The crowd was cheering long before the loud announcement echoed through the stands:
"And the winner is the Blue Wolf!"
Sokka released a relieved breath as his behemoth of an opponent lay slumped on the ring, his arms and legs still outstretched and covered in the sand he had been using to attack him. Beating earthbenders had become slightly easier these days, but defeating The Wall was a rather remarkable feat in itself: the man had held a victorious streak for almost four years, and Sokka had been the one to shatter it with a knock-out.
His latest achievement afforded him an unusual sense of pride as he took off for his medical check. Naturally, he had taken a few blows, but it was nothing he couldn't cope with. To his relief, even the worst bruise he'd gotten on his right calf wasn't likely as bad a blow as he had feared at first.
"Well, well. Now you've become a streak-breaker," Azula said, with a proud smirk, when she entered the waiting room just as his medical check ended. Sokka smiled back.
"I had to give it my all, though," he said, as the physicians packed their utensils. "The guy was damn strong. Not the worst I've faced by far, but still…"
"Strong or not, what matters is that you did just fine," she said.
Upon hearing the door closing behind the last physician, she glanced over her shoulder to ensure they were alone before moving in to kiss Sokka, mere moments after he had stood up. He leaned down to meet her lips, beaming with joy.
"We're recovering just fine after all the time we were away," Sokka said, proudly, his arms around her waist. "I must have risen in the ranking by now, right?"
"Eh… I wouldn't bet on it," said Azula, with a sad smile. Sokka pouted.
"Really?"
"The distance between gladiators grows wider now," she explained, wiping his lips with her thumb as she always did when they kissed furtively in the Arena. "I think I'd said so before, but you seem to need a reminder. And sadly, breaking someone's life-long victory streak doesn't award extra points…"
"Well, it should when it's with a knock-out…" Sokka pouted. Azula smiled.
"Come on. Let's go find out where you are in that ranking," she said, sliding her hand into his briefly.
She released his hand before they left the room, but the gesture was a source of bliss for them all the same. They walked down the corridors and stairs together, and, as ever, people bowed when the Princess, clad in her golden armor, walked amongst them. Sokka followed only one step behind her, far more conscious of the social boundaries between them than he used to be. He definitely liked it better to walk by her side, but as she had become Crown Princess, he thought it best to give her space in public situations like this one.
Shoji beamed at them when they reached his counter. Both Azula and Sokka nodded in acknowledgement as the young man bowed his head in the Princess's direction.
"Congratulations on another victory!" he said. "What you accomplished today was quite remarkable, Blue Wolf."
"So I hear," he said, smirking happily. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"It's gone up to your head already? Truly?" she asked. Sokka snickered and Shoji smiled.
"Well, you have made up for all the time you spent away from the Arena with your last fights. That, I think, should be worth celebrating…" he said. Azula huffed.
"Don't encourage him, please. I'm the one who has to deal with his boosted arrogance later," she said. Sokka snorted.
"Come on, like I'm that bad," he said, smiling before looking at Shoji. "So? Where am I in the ranking?"
"Eh…" said Shoji, biting his lip. "Well, as it is, with the new points you got from this fight, you'd be… 141st. It seems."
"What? Really?" Sokka asked, with a grimace. "Only one more position than my previous highest?"
"Don't complain. All things considered, it's a surprise you've actually managed to get back into the rhythm of rising through the ranking, at this stage," said Azula.
"If you're worried about rising too slowly through the ranking, I'll have to say you really shouldn't be," said Shoji, smiling. "I guess you don't know, but most people who have forty fights under their belt haven't even reached the top three hundred fighters. I really don't think many other gladiators have been able to achieve this sort of success…"
"You say not many have, but I guess that only means some have done it, right?" Azula asked. Shoji smiled and shrugged.
"Yeah, well… the Blind Bandit is ahead of you again," he admitted. "She's fought a few more times than you guys did, but she's still got almost a thousand points over you…"
"That little wretch," Azula sighed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever. We'll catch up with her in due time."
"I hope so," said Sokka. "But it'll take at least three fights or four for us to get anywhere close to her position, right?"
"Probably. But never mind," said Azula, waving a hand carelessly. "We'll worry about catching up to the Blind Bandit later. We need to focus on accepting new challenges and getting back into our rhythm in the League."
"Well, there's many challenges waiting for you," said Shoji, with a weak grin. "You've gotten piles of them after your fight at the Slate…"
"Is that so?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows.
Shoji stood up and moved to open a cabinet behind his counter. To both Azula and Sokka's surprise, he pulled out at least fifty challenge forms and set them down on his table.
"It sure is so," he said, chuckling. "Crazy, huh? Most of them have already expired, but if you're interested in fighting anyone, we can send new challenges right back to them."
"I'm aware, I'm aware," said Azula, breathing deeply.
"Well, we should get to finding the highest ranked challenger," said Sokka, smiling. "That way we can get way more points than usual. Right?"
"Wrong," said Azula, looking at him with disbelief. "Why would you want to risk fighting someone too strong? It's unnecessary. Taking up many fights against people on your level is a better idea."
"Eh, well. You're the boss," said Sokka, with a crooked grin. "Or maybe we could just go after someone else with a lifetime victory streak and ruin theirs too, eh?"
"Aren't you a jerk," Azula said, smirking. He chuckled. Something told him that, had they been alone, his suggestion would have been met with even more enthusiasm and pride. "I really think I've ruined you, gladiator. Look at you, wanting to bring misery to people…"
"Eh, if there's an eternally victorious firebender in here somewhere, I could totally give them a good beating," said Sokka, smirking still. "You'd just have to let me use Wolf's Bane and…"
"That might be fun," Azula conceded, as she eyed the challenges. "So… should we look for firebenders?"
"Sure," Sokka said, happily. "I'll help you sort through them!"
"Me too," said Shoji, grinning as they each took a small pile of challenges and devoted themselves to separating them in each category. "You know, you have a pretty great streak against firebenders, Blue Wolf…"
"He's just been lucky," Azula said, with a smirk. Sokka snorted.
"As if," he said, setting down an earthbender's challenge in the discard pile. "I've worked damn hard to become this strong through the past year."
"True, but you were still pretty strong in your first fight against a firebender," said Shoji, smiling. "From what I heard he dunked the Spawn's head into the sand, didn't he?"
"Ah, yes. That's more or less what he did," Azula said, smiling. "He was surprisingly efficient in that fight. If anything, he should try to be just as efficient these days, tire his opponents out and then deliver the finishing blow…"
"It would be great, but it's not a good idea to resort to the same strategy all the time," said Shoji. "He could become a predictable fighter, and that way it might be easier for his rivals to take him out…"
"True, true," Azula conceded. "I guess that's one thing Sokka has in his favor. Despite it all, he is utterly unpredictable in battle."
"Like that one time he threw that smoke bomb inside Blast of Death's mouth," said Shoji, swallowing hard.
"Or how he tricked the Blind Bandit in the Scavenger Hunt. Drew quite a clever plan… despite he did cause my father's statue to topple over," Azula said, with a grimace. Shoji chuckled.
"That was quite the scandal," he said, smiling. "But he doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, so there's no need to worry about the Fire Lord getting mad at him, right?"
Azula tried not to stiffen at Shoji's words, but she feared it wasn't going to pay off. There were plenty of reasons why the Fire Lord might get mad at Sokka in the future, unrelated to statues, but they were none of Shoji's business…
Still, she only noticed Sokka's silence just now, after Shoji spoke. He had been unexpectedly quiet as she and Shoji reminisced about his previous fights, and it wasn't like him to let them do that without giving his input about it. She glanced at him inquisitively to find him studying a challenge with a confused frown. He hadn't continued sorting out his pile of challenges, absorbed by the one he was holding. She wasn't sure, but she thought his grip trembled ever so slightly.
"Sokka?" she called him, startling him. "What's wrong?"
"I…" he hesitated, looking at her in surprise before frowning and setting down the challenge he'd been holding. He raised his eyes to find Shoji's. "What… what do you know about this fighter?"
"What? Which one?" Shoji asked, leaning forward to read the challenge. Sokka uttered the name before Shoji could read it, though.
"Kinslayer."
Azula raised an eyebrow, confused before leaning over to read the challenge herself.
