Several hours earlier.
The Earth Kingdom soldiers, their faces red with embarrassment, decided against knocking on the door of the room from which loud and intensely erotic moans were emanating. Surely, the fugitives that all of Omashu were searching for wouldn't check into a hotel and make such a racket, drawing attention to themselves. Besides, the administrator at the front desk said that according to the documents, it was a pair of newlyweds. Such behavior was expected of them...
However, on the floor above lived some incomprehensible man who made a living selling cabbage. How did he get the money for this hotel? It wasn't cheap. And you couldn't get far just selling cabbage. They needed to check him carefully and confiscate his goods. What if he was transporting something illegal inside that cabbage? The Earth Kingdom soldiers were familiar with such cases. They were seasoned veterans...
A couple of hours later, many hotel guests were awakened by a shriek that echoed from the street. Some lunatic was yelling about his cabbage in the middle of the night.
****
I stroked Azula's hair. She continued to lie still, completely unresponsive to my gesture. She must still be asleep.
Carefully removing her arm, I slipped out from under the blanket and sat on the bed. My back felt a slight stinging sensation. And on the spot where I had slept, there were traces of blood. The Princess proved to be a very passionate lover...
When I finally decided to stand up, I felt my forearm being grabbed. Azula's sleepy voice spoke up; she was still lying on the pillow and showed no sign of opening her eyes:
"Where are you going?"
"I wanted to go get flowers, breakfast, and stop by a pharmacy," I answered truthfully.
"Why the pharmacy?" the Princess continued her interrogation in the same sleepy but slightly more interested tone.
That question managed to fluster me slightly. Experience suggested that an honest answer would be unpleasant for any girl. But I risked it anyway.
"I believe it's too early for you to have children... Specifically, a child might cause certain difficulties, hindering the fulfillment of the Fire Lord's mission."
"Don't worry about that. I've already taken care of everything." Azula yawned. "You can go. I'll pretend I haven't woken up, and this conversation never happened."
My hand was finally released. I quickly got dressed and, as I mentioned, went shopping. I should treat the Princess to something delicious.
On the one hand, Princess Azula seemed completely indifferent to flowers, but on the other, she appreciated the attention. I would need to remember this and take it into account in the future. After a light breakfast, I decided to clarify a few important points for myself.
"Princess, did you plan what happened in advance?"
Azula elegantly put down her utensils, wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, and looked at me:
"No, it all happened spontaneously. I just wanted you to take care of me for a bit. I didn't anticipate that... things would get so carried away," Azula's cheeks flushed slightly. At first, it was barely noticeable, but she tried to maintain her composure. With every passing second, the blush deepened.
"You... you mentioned that you took care of the pregnancy issue."
Azula nodded.
"Among the female Firebenders who have achieved an exceptional level of mastery, there is a Chi technique that is passed down." Curious. This means the Princess isn't the only female Firebending master. I suspected they existed; I just hadn't seen them often before. They rarely appear in the military. "By concentrating Chi in a specific location, one can prevent an unwanted pregnancy. It truly is too early for me to become a mother."
While the Princess spoke calmly at the beginning, her voice sounded slightly embarrassed toward the end. I noticed that she had generally become calmer and more feminine. Once again, I was shown the true magic: the fundamental transformation of a girl overnight.
Azula placed her palm just below her navel and became lost in thought, furrowing her brow slightly. I followed the Princess into my own thoughts. A Chi technique. So, the local Benders, a small group of exceptional masters, know how to manipulate their life energy and use it to achieve effects beyond elemental Bending. And Azula is among this group of Benders. I was definitely lucky.
"Hmm, can you teach me such a useful technique?" My question snapped Azula out of her pensive state.
"You?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The technique is only designed for women... If you use it, you'll never be able to have children again."
"Ahem, I see... Could you explain the principles behind how this technique works? I have some skill in controlling my Chi. I would be curious to hear about it. It would broaden my horizons."
I didn't learn anything fundamentally new. The female Firebending masters simply concentrate a large amount of Chi in the lower part of the torso, which harms a fertilized egg. I could perform similar tricks myself, having learned them while experimenting with Chi in my free time.
The circulation of Chi in the body invigorates it and provides a slight healing effect, but if you exceed a certain limit, expect unpleasant consequences. Any medicine in a large dosage can become a real poison. Chi was no exception to this rule. The energy inside one's body must be used with extreme caution, lest you accidentally stop your own heart. It is possible. I've verified it through my own experience.
Realizing that I already possessed the knowledge regarding how this technique worked, I decided to continue my casual questioning of the Princess. Fortunately, she answered my questions readily and extensively, seemingly hiding nothing. Love does terrible things to a person... Azula also knew how to use Chi for more large-scale techniques and was willing to share this knowledge with me. But thanks to Jeong Jeong, I had already mastered this skill. I didn't hide this from the Princess. She even seemed a little downcast because she couldn't teach me anything in the end.
