The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic)

The Masked Puppeteer

Back in the present at Mava's tree.

The four shaken women sat up on the floor of the tree gazing at one another as they struggled to take in the gravity of all that they just saw.

Before they all turned back to their still unconscious young friend leaning into the princess's royal armor with sympathy over all that the girl had been through.

Ty Lee once more found herself blinking back angry tears as she clenched her furious fist beside the mutually angered Mai.

Mai and Ty Lee could only stare at their adopted sister with unconcealed sadness over all the pain that she endured.

And Zoi gazed at the younger girl with her golden eyes expressing unusual concern as she pushed herself up off the floor.

Azula still sat with Elle's passed out face resting against her royal armor.

As she found herself unable to fight the scowl that was pulling on her crimson lips after she noticed another tear streaming down her handmaid's cheek.

And just like that her smile gave way to a regal scowl as she held a protective arm around the smaller girl's back.

Her mind raced with countless questions regarding all of the events that she saw in her young girlfriend's mind.

"Old woman! When will she awaken from her meditative state?" Azula questioned in a cold voice as she turned to gaze over her armored shoulder with her callous amber golden eyes observing curiously to see the crone at work over her fire.

The three noblewomen had been pondering that very thought.

And they too turned to the hunched over old woman only to find themselves looking on in inquisitively when they saw her slam her staff down upon the floor.

"Soon, but I am not certain when. Now be quiet! I must focus! A deadly enemy is closing in upon us!" Mava exclaimed in a weathered voice while the four women gazed on with alarmed eyes.

"An enemy? Are speaking of the puppeteer?" Azula demanded in a voice of renewed wrath while she gently laid her unconscious handmaiden upon the floor.

Only for all four of them to spin around and gaze up at the ceiling of the ancient tree when a faint cracking sound resonated into the air.

Tiny bits of dust rained to the floor below as they leaped to their feet with their respective weapons in hand.

And then just like that a small hole was broken through the gigantic tree.

Just as they gazed up with wary looks in their eyes when they heard the same eerie clicking of a mechanical contraption that they heard the forest earlier today.

And that was all the confirmation that they needed to know that it was indeed the puppeteer.

Azula's fist lit up with azure fire as she glared up at the ceiling with a sliver of hidden paranoia in her eyes.

As she gritted her teeth while vowing to herself that the woman would not get her bending!

"So, it is her." Zoi stated in her trademark calm voice with her katana in hand as she gazed up with stony golden eyes.

"Ty Lee, hold onto Elle, and stay behind me." Mai commented with knives in hand while Ty Lee nodded gratefully as she pulled the sleeping girl into her arms.

"Right. Thanks, Mai." Ty Lee remarked in a firm voice as she protectively held Elle's unconscious form against her chest.

Just as they all gazed up with widened eyes when fingers slipped through the opening.