Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to someone else. And Psyko-sama came up with the core concept for this fic.
Waking with a headache is never a good sign for the rest of the day. I rolled over, pulled the silk sheets up around me and thanked my good fortune for a shift pattern that made getting up in the morning entirely optional. In my own defence, I was still half asleep and it took me a moment to register the anomaly.
Silk sheets?
Hell no. I donÆt use those anytime, much less mid-winter. I should have had two duvets keeping me toasty warm. Instead, one light sheet that seemed to be more for modesty than for temperature control. It was actually quite pleasantly warm.
Okay. Dreaming? I seriously doubted it. Not many of my dreams would involve large, luxurious bed... okay, yes, some of them do, but not alone.
Groan, sit up. Look around.
ItÆs a large room û but not exactly cluttered. A couple of dressers near the walls, some artwork that has an oriental feel to it. The bedÆs a big four-poster job with very thin, veil-like curtains. To keep insects off? The temperature feels tropical, so maybe. Whoever did the decor liked red and black. The tall windows are blocked by heavy curtains û a couple of cracks between then paint lines of light across the carpet. One door, again very tall. This place has a seriously high ceiling. ItÆs nowhere IÆve ever seen before.
ôThe hell?ö I flipped the sheets back and kicked my legs off the side of the bed, pushing back the curtains until I found a gap. I hadnÆt been wearing any sleeping garb and the carpet was very soft beneath my feet. It felt expensive. Everything looked expensive. I looked...
Mirror. I need a mirror.
There was one by the door. The face that looked back at me was half-familiar, half strange. The shapes were mostly right but my skin was darker than I was used to, and there were no freckles. I looked young û no beard, more hair up top and that was darker too. Almost black. And I had muscles. Lots of muscles. I could see them moving under the skin. Same nose, same high forehead. My eyes had epicanthic folds and I couldnÆt tell for sure if they were the same colour. Possibly they were greener, possibly not. Hair, shoulder-length and prone to curl. No change there. I combed it back with my fingers and frowned at the unevenness. Part, near my right temple, had been cut close or shaven and was growing out again. It was still noticeably shorter, after what I guessed must have been several months.
Another shot of pain from my head and I pinched at the bridge of my nose. Water might help. Fortunately there was a jug near my bedside, along with a cup. It wasnÆt even tepid, suggesting that someone had placed it there not too long before I woke. How long had I been here? What had happened to me? I sipped the water and looked around again.
This time I saw the paper on my pillow. Or perhaps it hadnÆt been there when I woke. I didnÆt think of that possibility at the time.
Welcome to the Fire Nation. Yes, that Fire Nation.
Your name here is Liao Quan, grandson of the great General Quan, beloved fiancÚ of Princess Azula. In the course of the events with which you are familiar, Liao died of a head injury a few months ago. You will recall his memories when you next meet your betrothed.
Not many get a second chance. DonÆt screw this up.
As missives go, it was short, to the point and utterly terrifying. It also disappeared in a puff of pink smoke once I was done reading it.
It would be nice to say that I immediately sprang into action, a plan leaping to mind. Uh, yeah. Obviously.
ôSon of a BITCH!ö The water jug smashed against the opposite wall, shards bouncing back on the carpet. I hate it when people play games with me. Second chance? At what? Life? Someone was a judgemental bastard. Unfortunately they were also outside my reach. Water stained the wall.
Okay. Step one, find Azula, get hold of LiaoÆs memories, find out how much trouble IÆm in. I looked in the mirror. Right, step one: find some pants. Step two, find Azula. Wherever I am, it has to be high society Fire Nation: if not the Royal Palace then some property belonging to this Liao QuanÆs family. Walking around with no pants is probably not going to impress anyone. I looked down. Okay, anyone important.
Fortunately, the dressers had some clothes in them and I was using a sash to secure the waist of some breeches when door opened and admitted û
The breath left my lungs as I met golden eyes. It would be romantic, if untrue, to say that it was the girlÆs beauty that overwhelmed me. Not that Azula is unattractive û far from it. But as promised, the sight of her sent memories flooding through me.
