After arriving, Azula found Mai and Ty Lee waiting for her inside her tent. "So, what was so important you felt the need to interrupt my time with the Grand Duke?" truthfully, she was grateful, as he had asked her a question to which there was no easy answer.
Mai's frown deepened as she crossed her arms. "You've been ignoring us, and you brushed off Ty Lee earlier, yet she told me you didn't care for him?" she said in her typical monotone.
Azula cocked her brow. "Oh, so that is what this is about? Seriously?" she asked. "It seems that's all you two are interested in these days."
Ty Lee stood up from her seat. "Come on, Azula, why wouldn't we be!? You've never expressed interest in boys before!" she squeed as Azula rolled her eyes.
Mai sighed in response. "No, you're the only one who cares about that, Ty Lee. I just wanted you to know how annoyed we were that you left without informing anyone. I thought we were your friends?"
Azula walked over and began pacing with her arms behind her back. "You are, but things are... different now," she said as she tried to think of a way to explain her actions without seeming too interested in Ivan. "These Ruskians have changed everything, girls. Though I doubt you will understand until you meet them. Regardless, there has been a change of plans."
"What do you mean?" Mai asked skeptically.
"Yeah, what's changed?" Ty Lee followed.
Azula stopped and faced her friends. "Our plans for Ba Sing Se are... defunct," Azula began as Mai's eyes widened in shock while Ty Lee went slackjawed. "Yesterday, during negotiations with the Ruskians, I agreed to let them take the city."
"YOU WHAT!?" Ty Lee shouted once she recovered as Azula pinched the bridge of her nose. "But I was looking forward to dressing up as those warriors! Think of all that makeup that'll go to waste!"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I couldn't care less. Besides, even if I wanted to, I would rather not face the Ruskians in battle," she stated as she folded her arms.
Mai looked at her skeptically. "That fearsome, huh? I thought you weren't afraid of anything."
Azula glared at her. "Well, if you had bothered to show up yesterday, I'm certain you would understand why."
"About that, we heard loud explosions coming from their side. What was that, Azula?" Ty Lee interjected.
"That was likely from the demonstration yesterday," Azula explained. "Though, I think it was best both of you remained here, as there were several... complications."
"What kind of complications?" Mai asked as she folded her arms. "Also, you told us both to remain here anyway."
Azula nodded as she recalled she had told them not to join her in the negotiations. "That is true. I did," she began as she pondered how to reply to Mai's inquiry. "As for what I meant, suffice it to say, the Ruskians were surprised by my bending, and there was a brief confrontation. But everyone calmed down, and we came to an accord," of course, this wasn't the exact truth, but it was close enough.
"Why were they surprised? Do they not have bending where they are from?" Ty Lee asked as she gazed at Azula in confusion.
"So it would seem," Azula replied as Ty Lee's eyes widened.
"Wait, so they really don't have bending? That's crazy!?" the brunette shouted as Mai seemingly didn't react.
"Indeed, I was surprised myself. But unless Nikolai is the best liar I've ever seen, the Ruskians do not have bending and didn't even know what it was until I explained it," Azula stated as she walked over to her bed and sat down.
"Who is Nikolai?" Mai asked with a critical gaze.
Azula mentally smacked herself for remembering they truly knew nothing about their guests. "Right, I forgot you haven't met him. He is Ivan's father and the man in charge of this force of Ruskians. But I'm sure you will have a chance to meet him sometime this week," she explained.
"You know, I wanted to ask, why do you think Ivan was so cold to me earlier? I mean, I thought he seemed like a nice guy," said Ty Lee as Azula shook her head.
"Honestly, I don't quite know myself. However, I can't say I am surprised; after all, I did say the Grand Duke wasn't your type," Azula replied. "Now, if you and Mai would kindly excuse me, I have my report to write," Mai sighed before standing and walking out of the tent, though not before glaring at Azula one last time as she and Ty Lee left her. "I wonder what her problem could be?" she asked herself before shaking her head. "I suppose it's best to get started," she pulled out a small calligraphy table and set it up on her nightstand before dipping the pen and began to write:
"To his Majesty, Firelord Ozai.
