"We are gathered here today to begin negotiations towards a peace treaty between the Earth Kingdom, the Northern & Southern Water Tribes, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation."

Thank you, General Obvious, Azula thinks.

"With your permission, we would—"

"With your permission Your Highness", Azula interrupts him. "I have extended my hospitality to you; in return, you will show me the respect I am due. I will not be disrespected in my own nation."

It's a calculated provocation on the general's part, she knows this. They want to see how far they can push her, how much they can get away with, to gauge her resolve and her strength. How much humiliation she will endure to avoid jeopardising the negotiations. Her pushback is just as calculated and most likely what they expected.

"My apologies, Your Highness. With your permission, we would like to present a list of demands."

"This should be entertaining. Go ahead."

"In the name of His Majesty the 52nd Earth King Kuei, we hereby demand: the unconditional cessation of hostilities against our nations, the return of all land stolen from the Earth Kingdom, the unconditional and complete reparation of all damage caused to our nations, the abdication and surrender of your person to stand trial for your crimes against our nations, the extradition of the former Fire Lord Ozai, the complete dismantling of your military, the immediate and complete release of all prisoners you have taken from our nations, whether military or civilian; the installation of a provisional government serving at the pleasure of Earth King Kuei, cabinet to be determined at a later date; immediate and unconditional seizure of all military or industrial installations of the Fire Nation…"

The general has to stop for breath, then continues:

"…the arrest and extradition of all military commanders at the rank of Captain and higher, as well as all other individuals named in Appendix A of this document regardless of rank, or irrefutable proof of their death if it has already occured."

When he's done, Azula slowly claps.

"A very impressive list, General." Without waiting for his reaction, she continues, "Elder Suljuq, are these the Northern Water Tribe's demands as well?"

"We stand before you as one delegation", the man calmly answers. "The Earth Kingdom's requirements are our own. We will not be divided by you."

"And what about the rest of you?" They are certainly aware that their demands – her complete and unconditional surrender, in short – are ludicrous. They expect her to push back, or else they wouldn't have come. "Avatar, do you have anything to add? Or Zuzu; perhaps a challenge to fight for the throne?"

"I hope it won't come to this", he answers, with a calmness that's so unlike him, or used to be so unlike him. "But if I have to, I'll be ready."

"Wonderful", she claps again, "just a wonderful performance. If the delegates don't object, I would like to present an offer of my own."

The Avatar bows his head and she proceeds.

"Very well. Since you are obviously labouring under the delusion that I asked you here to offer my surrender, let me correct that. What I offer is peace for all our peoples, no more, no less. To this end, I propose a complete cessation of hostilities and demand the formal recognition of my nation's colonies, the return of all captured airships and other vessels to my nation, and furthermore, I propose a mutual release of all prisoners."

"Typical ash-maker arrogance!", one of the generals shouts. The beginning murmurs of agreement with his outrage are quickly silenced when she starts again.

"In recognition of the trust you have shown me in coming here, and to pave the way for more trust, I have decided to release one hundred prisoners back to your peoples. They will accompany you when you return, regardless of the outcome."

As predicted, the surprise of the delegates is mixed with suspicion. After briefly whispering among themselves, Zuko steps forward.

"We'll have to talk about this."

"Of course."

"We'll take the southern conference room, if you don't mind. You know as well as I do Father had the others equipped for eavesdropping."

"I expected as much", Azula shrugs. "Of course, you can't be sure I didn't do the same for that one, but by all means. Go ahead."

Once the doors have closed and she's reasonably sure the delegates have been escorted far away enough, Azula turns to Katara.

"So, what did you think?"

Katara slides her helmet off and sighs.

"Toph will have noticed how nervous you are. If I can tell, there's no way she can't. You're probably not very good at lying to her right now, so she's going to be at least somewhat convinced of your sincerity. Aang will advise in favour of continued negotiations the most, and the Earth Kingdom… if they sent anyone worth their salt, they know their demands are absurd, just as much as yours, even more."