But thanks to the Princess, I did learn one important detail: the Fire Sages are the most knowledgeable about Chi techniques. And if I wanted to study the subject in depth, I should try to request training at one of their temples. They probably wouldn't accept me, but it was worth a try in the future. If I failed, I would simply try to steal their knowledge. As the Princess assured me, they store information about certain skills on paper records.
Our conversation somehow shifted from Chi techniques to a more serious topic for the Princess. She revealed that she was practically in exile. She spoke of having a serious falling out with the Fire Lord because he had unilaterally decided her future destiny. The story was clearly very difficult for Azula to tell. During it, she carefully monitored my reaction. Not seeing a shred of contempt for her due to her status as a practically exiled princess, Azula let out a breath. Along with the air, the tension that had gripped her body dissipated. Her good mood returned.
"I don't like asking anyone for help, Long. Every request for help is like a loud declaration of weakness." Azula reached out her hands and covered my palms with them. A spark of hope flashed in her gaze. "But still... Long, could you help me regain the Fire Lord's favor so that I can decide my own destiny? To marry the one my own heart chooses."
The Princess's last words sounded slightly flirtatious. She also stroked my cheek as she spoke them. Any fool would understand that Azula had long-term plans for me. I also noticed that while yesterday the Princess wished to bestow her love upon me, today she had the intention of possessing me completely. I saw it in her eyes. Somehow (again, wonderful feminine magic or perhaps human psychology, which with all my experience I still can't fully comprehend), I had managed to become an important part of the Princess's life.
I stood up. I walked around the small table where we had eaten breakfast and ended up behind Princess Azula. My hands rested on her shoulders.
"Princess, I hope to serve as a reliable support for you, helping you realize all your plans." And, incidentally, my own, by using Azula herself.
"I'm glad, Long," she replied when I leaned down to touch her cheek with my lips. And genuine joy truly resonated in Azula's voice. The Princess was not lying.
For practically ten days—the exact period when the soldiers of Omashu meticulously checked every person leaving the city and stirred up the entire slum district, peering into every crack—we boldly walked the central streets, depicting the behavior of the most ordinary loving couple. Or perhaps we weren't just depicting it. At least, not completely. The Princess's feelings were sincere. She truly enjoyed our dates. Of course, not everything suited her. Azula was accustomed to a completely different level of respect from others and comfort, but she tried not to pay attention to the shortcomings of her current situation. It was difficult to change it anyway. And when else would the Princess of the Fire Nation get a chance to freely walk in the territory of the hostile Omashu? Or simply walk with me. Of course, we had almost a year ahead of us when we would definitely be together, but that would be a completely different matter. And after that period...
Well, either the Princess would succeed in gaining the Fire Lord's favor, or she would face the role of a future governor's wife in the former colonies or someone else. Even if Azula's plans ultimately succeeded, she certainly wouldn't be able to walk so calmly through her nation's capital with me. People would recognize her, and the crowd wouldn't let her breathe.
During those ten days, not a single post stopped us, and we did not undergo any additional checks. After that period, the situation in the city began to calm down. According to the rumors circulating in Omashu, the authorities believed that since the Firebenders could not be found despite a diligent search, they must have long since fled the city by some unknown means.
Immediately after that, we decided to leave Omashu. Many camping supplies were purchased, as we were left with practically nothing after losing the squad. We didn't even have a basic pot to cook food in. But our main acquisition was an Ostrich Horse—the most common means of transportation in the Earth Kingdom territory. We could have acquired a riding animal back in the Fire Nation, but the Princess rushed the departure, overlooking such a minor detail. And we only had to buy one Ostrich Horse. We didn't have enough stolen money for two. However, we couldn't ride this animal in the desert; it wasn't suited for that terrain, so we would have to abandon it later. This meant the beast would serve us for a relatively short time. But the money wasn't hard-earned anyway. I stole it, so no loss there.
Additionally, before leaving Omashu, new documents were stolen. Going through the gate guards to leave the city with the old documents seemed like a bad idea. Their rightful owners might notice the loss and report it to the guards.
"Where are you headed?" an Earthbender asked our pair after checking our documents and filling out something in his journal.
"We want to visit family in Ba Sing Se," Azula replied with a friendly smile from atop the Ostrich Horse, where she was seated behind me, holding on.
"Have a safe journey..." the soldier replied with a strained smile. "And take care of yourselves. There are Firebenders lurking in the area."
"We certainly will. I hope we don't run into them," the Princess replied to the Earthbender, taking the documents back. "Forward, darling. The gentleman has released us. The road awaits."
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