The rumor of noise outside the Palace's premises still reached them from where they waited, next to the dragon's refuge. Sokka's ears remained peeled for the unwanted sounds of footsteps, though, and it wasn't long before they heard them.
"Alright, time to let go," he whispered, smiling under his helmet. "I love you, Azula."
"And I you. But you're Rui Shi now, so… try to love me a little less, for a while," she reminded him, with a small grin as she closed the palanquin's curtain once more.
Sokka chuckled as he stepped back from the palanquin. He straightened his back and took up the stance she had taught him not an hour ago. Even if he couldn't be seen under his helmet, Sokka's face became an impeccable mask of stoicism.
The first to arrive were the palanquin bearers. Sokka held back the urge to give them a friendly smile or wave at them, as he would normally. The bearers were grinning warmly at him, and it felt so rude to stay silent and stern instead of greeting them too…
"Good day, Captain," said one of them, before bowing his head towards the palanquin. "Good day, Princess."
"To your stations," Azula commanded, briskly. Sokka guessed she was helping him avoid any unnecessary conversation.
Barely a minute later, the other nine Royal Guards showed up. Sokka counted them, ensuring everyone was here. He only nodded briskly towards them all, and Tai Wei stopped beside him before taking his position.
"We're to head to the front gates. We'll follow the firebending performers, the Fire Lord will be behind us after the third musical squad," Tai Wei told Sokka, as the palanquin bearers drew back the curtains and tied them to each pole: Azula would be in perfect view for the crowd to admire her.
Sokka nodded, and Tai Wei bowed his head towards him before taking his position at the rear of their formation. The gladiator breathed deeply before raising his voice.
"Move out," he commanded, with his rehearsed Rui Shi imitation.
No one seemed to hesitate, no questions were asked, there were no confused whispers behind him. He took the first step, helming the Procession as he was expected to, and everyone followed. His legs were somewhat weak after the passionate tryst with Azula barely moments ago, but he resolved to stay firm and steady. He couldn't let anyone see him wavering in any way. He was supposed to be Rui Shi, and Rui Shi had no reason to be weak on the knees today… or perhaps he did, but Sokka was supposed to pretend he was a firm, stable Rui Shi, with no weak knees whatsoever.
The parade had already begun when the Procession took its proper place amongst its multiple squads. Performers, jugglers and musicians had preceded them, and the cheers of the crowd reached them from afar. Sokka steeled himself, doing his best to focus on the task at hand. It wasn't easy to deliver the perfect performance as Rui Shi, though, when his mind kept drifting back to the heated kisses and lustful touches, the friction between his body and Azula's as they gave themselves to the other completely…
He had to blink himself out of that daze, realizing his feet had been moving of their own accord. They were close to the gates by now, and he could see the cheering crowd in the streets. Soldiers from the Domestic Forces stood at equal distances in front of the crowd, herding them away from the center of the roads, where the parade was unfolding. The cheers were almost deafening along with the loud music, played in perfect unison by the music squads ahead and behind them. The colorful sights everywhere nearby were almost surreal, the people wore their best clothes, and some of them wore ornate masks too. Decorative lanterns hung across the streets, just as many adornments embellished every building in the parade's path.
The stalls were hard to glimpse over the seas of people right now, for they stood behind the crowds, but Sokka still glanced at what he could see of them, as they followed the appointed parade route. He couldn't help but wonder where he'd find a fire lily for Azula… he blinked himself out of his daze again, only to realize the noise was louder yet now that they had crossed the Palace gates. He continued to walk steadily, suspecting the crowd had grown wilder now because of their Crown Princess…
Azula had skipped the parade on the previous year, and she had been somewhat grateful for that. The tight crowds, the noise, all of it usually displeased her. But this year…
Was she at such ease with everything because of her escapade with Sokka barely half an hour earlier? She had the suspicion that it had a lot to do with that. But instead of feeling apprehensive, instead of wanting nothing but for the parade to end, she smiled and waved occasionally at the crowd. Whenever she did, they would grow more restless. Wherever they passed, she would see bright smiles amid the masks, children pointing at her, enthusiasm like none she had seen in the past. She was used to being the subject of many glances and stares, and of ceremonial reverences, too, but she had never been received so joyfully by a crowd. The eagerness with which they celebrated her arrival astonished her.
It was almost enough to get her mind off what had happened in the palanquin… almost. She felt guiltier than usual, being acclaimed this way after the wild tryst she had enjoyed with her secret lover, but at the same time she was convinced that what she chose to do with her free time was her business. If she had a lover, and she wanted to be with him, who had a right to stop her? As far as she was concerned, no one did… and no one would.
She breathed deeply, proud of keeping their secret safe, but ever wary of what might happen if she failed to do so. Every smile in the crowd would turn upside down. The voices that praised her would condemn her instead. Whether it was fair or not, right or wrong, it wouldn't matter. She would fall from grace, with no chances of redemption…
But she narrowed her eyes and gazed forward, determination flaring inside her. Today presented her with a chance to see, first-hand, how much had changed in the span of the last two years. It allowed her the clearest view of how the people received her, rather than the nobles or the highborn. If she judged what she was seeing so far, it would seem the acknowledgement she had longed for had been here all along: they saw her for her own person, cherished her for her achievements, and that alone was everything she had wanted ever since her clash with Zhao so long ago.
She smiled to herself, her eyes lingering on the shape of the temporary Captain of her Royal Guards. No doubt people would judge her if they knew the truth of their relationship, but if it weren't for Sokka, she would still be her brother's lesser sibling in their eyes. She would be seen as the wife of a future Fire Lord, rather than a Crown Princess. She would be her father's daughter, and little more than that.
With such blissful thoughts in mind, she returned to smiling and waving at the people on occasion. If there was something she could say for certain, it was that she was grateful for everything that had changed since the last time she had done this. She felt she had earned their cheers and support, and she took genuine pride in being honored by her people in this way.
There was no end to the noise, even if the screaming and cheers grew weaker at the back of the crowd. The visibility in that area proved lacking, but fortunately the city was in a crater. Walking away from the center of the city meant you would be able to find a vantage point from which to watch the parade more comfortably, and that was what Song and Rui Shi had chosen to do. Though they didn't do it only for a better view, of course…
"Is this far enough for you to feel safe?" Song teased Rui Shi, smiling as they stood on a tall ledge near a long street.
Rui Shi smiled and nodded, staring down at the parade as an uncertain feeling nestled inside him. He bit his lip, and Song watched him with uncertainty.
"Are you feeling guilty?" she guessed. He blushed a little.
"Slightly, yes," he admitted. "I'm uneasy, if anything. I suppose my sense of responsibility berates me for not being down there, but in every other regard I'm… I'm glad I'm here with you instead."
"And I'm glad to hear it," said Song, smiling shyly. Rui Shi grinned back at her.
"What an odd sensation," said Rui Shi, gazing at Azula's Royal Procession. "It almost feels like an out-of-body experience of some sort. Like I can watch myself doing my job, even though I'm not doing it."
"That sounds convenient," said Song, chuckling. "Relaxing and enjoying the day, while your counterpart does all the hard work…"
"It is for me. Though I suppose you could use a substitute too. It does get tiresome to work at the house all the time, doesn't it?" Rui Shi asked. Song shrugged.
