I grossly underestimated Princess Azula's capabilities. In our very first bout, she managed to surprise and defeat me. She used that dense fire that allows a bender to physically grasp someone. A lasso of this flame wrapped around my leg and yanked. This made me fall, and a second later, a small girl's fist was brought to my face, signaling the finishing blow. In other words, this little sprout defeated me using a skill that not even all elite guardsmen can employ. Her Firebending was on a higher level than I had previously assumed.
Just in case, I decided to clarify one important detail: "Princess, I hope you won't use Lightning on me? This is only a training bout, after all."
I simply wasn't sure I could dodge actual Lightning. No, I definitely wouldn't dodge it. Which meant I would most likely die. Something I wished to avoid, as I haven't fully explored the magic of this world yet.
"I don't control Lightning yet," the Princess pouted childishly, crossing her arms. It was immediately clear to me that she had already asked someone to teach her this skill and had been refused. "Not yet."
"Understood. Shall we continue?"
I no longer treated the Princess's skills with neglect, so there were no more embarrassing losses to a ten-year-old girl. But Azula surprised me again. Instead of being upset by her countless defeats, the Princess smiled with satisfaction. I got the impression that she had set herself a goal of defeating me, and with every loss, she moved closer to it. Why? Because a Princess must be perfect. In everything. And these losses, in Azula's own words, helped her reach a higher level.
As the Princess herself explained, although her tutors are strict, they still go easy on her because, firstly, she's a girl, and secondly, she's too young for serious training. Fools. If they had conducted just one real sparring match with her, their pride would have been crushed.
That's precisely why the little Princess enjoyed training with me. I didn't pity her at all. However, this worked both ways. I regularly received burns from Azula's flame, something she couldn't allow with her instructors. They were mostly Fire Sages. Even the Fire Lord himself must show respect to that caste.
There was one instance where, despite all my caution, I nearly died at the Princess's hands. Instead of the usual stream of yellow flame, a burst of blue fire erupted from Azula's fist, which almost roasted me.
I had initially planned to block and extinguish the Princess's fire, but one glance was enough for me to understand the power of Azula's new flame. My body instinctively recoiled, but even so, the flame, which passed a full meter away from me, managed to completely singe my eyebrows and burn part of my uniform. And a small building that stood in the direction of the attack was outright demolished by the force of the Princess's fire.
Shrugging off the smoking scraps of my uniform, I looked once more at the destroyed structure, then turned my gaze to Azula. It was clear she was waiting for a reaction from me and, by all appearances, was terrified that I, too, would deem her a monster.
"That was amazing, Princess Azula," I said, applauding with unconcealed admiration. The girl's face smoothed out. The panic vanished from her eyes. "Can you do that again?"
"Of course, it's me," Azula smiled smugly, extended her hand, and successfully ignited blue fire in her palm on the first try. If I had eyebrows, they would have shot up in surprise.
"Princess, you are truly incredible," I bowed to Azula, expressing my respect. "Shall we continue?"
Without waiting for her answer, I struck the air several times, launching a trio of fireballs at her. Training with this child, now that she had unlocked the gift of blue fire, became slightly more interesting because Azula clearly surpassed me in raw power, and her skills were only slightly behind my own, in some areas even superior.
Blue flame is a very interesting mutation that appears entirely randomly among Firebenders. It is unknown how to achieve this type of flame, or if it's even possible. During training with Azula, I tried to understand this as well. I dismissed the idea that it was all due to genetics, since the Princess has distinguished Firebenders and even an Avatar in her bloodline.
The Royal Family arranges such marriages more for their own image. If genetics truly influenced bending, then marriages between powerful Firebenders would be an mandatory norm. But this wasn't the case. Aristocrats chose their partners freely. And not just Firebenders, but ordinary people as well. Plus, it was known that even in the Royal Family, with all its marriages to outstanding benders, people who lacked bending abilities were sometimes born.
I didn't get to study the nature of blue fire for long. Having learned about Princess Azula's power, her father quickly changed the girl's training program. Now her tutors were taking her training very seriously. They were practically running her ragged, but she was progressing at such a rapid pace that a word the Princess herself didn't want to hear was on the tip of my tongue. Fortunately, we parted on good terms, as I do know how to keep my mouth shut. And I maintain a dignified composure.
...
The vacation, which wasn't really a vacation at all, for Prince Lu Ten was finally over. We had to return to the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se wouldn't capture itself.
"Ugh, that ship again," Lu Ten muttered with a sour expression, looking at the vessel that was supposed to take us to the Fire Nation colonies' territory.
"Prince Lu Ten, look!" I pointed to the side. "Sozin's Comet!"