Liao Quan was sixteen, with years fewer memories than I. But there was an intensity to his life that was shocking. And Azula was a powerful part of that life. WeÆd been engaged almost from birth, by our grandfathers û Fire Lord Azulon rewarding the services of his old comrade Quan with a union of their two houses. It was a contentious match: Quan governed a swathe of the colonies that had been founded in the north-western Earth Kingdom and my grandmother on that side was a war bride, daughter to an Earth Kingdom trading dynasty. My father, child of that marriage, had wed back into the Fire NationÆs nobility but not well (I later recalled that Ty Lee was a third cousin through our mothers). Mixed blood was not an attractive feature in those noble houses still embedded in the Home Islands.
Azula and I û and Liao Quan, dammit! û had not met for more than a decade. Her own father didnÆt favour the match, but even after AzulonÆs death he was still too recently on the throne to risk forfeiting the support of the Quan. And of course, we had been reared far apart, she here in the Royal Palace and I in my grandfatherÆs marginally less opulent mansion in the colonies. Only after ZukoÆs exile, with Azula as the new presumptive heir, that I was brought û that Liao Quan was brought to the Home Islands to meet his fiancÚe.
It hadnÆt exactly been love at first sight.
ôLiao?ö Azula didnÆt waste time on such nonsense as stating the obvious fact that I was awake. ôHow do you feel?ö What IÆd seen of Azula in the show would have me expecting, if not malice then at least an implied reminder of superiority in her voice. I wasnÆt hearing that. For that matter, if it wasnÆt for LiaoÆs memories to fall back upon I might not even have recognised Azula with her hair down and wearing a ladylike robe rather than the armour that she was more commonly seen in. She looked happy and her words seemed more concerned than anything. What bizarre world was I in? Her eyes narrowed sharply after a moment and I realised that I was staring mutely at her.
ôYou take my breath away,ö I told her, making some shift towards gallantry. ôYou always have.ö
She placed her hands against my bare chest, rising to tiptoes so that she could kiss me chastely upon the lips. Her skin was warm against mine and I closed my own hands upon her shoulders. Memories of earlier kisses flooded through me. Not many, we û Liao and... Fuck it. It feels like we. - we had been chaperoned fairly closely most of the time. Of course, most of those kisses had been from a time when there hadnÆt been a chaperone at all.
We were both slightly flushed when we û by mutual consent û drew a little apart. The smile on her lips was possessive û but also almost... joyous. ôFinish getting dressed,ö she instructed me. ôBreakfast is being served. And then weÆre going to be leaving on a romantic cruise.ö
ôAnother one? I can hardly wait.ö The last one had more or less worked out, I supposed, based on LiaoÆs memories.
ôJust you, me, Lo, Li and a small army of firebenders.ö
ôIt sounds very intimate,ö I agreed drily. Azula laughed, kissed me again and was gone. Imperious, affectionate and - lest I forget - daddyÆs girl. Heaven help me, I liked her.
.oOo.
The servants, fortunately, had a better idea of where suitable clothes were than I did. Something simple û a silk shirt and a lightweight robe û was deemed suitable for informal dining with a royal princess. One of them tied the elaborate laces that secured my boots to my feet. I resolved to try not to trip over the spectacularly pointed toes (turned out not to be a problem). The same woman put my hair in a topknot that according to LiaoÆs memories signified my warrior status. I wasnÆt looking forward to doing that for myself, hopefully muscle memory would guide me.
No mention was made of the broken jug or of the damp wall. They simply, efficiently, began to clear up. I suppose given the occasional royal tantrum anything less than fire damage was unlikely to cause excitement. I left them to it and for the first time left the bedchamber.
I didnÆt have any trouble finding where breakfast was being served, the smell was rather a giveaway and I could practically feel my mouth watering. Nowhere in the royal palace û except the dungeons û served subpar food, but the cooks who served AzulaÆs apartments were second only to her fatherÆs. In theory they served the whole wing, which was large enough to accommodate half a dozen royal siblings, but since ZukoÆs exile it had been AzulaÆs domain.
