaned back, prodding her body with his snout, his whiskers swirling protectively around her.

"I'm… I'm so glad to see you" Azula had whispered, her face buried in her dragon's mane "Thank you for coming for us"

Xin Long grunted and nodded, reassuring her: she had once saved him from the world of darkness he had been completely lost in, and he would always owe her for that. No matter how dangerous her new quest might be, he had every intention of helping her fulfill it.

Azula nodded, stroking her dragon's hair gently one more time before making her way to his saddle. She climbed atop it with uncertainty, her body's pains still troubling her… new pains, unrelated to the now familiar one, caused by her chi's corruption. Pain caused by the hands that had held her down and even taken advantage of her shoulder's injury… again, she had no choice but to use her right hand rather than her left, for she didn't know if that pulsating, throbbing sensation would fade away anytime soon. She slipped into the right position in the saddle, breathing deeply upon stretching her legs… again, failing not to think of last night, no matter how hard she might try. What Fei Rou had done hadn't quite hurt her physically, not the way the guards had… but it hurt in much worse places deep inside her soul.

"Fei Li…" she had called her companion, swallowing hard "Get on, quick"

"R-right, right…" he said: he had been standing by her, willing to help her climb the saddle if she requested it, but refraining from touching her unless she did. Rui Shi had advised him to withhold from making contact with her at the moment unless it was absolutely necessary, and as weakened as the Princess might be, she hadn't requested his assistance right now.

They had taken off right after that, through Xin Long's usual technique of flying upwards at haste, to avoid detection. The moonless night only made matters easier as they crossed the starlit sky on their way to the Prison Tower, soaring past the city's limits and towards the volcanic formations under which the building had been erected.

Breathing in the fresh air should have proved a stimulating, welcome sensation for the Princess… stepping outside the Palace, not knowing when she'd ever have permission to leave it again, was also something she knew she should cherish. She'd be her father's prisoner until their escape plan was set in motion, she suspected… though even now, it was hard to say what those plans might shape into beyond paper. They had to live in the moment and adapt to every sudden shift and change that might throw off their plans… otherwise, they would be doomed to fail at saving any of them, let alone saving Sokka.

Fei Li fidgeted behind her, and Azula refrained from glancing at him over her aching shoulder. She breathed deeply instead and asked her question.

"Are you alright?" she said, simply.

"I… I've flown before, I have" he said, biting his lip "Just… not on the back of your dragon. I know Rui Shi's done it before, and I used to envy him for it, you know? I… kind of wanted to try it someday, but… I wish the circumstances were better"

"Had I known… I would've taken you for a spin at some point earlier" Azula whispered, breathing deeply "I… I know you and the rest of the guards do want to help, and I'm grateful for that. But the truth is, I… I never wanted to involve you in this. I never wanted any of you to pay for what I've done, let alone to lose your jobs because of it. I… I'm sorry, Fei Li"

"Well… you don't have to be" Fei Li said, with a weak grin "I wish things hadn't come to this either… but knowing you wanted to keep us safe is enough for me. Truthfully, I've always suspected you don't really understand what our job is…"

"I don't?" Azula repeated. Fei Li chuckled quietly behind her.

"We're your guards, not the other way around. You… you protect everyone you care about, but it's us who should be protecting you. Back in the bay… you saved us from the spear and that madman, didn't you? And at great risk for yourself, too…"

"It was the only way…"

"Maybe, but it's only more proof of what I'm saying" said Fei Li, nodding promptly "You've protected us, instead of letting us protect you. Now… now we finally can do our duty. And we'll do it, no matter what it takes"

"You… you really don't resent me for this?" Azula asked, glancing warily back at him, ignoring the pain of her shoulder "You don't think I… I should've known better, or…?"

"Eh? You mean… about Sokka?" Fei Li said, puzzled "Uh… well, I'm sorry if it displeases you to hear this, I know it's not my place to say anything like this, but, uh, since you asked…"

"What are you trying to say…?" Azula asked, perplexed. Fei Li chuckled softly and shrugged.

"I… kind of hoped you two were together?" he said. Azula's eyes widened "You've changed so much ever since he came along, Princess… even in how you acted with the rest of us. I don't think I'd ever seen you happy before, not for real… until he showed up. The way you two looked at each other, the crazy adventures you had together, too, I… I always thought that was what was happening, though I never knew for sure if it was or wasn't? And hey, it's not just me either! We'd talk about it sometimes, and Rui Shi, that jerk… he'd always tell us to shut up and that it was impossible, but I bet he always knew, didn't he?"

"Well… yes, he did" Azula said, smiling a little for what felt like the first time in ages. Fei Li huffed.

"What an ass" he grumbled "I mean, I know he was trying to protect us and give us plausible deniability and all that! But we all would've supported you two completely, I mean, we already do…!"

"Of course" Azula said. Fei Li huffed, shaking his head.

"I'll give him a piece of my mind once we go back…"

"Please… hold that thought until we're all safe and sound on the Barge, if you can?" Azula said. Fei Li flinched and grimaced before nodding weakly.

"Right, I… right. I'll ask all the questions and point all my fingers at him once we're already safe, yes" he agreed. Azula swallowed hard.

"Either way, though… thank you. For… for not judging or resenting me, even though you have every right to" Azula whispered "I don't know what I've done to garner all your loyalty to this extent, but…"

"You don't? Really?" Fei Li asked, amused "Not only did you choose us when you could've chosen anyone else, ages ago… but you've trusted and protected us for a long time. Someone like you, Princess… everyone would love to follow a leader like you. I know I wouldn't want to follow anyone else, for sure"

"And I'm most fortunate that's how you and the others feel" Azula said, breathing deeply: what appeared to be a rock formation in the horizon caught her eye as she leaned closer to her dragon "I have no idea how any of this will turn out, not for real… but knowing I'm not fighting alone definitely makes matters easier for me. Thanks again, Fei Li"

"Always here for you, Princess" he smiled, though the grin waned once he recognized what she had glimpsed, too.

The natural, volcanic formation under which stood the Prison Tower had never seemed all that stable to the Princess. If they were ever attacked by earthbenders, they would have no trouble destroying the entire building by toppling the earthen ridges that spread over and above the tower. The place was also protected by a thick wall upon which they could see a few glowing lights in the distance. The tower itself appeared completely dark, with only a hint of occasional glow within the small windows, scarcely noticeable from a distance.

"Alright… what's our plan, exactly?" Fei Li asked, swallowing hard. Azula breathed deeply.

"The shift change should take place at midnight, right?" she asked. Fei Li nodded "We may have about half an hour until then, I suspect. So… we'll approach from a distance, from the back of the tower… that way the sentries at the wall shouldn't notice Xin Long"

"And then we'll hover and wait until the soldiers go downstairs for the shift change" Fei Li said, releasing a breath slowly "Alright, alright. Though, uh… you'll have to stay hidden someplace, right? The less you're seen, the better. You're wearing this armor mainly to keep anyone from knowing it's you right away if they ever spot you, but…"

"But I shouldn't be seen at all, I know" Azula said, breathing deeply "I… I haven't been here many times so far, but I did come once, not that long ago, after the homeless people ran towards the procession, remember?"

"I remember…"

"There was a dining hall. I think I can remember how to get there" Azula said "At these hours, no one should be there. I can hide inside until you get whichever keys you can find… right?"

"Right" Fei Li said, biting his lip "And even if we can't find any keys, you can still go see him, I figure… though you'll only see him through the cell's bars, but it'll still work, to a fault"

"And what about the escape plan?" Azula asked, wary "Isn't that the main reason we're here at all? What will we do to break him out of we can't find the keys?"

"Well… I'd say I'll map out a thorough plan on what to do with whatever resources we have available…?" Fei Li said, dubious "But if worst comes to worst, I think we'll just break him out forcibly. We can weaken his cell bars and shackles with fire…"

"Maybe you should consider going to Sokka's house, finding his sword and using that to cut through the metal, instead?"

"Uh… oh. That thing cuts through anything, doesn't it? Hey! That's a good idea…" Fei Li said, biting his lip with anticipation "Nice, nice…"

Azula breathed out slowly as Xin Long, abiding by her plans to stay out of sight, flew towards the ridges behind the Prison Tower. The location was isolated: there were no houses, no buildings in the area, beyond the Prison Tower's own. Xin Long finally touched down on the ridge, allowing them a clear view of the building and the wall that enclosed it from above: sentries paced back and forth, but it didn't seem they had thought to glance back towards the prison. If they were expecting anyone to interfere or attack tonight, they were wrongfully assuming they'd arrive on foot…

"I'll go keep watch until the guards head inside" Fei Li suggested, climbing off Xin Long's back and starting on his way to the edge of the earthen formation "It's better if someone keeps an eye on them, right?"

"Right… but it shouldn't be long now anyway" Azula said, breathing out slowly as she patted Xin Long gently: her dragon was stern, again completely humorless, even though he had finally seemed to be returning to his usual self lately. He was worried about Sokka, of course he was… but he was also worried about her "I'll be okay, Xin. They… they can't break me more than they already have. I won't let them"

Xin Long huffed, lowering his head. The damage they'd done was bad enough already: his grievances with her rotten family ran deeply, but despite knowing Azula had cared for the man once, Xin Long found himself despising Ozai profoundly now. A man who could command for his daughter to be hurt to this extent, who would go to such lengths to destroy her happiness and peace, was definitely the same kind of man who would destroy an entire race of dragons in a fit of hubris. He was no different from his father… no better, either.

Azula gritted her teeth, lowering her head. For years, she had wanted to believe her father was indeed better than the rest of the Fire Lords… for years, she had deluded herself into believing that those brief glimpses of warmth he'd showed her, that the man who had seemed so concerned for her wellbeing when he had first seen her convalescing after the battle earlier that month, could have more worth in his soul than the rest of their family did…

But while she despised Iroh profoundly, more than ever, after what he'd done… it was her father who had acted violently, unforgivingly, upon that information. It was he who had privileged a pointless tradition and his accursed, absurd pride over Azula's wellbeing. He was responsible for far more horrors than he'd ever likely admit… for surely, if she dared confront him, he'd claim it was Azula who was in the wrong. That it was her who had acted out, that it was her mistake and not his… when the truth was that her father could never, and would never, dictate what was in her heart. When the truth was that, if he had ever genuinely respected her, if he had ever genuinely trusted her, he would know her life was hers to be lived. That, just as she had told him long ago, when he had claimed no man was worthy of her hand in marriage, she should be the one to choose the so-called unworthy man herself…

Though she knew she had chosen the only worthy one indeed. The only one she would ever grow to love so profoundly, the only one deserving of every effort she was making to hold herself together, to fight against the devastating pain that tried to overpower her body, soul, mind and heart… and whatever affection her damn heart had still retained for the man she called her father was but a fragment of what she held for Sokka. In many ways, Ozai had pushed her into choosing between them both, forcing her hand… and he had been a fool to do so. Where years ago, she would have privileged no one and nothing over her father, he couldn't expect that to still be the truth after every unforgivable decision he had made over the course of the last years. He couldn't expect her to still be so daunted and scared she wouldn't stand up to him, when she had already done it before, when she would do it again without thinking about it for another second if it was for Sokka's sake…

"… Oh! It's happening!"

