Fire Nation Fun Fact:

The dragonblooded are the highest of nobility in the Fire Nation. They are the families, who can trace their line back to great dragon tamers of old. The longer the generations were bonded to the dragon, the stronger did the dragonblood in their descendants grow. The strongest dragonblood flows in the line of Azulus, where every single member had been bonded to a dragon, but there are a few other families, who can claim dragonblood, if not as strong and pure as that of Azulus' line. Those of dragonblood are often power hungry and greedy, but also just and wise. Their eyes are golden and burn with th4e flame of their hearts and they are generally known as the strongest Firebenders. The bond to a dragon strengthens the flame of a bender by a wide margin and it shows in their descendants, even if they have no dragons of their own.

Well that took some time. I lost three chapters to data corruption an kind of lost motivation. Still have the next chappter. I am quite busy at the moment, so the next one may take some tiome, though hopefully not as much as this one.

The nextchapter, in which Azula sits in judgement again and gains an heir, while Katara arrives in Ba Sing Se

Mai was used to bad glares and evil looks. She had received them from her parents, when she spoke up as a child, she had received them from her classmates, out of jealously and for her emotionless nature and she had received them at court because of her relation to the princess. Mai was used to ignoring them and what they meant, because she didn't care.

But the look the guard gave her as he approached her sent a shiver through her bones, not because of his anger, but because of what he represented. She had lost favor with the throne, a traitor nothing more.

She lost Azula and that hurt her. The opinions of the guard didn't matter, but to think that she, who once walked into the private rooms of the princess without even being stopped would be regarded a traitor.

"She will see you", the guard said. "Even tough I couldn't even imagine why." He glanced back at Ursa and her family, who were rather dumbfounded by the palace, while Noren looked resigned to his fate.

"Your guests can wait here until she kills you." He grinned evilly, but Mai's face didn't change for a second. She was sued to that, that wasn't what hurt. Slowly she stood up.

"Wait here for me", she said, stilling all the questions before Ursa or Kiyi could ask them.

And with that she entered the throne room, opening the big doors herself and gazing up upon the throne, whose fire had been a source of comfort her whole life, but now it only inspired dread in her.

She didn't think anymore, she just stepped onto the wide marble floor and procrastinated herself before her liege and once friend, pressing her forehead onto the floor, tears prickling at the edge of her vision.

A voice came towards her through the whisper of the flames, a cold voice, like a knife it tore through Mai's heart as Azula spoke: "I once said to a dead woman, that I admired her bravery." Azula paused and a hint of anger sneaked into her tone. "Now I think that the dead woman was just stupid, because she dares to step into my presence once again."

Azula had changed since Mai had last seen her. Gone was the insecure girl she had traveled so far with, gone the confident young woman that had spared her life.

Instead she kneeled before a ruler. Azula seemed tired, sad even but not broken, stronger not in spite of, but because of the tragedies of her young life.

The big scar above her right eye was new, a reminder of Zuko's last fight. It made her look like him, quite ironically. So did her hair, even shorter than Mai's and the cut had been done with the sword at her side. Ty Lee, sweet Ty Lee was dead and Azula looked even more intimidating for it, her eyes as cold and merciless as the blue flame, that lit her throne.

"I could not betray you again", said Mai. "And considering who I found during my banishment, not hurrying back to you would have been a grave betrayal indeed. Strike me down if you must, but hear me out first Azula, I beg you!"

Azula almost growled, as did the dragon that rose up behind her. Mai had never thought it possible but Azula had reawakened the old beasts and with it her right to rule. Mai was truly humbled.

"With what right would you dare to speak to me again? You, who threw my friendship back into my face?"

"I found your sister, Azula, and your Mother."

Azula was silent, her eyes closed only her hands curled to fists in the mane of her dragon, who was softly growling, maybe to threaten Mai or maybe to reassure Azula.

"What did you just say?"

Mai righted herself, still on her knees but her back straight, her tears running silently but her face stoic.

"Your mother Azula, I found her in the Earth Kingdom. She lost her memory it seems and some worm took advantage of that to fuck a noble. She has a daughter, who is a Firebender."

"Enough". She was silenced by Azula.

"You mean to tell me, that she is here in this palace, with the Bastard spawn of some fool and doesn't even remember what she did?"