I took the time to refresh my memory of recent events in Liao QuanÆs life. IÆd been in the colonies, leading a company of soldiers when we were ambushed by a good-sized force of Earth Kingdom soldiers supported by earthbenders. I hadnÆt even been a target û we were escorting my father between the family estates and the army he commanded in the rather nebulous region that could be considered the frontline. A boulder the size of an elephant had flattened his palanquin with him inside it.
It surprised me for a moment to feel that LiaoÆs grief was distant û a matter of duty not close affection for his father. But then, they had seen little enough of each other û LiaoÆs father had been busy working his way up the ranks of the army, duties that took him away from the family estates for months at a time. It was his mother and his grandfather who were the real parental figures in his life.
The sight of his û our? û fatherÆs death had been the last thing that I had seen before a smaller stone caught me in the temple. Presumably this was the head injury that had killed him according to the note. So how I had come to be in the Royal Palace was a mystery to be solved, although the answer would clearly lie with Azula.
I didnÆt even have to raise a hand before the door was silently whipped open in front of me. So this was being waited on hand and foot. I could see the appeal, but I suspected that it would become smothering, given time. The dining room was like the rest of the place. Rather formal. Azula was sat on a modest throne at the far end of the room, a table of black wood in front of her. Similar tables were lined down either side of the roomÆs central aisle, cushions behind them for lesser mortals to kneel at while they ate facing the aisle. Informal dining, Fire Nation style.
ô...understand your attachment to your fiancÚ,ö said one of the two crones facing Azula, their backs to the door. ôBut surely it will not be necessary to remove him from the palace while you are retrieving your brother. He can be tended easily here while you are away and should he awaken then he will be here for you upon your return.ö
Azula chewed gently upon a cherry, giving every appearance of considering the advice she was receiving. Since leaving my chamber sheÆd put her hair up in the tight bun that resembled my own topknot. Her expression was colder: public face I guessed. Much what IÆd seen in the show. Something Liao had seen many times. She, of course, could see me entering, but she gave no sign of it.
The other old woman added: ôThe physicians advise that a sea voyage might pose a threat to his recovery, highness. Surely you would not risk his health merely out of sentiment.ö I didnÆt know if it was Li or Lo making that point, but I doubted their sincerity. The pair of them were OzaiÆs creatures û had been as far back as Liao could recall. And Ozai did not enjoy the idea of his daughter and heir marrying someone of mixed blood.
If I was still comatose, left in the palace without AzulaÆs immediate protection, there was a very good chance my health would go into a sudden and terminal decline. How sad. I had no doubt that I would be far more pleasing to the Fire Lord as a dead martyr. And curiously, I could believe that Azula would be genuinely grief-stricken. That... I searched my memory. LiaoÆs memory, rather. A bratty girl who played the perfect child for her father. Yes, that was what she had been like when we first met. Who did Azula trust enough now to see past that facade? And if the answer was no one...
Yes. That made sense. No wonder that in the end, left behind by Ozai, defeated by Zuko and Katara, there had been nothing left.
ôI suppose that you are correct,ö she said at last. ôUntil Liao awakens, he can remain here at the palace.ö She met my eyes and her lips curved very slightly. ôHow I hate to be parted from him.ö
The old crones werenÆt stupid and picked up the cue that there was someone behind them.
ôWell, I think a sea voyage would do wonders for my health.ö
It was hard to tell through the wrinkles, but I think the look on their faces were venomous.
ôAnd after being away for two years... well, IÆd really rather not be parted from you either, Azula. How convenient that we wonÆt have to be.ö Servants hastened to lay trays of food upon the small table nearest to AzulaÆs left hand and I took the hint, walking past the two old woman to reach that table.