Fei Li's words startled her. Azula swallowed hard and nodded, collecting the helmet and setting it in place: her face would be hidden from plain sight, but her appreciation of her surroundings would also suffer while she hid underneath this helmet. It would keep her safe, to a fault… but she would have to devote herself as best she could to assessing her surroundings and avoiding detection. All her senses would need to be ready to pick up every sign of danger if she intended to get in and out of the prison unnoticed.

"If we can make it safely…" Fei Li said, climbing on the saddle behind her once more "You'll go see him, once we know where he is held. I don't know how much time I can give you guys, at worst we'll get out on the next shift change but…"

"It'll be dangerous. Shouldn't that happen around six in the morning?" Azula asked "Xin Long will be visible in the sky by then…"

"Yeah, that's why I said 'at worst'" Fei Li grimaced "If we can get out any sooner than that, we will have to. I'll have to figure something out, I guess…"

"A lot of this plan really is… improvisation, huh?" Azula whispered. Fei Li winced behind her, as Xin Long lifted off delicately, hoping to catch no one's attention with his short flight "It's probably not the best idea, but… it's how he'd do it, if our roles were reversed"

Fei Li swallowed hard at her words, remaining silent as Xin Long avoided flying before any of the Tower's small windows. He landed on the corridor of the sixth floor, and Fei Li jumped off quickly before offering his assistance to Azula, to make matters easier. She accepted it wordlessly, clasping his shoulder with her right hand as she slid her leg over Xin Long's frame until she was finally on solid ground. Fei Li released an anxious breath before closing his helmet's visor.

"We'll call you again soon, Xin" Azula whispered, patting the dragon's scales gently "Stay hidden"

The dragon didn't groan in response, only nodding weakly before taking off again: by then, Fei Li had clasped Azula's wrist and led her to the nearest doorway. It was ajar, left that way by the soldier whose shift had just ended. A fortunate lapse in judgment, though all things considered, the Prison Tower certainly lacked the upstanding, flight-proof reputation that the Boiling Rock had always held. If Sokka had been sent to that other prison, the likelihood of rescuing him at all would be slim to non-existent: it was the only positive factor to be found in Ozai's hopes to execute him soon.

The corridors inside the tower were poorly lit: it would allow Azula to walk across the shadows and avoid detection, or so she hoped. For now, though, they had to procure keys somewhere, be it Warden Poon's spare set or any others that Fei Li might be able to acquire.

"We landed on the sixth floor, I believe…" Azula whispered "The dining hall was at the end of the hall, on the second floor"

"Very well: I'll accompany you there, then I'll go to the guards' changing room" Fei Li said. Azula eyed him with uncertainty "Y-yeah, I know, I'm already in full uniform, but I have an idea on how to get a set of keys…"

"Alright, then. I'll trust your judgment" Azula said: those weren't words most people often directed at Fei Li, let alone the Princess, and he cherished them further for it.

They were cautious as they climbed down the stairs, though it seemed most guards who were to take up their new shifts either were already in place or were taking a long time in the changing room: it allowed Azula the chance to slip through the corridor, past the rows of empty cells, until she finally reached the dining room. After quickly glancing inside it, finding the location empty and scarcely lit by the light that filtered through the single window near the roof, Azula nodded at Fei Li and encouraged him to take off, closing the door as soon as he took off.

She pressed her head to the door, breathing deeply, slowly: Sokka was inside this damn building. He was here, merely a few flights of stairs away… she would see him again. As long as they went unnoticed, she would see him again.

Fei Li made his way downstairs, to the ground floor, touching his hips, searching his own body for something he couldn't seem to find. He walked past a few guards by then, none of whom cast him so much as a second glance as he marched cautiously, and yet still with that careless behavior, into the changing room.

There were only a few guards left inside, most of whom were taking off their armor and uniforms at the moment. Fei Li stepped past three of them, glancing at the shelves frantically until he finally caught the eye of the fourth one, at the back of the room.

"Something wrong?" the soldier asked. Fei Li winced, his heart racing.

"I just… I think I forgot my keys back at the barracks" he said, smacking his helmet with the palm of his hand "I only noticed when I was halfway up to my post, damn it…"

"U-uh… that's not good" said the soldier, wary "Especially right now…"

"I know!" Fei Li said, lowering his voice and yet sounding no less urgent for it "Y-you think I can maybe… ask the warden if he has a spare set anywhere? Or…"

"No, no, no! What, are you crazy?" exclaimed the guard, through gritted teeth: he shot a quick glance at a door at the end of the corridor, as though he was afraid that whoever might be behind it had overheard their exchange: was that the warden's office, then…? "You… you've got to be one of the green recruits they called in for the top floor, aren't you?"

"Uh, I guess it's that obvious…" Fei Li smiled awkwardly, immediately making a mental note of that information "I guess we shouldn't be sent to the top floor, seeing as we're new…?"

"Yeah, try that argument with your senior officers and see how that goes" said the guard, smirking in disbelief as he removed his own helmet "Nobody even wants to be on duty while that guy takes to howling like a maniac up there, as he does sometimes. Feels like the damn tower's haunted and it's all his doing. As long as the other damn prisoners don't start doing it too…"

"T-then, if I can't trade shifts with anyone else and I don't even have my keys… ugh, I should just go back" Fei Li groaned "But they'll kick me out of the force if I do, won't they? Damn it, I… I should've picked another job"

"Well, you look built enough for this one" said the guard, sighing "You just need more nerve, I guess. Experience will give you that. But… heh, if you're going to the top floor, I have an idea"

Fei Li blinked blankly as the guard made for a shelf at the other side of the room: he opened a compartment, sifting through the contents inside it until Fei Li heard the unequivocal sound of metal clanging together…

The guard returned with a whole set of keys in his hand, after closing the compartment. Fei Li gasped.

"These are Chuanli's keys, okay? You've got to come here as fast as you can once your shift ends and put those keys in that very same compartment" the guard instructed him. Fei Li nodded, breathing anxiously "Better this than asking Warden Poon anyway… now, get going, you're wasting time and you'll get in trouble if you keep this up"

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much" said Fei Li, nodding and bowing gratefully in his direction before dashing off to the exit again.

He sprinted upstairs, only slowing down once he reached the second floor – his new acquaintance probably wouldn't hear him anymore at this point. Fei Li breathed deeply and pocketed the keys as quietly as possible, approaching Azula's hiding place while still casting many wary glances around himself: the second floor's assigned sentries were already in the outer corridors, predictably watching the outside of the tower rather than expecting any threats to come from within the building.

He knocked on the door lightly, hoping it would be enough warning that it was only him, before pushing the door open. Azula hid in the shadows of the dining room, and Fei Li had trouble locating her at first until she stepped towards him, once the door was closed.

"Did you do it? Do you have the…?" she asked, and Fei Li smiled weakly before showing her the keys… and entrusting them to her, placing them carefully on her hand.

"I'll leave it to you to figure out if we can break him out with just normal keys" he said, breathing deeply "I'll try to make a distraction so you can get to him safely. From what one guard said, he must be in the top floor…"

"I figured as much, but… do you know for sure?" Azula asked, warily. Fei Li shook his head.

"Not really, and I don't even know how much privacy you'll have, depends on how thick the security is up there. Apparently they've gotten new recruits to watch the top floor? Which, well, seems like a stupid decision but apparently… a-apparently he scares the guards, somewhat. I don't really know why, but…"

"He scares them…?" Azula repeated, swallowing hard.

"The guy said he's been… howling?" Fei Li said, gritting his teeth "I don't know if he's just shouting or…"

"Or he's being…?" Azula asked, gritting her teeth: the keys rattled in her hand as she failed to speak the word that came to mind. Fei Li froze in place.

"We… we can still help him. I know it's all very difficult right now, but we can…"

"Let's go, Fei Li. Now" she said, her voice trembling despite she spoke with stern determination.

He nodded, returning to the dining hall's door: after a quick glance, he made sure the corridor was still empty and ushered Azula out. Again, she kept to the shadows as they returned to the stairs: Fei Li walked beside her, hoping to conceal her shape with his larger body if anyone glanced in their direction, but fortunately, they reached the flight to the third floor without obstacles.

Azula wasn't in great shape, hadn't been for over a month by now: even so, she slinked across the shadows while ignoring her exhaustion, constantly scrutinizing her surroundings, listening keenly to every sound beyond hers and Fei Li's. At the fifth floor, she forced Fei Li to a halt on the stairs' landing when a guard dodged out of the external corridors, yawning as he made his way towards the cellblock: was this the first floor with any actual prisoners? So far, the whole tower had appeared deserted… Azula snarled under her helmet, wondering which among her father's enemies would be kept in these cells. She knew of a few she had ensnared for him herself… and now she regretted any and all good things she'd ever done for her father. If just out of spite, she hoped Fei Li and the others would be able to break out the rest of her father's most despised criminals… come to think of it, that would be a good way to start a distraction. She'd have to suggest it later, though: not only was it ill-advised to speak at all right now, but Fei Li was guiding her upstairs again, as the guard in question was gone.

The sixth floor was much like the others, with only a handful of guards in the outer corridors… but by the time Azula was approaching the seventh floor, she heard the noise of pacing footsteps closer to them than before: the eighth was the top floor of the building. If that was where Sokka was being kept, this might be where they needed to stage a distraction most direly.

Azula swallowed dryly, her heart racing painfully: he was so close already, merely another flight of stairs away… but she had to keep her head cool, or as cool as possible in these circumstances. She gestured at Fei Li, who breathed deeply and nodded, urging her to stay hidden within this flight of stairs. If everyone was so daunted by whatever noises drifted from Sokka's cell, the likelihood was that no one else would head upstairs to seek him out anyway.

Fei Li stepped out into the open, breathing deeply as he took in this floor: it wasn't too different from the others, but the flight of stairs that led up was different, seeing as it was the last. There was no landing in them, instead they circled upwards into what he assumed would be close to the center of the cellblock. That was their goal… and it was currently guarded by a recruit who had to be at least six years younger than Fei Li.

Fei Li swallowed hard and smiled awkwardly as he approached the guard: he stood closer to the stairs too, wondering if he should go upstairs already to check it was empty… but he resolved to stand here, instead. This had to be one of the green recruits the other guard had mentioned… same as the one who struggled to hold up his spear properly as he paced the outer corridor.

"Sorry I'm late" Fei Li said, with an awkward smile. The guard by the stairs winced at the sound of his voice.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else to help, so… don't have to be sorry" he said, raising his visor and rubbing his eyes with his fists.

"Has he, uh, done anything weird yet?" Fei Li asked, pointing at the stairs. The guard raised an eyebrow.

"No…? Is he supposed to?" the guard asked. Fei Li huffed, eyes wide.

