Chapter 9: In which my sister demonstrates her talents

Azula was not happy.

As she lazed about in the warm afternoon sun, her eyes half closed, her chin cocked back as she let her head rest on a pillow, resting after her morning training, she was left with the indelible fact that she was frustrated.

Zuzu, her brother had gotten engaged, had gotten engaged to some Water Tribe girl without so much as a by your leave.

She had listened to his story of what had occurred since his Angi Kai with Ozai, such as it was, carefully calculating in her head how best to make it so he would suffer for this.

Yet a fact of the story had revealed something unexpected, an opportunity, the Water Tribe girl was not just any floozy, she was a Princess.

And it was there she saw her brother's plan.

She would be the first to admit that she did not particularly care for the war the world was currently engulfed in. It was natural that the Fire Nation would push its boundaries and take land from lesser Nations if they could not defend it.

Yet she did not necessarily think its prosecution was overall in the best interests of the Fire Nation. One could, of course, take land by force, but using such a method was a crude method; violence had its place, but she thought it was far better when it was utilized in short, intense bursts.

Life was like pai sho in that way. To capture your opponents' tiles, one didn’t need an overwhelming force or even to necessarily defeat each opponent that faced you. Sometimes the key was one singular, subtle move.

Why prosecute a war of violence when there were other paths for the Fire Nation’s dominance?

She didn’t understand her Grandfather Sozin’s path; she didn’t understand Azulon’s either. Her Father, Ozai, for all his supposed cunning, didn’t impress her much either.

For all of that said, she didn’t think much of her Uncle Iroh either, despite the fact that he had at least some military talent, but even then, she didn’t think he could be all that intelligent, considering he attempted something as basic as sieging a city that was known to be near impregnable.

She had studied the reports and the known information and could not help but conclude that while her family's strength in firebending was undeniable, they lacked the cunning to use it intelligently.

Well, most of them, her brother at least, did not seem completely incapable.

Such had been evident to her when she noted the careful, insidious subversion of the servants around her to her brother's whims; it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they never disobeyed orders, but the speed, alacrity, and efficiency with which they moved always decreased when they were told to do something her brother wouldn’t approve of.

After all, it became especially noticeable after a while that her Father’s meetings always dragged on too long for any meaningful interaction with the man. That the instructors her father chose to attempt to install the training he preferred always seemed to meet their political ends, either to the whispers of the court or sometimes even to her brother's flame.

Even in court, the carefully calculated words from members of the Royal court, seemingly seeking their own favor, were somehow usually positioned in such a way that they benefited Zuzu, or more specifically, contributed to the slow, subtle stalemate the Fire Nation was engaged in.

All of those Nobles unable to see the larger picture that they resided within; they were like fish swimming in a small pond, entirely unaware of the larger world that existed outside of them.

After the initial hurt of her brother's actions, she had turned her mind to the reasons why, thinking long and deep about what could have made him make these decisions.

And it had occurred to her, finally, the subtle genius of his plan, starting with the Water Tribe Princess and with her included, there was a path to the end of this war where the Fire Nation would stop its conquest on the field, yet at the same time turn the rest of the world to their cause regardless.

Which meant when they reached Kyoshi Island, that it would be up to her to ensure his plans met full success.

Still, even realizing the genius of her brother’s plan did not make her exceptionally happy about the end result. How many marriages would be required for peace?

Still, if her brother desired peace, then she would accomplish such.

-

Yue was bemused

“Who would think a Water Tribe Princess would know enough to tie off a rope?” Azula’s sharp tones disturbed the lazy afternoon warmth that rained down on the deck.

She was positioned cross-legged on top of the cabin, her chin cupped in her palm as she looked down at Yue, who was slowly tying off a rope with smooth motions that were becoming more and more practiced the longer she spent on the ship and thanks to Zuko’s gentle guidance.

“Who would think a Fire Nation Princess would be able to chart a course across her opposing element?” Yue replied almost absentmindedly.

Azula stiffened her gaze, narrowing it at her, and the other girls' lips twisted into the smallest of pouts. “The Fire Nation is a seafaring nation,” she mumbled quietly, and I noted her eyes flickering to me for the briefest of moments.