"Oh, absolutely. If anything, they're probably surprised I didn't demand their surrender."

Katara snorts. "Right. Anyway, as for the others… Sokka is definitely suspicious, and knowing him, he's probably sure this is a trap or a trick. Zuko… I'm not really sure. We didn't get to know each other that well."

"Maybe I can fill you in. I've known Zuzu all my life, after all." Azula thinks for a moment. "He's changed. I've never known him to be so calm. But if I had to take a guess, I'd say he's trying to see my father in me. He wants to figure out how much I behave like him." She scoffs. "Disavowing dear old daddy probably really threw him off. He didn't think I had it in me."

To be fair, until a few months ago, Katara thinks, neither did I. And neither did she.

After a seemingly endless hour, the delegates return.

"Your Highness, we have decided that the delegation fully rejects your outlandish demands", Elder Suljuq begins. "However, after much discussion, we have agreed to continue negotiating, despite your obvious unwillingness to negotiate a true peace."

As if, Azula mocks silently. You're here, you want this. Stop pretending.

"Let's put that aside for the moment", Sokka cuts in, and behind Azula, Katara quietly marvels at the determination and confidence in his voice. "We have some more concerns. How do we know, for instance, that you won't use a potential ceasefire to catch your breath and rebuild your army?"

"Indeed", General Gai agrees, "we all know you can't win as it stands right now. Who's to say this isn't a trick?"

"Sokka", Azula puts as much disdain and patronising into her voice as the situation permits. She draws on Katara's advice. "Of course I anticipated this question from you. Let me answer with one of my own: what could I possibly offer that would allay those… concerns?"

"The Fire Nation military must be dismantled!", Gai shouts. "The dragon's teeth must be pulled!"

"And is that the position of all the delegates?"

The heartbeat of hesitation tells her all she needs to know. Glances from the soldiers to the Avatar, the thoughtful expression that steals itself on Zuko's face for a second – clearly, this is an issue he isn't fully decided on –; it tells her who is really in charge, and how secretly divided the delegates are.

"I propose we postpone this. Let me instead return to your, how shall I say… imaginative list of demands."

Nobody speaks up to stop her.

"First of all, let me remind you again that we are not surrendering. I invited you here to voluntarily extend an offer of friendship", the wretched earthbender can probably tell she's not quite truthful, "and in case your own intelligence network is insufficient, let me remind you that I have more than enough strength to deal devastating blows to all of your nations, should I feel compelled to. If you were to attempt my destruction, I assure you, none of you would live to enjoy your victory, nor your citizens their 'liberation' from me."

That much is true. If she's going down, she can take all of them with her, once it becomes clear that diverting troops to secure the homeland won't save her anyway. The minute expressions on their faces tell her they know that as well. She would rather see her own people die with the enemy than allow her nation to fall.

"But, fortunately for all of us here, I would rather do away with this foolishness. I am prepared to negotiate in earnest, and I suggest you do the same."

From the safety of her helmet, Katara tries to study the effect of Azula's words. The generals don't seem particularly impressed, but she guesses Elder Suljuq may be slightly more so. There's only so much damage Azula can do to the Earth Kingdom; even if she leaves nothing but scorched earth where her colonies stand, or commits all of her troops to a desperate last strike, there's simply too much land. But an all-out strike on the North Pole, for instance…

Ice melts under fire.

"If I may make a suggestion, Your Highness…"

"Certainly, Elder Suljuq. I'll be just thrilled to hear it."

Undeterred by Azula's sarcasm, the man continues, "perhaps your nation's surrender won't be necessary. The Northern Water Tribe is prepared to accept your abdication and the installation of your brother as the Fire Lord."

"The South agrees", Sokka hurriedly adds, and Azula stifles a laugh.