"Where?!" Lu Ten immediately began looking around, searching for the legendary comet. But he quickly collapsed to the ground, having lost consciousness, thanks to a hit to the head from me. Hmm, I've been raising my hand to royalty quite often lately. Will I be executed for this?
"Look, Bob," I heard the voice of one of the sailors on the ship, "this one's experienced! Clearly, he's traveled with Prince Lu Ten before! Ha-ha-ha!"
"A couple of times at most…" another sailor scoffed. "Because a truly experienced one would have caught him while he was falling to the ground."
No one voiced the thought that I didn't want to catch bearded men in my arms. Everyone collectively decided to show some respect for the Prince.
"Uh," I grunted, dragging Lu Ten onto the ship on my back. "Prince, you've gained weight on royal stew. Or is it because you've become completely lazy and stopped training? I hope General Iroh deals with you…"
The journey passed quite peacefully. I spent the entire trip in meditation and training that was permissible even in the small cabin. I mostly focused on refining control over my own flame and trying to create denser fire.
Azula suggested the first exercise… I had to light an ordinary leaf precisely in the center, but without allowing it to burn up completely. It also shouldn't completely go out.
I worked on the dense fire using a technique I found in the library. By directing Chi in a specific way, one could achieve a state in their own flame where they could grab something with it. For just a few moments. Fire is, after all, not a very stable or obedient element. Also, if the flame is compressed even more tightly in one spot, creating a schematic dagger instead of a whip, it becomes hotter than usual. Again, due to the greater amount of Chi in the flame…
This led me to ponder the nature of Azula's blue fire. In our bouts, she maintained parity with me using Firebending. She didn't run out of energy at all. Although children her age shouldn't have that much Chi. Maybe the whole secret of her special flame is that she simply operates with much greater volumes of Chi? Does she saturate her flame during an attack with an amount of energy that an ordinary bender cannot channel? Well, at the very least, her breathing technique was excellent…
...
Many Fire Nation soldiers currently besieging Ba Sing Se are of the opinion that General Iroh is more concerned about the city's inhabitants than the ruling powers of the Earth Kingdom. Iroh has already offered to negotiate surrender several times during the siege of the Second Wall, but no one has contacted him. The General was simply ignored. And this saddened him greatly because innocent people were suffering.
The poor and middle classes have already felt the consequences of the siege: food is becoming scarce for everyone. The Earthbenders under Iroh's command have been strictly monitoring the situation to prevent enemy benders from digging new tunnels through which provisions could reach the city. Of course, they don't find all the hidden passages. They are simply not as experienced or strong as Ba Sing Se's defenders, but even the trickle of food bypassing them is not enough to sustain the large population. It is only enough for the ruling powers. The rest are starving.
Iroh wanted to help the ordinary citizens of the Earth Kingdom, but he couldn't allow a corridor for food supply. That would simply negate all the gains the Fire Nation soldiers had previously secured with blood and sweat. Iroh also did not wish to attack the walls again. His subordinates would suffer again. And the enemy currently held the advantage. The perimeter of the Second Circle of Walls was much smaller, and the number of defenders was slightly greater.
The saboteurs who were still inside Ba Sing Se decided to stir up trouble again and try to incite a rebellion against the government on Iroh's orders, but they achieved nothing. The rebellion was brutally suppressed in its infancy. Some of the saboteurs, as well as some of the rebellious city residents, were publicly executed as a warning to others.
Iroh eventually decided to launch an attack on the walls. But again, he considered options that would minimize casualties among the people under his command. Digging a new, deep underground tunnel wouldn't work. The enemy Earthbenders are now very carefully watching their steps. From time to time, they even dig huge holes to check if there is another secret passage created by our side. Our benders aren't allowed near the walls to try and move them and open a path inward, either. If the enemy sees anyone at all near their walls, they immediately attack, despite their projectiles not reaching us.
At night, some kind of flammable substance is usually poured around the walls so that no Fire Nation soldier can quietly and unnoticed sneak up on Ba Sing Se's defenders under the cover of darkness. And even if the rain suddenly puts out the fire, the enemy's benders still learn of our group's approach through slight vibrations in the ground.
But nature was ultimately on Iroh's side. He decided to use the same rain for a new attack. The General incidentally heard that during rainfall, the sensitivity of the Earthbenders under his command noticeably decreases. Water droplets drumming on the ground create noise in the benders' perception. A powerful downpour, the General learned through his inquiries, can completely "blind" Earthbenders.
The General only had to wait for the beginning of the rainy season to try to take the walls of Ba Sing Se again. It was due to start in a couple of months. And Iroh, much like the similar character of Lu Ten, would have to keep from wearing himself out with worry for the well-being of the ordinary inhabitants of Ba Sing Se during this period.