Within the next two days, the Royal Barge stopped just once in some coastal town, in which Azula had tasked her guards with entering the settlement and gaining information on a rather particular subject: the circus.
Naturally, none of them knew why on earth their Princess would be interested in such a thing, but they knew better than to ask questions. Once they had ascertained where the circus would be stopping next on their Earth Kingdom tour, the barge had set sail again for the next port that would place them closest to that destination.
Xisheng would have been curious as to the nature of their destination as well, were he not far too busy with his new training regimen to care. Somehow, someway, it had actually been less painful to have Azula beating him up than it was to be trained by her. As she had said the day she had accepted him as a student, the first morning had been nothing but a discussion and lecture on the many core facets of Firebending. The proper way to fuel it physically, the proper way to power it emotionally, its true nature as an element, and how Firebending had the greatest potential for evolution of all the elements.
That last tangent had interested Xisheng the most. Like any kid that had paid attention in school, Xisheng knew that there was supposedly an ancient art of bending that controlled energy in its purest form. No one knew how to do it today, and no one really knew much about it other than the fact that it had supposedly been more powerful than any of the four bending arts that existed now. All anyone in the Fire Nation knew was that it had once existed, and now it did no longer, at least not in its original form.
Azula had told him that she believed Firebending to be the only incarnation of 'energy bending' that still existed. And she had made quite the fair point on the matter. Of all the four bending arts and nations, only Firebenders could create. Waterbenders needed a source to draw their water from. Earthbenders could not do anything if they did not have earth present to manipulate. Even Airbenders needed actual air to control, though it was difficult to imagine many places on the planet where air was absent.
Only Firebenders could create their own element. Their own energy. They did not need a preexisting flame to manipulate. For this reason, Azula believed that Firebending had the greatest potential to evolve beyond what it was. Other elements may learn new ways to control their substances, or new substances within their element that could be controlled, but they could never create something of their own. The Crown Princess had used her ability to generate lightning as the prime example. Lightning certainly had nothing to do with fire. It was not related to fire in any way, so how could it be controlled by Firebenders, unless what Firebenders truly did was bend energy in the form of flame rather than flame itself? If that were true, who was to say what other forms of energy Firebenders could learn to control?
It was theoretical, of course. Even Azula had admitted that her thoughts were mostly conjecture, whether she believed them or not. But she had done a fine job of convincing Xisheng of it all. Firebending was indeed unique in comparison with the other elements. There must have been a reason why.
Unfortunately, Xisheng hadn't really had any time to dwell on this theory regarding Firebending, because the day after the philosophy lecture was over, Azula actually began the physical aspect of training. Granted, on the first day it was little more than Azula putting him through his paces to see how well versed he was in the core of Firebending, forms both basic and advanced. She had been more interested in his poise, the fluidity of one stance to another, the integral parts of fighting that were the same for every martial art.
The issue was that she didn't stop with a simple assessment. The moment she spotted anything amiss, even the slightest mistake in a stance or form, she would make him run through it forty times. He had practiced one single stance for a whole hour that day simply because he held his arm a fourth of an inch too low. The same occurred throughout that day with most every other form. Xisheng had imagined that Azula was a perfectionist of some sort, but he had not expected her to be quite this radical about it.
Still, as much as it sucked, Xisheng didn't complain or even consider giving up. Besides, he imagined that this was probably still the easy part of Azula's training. Who knew how rough it would be when she actually went out of her way to teach him something new and expected him to master it to absolute perfection?
Xisheng was already experiencing a deep seated fatigue by the time the barge pulled into the port town they had been heading for. He normally would have been glad, because it meant Azula would leave the ship and he'd have some brief reprieve from her demands. However, he got the feeling that he would not be so lucky now considering their new relationship.
Unfortunately, he was right. When the boarding ramp was lowered onto the docks of the Fire Nation occupied town, Azula ordered him along. "With me, Lieutenant. It could be a potentially... hazardous trip to our destination."
Obviously that was just an excuse to bring her new pupil along, but it did not pass completely without contention. It was surprisingly Lo and Li that tried to get her to take something else along.
"Princess, surely you do not wish to walk? Take your palanquin, it will be much more comfortable."
Azula rolled her eyes as she turned back to the two old women. "Did you not tell me that the Royal Procession was slowing me down just a while ago? I admit walking carries little appeal for me, but so does making this short trip longer because I used the palanquin. I can survive something as plebeian as walking."
Most of the procession present seemed appalled that the Princess would choose something so suited to commoners as walking, but they certainly weren't going to oppose her wishes. Regardless of what it was, she could do what she wanted, and that being the case, she wasted no time in descending from the ship to the town below, with Xisheng on her heels.
The settlement itself was quickly skirted since it was little more than a starting point to their actual destination, though Xisheng took the time to observe the state of the town as he passed through it. He was always curious to see how well an Earth Kingdom settlement occupied by the Fire Nation was doing.
While Xisheng didn't know the exact name of this town or when it had been conquered in particular, he estimated it to be a fairly old dominion. The lack of construction work throughout the settlement meant most of that had been accomplished already. Building superior housing and living space for the people of the town was always one of the earliest orders of business, right after the fulfillment of the even more basic needs like food and medicine. There weren't many people panhandling on corners, and most everyone looked at least decently healthy and fed. There was still a present level of lower quality living present, but it was more subtle than obvious.
