The poor mercenary, meanwhile, suddenly dropped into a flower garden, looked distinctly uncomfortable. Judging by the increasingly hunted look in his eyes, the man had finally realized exactly what kind of situation he'd gotten himself into. He was probably also realizing he'd named a criminally low price for the job—but by now, it was far too late to back out.
"Chaaaan..." Suki gave me a suspicious look. "Care to explain what you're plotting?"
"Nothing in particular." I shrugged innocently. "People imagine the Herald as some enormous brute standing over six feet tall. So why not give them exactly what they expect?"
"And while everyone's looking at him, you'll be off carrying out your shady little schemes unnoticed?" Her suspicion only deepened.
"Hey, they're not that shady. Everything I do is for the good of the nation!" I declared with exaggerated offense.
"Heh. You may have changed, but your style, Great Scoundrel, hasn't changed one bit."
"And I intend to keep it that way." I grinned. "Now, ladies, stop undressing our new companion with your eyes. You'll have plenty of time for that during the ride. Time's wasting."
Accompanied by the girls' disappointed sighs and Blast's unmistakable sigh of relief, we finished preparing for departure.
We didn't need a guide. During her stay in Yu Dao, Suki had gotten to know the surrounding countryside well enough to lead us to the circus without the slightest difficulty. The journey would only take a couple of hours anyway—the riding lizards were genuinely fast.
The ride itself, however, would have been rather dull if the girls hadn't quickly fallen into conversation. Azula was curious to hear about the Kyoshi Warriors, who had become something of a sensation back in the capital, while Suki wanted to ask about the customs of my homeland, so to speak, from someone who had actually grown up there.
Both sides clearly enjoyed themselves.
It was obvious Azula rarely had the chance to simply indulge in a bit of girl talk, while the others were more than happy to hear a fresh batch of palace gossip straight from the source.
As for me, I did my best to tune the whole thing out. Once, through a moment of spectacularly poor judgment, I'd tried listening in. Five minutes had taught me two things: first, I hadn't understood a damn thing; second, I had developed a splitting headache.
So I simply rode a little ahead of the group and heroically ignored the cheerful chatter drifting from behind me. Heroically... but not without considerable effort. By the time the tops of the traveling circus tents appeared on the horizon, I was happier to see them than anyone else.
The performances were currently on break, and the performers were all occupied with their own affairs. I found Ty Lee, for example, by a campfire, strolling along balanced on her outstretched index fingers while her legs traced astonishingly intricate patterns through the air. Considering she was wearing her circus outfit, the view was... exceptionally appealing. Had Suki not already been in my life, I might actually have given some of the Ty family's rather intriguing proposals serious thought.
Unfortunately, while I was busy looking around, Azula reached the acrobat first.
"Ty Lee... is that really you?" the princess called out, surprisingly modestly and tactfully, even clasping her hands behind her back.
"Azula?!" Ty Lee's delighted squeal echoed through nearly half the camp. Two graceful flips later she was already on her feet, enthusiastically hugging the thoroughly pleased princess.
No, seriously.
Azula was smiling.
Genuinely!
True, it was the sort of genuine smile only someone who knew her well would recognize—but she smiled, and she actually returned the hug.
"I'm so happy to see you!"
"Um... please don't let me interrupt..." Azula began politely, then hesitated. "What exactly do you call... whatever it is you were doing?"
Instead of answering, Ty Lee cheerfully flipped backward once more and folded herself into yet another impossible pose—her legs high overhead, her face practically touching the ground.
"So tell me," the princess said, looking around with mild bewilderment, lingering especially on a pair of troupe members who were in the process of transferring two platypus bears from one cage to another, "what is the daughter of a noble family doing in a place like this? Our parents sent us to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls to study, not so that we'd end up in... a place like this."
The proud aristocrat's expression clearly said, this dump, but spending time around me had at least taught her a little restraint.
"Well..." came Ty Lee's thoughtful voice from below.
"I have a proposal for you," Azula continued without waiting, getting straight to the point. "The Fire Lord has entrusted me with several important assignments. You would do me a great honor if you agreed to assist me."
"Oh... I... um..." Such an unexpected turn of events immediately flustered Ty Lee.
"I'd love to!" she said, though her voice already made it painfully obvious the answer was no, and the guilty look on her face only reinforced the impression. "It's just that..."
In one fluid motion, the acrobat was back on her feet and looked pleadingly at her friend.
"...I'm really happy here! You have to understand—my aura has turned pink!" this irrepressible ray of sunshine declared with complete sincerity, waving her hands enthusiastically as if trying to demonstrate both its size and, somehow, its color.
"Uh... what?!" I considered myself a reasonably intelligent man, and I'd absorbed a fair amount of knowledge from the Gothic Parrot, but this was the first time I'd ever heard anyone in this world mention auras.
Back in my previous life, though, that had been a different story. Every self-proclaimed psychic had offered to "cleanse your aura" and "open your chakras"—naturally, for the purely symbolic fee of a price tag with four zeros on it.
Be that as it may, my outburst had drawn everyone's attention, and so...
"Chan!"
Before I knew it, Ty Lee had nearly knocked me off my feet and was squeezing the life out of me in a hug.
Steady, Herald.
Strength of will.
Be a man!
You're a rock!
Take Blast as an example—he'd spent the entire trip doing a flawless impression of a piece of furniture.
"Yes, I'm very happy to see you too, Ty Lee..." I began, but never got the chance to finish.
"Are you just passing through again? Maybe you'll stay for the performance this time? Is Suki with you? We've exchanged so many letters—I really wanted to see her!"
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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