"Well, it's not like I'm too ambitious. I don't have much else to do," she admitted, giggling softly. "So I don't mind it. But if I could, well…"
"You'd slack off?" Rui Shi asked, smirking a little. She laughed again. "Well, you can slack off today. No worries about your duties, about your responsibilities… for today, you're free."
"For today?" she asked, smiling gently. Rui Shi grimaced.
"Well, if it were up to me… you always would be," he said, but she laughed. "Song?"
"I'm barely treated like a slave at all, Rui Shi," she said, smiling warmly at him and taking his hand. "And besides, when I'm with you, I tend to forget I'm a slave in the first place. I feel free whenever I'm by your side."
Rui Shi's chest tightened as Song turned to look at the parade again. Her cheeks were colored red after what she'd said, but she didn't seem to regret having spoken those words at all. Rui Shi drew in a deep breath before pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her in a kind embrace. Song laughed happily against his chest.
"We're going to miss the parade if we start snuggling in the middle of it…" she pointed out, chuckling. Rui Shi grinned and released her but kept one arm tightly wrapped around her shoulders.
"I hope this is good enough for now, then," he said, kissing the top of her head. She beamed and nodded.
"It always is."
The parade continued throughout the city, with the performers moving across every main street. They would head up towards the crater's edge, but instead of leaving the crater, and moving towards the bay's plaza, the parade's route would circle the inside of the dormant volcano and return to the center of the city. Even in the most crowded districts of the city there were wide main roads, which enabled the parade to transit through the streets without many hindrances.
The crowds thinned the further they progressed away from the center of the city. By then, people mostly gazed out from windows, a few of them stepping out to wave at the parade. Some would throw flowers at the Royal Processions, others would simply rejoice in catching glimpses of the two royals. As loud as the musical squads were, the current area they were in, near the eastern border of the crater, provided a feeling of peace that was nowhere to be found at the start of the parade. Azula almost felt like slumping on her seat, her entire body relaxed after what had happened with Sokka. But she couldn't behave so recklessly: one glance over her shoulder was enough to see Ozai's personal, larger Procession, behind the musical squad that separated them. The sight of his palanquin served as a reminder that she couldn't slack off, not for a second, for she had to embody absolute perfection.
There was a thicker crowd of guards around Ozai's palanquin, twice as many as Azula had. The uniforms of the Imperial Guards weren't so different from the ones worn by Azula's own, but they were sharper, the armor thicker, the gold trimmings with more embroidery. The image they projected was far more intimidating, even if the sight of Azula's fully armored guards was already daunting for most people.
As she turned away from her father, enveloped by the sounds of the tsungi horns blaring behind her, the guzhengs strings softly accompanying them, and the drums carrying the walking rhythm with steady beats, Azula noticed something out of place by the mountainside. They were as close to the border of the crater as they would get, and there were no houses that close to the rocky formations. Yet something moved there… something of faded colors, but not faded enough to blend into the scenery. Azula frowned as she tried to detail it, for it moved down the crater's wall, but she soon realized that whatever it was, it wasn't alone: multiple shapes, snaking down the natural wall at haste, headed straight for the firebending demonstrators in front of them.
"Stop!" she bellowed suddenly, jumping up on her palanquin.
Her bearers were shaken up by the sudden offset of weight when Azula changed positions. Her men froze only briefly before taking a protective formation around her Procession. Sokka almost jumped up on the palanquin, an arm outstretched in front of Azula, as to protect her from whatever threat was sliding down the crater.
The firebending performers up ahead grew restless, and they broke formation quickly. Quite a lot of people in the parade weren't trained to respond well to violent circumstances: even if this squad was comprised by benders, they only knew how to bend for recreational purposes. They scattered away from the perceived threats desperately, as did the music and juggling squads, unknowingly opening a perfect path to Azula's palanquin.
Azula snarled, ready to fight the rushing figures. She wasn't afraid, and she knew her guards weren't, either. But she didn't remember that not all the people in her Procession were trained fighters, either.
She lost her footing when the palanquin's balance grew uneven. She reached out a hand as she yelped, for the vehicle was about to topple over. One of the palanquin bearers at the back, in his fright, had let go of his pole, and by doing so, his partner had been forced to do the same.
But Azula didn't fall down: a hand reached out to help her keep her footing, clasping her wrist and pulling her towards him. The remaining palanquin bearers had to let go of their poles as well, unable to balance the weight of the vehicle anymore. With that, Azula almost toppled forward now, but Sokka made sure she fell into his arms instead, her feet still on the border of the litter.
"Princess!" she heard Taro exclaim, but she waved a hand towards him as she stood upright, a hand on Sokka's shoulder still.
"Don't panic, any of you!" she commanded, glancing at her guards. Unlike the bearers, they had stayed in their stations even as they took fighting stances. "What are we up against?!"
"W-well…" said Fei Li, pointing forward with uncertainty.
Finally, they were close enough for Azula to see. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight.
The first one was a man, dressed in rags, running towards them with panicked eyes. He bumped into a few of the nervous firebending performers, and even pushed one of them aside. His gaze was glued to the palanquin, and his mouth was moving as he spoke, repeating the same words over and over:
"Fire Lord…! Fire Lord, Fire Lord…!"
The ones behind him wore similar attire, and appeared similarly unhealthy: women and men, all of them running the same way, some looking more lucid than others, some more uncertain. But all of them ran in the same direction: all of them were headed straight for Azula's palanquin.
The Royal Guards stood ready to repeal them. Three of the firebenders moved forward and cast a barrage of fire that seemed to snap the first man out of his apparently mindless race. He screamed and jumped away from the flames, bumping into another of his companions, but others kept running past the fire.
It didn't take more than that initial demonstration for Azula to realize these people were defenseless. Her eyes widened in confusion as she stared at them, seeing no sparks of fire bursting from their fingers. Seeing no rage, no ill-intent, for there was nothing other than desperation and fear in those wide eyes and desperate grimaces.
"Do not harm them!" she shouted, startling her men. Some glanced back at her in disbelief. "Apprehend them, but do not harm them!"
The firebenders seemed slightly confused by the command, but they sought to do as they were told. The strangers attempted to scurry away from the guards, fearful as they were of their fire, but they were clumsy even if they were slippery. The soldiers captured several of them fairly easily, obeying the Princess by settling for immobilizing them rather than doing any genuine harm.
Yet one slid through the cracks of their defenses, and he rushed towards the palanquin all the same. By then, only two people stood between him and Ozai's Imperial Guards, who had rushed through the squad of panicked musicians, on their way to take down the rogue elements that no one had accounted for.
"Sok-…!" Azula started, gritting her teeth to silence herself as she remembered he was in disguise. Her hand was still on his shoulder, and she could feel his heavy breathing as the man rushed towards them.
"What do I do? What do I…?" he asked, worried about what would happen if he fought without bending.
But Azula breathed deeply and risked a sudden, dangerous gambit. It might not work as smoothly as she hoped it would, but she would try her best to hold down her fire's power to make this pretense believable.
"Raise your arm, make a fist!" she hissed in his ear. Sokka obeyed quickly.
What he experienced bare instants afterwards left him wide-eyed, utterly confused. A surge of power he had never felt in his life seemed to pass through his arm, and some part of him thought that Azula had set him on fire.
But one glance at his arm showed there were no flames on the surface. The heat that pulsed through his limb was inside it somehow, coursing through it with a force well beyond his control. The feeling was foreign, and so, terrifying. But what scared him the most was the burst of fire that poured out of his fist.