ôLord Quan,ö the first to speak said. ôHow good it is to see that you have awoken at last. We have all been very worried for you. Perhaps you should consult a physician before joining the expedition however. Head injuries can be so dangerous.ö
Azula picked another cherry from one of the bowls on her table. ôMy personal surgeon is seeing to LiaoÆs care. There is no need to concern yourselves.ö She glanced towards the door. ôInstead, why donÆt the two of you make your own preparations to depart. You can also spread the good news of LiaoÆs recovery. We have private matters to discuss.ö
ôYour highness, for proprietyÆs sake...ö
ôDo you imagine I would endanger my belovedÆs recovery?ö Icy anger dripped from her every word. Oh yeah, thatÆs a side of Azula that didnÆt surprise me one little bit. ôI will see the two of you on the ship when it is time to depart. Until then I suggest that you find other things to occupy your time.ö
They left. Azula did not relax her stiff posture, giving me no clue as to what to do. Sit? Go to her? She was prickly, stubborn, proud. And fourteen. I û not Liao, I û remember having a fourteen year old sister. Admitting that she needed anything or anyone would not be easy for her. Which didnÆt mean that it wasnÆt true.
LÆaudace, lÆaudace. Toujours lÆaudace. A brilliant military leader said that and it might appeal to Azula. Instead of sitting at the table, I stepped over to hers and went to one knee, putting our faces on a level. There were only two cherries left in the bowl and I scooped them up, offering one to her. She held my gaze for a moment before leaning forwards slightly and closing her lips around it, barely brushing the tips of my fingers. I ate the other cherry and waited for her to say something.
ôHow much do you remember?ö
ôI remember you. How could I not?ö I paused. ôThere are... other matters I am less certain of.ö
ôYour father is dead.ö
ôThat was almost the last thing I saw before û before today. I gather it was very nearly the last thing I ever saw.ö
Her expression was fierce. ôI almost lost you. I am not letting you go again.ö
ôI hope you donÆt expect me to argue with you on that.ö I moved back to my own table and this time I did kneel behind it. ôSo, why donÆt you tell me about this romantic cruise that weÆre setting off on?ö
Waking with a headache is never a good sign for the rest of the day. I rolled over, pulled the silk sheets up around me and thanked my good fortune for a shift pattern that made getting up in the morning entirely optional. In my own defence, I was still half asleep and it took me a moment to register the anomaly.
Silk sheets?
Hell no. I donÆt use those anytime, much less mid-winter. I should have had two duvets keeping me toasty warm. Instead, one light sheet that seemed to be more for modesty than for temperature control. It was actually quite pleasantly warm.
Okay. Dreaming? I seriously doubted it. Not many of my dreams would involve large, luxurious bed... okay, yes, some of them do, but not alone.
Groan, sit up. Look around.
ItÆs a large room û but not exactly cluttered. A couple of dressers near the walls, some artwork that has an oriental feel to it. The bedÆs a big four-poster job with very thin, veil-like curtains. To keep insects off? The temperature feels tropical, so maybe. Whoever did the decor liked red and black. The tall windows are blocked by heavy curtains û a couple of cracks between then paint lines of light across the carpet. One door, again very tall. This place has a seriously high ceiling. ItÆs nowhere IÆve ever seen before.
ôThe hell?ö I flipped the sheets back and kicked my legs off the side of the bed, pushing back the curtains until I found a gap. I hadnÆt been wearing any sleeping garb and the carpet was very soft beneath my feet. It felt expensive. Everything looked expensive. I looked...
Mirror. I need a mirror.
There was one by the door. The face that looked back at me was half-familiar, half strange. The shapes were mostly right but my skin was darker than I was used to, and there were no freckles. I looked young û no beard, more hair up top and that was darker too. Almost black. And I had muscles. Lots of muscles. I could see them moving under the skin. Same nose, same high forehead. My eyes had epicanthic folds and I couldnÆt tell for sure if they were the same colour. Possibly they were greener, possibly not. Hair, shoulder-length and prone to curl. No change there. I combed it back with my fingers and frowned at the unevenness. Part, near my right temple, had been cut close or shaven and was growing out again. It was still noticeably shorter, after what I guessed must have been several months.