Father, it is with an immense solemnity that I inform you Ba Sing Se is, for the moment, out of our reach. While I know this news will disappoint you, there has been an unfortunate turn of events. That is, as of two days ago, a new force has approached us, and due to our lack of concentration, I have agreed on your behalf to allow them to besiege the city and take control of the regions not currently under our direct occupation. I made this decision based on what I knew, and considering what I have since learned, I think it was the correct move. Namely, their weapons are like nothing we have ever seen before, weapons which are almost as effective as a bolt of lightning but used by non-benders, likely able to pierce even the strongest armour out to two Li, and this is not all; they also wield highly accurate cannons which fire devastating explosives over an unknown range but presumably quite far, though this is merely my observation based on what they showed us. Before I conclude, I should also inform you of their leaders. Both claim to be royalty from a distant world, though I have yet to confirm this. Regardless, Grand Duke Nikolai is the father and overall commander of the Ruskian army here. He is tall, with sickly pale skin, typical for all of them, it seems, with dark brown hair, a beard, and bluish-grey eyes. His son, Grand Duke Ivan, bears the same features. They are well-mannered and intelligent, though their customs are foreign, to say the least, as is their tongue and manner of dress. At their back is an army of 70'000 men, all well-equipped with the weapons I alluded to earlier and access to a similar technology to ours, though once again, theirs of a distinctly foreign design. They also seem to lack benders entirely, but their weapons would likely give them the advantage at range, which is the only reason I agreed to this in the first place. I hope this clears up any confusion and aids you in understanding my actions.
Sincerely, your loyal daughter, Crown Princess Azula."
Content with herself, Azula stamped the letter with her seal and rolled it into a scroll before sealing it with a dark red ribbon; then, she left her abode and headed for the communications tent. "You there, fetch me your fastest messenger hawk!" she commanded the Lieutenant in charge, who bowed before he disappeared into the tent packed with messenger hawks.
When he returned with a majestic black hawk, he gestured for her letter, which she handed him before the man opened the scroll pouch on its back and inserted the message. Then, he commanded the bird to deliver the message to the Palace in Caldera, and the hawk swiftly flew away into the sunset. "Is that all, Princess?"
"Yes, thank you," she said before swiftly turning on her heel and heading towards the kitchens.
"Is that better?" Katara asked as she gently probed Aang's injured leg with waterbending. After travelling through Ba Sing Se the day prior with Ju Dee, they arrived in the upper ring, where they found a house already prepared for them. It was a fine dwelling, better than any they'd had before, save their short stint in Omashu, with enough rooms for each member of the GAang. Besides that, the interior was entirely wooden, with folding screens separating the rooms from each other and a small fireplace in the living room. There were also several couches and tables, large beds covered with silk sheets and feather pillows. Indeed, it was a fine house, but at least it wasn't so grand they felt uncomfortable, and due to being in the upper rind, it was spaced out enough from the other houses to provide comfortable quarters. At the moment, Sokka and Toph had left with Ju Dee to find information about Appa and the Earth King to inform him of Sokka's plan for the coming eclipse. Of course, Aang would have joined them, but due to his injury, the group felt it best to leave him and Katara at the house; besides, Ju Dee had told them the people seeing Aang in his current state might have caused a panic. After all, it wasn't every day that the Avatar was injured, and it might have lowered morale if the average Earth Kingdom citizen saw him walking with crutches.
Aang clenched his teeth as Katara reached the sensitive spot where his leg fractured. However, he soon felt the pain begin to ebb away. "Yeah," Aang replied as he sighed in relief. "How long until I can walk again?"
"I don't know," Katara began as she moved her hands into direct contact with his thigh. "I was only taught how to heal burns and cuts, not anything like this. But, considering that the bruising is starting to go away-"
"T-That's good, right?" Aang asked as he tried to hide his blush from his crush.
"Yep. Hopefully, it-" Katara began as the door opened, and Sokka, Toph, and Momo entered. "Oh, hey, guys," she waved to them before getting back to helping Aang.
"Hey, sugar queen, twinkle toes. How are you feeling?" the blind earth bender asked as she plopped on the floor beside them.
Aang nodded, despite the fact she couldn't see. "Better, but I don't know when I'll be able to earth bend again," he began before turning to Sokka, who had a noticeable frown. "Did you find anything?"
Sokka growled slightly as his eyes flared. "Yeah, we found out no one is allowed to talk about the war!" he bellowed before calming down. "But, I found this. Here," he passed Aang what appeared to be a flyer for a party.
"It says the Earth King is throwing a party for his- Pet bear?" Aang asked, confused.
"Don't you mean platypus-bear?" Toph interjected.
"Or armadillo-bear?" Katara added.
Aang shook his head but winced as Katara again hit a bruise. "No, it just says: bear. But why is this important?"
In response, Sokka flashed him the signature grin he always had when he thought of a clever plan. "Don't you see, it would be the perfect opportunity to meet with the Earth King!" Sokka said as he pointed to the date, showing it was tomorrow night.
"Wow, Sokka, you've outdone yourself," Katara said with a tankful smile before she went back to attending to Aang's leg.
Without warning, Toph punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah, not bad. But there's only one problem," she began as the others turned to her. "None of you know how to behave in upper society, and we don't have invitations."
Sokka took the flyer from Aang before pointing at the footnote at the bottom. "But it says all are welcome-" he began, only for Toph to shut his mouth with her hand.
