A/N: Shit's boutta hit the fan! I gotta be honest though, the entire negotiations process was the hardest part to write (for starters, I've never been party to any peace treaty negotiations) and it's probably gonna read like arse. The emotional bits that are sprinkled in between are definitely my favourites though.
The next morning, it's for once Katara who wakes up first. By the time Azula is awake, Katara has already packed their belongings and is just coming back, now in armour again, from informing the crew they'll be leaving.
"Morning", Azula yawns.
"Morning", Katara replies. "How did you sleep?"
"Well", Azula awkwardly says. "You?"
Katara shrugs. "Too little, but fine."
Once Azula has washed up and dressed, she follows Katara into the kitchen, where she has already started preparing breakfast for both of them. Leftovers, really: what remains of their fresh supplies, tossed into a pan. The dried supplies will come back with them.
"I see you've already packed", Azula notes while they eat.
"Hmm", Katara nods. "And I've been to the harbour. The boat will dock here in half an hour."
"You've been busy."
Katara shrugs. "I was up early, and I thought I might as well get started."
"It's good that you did." Azula takes another bite, chews, swallows. "We'll be back at the palace tomorrow morning. That should still give us about a week to prepare."
"Sounds good."
It's small talk and they know it. Too many words to say too little. To fill the silence. Once they run out of meaningless things to say, the conversation dies down, and they finish eating in silence, do the dishes in silence. Azula changes out of the relaxed kimonos and into her usual clothes again, puts up her hair and slides the hairpiece through her topknot. She's Fire Lord Azula again.
The crew arrive and start loading their luggage onto the boat. When the last bag has been carried away, neither of them wants to take the first step out of the house, and the uncertainty hangs in the air between them like a rain cloud. Eventually, Katara resolves to leave, to take that step one of them has to take first, and Azula, breaking free from her indecision, catches her wrist just before she can step over the threshold.
"Last night", she begins, and just for a second, she allows herself to be just Azula again. She searches Katara's face for any sign, any clue about her feelings. "What we did… do you regret it?"
"No." Katara shakes her head. "It was a lot, and… you know I've never… never done that with anyone." She actually blushes, unable to name 'that'. "But I don't regret it. Never."
She pauses, unsure. "Do you…?"
"Never."
The relief is palpable. The storm cloud has moved on without raining on them. Azula looks around to make sure none of the crew are in sight before pulling Katara close to her, bending down and pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Thank you", she whispers, and she doesn't just mean the night before.
She means everything. The sparring. The advice. Holding her while she cried. The shared bed, the kisses, the drawing, the protection. She's grateful for all that Katara has given her, and in this moment of uncertainty, before they head off into an unknowable future, she allows herself to be weak and say it. It's just two words, but Katara understands.
The helmet comes back on and when they arrive at the boat, Azula is the Fire Lord again and Katara her name- and faceless guard.
The journey home is about as uneventful as the way to Ember Island. Around noon, Katara catches up on some sleep, and if Azula uses the opportunity to enjoy the sight of Katara in her armour without being caught staring, well, what's the hurt in that? None of the crew bother them and when Azula isn't looking at Katara, she's meditating on the floor, breathing in and out and feeling her inner fire flicker along with her breaths. She has to resist the urge to try to plan, scheme, think ahead. There's not a lot she can do from her cabin, not more than on Ember Island either. Any preparation will have to wait until she's back at the palace.
When night falls, sleeping in separate bunks for the first time in two weeks feels all wrong, but with the crew around, Azula isn't willing to risk anything. A few hours after midnight, Katara wakes up with a craving for fresh air and climbs up onto the deck.
I haven't been on a ship since… She thinks back. Since Aang woke up? No, wait… since the invasion. After that, she'd lived on Appa and in tents. On the way to their… vacation, for lack of a better word, she'd spent the entire time below deck, standing guard next to Azula.
She walks up to the bow and watches the water part around the boat. Some of the crew look up when she emerges from below, but none approach her, question her or try to make small talk. Katara is grateful for it. It's a strange feeling, walking the deck, like she half expects to see her father keeping watch, in conversation with Bato, or to see Appa or Momo around.
She's still awake when they pass the Gates of Azulon and pull into port around sunrise. When she goes below deck to wake Azula, she's already up, strapping on her armour. Once docked, their luggage is unloaded, and Captain Meiyo meets them at the pier.