"Well, that doesn't sound ominous in the slightest, I must say…" she commented sarcastically, taking in the details from the challenge. "It's expired by now, isn't it?"
"Eh, that one is, but… he keeps sending them," said Shoji, biting his lip and showing them another challenge from the same gladiator. "He has been sending them for the last months. I think he's really eager to fight you…"
"Is he?" Azula said, taking the other challenge and frowning. "And who exactly is this gladiator?"
"I actually don't know him that well," Shoji confessed. "He's never come to the Grand Royal Dome. His resident Arena is the Ring of Ash, as you can see in his challenges…"
Azula read as much, and she nodded before raising her eyes towards Shoji.
"Who's his sponsor? A highborn, or a military figure?"
"Neither. I think it's an Honorary Citizen," said Shoji. Azula raised her eyebrows.
"How is he doing in the ranking?"
"He's… the 400th, actually," Shoji answered, after scanning the ranking quickly. Azula's eyes widened.
"What? So he's new, then?" she asked. Shoji nodded. "And he expects us to accept a challenge from him when he can only provide about a hundred points?"
"I don't know. He reminds me of the Stingray a bit," Shoji confessed, frowning. "He sent relentless challenges to you as well, although this guy is a non-bender and not a waterbender. But still…"
"Is he Water Tribe?" Sokka asked, looking a Shoji sternly. "Do you know anything about his heritage?"
"I don't, sorry," said Shoji, gulping. "That sort of stuff isn't specified in the forms, and since I've never met him…"
Sokka frowned and nodded, still gripping the challenge tightly in his hand. He read the gladiator's name again and again, a sickening, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Well, I frankly don't see any reason to accept such a challenge. I mean… if anything, he sounds like an obsessive harasser of sorts," said Azula. "Why would someone send so many challenges, so desperately?"
"There… there might be a reason," Sokka muttered, swallowing hard. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Do you know this guy, by any chance?" she asked. Was it someone from Hui Yi? Though he'd asked about him being Water Tribe, hadn't he…?
"I… I might. I can't be sure, though. Not if Shoji knows nothing about him, but it's… suspicious," Sokka said. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"
"Uh… that there's really no reason to fight him," said Shoji, grimacing. "I really advise you not to. I mean, sure, he has a perfect victory streak, not unlike The Wall, and if you really wanted to break another one of those streaks then he's a good candidate for it…"
"That's not so common, is it?" Azula said. "Perfect victory streaks…"
"Not really, though in lower levels of the ranking it's not so rare. But the thing is…" said Shoji, looking at them. "That I know of, he's killed around six of his opponents."
Both Azula and Sokka fell into horrorstruck silence. The young man swallowed hard.
"And that, actually, isn't so common," he muttered. "There's always been murderous gladiators, especially in the upper levels of the ranking, but when someone new comes in with that attitude, it's… it's quite terrifying. That someone has only fought thirteen times, yet killed six gladiators…"
The frown on Sokka's face only accentuated with that. He set down the challenge, appalled. Azula eyed him with concern and confusion, guessing that there was a closer connection between Sokka and this murderous gladiator than she had originally expected. They had already faced a very similar foe, who had tried to challenge them in the same way Kinslayer did now… was it Sokka dreaded that this fight would resemble his confrontation with the Stingray? Something told her that wasn't really it, though. He suspected he knew this fighter, so surely that was what shook him up so much…
"Well, all things considered, I'm not compelled to accept this challenge," Azula said, noticing Sokka's eyes flickered towards her with uncertainty as she spoke. "But it seems to me it's something I'll have to discuss thoroughly with my gladiator first. For now, I guess we'll take another challenge, alright?"
Sokka nodded, smiling a little at her as Azula continued sorting through the firebender's challenges. She settled for a female firebender, Flaming Slash, and the fight was due the next week. The Princess and her gladiator said their goodbyes to Shoji before taking off, climbing on Xin Long's saddle and heading to Sokka's house right away. Sokka remained quiet but tense as nestled behind Azula, his arms folded as he gazed at her dark hair, twirling in the wind. She had understood he didn't want to speak about certain matters while they were in front of Shoji, but surely she knew he'd explain everything now, right…?
She didn't talk through the trip either, though, lost in her own thoughts. She climbed off the dragon's saddle and patted his head, urging him to head back home before an impending storm arrived. The stubborn dragon refused, though, insisting he'd be fine under the rain before bolting off into the sky happily.
"If he catches a dragon cold, I'm not going to nurse him back to health," Azula declared. "Because, for starters I have no idea how to treat a dragon's cold…"
"Maybe it's the same way as with human colds?" Sokka suggested. Azula shrugged.
"Either way, let's go inside. I don't want to risk us getting sick either," she said, as water droplets started pouring over the grass. Sokka bit his lip.
"Is it safe for you to be here today, though?" he asked. Azula raised an eyebrow as they climbed the steps up to the house's veranda. "I mean, that you'd stay here when it's raining… you usually spend the day here under the guise of training, right?"
"A guise we ought to make reality once in a while, you realize," Azula said, looking at him judgmentally. Sokka smiled guiltily. "Training is very important… but you're too incorrigible to care."
"Oh, so it's just my fault?" he asked, smirking. "Should I remind you that you somehow always show up when I'm still sleeping, and then you always wake me very nicely with…?"
"Maybe I wouldn't wake you like that if you knew how to get up at decent hours," she said, crossing her arms as she turned to look at him. "You sleep well into midmorning, you realize. It's practically impossible for me to arrive when you're awake."
"Not true. You could, you know, arrive at noon or something…"
"Ah, that's how you want it? Fine then, that's what I'll be doing starting tomorrow…"
"No! I didn't mean you should do that, I just…!" Sokka exclaimed, jumping towards her with a grimace. Azula smirked. "I-I'm just saying, if you wanted me to be awake…!"
"I don't, actually," she admitted. "It is fun waking you. But I still think we need to train more often. If we did, chances are you'd do even better against your enemies than you already do."
"Huh. So, there I go, breaking a gladiator's victory streak, and you still want me to do better…" Sokka complained, pouting slightly. Azula snorted.
"If there's something you should have learned about me since day one, and that you really should have understood by now…" she said, approaching him and pinching his nose. "I always strive to be the best I can be. Which means I'll push you into being the best fighter you can be, too. It's simply how it works."
"Well, I'll submit a formal protest against your system," Sokka pouted, his hands on his waist. "Since I've been fighting successfully these days, I demand that you allow us to have fun times, whether in bed or elsewhere, and with great meals, and a lot of sleep… and training should be the smallest share of our daily schedule. Yup, yup."
"Oh? Let me see if I got this right," Azula said, biting her lip. "You want more fun in bed, great meals, a lot of sleep. I'm wondering, do you believe sleeping is fun…?"
"What? Oh, come on…" Sokka said. Azula shrugged.
"I mean, if you sleep and have fun in bed by sleeping, it frees up all those hours we've been investing in our erotic encounters…" she said, with a smirk. "And that way we'll still have a lot of time for more training. See, your modifications to my system work in my favor in the end. I just somehow keep getting my way with you, don't I?"
"You need to stop being so clever, you know," he said, poking her shoulder before leaning in to kiss her. Azula laughed softly.
"And you need to stop being so lazy," she said, dropping her head on his shoulder and hugging him.
"I did get up on time for today's fight though…" Sokka whispered. Azula grinned.
"You did, you did. Miraculously so," she conceded, pulling away from him. "And you're not wrong, we're getting no training done indoors, despite I've done some bending in here in the past…"
"Yeah, let's avoid smashing furniture today," said Sokka, smiling weakly. "Fixing the living room afterwards won't be fun."
"I suppose not. Still, that I'm here despite we're not training shouldn't be so troublesome. The rain started just as I dropped you off, and it's falling quite hard now. It makes enough sense that I'd stay here until it stops," said Azula, glancing behind herself towards the kitchen. "Is Song home? She was here when I came to fetch you…"
"I guess she isn't," Sokka said, shrugging. "Might be she wanted to go somewhere today."
"Might be," Azula said. "Oh, well. If she's not here I guess I'll just brew the tea on my own…"
"Tea? You mean, that tea?" Sokka asked. She nodded.
"I didn't have today's round in the morning. I brought it with me, though, so I figured I'd drink it now," she said.
