Chapter 24: Something about Turtle Ducks
Excuse the late update. There's a lot going on right now. Chapter 25 and 26 is done already, they just need some editing. I think you people will love what's coming next, or maybe just some of you.
A kind reminder to all readers.
All main characters ages:
Aang, Toph: 16-17
Katara, Azula, Ty Lee: 19-20
Sokka, Suki, Mai: 20-21
Zuko: 21-22
Omashu.
"She is stronger than either of us. And unlike you, she doesn't hesitate. No one will be spared."
For a long moment, no one moved. Even the whispers in the crowd stilled.
Aang's eyes didn't leave him.
"That's why you chose her," Aang said quietly, "That's why you gave her the throne."
Ozai chuckled under his breath. "Of course, Did you think I would ever give it to a weakling like Zuko."
"You're wrong." Aang said, taking a slow step forward. "Zuko is the true heir to the throne"
"Not while she lives," Ozai spat. "She is the embodiment of what our Nation will become. I see it in your face, Avatar—you fear her. And you should. You've imprisoned me, taken my bending, paraded me like a fallen god. But you haven't won."
"I don't fear her," Aang replied. "I fear what war does to people. I fear what power, unchecked, can become."
Ozai leaned forward in his chains, voice low but carrying. "Then you fear yourself."
Before Aang could respond, King Bumi stood from his high seat and clapped his hands together with a thunderous echo. "Well! That was stirring. But we've had enough theater for one morning, wouldn't you say?"
An older man, seated near the front of the chamber in the position of lead recorder, rose. His scroll trembled slightly in his hand. "Before we move to judgment, Phoenix King Ozai, you will now be given a final chance to respond to the charges laid against you. Do you accept the court's accusations?"
Ozai's smirk deepened. "Accept them? I accept them with pride."
The crowd erupted into gasps and angry murmurs. A woman in the front row shouted something, her voice drowned by others calling for justice, for death.
"I should have burned more of your cities," Ozai continued, raising his voice above the chaos. "I should have leveled the walls of Omashu myself. My only regret is that I let sentiment hold me back for too long."
Bumi frowned deeply. Aang's jaw clenched.
The old court official steadied his voice. "Then let the record show that the accused expresses no remorse."
King Bumi turned to his council of elders and jurists. "We will now deliberate."
The room waited in a tension so thick, it could've been carved.
The verdict didn't take long.
When the judges returned, the chief elder stood and spoke. "Phoenix King Ozai, by the authority of Omashu and in accordance with the newly formed Earth Coalition Council, you are found guilty on all charges: war crimes, the slaughter of innocents, the unlawful conquest of sovereign nations, and the attempted genocide of the Earth Kingdom."
Silence followed.
"Your sentence is death," he concluded. "To be carried out publicly at dawn, one week from today."
Gasps, shouts, and applause surged through the courtroom.
But then—
"Wait."
The word was soft, but every head turned toward its source.
Aang stepped forward.
"I object."
Near Lake Laogai.
The mists clung to the surface of the Lake like a shroud, stretching out into the water until the edges of the shore blurred into fog. A soft lap of water kissed the wooden supports of the small pier as a compact Fire Nation patrol boat pulled alongside it, its black and crimson hull barely making a sound.
A soldier in full armor reached out with a gloved hand to tie the rope to a wooden post, grumbling as he did so. "Can't see a thing in this cursed fog."
The second soldier jumped onto the pier, cracking his neck with a sigh. "Finally. I swear, if I had to sit in that boat another hour, I was going to throw myself into the lake."
The third followed behind him, wiping condensation off his visor. "Captain's not gonna like us falling behind the unit."
"Eh," the first soldier said as he finished tying the boat down, "we'll catch up. No harm in stretching our legs."
They stepped away from the boat, boots creaking on damp planks, heading toward the edge of the tree line just beyond the lakeshore. They weren't expecting any trouble. This part of the lake had been cleared weeks ago. Quiet. Isolated.
They didn't know they were being watched.
Behind a thick curtain of brush just beyond the tree line, five figures crouched in the silence—hidden from sight, but close enough to hear the soldiers' every word. Sokka adjusted the wrappings on his glove, brow furrowed with mild irritation.
