"Get ready, this will be fun!", I shout and concentrate on coating the ground beneath and ahead of us evenly with ice.

And, off we are.

...

There is much terrified screaming, but soon enough, once they all realise that I'm fairly good at what I do, they clench their jaws and hold on tightly to each other. Really, they're quite graceless, but I suppose I shouldn't expect much from Earthkingdom soldiers in that department.

Even at the speeds we are going, it takes longer to find any signs of someone else's passing, and it doesn't appear to be resistance fighters. Not when the specialised wires running through the caves are the kind that easily transfer heat. And by 'easily' I mean to say, if even the tiniest spark travels along it, it will ignite like an irritated firebending hornet's nest and burn everything in reach. It's not an explosion, but certainly enough to roast anyone in the tunnels until they're far beyond medium-rare.

The Fire Nation has already discovered our trump card and they're prepared to use it against us to deal a devastating blow. I suspect that the only reason they haven't yet, because they must know that we might take this gamble, is because of the hostages. As soon as they know them to be relatively safe, they will kill anyone in the tunnel system.

Instead of taking chances and letting them think they still have the upper hand, I do the sensible thing and cut the wire to begin rolling it up and carry it with me as we follow it's path. One of the injured fighters rolls it up as I slow our pace and guide us, since I've still got the brat to carry.

It turns out, the wire is set to be ignited from within the palace through a slightly less potent wire. Probably so that they don't set the palace on fire. There is now the question of whether to leave the warden with the injured guards or to smuggle them all inside, however I might accomplish that.

But, when I think about it logically, here, or the palace, it hardly matters where we leave him, he will be found eventually.

So, we tie him up properly, cut the wire again and wind some of it around his neck. If they do trigger it, he'll be the first to know. We leave him behind. I don't think they could hold any trained Fire Nation soldiers off for very long, so it would be pointless to have them stand guard.

And, I wouldn't wish guard duty on my worst enemy.

Guards always seem to be the butt of every joke, the first to be made to look incompetent, and in some cases, the first to die. They are, if anything, to be pitied.

(I used to think that if you had anything worth guarding, you either carry it around with you, or get rid of it as quickly as you can. But that doesn't work with humans, so it's not much of a surprise when people hire bodyguards and the like. Only, those are to be pitied and anyone I pity should look for another job. Additionally, as a teenager I used to do a lot of dirty work. Not just the dishwashing kind.)

We infiltrate the palace quickly and quietly and bring ourselves into a position that allows us to lie in wait for when the rest of the rebel forces arrive to take over the palace and drive out the Fire Nation from the centre.

...

After a fashion, lying in wait is a situation in which you can mostly gauge the personalities of those lying in wait with you.

I'm more of a relaxed waiter. Why bother with all the tension until it's necessary? But you do have to watch out not to drift off, which is surprisingly easy for a body used to naptimes and that sort of thing.

So, when there's not a need for complete silence, I usually make conversation.

Not this day. There is a need for complete silence.

Thankfully, I don't have to sit idly by. I heal the other's injuries. Better if they're fully movable during any assaults.

I'm grateful the kid seems to be passed out, still. I would not want to have to explain to him the concept of hiding from his comrades or the consequent consequences.

...

We all know death. We've all seen it, in some form. A pet or a car-accident. An animal's mangled body on the road even as you try to steer clear of it, the inevitable bump when the car crushes it even more beneath a wheel.

I have killed wilfully and in full awareness of the consequences.

However, I don't think I've ever enjoyed it or been needlessly cruel. (So long as the feeling of violation of your own body, being afraid of spit in your mouth or throat because of me isn't counted.)

We… are forced to watch the mentally twelve-year-old princess burning some of her servants whom she doesn't recognise and so thinks of as traitors because of one slight misstep in protocol. It happens so quickly that all I can do is hold the female soldier's mouth shut as she lurches to dive into the flames that must be hot on an almost volcanic level to burn them as quickly as they do. Cold sweat spreads on my neck. If she can do that…

I don't think she intended to kill when she and I fought. She, most likely, wanted to take us as prisoners. Logical, really. Whoever is with the Avatar most likely has connections to the rebel forces and can supply the Fire Nation with locations and weaknesses. Capture at their hands was never an option, but seeing this, I don't think they'd be above torturing someone as young as Katara.

And, oh Spirits, Azula's face afterwards as she looks at her fists in astonishment, it's…

She doesn't know her power.

She hadn't intended to kill them. She killed two people by accident. Her knees tremble visibly. Voices echo along the corridor.

Azula, princess that she is, forces her legs still and draws herself up to her full height. But… I don't think she should see the horrified faces of those coming. I don't think she should know that kind of primal fear of her as a monster just yet. She could… she could irrevocably turn to the life of an incurable sociopath. And, suddenly, all she is is a girl who killed someone by accident.

Most adults can't deal with that.

What do I do?

I have to do something. It's not something you leave be when you know you're the only one who could even remotely be something she needs.

It might be close to playing god.

This is likely me getting in way over my head.

I refuse to sit back and watch.

"Hide", I tell my companions, and I leave our hiding place, unseen by Azula, even as she attempts to find the source of noise. A door slides open, and with a desperate lunge, I grasp her wrist and yank her out of the room through another door that is still ajar.

She lets me. She takes one look at me, at my grip on her, and allows me to bodily drag her through a maze of rooms, until we get to a window.

Shouts from pursuers aren't far behind, and even as I shove it open, Azula seems perfectly content with my sudden plans of escape. I decide to contemplate this at a later date when I don't have a baby waking up in my arms, no doubt hungry, an angry horde of Fire Nation people hot on my heels, and a mentally ten-year-old unstable princess with her first kill ever on her lily-white hands.

I really am fucking up the plot.

But, looking at her for another second, before I climb outside and offer her a helping hand from the roof, I don't regret a thing. She's a girl. Even if I don't manage to fix her, she is in a unique position of power, not just because of her birth. She's a formidable firebender, slightly insane, and hopefully not beyond saving.

She has the capacity for compassion.

(I have to believe that.)

We take the chutes. I knew I'd get to play with them at some point, but I hadn't expected to get a nice view of the explosions and fights occurring all over the city.

I, with the princess of the Fire Nation herself and the son of the governor feel like this is far less real than anything I've done so far. I can barely believe I'm doing this.

I planned none of this.

I will fuck it all up.

The question is, in a good way?

...

Don't forget to throw some power stones :)

...

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