The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic)

Beyond the Mystic Pool

The shouts of Team Azula rang out into the air as they were transported to a strange plain of the Spirit World.

Before Mai landed upon the ground with a grunt while she cursed the other woman under her breath.

Just as Elle fell to the ground with a yelp beside her.

"Ow! Are you alright, Mai?" Elle asked as she recovered her bearings while she turned to gaze at her big sister as the noblewoman pushed herself up.

"I'll live...but thanks for asking, kid. What about you?" Mai responded as she sat up while she turned to glance at her little sister as the girl rubbed at her head.

"I'm not hurt, and I didn't lose my backpack." Elle answered in a gentle voice while she peered upward with her mouth agape in awe to see a portal above them.

The two girls gazed up with amazement in their eyes as they took in the other side of the portal that was swirling in the center of the trunk of a timeworn tree.

A murky fog blew in the air around them and many old trees stretched on for as far as their eyes could see.

And not a second after that the acrobat nimbly leaped from the portal.

Before Ty Lee gracefully landed on the ground before them while she too gazed up at the portal in awe.

"Are you two, okay?" Ty Lee inquired as she glanced down at her two friends while Mai helped Elle stand up.

And despite the recent gruesome events she couldn't help but smile over watching the usually grouchy woman looking after the smaller girl.

"We're fine, Ty Lee." Mai assured with her arm partly over her little sister's shoulder while Elle stood up beside her.

Before the three girls turned to watch as the princess and the captain skillfully dropped out from the portal.

The two firebenders landed on their booted feet while they slowly turned around as they silently took in the astonishing scenery.

"Azula-sama!" Elle exclaimed in a lovable voice while Azula's cold amber golden eyes were already turning to assess her.

"You bitch, Zoi." Mai snapped with ire in her voice while she now scowled back at the smirking noblewoman.

"Get used to it, Saolin. That was just a small taste of what is in store for you in the next three years of your life." Zoi remarked with sass while her golden eyes enjoyed how the other woman grimaced ever so slightly under her stare.

"Silence, Mai. And get off my pet." Azula commanded in a snide undertone as she regally brushed her bangs from her callous eyes while Mai gazed at her in mild annoyance.

"She's my little sister too. I can stand by her." Mai stated in monotone voice only to sigh when the princess yanked the squeaking girl forward by the collar of her shirt.

"So.... what now, Azula?" Ty Lee pondered as she gazed in her leader's direction while the princess gazed ahead with her signature icy stare.

"We explore, Ty Lee. And we find where those soldiers are coming from." Azula stated in a stony voice with her fingers grasping onto her serving girl's timid shoulder.

"Perhaps we'll find a pathway of some kind that they might have taken." Zoi commented as she stood with hands at her hips while she gazed through the dense fog.

"It's too bad that Naoki couldn't have just told us." Ty Lee said as she began to walk beside her friends as they started to make their way through the fog.

"With Naoki it's her way or the highway. And if you don't give her what she wants, you don't get anything at all." Elle spoke in a quiet voice as she padded alongside her scowling mistress.