"Just great," he muttered. "We all came here expecting to find an army. All we got was three soldiers."
"Pretty overkill if you ask me," Toph said, unimpressed, crouched next to him with her arms crossed. She tapped her fingers lightly on the ground, listening.
Master Akee exhaled slowly, calm as ever. "Still, we got what we came here for."
"Right," Zuko added from behind them, his gaze locked on the patrol boat through the trees. "The patrol boat."
There was a quiet snap from within the underbrush—someone's foot adjusting too fast, or maybe a twitch in the rope coil Sokka had prepared.
One of the soldiers paused.
"Wait. Did you hear that?"
The others turned, alert but not alarmed.
"Probably just turtle ducks or something," one of them said dismissively.
"No, it came from the trees," the first one insisted. "I'm checking it out."
He moved cautiously toward the forest, drawing closer to the ambush site, squinting through the mist.
And then—whip!
The rope coiled around his foot and yanked him off balance. He hit the ground hard, armor clanking, before being dragged swiftly into the brush with a muffled grunt.
"What the—!?"
The two remaining soldiers spun around, weapons half-drawn, their confusion turning to alarm.
Before they could take another step, Toph stood from her crouch and sighed. "Let's not make this too dramatic."
With a sharp movement of her fist, two medium-sized stones shot from the ground like missiles. They struck the soldiers squarely in the helmets with a solid crack—not enough to kill, but more than enough to drop them like sacks of rice.
A sudden hush followed the takedown, the sounds of the lake whispering around them once more. From the bushes, movement stirred.
Sokka rose first, brushing away the leaves stuck to his shoulders as Master Akee stepped out beside him. Zuko followed next, crouching over one of the downed soldiers to begin unfastening his armor.
"Grab the uniforms," Zuko muttered, working quickly. "We don't have a lot of time."
"We always seem to have a lack of that, ey?" Sokka said as Zuko just looked at him before going to back to the task at hand.
Sokka moved toward the second soldier as Master Akee already began stripping the third one. The Fire Nation uniforms, dark with red trim and the eerie white skull masks, always looked more ominous in person.
As Akee finished dressing, he adjusted the mask over his face and stepped onto the boat first. Zuko followed after him, his armor secured but clearly uncomfortable.
Zuko turned back toward the shoreline. "Sokka! Hurry up, will you?"
Sokka didn't answer immediately. He was still standing off to the side of the dock with Suki, struggling with the clasps of his chest plate.
"Well," he muttered, exhaling in frustration, "this is embarrassing."
Suki smiled faintly as she adjusted the armor for him. "Don't worry. We've all been there."
"Are you talking about my sleep deprivation or my inability to dress myself?" he asked, only half-joking.
"Both," she replied easily, tightening one of the straps. "Look, we can always just get Katara to go in your stead. You said it yourself—she and Master Akee would be better suited for the lake."
"Yeah, I did," Sokka admitted, leaning back slightly as she secured the last buckle. "But I feel like she's not nearly as good as me when it comes to the infiltration part of this mission."
Suki gave him a sidelong glance. "You can't infiltrate anything on three hours of sleep."
Sokka gave a small grin as he bent down to pick up the skull-shaped helmet lying by his feet. "Of course you can. Just watch me."
Suki looked at him with a mixture of amusement and concern, trying not to laugh at his false bravado. "Are you sure you can do this?"
Sokka straightened, holding the helmet under his arm. "Yeah," he said, a bit softer this time. "Gotta see this through. Plus, don't fret—I'll get a couple of hours on this boat ride anyway."
And just before he could raise the helmet, Suki leaned in and kissed him.
It was quick, almost fleeting, but enough to make Sokka freeze. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, his body suddenly still under the weight of the moment. It was the first time they'd been this close since he came back—since everything. And somehow, despite how fast it ended, it was maybe the best thing that had happened to him in days.
When she pulled away, the world felt quiet again.
Suki smiled faintly. "Just a little something."
Oh, he didn't deserve her.
She still looked at him like he was whole. Like he hadn't broken in a place he didn't know how to fix.
Sokka blinked, still slightly stunned, and gave a slow, wordless nod.