"Oh, please. That's all very entertaining, but—"

"If you truly want the best for your people", General Lan-Hua interjects, "you would accept. We would not hold any innocent citizens responsible for your crimes."

"My condolences to your agents, General. Clearly you are ill-informed about the inner workings of my nation, or you wouldn't believe what you clearly seem to be believing. No offence, Zuzu, but you wouldn't last a week in this chair."

"What do you mean?" The Avatar's question is asked in a carefully neutral voice, and Azula begins to understand what Katara sees in him. So far, he's shown the most discipline out of them all.

"You mean it's not obvious? A branded traitor", at that, Zuko's hand subconsciously reaches up to his scar, "banished and dishonoured, taking the throne? The court would never accept him. Anyone weaker than myself wouldn't live to see the peace happen. Frankly, your masters should be grateful it's me they're dealing with, who's actually willing to negotiate."

She locks eyes with Toph, remembering too late the pointlessness of it.

"You know I'm telling the truth, don't you? I challenge you to prove I'm lying."

"She's telling the truth", the girl admits, although she grimaces at the words. "Or at least she believes what she says."

"And what of you?", Zuko challenges. "You asked us here, you offered to negotiate. You seem to have thrown your honour away in doing so; what protects you from the court?"

In a split-second decision, Azula opts for truth.

"Oh, they tried", she declares. "Do you want me to tell you how many attempts on my life I have survived? I believe the last count is four in the last year alone."

The surprise is evident on all of their faces. Even as their eyes dart to Toph, who confirms her words with a silent nod, she can tell the unexpected honesty has caught them off-guard.

"And do you know what I did?", she continues.

"I hunted them down. I laid waste to every last holdout of treachery and spared nobody. The graveyards are full of people who thought they could take me on. I arrested them, their servants, entire units. I stripped their wives and husbands, their daughters and sons, of everything they had. I beat the names of every last accomplice out of them. I've killed men and women for a frown, for failure to applaud when they should have."

Another silent nod from the truth telling girl; visible nausea on some of their faces (unbeknownst to everyone, Katara is one of them). It may sabotage the image of wisdom and peacefulness she's trying to project, but if nothing else, it's a show of her strength and her determination. If any proof of her willingness to fight until the bitter end is needed, she's just delivered it. She leans back in her throne, pleased by the effect of her words.

"Tell me, brother dear, do you believe you have the stomach for that? Would you have it in you to sentence fifty men to death, just for knowing a traitor? Could you pay the price of ruling?"

The silence is answer enough.

After exchanging some glances, Elder Suljuq clears his throat.

"I believe it may be best if we reconvene tomorrow, Your Highness."

Azula waves her hand dismissively.

"By all means."

Once they're alone, Katara has barely taken off her helmet when Azula slams her against the door for a passionate kiss. The helmet clatters to the ground as Katara's hands find Azula's face, fist her hair, stroke over her cheek, and she gives back just as much as she gets. When they pull apart, they're both flushed, panting for breath, and look thoroughly messed up.

"I guess that means you're happy with today?", Katara gasps, and Azula's face splits into an uncharacteristic grin.

"Very."

"Care to let me in on why?"

"With pleasure."

Even though she won't suffer people dumber than her, Azula does see the appeal in getting to explain her conclusions to a captive audience, and Katara is certainly an audience she enjoys impressing.

"They may not have intended it, although I expect them to account for it, but they've told me much more about their group than apparent to the untrained eye."

That being, of course, Katara's eye.

"They've clearly planned this out before. Take Elder Suljuq, for instance. He's clearly playing nice and pretending to be a voice of reason. The tangentially-involved Water Tribe, tempering the furious Earth Kingdom, who's had to bear the brunt of my horrible crimes."

She pauses.

"Did you notice he's the only one who consistently calls me 'Your Highness'? I told them to, but the Earth Kingdom's generals don't. They're provoking me, trying to see how much they can get away with. He addresses me properly, to paint himself as a reasonable negotiator. When push comes to shove, he will be the one delivering their actual demands, offset by the outraged and over-demanding Earth Kingdom, to entice me to accept his apparent compromise."