"Yes, my Lord", said Mai slowly. "I thought you ought to know, even if it sealed my own fate."

"You did right by me, Mai, even if this does not absolve you of your sins. Still what would you think, I should do? Is a woman without memory still responsible for her sins? And the Bastard...", she trailed of.

"Do you want to meet them?", asked Mai. "It may offer perspective."

"Yes", said Azula. "Let's see if I can overcome my hatred of the woman for long enough to make rational decision. And I would like to judge the Bastard for myself."

Mai stood up and bowed.

"Don't think I forgot about you", said Azula. "Your judgment is postponed."

Mai nodded. "And I will accept it."

She left the throne room and strode over towards the small family, Noren, who looked worried, Ursa, who seemed to have a headache and Kiyi, who was questioning the guards about the palace and the Fire Nation, with ab big smile on her face. The guards seemed amused by this and were telling the little girl about the palace and the Fire Lord.

"The Fire Lord will see you", Mai announced to the family. Ursa looked deep in thought, while a look of dread seemed to flash over Noren's face. It seemed he still didn't want to tell his wife the truth. Cowardly worm. Kiyi however flashed an excited grin and almost danced behind Mai.

"We get to meet the Fire Lord? You never told me you were so important, big sister Mai? Is it true, that she is only fifteen? Can we see her dragon?"

Mai held off the barrage of questions and just shook her head.

"I don't have the time to tell you the proper rules, but here are the basics: Don't speak unless spoken too, and kneel between the fourth and the fifth pillar when you enter. You do not turn your back on the Fire Lord and if she addresses you, answer truthfully."

Little Kiyi adopted a serious face that seemed disgustingly cute, while Ikem looked more and more nervous.

Mai didn't leave them time to think as she stepped into the throne room again, the family of three slowly trailing behind her.

Azula had righted herself behind her curtain of blue flame, the dark violet drake resting behind her, adding to her image of power and control. The family kneeled at the spot Mai showed them with subtle gestures. Ursa looked like she was nursing a headache and Noren like he was about to piss himself, while Kiyi seemed to be bouncing with excitement.

As Azula spoke, her voice sounded calm but powerful, the voice of a true ruler. Only Mai, who had known her for a long time could hear the strain in it. It took a lot of Azula's considerate self control to stay calm right now.

"I have been waiting a long time to find you again", she said, her face still hidden behind the curtain of flame. Ursa looked up, her face confused. "My Lord, do we know each other?"

Then she realized what she had done and looked to the ground ashamedly. "I am Sorry, your grace, but I do not remember. I am Noriko, daughter of nobody. This is my daughter Kiyi and my husband Noren. We are yours, your grace."

A bout of laughter came from behind the curtain. "I never thought I would hear you say something like that. Quite ironic really."

Ursa spoke again, while Noren seemed to be visibly sweating. Good. Scumbag abducted ad amnesiac woman without telling her where she came from and married her. He was a rapist and Mai looked forward to his execution, even if the victim had been Ursa.

"Your grace, you seem to know me far better than I myself do. Would you share my past with me?"

"Don't worry", said Azula. "I will. But first let me greet your family."

She stood up, still hidden behind the flames and addressed Ursa's husband. "You are Ikem, son of Karo, as Mai tells me."

That earned him strange looks from his family, especially Kiyi, who seemed confused.

"I...", he began, seemingly steeling himself. "I am not, my Lord. But I am Noren, a simple farmer in the Earth Kingdom. I had another name, long ago, though it seems to be lost in the fog."

"And you did not tell your wife", Azula asked slowly.

"He didn't", said Ursa slowly, glaring at her husband.

"It was to dangerous", he said. "Ozai hated me, but if he had known that she was with me he would have hunted us towards the end of the Earth."

"Do not", hissed Azula. "Speak of the former Fire Lord with such disrespect."

Ursa had turned around towards her husband, fury and confusion on her face. Azula chose to ignore the breach of protocol and let her speak. "The former Fire Lord? What does he has to do with it? Who am I?", she hugged Kiyi to herself, who seemed unusually silent

"Very well", said Azula, interrupting Noren's attempts to speak in a booming voice. "No more secrets!" The wall of flame came down and Azula stood before the burning throne, her drake sleeping behind her and her face glowing blue from the Firelight.