From the boat, Zuko's voice rang out again, sharper this time. "Sokka! Let's go!"
Suki glanced in the direction of the boat, then back at him. "Go," she said gently." We'll talk later."
Sokka nodded again, swallowing the words that wouldn't quite come. He stepped away, crossing the dock toward the waiting patrol boat. Just before climbing aboard, he slipped the skull mask over his head, the Fire Nation persona falling into place like the final piece of armor.
Behind him, Suki and Toph stood by the misty shore, watching them disappear into the rising fog.
Lu Chao Estate.
Lake Laogai.
The mist still clung to the edges of the stone walls as Colonel Raike stepped through one of the side corridors, his boots clicking against the polished tile. The sun was covered by the fog and its light could barely be seen reflecting on the windows. It wasn't like him to wander aimlessly—especially not at this hour—but this morning had started differently.
He was looking for the Fire Lord.
The training hall was his first thought. It had been restructured at her request not long after they arrived—reinforced beams, freshly lacquered floorboards, and all the space a master firebender could need to hone his or her craft. But when Raike stepped through its doors, expecting the sharp hiss of fire meeting air or the rhythmic sound of precise footwork, he found only emptiness.
The place was silent.
Still frowning, he moved on, heading toward the meeting hall. Lord Bo Chen —eager to make himself useful—had refashioned the room to suit Fire Nation tastes, replacing dusty old banners with ones bearing the flame insignia, realigning the seats to mirror the Fire Nation's rigid structure. Everything in that vast chamber was ready for the general meeting.
And yet, aside from a few guards and a couple of attendants straightening the place up, it too was empty.
Raike's brow twitched as he passed down one of the long side halls, his fingers absently tracing the crimson piping stitched along his sleeves. This wasn't like her.
He caught sight of a young attendant coming from one of the smaller corridors and stepped into her path.
"Excuse me," he said, softening his tone. "Have you seen the Fire Lord this morning?"
The girl hesitated, glancing up at him with the wide eyes of someone unsure if she was allowed to speak at all. But then she gave a small, respectful nod.
"She's in the courtyard, Sir. She's been there for some time now."
Raike blinked. "The courtyard?"
The girl paused, as if debating whether to continue, then added, "She's feeding the turtle ducks."
There was a beat of silence before Raike replied—confused, incredulous. "Turtle ducks?" He almost asked what she was doing out there, but bit the words back. What would that accomplish?
He exhaled through his nose. "Never mind. Can you take me to her?"
She nodded again and silently led the way.
They passed through another set of arched doors, winding toward the heart of the estate where the old royal garden lay. The Earth Kingdom nobles had maintained it well—maybe too well—lush with trimmed hedges and flowering trees, their blossoms drifting gently in the morning breeze. Finally, they reached a wide marble walkway that opened into the courtyard proper.
The attendant stopped and quietly gestured ahead.
Raike stepped forward alone.
And there she was.
Azula, Fire Lord of the Nation, knelt by the edge of the pond at the center of the courtyard, her posture relaxed, her hand extended just over the water. Soft ripples fanned out across the surface as several turtle ducks bobbed toward her, nipping at the crumbs she scattered into the pond.
For a moment, he just stared.
There was no sharpness in her eyes, no rigid posture or the coldness in her gaze. By now, she should have turned this Estate on its head with orders.
Instead.
She looked… peaceful.
Raike had seen many faces of Azula—the prodigy, the tactician, the sharp tongue that could slice through pride and protocol in equal measure. But this version? This quiet girl crouching near the water's edge, watching the turtle ducks with something almost like wonder?
It unsettled him more than any battle.
Her expression was.. he couldn't read it, save for the faintest curve at the corners of her mouth. Not quite a smile. But close. The wind stirred the edge of her robe, and her fingers moved gently, almost reverently, as another turtle duck paddled toward her outstretched hand.
She hadn't noticed him yet. Which was surprising in the least.
Raike lingered at the edge of the stone path, unsure whether to speak or remain still. Part of him felt like he was witnessing something he wasn't meant to see.
And yet, this was the Fire Lord.
The most dangerous person in the world.
And she was feeding turtle ducks.