"Beats me… I was told he's been howling and whatnot?" he said "But maybe if there's no one up there with him he has no reason to howl…"

"As far as I know, he's alone" said the guard "Looks like they want him isolated or something"

"Yeah, I noticed the other guards didn't want to come here…"

"Must be because it was so boring…" said the guard, yawning too. Fei Li blinked blankly at the guard's words: boring? Guarding the top-profile prisoner of the Fire Nation at the moment was boring? Either they were in the wrong place… or these people had no idea who was upstairs "Might be that howling you said would perk me up again, but… I'm so not trained for this sort of thing…"

"Oh, I've had a few practice night patrols in the past, not quite the same as this, but still…" Fei Li said, smiling encouragingly at the man "There's this technique I resort to, you know? To wake myself up. It's just breathing really quick, really fast, many times…"

"Oh?" said the guard, puzzled.

"It gets your blood pumping so quickly, you'll see" Fei Li smiled "Try it!"

The guard blinked blankly but obeyed Fei Li's suggestion: he started slow, but then his intakes of breath were faster and remarkably uneven. Fei Li gritted his teeth, wondering if this tactic would work or not… if it didn't, he guessed the guard would consider him trustworthy, to a fault, for helping him wake up, but then he'd need to stage another distraction. Maybe convince him to check on the other guy, introduce themselves to each other, which could give Azula the chance to dash upstairs while no one was the wiser…

The guard beside him lost his balance, tumbling down to the floor.

Fei Li reached for the guard just in time, gasping as he ensured his head wouldn't hit the solid stone steps of the staircase. He cradled the man closely, to his chest, in what he hoped he would think was a protective gesture rather than a means to immobilize him… and then he glanced back at the stairs that led downwards: still hidden in the shadows, Azula had kept track of their whole conversation and braced herself with a hand against the wall: now? Should she truly walk before that guard? Was he completely out of it…?

Fei Li gestured at her with his head, urging her to move: Azula swallowed hard and did so, walking in plain sight now. The guard in the outer corridor had seemingly not noticed anything yet: he wasn't close to the door at the time, surely pacing at the other end… but once he came back, he'd likely want to check on his fallen comrade. It was now or never.

Azula rounded Fei Li and the fainted guard as quietly as she could: Fei Li cradled the man's head against his chest as closely as he dared, but his blank eyes probably wouldn't have caught sight of the slithering shadow that crossed the long staircase right then and there.

Fei Li waited until she was hidden in the shroud of darkness again: he hoped, deeply, that there truly would be no one else up there… for if there was, he wasn't sure how he'd help Azula anymore. Just this much was plenty of trouble already: if anything went wrong, every suspicion would certainly fall on him, no matter how convincing he had been in his role of novice guard so far.

He heard the footsteps of the other guard, approaching the doorway. He breathed deeply and pulled the other one away from his chest at last, tapping his cheek gently.

"Hey, hey! What's wrong? Oh, dear…" he said, shaking his head.

"What… what happened?" asked the guard, reentering the tower to look at the situation. Fei Li grimaced.

"He fainted! I don't know why, though, it was so sudden…! I managed to catch him before he fell to the floor" he said "He was all sleepy, is what he'd told me…"

"Crap, but… do you think it's something serious?" asked the other guard, grimacing.

"We should take him downstairs, shouldn't we?" Fei Li asked "Maybe there's first-aid there…"

"Oh, that's a good idea" said the guard, tapping his chin with a finger.

"Though, eh, I wouldn't know what to do to help him over fainting?" Fei Li said, a hand on his helmet "I was no good at first-aid at the academy…"

"You weren't? Really?" asked the other guard "Strange you'd graduate if that's how it is, but… eh, I'll take him, then. No idea where the first-aid stuff is, though… do you know?"

"I'm as new here as you are" Fei Li sighed. The guard groaned, shaking his head as he collected his fainted comrade in his arms.

"Make sure nothing weird happens while we're gone, will you?" he said "The last thing I need is to get kicked out of the Domestic Forces over messing up a patrol I never even wanted to take up, for crying out loud…"

The guard grumbled on his way downstairs, carrying his comrade in his arms. Fei Li breathed deeply as he watched them go, and he lingered, on his knees, before the stairs. He didn't know how long it would take for those two to return… but he'd definitely have trouble distracting them again if they came back before the Princess was ready to leave. He knew she wouldn't likely be brief about this… but he had no idea what he'd do to prevent the other two from recognizing something was amiss once they came back. This was dangerous, very dangerous… their survival and the safety of their mission now hinged on the Princess alone.

---

Sounds reached him in his dark cell. Voices, it seemed: the guards on the next floor were chattier than the last ones, apparently. He shot a bitter glare at the stairs, wondering if he should yell at them to shut up… wondering if he should do anything at all. His throat was sore, had been for most the day, for he had barely been brought any water so far. He'd had two meals, one in the morning and one at night: the first one was a barely edible gruel, the second a chunk of stale bread. In many ways, it was as though he was right back at the beginning… at the damn Amateur Arena, no less.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the noise to go away… but it didn't. The chatty guards downstairs apparently were breathing very quickly, or one of them was, at least. Was something wrong, then? Was the guy nervous for some reason? Had he been given some sort of dangerous command, perhaps, or…?

The noisy breathing stopped suddenly. Sokka's eyes narrowed: the rustling of clothes, the clinking sounds of armor clashing together, and then… footsteps.

Footsteps, up the stairs. Coming his way.

They started very light, barely perceptible, but the rhythm was clear enough. The sounds came closer and closer, and they sped up as the distance between them and the top floor was shortened…

At the very same stairs that Shaofeng and his goons had vanished through, that the only kind guard he'd seen so far had left through, he glimpsed a fully armored soldier, wearing the Fire Nation's general army's helmet design: those red spikes at either side, those skull-like masks covering the face completely. The sight was unwelcome… but more than anything, it was confusing: wasn't that a uniform worn by occupation forces? By the invasion forces? Why would anyone show up at his cell wearing that uniform…?

And why would they stop cold at the top of the stairs, visibly trembling upon facing him as he sat in his cell, scowling distrustfully?

The soldier's chest heaved visibly: the rise of their shoulders made them flinch, seemingly bringing them back to their senses. Sokka frowned, perplexed over the soldier's unsteady gait, uncharacteristic from any member of the Fire Lord's armed forces.

"W-who…?" he started: his heart knew that was the right question to ask, but his mind forced him not to utter it. He had to watch out for himself, the situation was far too suspicious to take it for granted "What do you want…?"

The soldier approached the cell's door: the breathing was even more unsteady than their walking rhythm, but it was… familiar. Something in the hitch of their intake of breaths resembled that of someone whose every hitch he'd long memorized already…

"Wait…" he said, as the possibility dawned on him, no matter how unlikely it could be. No, no, no, he was filling his head with utter delusions because it couldn't be her, it couldn't be…

The clinking of the keys the alleged soldier procured startled Sokka all the same: he watched impatiently, his heart racing, as the new arrival struggled not only to find the right key, but to keep a steady control over their motions when their entire body was vibrating painfully. Such was the strength with which they shook that the keys slipped out of the palm of their hand and fell on the filthy floor.

"Shit…!"

And now there was no mistaking it.

"No. No, no, what are you…?!" Sokka exclaimed, tears surging in his eyes only for her to interrupt him when she brought her trembling right hand's index and middle fingers to the level of her mouth. Sokka gritted his teeth, and now she was certainly not the only one trembling as his voice, suddenly broken and impossible to find, uttered the three syllables he considered his very salvation: "Azula…!"

The wheeze of his voice was so faint she barely had it in her to collect the keys that she'd dropped. Azula flinched, raising the keys back to the lock, struggling not only to undo it as she tested every key, one by one, but to rise to her feet when her legs trembled so violently.

In the end, she gave up on standing up. She only continued to fumble with the damn keys, trying her best not to drop them again, as Sokka crawled with difficulty across the filthy floor, gazing at her with the most heartbreaking despair she had ever seen in his eyes. He needed to hold her, just as badly as he needed to send her away for her own safety… she understood those feelings perfectly, without needing him to put them into words: she was experiencing the same contradictory impulses, the same urges, the same relief over seeing him again as well as the horror of knowing he had been hurt, so terribly, by her father's men…

His face was bruised, as were his exposed arms. She didn't even want to imagine how bad the wounds would be over the rest of his body, but as he flinched so many times while crawling towards her that she could tell they were dreadful as well. A shackle held his ankle, linking him to the far wall, and he was too weakened to break it or slip out of it. Even so, even in this awkward position, he seemed to disregard the way his leg twisted back as he attempted to reach the cell's door. Nothing mattered to him as much as reaching her… just as nothing mattered to her as much as breaking him free.

Finally, the lock clicked. Azula gasped, struggling to keep the lock from crumbling noisily on the floor, but she set it aside immediately before pulling the door open…

Sokka's arms wrapped around her as soon as she crossed the threshold, pulling her close into the most fragile, painful embrace they had ever shared.

If Azula had thought she had let her emotions run rampant at any point in her life before, it was nothing compared with the overwhelming feelings that tore her soul to pieces now: tears had never rushed down her eyes with such abandon as sobs shook her shoulders. Her hands had reached for him as well, touching his strong body… only to confirm it was utterly weakened, covered in wounds. She gasped as she pulled away, trying to avoid touching his wounds, but Sokka only took that chance to lift the helmet carefully from her head…

He revealed her face, streaked as it was with a myriad of tears, with a mix of conflicting, chaotic emotions that made it so she didn't know where to start, what to do, what to even say… for all she wanted was to whisk him away to safety immediately.

But he didn't let her speak, not even if she had known how to find the words she lacked: he caught her face in his hands, reeling her closer so his lips could find hers. He could taste her tears, and soon enough she tasted his own too: they were only making each other's reactions worse, but there was no stopping the overflowing, painful rush that overtook them.

"I… I thought I'd never see you again…" Sokka gasped against her lips before pressing his face to her right shoulder, armored as it was "Azula, you… Oh, Azula…"

"I… I didn't… I know I shouldn't be here, I…" she cried just as well, clinging to him until he flinched as she brushed one of his wounds accidentally "No…! Oh, no, I…! I'm sorry, Sokka, I…!"

"Touch me again… I don't care where, I don't care if it hurts, I only care that it's you" he said, raising his face to show her the most fragile smile she had ever seen on his face "Azula, love…"

"I… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she sobbed, shaking her head violently "I know I shouldn't be here, I know that, but…"

"Why did you come? And how…?" Sokka asked, easing her constant shaking of her head by holding her face in his hands "I… I was so scared, I didn't know what the hell they'd done to you, I… I was so afraid for you, Azula…"

"You got the worst of it, Sokka, please…" Azula said, her very lips trembling as her hands raked his chest: the prisoner's uniform that clung loosely around his body allowed her to see the patches of roughened skin beneath the fabric "T-they beat you, they… h-have they been torturing you? Fei Li heard…"

"F-Fei Li…?" Sokka repeated "Are the guards alright? Your guards? T-they definitely weren't the ones who came for me, I mean, I could tell, but I couldn't even know if…"

"It wasn't them, no" Azula shook her head "They never would've… t-they're helping me break you out and get you to safety somehow, they…"

"Wait, what?" Sokka gasped "Y-you… did you come here to break me out?"