"Your Majesty", she salutes. "Welcome home."
On the way to the palace, Katara can feel Azula tense. She scans the road, ready to jump. Despite her faith in the captain's loyalty, as much faith as Azula can have in an underling, she almost expects an ambush, any sign that a coup has happened during her absence and that she's being led to slaughter. The palanquin is carried from the harbour, up the mountain road, into the palace city and into the palace itself, and nothing of the sort happens. Once they're safely home, Azula relaxes ever so imperceptibly.
"Well, that was relaxing."
It's not just the journey to the palace she's talking about. It's a tacit acknowledgement of their two weeks away, as much as she can bring herself to acknowledge it when she's being Fire Lord Azula, when her mind is on her nation and throne.
"We have a lot to do", Azula continues. "No need to change out of the uniform, I'm afraid. We have to prepare."
Katara raises an eyebrow.
"They're not going to arrive for, what, a week? Two? Is this really necessary?"
"It is", Azula snaps, before thinking better of it.
"I need this", she admits after a moment's hesitation. "This… this is a situation I was never supposed to be in. I have to be on top of things, who knows what might happen otherwise?"
I need to feel in control, even if I'm not. Especially if I'm not.
She would never admit it, of course – no, she doesn't have to admit it. Katara knows what she means, and Azula knows that she does. It's an admission for all intents and purposes, but one that saves her from having to put it into words, from having to humiliate herself in front of Katara, framed as concern for the security of the palace and the integrity of their plans. Her plans. Whatever. The look Katara shoots her tells Azula her words carry the intended meaning and her excuse has been accepted.
Thank you.
Azula summons a servant and sends word ahead. By the time they enter the war room, it's been cleared of all personnel, and the maps and documents she's requested have been laid out for them. She spends a good half hour guiding Katara through it all – it's the first time Katara sees the current front line, and what she sees justifies every last bit of Azula's fears. The Earth Kingdom's northwestern subcontinent, formerly widely under Fire Nation occupation, has been cut in half by joint Water Tribe–Earth Kingdom outposts, two disparate Fire Nation territories connected only by a sliver of land around the Mo Ce Sea. Many of Azula's most important bases have been encircled by enemy settlements, and with the maritime superiority of the Water Tribes in the northern seas, the Fire Navy is stretched thin enough that the eastern Fire Islands are dangerously exposed to attacks from the southern Earth Kingdom.
They get to work right away, catching Azula up on the details of her position: placement and amount of her troops as well as the enemy's, the materiel of her military and everything her spies know about the other side, the latest numbers about mining capabilities and industrial output, new projections about the future of the war, the numbers of prisoners in Fire Nation prisons, their ranks and nationalities.
"You could release some", Katara suggests. "To prove your goodwill."
Azula shakes her head. "I don't need to appear 'good'. I need to appear strong."
"That's what I mean", Katara counters. "If you let go of some potential hostages, you demonstrate that you don't need them to negotiate. If you were helpless, you would hold onto every last prisoner to use their lives as a bargaining chip."
Azula considers the thought for a second and silently agrees.
"Fine. We'll release… three hundred."
"Too many", slips out of Katara's mouth before she can stop herself. The realisation just what she's arguing tastes rotten on her tongue, but she continues, "that would seem too generous. Suspiciously generous."
The look Azula shoots her is an almost audible make up your mind.
"Sokka will be extremely suspicious", Katara explains. "He'll assume you're trying to trick us, that it's a trap. Zuko probably knows you best of them all, he'll expect a hidden motive, too. Aang will be optimistic like usual; he'll jump at the chance to end the war without further killing. And Toph will be able to tell if you're telling the truth."
"I've lied to her before", Azula pointedly remarks.
Katara's smile might be described as pitying, if Azula were so inclined, but she barely has time to get angry about it before Katara takes her hands in hers and presses a kiss to her chin.
"I know", she says softly, as if to prepare for the delivery of terrible news, "but… you're not exactly as… controlled as you were then."
No longer the princess with the perfect future, is what she thinks but doesn't say. Your life has been torn down. You don't have that grip on your feelings anymore. I should know, I held you when you sobbed in my arms.
She may as well say it; Azula can guess well enough the lines along which Katara thinks. But she's grateful Katara affords her the dignity of not saying aloud what they both know.
"Fine", Azula answers, perhaps a little quieter than intended. "What do you suggest?"