Colonel Raike stepped forward on the stone of the courtyard path. By now, she must have been aware of his presence—he hadn't exactly approached quietly. But she didn't turn. Her gaze remained fixed on the pond before her, on the turtle ducks gliding over the water's surface. One nipped playfully at her outstretched finger, and to his absolute bewilderment, she let out a quiet laugh.
Raike froze.
He'd never heard her laugh like that.
Not a chuckle from a well-placed insult or the sharp bark of confidence during a spar—no, this was something else. Lighter. Real.
The moment passed. He cleared his throat. "Uhm…Fire Lord Azula."
"Yes," she replied instantly, still not looking at him.
He straightened immediately. "Uh, I was wondering—since we're all here—when will the meeting actually take place?"
"Soon," she said simply.
There was a beat of silence before she added, "Why? Do you want to have it later?"
"No, no, of course not," he replied quickly. "The sooner, the better. I was actually expecting it to be done yesterday."
"As did I," she said, tossing another crumb toward the water. "But other things came up, so it was Postponed."
"For today?" he asked.
She shook her head, her focus still on the ducks. "No. Tomorrow." A pause." Tomorrow we will have the meeting. Inform your father and make sure everyone will be present."
Raike blinked. "Tomorrow?! Forgive me for asking, but won't there be ample time today?"
Only then did she finally rise to her feet, turning toward him with unhurried grace.
"Unfortunately not," she said. "I have a prior commitment with Lord Bo Chen. He will be showing me around the lake today."
Raike stiffened slightly. The name hit him like a splinter just under the skin. That he would be accompanying her today—he hated the thought. But his expression remained composed.
"I take it the trip is to discuss further transitional power to the new administration?" he asked, carefully.
Azula tilted her head. "No. This will be purely for leisure."
He tried not to let his reaction show. "Leisure? At a time like this? Isn't it—"
"Crazy," she finished for him. "It is. But like your father stated yesterday—'victory was achieved.' So, there's no need worrying about anything."
He didn't take the bait.
"What about your security?" he asked, pressing forward. "None of the resistance leaders have been caught. Let alone your uncle."
Azula didn't blink. "My uncle is nothing but a rat trapped in a cage. He is the least of our worries. And as for the others…" She turned her gaze back toward the pond. "They will show their faces eventually."
There was a long pause, and something in Raike stirred—a blend of frustration and unspoken concern. It wasn't just the setting or her dismissive tone, or even the fact that the Nation's enemies still roamed free while she stood here feeding turtle ducks. It was more than that. but if there was ever a moment to clear the air, to speak plainly—it was now. They studied at the Royal Academy together, for Agni's sake, this was the least he could do, so he broke royal protocol.
"Azula…" he said, voice lower now. "Is everything okay? You seem… different. Ever since you recovered."
She stopped mid-step.
His stomach dropped. He knew the weight of what he'd just done—calling her by name, questioning her directly—but it was too late to take it back.
He expected her to snap. To turn on him with fire in her eyes, cutting words, a sharp retort.
But none came.
She turned, slowly, and for the briefest moment, he saw something… softer in her expression.
"Funny how often I hear that now," she replied quietly. "But I already told you—I'm fine."
But her voice wasn't sharp. Not like it used to be.
He stepped a little closer, choosing his words more carefully this time.
"It's just… the meeting was postponed again," he said. "And now there's the outing with Lord Bo Chen. Forgive me, but I thought this matter was more important."
"I say what's important and what's not," Azula answered, flatly. "The meeting will happen when I decide it and I've decided for tomorrow. "
Raike hesitated, reading her tone. He could feel the heat returning underneath it—the steel behind her words—but there was something else, too. Something more detached. He sighed softly.
"I only meant… All I want is the best for the Fire Nation and for your wellbeing," he said. "Azula."
"Its been along time since the Royal Academy, Raike," She added." I am your ruler now."
Raike straightened, hands clasped behind his back. "Of course, Fire Lord. My apologies."
There was a long pause.
Her gaze shifted to the surface of the pond, her reflection in the still water before the Turtle ducks came swimming back towards her. She smiled.
"I am different now, aren't I?" she added, almost to herself. "I don't know what it is, but…"
She tilted her head slightly.
"…the world just seems… brighter."