The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic)

Of Fugitives and Poison

The Royal Procession and the Dai Li stood faithfully on duty at their respective stations outside the castle of the Song clan.

And the royal carriage now sat before the gates of the castle with a supply wagon behind it.

Elle sat in the carriage leaning against Mai's shoulder while the older woman gazed down at her with protective tawny eyes.

The girl was snoring against the noblewoman's elbow while Ty Lee grinned at the scene from the seat across from them.

And Nako just continued to gaze at the two with ever present astonishment in her eyes.

'I still can't believe that these noblewomen, and the Crown Princess take such loving care of their serving girl.' Nako thought before she turned to gaze out the window.

"Aww. That's so cute, Mai. Elle really enjoys cuddling with you." Ty Lee giggled with her hands in her lap while Mai offered her a small smile in return.

"Yeah. I know." Mai replied with a sigh as she slipped her arm around the smaller girl's shoulder while the exhausted girl snored against her chest.

It was quite shocking to see that Elle was this drained just from using her strange powers for two short moments.

'She's...a good kid.' Mai thought as she held the snoring girl in a hug while Ty Lee still smiled at the two of them.

Zoi was overseeing the loading of armaments and weapons for the war to come.

Azula stood on a staircase above the carriage with her arms folded over her breasts.

She stared down at Yoko as the older woman arose from her respectful bow.

"If that will be all, Governor Yoko. I have other matters to attend to." Azula stated in a dignified voice as she briefly gazed over her shoulder at her carriage.

"Before you go. I have a gift for you." Yoko spoke in a composed voice while Azula tilted her head in curiosity as she turned to face her.

"You have a gift for me? Well, why didn't you just say so." Azula commented with a hint of spoiled intrigue in her voice as she watched the woman reach into her robed pocket.

And then she observed as the governor extended a closed fist before her face.

"Take this with you." Yoko commented just as she opened her hand while her princess gazed down at the tiny vial in her open palm with inquisitive amber golden eyes.

"Is that...poison?" Azula questioned in a lazy voice while she gazed back into the noblewoman's ruthless golden eyes.

"Your destructive techniques are all well, and good, Your Highness. But ultimately there are better ways to end the Avatar than a bolt of lightning. This poison is a hundred times more lethal than the voltage that you dealt him over six years ago." Yoko explained as she placed the vial in Azula's opening palm.

"Really? Is it now?" Azula purred with a flicker of sadism in her cold gaze while her fingers wrapped around the tiny vial.

"Hold it with care. If the poison gets into your skin you will die." Yoko instructed with her hand falling back to her side while her princess now glared at her through the corner of her eye.

"You would be so careless as to hand your future Fire Lord a poison, and not say so ahead of time?" Azula demanded as she the vial more carefully between two fingers before she placed it in her breast pocket.

"If you were so incompetent that you couldn't figure out how to handle a vial of poison, then that would mean that you aren't fit to be Fire Lord." Yoko quipped with a twinge of sass in her voice while Azula turned to cast her an aggravated scowl.