Yue restrained a small smile from her face, “Your brother said something similar,” Yue acknowledged, nodding her head, a gentle smile playing across her lips as she looked at Azula.

Azula’s eyes flickered to look at Zuko, who was at the wheel, before a fierce pout made its way onto her lips as she looked away from both of them entirely.

Her anger had yet to truly abate at him, something which Zuko took with a small smile as if this was expected and likely felt he somewhat deserved.

Zuko hadn’t yet told her the story of their trials and tribulations as far as Yue knew, even some days out on the waves.

She imagined he was likely unsure of how to mention the strange circumstances of the Swamp, also likely not sure exactly how to explain the fact that he was now a waterbender.

Zuko had left Azula with the knowledge that he had been to the North Pole, where he had met and impressed the Chieftain of the Water Tribe and gotten engaged.

Most of Azula’s snipiness so far had seemingly been reserved for her, but Yue hadn’t taken the opportunity to respond in kind. Taking Azula’s vitriol with as much aplomb as she had been trained to, showing that she was seemingly not fazed in the slightest by Zuko’s sister’s evidently acerbic nature.

As if the girl holding a knife to Zuko’s throat wasn’t evidence enough of that.

Zuko seemed to be keeping his peace for now, turning the wheel of the ship slightly and shifting the water under the hull of the ship with a shift of his stance to turn the hull of the ship for the sails to better catch the wind, something Yue felt with her own waterbending.

They had been heading down the coast of the Earth Kingdom to Kyoshi Island, having crossed the more open ocean from the Fire Nation, and now were retracing the familiar path down the coast, having passed the Foggy Swamp a day ago.

It was somewhat strange to contemplate that there were two princesses aboard the ship.

It was a position that Yue had yet to grow used to; she hadn’t really met many political equals in her life so far, so there was a newness to this whole situation.

Still, Azula, while prickly on the surface, had yet to do anything truly unacceptable; she certainly spat enough fire, but she had yet to so much as let a spark emerge from her mouth.

Which spoke to a remarkable level of control, and even as the days eased past, the girl seemed to be relaxing slightly.

Which meant that Yue could begin to slowly feel out who exactly this girl was. Admittedly, she had not expected the girl she had met, but she also wasn’t necessarily disappointed. She didn’t think the girl would have made it far in the North Pole with her natural inclination towards violence, but the more time she spent outside the North Pole, the less she found herself liking the traditions that existed within her people.

In many ways, strangely enough, her time in the Fire Nation had felt far more liberating, even in hiding, than her time as a Princess of the North Pole. Azula was seemingly an example of just exactly that; her Father would have never let her leave and go out into the world and act as an agent of the Water Tribe, especially by herself.

The fact that, in a roundabout way, meant that she appreciated some small action of the Fire Lord, she left by the wayside for the moment.

Either way, Azula herself was quite the conundrum; whatever she had expected of the other girl, it was not as she was.

-

I was thoughtful as I turned the wheel of the ship.

Anya could be... should be at least somewhere in the South Pole, yet actually finding her seemed like it would be another matter entirely.

Yet… I frowned, my eyes flickering to Azula. The spirit had warned me about Azula, and while her emotional well-being was definitely not optimal, there hadn’t been anything imminent as far as I could tell.

So either I had missed something or the spirit had purposely misled me.

‘“Well, if you trust your reports,” the voice giggled again, “Who am I to argue? How interesting that you’ve spent so much time taking care of the princess of the family that ruined the world! How much trust must you have to believe that such a girl would be safe?”’

The spirit hadn’t said anything explicit, mere implications that I hadn’t felt I could ignore at the time. Yet if the spirit’s intent had been to prevent me from chasing after Anya, then I hadn’t been all that delayed, though there was now the question of Kyoshi Island.

I couldn’t help but feel as if there was something I was missing…

“So…” Azula drawled lazily, “What have you been doing all this time, Zuzu?” she drawled out, though I noticed a flickering light in her eyes of interest that wasn’t quite contained. I thought this question would come sooner, and a part of me wondered what exactly had delayed it.

I shrugged, “A little of this, a little of that,“ I prevaricated, wondering where to begin.

“How about we start with the fact that you’ve gotten engaged to an enemy of the Fire Nation,” Azula said coolly, looking at me with sharp eyes.