"How about one hundred? A symbolic gesture, enough to leave an impression, but not enough to be too good to be true."
Enough to mend a hundred families.
"Whatever you say, oh wise negotiator", Azula agrees. "Anything else I can do for your majesty?"
"A cake and a back rub", Katara shoots back in the same faux mockery. "And hand me the Yu Dao intelligence report, while you're at it."
Their work proceeds into the afternoon as Azula tries to get the most accurate picture of the situation and any number of possible outcomes. The unspoken ceasefire since her offer's reception has benefitted the Fire Nation as much as it presumably has the Earth Kingdom, and in the month since, many injured soldiers have returned to duty while the factories have been stockpiling weaponry and the wharves repairing damaged ships. It's a little breathing room that may yet buy them another few months, should negotiations fail.
The negotiations.
Azula dreads them. Proving her sincerity, pretending she's not forced to negotiate, is one thing. Easy enough; basic court theatrics, nothing she hasn't learned all her life (although hardly with this situation in mind). But actually negotiating… it means making decisions she doesn't want to, giving up things she can't.
"No reparations, no land", she tells Katara. "That's impossible."
"That's what they'll want, and you asked them to talk", Katara points out, not that Azula needs the reminder. "They'll want those colonies back. They'll want the people whose lives were ruined made whole."
"As if", Azula snarks. "You know how this works. Any reparations I pay will fill the pockets of the lords in Ba Sing Se."
"I don't know. The Earth King is a good man, and now that he's actually involved and in charge… and Aang and the others wouldn't let that happen."
Azula nearly rolls her eyes when she leans over the table to kiss Katara.
"For someone so powerful", she mumbles against her lips, "you are terribly naive. How did the four of you ever survive?"
Well enough to almost stop you, Katara thinks while she kisses back.
"This had better work", Azula quietly says when the sun sets and all the documents are back in their boxes, neatly off to the side. "If not…"
"If all else fails", Katara points out, "you may have to make those concessions, whether you want to or not."
The thought tightens Azula's chest and makes her heart race. Ceding land or emptying the nation's treasuries seems like a surefire way to risk her throne and life.
"I can't", she whispers, then steadies her voice to repeat more strongly, "I can't."
You may have to.
"At minimum", Katara cautiously suggests, "you'll need to end the mistreatment of their citizens. Earthbenders are imprisoned and used as slaves if they bend, soldiers extort protection money from people, the military rules and kills how they want… that has to stop, even if you're not willing to give back the land. Every citizen of the other nations must have the same standing as your people."
"I suppose that could be done", Azula drawls, and if the arrogant tone covers up her relief at not having to think about ceding territory, then that's for her to know.
Once done, she summons the captain of the guard and gives instructions for the upcoming visit. Trustworthy soldiers will have to be selected, the entire route from the harbour secured, guest quarters prepared, nobles and officers kept away from the guests wherever possible to prevent any incidents.
"I don't need to tell you that these people are my honoured guests and are to be treated as such. I trust you will make sure every one of your guards is aware of their status and will know to behave accordingly."
The captain bows.
"Of course, Your Highness."
"That includes my brother."
If Meiyo is surprised, she hides it well.
"Certainly."
"Needless to say, knowledge of his presence must be kept to a minimum. You will see to that."
"You have my word."
"I expected nothing less." Azula waves her hand. "Dismissed."
Once they're alone, Katara can see the anxiety taking hold again. In the little things, like the way Azula's shoulders tense ever so slightly, the way her perfect posture slumps the littlest amount forward. The way she starts to move her hand, realises what she's doing, stops, and then subconsciously moves it up to check if her top knot is still neat and in place a minute later.
They've prepared as much as they can. There's nothing to be done.
And by now Katara knows that if Azula can't stand one thing, it's not being able to do anything. The less in control she is, the more she needs to do something, anything, to feel like she has a handle on things.
Now that all they can do is wait, time passes more slowly than either of them would like. Azula spends the rest of the day pacing up and down, wracking her brain for anything she's missed, while Katara, equally impatient, sits by the window and draws (mostly Azula). After dinner, Katara meditates, feels the waning moon and tries to draw some strength and patience from it, while Azula disappears into the study to go over field reports. The next morning, a hawk arrives from the captain of the Fire Lord's ship, informing them of their planned arrival in ten days.
It's the longest ten days of Azula's life.
A/N: Waiting for Tuesday was the longest three days of my life! xD