Azula Alone

An unexpected move

As she was usually very on top of things, she did not expect to see Sokka getting off a random ship in the port. Normally, Azula wouldn't even care about a peasant who swings with a stupid children's toy and yells nonsense, but she had realized long ago that Sokka was different from that first impression.

At the time of the eclipse she knew his name, not just because she did hear the avatar's fanclub nagging about him, but because he planned the whole invasion. She had always simply cast the non-bender aside for incompetence, but when his name started popping up everywhere, she couldn't help but be a little intrigued.

She knew he had potential. He wasn't as stupid and useless as he lead people to believe, it was a strategic move. No one expects a silly boy to help invent the war-balloons, or plan an invasion that was well choreographed. Sokka even was an okay warrior, he had held his ground against her and that in itself was quite remarkable. So naturally her eyes cached the watertriber.

He really didn't stand out in the crowd this time, which was rare. He even looked like some peasant from the firenation. It seemed as if he needed to fit it, as if no one could know he was there. Even as he tried to be stealthy, it was clear he was looking for someone. 'Curious', she thought.

Azula's body moved as swiftly as always and, unopposed to Sokka, she could sneak around and not get noticed. She covered herself with a random box that needed to be shipped.

"Hawky!", Sokka screamed as an eagle landed on his shoulder.

A messenger Hawk?

Green ribbon?

As far as Azula was concerned, there was no code for a green ribbon. She saw Sokka read the message, then his eyes would sneakily go from side to side and he would move. Like a shadow, Azula followed.

Sokka boarded a random ship that looked nothing out of the ordinary.  Perfect for scheming, she thought. So what was the watertribe boy doing here, so far from home, in a town none of his allies are in, the princess wondered.

Maybe Zuko has tasked him with a special mission? Is there something little Zuzu fears? Azula's eyes glittered at the thought: a weakness.

Finally.

An elder man spotted Sokka and brought him to another compartment of the ship. Not that the ship was that big, it was rather small. The room Sokka and the man were heading was one Azula could not follow. Not if she didn't want to get caught anyway.

She looked at the crowd. "What is that ship for?", she asked a man loading cargo. "Sail'n", he responded. Azula was not amused. She wanted to let him beg for forgiveness for being this rude to her. She wanted to threaten him. Burn the cargo to a crisp.

But she swallowed instead. Keeping her calm was what made her such an extraordinary strategist. And she knew stealth was the key. She needed a strategy.

Then she remembered Tai Lee saying she thought Sokka was cute.

"Look, my friends boyfriend has a way of getting himself intro trouble. I just wanted to know what kind of ship that is. I know he is up to no good and I want to protect my dear sweet friend", Azula pleaded. The man sighed: "Look girl, I don't really know much, but I know they sell books  'n stuff. So, don't ya worry, he ain't cheat'n on a pretty little girl like you"

She blinked. How much of an imbecile is this man? While Azula couldn't rap her head around the fact that she clearly said her friends boyfriend not hers, she knew that this man had nothing valuable to offer. Plus, he was clearly from the colonies, which spoke for itself.

She turned her back to the lowlife and heard him sniff: "Teenagers these days" Azula's eyes wandered around the ship, looking for a window or any sign of the boy. Her eyes fell on a little widown close to the romp of the ship next to it.

"Perfect", she said as she changed her plan, boarded the ship next to the one Sokka was on and pretended to move cargo from the base to the lowest right cabin. When people were out of sight she leaned into the window to hear the conversation.

"... So, it is safe?", she heard Sokka ask.

The old man sighed, it was clearly not the first time he was asked this. "Yes"

"And you won't ever tell anyone this? Even the Firelord?"

Azula's hunch was right.

A mumble was heard from the old man.

"Or the Avatar?"

The princess was now far more intrigued. The avatar nor little Zuzu may know? What books are we talking about? She tried to scan the romp of the ship, maybe some clue was to be found. Except for the name of the ship, she found nothing.

"Then we have a deal!", Sokka screamed.

They both exited the room shortly after. Azula saw her chance. She climbed into the window and jumped unto the other ship. With her blue fire she gave herself a boost to get to the window. She easily climbed on and opened it so she could slide in. By the time she was in, Sokka had left the ship.

Azula searched through the papers, hope to find some  clue. As she was searching, she suddenly felt something move. And then a paper package fell on the ground. She picked it up. She saw the package had a clumsy rainbow drawn on it and she knew this was what Sokka had held before. Another shock knocked her balance off.

Only to realize that it wasn't a normal trember, it was the ship itself. She dropped the papers she had in her other had, firmly grasped the book, looked trough the window and saw the port getting further away.

This was not her intention. She wanted to jump off with the book. This would explain what the secret was about and she could shadow Sokka some more. But that stupid boy was outside the port waiving like an idiot, looking at the boat. She couldn't escape unseen.

So she deserted that plan. Azula slammed her back into the wall. The boat had to stop at a nearby port sometime, no? So all she had to do was wait. And she could easily get herself a boat trip back from that port. She just can't be seen by anyone of the boat now, for they will alert Sokka.

So she sat down in the seat before her, looking at the papers she dropped. They were contracts, but that wasn't the issue. They were authors contracts. So, some author must have written something useful about our little Firelord? Or maybe even the Avatar?

She looked at the stupid rainbow that was on the package. She ripped it open and looked at its contents. It seemed like a normal manuscript. Maybe it contained secrets? After all, a stupid rainbow was a good cover to hide dark secrets.

She started reading the manuscript. It was thick and had so many pages. But she had time to read it all, but by then, the boat still hadn't stopped by any port. With each page she got more and more infuriated.

When she was done reading, she smashed the thing into the desk. She was enraged. Fouled. But most importantly of all, still sailing. Having no other choice then reading the thing again, not believing it was just a stupid book about stupid adventures of the clowns that call themselves 'team avatar'. She spent hours trying to find any clue about how there might be a double meaning, secret script or anything of value... But there were none.

It was just a stupid book with ugly drawings.

She was on a moving ship, that now has been sailing for over a day, not nearing any port at all, but still moving faster than normal to who knows where, for a silly book about nothing.

Maybe Sokka really was as stupid as she initially  thought.