The Officer and the Princess: The Flames Of War

Chapter 25

Azula was tired and angry, but mostly tired. Or mostly angry, she didn't know. What she did know was Sung had frustrated her, here and now more than he had ever done in all the years she had known him. It was like he had taken everything she had said on Ma'inka, told her what she had wanted to hear, and then did what he wanted to do anyway. This was certainly a role reversal Azula hadn't wanted nor cared to partake in it. She could see the road Sung was going down, she could see it as clear as if it had stepped on her toe. If he kept walking if it would end in his death and Azula wasn't prepared to deal with that.

Azula stood in the corner of the Royal infirmary her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall, this was one of the few rooms in the Palace that wasn't dominated by red coloration, the floors were carved from a polished white marble, the walls an eggshell white. Windows were situated around the room giving it a view of the gardens, meant to give patient's a sense of calm. Though the view right now wasn't good as members of the Palace Security detail could be seen outside of it, some gathering up the bodies of those who had been killed during the raid, and a line of men with buckets throwing water on the burning tree.

In the center of the room was a cushioned couch that had a mechanism on it to raise and lower the couch to different heights. On it sat Sung, his shirt off as a grey haired elderly Doctor in white robes sat on a stool in front of him. Beside the Doctor was a cart on wheels that held leather bag that held a variety of medical instruments ranging from syringes, to different types of ointments, to scalpels and other such instruments. At present the Doctor was moving a needle and Surgical thread through the large red gash on Sung's chest. The area around it covered in dried blood. Every so often Sung would let out a wince of pain as the needle was pushed through and the doctor pulled to close the wound. "Nasty bit of cuttage there young man." The doctor said almost off handedly.

"I've had worse." Sung responded, letting out another wince.

"I can see that." The Doctor agreed. Pulling on the thread and the pieces of skin coming back together. "It looks like someone used you as a butchers cutting board with all the scars I see on you."

Azula heard Sung chuckling at that. "That sound's about right, Doctor."

The doctor pulled one more time, he then reached over to his cart and picked up a pair of thin, curved scissors. Using those to cut the loose ends of thread until it was flush. He then picked up a small jar of some kind of ointment and opened it, smearing a glob of the clear paste onto the area around the wound. "I need you to keep this as clean as possible, if you see any dark colored substances around it come back and see me right away." He touched a hand to one of the fresh burns on Sung's chest. "Your burns are minor, just keep them dry."

Sung nodded. "Don't worry Doctor I know the drill."

The doctor then looked at Azula. "Do you need any assistance?" He asked.

'No but you might want to stick around, when I'm finished with him he may need you to put him back together' is what Azula wanted to say....Instead Azula shook her head. "I am far better off than he is." She said.

The doctor nodded and stood up from his stool. "Very well, I will be in the guard infirmary if you require anything else of me, heard their doctors are swamped with wounded." He picked up his bag. "Remember what I said young man, keep that wound clean." The doctor then saw himself out leaving Azula and Sung alone.

"Please don't look at me like that." Sung said in a melancholy tone of voice. He reached over and picked up a long sleeved red shirt that was folded beside him and pulling it over his head and putting it on.

Azula let out a puff of air. "How else am I suppose to look at you?" She asked. "Because right now I don't see Sung, I don't know who I'm looking at but it's not him."