More than that, the presence of Fire Nation soldiers in the streets didn't seem to bother anyone. Everyone looked completely comfortable with the soldiers standing watch over their town. Or at the least, they seemed unconcerned by it. Xisheng even saw a young child approach one of them to ask him something, prompting the Fire Nation occupier to kneel so he could hear the boy more clearly.
"Reassuring, isn't it?"
Xisheng drew his attention away from the green roofed buildings marked with the red flags of the Fire Nation to look at Azula instead. "Is it, Your Highness?"
"Well, I daresay it's a good sign to see occupied towns stable, developing, and generally free of obvious strife. That's the endgame for all nations seizing territories from others, is it not?"
While Azula was certainly not mistaken in that, Xisheng couldn't help but wonder if the young Princess had any further opinion on the matter. Xisheng had some grand idealistic goal in mind that meant he wanted the nations to intermingle and advance through human ingenuity and wisdom, but he knew that an altruistic goal like that was far from universal in his nation. Plenty of people just wanted things to go well in occupied towns and colonies because it benefited the occupying country. That was why he subtly prodded Azula for a more detailed explanation.
"True. Though I wonder if the gains are worth the cost of investment into these Earth Kingdom towns..."
Azula cocked an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Only time will tell. You can't know whether or not an investment was worth it until that investment pans out, after all. Yu Dao was worth the investment all those years ago. This town many not be. But as far as risk and reward is concerned, it's no great loss to invest some effort into these towns if we want them to become valuable settlements in the future."
"So we are only doing this for our benefit, correct?"
"Well, there is a more idealistic notion I've occasionally heard spoken of by scholars, propagandists, and bleeding hearts. But personally I don't care for it. The Earth Kingdom brought their level of poverty and sickness on themselves, and I personally don't think it's our job to fix that for them. But, if we are going to expand our own borders, we may as well solve the problems of the land we take, correct? Otherwise they'll just become our problems later."
Xisheng frowned under the cover of his helmet as the two of them passed beyond the outskirts of the small settlement. So Azula did know about the idealistic goal of the war, but she didn't care for it. Still, it wasn't like she was actively against it, so at least under her guidance the mission could still be achieved. Honestly, as long as the Fire Nation treated their taken territories fairly well and got rid of the spirits along the way, the goal could be achieved by default.
Of course, Xisheng also acknowledged that he was an idealist with hopes for the future that far outstripped common sensibility. Most people didn't care about something as grand as revolutionizing the world of mankind by destroying the stagnant status quo forced upon them by spirits from another plane of existence. Even Sozin hadn't specifically spelled that out as a goal when declaring the war. He had just stated that the spread of the Fire Nation's enlightenment could elevate other nations to their level, and that it could only happen by dismantling the foreign governments that still bowed to the old ways forced upon them. And who knew? Maybe that had been a load of shit he had made up just to justify some warmongering. But even if it was, the idea itself had sparked many believers: people who started to take a good, long look at the world, only to see just how much ancient tradition and dogma was truly holding humanity back, and just how much of the world order would have to be torn down and remade to overcome them. Xisheng was one of those people who believed that a radical shift in humanity's paradigm was the only way to truly reach the best possible future for them.
Be that as it may, he certainly couldn't go off and give the Princess of all people a philosophy lecture, so he stayed silent, simply hoping there were enough people in the Fire Nation's upper circles that believed in the cause to actually carry out the revolution once the war was over.
The circus the duo was heading for hadn't set up very far from the town, though Xisheng wondered why they would bother doing a performance at such a small place. Regardless, the tall red tents of said circus could be seen just a few minutes after Xisheng and Azula left the town itself, and Xisheng gave silent thanks that it was so nearby. Azula even made sure to tell him that she would have forced some sort of training on him as they walked if it had been a more considerable distance.
Gratitude aside, it was a short trek to small city of scarlet tents, where Xisheng was met with the altogether pleasant sight of cooperation between the varied performers of nearly all stripes. Granted, it was really only a mix of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens and nothing else, but the atmosphere was one of relative joy and overall enthusiasm. It was obvious that the people who were here wanted to be, and that they enjoyed the people they worked with. It was another example of how cooperation between nations, even in something as simple as entertainment, was good for the world. It was debatable whether or not the Avatar of the past would have bothered intervening in something like this, but either way, Xisheng was sure this circus would have been relatively frowned upon by many in days gone by.
While Xisheng was enthralled with the sights and sounds of a locale he had never before experienced, which included a fair deal of interesting animals he had never laid eyes on, he still managed to follow Azula throughout the camp without trouble. After all, the Princess herself seemed to know exactly where she was going. Xisheng wasn't sure how, but he knew better than to question her on things such as this by now.
So, he decided to continue his observation of his surroundings instead, until Azula finally spoke herself. However, it was clear that she was not speaking to him.
"Years go by, some things change, and some remain exactly the same. You'll have arthritis by the time you're thirty, doing things like this."