It was orange, but it sparked blue in some places. That could have given away who was truly doing the bending, but nobody could pay much attention to those details in the midst of such chaos: Sokka saw himself becoming a channel of bending somehow, the means through which Azula was fighting back against the strange man that had been rushing towards them. He could hardly give his eyes credit, but the fire was truly pouring from his own fist…
The flames scared off the man successfully, and he jumped back while shrieking in fear. Taro caught him, and Tai Wei maneuvered to restrain him quickly.
The strange sensation in Sokka's arm disappeared as soon as Azula stopped bending, but her hand was still on Sokka's shoulder in a reassuring gesture of some sort. His heart was racing, even though he tried to remain as calm as he could. Rui Shi shouldn't be shocked about being able to bend, should he?
"Is everyone alright?" Azula asked, glancing about herself. "Are all of them apprehended?"
She nudged Sokka to move, and he forced himself to obey. He needed to confirm what had happened, who had been caught, all the essential details he should be overseeing right now…
"Yes, everyone's in custody, Princess," said Tai Wei, bowing his head in her direction.
Azula frowned as she gazed upon the restrained people in question, doing her best to ignore the pungent smell that emanated from them. Most had dark hair, and what seemed to be fair skin, but both so matted with filth that it was hard to tell what the exact colors were supposed to be. The same happened with the clothes. All of them were shivering, nervous and uneasy, and none of them raised their eyes to look at the guards, or the Princess.
Azula finally took a step towards them when she heard sets of heavy footsteps behind her. Her eyes narrowed when the Imperial Guards moved in: their leader, the General of the Guards, rushed past her and approached Sokka.
"Is the situation contained, Captain Rui Shi?" he asked.
"It seems so," said Sokka, doing his best to keep his voice steady, as Azula had taught him. "Every culprit is in custody."
"Send for soldiers to retrieve them," Azula told the General. "And reorganize the parade. You'd think they'd react more calmly over a group of unarmed fools running amok in the streets…"
"They could have been a safety hazard," said the General, staring at her from above. He was quite tall, probably half a head taller than Sokka, but Azula wasn't deterred by that.
"For a Royal Procession? Seriously? One would think you'd have your men in higher esteem, General," Azula snapped. "We have no more time to waste, else we'll be held up here all day. Send men to investigate the mountainside if you think there might be more of them, but if we dawdle any longer, word of what happened will begin to spread. It's not the time to allow unrest to rise in the Capital, let alone because of a few vagrants running around as they were."
The General didn't look pleased, and some part of Sokka worried that he might not appreciate being ordered around by Azula. So Sokka frowned, and he folded his arms threateningly as he stood beside the Princess. He wordlessly defied the General to say anything to oppose her, and the man took notice of it. The General's visible displeasure increased before he stormed off without acknowledging the Princess's orders. Azula scowled at him.
"He's not about to do as I said, is he?" Azula huffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, then, so be it. Fei Li, you're fast enough. Find low-ranked soldiers and get them to escort these people away from the Parade's route, if you would."
"As you wish, Princess!" said Fei Li, and on cue, he ran off down a nearby street.
"Han, Qiang, scout the crater for more of them," said Azula, climbing her palanquin again and taking her place in it. The curtains on one side had fallen loosely, darkening the Princess's silhouette. "The rest of you will take parallel formation once the other soldiers take these captives away."
The firebending performers were herded back into place by their director, as were the musicians behind them. The first half of the parade had halted up ahead in the road, and a few people had backtracked on the path to ask what had happened to the rest of the group. A few stern commands from Azula, telling them to resume formation and ready themselves to continue soon, sufficed to silence them.
Sokka stood near Azula, his hands free since he wasn't restraining any of the people who had crashed the parade. He inched towards Azula with unease.
"Is this the kind of eventuality you were worried about?" he asked. She sighed. "The reason you disapproved so much of the plan…?"
"In your reckless plan's defense, it's the first time this happens at all. And if you think about it, it's quite stupid," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, they were only a group of random, dirty, smelly…"
Her eyes widened suddenly, and Sokka looked at her with unease under his helmet. He had reached the conclusion she had as soon as the group had been apprehended.
"Homeless people," he whispered. Azula couldn't repress a shudder.
She remembered the one they had met so long ago, around this very same area, when they were searching for a house for Sokka. She hadn't seen any others ever again, but it was natural that she hadn't: she never traveled on foot around these parts of the city. She always flew, and seldom even used her palanquin these days. But no one had reported that there were people living here somewhere, no one had done anything about it…
And where there had only been one man when they had first seen him, now there were seven, and none of them were the madman who lived in a box. Where had they come from? Why had they done this? Why had they been calling for the Fire Lord, while rushing towards Azula's palanquin…?
Well, if they weren't of sound mind, they could have easily mistaken Azula's palanquin for Ozai's. They might have thought, from afar, that she was her father. But why charge at the parade? They hadn't harmed anyone, even if a few of the firebending performers had gotten hurt while scrambling away from them. It was such a strange, confusing situation…
"What will you do about them?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.
"I don't know if it's my call to make," she said.
She could almost see his sharp blue stare under the mask. Her chest tightened, not wanting to be at the opposite end of Sokka's displeasure once again. She had kept the homeless people from being harmed, wasn't that enough to show that she didn't want these people hurt? Why did Sokka have to be so hellbent on making her defy her father…?
"I know this isn't simple, but…" said Sokka, his voice resigned rather than angry, to her relief. "I doubt these people deserve to be treated as criminals even if they crashed the parade as they did. But… it's not my call to make, either."
"Fei Li's returning," Azula whispered, jerking her head towards the guard, followed by a group of soldiers. "Get into position."
The group of homeless people were ferried away by the other soldiers, without protest or violent reactions. They moved with their heads hung, away from the parade they had disrupted with their stunt.
Five more minutes were needed for the parade to restart. The crowds were growing anxious by then, confused by whatever might be holding off the progress of the large processions through the crater. They were far away from the center of the city, and most the populace gathered at the Palace's front gates: they could see the progress of the parade throughout its route around the crater from that distance, just as they could see that it had stopped moving. Rumors of all sorts coursed through the masses, and Rui Shi and Song slid closer to the thicker crowds, in hopes to gain some understanding of what had happened.
"Must be those White Lotus, I tell you! They struck again!"
"No, no, maybe someone's had a bit of a heat stroke, it's been a hot day…"
"Might be a secret thing, the Fire Lord's using the parade to conceal something awful!"
The outlandish guesses brought Rui Shi to the conclusion that those words were merely idle gossip. Song seemed worried, but he smiled and stroked her hair to appease her.
"No one really knows what's happening," he said. "Whether it was anything serious or not…"
"It might have been nothing, right? Some minor incident…" said Song, biting her lip.
Rui Shi's chest tightened at the thought. Even a minor incident would be too much, compared with what was expected in these parades. Their security was as tight as could be, and he knew better than to underestimate his fellow guards. But the guilt he hadn't experienced in earnest was gnawing at him now. Was this the first time he could have faced and defeated a serious threat to the Princess, and he hadn't been there because of his crazy scheme with Sokka?
"Rui Shi? Are you alright?"
Her voice brought him back to his senses, and he smiled at Song again. He shouldn't dwell on it much, although one thought couldn't seem to vanish from his mind: if he lost his job over this, he would deserve it entirely.