"Damn. So I really can't get inappropriate with you for the time being…" Sokka sighed, shaking his head. Azula smirked.
"Just hold out for a few hours and we'll be fine," she said. Sokka smirked. "But I have to brew it first, so…"
"I'll help you with it, if you'd like," he said, as they both headed to the kitchen.
"Fetch me the pot then," she said. "And two cups, if you'd like some. Might be it'll have double the effect if we both drink it."
"You really think so?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow as he reached up in the cupboards for what she'd requested. "I mean, if that's how it works…"
"Honestly, I doubt it does, but it wouldn't be very polite to leave you thirsty while I drink mine, right?" said Azula, smirking. Sokka chuckled.
"All you want is for someone to drink it with you because you don't like how it tastes," he said. Azula gave him her guiltiest smile.
"Well, what a predicament. I've been caught red-handed…" she said, as he offered her the pot.
"You're unbelievable," he said, chuckling. She filled the pot with water.
"If I were any different, you'd likely be bored, so be grateful for it," she said, with a proud smirk. She began her process to prepare her tea while Sokka smiled.
"Yeah, can't deny that," he said, his arms folded as he rested with his back against the kitchen's counter.
Azula's eyes darted towards him as she heated the water. He was still wearing his armor: he probably had forgotten to take it off altogether, distracted by their banter. Or perhaps he'd been distracted by their banter and by something else, too…
"So…" she said, finally. The tone of her voice betrayed the fun back-and-forth had ended now. "Who's this Kinslayer?"
Sokka bit his lip and ventured an uneasy glance at her. She raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, you implied you knew him, or knew someone who might be him, so…" she said. "Is it someone from Hui Yi? The bastard who forced you to kill your first gladiator, or…?"
"No. It's… it wouldn't be anyone from Hui Yi," said Sokka. Azula looked at him in surprise.
"Then… where did you meet this suspected Kinslayer of yours? You did ask if he was Water Tribe, but still…" she said. Sokka sighed.
"If I do know him, then I met him back in my tribe," he said. Azula frowned. "I've mentioned him before, actually. Just… never really got into explaining everything about him. I actually didn't want to believe the stories I'd heard about what he'd done, but if this Kinslayer is really him, then…"
Azula's perplexed, furrowed brow brought a compassionate smile to Sokka's face. He patted her shoulder gently.
"I'll explain everything, don't worry. Seems like I keep having creepy stories to share with you these days, huh?"
"Seems so," said Azula. "When did you mention him?"
"When you asked about the state of relations between the Southern and Northern Water Tribes," Sokka said. Azula's eyes narrowed as she recalled their conversation at the Northern Air Temple.
"You only mentioned that your father and his warriors went North," she recited. "And that there was a kid you knew who went there too. You don't actually mean, though, that this kid…?"
Sokka's silence spoke for itself. Azula's eyes widened.
"The kid? Really?"
"It's a very weird story. To this day I… I don't know if I can believe it at all," he said. "But… well, I guess it's best if I explain it all, whether I believe it or not."
Azula frowned: it sounded like this tale would be yet another factor in Sokka's past that had wrought emotional scars across his rather battered heart.
"The thing with Rhone was… well, we were the only kids of the same age back then, so even if we weren't that similar, we became friends anyhow," Sokka started. "He was always bigger than me, always kinder, probably smarter too… got into little trouble, polite with everyone, not reckless…"
"All I'm gathering from that is that he was a thousand times more boring than you," Azula said, smirking. Sokka smiled.
"You're one of a kind, you know," he said. "I'm glad you find me more appealing than him, but… most people didn't. I mean, I was the Chief's son, so they would treat me with respect, but I always felt they saw me as a brat while they saw him as… well, the good boy, so to say. But anyways, the two of us were close for as long as I could remember. And as two six-year-olds, we rather enjoyed playing and, well… disregarding safety, from time to time. I guess I was the one who did that the most, though; he was more of a goody-two-shoes. One day we decided to explore the lands near the village, snuck off when our parents weren't paying attention, and we… we found an ice cave. And as the adventurous boy I was, I thought we had to get a closer look."
Azula grimaced as she watched Sokka with a wary eye. His voice tone betrayed this particular story could only have an unhappy ending.
"He followed me inside, saying it was unsafe. I told him he was just being a baby. After I said that, he got pretty stubborn and proud as he did his best to prove the baby was me. So, we had a bit of a game going on, we kept stepping further into the dark cave to prove who was braver, who'd go further in… and then a growl from inside the cave startled me. I was scared easily, something I knew he'd taunt me for, but I didn't care as I ran back to the mouth of the cave. I heard his footsteps behind me, though, so he was fleeing just as I was… but when I reached the exit, I realized I hadn't heard his footsteps for a while. I turned back and called his name… then I went back inside. Turns out that part of the cave had been blocked by snow that had collapsed in it, probably because of our childish screams and loud footsteps."
"It collapsed atop him?" Azula asked, her eyes wide. Sokka nodded.
"Could have gotten us both, but it only got him. It was a snow-in, though, so… it wasn't as bad as it could have been if it had been solid rock or ice. But whatever had made that sound inside that cave sounded like a dangerous creature. And if Rhone hadn't been crushed by the snow, he might have to face the beast instead. And he was only six, so… so as any six-year-old with a shred of common sense would, I ran as fast as I could back to the Tribe and told the grown-ups about what had happened. My parents, his parents and many others ran to his rescue. It took them a while to make it, and as my sister was barely four and had only just given her first signs of being a bender, there was no way she'd be able to help with bending the snow away.
"It was the next night when they finally pulled him out. He was unscathed, for the most part, or at least it's what my grandmother said, once she had a good look at him. But… but something changed in him after that day. Something snapped, something broke, I have no idea what. He was bedridden for days, eating little, talking less. I tried to get through to him, but he wouldn't respond no matter what I did. So…"
"So, that's why he was taken to the Northern Water Tribe?" Azula asked. Sokka nodded.
"My grandmother said the Northern Water Tribe held knowledge for some healing arts we didn't have down south. So, with that in mind, hoping they'd have a cure, his parents took him there. I never saw him again."
Azula frowned as Sokka's story reached what felt like its organic conclusion. The tea had already boiled, helped by her firebending, and she poured it on the two cups before handing one to Sokka.
"That's… very tragic, for certain," she said, as he sipped the drink. "But, if you don't mind me saying it, I don't see how this ties in with the Kinslayer. Unless your story isn't over yet."
"No, the story isn't over, but I didn't see him again anyhow," said Sokka. "I just… heard things I had a hard time believing later on. Truthfully, I still have a hard time believing them."
"Huh," Azula mumbled, holding the cup closely. Sokka sighed.
"Years later, after Sozin's Comet, my father returned home with all the warriors who survived the war. He came home defeated, distraught by the death of his best friend… his time in the war was harsh, especially the last months. In any case, after a few days, when he was retelling his voyage, he mentioned the warriors' visit to the North Pole. He explained how they were greeted by our sister tribe, how his wounded were healed, and how a few northern warriors joined them for their next ventures into Earth Kingdom waters. But during his time there he asked about a family he'd known back in the day… the family of this young boy, of course. The answer wasn't at all what he expected it to be, and it's something I've never believed could be true. I just… I can't see the sense in it. Even after all the horrors I've seen, I…"
"What was it?" Azula asked, cautiously. Sokka swallowed hard.
"It seems whatever illness had taken over Rhone's mind had only grown worse in the Northern Water Tribe. His unresponsive state had remained unchanged, as if his emotions had frozen cold back in that cave. Still, as bad as all that was… it doesn't explain how a mere twelve-year-old would murder his own family."
Azula's eyes widened. Sokka huffed and shook his head.
"My dad said it was what he'd been told, but my sister and me refused to believe it. Our friend was no murderer, let alone would he kill his own parents. Dad agreed, and told us it had to be a misunderstanding somehow. That even if he'd confessed his guilt, and had been found standing over their corpses, something simply didn't feel right. He told us Rhone had been banished from the Northern Water Tribe for his alleged crime of kinslaying, and thus, he never got to see him, not at any point in his travels."
"So, he thinks he was framed somehow?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.