Now aware that they had arrived at their destination, person though it may be, Xisheng turned his full attention on the person Azula was speaking to, though he was surprised for many reasons upon doing so.
The most prominent reason for his initial shock was the fact that the girl he was looking at was completely upside down. She was doing a handstand, obviously, but she was supporting her own weight with nothing but her index fingers. An incredible feat in and of itself, it spoke volumes about ridiculous upper body strength besides. Or ridiculous extremity strength? Xisheng wasn't sure, but either way he was completely in awe of the display.
On another note entirely, he was stricken by the fact that the girl's tight shirt (or half of one rather) did very little to actually restrain her considerable... assets, in her current position. He did his best to focus on something else since it made him feel guilty, but the next target of his gaze was the toned muscle of her bare midriff, and that really didn't help. Not for the first time, he was glad he wore a helmet that hid his face.
A brief look of surprise crossed the girl's face before it was replaced with a joy that lit up her chocolate brown eyes all the same as it did her smile. Xisheng got the feeling this was someone with quite the 'enthusiastic' personality.
"Azula!"
She recovered from her handstand, spun around in a way that would have whip lashed anyone nearby with her long brunette braid, and bowed to the Princess of the Fire Nation all in one fluid movement. To call her lithe was an absolute understatement. Xisheng wasn't even sure how she got back up from that bow as effortlessly as she did to crash into Azula with a hug, something Xisheng would have questioned were it not for the rather obvious familiarity between the Princess and this girl.
"It's so good to see you again!"
Azula actually smiled back at the girl, and not in the same way she smiled when she was about to pulverize Xisheng in a sparring match. She actually looked somewhat happy herself, which was almost disconcerting for a soldier who had never seen such a distinctly pure and positive emotion from her.
"Likewise, Ty Lee. But don't interrupt your regimen on my account, we both know it won't hinder the conversation."
Ty Lee apparently took that to heart, because she immediately flipped backwards onto the ground, her torso supporting her body as she stretched her legs over her head at an angle Xisheng would have thought impossible until just now. If it were anyone not nearly as good looking Xisheng may have found the whole thing disturbing.
As for Azula, she glanced around at her surroundings as if she had only just now taken notice of them. "You know, Ty Lee, you said you were going to join the circus, but I wasn't sure if I was ever supposed to take you seriously. That aside... I have a favor to ask of you."
Resting her chin in the palms of her hands, a strange juxtaposition of normalcy considering the contorted angle her body was in, Ty Lee glanced up at her childhood friend with a mockingly irate expression. "Rude. All these years and the first thing you want to talk about is favors? You don't even want to start with a 'how have things been' or 'what have you been up to'?"
Azula cocked an eyebrow at the brunette. "Well clearly, you've been up to being in a circus. And I've been up to being me, just like before. I just figured there was no need to ask."
Ty Lee shook her head in bemused disappointment. "Yep, some things really do never change... so, what's this favor?"
"I'm actually on a very important mission right now. You remember my old windbag of an Uncle, don't you?"
"You mean Iroh? I guess. I mean, I don't remember him that much other than a few of his bad jokes, but yeah."
"Yes, well, he's become a little... treasonous, lately. I've been tasked with tracking him down and bringing him back to the Fire Nation to be tried for his crimes. Much as I hate to admit it, it's a difficult prospect, and I need your help."
Ty Lee's expression quickly changed to one of uncertainty. On one hand, she wasn't really eager to go anywhere, considering her love for the life she had been living for the past few years, as well as the many friends and coworkers she had here. On the other hand, Azula was her friend too, and a very important one, for obvious reasons...
"You... need my help? I mean, like, really really?"
Azula frowned minutely at her. "I know I'm asking you to leave... well, whatever it is that makes you happy about this place. And truth be told, maybe I could catch Iroh without you. But I would feel much more confident if I had someone I could trust at my side. Look, you don't have to choose now. I-"
"Only if you promise to come watch tonight's show!"
The Crown Princess cocked an eyebrow at the conflicted yet resigned expression on her friend's face, having not expected her to actually skip her gracious consideration period. Then again, this was Ty Lee they were talking about. Impulsive was one of the more polite ways to refer to her personality. Still, while she was glad that Ty Lee was quick about her decision, she wasn't very enthusiastic about the ultimatum.
"Couldn't I just... I don't know, watch the part you're in?"
Ty Lee adopted some sort of expression that was probably supposed to be stubborn or defiant, but the pout made it look more childish than anything else. "How would you know what part I'm in unless you're there for the whole thing?"
Azula sighed, aware that she would be making a minor trade off for a great gain but still reluctant to accept that sacrifice. "Fine, fine... it is soon though, right? I certainly can't afford to loiter around all day...",
"Don't worry, it's not too late into the evening! And you'll love it! My aura is always the pinkest when I'm performing, trust me!"
The Fire Lord's daughter tried to smile away her skepticism, though she failed immediately. "Oh, I trust you alright... I bet its positively rosy, not at all like its usual hibiscus."
Azula's clever wordplay went right over Ty Lee's head, so she simply rewarded the Princess and her lack of enthusiasm with a beaming smile. "Alright then, I'd better practice to make double triple sure I do it all without a hitch! Just be back here at seven and you'll get a front row seat, I promise!"