Unwilling, a snort escaped my lips, and I winced as I saw one of Azula’s eyebrows raise higher while Yue gave me a confused look.

I shook my head, “I believe technically I’m also an enemy of the Fire Nation right now,” I replied dryly.

Azula cocked her head at me, “The Fire Lord believes you’re dead, the dead don’t have enemies,” she sighed before shaking her head, “Though I suppose, given that he was the one who supposedly did so, if he ever found out, you would indeed be an enemy to him, still that will need to change so you can take the throne.”

I restrained a visible wince and merely stared out into space for several moments, “I suppose if that was my goal,” I allowed.

Azula’s eyes narrowed at me, “You have to become Fire Lord Zuzu, you’re the Fire Lord’s firstborn son, when we get around to overthrowing him, you’ll be the one to take his place,” she said, her words spoken as if explaining them to a particularly slow child.

I hummed, thinking over her words thoughtfully, “I mean, technically, I’m dead right now.” I chuckled before tilting my head to the side as a dart of blue flame flew past my face.

“You’re not,” Azula growled, her eyes gleaming dangerously at me, “So don’t say that you are.”

I considered Azula’s words thoughtfully. At some point, there would probably come a time when I would have to reveal my survival to the world. At that point in time, I would indeed be the heir again.

I decided to begin the conversation again with a roundabout approach.

“Do you think I should be Fire Lord Azula?” I asked.

Azula cocked her head to the side, and I saw a flicker of confusion go through her eyes. “Of course,” she said, her lips tightened into a thin line.

I sighed, shaking my head, “For what reason?” I asked.

“It’s your heritage,” Azula cocked her head, “It’s in your blood, no other is qualified.”

“You could be Fire Lord,” I pointed out cocking an eyebrow at her.

Azula giggled a surprisingly light, airy sound, breaking her previous expression of cool glass into fragments instantly, “No, I don’t think so,” she shook her head, “I will be Fire Lady as is proper.”

I blinked, taking in her words, surprised by them. The position of Fire Lady was not the gender corrected version of Fire Lord; they were the wife of the Fire Lord, though there hadn’t been a female Fire Lord in quite some time.

Yue cocked her head to the side at Azula, “I’m not sure I understand,” she said calmly, looking slightly confused, “Those are not the same position?”

Azula raised an arched eyebrow at Yue before shaking her head, “There is only one Fire Lord; they are the ruler of the Fire Nation. Being the wife of the Fire Lord is not the same thing.”

Yue blinked before something seemed to occur to her as she slowly nodded her head, “I understand,” she said before looking more firmly at Azula, “So then you intend on marrying Zuko?” She said the words casually, an innocent questioning lilt at the end of her tone.

I nearly choked on my own saliva, looking wildly between the two girls.

Azula's arched eyebrow raised even higher, “Of course, it’s only proper, our children will be strong and the line of the Fire Lord should not deviate to lesser Noble lines.”

I looked at the girl, only just preventing myself from gaping in astonishment at her words.

Yue nodded, seemingly having expected her words, “I had wondered, I suppose that makes things easier.”

I blinked, rubbing my forehead, attempting to figure out just when I had stepped into this strange, bizarre dream.

“Of course,” Azula continued, “Seeing as Zuko has to marry you as well, there will be…” she sighed heavily, “Complications,” the words were somewhat bitter yet at the same time resigned to their inevitability.

Yue looked at Azula with interest burning in her eyes, “Complications?” she parroted.

Azula nodded, her face just as calm as it had been before, “We’ll need to decide ahead of time the positions as heirs, any children he has with you are unfortunately not likely to inherit the Throne, given my children’s superior claim.”

Yue blinked slowly, almost languidly, as she seemed to contemplate Azula’s words before she also nodded, “Yes, I agree, my children are meant to become chiefs of the North Pole, keeping those lines separate without potential conflict would be for the best.”

Azula looked confused for a moment at Yue, “You’ll accept your children’s disinheritance from the throne?” The words were disbelieving, as much surprise as Azula allowed into any of her expressions on her face.

Yue nodded her head, looking at Azula, confused as well, “Of course, conflicting claims would only cause harm for our children’s birthrights; it’s best if that ship doesn’t leave the ice.”