The parade returned to the center of the city after another half hour, and it was welcomed by loud cheers as each group took a position near a large platform that stood right in front of the gates. Several military officers waited there, such as Admiral Zhao, and Azula dismounted next to it. She walked towards the men in their fancy army uniforms, and she nodded in their direction as they bowed respectfully. But when they rose, their eyes asked countless questions that she wasn't sure how to answer.
"Why did the parade stop, Princess?" Zhao inquired. "Was something wrong? Is the Fire Lord safe?"
"I would assume so," said Azula, glancing back at the approaching palanquin. "I didn't see my father during the incident, but his Procession didn't suffer any damage, as far as I could tell. Only a few firebending performers did, and mainly because they tripped amongst themselves."
"Is that so?" Zhao asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That still does not clarify what happened, though," said General Mak. "Were you attacked?"
"Something like that. It's not entirely clear, not even to me," Azula confessed. "It was confusing, but a group of what appeared to be homeless people climbed down the mountainside and rushed towards us."
"What?!" all the men roared, but Azula held her palms up to appease them.
"They weren't armed, they didn't even seem to be benders. We don't know who they are, or what they were trying to do. They harmed no one directly," she clarified.
"Then why…?" Mak asked, as the War Minister gasped and shook his head.
"It's still unconceivable!" Qin exclaimed. "Oh, Princess…!"
"I'm unharmed, as are all my guards. Frankly, if anything it's the first time in a long time that my guards have anything to do other than follow me wherever I may travel," said Azula, rolling her eyes. "There's no cause for concern. This isn't even what they were trained for: our soldiers are supposed to be able to handle far worse threats than this."
"They certainly can," said a strong voice behind her. "And as is natural, they have handled this one just as well."
All the men she spoke with bowed down towards Ozai. Azula had to turn around to perform her own reverence, but she raised her eyes quickly to assess her father's reaction to the chaotic security breach they'd had earlier.
He didn't look particularly upset, but the glow in his eyes told Azula he was not to be underestimated right now. Her whole body shuddered in dread: she knew that look. It was the same with which he had sent out the armies that had taken Ba Sing Se, the same with which he had fought Zuko during their Agni Kai. The same eyes that spoke of determination and of hubris: he would not be appeased easily.
"The men you saw, Azula," he asked. "Who were they?"
"I couldn't say," she admitted. "As far as I could tell, they're merely homeless people. I saw one, once before, and he was harmless. These people…"
"They rushed your procession," said Ozai, his gaze frigid by now. Azula almost took a step back. "They're hardly harmless."
"As it happens, Father… I disagree. While they certainly hindered our progress and the fluidity of the parade, they had no weapons, no bending, and they caused no permanent harm to any of my soldiers. As far as I could see, the only people who got hurt were the firebending performers, and merely because they were frightened and nervous. This is not a meaningful threat, as far as I can see."
"And yet it means our parade was hindered, as you said," Ozai spoke, his brow furrowed. "This is a direct slight against an ancient tradition, Princess Azula. It deserves to be punished appropriately."
Azula gritted her teeth, feeling too weak, perhaps even too scared, to speak her mind again. Her gaze avoided his while her hands trembled beside her thighs. Standing up to her father when it came to her life's decisions was one thing. Doing so when it came to the Water Tribes was another, still feasible, thing. But standing up to him when it came to his own people, to how he handled his subjects, was something that required far more courage than she thought she had in her.
Her eyes drifted towards her palanquin while Ozai turned to answer the questions posed by War Minister Qin. All her bearers, and her guards, stood there, but she only sought one of them, the only one whose body language spoke for itself. Instead of conversing with the others, the Captain was turned towards her. He was fixing his gloves, from the looks of it, but the positioning of his helmet was proof that he was staring right back at her.
He believed in her. He always had. For the longest time, he had said he knew she would make the world a better place, and he had been as patient and understanding as he could be about that. She always said she couldn't do it yet – she couldn't act, she wasn't as powerful as she seemed, she needed time, she needed to meticulously plan everything, so her father wouldn't understand her true intent. She had manipulated him into not using the aircrafts to attack the North Pole, and she had deadlocked her potential betrothal by outsmarting him. She never took the direct route, for the obvious reason: challenging her father meant paying a steep price for her defiance, she knew as much. Zuko was the living example of the consequences of crossing the Fire Lord.
But right now, feeling so vulnerable under Sokka's gaze, she knew she had no choice. She had to speak out now, or the death of those people would weigh on her conscience for good. Ozai certainly would feel no guilt over this, but today, more than ever, Azula could see the marked difference between herself and her father. As hard as she had tried to follow his example in the past, today she found herself unwilling to condone his rash actions.
"… Then no one was truly harmed?" Zhao was asking Ozai when Azula stopped tuning them out. "You weren't targeted?"
"I suppose not, seeing as they went for Azula's palanquin," said Ozai. But Azula stepped back into the discussion then.
"Actually, I suspect they made a mistake," she said, with a confident voice. "They must have assumed the palanquin was my father's, not knowing he was a few squads behind me. These people, homeless ones, they're usually not of the soundest mind."
"Do you have cause to suspect they were after the Fire Lord?" Zhao asked. Azula shrugged and nodded.
"Seeing as they were calling for the Fire Lord, I don't believe they were after me."
Ozai's eyes widened, but Azula only stared at him with cold precision. Everyone else gasped, except for the General of the Guards. He had stepped up silently next to Ozai barely instants ago.
"They were calling for…?" said Qin, and Ozai's brow drew together again. Azula, though, smiled dryly.
"Well, I can't say it's too shocking. He's the main figure of authority of our nation, isn't he?" she said.
"It's not a meaningless threat, then," said Zhao, frowning. "I'm afraid…"
"I would assume a Fire Lord who's being protected by twenty guards will be more than safe from seven homeless people, unarmed, underfed, and quite possibly unsound of mind," Azula said, curtly. Zhao fell silent and Ozai huffed.
"I suspect you have something to say, Crown Princess. Out with it, if you would," he blurted out. "I have a speech to deliver, and I have no time to waste with a passive-aggressive conversation…"
"You would have me be blunt? As you wish," said Azula, breathing deeply. "There were no reports of homeless people seven years ago. I can't remember any. I'd never heard of this phenomenon until two years ago, when I saw it with my own eyes for the first time. Have you given any thought to why this is happening? Or are we merely going to rid ourselves of them, without attacking the source of this problem instead?"
"The source?" Ozai asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you believe there are more of them?"
"Surely," Azula said, simply. "I can't see why there wouldn't be. There's a chance that there are even more of them in the Colonies, too."
"So, you believe we cannot execute these without narrowing down every last one of them?" War Minister Qin said, earning himself a disbelieving glare from Azula, who then rolled her eyes before turning towards her father again.
"I believe that the very existence of these people is proof of something we don't like to acknowledge, let alone on a day like this," Azula said. "But if they're here, and their numbers are increasing, it's clear that our social systems are not working the way they're supposed to."
"Social systems?" Mak repeated. Azula shrugged.
"Slavery," she said. "Maybe they're escaped slaves, who knows? People who have been left with nothing, mistreated so poorly by their masters that they choose to flee. And after a few months or years of starving and struggling to survive, they become unpredictable, prone to causing potential disasters like the one from this parade."
"There's no evidence that they would be escaped slaves, though," said Zhao, frowning.