Despite her lack of desire to attend a circus act, Azula smirked. "Actually, do you think you could make it two front row seats?"
Ty Lee cocked an eyebrow at her long time friend, but her confusion lessened a bit when Azula pointed at the masked guard next to her, who seemed as surprised as Ty Lee did. "Oh... sure? Yeah, I bet the ringmaster won't mind at all."
"Excellent. Then I'll be on my way for now, Ty Lee. I'm... looking forward to it."
"Oh, Azula, you don't have to pretend to be excited. I know you would rather die."
"Yet you're still making me do it."
"Well I have to get some sort of compensation for leaving, right?"
The Princess shook her head ruefully. "Ah, I knew my sadism rubbed off on you somewhere, Ty Lee. Loathe as I am to admit it, I'm actually proud of you. We'll be back at seven."
With that, the Princess turned on her heel to make her exit, briefly reciprocating a wave Ty Lee gave before the acrobat jumped into another contortionist exercise that looked unhealthy but was probably the exact opposite. As for Xisheng, he tore his gaze away from the limber body of his newest acquaintance (not really even that since he had not been introduced in any way) to instead accost his teacher.
"So...two front row seats, Princess?"
"Come now, Lieutenant, you didn't think I was going to suffer alone did you? We're in this one together."
"Well, j-joke's on you Princess, I actually wanted to go."
Xisheng briefly wondered if he was being too casual with a member of the Royal Family, but apparently Azula didn't think so. "We'll see if you still think that when they try to get a Platypus Bear through a flaming hoop. It's painful, let me tell you."
"Well, at least your friend's act will probably be entertaining. She seems, uh, capable?"
Azula actually scoffed, though she smiled nonetheless. "Capable indeed. I'm certain that's not why you're so eager to see her perform."
"Quite frankly, Princess, the implication you're making wounds me."
"Is that implication wrong?"
Xisheng didn't give a response to that, leaving Azula to to mentally roll her eyes at the typical male desires. Besides, it was just poor taste.
She didn't have to be nearly as brazen as Ty Lee to be equally attractive.
---
Later that night, Azula and Xisheng, the latter in uniform as always, sat at the fore of the audience during the final act of the circus they had been coerced into attending. Azula could have had the entire audience ejected for a personal show instead, but she had decided against it. Why bother ruining everyone's night? Besides, all that did was draw more attention to herself, and while she was fairly certain there wasn't much in the way of risks right about now, she was nevertheless prudent enough to avoid doing that.
That said, Azula had disliked most of the circus as much as she had expected to, but she inwardly admitted with some reluctance that Ty Lee's part was both impressive and entertaining. Of course, it was not as if Azula didn't already have an inherent appreciation for her friend's talents. Many people mocked Ty Lee for what she could do, something Azula attributed to jealousy more than anything else. Those people were just mad that Ty Lee could do something they couldn't, and her prodigious acrobatic talent was but one of those incredible skills. It was the other talent Ty Lee possessed that Azula was truly interested in for her mission. Iroh would be nothing more than a frail old man without his bending.
Of course, it would also be nice just to have someone on her side she knew she could trust. Having subordinates on your team was one thing, but having friends was another. The loyalty of your friends was always stronger than those that served you. Even to herself though, Azula was reluctant to admit that she would also simply be glad to actually have a friend around again. It had been many years since she had been able to actually call anyone around her by that moniker.
In an effort to avoid admitting any such weakness, Azula focused on Ty Lee's performance as raptly as Xisheng did, the latter of which was absolutely flabbergasted by the girl that was currently balancing on a very unstable assortment of objects all resting atop a tightrope. If she was even off by a tiny margin, the entire thing would roll one way or another and throw the girl atop it all to the net below.
Speaking of the net, Azula was kind of miffed by its presence. She knew it was there to offer some sort of peace of mind to both the audience and the performer, but she knew better than anyone else here that Ty Lee didn't need it at all. Heck, Ty Lee knew it too. But the latter was probably too carefree to bother telling the ringmaster any such thing. As for Azula, she disliked the safety measure because it inhibited the experience. She and Ty Lee were different on almost every level, but they both shared a passion for a certain practice. Azula loved Firebending, and she loved Firebending without constraints or restrictions. She practiced her bending in its purest form, without any type of inhibitor to hold it back.
Azula knew for a fact that Ty Lee thought the exact same way about her acrobatics. When they had been together as kids, the young back flip enthusiast had always been testing her abilities in dangerous places. On the rails of a bridge, the ledge of a higher story of the palace, even the roof that one time... she had even expressed how pointless it was to test her limits if there was no possibility for real failure. This was the one thing that she and Azula had one hundred percent in common with no stipulations.
"Ringmaster, I have a request."
The somewhat aging man that was apparently in charge of the whole show bowed to her. "Of course, Princess, anything you like."
"Set the net on fire."
Needless to say, the gray bearded man did not comprehend what was said at first. "I...I'm sorry?"
"The net that you use to ensure the acrobat doesn't die. Set it on fire."
"B-b-but, Princess! As you j-just said, that net is-"
"Ringmaster. I hope you aren't telling a member of the Royal Family no?"