Another shot of pain from my head and I pinched at the bridge of my nose. Water might help. Fortunately there was a jug near my bedside, along with a cup. It wasnÆt even tepid, suggesting that someone had placed it there not too long before I woke. How long had I been here? What had happened to me? I sipped the water and looked around again.
This time I saw the paper on my pillow. Or perhaps it hadnÆt been there when I woke. I didnÆt think of that possibility at the time.
Welcome to the Fire Nation. Yes, that Fire Nation.
Your name here is Liao Quan, grandson of the great General Quan, beloved fiancÚ of Princess Azula. In the course of the events with which you are familiar, Liao died of a head injury a few months ago. You will recall his memories when you next meet your betrothed.
Not many get a second chance. DonÆt screw this up.
As missives go, it was short, to the point and utterly terrifying. It also disappeared in a puff of pink smoke once I was done reading it.
It would be nice to say that I immediately sprang into action, a plan leaping to mind. Uh, yeah. Obviously.
ôSon of a BITCH!ö The water jug smashed against the opposite wall, shards bouncing back on the carpet. I hate it when people play games with me. Second chance? At what? Life? Someone was a judgemental bastard. Unfortunately they were also outside my reach. Water stained the wall.
Okay. Step one, find Azula, get hold of LiaoÆs memories, find out how much trouble IÆm in. I looked in the mirror. Right, step one: find some pants. Step two, find Azula. Wherever I am, it has to be high society Fire Nation: if not the Royal Palace then some property belonging to this Liao QuanÆs family. Walking around with no pants is probably not going to impress anyone. I looked down. Okay, anyone important.
Fortunately, the dressers had some clothes in them and I was using a sash to secure the waist of some breeches when door opened and admitted û
The breath left my lungs as I met golden eyes. It would be romantic, if untrue, to say that it was the girlÆs beauty that overwhelmed me. Not that Azula is unattractive û far from it. But as promised, the sight of her sent memories flooding through me.
Liao Quan was sixteen, with years fewer memories than I. But there was an intensity to his life that was shocking. And Azula was a powerful part of that life. WeÆd been engaged almost from birth, by our grandfathers û Fire Lord Azulon rewarding the services of his old comrade Quan with a union of their two houses. It was a contentious match: Quan governed a swathe of the colonies that had been founded in the north-western Earth Kingdom and my grandmother on that side was a war bride, daughter to an Earth Kingdom trading dynasty. My father, child of that marriage, had wed back into the Fire NationÆs nobility but not well (I later recalled that Ty Lee was a third cousin through our mothers). Mixed blood was not an attractive feature in those noble houses still embedded in the Home Islands.
Azula and I û and Liao Quan, dammit! û had not met for more than a decade. Her own father didnÆt favour the match, but even after AzulonÆs death he was still too recently on the throne to risk forfeiting the support of the Quan. And of course, we had been reared far apart, she here in the Royal Palace and I in my grandfatherÆs marginally less opulent mansion in the colonies. Only after ZukoÆs exile, with Azula as the new presumptive heir, that I was brought û that Liao Quan was brought to the Home Islands to meet his fiancÚe.
It hadnÆt exactly been love at first sight.
ôLiao?ö Azula didnÆt waste time on such nonsense as stating the obvious fact that I was awake. ôHow do you feel?ö What IÆd seen of Azula in the show would have me expecting, if not malice then at least an implied reminder of superiority in her voice. I wasnÆt hearing that. For that matter, if it wasnÆt for LiaoÆs memories to fall back upon I might not even have recognised Azula with her hair down and wearing a ladylike robe rather than the armour that she was more commonly seen in. She looked happy and her words seemed more concerned than anything. What bizarre world was I in? Her eyes narrowed sharply after a moment and I realised that I was staring mutely at her.
