The princess's ship continued to sail the ocean. Despite the absence of clouds, lightning flashed. It continued to erupt from the ship's deck, soaring high into the heavens. These were the princess's lightning-bending training sessions. She trained every day throughout the journey, dedicating minimal time to rest. Alternating lightning bending with fire bending, and consolidating theoretical knowledge. Azula didn't forget to keep her body in perfect condition. Two old women, holding honorable positions as advisors, Lo and La, always helped her with her studies. They always watched Azula's training, sharing their wisdom and helping in any way they could.
"What a beautiful day today. The sun is shining, and the birds are singing. On such a clear day as this, young people like you should be enjoying life, not exhausting yourselves with training. However, you're doing a great job, not wasting time. Land is already visible ahead; soon we'll be on shore," the spirit began to speak as soon as the girl stopped her lightning-bending training into the blue skies.
Soaked with sweat, Azula felt tired and a pleasant ache from her daily workouts. She was pleased with her work and her training. Breathing deeply, she watched the island visible on the horizon slowly approach. From the bow of the ship, where the princess decided to rest a bit and catch her breath, a beautiful view opened up. It was this that the spirit commented on, while Azula herself simply took note.
Land was visible in the distance. The ship was inexorably approaching it; soon she would set foot on the shore. However, the princess's mind was filled with thoughts and did not appreciate the surrounding beauty at all.
"Perhaps you should wash and make yourself presentable? Or are you planning to meet the master looking like this? I understand the sea distance is beautiful, but still, you've been staring at the sea for quite some time. It's not like you; have you thought of something?" the spirit inquired with a hint of mischief, catching the princess idling.
Blinking twice as a negative response to the invisible interlocutor, Azula stopped looking into the distance and indulging in thoughts. Turning around, the girl headed for the pagoda (a special superstructure made only on her ship). Climbing the stairs, she encountered the advisors sitting on either side of the entrance, who had always watched her training from a small elevation.
"That's enough training for today; I should prepare to meet the master," the girl announced, passing by the advisors.
"Your progress in lightning bending is rapid and magnificent. Don't abandon it until you achieve the desired ideal," one of the sisters replied instructively.
"Success is closer than it seems. Some things take time. We will ensure your orders are followed in your absence. Your ship will wait for you as long as you wish," replied her sister, whom the princess, despite all her observation skills, couldn't distinguish. The old sisters were such perfect twins.
Azula silently passed the elderly mentors, heading to her chambers, where she took a bath, fulfilling the spirit's request to transfer control of her body so he could luxuriate in the warm water. The girl knew very well how much the spirit appreciated such a small gesture from her. Immediately after, the princess went to the maids' quarters, where the girls made her look perfect. An hour later, Azula, with her hair styled, her body clean, and her usual stern expression, stood on the ship's deck again, looking at the now very close land.
"Mistress, I fear the tide won't allow us to enter the port before dark," the ship's captain approached and addressed the princess.
He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, with black hair showing a little gray, tanned skin, and a captain's uniform. Only his thin, long mustache and a light goatee set him apart. There were millions, if not more, of men like him. Adding to his standard appearance was an absolutely standard name for the Fire Nation people—Lee, Bruce Lee. That was the name of Azula's personal ship captain.
Hearing his words, the princess didn't even give Bruce a glance.
"Perhaps I don't know much about seamanship, but how can the tide prevent entry into the port?" the spirit voiced his unwanted opinion.
"I beg your pardon, Captain, but I don't know what a tide is. Can you explain something to me?" Azula began in a cool, commanding voice after a brief reflection on the information received.
"Yes, Mistress," the captain, feeling guilty, lowered his head almost imperceptibly. He already guessed what would follow such a cool tone.
"Oh, what's going to happen now..."
"Does the tide command the ship?" Azula began to press, without even turning to the captain. The girl seemed to sense his weakness with some sixth sense.
"Uhh... I don't understand the question..."
"Destroy him! Humiliate him! Crush him! Insult him! This is some Bruce Lee, an unknown loser who somehow became the captain of your ship. Go on! Boost your self-esteem at the expense of a subordinate who can't object or answer!" the spirit continued in his own way. His words did not affect Azula in any way.
"You said the tide wouldn't let the ship enter the port. Does the tide command the ship?"
"No, Mistress," Captain Bruce Lee lowered his head even further.
"And if I threw you overboard, would the tide think about whether to throw you onto the rocks or not?"
"No, Princess," Bruce Lee lowered his eyes to the deck.
"So perhaps you shouldn't worry about the tide, which has already decided to kill you, but think about me? Because I haven't decided anything yet," the princess turned around, her stern golden eyes piercing the trembling captain.