"It seemed likely," he said. "I mean, he was a child. A mere boy. How could he possibly do something like that? He wasn't executed for it precisely because he was a child, so the elders of the Northern Water Tribe knew, to some degree, that he couldn't be that responsible. Someone else might have done it, threatened his life, forced him to take the fall… it's what I've told myself all this time."
"It might be," said Azula. Sokka snarled.
"The problem is, if this gladiator were him? If he… if he took up the name Kinslayer proudly, if he gets through the ranking by murdering his opponents? Then… would it make it all true?"
"What if this isn't him, though?" Azula asked. "What if it's whoever framed him, taunting you…?"
"Why would they want to taunt me directly, though?" he asked. "How would they know I used to know him?"
"That is a very good question," Azula conceded. "To be perfectly honest, this whole story is rather disturbing and strange, Sokka…"
"I know it is. I'd spent a few years beating myself up over how absurd it was, and… well, thinking that if it were true, it'd mean that I…"
"No. Oh, come on, Sokka, it's no fault of yours," said Azula, looking at him sternly. Sokka grimaced.
"I know you'd think so, but technically, he wouldn't have gone to the North Pole if I hadn't made him go inside that blasted cave," he said. "So…"
"If you refuse to hold me responsible for all you suffered in the Amateur Arena, when you wouldn't have wound up there at all if it weren't for my actions, then the same applies to this," Azula stated, stubbornly. "You didn't force him to do anything, nor was his state caused by you. I doubt it, at least. The snow could have easily collapsed and trapped the both of you, and then who would have saved you at all? Yes, he should have gotten out before it collapsed, just as you did, but that he didn't wasn't your fault. You got help for him, so he owed you his life, if anything."
Sokka blinked blankly, impressed by Azula's impassioned defense of his actions. She raised her eyebrows and drank her tea, as Sokka smiled a little.
"Somehow you have an answer for everything, don't you?" he said. She smirked. "In any case, this is why I was… why I was so wary of Xin Long's cave, all those ages ago. I'm pretty sure I told you some of it, when you asked what was wrong with me that day. I guess you know the whole story now, huh?"
"I guess I do," said Azula, nodding. "I could understand it, though. We would have stayed stuck in there for who knows how long if it weren't because I bonded with Xin."
"There was no such luck for Rhone," said Sokka. Azula sighed.
"Well, then… the main question still stands now," she said. "Do you want to fight him? Or would you rather we decline again? For all we know, it's not even him, but…"
"But if it is, and his desperate challenges were because he's trying to reach out to me, if this is a cry for help of some sort…" Sokka muttered. Azula frowned. "I mean, what if his sponsor is a nutjob like Toph's first sponsor? The guy wanted me dead, didn't he?"
"He told her to kill you. Before the fight, and during the fight as well." Azula frowned at the memory of the man with the greasy black hair and monkey face. "You think that's what's happening here? That he's being manipulated by someone who wants him to murder people everywhere he goes?"
"Maybe," said Sokka, sighing and shaking his head. "But if he's strong enough to kill people, why not kill his sponsor if he's the evil mastermind in question?"
"Maybe his sponsor is stronger than him," said Azula. "He's a non-bender like you, isn't he?"
"And as strong as I've become, my sponsor is still stronger than me," Sokka whispered, teasingly. "Is that it, then?"
"Well… we won't know unless we accept his challenge, will we?" said Azula. Sokka grimaced.
"Should we, then?" he asked. "If he's a gladiator killer, do you think he'd want to kill me too?"
"He might try. But others have tried to kill you and failed so far, right?" said Azula. "I mean, it's a big risk to take regardless, but… but he's a non-bender like you. I'd like to think you're strong enough to stand your ground against someone who is limited to five weapons, like yourself. You dealt with the second strongest gladiator in the League and survived with just a few minor scorch marks, didn't you?"
"True, true," said Sokka, breathing deeply. "I'm just nervous, I guess, but… but you know what? You're right. If he were Rhone, and even if he's not, I've fought against some serious monsters before and survived. I mean, I went up against the Stingray, no less, so…"
"You should be able to hold your own against him," Azula agreed. "Whether you win or lose won't matter so much, he's only worth a hundred points after all. But if you want to make sure he's your friend or not, well… this is the best way to find out, isn't it?"
Sokka swallowed hard and nodded. Azula placed a hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. Despite his growing apprehension over the dark challenged that loomed ahead, Sokka smiled at her.
"Seem like we managed to resolve a complicated problem without things getting blown out of proportion. Must be a first, huh?" he asked, teasingly. Azula smirked.
"I guess we're finally getting the hang of that mysterious trick of 'communication', are we?" she asked, finishing her tea. Sokka chuckled and lifted his own cup to his lips.
"Now, truth be told, this thing's not so bad," Sokka said, after tasting the drink again. Azula snorted.
"Your taste buds have absolutely no sense of refinement, do they?"
"You keep saying that when you know it's not true," Sokka replied, between chuckles. "But I know you just don't like tea, so that's why you think it sucks."
"I can drink certain kinds of tea. A select few, truth be told," she said. "But this one's simply in the bad-tea group, for certain."
"You should add something to improve its taste. Like sweetening it, somehow," said Sokka, chuckling.
"Wouldn't that ruin its purpose?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.
"Might be. We could ask Song, she knows plenty about cooking and about medicinal things, so we can ask when she comes back."
"She's been unusually elusive these days," Azula commented. "She's still outside when I take off to the Palace in the afternoons… is she alright?"
"Uh, we haven't talked about it much," Sokka admitted. "But I think she's uneasy about Rui Shi these days… she said things were okay after that stunt I pulled on them, when I went to see you that night, but I think she's distressed over it for some reason. I wonder if she did something she shouldn't have…"
"Her? You think Rui Shi wouldn't be the one taking the initiative?" Azula asked. Sokka chuckled.
"I wouldn't know, honestly. I mean, they like each other, that's clear, but what would it take for them to act on their feelings?"
"Maybe pressure, maybe time. Might be that either of them acted on it, the other wasn't sure of what to make of it and…"
"That'd be sad, but it wouldn't be far-fetched," said Sokka, with a weak grin. "They'll need communication, right? We'll have to give them pep talks so they understand that."
"I think the last people with any right to talk about communication to resolve problems is us, considering we're only doing it now while we've been struggling with it since… since we struck our deal in Hui Yi, I guess?"
"Well, you did keep a few things from me back then, but we got worse with communication later," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly. "Oh, well. Maybe they'll find a way to resolve their problems, just as we resolved ours."
"They're less messy than us. It shouldn't take them that long," said Azula, setting down her cup and leaning closer to him.
Sokka smiled as he finished his tea. Her arms went around his waist, while he clasped her shoulders with his free arm.
"So… what do we do while we wait for the tea to weave its effect upon you?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder gently with his thumb.
"As you must know, I'd say we should train, but the rain won't allow it," she whispered, glancing through the window. The storm was relentless. "So… I guess all I can suggest is that we keep ourselves entertained without actual intercourse until enough time passes by for the tea to start working."
"And how exactly would we entertain ourselves, I wonder…?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, we'll be all alone in this house until the rain recedes, at least," said Azula, smirking. "I'd assume your creative mind could, I don't know, come up with something fun to do in this unique opportunity…?"
Sokka started laughing before she had finished her sentence. Azula smiled as she noticed his cheeks reddening. Just what sort of ideas would be coursing through his mind to make him blush that way…?
"You… you make a fine proposal, that's for sure," he said, smiling. "I guess it's time we get a little more adventurous, isn't it?"
"I'd think we've taken too long to do it, actually," said Azula, raising her eyebrows "So…?"
Sokka set down the cup and took her into his arms. She laughed delightfully into their kiss, curious still about what Sokka planned on doing with her just now. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to descend at full speed into their spiral of passion, knowing she'd regret none of it.
Several hours later, the rain was still falling as she lay atop him on the couch – while Sokka dozed off, exhausted after their crazed afternoon. Azula caressed his chest and frowned as she thought again about all he had told her earlier. She pondered their possibilities, every single outcome she could envision for the fight she'd be accepting at Shoji's counter on the next day. She figured they could handle anything that happened, so long as Sokka's faith in his friend was well-deserved. But what if it wasn't? What if the boy he had once known had grown to become every bit the monster he had heard he was?
