Aang and Katara - A Wedding Tale

Chapter 20: Azula Alone Part 2

Authors Note:
Sorry I'm so bad at updating regularly, been suffering from writer's block and the feeling that I'm ruining these characters (mainly Azula) but after watching the live action movie (I wanted to see just how bad it was) I realised something: nothing I write can change the characters as much as they did (genuinely if it weren't for the names you wouldn't be able recognise the characters and even then they scuppered that up too). So with this realisation and the desire to balance out the bad contented that was that movie with some half-decent content, here we go.

Azula's Point of View
The outskirts of Chóng Zhù were littered with little farmsteads sitting among the patchwork fields. One farm sloping down off the road side had a conveniently unguarded field of ostrich-horses - many of which already saddled. Bordering the field was a substantial enough hedge that the farm house had no view of the road. Perfect. If I was quiet I could get in and out without causing a fuss. After all I don't need everyone in this town after me.

I secured my dragon mask, and swung my legs over the fence landing with a soft thud. The closest animals briefly looked up only barely acknowledging my presence before bowing their heads and going about there day. "Yùhé. Can you feed the ostrich-horses? The turtle ducks are out again, so I'm dealing with them." A woman hollered.
"Sure Mam. On it now." Replied a younger girl.

Monkey feathers.

Spotting the water trough on my left, I dove through the gap in the hedge and hid from view. Unluckily for me it had a leak, meaning I - Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, sister to the Fire Lord - was sat in mud in some random peasants field. Brilliant.

"You should see the sight of yourself." They hissed. Every fiber of my body clenched. Warmth flooded my hands as my chi readied itself for fighting. Through gritted teeth, I slowly traced a square on the palm of my hand, breathing in on the horizontal lines, breathing out on the vertical. I would not let them get a rise out of me.

"Come on chick, you'll end up with nowt if you just sit there," called a soft female voice from beyond the hedge. Clicking her tongue as she went, coaxing the beast up, her boots squelching as they were forced from the soft mud. Glancing round the noticeably dry field, I realised she must be close: the only wet part of the field was by the water trough.

With my heart hammering against my rib cage, my brain went into overdrive, fueled by raw adrenaline. Can she see me? Am I safe? Could she recognise me? Is she a threat? Is this worth the risk of getting exposed?

I drew a fire dagger and coiled myself in. If she saw me I would only have a second to overpower her before she could make a fuss and alert others to my presence. I had to be prepared.

I had to have control over the situation.

"Hey come on Daisy. Betty's going with all of your cake." She added whist jeering the animal up and following it to the other side of the field. (Just to clarify cake is refering to a type of animal feed.)

With the clang of the metal gate signaling she had left, I put out my fire and counted my heart beats untill I was certain she was out of earshot. As sun began its decent, it let off desperate flairs of deep reds and violets, lashing out in a last ditch attempt not to be quelled by the all consuming darkness of the night.

I was weakest at night. I had to move now before I could be seen.

I swung myself over the trough, landing with a quite thud, this time none of the animals responded. Keeping myself low I scurried over to the nearest ostrich-horse, making sure it could see me so I wouldn't startle it. I crouched infront of it allowing it to familiarise itself with me. It's beady gray eyes staring deep into my sole, as I fought off shivers. Once it acknowledged I was no threat, it began munching on the grass as if I wasn't even here. Resting one hand on the smooth gray feathers on its forehead, my other hand reached for its reigns. Clicking my tongue as the girl did, I began leading it out towards the gate nearest the road. As we neared the gate at the far end of the field I positioned myself on the right hand side of the animal, shielding myself from view from the house. Quietly I untied the gate and slipped the animal out with no fuss or bother, mounted the beast and started making my way to the next village.