"If that's not it, are they Honorary Citizens?" Azula asked, with a sarcastic smile. "If they are, it's even more worrisome. We'd be talking about people who paid a price to become part of our nation by giving up the one they had been born to. People who were promised they'd be given every chance and opportunity that our own, trueborn citizens, have at their disposal. People who were told we could govern for them, and who were promised a better life if they would forfeit their pride."
"I can't say I understand your point, Princess," said Ozai, looking at her skeptically. She returned his stare defiantly.
"I suppose I will get to it now, then," she said, breathing deeply again. "Execute these men, and if they happened to be Honorary Citizens, you will detonate a rebellion amongst their kind. If those like them deserve to be killed because our systems failed them, it's nobody's fault but ours. And yet the ones who pay the price are our own victims? Those to whom we promised what we couldn't fulfill?
"The same would happen if they are slaves: other slaves could decide to rebel, to stop living submissively because when these slaves sought you, unarmed and defenseless, you had them killed. That's hardly what we want, is it? You keep using my gladiator as the example of what a slave should behave like, ensuring he's seen, known and talked about anywhere and everywhere: if you create a new standard by executing slaves who were wandering the wrong place at the wrong time, every slave who ever saw mine as an example will revert to their old ways. In fact, even mine might."
"You're being too convoluted, Azula," said Ozai. "Too complicated. You can't know for sure that a rebellion would brew if I execute people who targeted the Fire Lord…"
"And you can't know for sure that it won't," said Azula, narrowing her eyes. "There are Honorary Citizens in our army by now. Give them cause to turn against us, and we won't even be able to trust our own men, just as we couldn't when the White Lotus attacked the Palace. There are slaves in almost every home in the Capital: give them cause to join forces and the carnage in the streets can be abysmal. Not every slave is a common servant: a lot of them are gladiators, and most the best gladiators in the Superior League live in this city. Defusing a rebellion of that magnitude will be much easier said than done."
"So, you would have me do nothing?" Ozai asked, raising his eyebrows. "You would have me execute them in the dark, without anyone's awareness? Or would you rather I speak about them to the crowd, tell them all about these homeless people who are proof of the failure of our systems? What, exactly, are you advocating for?"
"I'm advocating for keeping those homeless people away from public knowledge, for now," Azula admitted. "But not by a secret execution or anything of the sort: I believe we need to speak to them. If we do, if we find out their stories, we can correct the failings of our systems. We can prevent this from happening again. We can…"
"So concerned about what people say, what people may think or do… we are powerful enough to handle any threat," Ozai snapped. Azula's eyebrow rose.
"Doesn't look like we are, if seven fools can scare us to this extent," she said, looking at him defiantly. "How great is our nation truly? The first genuine threat we've faced since the White Lotus, a group of seven homeless people, and we're panicking like headless pigsters?"
"Nobody is panicking," Ozai hissed. Azula raised her eyebrows.
"Then why kill them?" she asked. "What is so threatening about them, Father?"
"They could have caused a bigger commotion than they already did," Ozai growled. "And we cannot broker any threat to our nation, to our leaders, to you or me. Allowing them to get away with this will encourage others to try…!"
"To try to reach out to you? To call your name in one of your traditional public appearances?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "That's all they did. As far as I can tell, that's no basis for execution but I suppose, as ever, that it isn't me who determines this sentence"
"It isn't," Ozai said, towering over her and glowering. "I am Fire Lord, Azula."
"You are," she said, her eyes calm now, completely. "I have never forgotten as much, Father. You are the Fire Lord, and you answer your people's pleas with executions."
Ozai was left in indignant silence after that. Azula closed her eyes and bowed her head towards him, before climbing off the platform and returning to her Procession.
Her outer calm concealed the rage burning inside her, the displeasure, the disappointment. She knew her father wouldn't listen, knew she wouldn't reach him, but she also knew he wouldn't touch her. He wouldn't dare issue out an Agni Kai in retaliation for her insolence. No, he wouldn't. He couldn't. She would be punished in some roundabout way, that was for certain, but Ozai wouldn't go as far as he had with Zuko, no matter what she did. Azula was not only too powerful as a bender, but as the parade had already demonstrated, the people seemed to cherish her profoundly.
A public fight between them would only result in polarization of the Fire Nation. A physical fight would result in most the nation seeing Ozai as too weak compared to his daughter. In truth, Azula was powerful, far more powerful than she had ever been. She had political power, bending prowess, and nerves of steel, along with a sharp mind. For once, Ozai could see the kind of daughter he had raised, and it only occurred to him now that he had not been careful. He had trusted her so blindly that now, if she turned against him, every plan he'd ever drawn out for the future of his nation would disappear.
He had sent his son to chase for his worst enemy, not realizing that, in the Avatar's absence, Ozai himself had raised the biggest rival he'd ever face: his very own daughter.
"What happened?" Sokka asked, when Azula reached him and the rest of the Procession. The other guards stepped forward to listen to the conversation, wary of the deceptive calm in their Princess's features.
"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I just may have… painted a target on my back, I don't know. I tried to reason with him, and I may have gone too far. But I suppose I had to try, didn't I?"
"Try to what?" said Fei Li, cocking his head to the side, confused.
"To save those homeless fools, that's what," Azula sighed. "I may have just condemned them instead, I don't know. As far as I can tell, he'll punish me by having them killed just because I told him not to do that…"
"You tried to tell the Fire Lord what to do?" Tai Wei repeated, and even though he was still wearing his helmet and mask, Azula could picture the disbelieving grimace on his face.
"It's hardly the first time I do," she said, with a dry grin. "And it would hardly be the first time he doesn't listen. But it's inconsequential now, we're powerless to act on whatever he decides to do, and…"
"Are we truly powerless?" Sokka asked, with uncertainty. Azula scoffed and gave him a derisive glare.
"You want to avoid a bloodbath by causing one?" she asked, skeptical. "Because that's what would happen if we interfere with whatever he does now. I'm sorry, S-… some things just can't go the way we want them to."
"They were weird," said Fei Li, scratching the back of his head. "But I guess… an execution does feel excessive."
"Whatever you decide, Princess, we're with you," said Taro, nodding towards her. Azula sighed.
"Well, I've decided we'll take our stations and act like nothing serious is happening. The people are restless already, the best we can do is pretend we're all still united and in agreement," said Azula, nodding towards them. "Take formation."
The guards shuffled around quickly, ensuring to stand two steps behind Azula in a horizontal line. The only one who stepped closer was Sokka, who, in virtue of being disguised as the Captain, was expected to stand by her right side, at one step of distance. He wished it was less than that.
"I'm sorry, truly," she whispered to him, without turning her head blatantly to talk to him. The crowd was growing silent steadily, watching all of them intently. "I… I did what I could."
"That's already more than I expected, actually," he admitted. She snorted.
"I'll be damned. And here I was thinking you believed in me," she replied. He actually snickered.
"I do. But even I don't expect you to stand up to your father in every circumstance," Sokka admitted. She could imagine him smiling under his helmet. "It's… it's really all you could do, and much more than you should have, for your own good. But if you hoped it could help them…"
"I may have damned them instead," Azula said.
"It sounds to me like they were damned all along," said Sokka. "If that's the only fate available to them, then at least you tried to fight it. And I'm glad you did."
"Good to hear," said Azula, sighing. "Because after all the damage you've done to me, the least you can do is be proud of who I am after your influence…"
Sokka chuckled again, but Azula fell silent along with the crowd: her father had stepped up to the front of the platform, his back rigid, his hands fisted. Everyone was to stand in reverence as Ozai delivered his yearly speech.
