Azula knelt in the dark throne room, in front of her father, Fire Lord Ozai. He was seated in his ornate throne, surrounded by flames that dare not touch him. His expression was of pure anger.
The entire regiment he had sent to conquer the Northern Water Tribe had failed. But it was not only the Avatar who was to blame. His own brother, the disgraced Iroh, and his own son, Zuko had a hand in the failure of the Great Seige of the North.
"Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure..." He drawled, looking down at his grown daughter, his firebending prodigy who had mastered the art of firebending at such a young age. She was more than ready to execute the mission he was going to give her. "I have a task for you..."
Azula looked up at her father and smiled wickedly.
"Sol! Ai!" Suiren called for her handmaidens, groaning as she struggled to move the mountain of scrolls on her tray. "Where are those two when you need them?!"
They came rushing in after a few minutes, both disheveled and sweaty. "We are so sorry, my Lady! We just finished putting away the costumes and kimonos like you told us to, but when we counted them, two were missing and—"
"Alright, alright! Just help me transfer these to the corner of the room!" The three women lifted the heavy tray and it landed with a loud clang at the corner of Suiren's study. "Chiyo is so lucky she doesn't have to deal with these appointments herself... By the way, where is she right now?"
Sol and Ai looked at each other before bowing their heads. "W-We haven't seen her since this morning, my Lady..."
"What?!" Suiren immediately left the study to look for her apprentice. She was in such a rush that she didn't notice the Princess Azula until she had bumped into her in the main hall. "Oh, do watch where you are—Princess Azula!" She immediately bowed. "My apologies, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I was looking—"
"No worries," Azula tried to reign in the urge to slap her father's concubine and instead smiled as sweetly as she could manage. "I was wondering if I could talk to you and Chiyo."
The lady was a bit unnerved by the princess's demeanor. She was unusually polite, for on a normal day, she would've been on the receiving end of her temper. "Oh? I was just looking for her, right now. How about this afternoon, for tea?"
"Of course." Azula smiled and left.
Suiren was left stunned in the hallway, wondering what trouble the little devil is cooking up now.
"HA! I am going to win this time!" One of the Royal guards clenched his fist in anticipation of victory, watching the pai sho board with glee. They were on lunch break and after a meal, a game of pai sho is always welcome.
"Do you really think you'll win against me, Qin?"
"Huh?"
Slender fingers adorned with thin silver rings reached for the lily tile and slid it back, conquering Qin's rose tile.
The guard's eyes widened and he looked all around the board. "T-that can't be! Why did I not see that?!"
"It's because you are looking way too closely at the board. Now pay up!"
Grunting, the guard pulled out a small satchel of coins and dropped it into her awaiting palm. Their audience laughed at Qin's foolish endeavor of trying to beat her at pai sho.
"Thank you, gentlemen," She smirked as she pocketed the bag of coins. "Any other challengers?"
"Lady Chiyo!" Ai shouted, from the second floor. Finally she had spotted her in the courtyard, playing pai sho, and gambling with the guards again. "Lady Suiren has been looking everywhere for you! You look like you haven't even taken a bath yet!"
Chiyo looked up at Ai, shielding her amber eyes from the bright sun of the afternoon. "Tell her I'll be right there!"
"But Lady Chiyo---"
"At least one of us is having fun," Azula sauntered over to the apprentice with her arms crossed over her chest.
Chiyo smiled and bowed at the waist. "Princess Azula."
The Princess took in the apprentice's appearance. She was still in her training clothes, a white robe and red, baggy pants. Her hair was messily piled on top of her head, dark tendrils loosely hanging and framing her face. Indeed, three years had not changed her friend much, in terms of appearance that is. "I told Suiren that I will be joining you both for afternoon tea. I expect you to attend... after a bath."
"Of course, my Princess..."
Chiyo poured the jasmine tea into the cups for Princess Azula and Lady Suiren. There was an awkward silence at first and she wondered who would be the first to break it.
"So..." Lady Suiren took a sip of the tea to calm her nerves. "To what do we owe your visit today, Princess Azula?"
The princess folded one leg on top of the other, looking directly at Chiyo. "Well to put it simply, father has given me leave for a vacation. And I want Chiyo to come with me."
Both the concubine and her apprentice's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean? Where? When? Why?" Suiren had placed down her cup. She had just finished compiling all of Chiyo's appointments and had sent messenger hawks confirming her attendance.
"I leave tonight for a village resort on the Su Oku River. It is located on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. I wanted to relax and unwind, and I want Chiyo to join me."
"But she will be busy, her schedule is full at the moment—"
"Can I see that schedule, Lady Suiren?" She pulled the scroll from her robes and handed it over to Azula. As soon as Azula's hand touched it, blue flames engulfed it. It was a good thing Lady Suiren still had quick reflexes for if she had been a second late, the flames would have claimed her hand as well. The scroll disintegrated into ashes, falling on the table in shambles. "Oops. Looks like Chiyo's schedule suddenly cleared up, didn't it?"
The princess stood up and left Suiren's study with a smug expression on her face.
Suiren fumed, Chiyo could almost see smoke coming out of her mentor's ears. "That... That manipulative, psychotic—"
The woman placed a hand on Suiren's arm. "That's just how she is, Lady Suiren."
"I worked hard on that schedule..."
"I know..." Chiyo got up as well and stretched her arms up above her head. "And so did I for the past three years. I never had the chance to go on a vacation. Maybe some relaxation will do me good."
"But you have traveled everywhere, the Capital, the Fire Nation colonies, the Earth Kingdom..."
"On work. I never get to stop and admire the view. It's always perform here, sing here, have tea with nobles there. I'm just saying maybe a change of pace will pull me out of my slump."
"Are you sure you are saying that purely out of wanting some relaxation, or are you still hoping to find him out there?"
Chiyo stopped in her tracks, her face hardening into an unreadable expression. After counting a few seconds to calm down, she faced Suiren. "Who?"
"Don't lie to me, Chiyo. I know you've been looking for him. Don't you think I would know where your money goes? Paying off investigators, hiring look-outs." Suiren stared accusingly at her child. She may have grown up to be a beautiful woman now, but in her eyes, she will always be a child that needed a scolding.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Chiyo turned to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To my room to pack my things. I'm going with Azula."
I know this chapter maybe a bit boring, and yes, you may have noticed I have bypassed 'Book One: Water' except for, like, the last 15 seconds (yes, I checked) of episode 20.
But please bear with me a bit more. Agni's guidance has now ended and now *stretches fingers and cracks knuckles* I'm the captain now... *still gets hit*
Thank you so much for reading and voting on this story! I am so excited to write the next chapters and post them, but a friend said that I should really pace myself. I might follow that advice, and I might not hehehehehe. I am just so excited!
-TheGreatestConWoman-
is so honored and thankful to the readers <3