Azula hummed, seemingly thinking over Yue’s words, before seemingly nodding to herself, “I think I misjudged you, my apologies, Princess Yue.” The words were said in the almost perfunctory way of nobility, but judging by her somewhat more relaxed facial features, for some reason, Yue’s words had calmed her.

An amused smile flickered onto Yue’s face as she went back to the rope, “Perfectly fine, Princess Azula, I’m glad we could come to an accord.”

I looked between the two girls, tightening my grip on the wheel slightly, attempting to parse what had just happened.

Ultimately, I sighed, shook my head, and went back to steering the ship. Azula poked and prodded as naturally as breathing. This seemed to be another push on her side.

-

Kyoshi Island, from a distance, didn’t look like it had been carved off from the mainland with earthbending, but that didn’t change its origin, its absolute statement of the Avatar’s power.

A power that was tough to conceptualize fully.

Our ship drifted into an inlet on the coast of the island, directed by Yue with gentle motions of her hands, bringing the ship around so that we could bring the prow of the ship onto the beach, mostly with Yue’s work, as I hadn’t revealed my waterbending yet, still caught on how best to reveal the ability.

As we traversed the final bit of distance, Azula filled us in on her plan. It was simply in essence. We would make contact with the people on Kyoshi Island, acting as traders looking to pick up supplies. Even as traditionally isolationist as the people were

“So,” Azula clapped her hands softly, drawing out attention to her, “The way I see it, having Kyoshi Island submit to Fire Nation rule shouldn’t be all that difficult.”

“Oh, really?” I looked at the girl, an amused smile curling my lips.

Yue frowned at the girl and me, “I still am uncomfortable with this, helping the Fire Nation rule over more territory…”

Azula made a waving motion with her hands as if to send the words to disperse in the air, “This will mean little in the grand scheme of things. Regardless of what flag is flown on this Island, it’s too far and remote for a true Fire Nation presence; this is more for the political victory than anything.”

I hummed, thinking over the plan as Azula had described it to me, “I do worry about the effect on the Earth Kingdom's army,” I admitted out loud. Kyoshi wasn’t likely to provide any weight either way in the war, but the morale loss I imagined could be significant.

Azula gave me a sharp look, raising her eyebrow at me, “So you think it’s a bad plan?”

“I just don’t understand how you expect them to join the Fire Nation,” I said, “They’re still part of the Earth Kingdom, even as removed as they are.”

Azula nodded her head, crossing her arms as she looked at me with the expression of a teacher about to give a lecture, “They’ve also been neutral in this war so far. We’re not going in with soldiers, we’re going in to show them the value of allying with the Fire Nation.”

It still didn’t sound as easy as Azula was attempting to make it sound.

Yue shook her head, “And how exactly does that benefit anyone? Anyone not Fire Nation that is.”

Azula’s lips twisted up into a small smirk, shrugging her shoulders, “Besides the fact that it takes this Island off the Fire Nations' list of potential dissidents and provides further cover with my Father?”

Yue grimaced slightly before she nodded once in acknowledgement, “Besides that.”

Azula sighed, and her smile dipped, giving both of us a serious look, “Since the rumors of the spirits around Prince Zuko’s death kicked up, my father has been far less lenient with anything associated with the spirits, including the Avatar. Kyoshi Island is still a reminder of what the Avatar can do. If I don’t achieve something here, then the end result won’t be nice.”

Yue flinched, looking at me as if wanting me to gainsay Azula’s words.

I contemplated Azula’s words; it made sense within the context of my Father and how the man saw the world. He had never been one for the spirits to begin with. A part of me felt some guilt for inciting that. I hadn’t expected my Father to move in this direction, though.

“It’s something Ozai would do,” I sighed quietly, “If he feels cornered, pressured, he’ll resort to violence if he doesn’t get his way.”

After all, it had only been meeting his fire with my own that had incited the man to strike me down with lightning.

It was a surprisingly common trait in my family, I supposed; my grandfather wasn’t any better.

Yue looked between us, her face pinched in worry, her blue eyes glimmering slightly, before finally she nodded, her still dyed hair falling over her face for a moment, “You’re sure?” she asked, looking me directly in the eyes.

I glanced at Azula, who was looking at me seriously, her own lips pursed slightly.