"My people!" he bellowed, rousing a joyous cheer through the audience as he addressed them. "Today is the beginning of our glorious week of celebration! Today, we rejoice in the growth of our nation! A year has passed since last I stood here, and in that year, much has changed for the better, for every citizen in our nation! We have upheld Sozin's ideals, honoring the wishes of my forefathers to create a world where everything is within our reach, everything within our grasp!"
Azula could almost feel Sokka tensing up behind her. She knew the last thing he wanted to hear right now were authoritarian, self-congratulatory speeches regarding the success of the Hundred Year War… but her father, clearly, wasn't about to give them anything other than that.
"We have taken everything we were owed!" Ozai continued. "Everything that was denied to us has been conquered! Nothing stands in the way of our greatness, and that is how it shall be, for as many years as this world may see! The Fire Nation is not only powerful, but we are everlasting! We are chosen, meant for an extraordinary destiny, and our march of civilization will continue onwards!"
Azula shuddered, dreading the moment when her father would bring up matters of threats and dangers to their nation. When he would tell the public about the homeless people, and command their execution, perhaps scheduling it for later today. When he would disappoint her more than ever, despite she was constantly growing disillusioned with him, more than she had been in all her life…
"After everything that our great nation has achieved, today I feel it is only right to share the privilege of this speech!" Ozai exclaimed. Azula frowned. "After a year since this change took place, it is only fitting, I believe…!"
Was he going to have Zhao speak? He had returned a year ago, perhaps he wanted the man to convey more encouraging words, to rile up the people with talk of the war. It didn't make much sense to Azula, but perhaps this was what Ozai had intended to do with his speech, to begin with. But then, did that mean he wasn't going to publicly condemn the homeless seven…?
"… So, I do ask of you, my vassals, to listen to the wisdom your Crown Princess Azula wishes to share with you, after one year of serving as my official and only heir!"
She had to make use of every ounce of her willpower to avoid seeming startled by this. She heard Sokka gasp behind her, and she guessed her other guards were equally puzzled.
But she knew this was a test as soon as Ozai uttered the words. She knew he was challenging her to defy him, to speak out against him publicly, or to prove herself yet another cowering minion, shy and afraid, unwilling to get to his bad side. He was giving her a chance to prove her loyalty, not to speak to the people directly. That was the true intent of his veiled gift.
Her gut clenched as she moved to climb the platform. It was only then that she noticed the cries of joy from the crowd: they wanted to hear her speak? They were that excited about what she might say? Zhao, Mak, Qin and the other military figures at the platform gaped at her with just as much confusion as she felt, but she didn't turn towards them. She walked to where her father stood, and he nodded towards her before stepping back. A proud grin was emblazoned over his features.
But it wasn't his usual smirk. That smirk that she knew was complicit, that showed how proud he was of her. This time… this time he was proud of himself. Proud of backing her into a corner, his favorite thing to do to everyone who annoyed him, one way or another. She hated how often he had backed her into one over the course of the last few years.
But she smiled back at him and bowed her head gratefully. Ozai crossed his arms behind his back, and Azula faced the crowd ahead.
Ozai had backed her into a corner indeed. It was a trick he had always pulled on many people: her uncle, the Head Sage, he had even done it to Sokka when demanding that he worked with the Mechanist. But what he had failed to remember was that each time he had tried to cajole Azula into a similar situation, she had come out on top.
She intended to do the same this time.
She cleared her throat, knowing she would strain it to speak loudly enough for people to hear her. Only those with privileged places near the platform would be able to listen to every word, she knew as much, but the more people could hear, the better. She had to address the city publicly for the first time, and she didn't want to embarrass herself in doing so.
She couldn't remember hearing if Iroh had ever done something like this during his tenure as Crown Prince. As far as she knew, the Fire Lord always delivered these speeches in the Festivals – Crown Princes or Princesses would only be expected to do it if the Fire Lord was indisposed or out of the city for whatever reason.
She had been granted an extraordinary privilege, and she had to make the most of it while she could. She would make her father regret this, by aiming to obtain approval from the people without compromising what she had grown to believe in. That was the only goal that mattered.
"My father has bestowed a great honor upon me!" she exclaimed, her voice as potent as it could be. Murmurs shook the crowd. "Not many Crown Princes have the opportunity to speak to their people in this way, and it is only because of my father's generosity that I can do this today!"
Her words, showing such respect for her father, were well received. The crowd rejoiced in them before settling down anew. Azula smiled a little.
"I wasn't involved in the parade last year, but I was granted the honor of performing the opening ceremony. This year I'm here in the quality of Crown Princess, for the very first time. And it has been quite an eventful year for me: my life has changed in many ways ever since my father named me his heir. I've learned many things as Crown Princess, but of all the ones I could share with you today, I have chosen the subject of responsibility."
For an improvised speech, Azula was certainly doing a fairly good job at pretending it was properly planned, Sokka thought. He stood with his body turned towards her, as did the rest of her personal guards. His eyes didn't leave her figure as she spoke proudly:
"As Crown Princess, I have many privileges, benefits, and countless opportunities that I had only ever dreamed of. But as Crown Princess I also have shouldered more responsibilities than I ever had before. It is my job to learn everything I can from my father, so that one day I may rule you as best as I can, just as he does. It is my duty and responsibility to become a leader worthy of ruling over all of you!"
Again, cheers shook the crowd. Sokka smiled, despite himself. She was loved by the people, and it was easy to see just how much right now. A quick glance at Ozai told him that the Fire Lord was already having second thoughts about his attempt to corner Azula – it served him right.
"And just as I'm responsible for many things, every last one of you has responsibilities of your own!" Azula continued. "We are faced, on a daily basis, with duties we need to uphold. Duties to our jobs, to our families, to our nation, to our fellow countrymen. And while this year has taught me many things, I've understood that our nation's progress can only carry on as it has if we learn to shoulder the responsibilities of our decisions properly.
"We are the heirs of Sozin, and we carry his torch. His legacy exists through all of us, and the Fire Nation my father has worked so hard to strengthen is evidence of that. We are greater than ever, aren't we?"
Another cheer. Azula smiled and nodded.
"And while that greatness is all we could ever strive for, we are burdened with responsibility through it." At once, the cheers grew silent. It almost felt as if the crowd were befuddled by the mere idea that Fire Nation's greatness wasn't a myth of some sort, or an idealized concept, but something real, and as such, something that carried consequences with it. "Sozin dreamt of spreading our greatness throughout the world, didn't he? And we have done as much, no doubt. Every corner of our world knows better than to defy the Fire Nation, and we've subjugated everyone who ever stood in our way.
"But in doing so, we've changed what it means to belong to the Fire Nation. We've redefined what it means to call ourselves Fire Nation citizens. We've not only upheld Sozin's legacy, but we have also created a new legacy, my own father's legacy! A legacy that allows anyone to join us, if fire burns in their hearts as it burns in ours!"
Ozai's confusion was utterly laughable by now. Sokka had to hold back a snort. He knew most of Azula's words, the ones that flattered Sozin, in particular, were meant to appease a wild crowd. But he also knew that Ozai wasn't so stupid as to let her lavish praises get to him. She was giving him a public beating while buttering him up in every possible way she could, just as well…
"The Honorary Citizenship system was a brilliant decision," Azula continued. "I've always considered it one of my father's greatest successes. He has understood that our greatness as a nation can be spread this way, too: the Former Earth Kingdom belongs to us, and the Fire Nation is no longer our archipelago alone. The Fire Nation is everywhere! And this is a remarkable achievement, just as it broadens the spectrum of our responsibilities.