"I… I can't today, but soon, I…"

"Azula, that's…"

"Treason? Dangerous, madness?" she asked, and for the first time that night, Sokka saw the glow of determination that usually sparkled in the eyes of the woman he loved "I think we're well past that point now. Sokka, it's all over. It's… there's no point in even trying to protect anything anymore, he's going to come after all of us even if we play to his damn tune, and I don't intend to give him the satisfaction if I can avoid it, to begin with"

"He's… fuck him. Shit, I… I really want to kill him now. Fuck, I should've done it ages ago!" Sokka growled, releasing Azula as he lowered his head, his shoulders squared "What did they do to you? Azula…"

"Don't… y-you shouldn't even know, Sokka, it'll only… it won't help at all" Azula said, shaking her head.

"They really did it… the purity examination, didn't they?" Sokka said, gritting his teeth. Azula flinched, lowering her gaze. Sokka's breath escaped him at her silent admission…

And then she was startled when he wrapped his arms around her body again, so much more delicately now… as his tears spilled onto her hair, sobs shaking his body.

"I couldn't… I couldn't fight back…" Azula admitted, with a thread of a voice. A powerful sob shook her too, one she couldn't keep silent "I just… I tried, but there were so many guards, and I wasn't ready, I wasn't strong enough to…"

"I… I want to kill them all… I want to kill every bastard who dared touch you…" Sokka sobbed, trembling against her.

"I'm sorry… I'm…"

"It's not your fault, Azula, it's…"

"It is my fault! I…! I should've known better than to…! T-than to act on impulse when I did, than push us both into fucking in the damn waiting room, if we hadn't then maybe…!"

"W-wait, wait, what…?"

"It was… it's all Iroh, Sokka, it was him who… he saw us, I don't even know how, he… he realized what we were doing, I don't know, but the piece of shit told my father and…"

"Iroh…? It was…?!" Sokka said, his face torn now with a snarl of rage: it wasn't bad enough that Ozai would have them both killed, hurt and tortured in as wide a myriad of ways as he pleased… but it was all Iroh's doing? "That son of a bitch… that son of a bitch seriously did this because…?!"

"Shhh, Sokka, please don't… there's guards everywhere downstairs…" Azula shook her head, pressing her hand to his mouth… the furious tears that poured down his cheeks couldn't be stopped, even if his voice could be.

"They should fucking… the two of them should fucking die…" Sokka growled, lowering his head "How dared they…? How could they do this to you?!"

"I don't know…" Azula said, pulling him close until his head rested on her shoulder "I don't know, and it doesn't even matter why or how anymore, because… because it's too late to change what happened. What matters now is… i-is getting you out of here when we can, Sokka…"

"Azula, it's too dangerous…" Sokka said, raising his head to eye her pleadingly "You're already in so much danger, they've already hurt you as they have, you can't just…!"

"I'll do anything for you, damn it" she said, trembling again before catching his face between her hands to kiss him brusquely. Her forehead rested against his afterwards, leaving Sokka to gasp breathlessly, lacking the words, the means, to speak his mind anymore "I don't care what the cost may be for me… I'll pay the price. But you will live. You have to live, Sokka, you just have to…"

"I don't… I don't know if we can make that work, Azula…"

"Well, we have to" Azula said, gritting her teeth as she clasped the keys again: Sokka eyed her with uncertainty as she moved towards his shackled leg "We… we came all this way, snuck up here, all be it to… t-to be sure we can get you out when the time's right, okay? W-we can't today, we're not ready, but maybe by tomorrow night…"

"Azula…" Sokka said, grimacing: the shackle rattled as she struggled to slide the keys inside the lock, but most the keys didn't fit this time, and the ones that did wouldn't budge.

"You're getting out of here, damn it… y-you're getting out of here…" Azula sobbed, switching keys one by one… only for the same results to repeat themselves over and over again.

"Azula, please…" Sokka called her, reaching to wrap a hand around the nape of her neck just as Azula failed to unlock the shackle with the last key.

With a muffled shriek, Azula tossed the keys, frustrated, on the filthy floor beside her. No, none worked on the damn shackle. Or maybe she should try again, maybe she had missed one… but somehow, she could tell that wasn't the case.

"T-the guard who helped me… he couldn't unlock it either"

"The… the guard?" Azula asked, raising her head towards him "W-what guard…?"

"I don't know…" Sokka swallowed hard, breathing out slowly as he took her hand in hers "I couldn't recognize him… maybe because I'd just been brought here. But… he told me, back at the house, when they found me… t-that I should stop struggling, both for your sake and mine. T-then he… he brought me water and some ointment for my wounds, once I was already here. The only thing he told me was… t-that they'd done that damn examination to you, though I still wanted to hope that… t-that it hadn't happened, that you'd be okay, but…"

"I never wanted… I never wanted anyone else to…" Azula said, through gritted teeth. Sokka sobbed quietly too, pulling her close to a gentle embrace.

"I know… I know" he said, pressing soft kisses to her cheek. She clung to him, unable to retain yet another burst of tears as she held onto him "It… it should've never happened, none of this, Azula, but… please, don't ever blame yourself. It wasn't you, it wasn't your fault…"

"If I hadn't been so fucking stupid, Sokka…"

"Azula, don't…"

"I…!" she gasped, looking at him in despair "I shouldn't have… I… I shouldn't have been such a… s-such a fool…"

"Iroh had no right, Azula, it wasn't his place to…!"

"I-Iroh wouldn't have… wouldn't have had the chance to do this if I… i-if I'd ever held back with you" Azula said, shaking her head. Sokka's eyes widened "If I'd listened to you… w-when you said I wasn't supposed to be a choice for you, if I'd let you stop that day when we…"

"What…? N-no, no, Azula…!"

"You wouldn't be here now…!" Azula sobbed, shaking her head "Y-you would still be out of danger, my father wouldn't want to kill you and…!"

"And what about everything else, Azula…?" Sokka said, eyeing her in disbelief "Everything we built, everything we worked for…"

"I…" she gasped, covering her face with her hands as Sokka shook his head and pulled her closer.

"No, Azula… no" he said, pressing his face to the top of her head as he pulled away from the cell's open door again, until his back was against the wall once more. He brought her with him, holding her as closely as he possibly could, no matter how his ribs might hurt, how many of his bruises she was in contact with… none of it mattered. The pain made them real. It made this moment solid, rather than a mere illusion or a wishful dream "What we had… I don't care what your damn father, what your wretched uncle, might think of it. What we had was the strongest, the truest of loves, and it wasn't doomed to end like this. It wouldn't have, if not for those two… it's their fault, Azula, not yours. You… you have every right to love, to live your life however you choose to, with whoever you chose to! And… and say, if I somehow was wrong, if this was the only possible outcome for what we have, if I would always be doomed to die for our love…"

"No, Sokka, please…"

"Well, I'd damn die a million times over, if that's how it is" Sokka said, swallowing hard "I don't care how painful… I don't care how many times they might break my body until it no longer holds up. I don't care what they might do to me, whatever they think I deserve… every hardship, every price, was worth loving you. I'll never regret our love. I can't, Azula. You mean… you mean everything to me, damn it…"

"And you mean everything to me, you fool… that's why I can't… w-why I can't accept that this is the price we have to pay!" she gasped, looking at him in chagrin "Y-your life… y-you shouldn't have to lose it because of our love, Sokka, you should never have to lose everything just because of me…!"

"You're right" Sokka said, nodding weakly "I shouldn't have to. But if that's the way this fucked up world wants to make things, I… I'd rather die tomorrow than deny our love. The only life I want to live… is a life with you. Everything else is worthless: believe me, my life was going nowhere until you found me. You… you gave everything meaning. You made my every damn dream come true, Azula, just by being you. Haven't we always said it…? We're proud of what we have, of who we've become with each other?"

"Sokka…" Azula gasped, her voice shattering at his words.

"I'm proud… even if that pride will be the death of me, I'm proud" he said, cupping her face again "To call you my wife… to hold you like this? To kiss you, to make love to you, no one can ever make me regret any of that, Azula, because I love you. I always will love you. I may be broken and beaten, and maybe I'll die soon, but even if I did? My heart, my soul, my very spirit, will be with you for good, forever! I'm yours, Azula… I've been yours for so much longer than I ever knew…"

"Sokka…" Azula gasped, between countless tears again "I can't… I can't let you die, damn it, I… if you die I might as well just… j-just die with you, because I can't live in this disgusting world without you…!"

She hugged him again, sobbing desperately as he held her, far more firmly than he expected to: just being around her again filled him with strength, no matter if he hadn't slept, if he hadn't eaten… for she was the source of his very will to live. How he would've loved to hold her well until they were old and gray, to continue living his life by her side, to sit with her watching sunsets for eternity, in this life and the next… it had been too much to hope for, too much to ask. Yes, they had made mistakes… they had been reckless and foolish, and in many ways, their carelessness had come at a price. Yet with every moment he held her, it seemed as though all the years of bliss by her side had come and gone too soon. If he had known it would happen, if he had been warned their last days loomed closer, he would have cherished every moment even further… he would have been prepared to fight back, to protect them however possible, whether against Iroh or Ozai or just anyone who dared get in their way.

It was a disgusting world, to be sure… a world where two people could love each other so fiercely, so purely, only to be forced apart by the wrath of a brutal, merciless Fire Lord. They had already been well on their way to rebuild the world indeed, into a world where balance would return, where slavery would disappear, where nations would work together in true harmony, rather than staying distant from each other, refusing to cooperate at all… a world where the love of a Fire Nation Princess and a Water Tribe warrior would never be punished, destroyed by ignorance, by cruelty, by the forceful hand of a man whose thirst for control, power and strength would never be quenched…

All dreams of such a world were now nothing but a future they could never attain. A future they had lost, whether by their own actions or by those of others, it made no matter: it was out of reach completely. Perhaps they had dreamt of the impossible, accustomed to achieving anything they set out to do… but their wings had been clipped. After spending years rising as high as they had, in a matter of a single day they plummeted to the ground anew, crashing, burning, all their aspirations and hopes utterly dashed and cast into nothingness.

It meant that all they had left was the present… this moment, and nothing else. If the guards' plans failed, if they backfired somehow, if Ozai made his move sooner than expected… this would be the last chance they'd ever have. The final night, the last contact between their trembling, fragile bodies…

"Azula…" he called her name, and he said nothing more: perhaps it was only the pleasure of speaking it, of knowing it belonged to her, of holding her in his arms, his thoughts, his voice…

"D-don't ask me… d-don't ask me to try…" she whispered, shaking her head as she pressed it to his chest "Don't… d-don't ask me to live on, not without you…"

"I… I wasn't going to, but…"

"I've… I've cast my lot with you" Azula said, gripping him tightly "I… I won't accept anything else. If someone should… if someone should pay the price for everything, it should be me, not you…"

"No, Azula…"

"My father…" Azula said, pulling away just to look at him, though whimpered softly before doing so "He… he called me in, t-to question me. About this. About you"

Sokka's brow drew together at those words. His own grip around Azula tightened too, as though holding her now would mean he could keep her away from the man who, as far as he could tell, was nothing short of the worst menace against his own daughter. He snarled, his body trembling more violently now than it had for a few moments.