“Yeah, it’s in line with his character. Azula’s always been better at reading him; if she says that’s his next step, it is.”

As far as understanding my Father’s motives and desires, Azula had always been the best at reading people, even if only in the pursuit of obtaining what she wanted.

-

We stepped off the boat onto dry land after having beached the boat with the assistance of Yue’s waterbending.

Onto the sandy beach we stepped, dressed in fine Fire Nation clothing, including Yue, whose hair was still dyed black, her eyes a dull amber.

In the blacks and crimsons of the Fire Nation, we began walking up from the beach, heading further into the island, looking for all the world like the diplomatic party we intended to be.

The air was calm, and I found myself submerging my senses in my two elements, listening to water that was in the air around us, along with the shimmering patterns of heat that stirred and rustled within the wind.

I sensed the presences before I saw them, seven presences in the forest around us, and from the twitching of one of them, subtle, precise motions, I decided she was the leader.

Judging by how Yue had stiffened slightly, I figured she had noticed them, likely by her training with waterbending and the techniques I had exposed her to surrounding sensing water. Azula gave off no indication of noticing their presence, but given that it was Azula, I had no doubt that she knew they were there.

I remained relaxed, walking across the ground with calm, unperturbed steps, wondering to myself if I should have bought new swords to replace the ones I had shattered. My previous pair had been ones I forged with Master Piando, but now, without them, I felt remarkably unprepared to deal with any opponents, at least without the implied lethality of firebending.

We came to a stop in a clearing, and Azula finally spoke out loud, “It’s impolite not to greet your guests,” she remarked to the air.

There was a moment of silence before a female voice spoke out from the surrounding foliage, “It’s impolite to trespass; you are not guests, the Fire Nation has no business on this Island.”

Azula shrugged her shoulders, a casual air about her, “We are here on behalf of the Fire Lord, and this is neutral territory. If you prefer, we can return and let the Fire Lord know that Kyoshi Island is no longer neutral. We can, of course, do so.”

I felt the leader's presence shift slightly on her feet, falling into a stance ready for quick movement, and fast twitching movement occurred as the warriors seemed to communicate silently with each other for several moments.

“No,” the lead warrior seemed to finally decide, though her voice was heavy, “That will not be necessary.”

A woman in heavy green robes stepped out of the forest, black armor on her chest, and white face paint hiding her expression from revealing all that much.

This, of course, did not mean I couldn’t feel her accelerated pulse as heat and blood flushed through her; she was definitely agitated.

Her fingers twitched, and I felt the rest of the still hidden warriors stiffen as if preparing themselves.

“Speak then,” the warrior said, giving us a hard look.

Azula inclined her head, “Are you the leader of the village near here?”

The woman’s lips thinned, her eyes flickering away to glance over the rest of us before she replied, “Oyaji is,” she replied, “I assume you wish to speak with him, the answer won’t change.”

A small smirk crawled onto Azula’s lips, a calculated motion, “Then there is no harm in speaking with him, is there?”

The woman scowled harshly, and I felt her blood shift, thrumming through her veins, “I suppose not,” she ground out before she looked at Yue and me.

“Who are you and your companions?” she asked.

“This is my bodyguard Lee,” Azula cocked her head towards me before cocking her head to the right, “And this is my maidservant Yue.”

A long moment of silence passed as Azula’s dangerous smile remained on her face.

The woman’s scowl deepened, “And you are?”

“I am Crown Princess Azula of the Fire Nation,” Azula smiled pleasantly.

Instantly, I felt the still hidden Kyoshi warriors around us stiffen and their heart rates increase.

“We are honored,” the woman in front of us ground out sounding anything but, “My name is Suki.”

-

Oyaji, a small man with a massive bushy beard, had received us, and Azula had drawn him to a private conversation inside his home, though even standing outside, I kept an eye on things with my sense of heat; we were, after all, in enemy territory.

Azula could more than handle herself and was by far my better as words were concerned, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to keep an eye on her just in case, especially with the spirits' warnings, even if I suspected now that I had been misled.

I looked to the horizon, pushing stands of black hair away from my face, the length beginning to become somewhat of a problem.

Yue had seated herself primly on a cushion as she sipped the proffered tea with small, elegant movements.

