The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic)

The Ways of Fire

Meanwhile, at the Song clan Hari Bulkan estate.

Yoko sat at her desk holding a scroll in her hand that she was staring down at with cold outrage in her golden eyes.

And the more she read the more furious she became.

And soon enough she was crushing the document in her hands while she struggled to control her temper.

Her house servant Mio stood faithfully with her hands clasped behind her behind her chair.

'It's just as I told the princess. The more time we spend on large scale occupations the more we forget about what we have at home. Fire Lord Ozai's decision to double the wartime tax has created undo stress and resentment among Fire Nation citizens. The prosperity that the commoners knew is dissipating and they know that.' Yoko thought as she threw the scroll into the trash bin while she clenched her jaw in her anger.

Before she pounded a mighty fist upon her desk while her house servant stood unflinching behind her.

'Shung Wu has descended into madness! To think this has reached a point where they are now willing to listen to the whispers of revolutionaries and anarchists! This is how nations die!' Yoko thought with her fists lighting up with fire while she glared at the wall.

"Are you alright, Mistress?" Mio asked in a faithful voice as she stared at her mistress's back with concern in her eyes as she listened to the older woman take several deep breaths.

"I am fine, Mio, but our country is not." Yoko responded in her usual stern voice as sat back with her golden eyes calming down considerably.

The house servant frowned in consideration as she lingered quietly behind the seated older woman.

"Mio." Yoko began in a seemingly pensive tone while her servant stepped forward to listen to her.

"Mistress?" Mio answered in an obedient voice while the older woman turned to gaze back at her.

"You are a free citizen...you are not a slave. I cannot tell you that you are not allowed to travel...." Yoko trailed off with a frown on her lips while she gazed back at the young woman's now almost smiling face.

Mio stood with a smile already making its way onto her lips as she waited for her mistress to continue.

"But I would prefer it if you abstained from doing so. Things are...becoming violent in the Fire Nation and while there is no telling if that violence will spread to the mainland. I would rather that you remained with me on Clan Song property." Yoko stated as she stared back at her servant's moved face.

"I understand, Mistress. I shall abide by your wishes." Mio declared in an appreciative voice while she gazed back at Yoko's stoic face while the older woman's eyes flashed with a flicker of relief.

"I am relieved to hear it, Mio." Yoko remarked with just a sliver less coldness than before while her golden eyes stared back at the girl's smiling face.

"Mistress Yoko? Would I be permitted to speak openly? There is something that I would like to say to you." Mio questioned in a devoted voice while the older woman's proud golden eyes glanced back at her in curiosity.

"You are always allowed to speak openly when we are in private. What is it that you have to say, Mio?" Yoko pondered in a stoic voice as she gazed back at the younger woman's thinking face while the girl smiled back at her.

"Thank you...for all that you have done for me." Mio muttered in a grateful undertone to her genuine voice while the older woman listened with a stony expression in her eyes.

Yoko sat in her chair with her cold golden eyes momentarily flashing with a hint of emotion as she considered her servant's words.

It has been a long time since her husband died.