"We will enter the port..." Bruce replied reservedly, with nothing left to do but bow and flee to carry out his princess's order. For his age, he ran very quickly, as if he had completely forgotten about the gray in his hair. If there was one thing Azula could do, it was instill fear with just her presence, let alone subtle hints in conversation.
"You know, we are in a hurry, but if the ship runs aground, it will be entirely your fault. I hope you understand seamanship better than Bruce," the Spirit shared his opinion when the conversation ended with the frightened captain's escape.
Blinking once, Azula confirmed the spirit's words with her agreement.
The princess had been well trained in both military affairs and seamanship. Thanks to the best navy, the Fire Nation is considered the rightful master of the seas. As the princess of her country, she had an excellent understanding of this area. This explained her confidence that the ship could enter the port during high tide. Standing at the bow of the ship, she saw all the possibilities for solving the problem and knew her own vessel's capabilities perfectly.
The ship entered the port, after which, following the princess's orders, it sailed out and waited for a more suitable time to dock. The crew received orders to stay in this port for twenty-four hours, awaiting further instructions from the princess, which she intended to send via a carrier pigeon she had brought with her. Azula herself, slinging a bag with her personal belongings over her shoulder, took a small pouch of gold and headed into the city, which was a little further from the port.
Of course, the imperial retinue tried to stop her. Reminding her of their duty as protectors of the imperial family. However, the girl waved them away, saying they were all quite weak. And if anyone doubted it, she was happy to confirm her words with her fire-bending skills in a sparring match against the entire imperial retinue. Despite the thirty firebending masters, who were the elite of the elite, there were no doubters among them regarding the words of the blue flame bender.
Azula safely disembarked from the ship and, together with the inseparable spirit, embarked on her first joint adventure...
***
A young girl walked alone along a road leading into the island's interior towards the city, across plains and hills. A carrier pigeon sat on her shoulder. With its small eyes, it looked with great shock at the girl who was composing verbal rhymes about forgiveness for it.
I ask you, please forgive,
Take your anger and let it go,
Give me a chance to fix everything,
And all will be well!
Forgive me, I beg you,
You mean so much to me,
Tell me, how can I fix it?
How can I atone for my guilt?
How can we start anew?
Please, forgive me!
"Much better. This is either your genius showing, or we're becoming close. It's impressive," the spirit's voice was heard in the girl's head in response to her rhymes.
"Will you forgive me?" Azula asked with mild interest, addressing her interlocutor.
"Coo?" the bird sitting on the girl's shoulder still didn't understand anything. The hawk glanced warily at the princess, who was talking to someone unknown. As if it understood her every word. Perhaps it did; dragon hawks are very intelligent birds.
"No," the girl sighed in disappointment at her interlocutor's answer.
"How long do I have to compose various poems for you?" Azula, accustomed to another refusal, treated it with calm. This was probably the hundred and first poem she had composed for the spirit. Yet, he still didn't appreciate her efforts.
"Don't bother yourself; focus on Master Piandao. And yes, walk a bit slower; I want to admire the beauty of this place. I think I hear a waterfall. Shall we go see?" the spirit replied enthusiastically, observing the mountain valley adorned with green meadows through which Azula had to walk from the port.
"You're impossible to understand. You should decide what you want from me. I don't like doing useless things," Azula replied calmly, frowning and furrowing her brow.
"Piandao, but along the way, nothing prevents us from admiring the beauty of nature. And it's best to stop talking to me; the hawk is already looking at you strangely, and city buildings are visible ahead," the spirit appealed to reason.
"Let's go towards the sound of the waterfall; we're not in a hurry, and I'm very interested in seeing the local sights." Azula eventually agreed to such a trifle and turned off the road, walking across the field.
The city of Shu Jiao was located in a mountain valley dotted with meadows. The road to the city was very winding, leading up hills and down into ravines. Everything around was adorned with green meadows. Not a single tree was visible amidst all this beauty. It was a quiet and peaceful place, unlike many in the Fire Nation. Nature here was particularly beautiful. Climbing the nearest hill, Azula's eyes beheld a river flowing in a rock rift. The river had many rapids and waterfalls, and underground streams flowed into it from the depths of the earth.
"Beautiful, I've never seen anything like it. It's a shame I can't capture such beauty on canvas," the spirit exclaimed excitedly in the princess's mind. He could see all the beauty of nature through her eyes. However, such a sight did not impress the princess at all.
"Remind me, why am I composing poems if you don't want to forgive? Have I already said this? I don't like doing stupid and useless things," Azula tried to return to the old topic, ignoring both the beauty and the roar of dozens of waterfalls.