"Many of us were born to this land, to the scorching fire, to the sights of volcanoes in the horizon. But those Honorary Citizens chose this land, they weren't born to it. They accepted us, and it is time we accept them as well. It is time we cherish them, for they've willingly forsaken their nation to join ours. It's been nine years since Sozin's Comet last graced us with its presence, and nine years since we redefined what it means to be Fire Nation."
She allowed her gaze to travel over the crowd. They were watching her silently, almost spellbound, and she smiled to herself before letting her eyes flicker to her left. To where he stood. She closed her eyes, heart thumping in her chest.
"Someone once told me a truth that I've held onto, ever since I first heard it. I believe it illustrates the true meaning of my speech: nations are not comprised only by strips of land under the jurisdiction of their ruler. What truly makes the Fire Nation what it is… it's our people. It's every single one of you. Every last one of you!"
A more subdued cheer rushed through the crowd this time. Part of her felt apprehensive at that: were they that entranced that they weren't as enthusiastic, or were they starting to disagree with her proclamations? Whatever it was, she wasn't done yet.
"And that includes every earthbender who joined our armies. It includes every neighbor who was born to another land, but who have done their best to adapt to this one. It includes the least fortunate, the ones who cannot live in the luxuries that some, such as myself, have enjoyed through all our lives. But it also includes us. The nobles, the royals, the common folk, everyone! We are all the true substance of the Fire Nation! Our traditional borders no longer limit us, we've claimed so much…! And it is our duty, as a nation, to embrace the change that my father has brought to us. It is our duty to honor those who have fallen fighting for the dream of greatness that we've pursued! But the true face of that greatness is in how we act, how we think, what we believe in. Our greatness is more than just riches, beauty or lands! The greatness we pursue is not so superficial, not so simple! It is found in the transcendence of our nation, until the end of time!
"It is up to every one of us to create the Fire Nation we dream of. The Fire Nation where no one needs to lag behind. The Fire Nation that grows and adapts and changes as our Fire Lord leads us. We will find strength in each other, but we cannot do so if we turn a blind eye towards those who are different from us, yet are still part of us!
"Even slaves are crucial for our task! Slaves, who refuse to be part of our nation, who we've subjugated and forced into their new roles… what reason did we give them to join us? Why would they want to forsake their own nation, when not one of us would forsake the Fire Nation? They may never choose to join us. They may forever remain attached to their cultures, to their lands… but we turned them into our slaves. And by doing so, we've become responsible for them, too! Even if they don't wish for it, they have been assimilated, forced to become part of our nation! And because of this, the way we treat our slaves is yet another reflection of who we truly are as a nation. Because of this, we are responsible both for their hatred towards our nation, and for their actions. If they belong to us, their actions and behavior are as good as our own. Once we've truly taken responsibility for these men and women we've enslaved, they may just understand the true greatness of our people.
"I would have never chosen a different life than the one I can lead today. It is my greatest honor and joy to know that my destiny lies in working for every one of you, in abiding by my father's guidance so that I may one day become a leader that all of you can be proud to follow! And I believe it is my responsibility, my duty, to ensure that as many of you can feel the way I do: proud to honor your heritage, and grateful for fortune's gift when she bestowed upon you the opportunity to belong here, with us, in the Fire Nation.
"We often speak words without remembering their meaning: today I hope you will speak from the depths of your burning hearts when you recite the Fire Nation oath. These are words that carry strength, and they point us towards a duty that we cannot take lightly. These words can strengthen our nation, and they will if we speak them while weighing everything they mean. These words are but a reminder of our true duties, and with this reminder, I hope that you can enjoy the festivals while cherishing what it means to call yourselves Fire Nation. While remembering, always, that every last one of you has the power to better our nation. I vow before you to work harder than I already have, so that when my time at your service ends, I may look back proudly at everything we achieved, together."
The spell her words held upon the crowd was remarkable. Rui Shi couldn't help but smile brightly as he watched her from a distance, his hand intertwined with Song's. He had shirked his responsibilities and maybe that was what had driven her to give this speech: but looking at her now, speaking as earnestly as she was, convinced the rebellious Captain that she would be the first worthy Fire Lord in over a century.
"So now I ask all of you…" Azula said, breathing deeply. "Speak the words with me, so that together we may cherish and uphold what it means to be Fire Nation. My life…!"
"I give to my country! With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai, and our forefathers before him! With my mind I seek ways to better our country! And with my feet, may our March of Civilization continue!"
The words were spoken so strongly all across the crowd that it shook Azula to her core. Everyone seemed to have joined in, even if she knew it wasn't the case – she would never catch Sokka speaking them, there was no chance he'd ever do that. But that so many people would follow her lead…
She smiled brightly and bowed her head towards them. A gasp shook the crowd now: royals were the ones who received reverences, not the other way around.
But she rose again soon enough, still smiling brightly so she could finish her speech.
"It is my greatest honor to serve as your Crown Princess!"
And now the cheers were deafening. Her eyes widened as she stepped back, smiling in disbelief as she did. She had been forced to say several things she hadn't meant, but that was the way of politics. All talk of greatness was but propaganda, but it was propaganda that the people ate up rather eagerly. For years, Sozin, Hizuo, Azulon and Ozai had used that promise of greatness as their best asset: today, Azula had redefined its meaning. Just as she had redefined the meaning of Ozai's two decisions from nine years earlier, the decisions that had destroyed the Earth Kingdom as it was known.
Ozai would never accept it if she made him put an end to slavery, Azula knew as much. So today, she had twisted slavery into a responsibility that needed to be handled carefully, rather than a benefit or an opportunity to oppress others. She could only hope that a few slaves would be treated better, starting today.
Ozai would never truly see the Earth Kingdom-born Honorary Citizens as anything but foreigners, laughingstocks that he could sneer at, for they had forsaken their identities and pride so easily. Today, Azula had spoken of the fire in their hearts, and turned them into worthier Fire Nation citizens, even, than those who were born there to begin with. Their choice to belong amongst them could be seen as something more meaningful than simply being conceived by Fire Nation parents. Again, she could only hope the Honorary Citizens would be treated with more respect, after her speech.
She closed her eyes and turned on her heels, moving through the platform towards where her father stood. The joyful, enthusiastic Crown Princess now grew more subdued, even if she didn't lose the spark of excitement that rushed through her body after what she'd done as she bowed her head towards the Fire Lord.
"I'm grateful for this opportunity, Father," she said. "I hope I've made you proud."
Oh, she knew she was playing with fire, but she wasn't afraid of getting burned, not after this. She lifted her defiant gaze, showing him she wouldn't cower: she wasn't Zuko. If Ozai wanted to play his games with her, she wasn't going to beg him to stop: she would turn the tides on him and make him surrender, instead.
And going by Ozai's defeated sigh and small smile, perhaps he would surrender indeed.
"You simply do not have it in you to shy away from a challenge, do you?" he asked. "Here I thought I had raised an obedient daughter…"
"Why, was I disobedient in any way?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "You asked me to speak, so…"
"You know well enough what I mean," he said, smirking. "Very well, very well. You win."