We were outside the main building, and across from us was Suki, seated with the entirety of her warriors.

They weren’t quite glaring at us, but it was a near thing, held at bay by the fact that we were an envoy.

“Do you really think some pretty words, or some trinkets, will cause us to break our neutrality?” Suki asked.

An amused smile flickered onto my lips as I looked at the girl and the several other women who were glaring at us.

“Not sure if I’m paid enough to consider those things,” I said lightly, noting the small shifts among the girls as they recoiled slightly at those words and geniality in them.

“How mercenary of you,” one of the girls remarked, pretty face scrunched behind her makeup as she shook her short black hair in a rippling wave, frowning at me as if she had spoken a grave insult.

I shook my head, “It’s not like that, it’s just not my place to decide, I serve the Fire Nation because it’s my duty, I’m sure if I had been born in the Earth Kingdom I’d be serving there somewhere, probably dying in a trench.”

There was a ripple of discomfort through the assembled warriors, small motions and shifts of movement rapidly exchanged as they communicated among each other without words.

“That is not the words of a loyal Fire Nation soldier,” another girl commented, shaking long brown hair away from her eyes.

“Did I say I was a soldier?” I asked innocently, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

“You serve the Fire Nation’s Princess,” the black haired girl responded, as if to rebut my point entirely.

I shrugged, “I’m her bodyguard, but my line of command ends with her; I’m not a part of the Fire Nation military.”

Perhaps it was more information than I should be revealing, but I found myself curious about these girls' thoughts. The Northern Water Tribe was removed from the conflict, though still technically at war with the Fire Nation, and Kyoshi Island likewise was neutral, yet was most certainly not on the side of the Fire Nation.

I had no real desire to influence these girls one way or another, but I was curious about where they stood individually and not as the Kyoshi Warriors as a monolith.

“Is that possible?” Suki asked, her face narrowed in a frown at me, “Why would the Fire Nation Princess travel with someone not wholly loyal to the Fire Nation?”

“Loyalty,” I tasted the words as I said them, looking into the afternoon sky, “Is a funny thing, the more people you give it to, the less it means. If I am wholly loyal to the Princess and not the Fire Nation as well, does that not mean that my loyalty to her is far more absolute than any soldiers?”

A ripple went through the assembled Kyoshi Warriors as they seemed to take in my words thoughtfully, attempting to parse them for a meaning I was unsure if they would find. The entire thing was a pretense, but the words were meaningful in drawing out who exactly I was dealing with.

“And you?” Suki turned to Yue, who returned her narrowed gaze with a gentle passive smile, “Who are you loyal to?”

Yue cocked her head as if truly considering the question, her silken black hair falling to the side as she gazed at Suki with her amber eyes, which right now seemed to eerily suit her, “I am loyal to my people,” she said simply before her eyes flickered to me for the briefest of moments before they returned to Suki, “And the ones I care about.”

Another shift went through the assembled warriors as they took in Yue’s words, seemingly attempting to parse their meaning.

“You speak like a leader, not a maidservant,” Suki replied, narrowing her eyes at Yue, who shrugged her shoulders at the expression.

“One tends to pick up on things in the halls of power,” Yue said, a smile curving her lips as she sent an amused look at Suki.

Suki seemed taken aback, as if not sure how to interpret Yue’s words, before she sighed and shook her head, “I’d like to see you spar with one of my warriors,” she said simply.

I cocked my head at her, “Oh? For what reason?”

Suki’s eyes narrowed as she looked harshly at me, “We only have each other to spar with on this Island, some experience against other opponents would do my girls good.”

Unspoken was the experience against a member of the Fire Nation would be extremely beneficial for the Kyoshi Warriors, even if they were “neutral.”

“Of course,” I smiled blandly, “How would you like me?”

The heat in Suki’s face flushed around her cheeks, though such was not observable from the outside because of her makeup.

“I presume by your lack of weapon that you are a fire bender; using those abilities should be enough.”

I nodded, while at the same time having no intention to use my fire. Suki rose along with the rest of the warriors, taking us to another building where we stepped out back, and I found myself facing off against the girl with long black hair who stared at me with narrowed, deep brown eyes.

“Lee,” I said shortly, bowing my body slightly.