"But that won't be where the King is. Besides, I've been to these sorts of parties before, and even if it says stuff like that, it's because there's a separate party for the nobles, which is where the King would be. Now, if we want to get anywhere in this damn city, we need to see the King, not one of his handlers," she began. "Now, what else does it say?" For the rest of the evening, Team Avatar plotted and schemed as they considered plans for how to enter the party. Toph decided to have Katara act as a noble to accompany her, with Aang acting as her grandfather, while Sokka snuck in as a busboy. So, just as the sun set, they set out to collect information and disguises to prepare to infiltrate the party the next day.
Marshal Markov was soundly asleep when he suddenly found himself awoken by his daughters. "Father, come quickly. There's a soldier at the door!" said the eldest of the two, a fair girl of 15 with light brown hair and big green eyes, as she rocked him awake.
Leaping from the bed, the Marshal rushed to make himself decent. "Anya, Katya, go back to bed. I shall deal with this," he said as Katya nodded before nudging her younger sister to leave the room. Once they left, Sergey Alexandrovich Markov (Ser-gay Alex-and-rov-ich) quickly put on his uniform and went downstairs, finding his butler conversing with a young officer.
"Sir, this man claims he bears grave news," said the butler as he stepped back to allow the man inside.
"Your Excellency," the man began as he saluted him. "I bring this message from Headquarters: Marshal Rachen has called an emergency meeting. His Imperial Majesty will also be in attendance," the soldier explained as he handed him a message. "The meeting shall commence at the Stavka in 30 minutes," he said before saluting again and clicking his heels before turning and leaving his residence.
"I had your horse prepared, your Excellency," his butler stated.
"Thank you, Mr. Kowalski. You may take the night off after the girls are asleep," Sergey said as he turned and swiftly made his way to his estate stable.
"Your generosity is boundless, your Excellency," the man replied with a nod before turning to perform his duties.
It was nearly morning when Nikolai was roused from his sleep by one of his aides. "Your Imperial Highness, this just arrived from the Stavka," the young officer said as he handed him the telegram.
Throwing off his covers, Nikolai sat up in his cot and took the message in hand:
"Kordish attack Abatsk, Lyzuluk Oblast. Your requested reinforcements will counterattack. We will send allied troops with siege guns in their place."
His eyes widened, and his fingers trembled though he kept silent. "That will be all. Thank you, Lieutenant," the man saluted before quickly leaving the tent. It was only a matter of time until the Kordish invaded the far east, though I didn't think it would happen so soon. I suppose they didn't take their experiences for granted, despite the long decades since the last time. He sighed as he re-read the final passage. Though what do they mean by allied troops? I doubt the Trobergians would get involved here, not that I want them to, but- Wait, they don't mean-
Around a bonfire gathered over a dozen men dressed in hussar uniforms while one man sat on a chair and watched silently from the porch of the wooden cabin. Suddenly, one of them began to sing as he turned to face him with a cup in hand and his face red with drunkenness.
"Kossuth Lajos azt üzente
Elfogyott a regimentje
Ha még egyszer azt üzeni
Mindnyájunknak el kell menni!
Éljen a Magyar szabadság, éljen a haza!"
After the first verse, the others joined as the man shook his head. After all, he didn't lead these men to hear them sing his praises. No, he determined to fight for the sake of their homeland, for freedom from the Kordish yoke, rather than himself. True, he'd started life as the son of an impoverished nobleman who worked for the Kordish regime; but now, he was known as Prince Regent of Magyarzag and the commander of her forces. Which, at the moment, only consisted of several regiments of hussars and infantry, with hardly any guns, save those he captured from the Kordish and whatever his Ruskian allies had lent him.
"Esik eső karikára
Kossuth Lajos kalapjára
Valahány csepp esik rája
Annyi áldás szálljon rája!
Éljen a Magyar szabadság, éljen a haza!"
As the soldiers finished the second stanza, a cheer broke out among them, with the soldiers toasting their homeland, victory, and women before a hussar rode up on a black mare before dismounting and running up to Kossuth Lajos (Kos-uth Lay-yos) with a telegram in hand. "Sir, a message for you from the Ruskians!" he shouted after saluting and handing it to him as the officers moved on to the next verse.
"Let us see," he said before opening and reading it:
Grand Duke Nikolai requires reinforcement. Your division will link up with the 2nd Dobrish and 1st Bulgariyan divisions and arrive between Buzorovsk and Kalma in a week. We shall grant you further support.
In response, he threw down the telegram. "Damn it all!" he cursed before regarding the man who handed it to him.
"What are your orders, Sir?" the soldier asked.
Lajos growled before sighing. "We shall prepare to depart on the morrow. If we want those weapons, this is the only way we will get them. Now go," he ordered as the man saluted him before remounting his horse and departing for the nearby encampment. "We should be fighting here, not in some far-flung land," he muttered as he turned and closed the door behind him.
Okay, so I'm trying something new to hopefully help read complex names, so please tell me what you think.
Also, a shout-out to anyone who can find the third stanza of the song or who gets the other references.