The man gulped, hesitating for only a moment more before turning to use his bending to set the net alight with orange flame. Azula smirked at her success, but needless to say, even Xisheng had to speak up. As Azula had figured out already, he was prone to speak out for the benefit of others even if it was a risk to himself.
"Princess, I know it's not my place, but... Ty Lee is your friend right? What's the meaning of this?"
Azula looked moderately irritated to be questioned by her pupil and certainly displeased with the tone he was daring to take with her, but all things considered, she supposed his incredulity and concern were completely warranted. "Oh, calm down, Lieutenant. This wouldn't have fazed Ty Lee when she was eight, never mind now."
Xisheng's body language said he wasn't entirely convinced, but he decided against questioning Azula a second time, seeing as how he had miraculously survived speaking out of turn and so rudely to her. To the Princess' credit though, at no point during the performance after that did Ty Lee falter in any way. She started sweating a lot more (something Xisheng inwardly admitted he enjoyed), but she never seemed truly worried or bothered even as she flipped and twisted through the air to the gasps of the much less confident audience. As for Azula, she watched the entire performance after that point with a pleased smirk. Xisheng got the feeling it was less because she was enjoying the show and more because Ty Lee was performing on a level that matched her capability. Azula seemed like the kind of person that wanted those around her to reach their maximum potential, though for whose benefit, Xisheng wasn't sure.
Either way, the rest of the act went without a hitch. Ty Lee's astounding acrobatics, greatly enhanced by the little stunt Azula had pulled, was the crowning achievement of the entire show, or at least it seemed to be so considering the thunderous applause she received when she finally finished. Unfortunately, Azula and her escort were forced to wait for the audience to spill out of the tent, and even then they had to wait for Ty Lee to return to whatever counted as her quarters around here and prepare for the rather abrupt journey she had been presented with earlier that day. She probably figured it would be a good idea to take a quick bath after Azula's heat wave as well.
But at least she was quick about it. When she returned to the main tent, however, Xisheng got the feeling it was because Ty Lee didn't have much to actually bring. Aside from switching back into the pink clothes he had first seen her in, she only had one small bag full of what could have only possibly been personal amenities and maybe different clothing. What was more noticeable was the rather cross look she had for Azula, though the Princess hardly appeared to be intimidated.
"Oh come on, don't give me that look."
"You set my safety net on fire!"
"Seriously, Ty Lee, you and I both know that you were literally in no danger whatsoever. As if you would ever fall."
While she was glad to know Azula had such faith in her abilities, Ty Lee felt the need to point out something kind of important. "Azula, the safety net isn't for me, it's for the circus! I mean, what if the tightrope snapped? Or something else went wrong that I couldn't control? If I died in an accident like that the reputation of the circus would plummet!"
Azula shrugged, clearly not concerned with the circus' reputation. "Alright, I'll admit that's a fair point. But you're not really going to tell me you didn't enjoy it are you?"
Ty Lee looked like she wanted to object, but in the end she relented. "It was kind of exhilarating. I'm all for safety, but you kind of lose that thrill when you know there's no danger, y'know?"
Xisheng glanced between the two girls from behind the safety of his mask. He had questioned earlier how on earth someone with Azula's personality could be friends with someone like Ty Lee, but apparently they both had this particular thing in common. Many would have called it crazy. Or maybe just foolhardy. Xisheng decided not to call it anything lest he incur anyone's wrath.
---
The day after the strangest recruitment Xisheng had ever witnessed, the Royal Barge was once again on the move to a destination Azula apparently didn't feel like sharing. Of course, considering that the captain of the ship was no longer present, Xisheng wasn't sure who Azula was actually ordering to move the ship around, but he supposed it was ultimately irrelevant.
What was far more relevant was the fact that Xisheng had finally asked himself what the Princess was really up to. Sure, she could have just been gathering useful allies for her hunt, but there seemed to be more to it than that. He didn't know what she was planning, and though he trusted her judgment, he wasn't entirely comfortable with being left in the dark.
It was something he would have inquired about were he not completely focused on surviving the current sparring session. Even after being reunited with a long absent friend, Azula took no break whatsoever for the training regimen she had established for the student she had so graciously taken as her own. Unfortunately, she decided that the best way to determine milestones was trial by combat, and today was the day she felt like seeing how well Xisheng had taken her first level of instruction to heart at the crack of dawn as usual.
One would not think that the simple mastery of basic forms would do much to improve an already skilled Firebender, but Xisheng was surprised to find that he felt a bit better in his bout with Azula. It was not a massive improvement, but he felt... sharper. Cleaner in execution. There was just a little less wasted movement in each of his attacks, and with that conserved movement came an equal amount of conserved energy. A minor improvement perhaps, but maybe this was what made Azula as good as she was. She mastered every aspect of the art, from the most complex to the absolute simplest... and that level of mastery on even the lowest scale improved overall performance to a significant extent.
Not that it made a considerable difference this time. As per the usual, Xisheng found himself constantly outpaced and outmaneuvered until the very end, when he was summarily dispatched with a low sweep of flame that knocked him off his feet. Especially since Azula was on guard for mind games after the one time he had almost gotten her with that. It was no different than the usual outcome he had come to expect, but still a slight hit on his pride.