"W-what did he…? W-what did he do to you? Did he hurt you, Azula…? I… I thought he wouldn't have seen you, I…"

"He… he didn't hurt me" Azula whispered "Not more than… than his damn orders already had. But he… h-he wanted me to lie to him, to tell him you'd forced yourself on me, that I was innocent somehow, a fucking victim when I… w-when I've loved you with every damn fiber of my being…"

"Piece of shit…" Sokka hissed, gritting his teeth "T-though… I guess if you said what he wanted to, he'd…"

"He'd have killed you already!" Azula said, looking at him in chagrin. Sokka swallowed hard "And he wouldn't have hurt me any less by it, damn it all, he…! He just wanted to pin the blame on you, to play this as some wretched story where you were the monster… when the only monster around here is him!"

She sobbed, shaking her head again. Sokka sighed, pulling her in once more, rubbing her back gently, kissing the side of her head and her cheek. He knew the answer already… but he ventured his guess all the same.

"You… didn't lie to him" he whispered. Azula shook her head "So now he…"

"He can hate me all he wants… he can resent me for as long as he pleases, I don't care" Azula said, sniffing as her hands caressed Sokka's body gently "I've told him… t-that I'd give myself to you for as long as we both live, that I'd done it a million times over and I'd do it as many as I could, all over again…"

"You… you're so reckless, love, so beautiful and so reckless…" Sokka said, shaking his head as tears rolled down his eyes as well "Saying something like that to him, you… you shouldn't have, damn it, he could've…"

"I didn't care… I still don't… just as you don't care if you have to die because of what we have, I don't care to spare my father's feelings, if that's even what they're called" Azula hissed, shaking her head one more time before gazing at him "I don't care… whatever he does to me, from this day onwards, I'll fight back every time, I'll rebel and never submit… I will be like you. I won't bow to him… never again"

Sokka breathed out slowly, brushing her face with his fingers, breaking the pattern of her tears by doing so. She trembled still, and the sadness that held her soul had to be overpowering… but even if the night was barely lit, even if his weary eyes weren't that much use in the darkness, her beauty still stole away his heart upon gazing at her.

His long silence provided her with a chance to take him in as well: his long hair, tussled and unkempt, still retained some of its grace. Where there were bruises over his skin, across his whole body, his blue eyes still were lit with that spark of intelligence, of strength she had ever admired in him. Long ago, it had been Azula who had beaten him, leaving him helpless in the snow, looking down on him as she inflicted upon him a fate she would regret in the future… and upon finding him anew, that intelligence, that strength, had still resided in him. Whether they succeeded at rescuing him or he died tomorrow, she believed his words fully: he would never break. He surrendered to no one. In him resided a dignity, a nobility, that she had recognized in no one else she had known but him.

"This… isn't the way anything was supposed to go…" Azula managed to say, raising a hand to caress his cheek, brushing his growing stubble as she did "B-but I swear, whatever it takes, we will save you, Sokka. Whatever it takes…"

"I'm sorry your guards got involved too…" Sokka whispered "I bet you mustn't have wanted that, ever…"

"No, I didn't, but… I didn't know what else to do" Azula admitted "It's been… it's been a nightmare, Sokka. Not having you beside me, I…"

"I'm here now" he whispered. She gritted her teeth.

"But I… I'll have to go eventually, I can't stay in here with you forever, no matter if I wish I could…" Azula said, pressing her brow to his.

"We have this moment" Sokka muttered, taking her hand in his, pressing a delicate kiss to her palm, then another to her wrist, then to each of her fingers… Azula's throat tightened as she watched him, tears threatening to overcome her anew "I… I really thought I'd never see you again, Azula…"

"This isn't the last time, Sokka" she said, her voice so weak her words were barely a whisper "I won't let it be the last time, I… I can't, no matter what it takes, I…"

"It won't be the last…" Sokka agreed, and her constrained chest eased mildly for it "You… you and the others, you'll do it. We'll all get away from your dad, and then we'll… we'll find a way to defeat him, to tear him down, to fix everything wrong with the world, together. And then… everyone will know about us, right? So… s-so we'll be able to live freely, just as we always wanted to, Azula. Just as we dreamed, no more hiding, no more secrecy…"

His words saw her crying again, and he followed soon afterwards: the future he was trying to build for her with his words was ephemeral, a wishful dream neither one truly believed could be attained anymore. It was but a vain, faint hope that things would get better one day, for the depths of their current despair suggested the future couldn't be this bleak, constantly, for good, could it…?

"It's not the last time, Azula…" he said, shaking his head "Because I will always be with you"

The sense of finality in those words was devastating. Azula whimpered, her shoulders shaking, before pressing her lips to his. She showered him in her sorrows, giving herself to a different kind of passion than she usually did: she wanted to commit him to memory, every single inch of him, every drip of his sweat, every strand of his hair, every breath he ever released into the night air… all of it, she wanted to make it hers. To protect him with her own body if need be, to shield him from every blow that came his way…

It was a familiar enough sensation, one she had experienced with similarly overpowering despair once before… once, in a dream in which she had lost everything. She had wanted nothing but to ensure that damned nightmare would never come to pass… that she would never find herself struggling to protect Sokka in that manner. But just as he had protected her, for as long as their partnership had existed, she protected him: even now, when they were as good as standing at the very gates of death, neither one wanted to do anything but protect the other, at all costs.

Kissing his dry lips so fiercely, letting her tongue travel through his waiting mouth, wouldn't help protect him, she knew as much. Giving him the chance to do the same, to explore her for the millionth time, had to be detrimental to their cause as well. She and Fei Li had to go, they had to, it was true, and yet…

And yet they knew this could be the last time, regardless of Sokka's fragile promises.

Azula tried her best not to cry anymore, not now, not when she should have been focusing on nothing but his touch and his earnest kisses… but the tears wouldn't stop coming. Where the erotic intent from merely a day ago had been all they could cave in to, now they were driven by a desperate nostalgia for something they hadn't yet lost. If this would be the last, it should certainly not be like this… but the world was not quite so kind as to allow them a choice in that respect, not anymore.

Neither abided by the physical pain etched upon their bodies: it was nothing compared with the hemorrhage that poured from their hearts and souls, constantly increasing as they exchanged it relentlessly through the bridge between them both. Each kiss was more desperate than the last, even as they focused as well on trailing their hands upon each other's body. Azula caressed his abdomen, as lightly as she dared, before reaching down to loosen his prison trousers: Sokka gasped as she pulled away from his lips, and he seemed to dive in to seek for more… only for the Princess to cover his chest in kisses as she moved lower down his body. Sokka gritted his teeth as she slid a hand inside his lower garments, releasing his manhood: where it would be standing upright by now, the devastating situation certainly had done no favors to his drive… she couldn't blame him, truthfully. Her own body hardly seemed to remember what pleasure was, so consumed by grief that she could barely process her own actions.

Sokka reached down to touch her body, flinching as she engulfed his cock with her mouth: she didn't hold back, didn't tease him, and at this point, neither would he. His hand wound up caressing her face as she dove in to the fullest, as though trying to intoxicate herself in him completely… Sokka shivered, sensing the natural response of his body to this stimulation, wishing it hadn't responded quite so quickly. How greedy of him to want this to last longer, when they had no time to waste, when Azula had to leave so soon…

He only let her continue for a few more moments, gritting his teeth as he took her face in his hands and guided her head away from his groin. Even now, tears blinked in the corners of her eyes, and he brushed them away with his thumbs before reeling her closer to him. Azula gasped, opposing no resistance as Sokka undid the belt of her uniform, tugging down her clothes a little more brusquely than he had intended: she helped him, shaking off her boots, tossing everything aside until her lower body was fully bare. Sokka pulled her closer, prompting her to kneel as he slid between her legs: he wouldn't have her lie down in the filth of this damn cell, not even for a moment, not when he didn't need her to do so in order to devour her core.

Azula whimpered, slapping her hand across her mouth to force herself to remain silent. This time, to be sure, she couldn't make any noise. Every kiss he planted upon her warm skin, every trail of his tongue across her slit, was but a reminder that this very impulsive behavior was the whole reason this had happened in the first place… and yet she couldn't bring herself to stop him. She could only chastise herself internally, punching the rock wall with her free hand, punishing herself through the bursts of pain while the pleasure he expertly weaved between her legs surged far more easily than she had expected it to.

She pushed herself off him once she thought she was ready: Sokka flinched, the pain across his body still occasionally rearing its head, but he wouldn't hold back, not even if it killed him – he was condemned already, as it was. He guided her to sit upon his lap, and it was Azula herself who clasped his manhood, guiding it to her entrance… and she gazed directly into his heartfelt eyes as she let herself sink on him.

His head breached her slowly, and Azula gritted her teeth to retain her moans. Sokka released a trembling breath, cupping her face between his hands before kissing her. Azula seemed not to know how to breathe either, breaking each kiss with a gasp, her behavior that of a drowning person who couldn't seem to come afloat, no matter how hard they might try… but he brought her up with him, sharing his own air with her, letting her break their kisses as many times as she needed to, whether to cry or to regain her composure… though the latter, clearly, was impossible for either of them. Every glimpse of each other's faces would botch up their every attempt to level themselves with reality: it wasn't the time to fear what would come tomorrow, but the time to give themselves to the present as best they could… and yet losing this, losing each other, had submerged their hearts in the deepest darkness. There was no shaking off this despair, no fighting it: all they could do was act on it, to offer themselves to each other for one dark night, as dark as the one where they had lost everything they'd fought to protect for this long.

"I love you…" Sokka gasped, as Azula continued to sink in him: his shaft was engulfed slowly, and her walls seemed to pulsate with pleasure that she couldn't feel in her broken heart "I love you more than anything, Azula…"

"Sokka…" she gasped, hands sliding into his hair.

"I don't care… I don't care what comes for me… I'll never… I'll never regret that, alright?" he said, gritting his teeth as his hands slid down to her neck.

He kissed her passionately again as he undid the buckles of this armor: he didn't remove it from her shoulders, but his hands slid through her tunic afterwards, caressing her skin directly: how he longed to see her, all of her… but he couldn't continue tempting fate again, not after it had already crossed them so cruelly the previous night. He touched her everywhere he could reach regardless of that, trailing over her flanks, sliding even underneath her breast bindings and cupping her mounds, letting her nipples harden against his massaging palms.

Azula breathed out between kisses, fisting his hair with likely further strength than she should have exerted: no one else would ever touch her like this. She would allow no one else to break through her defenses the way Sokka had. She would never give herself to anyone else… for she belonged with him, and him alone. Whatever came next, however long either of them had left to live, she intended to honor the vows she had made him in Firelight Town and Shu Jing. She had belonged with him: the world might never understand or accept them, but he was right not to regret it. He was right… for neither did she.