I never noticed, Katara quietly thinks, even though she tries not to let her full admiration for Azula's analytical skills show.

(Azula can tell anyway.)

"This tells me that the generals' outrage isn't sincere. Or rather, I'm sure they personally mean it, but despite their shows of disbelief at my 'outlandish demands'", she allows herself to make air quotes with her fingers, "they're prepared to negotiate sincerely, although their tolerance for my demands is yet to be fully tested. Nevertheless, they want this peace a lot more than they let on."

"That's good."

"Quite. And then, did you see the way they were looking at your friends? Your brother, I'm afraid, may represent the Southern Tribe, but his opinion doesn't seem to carry quite as much weight. But it's clear the Avatar's word means much more to them, maybe even more than their own, even though the composition of their party suggests the adults would take the lead. And you've seen how much they rely on your blind friend. Her judgements of our position will determine the course of these negotiations."

"And Zuko?"

Azula huffs. "Oh, Zuzu… what does he matter? I suppose they brought him along to provoke me, to see if I would even allow him to set foot in my nation. And of course his knowledge of the palace may prove useful to them."

Katara shakes her head.

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit. I may have known him shorter than you did, but I think I know him a lot better than you do."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"Well for one thing, you have no idea how much the Fire Nation still means to Zuko", Katara begins. "He cares about his people a great deal. And about you, too." (Azula scoffs.) "You might think he just wants to destroy you and the Fire Nation, but the few times we talked about you, I think he was really concerned. When you two fought at the temple and you fell, for a moment, he thought you were going to die. You should have heard him."

"So my dear brother has inherited Uncle's sentimentality. What are you getting at?"

"Oh shut up." Katara rolls her eyes. "What I mean is: I don't think Zuko wants to tear down your nation, or you. The Earth Kingdom would happily occupy you today and take revenge on your people, but I don't think that's what Zuko wants. If he'll believe your sincerity, he might be of help."

"You think so?"

"I do. I think he would want nothing more than to see you're better."

"Better." Azula spits the word as if it's rotten. "I'm not doing this for him, or because I've seen the light, or whatever you believe, and decided to be a goody-goody like him and Uncle. There was nothing wrong with me before, is that clear? I'm doing this to ensure the survival of my nation." Her expression softens ever so slightly. "I'm doing this for me, and for us."

Every word stings in Katara's heart like a dagger, try as she does not to show it. But at the addendum, something inside her softens as well.

"Zuko would be glad to know you're sincere about peace", she says, carefully measuring every word. "And so am I."

"I know."

Azula sighs and tries to return a neutral expression to her face.

"If your speculations are correct, the rest of the delegation probably aren't too happy about his presence. Most likely, if he has learned anything from Father, he traded his knowledge and analysis for a place on the team."

"You're trying to drive a wedge between them", Katara realises. "You've been trying all day."

Talking to one of them over the other. The constant emphasis on which demands are supported by the entire delegation.

"You're trying to separate them, find weaknesses, things they disagree on." Against her will, she can't help but appreciate Azula's skills. "Smart."

"You're only figuring that out now?" Azula laughs, not maliciously, but amused. "Sometimes I can't believe how naive you are. It's a miracle your little gang survived as long as it did."

Before Katara can feel insulted, Azula pulls her closer again, looks at her with a fondness Katara can still hardly believe she's seeing.

"What would you be doing without me?", Azula mumbles, and any issue Katara might take with that statement stops mattering when she presses their lips together.

A/N: In my defence, I've never been party to any ceasefire negotiations. I'm sure it's much, much more complicated in reality, but this is the best I could come up with. I suppose it's on the level a show like ATLA might portray, as opposed to the more "realistic" (i.e. people die and get traumatised) level I've tried to keep the rest of the fic at.