“Sosha,” the black haired girl replied, shaking her short black hair again, generating a small rippling cloud around her head, before she drew her fans with flicks of her wrist; she did not bow.

A moment of silence passed before Sosha launched herself at me, aiming to bring down an axe kick on my forehead.

I brought my left forearm to bear, pushing her kick to the side with a single fluid motion, before, in a deceptively gentle move, pushing my palm against her stomach, channeling my chi through my limbs with a breath.

The girl went flying backwards, tumbling across the ground for several meters before she returned to her feet, her eyes wide, “That wasn’t firebending,” she snapped out, seemingly in shock.

I looked at her, amused, feeling the looks of the other members of the warriors regarding me with far more concern now that I had done something that was unexpected, rather than some small burst of fire.

Just as I had been stronger than the adult sailors who had worked near the North Pole, I was far stronger physically than any of the Kyoshi warriors. Their chi was trained, there was no doubt about it, but compared to someone like Piando, their training was still relatively nascent.

“Did you think I was going to launch a blast of fire at you from the start?” I asked, smiling a gentle smile, “We’re just getting warmed up.”

Sosha’s lips quirked down, “Warmed up? Wait, was that a fire bender joke?” and an honest expression of surprise crossed onto her face. Even as she spoke those words, she launched herself forward, slipping underneath one of my arms, even as we clashed with kicks that caught each other before they truly generated power.

Up and down the field we moved rapidly, and even as Sosha drew out her fans, I met her limb for limb, refusing to generate flame.

I had no intention of generating fire until I was sure it was something she could handle. Fire was too dangerous to use unwisely.

Even as we dueled across the ground, I sensed her flowing chi through her limbs, increasing the power and strength of her strikes. She was truly talented.

Yet as I locked her limb behind her back, I couldn’t help but feel as if she could be more. This was not the peak of a non-bender, and while I did not expect someone like Piandao, for all I had heard of the Kyoshi warriors, I expected far more.

“Who trained you?” I asked casually as I slipped through her follow-up attacks, not letting a single one touch me as I weaved in closer to her. Noticing that her expression was rapidly taking on a look of frustration.

“Other Kyoshi warriors, as is tradition,” Sosha bit out sharply, her expression taking on more and more a look of frustration.

“For how long?” I asked, shifting and dodging around her limbs as the movements became more powerful, but at the same time more sloppy.

A tightening of her lips was the only answer I received as her fans began to slice toward me, now fully intending it seemed to cause some kind of harm.

If I had dao, I perhaps might have drawn them at this point to meet metal against metal, but since I did not, I slipped around the slashing metal in a way that I thought Ty Lee might have been at least slightly proud of, bending almost completely in half at the waist before flipping to land away from the slashing fan.

Sosha's eyes narrowed at me, “Long enough,” she growled at me.

I contemplated her words for a moment as she took the opportunity to launch herself at me, aiming to bring me down with a leg, even as she threatened my retreat with a slashing fan.

I let my body snap forward, sweeping her legs out from underneath her, letting her slam to the ground as I hovered a palm above her forehead for a moment, staring at her blue-gray eyes, observing their scintillating shades as they widened, seemingly realizing that she had lost.

I nodded my head and backed up a couple of steps, taking in the rest of the Kyoshi warriors as they looked at me in seeming shock.

Yue seemed entirely relaxed, her currently amber eyes twinkling slightly in what seemed to be muted amusement.

“Good match,” I said, turning back to Suki, taking in her still somewhat shocked expression. I could imagine why, the entire fight I had seemingly only matched Sosha, and then in a second, I had defeated her.

All without my bending.

A small frustration surged in my gut as I observed Sosha; she could be so much better. With every motion and movement, I could tell her talent, yet the limiting factors seemed to have prevailed.

She had lacked a master, a true master.

I couldn’t be sure from just her words, but given what I had observed so far, and that all the warriors here seemed to be the same age, there had been no real guidance by an elder warrior. The techniques Sosha used were well-honed, yes, but somewhat incomplete. It was evident to my eyes that no one had taught her the advanced forms, and those advanced forms she did know were likely from scrolls, not from a Master of the technique.

I sighed to myself, shaking my head. I could only guess as to why that was, but I was unfortunately fairly certain it was because of the Fire Nation.