Naturally, Azula didn't help him up or anything, leaving him to do that himself as she gave a brief analysis on the session. "Adequate as usual. Don't take that to mean you haven't improved at all though. There's more acuity to your movements than there was before we started. It may not seem like much of a difference, but even half a second of improved speed and reflex can determine the course of a battle. Suffice to say, you've advanced as well as I've expected from our very brief... 'relationship.' We'll definitely move onto something more challenging than simple forms next time."
Xisheng, out of breath as always, simply bowed to his teacher as he headed back to the lower deck of the ship. While he did indeed wake up every morning at the crack of dawn to train with the Princess, he had no issue at all going back to sleep after she was through with him, provided there was nothing important that needed to be done instead. It was probably also a good thing that Azula didn't know that was what he did after every lesson as well.
Either way, he made his escape easily enough, leaving Azula all by herself on the deck of the ship; for about ten seconds at least. She didn't even have time to begin her own usual training regimen before getting jumped by the only person in all of creation that would ever jump her.
"Azula, who is that anyway? That's the same guy you brought to the show with you right?"
Azula resisted the urge to sigh. She was honestly glad to have Ty Lee around again, but preferably not to disturb her typically mundane and more importantly peaceful mornings. Not to mention that the brunette's ability to appear out of thin air was startling. Where had she even come from?
"Ty Lee, why are you even up this early?"
"Why wouldn't I be? Don't you know that your aura is always at its peak when you're in tune with nature?"
"Right..."
The recently recruited acrobat took a single step back from Azula to level a determined gaze at her. "Anyway, you didn't answer the question! Who is that guy?"
Knowing Ty Lee's capacity for making everything far more dramatic than it needed to be, Azula tried to give a nondescript reply. "Isn't it obvious? He's one of my guards."
Her friend crossed her arms. Despite her lack of a brilliant intellect or anything, she certainly wasn't an idiot. "So you personally train all of your guards like that, huh?"
Knowing full well that there was no point in saying otherwise, Azula gave up on any particular acting. "Fine. He's an exceptional Firebender and soldier that begged me to train him so he could be more useful. I said yes because he has more potential than any of the other rabble around here. He stood up to my Uncle in combat twice."
"Interesting. Is he handsome?"
Though Azula should have expected Ty Lee to ask that question, and while ignoring everything else that had been said besides, she was nevertheless caught off guard. "What? How should I know?"
"How would you not know?"
"In case you haven't noticed, he wears a helmet."
"And? He's never taken it off?"
Azula wondered why she had to push it this far, prompting her to sigh. "It's called 'uniform', Ty Lee. He has to wear it anytime he's around me."
Ty Lee frowned at her. "Yeah, but he's your student and you don't even know what he looks like? Just... seems kind of rude if you ask me. Besides, you aren't curious at all? There's no way you haven't wondered what he looks like."
"I have, but I don't care nearly enough to do anything about it."
"Well do it for me then, I wanna know!"
Honestly, Azula knew this would continue for as long as she refused to give in, but she was too stubborn to do that. "And what, I should just order him to remove his helmet without any reason whatsoever? Like that's not suspicious in any way?"
"Just invite him to eat with us or something. That'll work."
This suggestion almost made the Princess laugh out loud. "Invite a common soldier to eat with me? You can't be serious."
On the other hand, Ty Lee didn't see any problem. Then again, for obvious reasons she'd never cared much about social trappings. "Why not? You said he was exceptional and really brave if he fought your Uncle twice. Doesn't he deserve some kind of reward? People who get rewarded when they do well want to keep doing well in the future. It's called positive reinforcement."
As much as she didn't want to, Azula admitted that was a halfway decent point. Technically, Xisheng hadn't gone beyond the call of duty since everything he had done was just part of his duty, but considering how well he did it and to what extent compared to all of his comrades, he did deserve some kind of accolade. Besides, Azula had to admit she was just a little curious as to what he looked like. It felt weird and unnatural to have a relationship with anyone yet have no face to put with their voice. Hell, she'd gone two weeks already not knowing what he looked like. That had been fine when he was just a soldier good enough to warrant sparring with, but if he was going to be sticking around for the foreseeable future...
"...fine. I suppose I'll condone it just this once. Be grateful."
As usual, Ty Lee got way more excited than Azula thought was necessary. "Alright! You'll be thanking me, Azula, I bet he's really good looking!"
"He could be the most handsome man to ever walk this earth and it wouldn't change the fact that he's beneath me, Ty Lee."
"Totally fine by me, Azula. Just means there's no competition if he's drop dead handsome."
"It also means there will be no one to pass him off to if he's a blight on all eyes everywhere."
Ty Lee shrugged. "I'll take that gamble. No risk, no reward, right?"
With that, Azula's acrobat friend exited the conversation in favor of getting into her typical morning routine, and Azula decided to do the same, convinced that Ty Lee was harping on something completely irrelevant, but willing to indulge her anyway just to get her to settle down about it.
---
When evening came around, Xisheng had just barely taken one step into the mess hall with the rest of the guards before he was stopped by one of them from behind.
"Lieutenant. The Princess summons you."