ôYou take my breath away,ö I told her, making some shift towards gallantry. ôYou always have.ö
She placed her hands against my bare chest, rising to tiptoes so that she could kiss me chastely upon the lips. Her skin was warm against mine and I closed my own hands upon her shoulders. Memories of earlier kisses flooded through me. Not many, we û Liao and... Fuck it. It feels like we. - we had been chaperoned fairly closely most of the time. Of course, most of those kisses had been from a time when there hadnÆt been a chaperone at all.
We were both slightly flushed when we û by mutual consent û drew a little apart. The smile on her lips was possessive û but also almost... joyous. ôFinish getting dressed,ö she instructed me. ôBreakfast is being served. And then weÆre going to be leaving on a romantic cruise.ö
ôAnother one? I can hardly wait.ö The last one had more or less worked out, I supposed, based on LiaoÆs memories.
ôJust you, me, Lo, Li and a small army of firebenders.ö
ôIt sounds very intimate,ö I agreed drily. Azula laughed, kissed me again and was gone. Imperious, affectionate and - lest I forget - daddyÆs girl. Heaven help me, I liked her.
.oOo.
The servants, fortunately, had a better idea of where suitable clothes were than I did. Something simple û a silk shirt and a lightweight robe û was deemed suitable for informal dining with a royal princess. One of them tied the elaborate laces that secured my boots to my feet. I resolved to try not to trip over the spectacularly pointed toes (turned out not to be a problem). The same woman put my hair in a topknot that according to LiaoÆs memories signified my warrior status. I wasnÆt looking forward to doing that for myself, hopefully muscle memory would guide me.
No mention was made of the broken jug or of the damp wall. They simply, efficiently, began to clear up. I suppose given the occasional royal tantrum anything less than fire damage was unlikely to cause excitement. I left them to it and for the first time left the bedchamber.
I didnÆt have any trouble finding where breakfast was being served, the smell was rather a giveaway and I could practically feel my mouth watering. Nowhere in the royal palace û except the dungeons û served subpar food, but the cooks who served AzulaÆs apartments were second only to her fatherÆs. In theory they served the whole wing, which was large enough to accommodate half a dozen royal siblings, but since ZukoÆs exile it had been AzulaÆs domain.
I took the time to refresh my memory of recent events in Liao QuanÆs life. IÆd been in the colonies, leading a company of soldiers when we were ambushed by a good-sized force of Earth Kingdom soldiers supported by earthbenders. I hadnÆt even been a target û we were escorting my father between the family estates and the army he commanded in the rather nebulous region that could be considered the frontline. A boulder the size of an elephant had flattened his palanquin with him inside it.
It surprised me for a moment to feel that LiaoÆs grief was distant û a matter of duty not close affection for his father. But then, they had seen little enough of each other û LiaoÆs father had been busy working his way up the ranks of the army, duties that took him away from the family estates for months at a time. It was his mother and his grandfather who were the real parental figures in his life.
The sight of his û our? û fatherÆs death had been the last thing that I had seen before a smaller stone caught me in the temple. Presumably this was the head injury that had killed him according to the note. So how I had come to be in the Royal Palace was a mystery to be solved, although the answer would clearly lie with Azula.
I didnÆt even have to raise a hand before the door was silently whipped open in front of me. So this was being waited on hand and foot. I could see the appeal, but I suspected that it would become smothering, given time. The dining room was like the rest of the place. Rather formal. Azula was sat on a modest throne at the far end of the room, a table of black wood in front of her. Similar tables were lined down either side of the roomÆs central aisle, cushions behind them for lesser mortals to kneel at while they ate facing the aisle. Informal dining, Fire Nation style.
ô...understand your attachment to your fiancÚ,ö said one of the two crones facing Azula, their backs to the door. ôBut surely it will not be necessary to remove him from the palace while you are retrieving your brother. He can be tended easily here while you are away and should he awaken then he will be here for you upon your return.ö
Azula chewed gently upon a cherry, giving every appearance of considering the advice she was receiving. Since leaving my chamber sheÆd put her hair up in the tight bun that resembled my own topknot. Her expression was colder: public face I guessed. Much what IÆd seen in the show. Something Liao had seen many times. She, of course, could see me entering, but she gave no sign of it.