Suki who stood off to the side, seemed to recover, and her eyes locked into a glare at me, her lips turning down, frustration clear by her elevated pulse and the small minute expressions covered by her face paint.

She opened her mouth to speak, but I turned my head as I felt my sister walking into the clearing, followed by the village leader, her heat signature obviously different from the others.

The village leader's head was tilted to the ground, and I could practically feel the anxiety coming off him. Azula, on the other hand, looked cheerful, or at least her version of cheerful; her lips quirked slightly upward.

“I believe we have an accord,” Azula said, not even bothering to look at the man.

The Kyoshi Warriors stared, their expressions somewhere between shock and horror, looking at Oyaji with surprise evident on their faces. The man grimaced, “I believe there is some further discussion to be had with Princess Azula of the Fire Nation,” the man himself didn’t even sound certain of his own words, murmuring them without much faith, his face between pale and thunderstruck, “but perhaps we have been overly hasty in cutting ourselves entirely from the Fire Nation. They will stay the night in the village.”

I kept myself from sighing, limiting myself to a small exhalation; it seemed my sister had done what she did best.

Again.

-

The house we had been led to was a well-appointed one, though I found myself wondering why exactly they had such a house available on such short notice, especially one that didn’t seem to have been lived in for some time.

It was not the worst place to spend the night, though it really wasn’t up to standard for the Princess of the Fire Nation to be living in.

We had converged in a bedroom on the top floor, and I had held my hand up till I didn’t feel any heat presence near enough to listen in on us.

“What’d you do, Azula?” I asked, trying to gauge how horrified I should feel about what she had done.

“Nothing!” Azula said, innocently giving me the same smile she gave me when she was younger and was trying to get an extra sweet.

I raised an eyebrow at her, crossing my arms as I looked at her and waited.

Azula kept her expression innocent for several more moments before she sighed, giving a put-upon expression, “I merely informed him of his circumstances, that it was best to give a little now so he didn’t lose a lot more later. We’ll stay for a while for a nominal Fire Nation presence, but no soldiers will be brought to the Island."

“Simple as that?” I asked, not sure whether to believe her or not.

Azula’s face shifted slightly, her lips quirking down, “Do you not believe me, Zuzu?” she asked softly.

I sighed, shaking my head, “It’s not that I don’t, it just seems too simple; they’ve stayed out of the war this long.”

Azula’s face brightened, and her smile returned, “That’s the thing, I’m still giving them that opportunity, we’re not establishing a colony or stationing troops, it’s submission in name only, enough to satisfy the Fire Lord but not giving any other advantage.”

She hesitated, “Honestly, a symbolic victory is the best that could be hoped for; bogging down Fire Nation troops and fighting over the island would be entirely useless, not to mention that then we would be responsible for protecting the island against pirate raids.”

“So that’s why we’re staying,” I said, finally beginning to understand her plan.

Azula nodded, “It’s an excuse for me to be out of the Fire Nation for a while, as there are several villages on the Island it may take a while to get them to fall into line but it seems they’ve had a bad year for crops and fishing, some gold from the treasury should be enough to convince them to be a part of the Fire Nation.”

Yue pursed her lips, looking at Yue with a small frown curving her face, “You’re saying this as if submission is actually for the best for Kyoshi Island.”

Azula raised an eyebrow at Yue, “It is, their neutrality only harms them in regards to the Fire Nation. If the Earth Kingdom had much of a navy, that would be another question entirely, but decentralized and scattered as the Earth Kingdom is, there’s no real chance for this to come back to bite Kyoshi Island. As a somewhat protectorate of the Fire Nation, they would receive more beneficial trade deals from the Fire Nation, who actually do have a navy out on the waters, who will now be more inclined to help if pirates enter these waters.”

Yue looked shocked, glancing at me then back at Azula before shaking her head, “You couldn’t have been planning or thinking about this very long, I don’t understand how you just came here and made it so.”

Azula grinned, a smile that was all teeth, “Oh Zuzu, you know I’m just talented like that.”

-

Author's Note:

Azula definitely sees what Zuko’s doing and is not justifying anything at all to fit within her worldview. Unrelated, but she would have been an excellent Habsburg: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube

Yue, on the other hand, is beginning to realize exactly what kind of person the Fire Nation princess is.