If that happened, she knew Sokka wouldn't take it well. She gritted her teeth and surrounded him tightly with her arms: whatever the fight in the Ring of Ash brought for them, she would make sure to stand by Sokka through the worst of it, no matter what.
Sailing to Fire Fountain City shouldn't have been necessary, since Xin Long could carry them across that distance with ease. Yet Azula guessed the city might not take well that she simply showed up on her dragon with her gladiator, instead of bringing the usual Barge and Procession along with them. If they were to keep suspicions at their lowest, they had to act as they used to when their relationship had yet to reach a physical level, and that meant traveling with the usual pomp they ever did.
A week had passed since Sokka's triumph against Flaming Slash, and his spirits had been high over it as well. Yet his looming fight against Kinslayer had grounded him again quickly, avoiding a surge of overconfidence after his latest victories. He stood stern and firm at the prow of the Barge as it loomed ever closer to Fire Fountain City's harbor, wishing he could push his looming worries out of his mind.
"How are you feeling?"
Azula had asked him the same question far too many times for such a short voyage. Sokka smiled and turned to face her, as she stood next to him on the ship's rim.
"Anxious, uneasy, worried… but at least we still have another night before the fight, right?" said Sokka.
"We do," Azula agreed. "The tides were unexpectedly cooperative with us on this journey. I had planned for us to arrive tomorrow morning, not today in the afternoon."
"We'll be staying on the Barge for the night, though, won't we?" Sokka asked. "You didn't make arrangements for anything else, so…"
"I didn't, and it was likely better that I didn't," she said. "All things considered, while I should be cultivating good relations with noble people, I'm not entirely sure we'd be welcome someplace like the Mayor's home. Not after we destroyed his son's chances to court me altogether."
"Huh. I forgot he was Kuan's dad," said Sokka, smirking. "Yeah, best to avoid him."
"As for booking an inn… it feels inappropriate," said Azula grimacing. Sokka laughed.
"It's not like you'd order one room for us both, though," he said, winking at her. Azula rolled her eyes. "Though booking a whole inn for us and your guards would be a bother. We can sleep soundly on a rocking ship as we often do, it's no problem."
"Indeed," said Azula, nodding. "Though, if you'd want to speak about problems… Rui Shi has been acting weird the last few days."
The Captain of the Royal Guards was on the ship's deck as well, but he simply sat by the prow looking unusually defeated, at a fair distance from them both. Despite not knowing if his behavior was their fault in any way, both Sokka and Azula felt a pang of guilt upon seeing him like that.
"Do you know what's up with him?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.
"He's hardly keeping tabs on me these days," she said. "No more grumbling over our relationship, too. He's just… always in deep thought and not very attentive. At first, he seemed happy. Now, he's… strange."
"I wonder if it has something to do with Song," Sokka said, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's been acting weird too these days, you know. Stays out late, I hardly see her at all. She cooks everything for the day and then just leaves. I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd think she's… avoiding him?"
"Maybe. But why?" Azula asked. "Did something go poorly between them?"
"Or maybe something went so well they don't know what to make of it?" Sokka said. Azula shrugged.
"Either way, it's strange. I wouldn't worry, normally, but… with all they've done for us, I
can't help but feel responsible somehow. Especially seeing how this began after the night you snuck away to see me."
"Should we talk with him, then? Because if that's the case…"
"Uh, I'd rather we don't," said Azula, grimacing. "Because if this isn't our fault, hearing us apologize about that night might just make it worse. So…"
"Fair enough," said Sokka, sighing as the sailors started their usual process to dock the Barge in the port that was hardly a few meters away.
Azula supervised the arrival of the ship as always, leaving Sokka to watch the harbor with interest. It wasn't the first time he'd been to Fire Fountain City, it was actually his third visit to the city, but he found Ozai's tall and ridiculous statue more embarrassing each time. After it toppled over when he climbed it during the Scavenger Hunt, it had been rebuilt with even more opulence, making it larger yet, and bathed in gold. Somehow it had felt less ridiculous when it had been black, Sokka thought with a smirk, as he watched it at a distance…
His eyes returned to the port, though, and he noticed a familiar, round face amidst the crowd. He frowned and scrutinized the man, wondering if it truly was who he thought it was…
"Uh, Azula?" Sokka said, approaching the Princess, who approved of the sailors' job at fastening the ship's mooring ropes at the dock. "I'm not sure, but I… I think the Mayor is at the port. I mean, I don't know if it's him because I hardly recall his face, but it seemed familiar, and if it is…"
Azula frowned and returned to the edge of the ship again: Mayor Kuan was approachingthe Barge down the dock, a smile on his face, his hands rubbing together in what might have looked like a dark, foreboding gesture in anyone more menacing.
"Mayor!" she called out, once he was within earshot. "What a surprise to see you here."
"Oh, Princess! I was told you might be arriving early!" he said, beaming. "I heard you would fight in the Ring of Ash tomorrow, and I looked forward to seeing you beforehand!"
A sailor lowered the ship's ramp, allowing the Princess to speak with the man directly. She thanked him with a nod before climbing down to the wooden dock. Sokka stayed behind most unwillingly, frowning on the ship's deck as he refused to tear his eyes away from the Princess.
"We were ahead of schedule today, yes," Azula told the Mayor. "But it's of no consequence, truly. We'll spend the night here and take our leave tomorrow…"
"Oh, but… surely you'd rather spend the night on solid grounds, wouldn't you?" he said. "I had a room prepared for you! Well, one for you and another for your gladiator. You should get proper rest before a fight, shouldn't you?"
"Why…" said Azula, grimacing and turning to look at Sokka. The set of his jaw, as well as the arms crossed over his chest, revealed how uneasy he was, and she couldn't blame him for that.
The idea of spending the night at the Mayor's home didn't sound appealing, especially since he wanted her to bring Sokka with her. Surely the man wouldn't touch so much as a hair on her head, but she wasn't sure she could trust him to do the same for Sokka. Sokka had indeed ruined young Kuan's chances at becoming royalty, and if his father felt like taking revenge on him for it now, he would gladly do so…
"It's quite alright, Princess. We will make certain to give you the best food we have!" he said. "We'll be doing everything in our power to keep you as satisfied as you would be aboard your Barge, I'm sure."
"Well, that is… I wouldn't like to impose. You had quite a lot of children to take care of, if I recall correctly?" said Azula. The Mayor laughed.
"There's no need to worry about that, Princess. We have been waiting eagerly for you," he said. Azula smiled.
"Well, I'll… let the Captain of my Guards know. Perhaps he'll have a say upon the matter, as he's in charge of my security…"
"Oh! We can procure a room for him too, if you need us to," said the Mayor. Azula waved a hand and climbed the ramp again.
"I'll let you know briefly," she said.
Sokka frowned and stepped forward once she stood on the deck again. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully when he reached her.
"So… the Mayor would like to invite us to stay at his house after all. Funny, huh?"
"What the…? Hell, no! We can't do that!" said Sokka, grimacing. "We just talked about it and…!"
"I know, I know. It's suspicious," Azula muttered. "He's being awfully insistent, but if you think about it…"
"If I think about it, what?" Sokka said.
"I do need to keep some noblemen on my side," she said, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "And if I can try to make amends for the chaos from my birthday…"
"What?!" Sokka squealed. Azula sighed.
"It's a political move, nothing more…"
"He'll try to kill us, though! Or at least me!" Sokka exclaimed. Azula grimaced.
"I'd hope not. If he dared, he'd be in real trouble," she said. "But as it is…"
"What's going on?"
At last, Rui Shi had been brought out of his strange state, and he had approached them with folded arms. Sokka grimaced as Azula turned to him.
"Mayor Kuan is offering us to stay at his home. The three of us, at any rate," she said. "That is, if you're interested in coming along. I'm sure Sokka will like it best if you do, seeing as he thinks Kuan is trying to kill him."
"Why would he? Because of his son?" Rui Shi asked, but he dismissed Sokka's concerns quickly and turned towards Azula. "Do you want to go, Princess?"
"It would be polite to accept," she said, shrugging. "But I can't lie, it worries me, to a degree. I don't think they could outright attack us if they feel like it, we could handle ourselves. But if they were to, I don't know, poison Sokka's food…"
"Eat in a restaurant," said Rui Shi, shrugging too. "If you really distrust them so much, that's always a possibility."