The other old woman added: ôThe physicians advise that a sea voyage might pose a threat to his recovery, highness. Surely you would not risk his health merely out of sentiment.ö I didnÆt know if it was Li or Lo making that point, but I doubted their sincerity. The pair of them were OzaiÆs creatures û had been as far back as Liao could recall. And Ozai did not enjoy the idea of his daughter and heir marrying someone of mixed blood.
If I was still comatose, left in the palace without AzulaÆs immediate protection, there was a very good chance my health would go into a sudden and terminal decline. How sad. I had no doubt that I would be far more pleasing to the Fire Lord as a dead martyr. And curiously, I could believe that Azula would be genuinely grief-stricken. That... I searched my memory. LiaoÆs memory, rather. A bratty girl who played the perfect child for her father. Yes, that was what she had been like when we first met. Who did Azula trust enough now to see past that facade? And if the answer was no one...
Yes. That made sense. No wonder that in the end, left behind by Ozai, defeated by Zuko and Katara, there had been nothing left.
ôI suppose that you are correct,ö she said at last. ôUntil Liao awakens, he can remain here at the palace.ö She met my eyes and her lips curved very slightly. ôHow I hate to be parted from him.ö
The old crones werenÆt stupid and picked up the cue that there was someone behind them.
ôWell, I think a sea voyage would do wonders for my health.ö
It was hard to tell through the wrinkles, but I think the look on their faces were venomous.
ôAnd after being away for two years... well, IÆd really rather not be parted from you either, Azula. How convenient that we wonÆt have to be.ö Servants hastened to lay trays of food upon the small table nearest to AzulaÆs left hand and I took the hint, walking past the two old woman to reach that table.
ôLord Quan,ö the first to speak said. ôHow good it is to see that you have awoken at last. We have all been very worried for you. Perhaps you should consult a physician before joining the expedition however. Head injuries can be so dangerous.ö
Azula picked another cherry from one of the bowls on her table. ôMy personal surgeon is seeing to LiaoÆs care. There is no need to concern yourselves.ö She glanced towards the door. ôInstead, why donÆt the two of you make your own preparations to depart. You can also spread the good news of LiaoÆs recovery. We have private matters to discuss.ö
ôYour highness, for proprietyÆs sake...ö
ôDo you imagine I would endanger my belovedÆs recovery?ö Icy anger dripped from her every word. Oh yeah, thatÆs a side of Azula that didnÆt surprise me one little bit. ôI will see the two of you on the ship when it is time to depart. Until then I suggest that you find other things to occupy your time.ö
They left. Azula did not relax her stiff posture, giving me no clue as to what to do. Sit? Go to her? She was prickly, stubborn, proud. And fourteen. I û not Liao, I û remember having a fourteen year old sister. Admitting that she needed anything or anyone would not be easy for her. Which didnÆt mean that it wasnÆt true.
LÆaudace, lÆaudace. Toujours lÆaudace. A brilliant military leader said that and it might appeal to Azula. Instead of sitting at the table, I stepped over to hers and went to one knee, putting our faces on a level. There were only two cherries left in the bowl and I scooped them up, offering one to her. She held my gaze for a moment before leaning forwards slightly and closing her lips around it, barely brushing the tips of my fingers. I ate the other cherry and waited for her to say something.
ôHow much do you remember?ö
ôI remember you. How could I not?ö I paused. ôThere are... other matters I am less certain of.ö
ôYour father is dead.ö
ôThat was almost the last thing I saw before û before today. I gather it was very nearly the last thing I ever saw.ö
Her expression was fierce. ôI almost lost you. I am not letting you go again.ö
ôI hope you donÆt expect me to argue with you on that.ö I moved back to my own table and this time I did kneel behind it. ôSo, why donÆt you tell me about this romantic cruise that weÆre setting off on?ö