After living a life without love, an empty life, in which she had been far more lost than she had ever known, she had found purpose, companionship, an extraordinary partnership with him. From living alone, counting on no one but herself, she had grown to count on him, to trust his judgment, to believe in his promises, to think of him as part of herself, so intricately connected to each other there was no longer any telling where one began and the other ended. Being torn from him at all would be as though stealing the sky away from the earth, as taking the stars from the moon: where she hadn't known she had needed him before they found one another again, now she knew she couldn't live without him. And that was exactly why they had to do whatever it took to save him, so…

She thrusted, wrapping her arms around his neck, and thrusted again. This position, ever one she relished in, allowed them the most intimacy as they embraced and kissed while filling themselves with the other. It was comforting and yet it hindered them: their thrusts caused their bodies to press together, bringing forth pain upon Sokka's damaged skin, upon Azula's aching muscles. And yet they didn't stop at all: Sokka thrusted upwards, and Azula met his movements with her own: their eyes met just as well, as she pressed her brow to his. Their breaths mingled in the air… and then in each other's mouths, as Azula kissed him passionately, recklessly.

His hands settled on her rear, and he thrusted while bringing her closer, pulling her towards him in a rhythm that eased her walls into the smoothness he was used to… and yet, no matter how hard and wet they might be, they weren't chasing a simple climax that night. They sought a permanence that they knew they wouldn't find, a reassurance that their connection could truly overcome every obstacle, despite such convictions having already been proven wrong by the horrors they had faced…

But they were still here. They were still alive, still strong enough to give themselves to each other. Still stubborn and resilient enough to stand against the most powerful man in the world and refuse his demands, no matter what they might be…

Azula would fight back, again and again: she wouldn't let tonight be the final night of all. She wouldn't let anyone take Sokka away from her, let alone permanently. With every kiss they exchanged, with every thrust that brought them closer to the last, her certainty that she would fight back, with all her might, only built and strengthened. He was hers to protect: her lover, her husband, her partner, her friend… her gladiator.

"I… I won't regret any of this either…" she managed to say, upon breaking their kisses: Sokka's tearful eyes seemed to brighten up, upon finally hearing her say those words "I can't… I'll never regret loving you, Sokka…!"

"Azula…" he called her name, and she followed the sound of his voice as she caved into another kiss.

A broken love could still be mended, even if the hearts that had built it were torn to pieces. No matter how frail they were, no matter how lost they felt, every last shred of hope was worth clinging to. Maybe their most ambitious dreams were lost, for good… but maybe they could find new ones, in the future. Maybe they could build a new path for themselves, and whatever it looked like, Sokka would cherish it for the rest of his life, for he would walk it with her. Theirs was an unbreakable bond… a partnership that could never be foregone. Two people so deeply interwoven in each other could never truly lose one another, no matter how dark their future might be, if they had one at all…

But she wouldn't regret this. She wouldn't wish they'd held back, all the way to the very early days of their relationship… and neither would he. For if he could do it all, all over again, he would choose her from the very first moment. If he could go back in time, he would run to her, without hesitation. In every iteration, in every lifetime, in every universe… he would always choose her.

The world grew blurry when he knew he was close: his body was weakened, and no doubt he shouldn't be doing this now, when he had scarcely eaten and he sported a thousand, unsightly wounds across his body. He felt weaker than ever… and yet now that he was with her, that he could hold her, kiss her, give himself to her as genuinely as he did, the crumbling bits of his soul seemed to have been patched together slowly. He had already chosen to live… to fight for her, come what may: their intimacy only furthered his resolve, strengthening his undying certainty that he lived for Azula.

She whimpered into his mouth, tightening her grip on his hair: her walls shifted, for she wasn't far from her own release. Sokka's hand traveled to her core, and he prodded her clit while his free hand continued to pull her closer to himself, as close as they could be until their souls could be mistaken for a single one… perhaps they already could be.

He allowed himself a low, urgent grunt, and she released a desperate moan: her walls shuddered violently, squeezing him as he climaxed, unleashing his seed inside her. He didn't stop thrusting until he was completely spent, until the throes of pleasure, that sudden height of bliss, of relief, of comfort, had dwindled and ebbed. Azula didn't slow down either, despite she wasn't chasing another peak of pleasure: she only wanted to feel him, as best she could, before it was inevitably time to say goodbye.

Their heavy breaths echoed in the empty space in the Prison Tower's top floor: as much as they had been far more silent today than during their encounter in the Dome, the likelihood was that at least Fei Li would have heard something… surely, if the other guards had returned yet, so had they. Azula gritted her teeth, trying her best not to think of that, to only focus on the lips that still sought hers, on the arms that offered her the warmth and safety she had lacked… on the manhood that remained lodged inside her, that she'd keep in place for as long as she dared.

"This… t-this wasn't the last time…" she whispered, her voice unsteady again "We… we won't say goodbye for good tonight. I know… I know we won't…"

"That's right… that's right" Sokka said, kissing her cheek softly: he spoke with far more conviction than what nestled in his heart "We'll make it out of this, Azula. I don't even know how, but…"

"B-but we'll find out. Soon. Just… just be patient, just wait for us" Azula said, cupping his face so she could look into his eyes "I know it's torture, I know they must be treating you so poorly, but…"

"Heh… don't worry about that" Sokka smiled weakly "Doesn't matter what they do or say to me… I'm not going to lose sight of what matters. And that's you, Azula, always…"

"Stay strong… for me?" she said, swallowing hard "And then I… I'll stay strong for you, too. If we trust… if we fight for each other, we'll be able to overcome everything we can't defeat when we're alone, right…?"

"Right…" Sokka said: his smile now was so genuine, so heartwarming, that for a surreal moment, Azula had no doubts they'd make it out of this. If he was so sure of himself, of her… how would they ever lose against anyone at all?

He clasped her right hand, pressing soft kisses across her fingers… and soon upon her palm. Azula gritted her teeth as his lips brushed her scar: they were, indeed, connected by stronger forces than her father would ever understand or accept. They had chosen to make it so, too…

She followed his example, taking his hand too, kissing his scar, before letting him reel her close for a new, heartwarming, passionate kiss…

The sound of footsteps, even if they were as subtle as possible, startled Azula. Sokka grimaced, wrapping an arm around her protectively as Azula tugged down her uniform's tunic… when she glanced at the staircase, the helmeted soldier to show up at the steps proved to be the only one she dared trust in the whole building.

"H-hey, Princess…?" Fei Li said, smiling awkwardly "N-not to, well, g-get in the way, or anything, but…"

"Are they back yet?" Azula asked, eyeing him worriedly. Fei Li shook his head, casting a quick glance down the stairs, towards the next floor.

"No, but… I think it won't be long" he said, grimacing "I don't think it takes that long for a guy to regain his bearings after what I did to him… u-uh, but anyway, I'll leave you be, just… um, well…"

"Thank you. I… I'll be there shortly" Azula said, lowering her gaze.

Fei Li swallowed hard and nodded… and then he raised a weak hand in Sokka's direction. That they were embracing intimately still, and that Azula nestled between his spread legs, didn't seem to bother him at all. Sokka gulped, waving back at him, returning his attention to Azula once the guard was out of sight.

Azula breathed slowly before nodding, trying to steel herself for facing reality once again. This, of course, had gotten away from them… it was no surprise, it happened all the time even in less dire circumstances, after all, but she would rather spend her night, her life, stuck in this dry, filthy cell with Sokka than go back to the Palace ever again… even if she knew that staying with him wasn't an option.

"I'll be okay, Azula" he said, caressing her face delicately "You…you have to go. The next time we see each other, it shouldn't be in this damn place…"

"I might… I might try to come with them, when they finally break you out" Azula said, clasping his hand gently "If I can't, then… wherever we go next, yes"

"It's not over, Azula" Sokka said, his brow against hers "It's not over until either of us gives up, and I know I never will"

"Neither will I" Azula said, determined. Sokka smiled warmly and kissed her lips.

"That's my wife" he said, ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest upon saying those words.

Azula breathed deeply again several times before forcing herself to pull away… before uncoupling their bodies, leaving them both bereft, at a loss for that intimacy, for the perfect match they made, as puzzle pieces designed to fit flawlessly. Azula swallowed hard, gazing at her lover remorsefully: it had been too quick, too brief, it had ended too soon… but they were in no position to bargain or plead. What few glimmers of happiness, what few moments they could yet steal, would have to sustain them until they could meet again.

Sokka reached for her clothes, stretching over the cell to collect everything. Azula allowed him to dress her lower body again… again, reminding her of the very fateful day when their very actions had, potentially, resulted in this catastrophe. Wounded, broken as he was, Sokka still looked after her as faithfully as ever, delicately sliding each of her garments into place, fixing her appearance as best he could while ignoring his own – it was Azula who pulled his prisoner's robes' trousers back into place, and he smiled warmly at her for it. However dark it was, and however clumsy they both were, Azula was ready quickly… and Sokka breathed out in disappointment as he collected the helmet, next.

"I… I'll miss you the second you leave, you know" Sokka smiled weakly. Azula sighed, nodding.

"So will I" she whispered. Sokka chuckled, stroking her face delicately "Sokka…"

"I love you. I love you more than anything" he said, holding her closely enough that his wounded body was once again in full contact with hers.

"I love you just as much, Sokka…" she said, the urge to cry surging inside her again "Whatever happens from this day forward… I know that's never going to change"

"Yeah… my heart won't change either. It's yours, has been for ages now" Sokka smiled, caressing her hair delicately "I… I'll do my best, for your sake. So… you should do the same, too. I'll eat, whatever these fuckers bring me… I'll get whatever rest I can, I haven't even gotten any sleep since…"

"Me neither" Azula confessed. Sokka laughed weakly.

"Now that I saw you again, I… I think I can try" he said, caressing her cheek one more time before leaning down carefully, painfully, to collect the keys she had dropped earlier. He rose back to his feet, entrusting them to her, wrapping his hands around her own "I hope so can you. Take… take a lot of care, okay? I'll try to take care too…

"You'd better…" Azula sniffed, gazing at him intensely "You'll be out of here… I'll see to it. I swear it…"

"I believe you" Sokka smiled.

He leaned close once again, and his lips pressed to her with less urgency… with the warmth she had grown to expect from him, for it was ever present in his lips. Azula returned the kiss far more desperately, but she found stability in him where she had lacked her own. He held her firmly, once more disregarding the pain of his many wounds… for every kiss they shared was certainly worth it.

But it wasn't the last. It couldn't be the last. Whatever happened next, whatever cruel choices Ozai made… they would fight off every obstacle together.

The long, passionate, devoted kiss ended once they were breathless… and once again, Fei Li's footsteps approached the stairs. Azula swallowed hard: it was clear their stolen moment had to end now, no matter how unwilling they were to let go.

With one last, soft, quick kiss, she finally pulled away. Sokka stopped her, reaching for her forearm… but only so he could set the helmet of her uniform in place once more.

"Should be a crime, hiding such beauty behind such an ugly helmet…" Sokka said, with a weak smile "But I guess for today… I'll put up with it, eh?"

Azula swallowed hard, smiling weakly even though Sokka wouldn't be able to see it. She slipped past the cell door while walking backwards… while constantly watching the man who stood awkwardly in his cell, shifting his weight between each leg: both his extremities had suffered injuries over the course of last night's attack, and neither standing nor sitting would do much to ease the pain. For now, though, he could stand upright… and that allowed him to reach with a hand through the cell's bars, as Azula ensured to lock the prison cell again, most unwillingly.