"Mastering beautiful words is very useful. The ability to present your thoughts correctly to an interlocutor, to interest a crowd of subordinates, to inspire soldiers to heroic deeds, to raise the morale of the army, citizens, and society. To instill faith in them for tomorrow, not to let them despair. Poetry is just a way to train the power of your word, so you can not only instill fear but also plant seeds of respect in the hearts of subordinates. The power of words is far greater than lightning; you know this yourself. Or am I wrong?" the spirit spoke in an instructive voice.
The girl listened to him calmly, showing no negative emotions. After thinking about the spirit's words, Azula spoke with a slight smile.
"In this, I agree with you. Words are humanity's strongest weapon."
"I'm glad our opinions coincide," the spirit replied joyfully, enjoying the moment.
"Well. Have you seen enough? How much longer do I have to stand here?"
"Yes, thank you, you can go to the city and look for the way to Piandao," having received an answer, the girl headed for the city, which was already visible on the path.
The city was located further down the river. Buildings made of white stone with red tiles were built right on the hills. The settlement matched the landscape; it was calm and peaceful. The princess had never traveled to such cities without proper accompaniment. Everything happening before her eyes interested her immensely. The life and customs of ordinary people, farmers, peasants, merchants, and other citizens.
Walking through the city, Azula watched people live their lives, free from worries and problems. On the market, they traded produce grown by local farmers; various shops sold their wares; artisans took orders. The streets were full of people, and the closer to the market, the more civilians walked the streets. The princess's gaze was drawn to young couples walking together, holding hands. She averted her eyes, not allowing herself to stare at them.
Little children played on the meadow with sticks, imagining themselves as brave soldiers of the Fire Nation. Among them were even a few girls who actively beat the boys with sticks. Azula involuntarily found herself staring at their game; they fought not for real, trying not to cause harm, but their smiles, their laughter... They must have been having a lot of fun. The spirit's voice distracted the girl from contemplating the children.
"How cute, they want to kill and die for a stranger from childhood, patriotism in its finest form," the spirit commented on the scene while Azula watched a dozen toddlers playing with wooden swords. She couldn't answer the spirit anything. Such a thing would arouse suspicion from passersby, and she didn't need that.
The princess silently continued to explore the city.
"Wow, what a triceratops. Of course, I knew there were many different creatures in this world, but a dinosaur? Do you breed them or something?" After examining a couple of dozen Komodo rhinos grazing on a large lawn, Azula found nothing strange about it and moved on, blinking once slowly in response to the spirit.
With this action, she directly answered her interlocutor: yes, we breed them.
"I see, well, there are lawns everywhere here, it must be a great place to breed all sorts of herbivorous livestock. But I must admit, they look quite powerful. Beautiful three-horned animals, I've never seen them with my own eyes, though I'm looking at them with someone else's eyes right now, haha," another attempt at a joke was ignored.
Azula continued to wander through the city.
Just walking among her people like this, without bows, false flattery, guards, and the like... it was so unusual for Azula. Such an unfamiliar and undoubtedly new feeling for the girl. Despite her rich clothes and armor, she hadn't taken anything that would reveal her as a princess, following the spirit's advice. And no one noticed that a member of the imperial family was walking among the citizens on the streets right now. All of this was fascinating; the princess was even interested in wandering through the city longer, trying to be an ordinary girl. Secretly enjoying the new sensations.
"You look at young families too often. Remembering your childhood?" the spirit noticed the peculiarities in the princess's behavior.
Azula lazily blinked twice, expressing her denial.
However, this was a lie. She really did look at happy families, thinking about her own, including her family. The spirit didn't insist, allowing Azula to be alone with her thoughts for some time. Thus, she wandered through the city, observing people's lives and their customs, unhurriedly inquiring about the way to the master.
"Mom, look, the auntie has a bird," Azula drew the attention of a child she carried in her arms as she passed a woman.
"Coo?" the dragon hawk on the princess's shoulder made a sound. The animal quickly realized that it was being talked about and puffed out its chest, assuming a maximally proud posture.
"So that's who you really are, auntie. Heh-heh."
"Don't point, it's not polite," the mother gently chided her child.
"Birdie! Birdie!"
This scene made Azula pause for a moment, just looking at the interaction between the child and the mother. Something about this situation stirred in the princess's heart, something she didn't know, didn't understand, or simply didn't remember. The girl simply continued to stand and look at the young woman with her child, not understanding what she was feeling or why she was looking at them.
"Please, forgive my daughter; she's too curious," the woman said, glancing at Azula's rich clothes.
"I hope you're not going to reprimand her like your captain? I'll be very ashamed of your behavior and rudeness towards a young mother," the spirit expressed his position in a serious voice, fearing Azula's further actions.
His fears might have come true, knowing Azula's character, but the princess surprised the spirit with the following words:
"It's nothing serious. Can you help me find my way? I'm in this city for the first time and am looking for Master Piandao's estate."
"Of course..."