Azula smiled more earnestly now, and Ozai shook his head.
"If you're bothered by how I refused to back down, well… you shouldn't be," she said. "I learned to be so headstrong from you, after all."
"I suppose it would be wrong to berate you for it, then," said Ozai, smirking. "Unbelievable. Even when you're insolent and brazen, you've tied my hands behind my back so I cannot even complain about it. You, child, are a force to be reckoned with."
"As I said, only because I learned it from you," she smiled.
"Be that as it may, I stand in awe of you, as ever. You'll be free to do as you please with those homeless people, if you know of anything that can be done other than, well, the obvious."
"I… thank you," she said, eyes wide with amazement. Ozai shrugged.
"Consider it a gift from a proud father indeed," he said. She laughed softly.
"Thank you, Father. I'll make sure you won't regret this," said Azula, smiling as she made her way to climb off the platform.
Despite her worst fears, it hadn't gone so poorly. Oh, how she wanted to jump into Sokka's arms and kiss him. She didn't know if he had enjoyed her speech, perhaps he was bothered by all her talk of greatness indeed, but the euphoria inside her right now was driving her mad. She felt energized, and she wanted to unleash that energy by being with the one person she loved most.
Their eyes met, even if his were obscured by the mask. Azula's heartbeats picked up in speed as she took a step towards him, a step closer to the only person she wanted to be around right now… but Ozai called for her again:
"Seeing as the people are celebrating you so much, Azula… why don't you join them?"
Azula froze before turning towards him. Ozai's eyebrows were raised, in a playful sort of way. His daughter didn't seem to understand what was so funny, though.
"Join them?" she asked. "Y-you mean… visit the stalls? See the sights of the festival?"
"Of course," said Ozai, smirking. "One would expect such eloquent speech to be followed by practicing what you preach. It is, of course, part of being responsible to join your people's celebrations, isn't it?"
Oh, he had to be kidding. Her face wanted to contort into a grimace, but she made every effort to remain as inexpressive as she could.
"You cannot celebrate the Fire Nation with the highborn only, after all, as the lowborn are essential for our nation too, aren't they? You said so yourself," said Ozai, amused. "You can join today's feast by dusk, but until then, you would do best to cherish the least fortunate of your future subjects. Do enjoy your time with the commoners."
Such sweet revenge it was, turning the tables on each other time after time. Azula couldn't help but smile and shake her head, knowing her father had succeeded at cornering her, even if it wasn't in the way he had originally tried to do it. This was a subtler, and far more amusing corner, if anything. She would accept this roundabout punishment, if it truly meant she could handle the homeless people on her own terms.
"I… shall try to, I suppose," she said, with a dry grin. "Thank you, Father. Do enjoy your feast."
Ozai seemed to snicker before approaching his military leaders again. He left Azula standing on the steps that led up to the platform, eyebrow twitching before she turned to her men once more.
"Is everything alright?" Sokka asked her, almost forgetting to change his voice. He wasn't sure how to remain impassive, fully in character, while undergoing so many emotions simultaneously.
Azula snorted as a response, as the rest of the guards crowded near them. She confirmed with a glance that Han and Qiang had returned from their assignment and raised her eyebrows towards them.
"Found any more homeless people?" she inquired.
"None, Princess," said Han. "We found the ledge in the crater that they may have been spending their nights in, but there was no one else in sight."
"Well, all the better," she said, biting her lip. "My father has granted me custody of those seven for the time being. But he has also commanded me to… to partake in the festival."
"Truly? The festival?" Tai Wei repeated.
"What, we get to enjoy it this year?" Fei Li asked. Azula raised an eyebrow towards him.
"You're still on the job, Fei Li. This is still part of your assignment," she said.
"Why would he…?" Sokka began, but he fell silent soon enough. Rui Shi wasn't likely to question the Fire Lord's orders, was he?
"Oh, to amuse himself over the idea of how panicked I will be about spending too long with the common folk, no doubt," said Azula, glancing over her shoulder at her father and sighing. "We'll wait a half-hour or so before we set out, so be ready by then."
"Will you take the palanquin?" Sokka asked. Azula shook her head, startling the others.
"I would do best to honor my father's wishes properly," she said, smirking. "I wouldn't enjoy my time amongst the commoners if, instead of being amongst them, I were above them, right?"
"W-well…" said Tai Wei.
"It's safer that way, though, isn't it?" asked another guard who, according to Rui Shi's data, was called Haoren.
"As far as I can tell, you lot have been too complacent and hardly ever have to work to keep me safe," Azula smirked. "Might be I need to challenge you again today, to see if you can handle protecting me as I walk around the city. I mean, what do we have to fear? Another homeless people attack?"
"Unlikely, as there weren't others anywhere around," said Qiang.
"Then, by all means, get ready for our fun little trip to visit the stalls," said Azula, breathing deeply. "I'll accept that you buy a thing or two, if you're willing. I suppose I ought to fetch money myself…"
"Princess, you can't truly believe anyone will charge you for their goods…" said Tai Wei, astounded.
"They may not want to, it doesn't mean I'll accept that," said Azula. "If someone can certainly afford whatever they may have for sale, it's me. So, I'll be the one to choose whether to pay for it or not."
"Well…"
"Send for a servant, tell them to fetch us… uh, bags, I suppose. That's what commoners bring with them to these things?" she said, with a dry grin. Tai Wei nodded.
"It shall be done," he said.
"And my money!" she said, before Tai Wei walked away. "Else I won't be able to buy anything at all, will I?"
Tai Wei nodded and took off, while Azula breathed deeply and glanced about herself with uncertainty. Most her guards dispersed, but Sokka remained close by, perhaps a little too close. She looked at him questioningly when he inched towards her, and she could almost see the guilty grin on his face for it.
"Take care not to stand too close to me, Rui Shi," she said, teasingly. "You never know when I may decide to burn you for your troubles…"
"You kind of did, earlier," Sokka replied. Azula smirked.
"You mean, when we spoke privately? Or was it when you, uh, inspected the palanquin?"
"Oh, I meant when you used your bending through my arm, actually," Sokka said, nonchalantly. Azula smiled. "Just the typical things to be expected from you, I guess?"
"I'm not sure how that worked, truthfully," she whispered. "But we're both lucky that it did."
"Agreed," said Sokka, smiling. "At any rate… I don't have much money on me. Should I head back and take from Rui Shi's stash? He didn't really tell me where his money was…"
"Heh, well, as far as I'm concerned, feel free to do as much," said Azula, smirking. "I'll eagerly welcome any decisions that may serve as a punishment for him today."
"I figured," said Sokka, smiling weakly. He didn't plan on taking a lot of money, but he would need some, just in case. He intended to reimburse Rui Shi for it later, but Azula didn't need to know that.
The Princess followed him inside the Palace, staying outside the Guard's Barracks while the whole group got ready for their expedition. By the time they reached her they were loaded not only on money, but on empty bags and waterskins, too. They didn't know how long they would be out in the streets, and it was better to stay hydrated.
The last to show up was Sokka, with a small pouch of coins in his hand. Azula smirked approvingly at the sight of his money before addressing the whole group.
"Very well, then. We've been given a unique opportunity that, as fun as it may sound, it may also represent a massive security risk. Keep your eyes open, but don't be overly paranoid, either."
"Yes, Princess," the men spoke at unison. She smiled and jerked her head towards the Palace gates.
"Shall we, then?"