"W-we got to…" Fei Li said, looking at Azula urgently…

She glanced at him over her shoulder before turning to Sokka one more time: her fingers brushed his upon the cell's bar, and Sokka smiled warmly before she finally pulled away, tears burning in her eyes again.

"I love you… I love you" she said, her voice faltering as she spoke the words, despite the conviction behind them remained unchanged. Sokka nodded, tears escaping his own eyes as she stepped back towards the stairs, where Fei Li waited still.

"I love you too. Go now, Azula… go" he whispered.

She gazed at him once more, from the top of the stairs… and then, with just a few steps, she was gone from sight. His smile faded with her, and he braced his weight on the cell bars now, gritting his teeth, trembling violently. He longed for nothing as much as to go with them… to follow her to hell, if she asked it of him. Where he found strength for moments, he lost it just as easily right afterwards, demolished by the reality of how difficult, how unlikely, their next reunion would be. Ozai would be, no doubt, raging over what his daughter had said to him… but he wouldn't continue to lose himself in his fury for the rest of his days. Soon he would strike… and Sokka hoped he'd find some way to resist anything Ozai threw at him, for Azula's sake above all else, once he did.

Fei Li urged Azula to make her way downstairs as quietly and quickly as possible: there were voices resounding through the stone building, and they were only growing stronger by the minute. The Princess staggered as she walked towards the outer corridor's open door: the fresh air seeped through her armor and clothes: she felt exposed, even if she was as concealed as she could be within her borrowed uniform. She needed to go, yes, she did and Xin Long was already hovering close to the corridor, careful again not to block any of the windows and give away his presence by doing so…

Fei Li had been about to follow, but the voices of the two other guards made him freeze on the spot: he glanced at Azula, urging her to climb on, before turning back inside. The Princess gritted her teeth, wanting to call for him… but knowing she couldn't afford to. Curses, it was her fault, they had taken too long, despite it had felt like too brief an encounter to her battered heart…

She climbed Xin Long's saddle carefully, the world spinning as she breathed with difficulty: would Fei Li find a way to shake them off now? Would he need to stay behind, while she got away? The wrongness of that notion almost made her feel sicker than she already did…

"Oh! You're back!" Fei Li's voice reached her: the two guards had returned indeed "How are you feeling now?"

"Just… really weird" said the guard who had collapsed earlier "I don't know what happened, I was just doing that exercise you told me, wasn't I?"

"You were, I'd never seen it backfire like that" Fei Li said, shaking his head "You sure you can come back to work already, though?"

"Yeah, he made it all the way up the stairs, he's fine" said the other guard. Fei Li nodded "How's… this situation? Anything happen with the prisoner?"

"Nope, everything's completely calm" said Fei Li "Say, thanks for helping us out earlier. You should probably stay in this post for now, I can take the outer corridor in your stead…"

"But I don't mind the…"

"Just so you can keep an eye on him a bit longer, in case anything weird happens again?"

"Uh, but can't you…?"

"Thanks, friend!"

Azula grimaced, urging Xin Long to fly a little lower: Fei Li returned to the corridor, a completely careless smile on his face… and then he made his way to the edge of the stone wall that wrapped around the outer corridor, leaping over it and slipping into place right behind Azula.

"Go…!" he said, tightening his grip around the safety tubes that lined the saddle. Xin Long wasted no time abiding by his word, shooting back into the darkness of the night.

Inside the tower, the two guards were still puzzled as they stood at their position, at the very steps that led to the prisoner's lone cell. They exchanged a quick glance, and the second guard sighed.

"That guy's very weird. Did you even hear we'd get an extra guard assigned to our shift?" asked the one who had been patrolling the outer corridor earlier. His partner shrugged.

"Not really. Though I figure that's how scary this prisoner is?" said the one who had collapsed "The rest of the floors only have two guards each, right?"

"Right" said his partner, sighing "Anyway… I guess he wanted to go out there because he's nervous? Maybe he feels guilty that his big idea caused you to faint, huh?"

"Maybe" said the guard, shrugging.

"I'll check on him, then. It's not like it was anything that serious anyway"

The healthy guard stepped towards the outer corridor indeed, opening his mouth already to call for the third member of their shift… only to find an empty corridor. His open mouth remained as such as he glanced about himself, warily: he raced across the corridor, all the way to the opposite end, expecting to find him there… but he didn't.

"W-what… what?!" he exclaimed, entering the building again through the doorway at the other end of the corridor "Hey! D-did that guy come inside again?"

"What…? No! I haven't seen him!" said his partner, all the way down the inner corridor of the prison floor.

Both guards felt their stomachs sink: they rushed to the outer corridor together, glancing outside the Tower… and finding no sign of the man they had been talking to earlier.

"Y-you don't think he jumped…?" asked one of the guards "Or maybe he fell?"

"We would've heard something!" said the other guard, grimacing "He just… vanished?"

"No one can just vanish from a seventh floor without any explanation!"

The two guards stared at each other warily for a moment: they were sure that man had been real, he had spoken with the two of them, he had been perfectly tangible… but perhaps the claims this prison was haunted had a lot more merit than they'd been willing to concede, at first…

---

Fei Li had glanced back at the tower anxiously as they flew away, even when he couldn't see the panic he'd thrown his temporary fellow guards into. He sighed in relief, though: they were out, they were free, they hadn't been caught: he still had to see Azula safely back to her room, but so far, their escapade had been a success… well, to a fault.

"U-uh… say, did you, um, find out if the keys worked, or…?" he said, before gasping "Oh, hell! The keys, we should've returned them…!"

"It's… it's too late for that now" Azula said, breathing out slowly and handing the keys to him. Fei Li swallowed hard as he took them in his hands "The key to the shackle around his ankle isn't among them. You'll have to… to find another keyset, or like I said, get Sokka's sword and…"

"Alright… alright" said Fei Li, breathing deeply and nodding "Ugh, damn, I'm not sure what the plan should be, if that's how it is… we'd definitely need to get away on your dragon, though. I'd say we should sneak in again at the shift change, but this time at the right floor, take down the door and the ankle shackle and then just make a run for it? Doesn't sound so bad, does it…?"

"No… I guess not" Azula whispered, closing her eyes "Though, as soon as they realize he's gone…"

"The Fire Lord will find out, yeah. We'll have to be very quick" Fei Li sighed "But I think it can be done, Princess. Now that we know the layout of the tower, and where he's at… we can do this, right?"

"We must" Azula said, closing her eyes "Whatever it takes"

She couldn't stop visualizing him, his face, his warm, gentle, heartbreaking smiles. It had been the most painful goodbye she had ever experienced, even if she was doing her best to convince herself it wouldn't be forever. Even if she was trying to focus on the fact that she'd seen him again, that he'd held her, that she had given herself to him, and made him hers one more time… ever taking risks they shouldn't have, even when the situation was as grim and foreboding as it was. Some things didn't change… and yet she couldn't regret it, just as he had hoped she wouldn't. Every risk, every sacrifice for his sake, would be worth it.

"Thank you, Fei Li" Azula whispered, once the Capital was within sight again: Xin Long flew higher, intending to dive towards the lake at a rapid speed, as he ever did. The guard tensed up behind the Princess "For… for letting me do this. It was a big risk we took tonight… all of us. Had you come here with anyone else instead of me, it would've likely been much easier…"

"I'm sure it's how Rui Shi said it… seeing you again must have given him the strength and motivation he needs to keep fighting" Fei Li said, smiling weakly "You two will get through this. We'll see to it, Princess"

Azula nodded, even if half-heartedly. She wouldn't stop hoping… but she wouldn't underestimate her father's capacity for cruelty either. Fighting back to ensure her guards would have enough time to smuggle Sokka out of prison wouldn't become any easier after today.

Xin Long landed softly after his sudden dive: Fei Li was shaken up by the sudden changes of speed, stumbling once he returned to solid ground, and Azula leapt off the saddle too, embracing her dragon warmly once more in a grateful gesture.

"Thank you, Xin" she said, burying her face in his hair "I… I owe all this to you. Go now, hide somewhere, and stay safe…"

Xin Long nodded, pressing his forehead to hers: she had brought him to the last dragons, she had given him a whole world to explore and a partnership he would cherish forever. Helping her save the man she loved was, if anything, a way to pay his countless debts to her, and not the other way around.

Once the Princess stepped away from the dragon, Fei Li led her to the nearest trapdoor, opening it with his own fire and following her inside it after she was safely within the dark tunnels. From there, they made haste to the Palace, knowing there was a chance someone could have sought out the Princess: it had to be close to three in the morning still, but after last night, it seemed as though nobody would rest again in the Fire Nation Palace.

After about half an hour, they finally reached the trapdoor that led directly into Azula's room. Fei Li pushed it open delicately: the rug was still in place atop the trapdoor, and he struggled to push it back so Azula could climb out of the tunnel. The Princess glanced around her chambers warily, recognizing nothing out of place. She breathed deeply before walking quietly to the bathroom, tapping the door gently with her knuckles… and a wary man close to her age opened it reluctantly, until he recognized her face in the darkness. Han was still wearing her nightrobe, though by the anxiety on his face, it was clear he had gotten no rest whatsoever while he waited for her return.

"I… I can change in the tunnel" Han said, nodding towards her as he rushed to where Fei Li waited "We'll wait for you to get out of that uniform, Princess…"

"Thank you" Azula said, rushing towards her closet to snatch another nightgown before filing into the bathroom.

She removed the armor with difficulty, cringing at the bursts of pain on her shoulder. She still managed to tear it off her body, and then she rid herself of each clothing garment, almost violently. Frustration and wrath raged slowly inside her body… the sadness, the grief she had been overcome by, were transformed into a wholly different feeling. And the more her body seemed to resent and punish her, the more her fury at her circumstances, at her father, at everyone who had any role in their downfall, increased. The nightgown was soft once she clad herself in it, but she found no relief in the smooth fabric, just as she had found none in the weight of armor. She released a breath as she collected the full uniform, grimacing apologetically once she reached Fei Li and the lightly clad Han, who had only put on a simple robe of his own with which he'd return to the barracks.

"I'd fold all this perfectly for you, but…" Azula said: Fei Li shook his head, reaching up for the clothes and the armor before smiling at the Princess.

"No worries. You're home, safe and sound" he said "We'll take care of the rest. If anything else comes up, we'll come here this way and let you know, okay?"

Azula nodded: Han waved goodbye shyly as Fei Li pulled the trapdoor closed… and Azula found herself alone again, breathing out slowly as she stared at the rug she would soon roll back into place.

She waited a few moments before doing so… and then she was back to waiting, to relying on her guards to fix everything, and as much as she trusted them completely, she regretted profoundly that it had come to this. Not only did she hate being powerless… she hated having dragged anyone else into this mess to save them at all. Nothing would be better if the guards weren't supporting them, she knew so… but they deserved better than having to sacrifice their lives over defending Azula's right to live freely and love whoever she pleased.

