The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Forty-Seven

"Zala, come on." The princess rolled her eyes, turning away from Sokka as she tied her hair back. The boy had yet to leave her alone since they had reunited, and she was getting annoyed with it. She was still upset about his outburst, and he knew that. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I don't care," she quipped, striding past him to where Katara stood. The youngest girl raised an eyebrow, but turned, following Orzala into the trees. Sokka huffed behind them, sharing a miserable look with Aang. "Why, out of all places we could've landed, did we have to land in Fire Nation territory?" The princess grumbled, but Katara only shrugged.

"The woods seemed like the safest bet. Plus, everywhere is Fire Nation territory now." Orzala scoffed, glaring ahead. "Omashu isn't." Katara frowned at her, not knowing what to say. An awkward beat passed before the princess looked over, and a deep sigh escaped her lips.  She ran her thin fingers along her face, forcing a smile. "Your bending has improved."

"Huh?"

"Your bending. You've gotten a lot better since we've first met. The way you bent the perfume in the abbey was impressive, Katara." The waterbender's face brightened at that. "You think so?" Orzala nodded, nudging her slightly with a laugh.

Katara smiled proudly, linking her arm with the raven-haired girl's. "Thanks." Her blue eyes drifted ahead once more, widening when she noticed a large sign. "What's that?" Orzala followed her gaze, cocking an eyebrow as they approached.

"It looks like a map," she said, pulling away from Katara to observe the tapestry. "Or... something?"

"Whatever it is, it should give us a pretty good idea of what's around here," Katara told her, moving to examine the opposite side. Sokka waltzed up beside Orzala, shooting her an anxious glance as he dug through his lunch sack. He frowned when his fingers met the bottom of the bag, turning it upside down to make sure it was empty.

"Yeah, well, see if you can find a menu. I'm starving." Orzala glared at him.

"Find it yourself."

Aang quickly cut between the two, pointing at the sign. "I bet we could find something to eat here! The Fire Days festival." The princess gave him an exasperated look, shaking her head quickly.

"Aang, that is probably the last place we need to be," she told him steadily, and Sokka nodded in agreement.

"No, listen: Fire Nation culture exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians-- this would be a great place for us to study some real firebenders!" Katara raised an eyebrow, eyes darting between Orzala and Aang. The boy practically pleading with her, jutting out his bottom lip and flashing the princess his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Why would Orzala need to study firebenders?" Katara asked him, and his eyes widened slightly. He went to respond, stuttering over his words before the raven-haired girl cut in. "I thought that maybe if I knew how they fought, maybe I would be able to improve my tactics against Zuko and Zhao. They always catch me by surprise." Katara seemed to buy the response, turning away before she could catch the glare that Orzala threw Aang.

"You guys might want to rethink that," Sokka called from the other side, peeking around to look at his friends. "Come look at this." Orzala pushed past the others, moving to stand beside Sokka. She crossed her arms as she observed the posters, releasing a deep sigh.

"Hey! That's a poster of me!" Aang said excitedly, and Orzala rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. "Aang, that's a wanted poster," she told him, watching him warily as he tore it down. "This is bad."

"I think we'd better keep moving," Katara conceded. Aang frowned. "I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch some masters up close," the boy reasoned, his big, gray eyes darting back and forth between the girls. Katara groaned, but relented. "I guess we could go check it out."

"What?!" Sokka exclaimed, staring at his sister in disbelief. Everyone's gazes drifted to Orzala next. Her jade eyes were fixated ahead of her, seeming distant and hazy, but she sighed. The princess brushed a strand of hair away from her nose before she turned to Aang, giving him a small nod. 

"Yes!" Orzala couldn't push away the grin that jumped to her lips as the boy cheered.

"You want to walk into a Fire Nation town when they're all fired up with all their, ya know, fire?" Sokka questioned. "Orzala, we're smarter than this. Come on." She only shrugged.

"We'll wear disguises," Katara told him, grabbing the princess's elbow and leading her toward Appa. Aang followed closely, a large smile on his face. "And if there's trouble, we'll leave."

"Yeah. Because we always leave before we get into trouble," Sokka grumbled, reluctantly following after the others. Orzala crawled onto Appa, hurriedly rustling through her bag for her cloak. She couldn't deny that a part of her was excited. Sure, she didn't want to be a firebender, but she was. She might as well use this to her advantage and learn to control it. That way, if she ever had to use it, she wouldn't hurt anyone.

As soon as her fingers brushed the silky fabric, she smiled, pulling out the jade green cloak that her grandfather had purchased for her on her twelfth birthday. He had promised a trip through the market on their way to the desert, though Orzala wasn't sure how that would have worked at the time. He had only chuckled when she posed the question, pulling out a large box and handing it to her. She remembered being ecstatic. In fact, she didn't think she had taken the garment off for a good three days. A chuckle escaped her at the memory.

The princess tied the strings loosely around her neck, jumping down from Appa and following the others. Her fingers fiddled with the fabric nervously as they approached the edge of the forest, and the group looked down at the town below them. "You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival," Aang said to Appa and Momo, causing Orzala to glance back. She let out a small laugh as the sky bison tried to duck behind a bush, only hiding his face.

"Ready disguises!" The boy called happily, raising his arms in an attempt to look ominous. The Water Tribe siblings pulled their hoods up, and Orzala followed, pulling the face piece up and over her nose. Sokka glanced over at her, and a shiver ran down his spine. Only her eyes were revealed, making the princess look fiercer than ever. She couldn't help but smirk.

Her gaze drifted to Aang. The avatar had attempted to pull his orange shaw over his head, which resulted in his shoulders hunching. Katara let out a laugh beside her, but Sokka just facepalmed. "Wow. It's like you're a whole different person," he deadpanned, but Aang didn't catch onto his sarcasm. He flashed a smile at them before ushering them to follow. 

"Let's go!"