"Huh. Should we?" Sokka said. Azula sighed.
"So, we'll politely accept his invitation and impolitely decline his offer of food," she said. "Sounds reasonable. Well, then, are you coming, Rui Shi?"
"I… I don't know," he said, frowning. "I suppose I could, but… I'd rather just stay here."
"Are you serious?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. Rui Shi shrugged.
"You two can take care of yourselves, you have done it before, right?" he said. "If worst comes to worst, and they discover your funny secret, you'll just have to silence them permanently and I'd rather not be there to deal with that…"
"No one is going to discover anything," said Azula, an eyebrow twitching. "So, you're just going to stay here? Despite the offer?"
"I'll just keep an eye on the ship. Make sure not to waste much time tomorrow, the sooner we return to the Capital the better," he said, waving a hand towards them. "I'll have a few guards bring your luggage to the Mayor's house."
Sokka frowned as Azula studied Rui Shi's back: he had walked away without another word.
"Either he's mad at us for that stunt indeed… or something's really wrong with him that we can't fathom," said Azula. Sokka's eyebrow twitched.
"We'll have to talk to him eventually, won't we?"
"I'm afraid so," she said, sighing. "Maybe it's just that he hoped that our relationship really would be over by now, and he's disappointed that it's not."
"Heh. That wouldn't surprise me, coming from him," said Sokka, as he and Azula walked towards the ramp again. "Still… are you sure about this? Cultivating good relations with noblemen can help, but…"
"But we won't get to enjoy ourselves tonight as you'd like to, I know," she said. "We must be cautious after all. It won't be much of a sacrifice in the long run, I hope."
"Sacrificing our nights together is always a very sad thing to do, though," Sokka sighed. Azula chuckled.
Mayor Kuan smiled and greeted Sokka enthusiastically as well as Azula, despite Sokka was wary and uneasy as the man shook his hand. Azula studied Kuan's attitude, identifying next to no hostility from him. Was he that good an actor, or was it he truly had no secret ill intentions hidden behind that cheery smile?
"It's great that you've wanted to join us," he said. "Showing the Princess some courtesy is the least we can do, after the Fire Lord's statue fell…"
"I do hope that wasn't much trouble for you," said Azula, giving Sokka a meaningful glare that he deflected with an awkward smile.
"It was, for a time, but no matter, no matter!" said Kuan. "It looks far better now, doesn't it?"
Sokka swallowed the urge to disagree, as the three of them walked through the dock and towards the street outside the port. A carriage awaited there, and Kuan led them to it, opening the door for the Princess.
"Please, take your seats," he said. Azula swallowed hard and climbed onto the cabin, only to notice later that it wasn't empty.
She realized she had seen the woman inside the carriage before, but it was Sokka who identified her: he had been the one running side by side with her during the Scavenger Hunt, after all.
"Hey, I… I know you," he said, pointing at her rather rudely. Azula scowled at him. "You were in the Scavenger Hunt!"
"Ah, this is my gladiator," said Mayor Kuan, beaming as he took his seat beside the woman, just as Sokka had taken his own next to Azula. "She's Ya Wen, or as she's best known in the Gladiator Business, Blazing Strike."
"I remember," said Sokka. "We were both fleeing from the crazy desperate gladiators, and then…"
"And then that irksome earthbender ruined my run," Blazing Strike finished, with a sigh. "Though you managed to get the better of her, somehow."
"Oh, it was just a little scheming that fortunately paid off," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly. Blazing Strike nodded.
"Why did you bring her with you to fetch us at the port, though?" Azula asked, as the carriage began moving. Kuan beamed.
"I happen to take Ya Wen with me most everywhere," he said. "She's my most trusted companion, aren't you?"
Ya Wen only smiled a little. She seemed uncomfortable, at least in Sokka and Azula's eyes. The Princess studied Kuan quickly, assessing what his relationship with the gladiator might be, given the girl's reaction to his words…
"She's a firebender, I bought her several years ago. The slave business had only just begun," said Kuan. "I didn't enroll her as a gladiator right away, but she has been quite a remarkable fighter and a grand investment for my family in the Arena. My daughters are rather fond of her."
"A powerful firebender can be quite admirable indeed," Azula said, with a smile. "It's good to hear that your relationship isn't conflictive, unlike those between many other gladiators and sponsors."
"I've heard, and seen, that you two are even more harmonious than we are," said Kuan. Azula's eyes widened and so did Sokka's. "Your reputation spreads even in the most unlikely places, Princess! It is said that the two of you are the ultimate combination of gladiator and sponsor: you will both find success if you carry on in this path."
"I do hope so," said Azula, nodding in his direction, hoping to accept his compliments graciously rather than awkwardly. Sokka only swallowed hard and smiled as the trip continued.
The Mayor's house was large, as it had to be in order host his wife, his gladiator and his four daughters. The oldest was near Azula's age, the youngest couldn't be older than ten. All of them greeted Azula with perfect reverences, along with their mother, a slender, mature woman. Azula ushered them to rise, and they entered the house without further ado.
"I do hope you enjoy your stay with us, Princess," the wife said, smiling as they entered the sitting room. "I'd wanted to meet and speak to you for the longest time, so I'm happy this opportunity came up…"
"Did you, really?" Azula asked, as all the girls joined the mother inside the room. Sokka followed too, but the Mayor and his gladiator didn't do the same, leaving Azula to meet the rest of the family without them.
"I had hoped to apologize for my son's behavior," said the woman, sighing. "He had meant to court you for a long time, as you might have suspected…"
"I did suspect as much, yes," Azula admitted.
"But for him to do it as he did was… oh, utterly shameful," she finished, shaking her head. "That he wouldn't respect the gladiator you had picked for yourself was terrible. Although he made a very beautiful gift to you, that is true…"
"Ah, that comb. I recall," said Azula. The woman beamed.
"I'm certain it would suit your new Crown Princess armor, wouldn't it?" she said. Azula smiled.
"I actually haven't tried that combination. I'm supposed to wear my hairpiece, after all," she said. The woman's wish seemed to go up in smoke upon that slap of reality.
"O-oh, of course. It's only that, such a beautiful comb… it would be quite the waste, wouldn't it? For nobody to ever wear it…"
"I could give it back, perhaps he can gift it to one of his sisters instead," said Azula, and the young girls gasped. "But if I were to wear it, it would seem as though I'd accepted his proposal which, as is known, I didn't. So…"
"Of course, of course," said the woman, smiling nervously. "Please, forget I said anything…"
"No need to be so bashful, Mrs. Kuan," said Azula, with a mild smirk. "I took no offense."
Sokka smirked too, standing at the sitting room's threshold. The intentions of the Mayor and his wife became more apparent with every passing moment, but he knew Azula would deftly evade their every attempt to restore their chances of joining the Royal Family.
The guards Rui Shi sent arrived not long afterwards, giving Sokka and Azula an excuse to leave the strangely artificial atmosphere imposed by Mayor Kuan's wife and his unusually well-behaved daughters. The entire situation felt rehearsed, in a sense: Azula had no trouble imagining both Kuan and his wife writing out lists of all the arguments they could come up with to convince her to reconsider taking their son as her husband…
It was Kuan who led them upstairs to the rooms furnished for their stay, accompanied by his gladiator. After Sokka and Azula settled down in contiguous rooms, Azula happened to mention her intentions to have dinner out in the city. Unsurprisingly, Kuan didn't take that idea with his usual enthusiasm.
"B-but we will be preparing a great meal in your honor, Princess!" he said. "You should stay, I assure you, it will be…!"
"I have visited this city several times now," Azula said. "And I've heard all sorts of great recommendations of restaurants. Despite we went sight-seeing once before, we haven't really eaten outside, so… I'm afraid we'll have to turn down the offer for dinner."
"B-but…" Kuan said, with a grimace. Azula raised an eyebrow and he sighed in defeat. The Princess was used to getting her way, and Kuan had to know better than to antagonize her by forcing anything she didn't want on her. "V-very well, then. But the next time you spend a night here…!"
"I'll be most grateful to join you for a meal, yes," said Azula, with a smirk. She gestured at Sokka to follow her, and together they headed for the house's main door.