She felt the urge to set something on fire… an urge she knew her father had acted upon, surely right after she had left his Throne Room. She hated any and all similarities she might share with the man… she hated that he would believe he had any right to be angry, too. There would never be any reasoning with Ozai when it came to this… thus, she would spend the rest of her life, however long it might be, fighting back against him and his understanding of their world. She had rebelled against his will many times, as it was… and it had never mattered as much as it did right now.

For she wouldn't let him make her relive that dreadful, hideous visual: she would never witness another of his executions, as she'd been forced to that day, with the gladiators he had sacrificed to his own hubris and ego. Especially not when the gladiator whose death he demanded for was none but her own.

Her body was weary, tired, demanding nourishment and respite… but she couldn't even stomach the notion of eating. Even approaching her bed was sickening even though, after giving herself to Sokka one more time, she felt somewhat cleansed from the accursed examination she had never agreed to submit to. As much as Fei Rou hadn't been violent, unlike the guards who had held her down, she had never allowed him to do what he had, and she never would have. That they would ignore her demands that they stopped, that they had simply hidden behind her father's orders, as though that somehow excused them from the responsibility of their actions…

In a violent impulse, Azula reached for the bedding, for the sheets and blanket, her heating hands burning through the fabric as she yanked it all out of place: she hadn't bent with such rage for a long time, snarling, groaning, even roaring with fire that she infused the damn fabrics with. White sheets, and the red blanket, soon were consumed into blackness within the bright glow of orange flames… still orange. Of course her body wasn't fully healed yet… of course she couldn't produce blue fire, especially with her mind in such wild, passionate disarray.

But she could still burn. She could still destroy, consume, erase what had done her harm. She could find catharsis, relief, as she strengthened the flames, watching every burned figment withering into ashes. The smoke seemed to scorch her lungs: she breathed it in anyway, intoxicating herself with her growing fury, with her loss of control, with her impulsive instinct to reclaim her agency, her freedom, her choices, by purging her wrath and the sins committed against her through that burning pile of fabric…

She dropped the bedding's cluster on the floor, watching it curl and wither: the flames consumed the sheets and blanket, spurred on to burn at will by the cold, merciless steel in the fallen Princess's golden eyes.

---

The wild sounds pouring from the Agni Kai Arena only relented long past midnight: a servant alerted Zhao of the change, as he dozed off in a nearby room. The General of the Guards had warned Zhao to stay away, a warning Zhao hadn't intended to heed until it had become clear that Ozai would be unreachable until he chose to make it otherwise – thus, Zhao requested a servant to inform him of the Fire Lord's movements, and at last, it seemed Ozai's spree of fury had dwindled slightly. Zhao scrambled to his feet once the news arrived, and he made his way to the Arena… only to find Ozai had already vacated it, and the General was nowhere to be found.

The Fire Lord, as it happened, was in the spa: the staff had long vacated it, but he had still cleaned up there, dropping on the floor, his back against a wall, after washing his body thoroughly. The robe he wore hung loosely, exposing his chest carelessly. His hair, even if recently washed, was in chaotic disarray even now. Zhao breathed deeply as he reached him, stopping at Ozai's feet… finding the man was glaring at nothingness, completely lost in his thoughts.

"You do realize it can't be healthy to waste your energies over more than half a day, bending your wrath away?" he asked, pointedly.

"You do realize it takes more… more than half a day to do away with this wrath?" Ozai hissed back: finally his eyes focused again, falling upon Zhao's features, recognizing his friend even though he had scarcely lit any of the lanterns within the spa upon entering the room "Why are you here? I didn't summon you"

"The Superior League's chairman requested that I spoke with you" Zhao said. Ozai scoffed, pushing himself to his feet "Your abrupt decision to shut down the League was…"

"Was more than deserved. It was warranted, necessary, and I won't take it back, not for you, not for anyone" Ozai hissed: he seemed unsteady as he walked away from Zhao, who gritted his teeth and followed Ozai through the door, and to the Palace's hallways.

"Ozai, this affects more than just Azula" Zhao said, through gritted teeth "I understand you're upset, but you might trigger a much bigger problem in the Fire Nation if…"

"Ah, if I steal away the commoners' entertainment, is it?" Ozai asked, his voice dripping with derision "You truly expect me to care for their plight?"

"The Gladiator League is the livelihood of many gladiators and sponsors, it's a successful economic venture, it's…"

"Silence" Ozai growled, slowing down his pace only to shoot a scathing glare at his friend "That sounds… that sounds like what she'd be telling me now, if only this wasn't caused by her own actions"

"Perhaps it isn't a matter of what it sounds like, but about the truth" Zhao said, pointedly "Ozai, truly… I understand you're outraged, but these punishments are…"

"You do know what she did, don't you?" Ozai said, turning towards Zhao menacingly "Not only… not only did she spread her legs to that pathetic, disrespectful, treacherous savage, no! She said, to my face, that she would have continued to do so! That she intended to spend her whole life doing so! Do you expect me to reward her for such insolence, for such disregard of our family, our heritage, our nation?! She would have destroyed everything the Fire Nation's Royal Family has stood for, and she apologized for none of it! She almost seemed proud of what she's done, Zhao! Curse her… curse that fiend for rotting her mind. Curse me for not noticing it sooner, I… I should've known, I should've refused her damn demand for a gladiator as soon as she made it…!"

"And why didn't you?" Zhao asked, raising his eyebrows "Why did you trust your daughter for so long… if not because she earned your respect and proved herself worthy of it? Ozai, she is as good as your second-in-command. You trusted her with the throne a month ago: do you think she's any different now than she was when she fought off that threat against the Fire Nation? Do you truly believe this affair of theirs began merely yesterday? Ozai…"

"I know it…! I know it didn't, but this doesn't help, damn you, Zhao!" he roared, a hand on his forehead "I… I left her in charge, when she was betraying me all along! I even offered her a position as High Governor of the Colonies! I let her write my laws, I let her create a whole branch of the army…!"

"And none of it has been against the Fire Nation's best interests, has it?"

"None of it? None of it beyond the part where she would willingly slobber over that buffoon!" Ozai shouted "No, Zhao: none of what she did in the past can do away with this offense! I spent years, so many years, telling her to find a husband and start a family… and she refused, every time, even pushing me into agreeing to an utterly unreasonable deal where that scum would defeat all the gladiators of her enemies…! They mocked me… for all those years, for however long they were together, those two lecherous, mindless fools…!"

Ozai shook his head: no matter how many hours he'd spent unleashing an inferno in the Agni Kai Arena, he was not sated. He wouldn't be sated until he stood before the empty charred carcass of that gladiator, he knew as much… but he wasn't sure that would work, either. For no doubt, the bastard had to die, but his daughter, Azula…

"She will pay… she must pay" Ozai hissed "This treason… she won't get away with it"

"Ozai, whatever she has done, she is still your daughter" Zhao said, reaching out to clasp the Fire Lord's shoulder "Surely you realize…"

"Don't touch me!" Ozai roared, slapping Zhao's hand away. Zhao huffed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm trying to help you here!" Zhao shouted back, finally losing his temper "I'm trying to keep you from making a mistake you can't return from, Ozai! The worse you get, the more likely you are to lose your daughter forever, do you understand me?!"

"Lose her…?" Ozai said, with a slow, dangerous smile "Not a chance. She won't get away with this, she won't escape the consequences of her actions…"

"That much is clear, you've already made her pay for it direly enough" Zhao said, scowling "But the more you punish her, the more she will pull away from you. The less likely you will be to regain her trust, or to learn to trust her back…!"

"I have no intentions of trusting her ever again"

Ozai's words were muted, suddenly devoid of the passion he'd been unleashing before. Zhao's eyes widened upon hearing them, and it almost felt like the man standing before him wasn't the same teenager he had joined in a journey across the seas many decades ago. As though this was but a stranger in his place, one Zhao couldn't read, couldn't understand, couldn't reach with his words…

"What… what do you intend to do, then?" Zhao asked, horrified "Will you… will you lock her up forever? Will you seek out Zuko, and have him replace her as your heir? Ozai, be reasonable…! Are you truly going to let this mistake define her entire life?!"

"She… is the one who chose to make it so" Ozai said, as he slowly smiled coldly, tilting his head sideways "Yes… this mistake has been her doom. She wanted it this way, otherwise, she wouldn't have done it at all. Serves her right, for trying to make a fool out of me…"

"Ozai…"

"And you? You're so very concerned for her… for me" Ozai said, his smirk widening "You want to do what's best for us, is it? To settle our differences, to mediate between us, perhaps…?"

"I'm only doing whatever I can to prevent you from destroying your relationship with your daughter beyond repair!" Zhao shouted "I'm hardly instigating treason here, Ozai, I only want you to…! To realize there's more to her than whoever she slept with!"

"Oh, I know there is" Ozai said, and his smile faded once again "She is, after all… my only heir"

"Yes, she is" Zhao said, breathing deeply: it wasn't what he was trying to get to, but if that was what Ozai would cling to, it'd be a good start…

"And you? You are my friend" Ozai said, smiling again "My only friend. The one who sees the world the way I do. The only one left, in this whole world, whom I can trust… isn't that right, Admiral Zhao?"

"I… you can trust me, yes" Zhao said, though a foreboding feeling surged in his gut at Ozai's ominous tone "I want what's best for you, for this nation…"

"And for my daughter?" Ozai asked. Zhao nodded.

"And for your daughter, too"

"Good" Ozai said, and once more the edge of his grin gained such a dangerous, cold edge Zhao took a step back "For she will no longer be my heir… and if you think there's more to her than whatever she's done with her private life? Then that means, of course… it means you're perfectly willing to save her from damnation, aren't you?"

"I… what are you trying to say, Ozai?" Zhao said, confusion and distress rising simultaneously inside him "She's no longer going to be your heir? Will you truly look for…?"

"Fuck Zuko. He's dead to me, as far as I'm concerned!" Ozai hissed, swinging an arm carelessly, crafting an impulsive arch of fire by doing so "No, you moron, you… you utter, unbelievable idiot, you…"

"Then what is your plan, damn it?" Zhao growled, taking poorly to the insults just as he did to Ozai's mysterious intent "Are you going to forsake having an heir, then? Or do you mean to take another wife…?"

"I'd never do such a thing, and you know it!" Ozai snapped "But yes, Zhao, you're close enough to the truth: there will be a wedding indeed! A new marriage… and by it? I'll gain a new heir, through Azula indeed"

"What…?" Zhao said, as the words Ozai had yet to speak aloud dawned on him "You… you'll force her to marry someone? Ozai…"

"Not just someone" Ozai said: that furious, euphoric grin spread over his face once more "Someone who won't betray the Fire Nation. Someone whose judgment I can trust…"

"W-wha…?" Zhao gasped, frozen cold as Ozai stepped closer to him "Ozai, n-no. No, Ozai, you can't…!"

The Fire Lord grabbed Zhao's armor, pulling him close, glaring at his friend intensely, wordlessly daring him to tell him, one more time, what he could or couldn't do…

"You, Admiral Zhao, will be my new heir. You will marry Azula"