Considering his current position in regards to her, Xisheng wasn't quite as nervous at that fact as he would have been otherwise, but he still couldn't think about anything really good he could be summoned for at this time of day. All he could really imagine was another training session.
"Where is the Princess now?"
"Currently on the bridge, Lieutenant."
Xisheng nodded his acknowledgment to the identically dressed soldier before exiting the mess hall he had just entered and heading back on deck so he could enter the command tower from its entrance there. Surprisingly, Xisheng didn't have to actually go very far to find the Princess, because she was even waiting for him in the hall outside of the main bridge.
"Took you long enough. Come on."
Without anything more than that, Azula turned to walk away from him, expecting Xisheng to follow her without dissent, though the soldier was clearly confused. "Your Highness, if I may ask-"
"You may not."
Giving up on getting any sort of answer, Xisheng simply shook his head and followed the Princess. It was a short walk though, because she only lead him to one level up. Even the door she stopped at didn't look like anything special.
"I assume the messenger I sent caught you before you ate dinner, Lieutenant?"
"He did..."
"Good. Come on then, before I change my mind about this."
Azula pushed the door open, revealing a room that was moderately nicer than the rest on the ship, though only relatively speaking since it was technically still a cabin of sorts. However, it was obvious that it was intended for the Royal Family member using the ship, and no one else save their guests. There certainly wasn't anywhere else on the ship with actual rugs and tapestries, not to mention an actual porthole as a window to the outside world.
"Princess, isn't this...?"
"Yes, the private dining room for my personal use. Don't bother saying something about protocol or worthiness or whatever tripe you can conjure up, clearly I'm allowing you to be here."
Even though she said that, Xisheng stepped into the room nervously. "But...why exactly?"
Before Azula could answer, Xisheng received his reply directly in his right ear from the other person already present in the room that he hadn't noticed. "Because she's way more curious than she'll ever admit, of course."
Xisheng flinched as he laid eyes on an exuberant Ty Lee, the exact opposite of Azula, who looked none too pleased with her proclamation. "Do ignore her, Lieutenant. I'm allowing this because, as I so aptly stated but a week ago, you may very well be the only competent soldier on this ship, and certainly one of the most dedicated. You deserve something for your efforts at any rate. Most people like to receive just rewards for the risks they take. Consider this yours for your willingness to give your all in the pursuit of my Uncle."
Ty Lee rolled her eyes at Azula's long winded evasive explanation. She was really good at hiding her true intentions under logical pretenses, but she knew better. She was totally curious. Princess and prodigy notwithstanding, she was a teenage girl. She could pretend she didn't care, but she wasn't fooling one of her two closest friends.
Xisheng glanced at the table in the center of the room that was strewn with significantly more luxurious foods than he had likely ever eaten. That wasn't what he was worried about though.
"Princess, while I truly appreciate this generosity, it's against protocol to be out of uniform in your presence..."
Wishing for once that people could stop making things so needlessly difficult, Azula simply sat in her chair and refrained from making any exasperated movements. "I was under the impression that the Royal Family dictated protocol. Consider it fine for you to be out of uniform from now on, provided the other guards aren't around to see it."
While Xisheng was slightly against the notion, he had to admit he was also kind of glad that he could lose the helmet every once in awhile. Cool as it was, it did get kind of stuffy in there. "W-well... if you insist, Your Highness..."
With both girls sitting at the table, Xisheng felt momentarily self-conscious. Truth be told, he hadn't really been around too many girls in the past few years, aside from military soldiers and comrades. He certainly hadn't been near any that were this attractive. Or nobles for that matter. But he was under orders here, albeit indirectly. Furthermore, he'd have to be a real idiot to refuse an extraordinary event like this one. It wasn't every day that a member of the Royal Family invited a common soldier to something like this.
With that in mind, Xisheng tried to school his features into something neutral before making to remove his helmet. And while he tried not to be obvious about his own observation, he nevertheless gauged the reactions of his audience as he lifted the protective gear from his head.
Whatever crossed Azula's face was hard to interpret. All Xisheng could really tell was that it wasn't disappointment. It seemed to be something positive, or at least not negative. Unfortunately a vague neutral expression was hardly more reassuring than a negative one.
Thankfully, Ty Lee was a lot more expressive, going so far as to blush a little and smile at the same time. "See? I told you, Azula. We should have bet money or something, I could have become rich just now."
Xisheng frowned for a second. "You were betting on me? What about me exactly?"
Ty Lee seemed perfectly happy to divulge that exact information. "On whether or not you were-"
Unfortunately, Azula was not. "Debating whether or not you would bear the most common Fire Nation traits. I must say, Lieutenant, I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours. You are Fire Nation born, aren't you?"
"Colonial, actually. My father's heritage is Fire Nation, my mother's, Earth Kingdom. I always figured that had something to do with my... er, disorder."
Ty Lee frowned at his choice of words. "Hey, don't call it a disorder! I think they're really super unique! And they're really beautiful too!"
Xisheng quickly realized that trying to maintain his image as a soldier was a lot more difficult without a helmet to hide his expression. It was significantly harder to hide a blush for one. He wasn't sure anyone had ever complimented his looks that straigtforwardly before.