Hardly twenty minutes later, the pair sank in chairs at a richly decorated restaurant a few blocks away from the Mayor's home. Sokka rubbed his hands at the prospect of a fine meal, but Azula frowned, in deep thought. Sokka noticed she was in a daze, and after a few moments of silently waiting for her to return to herself, he waved a hand to catch her attention.
"You okay?" he asked, once she blinked back into reality.
"Yes, yes, it's only…" she said.
"They want you to reconsider their dear son as your potential husband. Yep," said Sokka, pressing his lips into a tight line. Azula smirked.
"Well, if it will help me retain their support for my claim as heir to the throne, I'll have to bear with it," she said. "Though I will avoid sharing meals with them if I can get away with it, hearing them flaunt Governor Kuan's alleged good traits to convince me he's a good marriage prospect will only give me indigestion. But that's not really what bothers me the most. Truth be told… it's a far more complicated family than it seems on first sight."
"All daughters, except for the jerk of an older brother, huh?" said Sokka. Azula nodded. "The girls seemed so inoffensive in comparison, though."
"Surely they are," said Azula. "But what worried me was… well, Mayor Kuan, actually. And his gladiator."
"Huh?"
"Seeing how you have knowledge in that area, you should be able to notice a secret relationship when you see one," Azula said, looking at him skeptically. Sokka gawked at her.
"W-wait, what? He's… with his gladiator? But he's married!"
"What a shocker, that a married man would take a lover," Azula said, sarcastically. Sokka blushed.
"I-It's just… I mean, why would he get involved with her?" he said. "He has a family, and Blazing Strike's like… I don't know, twenty years younger than him?"
"That's exactly why, you know?" said Azula, twirling her bangs between her fingers. "This is no happy family, nor a happy marriage. The Kuans… they're ambitious in their own ways. They all seem to want things that they shouldn't have, just as their older son wanted to marry me."
"You think the wife knows, though?"
"Of course," said Azula. "She's no fool. But… I wager she doesn't care enough to make him stop. Maybe she has a younger lover of her own hidden somewhere else?"
"That's just… weird," said Sokka, grimacing. "We're staying in one hell of a weird house, aren't we?"
"I say we enjoy it while we can," said Azula, smirking. "It's not every day that we get to see sponsors and gladiators with relationships even more complicated than our own."
"You think she likes it, though? The whole affair…?" Sokka asked. "From where I'm standing, I can't see why a woman would want anything with a guy like that."
"I'd think… she's just in it for the sponsorship," said Azula. "Unlike you, and many others, there's some gladiators who genuinely enjoy the thrill of fighting in the Arena. I guess that, as long as she gets to fight, she won't protest against whatever he demands of her. A rather depressing condition to live in, of course, but…"
"But it's not our place to poke our noses into it, huh? Besides, we… we should be worrying about tomorrow's fight, if anything," said Sokka, frowning.
"Still, I think it's apparent now that they have no interest in murdering either one of us," said Azula. "They want to win me over, and giving you indigestion or outright killing you with poison is not the way to achieve that."
"So, we can have breakfast safely tomorrow?"
"I'd hope so. We'll probably be gone before lunch, so there will be no need to worry about any other courses of food afterwards."
"You figured that out before we left, didn't you? Meaning, you wanted to make sure we'd eat outside," said Sokka, smiling a little. "Was it just so we'd talk at leisure?"
"Actually, yes," said Azula. "The real bother of staying over at their place is that… it's too crowded for my comfort. I really just want to see you off into big fights as I always do, and as long as we're staying in their house, I fear it won't be possible."
"Well, it's true that you provide a lot of motivation for me to be triumphant in fights," said Sokka, smirking. "Maybe you'll have to do the same this time, somehow. Like… promising that you'll reward me for my efforts after the fight, or something like that."
"Wouldn't you like that, savage," Azula said, with feigned spite. Sokka laughed.
"Can't take a joke, now, can you, Princess?"
Both knew that Sokka hadn't been joking, but her response had alerted him of the fact that there were open ears all around the restaurant. Even if most the other customers were chatting, and the waiters were busy, it was better if they kept the confidential information to a minimum.
Dinner was pleasant, though Azula naturally looked on with disapproval as Sokka ate ravenously and with next to no manners, as per always. She wasn't sure if he did it to get a rise out of her, or if he really couldn't eat with decorum altogether, but she was surprised to realize that she was growing used to his lack of table manners. She couldn't possibly find them endearing – as much as she might love him, she couldn't possibly grow fond of all his weird quirks –, but she was no longer as affected by it as she had been in the past. The thought made her smile: the growth of a relationship like theirs required a lot of work, and adapting to one another had definitely played a large part in its success.
They returned to the Kuan house to find that only the Mayor was awake by then, and he bid them a good night after leading them to their rooms. Sokka was tempted to climb out the window and lurk his way into Azula's room but he knew that kind of mischief would be extremely unsafe, and Azula would be more than a bit outraged for it.
He dropped on his mattress with a disappointed sigh, wishing that building up Azula's political relationships didn't demand for them to compromise their intimacy like this. They did take a lot of risks under all circumstances, but he didn't dare do it here, and he knew neither would she. It was one thing to act out in known grounds and territories, with a set plan about what they'd do, and a whole different one to act rashly in an unknown house, where they couldn't lower their guard around any members of the family that hosted them.
So he simply lay in bed, missing the feeling of his Princess in his arms and her lips on his. In the very next room, Azula lay in bed, hopelessly longing for the same thing.
The sound of arguing voices woke Azula. She had never been a heavy sleeper, and she found she was more likely to wake up suddenly if Sokka wasn't with her. Since she was alone, the soft grumble of two voices was enough to stir her awake.
She rubbed her eyes and glanced out the window to find the skies were already of a light blue, despite the sun had yet to rise: there wasn't much point in trying to fall asleep again. She sucked in a deep breath and readied herself for the day, donning her golden armor and fixing her hair as perfectly as she could manage.
She noticed someone was standing by the stairs when she walked out into the hall. Wishfully, she wondered if it would be Sokka… a closer look revealed it was, in fact, Blazing Strike. Azula frowned and made her way towards the woman, and the gladiator jumped upon noticing the sound of Azula's footsteps.
"Did they wake you?" she asked. Azula shrugged.
"I would have woken up soon either way," she said. "What's happening?"
"I… I suppose a Princess like yourself shouldn't hear it," said Blazing Strike, grimacing. "It's just…"
"Did she confront him about you?" Azula asked. Blazing Strike lowered her eyes guiltily. "Or is she scolding him because we bailed on dinner last night?"
"Both things, I guess," said Blazing Strike. "The first is no surprise, though. It's been happening even before anything had happened. She… she saw the way he looked at me. Assumed he was using me even when he wasn't."
"It sounds like trouble," said Azula. Blazing Strike shrugged.
"I guess I could do worse," she said. "At least he's kind with me. Only…"
"You have no feelings whatsoever for him, do you?" said Azula. Blazing Strike shook her head.
"He's not utterly disgusting, but he disappoints me more often than not, in many ways," said Blazing Strike. "Still… I shouldn't discuss these matters with a Princess."
"On the contrary, you should," said Azula. "I'd like to know just what subjects I can expect to have once I become Fire Lord. This has been enlightening, in a sense."
"Has it? I wouldn't think it's that weird for a sponsor to get involved with his gladiator," said Blazing Strike, shrugging. "I've heard of some Capital girl who has this earthbending gladiator… she makes no efforts to hide that she's doing him, you know?"
Azula smiled awkwardly: she knew all too well.
"Scandalous, truly," said Azula, sighing. Blazing Strike frowned.
"On another note, though… your fight is today, isn't it?"
"That's right," said Azula, nodding. "You're a local fighter, now I think of it… have you ever seen the Kinslayer?"
"Not personally, no," said Blazing Strike. "I've heard enough unpleasant tales about him that I wish not to, though."
"Is he as vicious as I heard?" Azula asked. "He truly has killed six gladiators?"
"That's what I heard, too. I knew a few of them."
Azula's eyes widened. Blazing Strike swallowed hard.
"I suppose someone who won in the Slate shouldn't have an issue beating him," said Blazing Strike. "But… he's a madman. If your gladiator hesitates at all, he'll cut him down without a second thought."
