Because we had to care for the ailing Azula, staying hidden in the merchant's house was no longer considered a good idea. It was too inconvenient to do so with the Princess in such a condition. Therefore, I took the risky step of checking into an inn.
To do this, I first stole a small amount of money from the homeowners. Their wealth was so considerable that they might not even notice the disappearance of a portion of their savings. Crucially, I took the money from a safe that, judging by appearances, was rarely looked into. Fortunately, I possessed the skill of cracking safes, especially one as simple as the homeowner's.
Next, I had to leave Azula for a time to acquire local documentation. Stealing documents from the house where we were hiding was definitely a bad idea. The names of its residents were well-known, and it would quickly become clear that we were not who we claimed to be.
Identification papers were introduced in the Earth Kingdom at the start of the war. The intention was to use them to identify spies. The idea failed. From the very first days, people in the Fire Nation began masterfully forging them. Perhaps I, too, could have forged them if I even knew what they looked like.
After the failure of the spy-detection initiative, documents remained an attribute of life only in large cities. People in villages continued to live peacefully without them. But to enter Omashu or, for example, Ba Sing Se, people still had to acquire them. Otherwise, entrance to the city was impossible. This excludes cases where one has an entire army at their back. And the experience of General Iroh shows that even with an army, one can ultimately be unlucky.
Documents are necessary to enter a city, register property, rent a room at an inn, and for other affairs. Leaving the city is also only possible with the local form of identification. Therefore, the stolen documents would be needed a bit later if we wished to leave Omashu by a calmer method.
I chose not to steal the necessary papers from anyone in our current area of residence. The city's elite use them far more often than ordinary citizens, so I had to descend to a different district. I did this during the day, not at night. In the daytime, people are typically working, meaning they leave their homes. At night, a person could be woken by the slightest noise. Searching houses is easier during the day because there is a source of light. Although, for me, as a Firebender, this point is no longer so crucial.
I was drawn to the first house I saw that seemed to be deserted at the moment. A check of the street showed no one nearby. No people were visible in the windows of neighboring houses either. I pulled out my knife and used it to pry open the window lock, which was a simple hook mechanism. I glanced around one last time, pushed the double-paned window open, and climbed inside. I immediately closed the window again. I crouched on the floor so I couldn't be seen from the street or neighboring houses and listened carefully. Judging by the sounds, if there was anyone in the house, they were asleep, not making the slightest noise.
I had long noted that despite the war, which has been going on for nearly a hundred years, ordinary people live relatively well, especially in the cities. The standard of living is low in some villages, but that is a problem with the residents of those settlements themselves. They are either lazy or unwilling to move from a bad location where nothing grows and hunting is impossible for one reason or another. No, not everyone in this world has a heavy purse filled with ringing coins. In my opinion, their wealth is expressed in other things: quality clothing, good homes that contain not just the essentials but some pleasant comforts, plump cheeks on village residents, or conversely, a leaner physique on city dwellers for the simple reason that it is currently fashionable.
For instance, when I settled on the floor, my palms and feet touched a rather soft, pleasant-feeling rug. And the house itself was unremarkable compared to others. Not the slums where desperate criminals live, those who simply can't exist otherwise, or lazy people who don't want to work to improve their lives because they are content as they are, but a normal, middle-class neighborhood.
Based on the neatness of the house and the thriving potted plants, I could tell that if this wasn't a couple's abode, a woman definitely lived here. As my almost endless experience suggests, men take less care of their residence. No, this isn't true in some worlds. And people can be different. Moreover, gender roles sometimes change! But in this world, I know this to be true. I didn't spend part of my life in tents and barracks for nothing. If a couple indeed lived here, I could consider myself lucky. I wouldn't have to search another house for documents for myself or Azula.
First, I conducted a superficial inspection of the dwelling: I simply cast a quick glance into each of the three rooms, not counting the living room, kitchen, bathroom, attic, and basement. Unfortunately, this inspection yielded nothing. The documents were not lying out in the most obvious place. I had to conduct a more thorough search, checking every nook and cranny. At the same time, I had to ensure no one learned about it. The residents might alert the guards to the missing documents if they noticed a foreign presence in their home and realized what was gone. Finally, after some time, I found them in the wardrobe, in the pocket of a dress. Cleverly hidden. The search took no less than an hour.