"Ah, well, that doesn't change the fact that it's somehow abnormal..."
"Well this room only has abnormal people in it, so who cares? I like them a lot! I think it's really amazing that you have two different colors like that."
Xisheng could only blush further, prompting Azula to cut the exchange short. "If you're done flirting, Ty Lee, I would like to eat sometime..."
Her reply came with a pout. "Come on, I wasn't flirting. Those were just honest to goodness compliments! The flirting comes later when you aren't around."
Unable to determine if that was a jest or not, Xisheng decided that it may have been a good idea to get all of this over with before he ended up making a complete and utter fool of himself. So he sat in the only free chair available, hoping it would be enough initiative to get the meal started.
To call the situation awkward was a massive understatement, though it was so for a wide variety of reasons. For one, Xisheng had literally never eaten anything of this quality. Food fit for a Princess was certainly beyond his means in life. Second, he was in a rather casual setting with two women of nobility, one of which was the Princess of his entire country. And finally, he was eating dinner with two extremely good looking girls, one of which had made it more or less clear she thought he was attractive too. Or at least that his eyes were. Maybe everything else was bland.
Either way, he found it difficult to pay attention as Azula spoke of a recent Fire Nation victory over the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, which also happened to be their current destination. She mentioned something else about a noble family that was governing there that provided Ty Lee with considerable excitement, but Xisheng missed whatever it was specifically because he came upon a new problem a few minutes into the meal: he was feeling especially sick. Downright nauseous really.
It had practically come out of nowhere, but it was growing pretty fast. Might have had something to do with the soup that had ingredients he had probably never even heard of. That, and just the general sense of anxiety he was feeling on top of that. Now the problem was that he was pretty sure he was going to be sick, and within the next few moments. He certainly wouldn't be able to make it back outside in time to take care of business there, and there was no suitable receptacle in this room.
He could always go to town in his helmet, but he risked making a mess that way regardless. He had one option, and one option only. This room had a window, because when did nobility ever eat without a view? It was Xisheng's only choice. Rising from the table slowly at first but moving faster when he realized he was running out of time, Xisheng made a quick dash for the window, which he thankfully managed to open with enough speed to achieve his objective.
Needless to say, his actions confused the girls in the room, though Azula voiced it since Ty Lee didn't even really know his name yet. "Lieutenant, what are you-?"
Her tentative question was cut off when Xisheng heaved over the side of the window, thankfully out of anyone's sight. Of course, it was not like anyone could misinterpret the situation regardless...
Azula stared at the man in the room in shock for a moment before sparing a dubious glance at the spoonful of soup she had halfway to her mouth. "...perhaps the chef needs to go overboard next..."
Worried that Azula may have been seriously considering punishing someone for something that probably wasn't his fault, Xisheng struggled through his horrendous embarrassment to stop her train of thought.
"N-no, Princess, it's not the cook's fault."
"It sure seems to be the cook's fault. You certainly weren't sick this morning or any other time today."
Once he made sure there were no vestiges of his unseemly display left, Xisheng slowly turned back to the room itself, staring at the floor to avoid eye contact. "It's because... well, I haven't eaten anything even remotely close to this in months. Maybe even over a year. I just... I don't think my body is used to food this... exquisite... after all this time."
Azula cocked a curious eyebrow at him. "What exactly are the rations for a front line soldier in the Earth Kingdom Lieutenant?"
"Uh... rice, mostly... occasionally whatever we can scrounge up from the surrounding area, but most front line battlegrounds are stripped of vegetation and animals quickly, so... generally three parts rice, one part whatever else is available..."
"Truly? I can't imagine such a bland diet for so long a time. Still, I suppose there's no use in making you eat anything that will make you sick..."
Xisheng hung his head in shame. Seriously, he had just thrown up in front of the Crown Princess and another lady of nobility. "M-my apologies, Princess..."
"Never apologize for things that are outside of your control, Lieutenant. It's both unbecoming and illogical."
"Uh, o-of course, Your Highness."
"Well then, all things considered, I'd say you're probably better off returning to the regular mess hall for dinner, Lieutenant. Not that your company is frowned upon of course, but you certainly aren't going to find anything you can stomach here. I prefer lots of spice and seasoning in my diet."
Nodding with some level of remorse because he would be leaving what was technically an extremely lucky situation, Xisheng nevertheless donned his helmet, bowed to his betters, and left the room. He would apparently have to let his body acclimate to something finer than military rations at some point, but tonight was not that point.
The moment Xisheng closed the door behind him, Ty Lee beamed at Azula. "So, no competition, right? I don't have to share?"
Azula smirked back at her. "You can't share things that don't belong to you, Ty Lee."
"But Azula, you only own his career. His heart is still fair game."
"You literally just met him. You hardly know anything at all about him."
"That's pretty much the same for you though! You didn't even know what he looked like until ten minutes ago!"
Azula couldn't really refute that one. "Point taken. Let's make another gamble then. Soldierly traits notwithstanding, I bet he's a romantic dunce with a bland personality."
"Fine. Then I bet he's a really great guy and he's super intuitive with girls. Are we going to actually bet money on this one?"
"Absolutely not."
"Darn."