"I guess so," said Azula, frowning. "Do you know anything else about him? Where he's from?"
"No, not really," said Blazing Strike. "I guess if I'd seen him, I might be able to help you, but… I've just heard rumors. And people are too freaked out about murderous gladiators to take in any details other than the fact that they're murderers."
"I see," said Azula, sighing. "Well, that really isn't much more information than what we already had. Hopefully, with some luck, we'll be able to defeat him…"
"My sponsor and I will be there to watch," said Blazing Strike. "He intends to take you to the Arena on the family carriage, too."
"I do hope he doesn't take the whole family," said Azula. "Not only because of the conflicts between them, but I doubt his young daughters would be ready to witness the violence of a Gladiator Arena."
"They'll have to learn one day," said Blazing Strike, shrugging. "The world isn't a kind place. Not really."
"You're not wrong about that," Azula concurred, as footsteps made their way up the stairs. Footsteps that belonged to a nervous Mayor Kuan.
"You were awake!" he exclaimed, looking at Azula. "May I interest you in breakfast now, Princess?"
She could see that whatever he had been discussing with his wife was still fresh on his mind, and that he was making great, but vain, efforts to hide it. All she did, though, was smirk and nod in his direction.
"If you'd be so kind, Mayor Kuan."
She hoped that, in her presence, the married couple would stop arguing. It seemed that at least Blazing Strike would thank her for it.
Sokka only woke up when Azula was done with her breakfast. By then, the table was already fully crowded, and as he ate with a little more decency than he had the night before, Azula noticed a few of the girls staring at him with curious and perhaps even smitten eyes. She couldn't help but wonder if excessive exposure to the world of nobility would make highborn women like herself oddly susceptible to the charms of men like Sokka… The thought brought a small smirk to her face as she sipped on the juice she had been drinking, as she waited for Sokka to finish stuffing himself as ever.
Despite his clumsy ways during the meal, though, Sokka left his easy-going attitude behind once he returned to his room to furnish himself with his armor. He breathed deeply, staring at it and his weapons, wondering if he'd take up arms against an old friend today, or a new foe, or both things in one. The disquieting thoughts he had brushed away as lies, as conspiracies, as nonsense, came back to haunt him now: what if it was all true? What if the boy he had once known had disappeared completely?
Yet… Sokka wasn't the same young boy he had been once, either. If it really was his friend, would he recognize in this fully-grown Sokka the careless troublemaking child he had been long ago? Though he hadn't lost much of his carelessness, or his tendency for getting into trouble… he smiled, guessing he had actually retained those qualities, or regained them once again after joining forces with Azula. Perhaps there were a few traits within himself that could remain untouched, that could identify him for who he was. Could the same apply to Rhone?
"You've taken a while with that," he heard Azula's voice behind him. The creak of the door closing after her, along with the click of the lock, made him smile. "Are you alright?"
"Just thinking," he said, turning around and looking at her. "Just wondering… well, how things will turn out today. I'm afraid I'm… heh, I guess I'm just afraid. Any possibility is terrifying, for its own reasons, so…"
"I know. I know," said Azula, approaching him and placing a hand on his chest. "But we said this was what we'd do, right?"
"We did, we did," Sokka admitted, as Azula reached for his armor and ensured to fit it around his body.
"So, torturing yourself about what might be and what could be is a waste of brainpower. In less than an hour we'll find out the truth already," she said, fastening his forearm guards too. Sokka smiled.
"And regardless of whatever happens out there, I still have you," he said. Azula raised her eyebrows.
"Here I thought that went without saying," she said, with a slight smirk. Sokka chuckled as he picked up his weapons, fitting them in place. As he turned his back on her to pick up his bombs, Azula leaned closer and hugged him from behind.
"It was a pretty lonely night, huh?" he muttered. She smiled.
"We need to stop sneaking around so often to sleep with one another. It renders us unable to sleep by ourselves when we have to," she whispered, hoping nobody would hear her even if they pressed their ears to the door. She could hear voices in the living room still, and the sounds of footsteps on the creaking wooden floors would have been noticeable if anyone had approached Sokka's room.
"It's just not easy having self-control, though," he said, smiling and turning in her arms.
He cupped her face and kissed her gently, his eyes closed as he relished in her eager response to his affections. She still held him close, her arms locked around his armor, her head tilted upwards as he leaned down to fully brush her lips with his own. He smiled sweetly once he pulled away.
"Seeing how there's no stand-by room in the Ring of Ash…" said Sokka, smirking. "We had to take our chances now, right?"
"Right," said Azula, sighing before looking at him more sternly. "You can handle this, can't you? You've been preparing for a while now, so…"
"I can. I just need to know you'll be there, and with that, I'm not going to be so afraid anymore," he said. "We've been through worse than whatever we'll face now, right?"
"I'd think we have, yeah," said Azula, smiling as she wiped his lips clean. "I mean, all things considered, being chased by the Dai Li, or being stranded in a forest for a week, or fighting a guy with insane waterbending skills… it's bound to be far more complicated than this, right?"
"I only hope so," said Sokka, sighing. "Though, if you really want to bring up my most fearsome opponent ever, you happened to forget the one I'm holding in my arms right now…"
"Huh," said Azula, smirking and pressing her forehead against his. "Well, what a fool am I to forget, aren't I?"
Sokka chuckled. She pulled away, smiling, and looked him up and down. He was the perfect image of her gladiator, as he had to be. She gestured at the door, and he nodded before following her outside. They climbed downstairs, finding the Mayor and his gladiator were already waiting for them, and in no time the four of them were riding the carriage that would lead them to the Ring of Ash.
"If the fight were to overwhelm you at any point, I recommend jumping out of the ring," Mayor Kuan told Sokka. Azula raised her eyebrows, and he squirmed under her inquisitive gaze. "N-not that your opponent should overwhelm you in any way, of course, he's certainly not as strong as the Blue Wolf…"
"He shouldn't be," Azula agreed. "Still, thanks for the advice."
Kuan smiled uneasily, as Blazing Strike eyed Sokka with uncertainty. As she had never known or seen the Kinslayer, she wasn't sure if there was cause for concern at all… yet she was concerned regardless. She knew first-hand that the Blue Wolf had the tendency to hide tricks under his sleeve, but she couldn't help but wonder if hiding any this time around would do him any good. It took a lot more than tricks to defeat murderous gladiators.
The Ring of Ash was crowded, as Arenas frequently would be when the Princess's gladiator fought abroad. Room was left for her and her fellow sponsor at the center of the first row in the stands, and the Mayor struggled to find empty spots nearby for himself and Blazing Strike. Azula didn't take her seat yet, though, upon noticing their rivals weren't there yet. She signed Sokka in at the counter by the stands, and she gestured at Sokka, hoping to speak with him away from the crowd.
"You know I'm not a fan of you losing, but what the Mayor suggested is a good strategy here," said Azula, looking at Sokka. "You'd lose the fight automatically if you get out of the ring. If he's out to kill you and he gets anywhere close to succeeding at it, that's always an option to stop him."
"Yeah, I'd do that if I have to," said Sokka, breathing deeply. "Though I wonder if he'd stop at all if I did that."
"If he doesn't, the one killing a gladiator today will likely be me instead of him," said Azula, frowning dangerously. "Just stay safe, Sokka. As it was in the Slate, as it has been in all your fights… what matters most is that you survive. Alright?"
He nodded and smiled. She breathed deeply and ushered him to head to the ring of dark ash, while she took her seat in the front row of the stands. The other sponsor's space was still empty, while the rest of the front row was occupied by the match's judges. Azula breathed deeply as Sokka entered the dark ring, his head somewhat tilted while he withdrew his sword from its scabbard, swinging it in careless but masterful circular motions.
He cleared his mind with every step he took as he paced slowly. For some reason, doing so was surprisingly easy despite all the anxiety he had felt before arriving at the Ring of Ash. Thoughts of who his rival might be had hit a standstill, and all he could do now was wait. Soon enough he would arrive, and once he did…
The sound of footsteps on the ash alerted him. He was not alone anymore. He swallowed hard and stopped swinging his sword: it was time.
He turned slowly, the bones in his chest squeezing his organs and leaving him breathless, slowing the blood that coursed his body as his eyes met the cold blue in his opponent's own…