As I suspected, a young couple lived in this house, one who had registered their marriage at the local administration quite recently. The woman was my age, and the man two years older. I hadn't known that locals even included age on their documents. Lucky. Outwardly, Princess Azula and I could easily pass for the people we intended to impersonate.
Next, I made sure nothing indicated my presence in the house and decided to leave as quickly as possible. There was no reason to linger, and the owners could return at any moment. Thanks to my dexterity, I even managed to close the window behind me.
I didn't return to the aristocrat's mansion right away. I needed to visit the pharmacy to buy medicine for Princess Azula. I simply had nothing to treat her with.
"Would you also like to purchase lacquer?" the pharmacist asked me.
"Lacquer?" I looked at him, surprised.
"Lacquer for your toenails, so they don't crack," the pharmacist replied, equally surprised, glancing down at my bare feet from behind his counter.
I was going barefoot to pass for an Earthbender in my Earth Kingdom soldier's uniform.
"Ah... forgive me. I was preoccupied with my wife's health, so I misunderstood you. No, I do not wish to buy lacquer."
The conversation with the pharmacist nearly exposed me. Later, through careful questioning of locals, I learned that Earthbenders, especially in Omashu, like to apply lacquer to their toenails, just as the pharmacist said, to prevent the nails from cracking. I hadn't suspected this before, though I should have. Firebenders also use a special agent to make the hair on their heads or faces less susceptible to enemy flames. They become more fire-resistant. Knowing such details is what separates a good spy from a dead one. I will remember this for the future.
I imagined the situation: a typical Earthbender—a muscular, bearded man who would be called "brutal" in most worlds—diligently coating his toenails with lacquer, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth. It made me laugh a little. I imagined pink lacquer, and it made me laugh even more.
I visited another shop. This time, one selling cosmetics. No, not for lacquer. I bought the local equivalent of foundation. Both the Princess's face and mine could raise questions among the locals. Even now, people glanced at me. I was uncharacteristically pale for the people of the Earth Kingdom.
At the nearest market, I also bought a couple of pairs of boots. Only after this did I head back to the aristocrat's house. In the Earth Kingdom soldier's uniform, it was again very easy to pass all the checkpoints. I had even applied the foundation immediately after buying it, smearing it on my face and visible skin in the very first alley. The only time I had to stop was near the aristocrat's house itself. I waited until the guards passed from the section of the house I needed to another so I could slip inside.
Princess Azula's behavior gradually began to seem strange to me. Fake. It was as if she wasn't ill at all, but only feigning illness. I first noticed this when we moved to the inn. She moved far too briskly for a sick person. Especially since she had complained of weakness earlier.
When it was time to take the medicine, she initially refused, arguing that it was completely useless. Next, it seemed odd that she was constantly cold. Despite the number of blankets piled on her, she asked me to share my warmth with her, to warm her with my own body. Why she didn't use her Firebending skills, a simple breathing exercise to warm herself, was incomprehensible to me. Princess Azula also sometimes watched me when she thought I wasn't looking. And she tried to touch me at any convenient moment. All these aroused certain suspicions, which I decided to test on the third day of her mysterious "illness," when, despite the medicine, the Princess was not improving.
On one occasion, when Princess Azula asked me to lie next to her because she was cold and could only warm up with my heat, I embraced her a little lower than appropriate, and then, as if by accident, let my hand slip even lower, right onto the girl's buttock. Azula's face flushed redder, but she said nothing to me. She simply continued to lie there, nestled against my chest.
After a while, I pretended to fall asleep. In my "sleep," I slipped my other arm under the Princess, pulled her closer, and pressed her tightly against me. I heard Azula swallow. The hand resting on her hip gently squeezed her buttocks. I expected to take a punch to the jaw, but... nothing happened. I loosened my grip. Azula still moved slightly away from me. But not to prevent me from continuing to do various things. No. She eventually began to timidly touch and stroke me herself.
A final check was required, and then I could draw a conclusion about Princess Azula's illness. I moved toward her, as if I, too, was seeking warmth, and unexpectedly kissed the Princess. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then Azula began to respond.
And so, the Princess was ill. And the illness was terrible. So much so that nothing, save time, and even that not always, could cure it.
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