Kiyi gasped. "You look like me", she exclaimed, left her mothers grip and stood in front of Azula, who had left the throne to stand on even ground with the others, an invitation to stand, which only Kiyi and Mai took her up on.

"Indeed I do, little sister", said Azula. "I welcome you, Ursa, daughter of Rina, Roku's daughter. It's been a long time, mother. I have imagined our reunion in a lot of gory details, but your amnesia presents me with a dilemma."

Kiyi took a step back as she heard the malice in Azula's voice.

Ursa gripped her head and whispered softly: "Azula. I remember your face."

She stood up, but Noren held her back. "Please, my Lord. She wanted to forget, she took the spirit's water of her own free will because the past caused her to much pain."

"Is that so?", said Azula, while Ursa gripped her head even harder, whimpering in pain.

"Mommy", cried Kiyi alarmed, but Mai took a hold of her and held her back.

"You took the cowards way out, Ursa and didn't even have the decency to kill yourself? And you, Ikem? What did you offer the Facestealer for your new face?"

Azula's dragon had risen behind her, neck coiled like a snake to strike, smoke rising from his nostrils. Ursa stopped gripping her head and her eyes were blazing the burning gold of her own line, the line of Roku, which was as dragonblooded as Sozin's was, if not as old and noble. Azula was of the same line and that was one of the reasons, why her dragonblood burned so strong.

"Hello mother", said Azula again. "I see you are yourself again."

"I am", said Ursa. "What happened to you, Azula?"

Azula threw her head back and laughed. "What did you expect? You were gone for years, mother, gallivanting with the common rabble and playing the good wife, while your Nation remained at war.

Our positions are reversed mother and finally I can judge you for your crimes."

"What crimes?", growled Noren. "She hasn't done anything wrong, except hiding from her murderous husband."

"This is the second time you speak bad of my father", whispered Azula. "Do it again and I will cut your tongue out."

"Please don't fight!", screamed Kiyi, still struggling in Mai's grip. "We are family, why are you fighting."

"You daughter seems to hold a lot of loyalty to you, Ursa", said Azula. "You are seemingly able to raise a daughter without making her hate you. Who would have thought?"

"You were different", said Ursa. "You were a cruel child, you liked to see other suffer. I couldn't help you and I am sorry for that. I failed you, Azula. I didn't try hard enough to help you."

"You still don't understand. Cruelty is a trait that is found often in the main line of Sozin, it made some of us so formidable warriors. You were just incapable of loving a daughter that didn't meet your expectations." She glanced at Kiyi. "It seems my replacement is pulling her weight."

"That's not what happened", said Ursa. "I needed to run, after your father forced me to kill Azulon. I found Ikem again"; she smiled at her husband, "With his new face and we fell in love again. I just wanted to be happy and so I gave up my memories as payment for the spirit that gave Ikem his new face."

Kiyi went limp in Mai's arms. "Mommy?", she asked. "You killed someone? What does that mean?"

"It means...", said Azula. "That your mother abandoned her children to a cruel and brutal man. She couldn't live with the guilt so as an opportunity arose to get rid of us she did it without hesitation. Is that about right?"

"It wasn't so simple", Ursa muttered, her pain showing on her face.

"It seems that it was for you", said Azula. "I wanted to kill you, Ursa, for years and years I wanted to kill you." She glanced at Kiyi. "But I cannot in good confidence rob another child of her mother. For Kiyi you get to live."

"Azula", Ursa said. "I only wanted what was best for you. I feared that you would lose yourself to the dragon's madness."

"And in doing so you only hastened the process. You gave up the chance to be my mother years ago. Now you are just a traitor I will have to judge."

Ursa made to protest, but Azula cut her off.

"Enough! I tire of your self justification. It is as tiring as it was back then. I will now, judge your family as it is my right."

Her sharp golden gaze locked onto Mai. "Mai of House Taijin. You were never banished. You had been sent on a secret mission by your Fire Lord, one that you returned successfully from. The rumors of your death were just a cover for your mission. Rise and take your old place, my friend."

Mai really tried not to cry, but still tears leaked out of her eyes, as she let go of Kiyi and slowly approached Azula, who kissed her on the forehead. "Welcome back, old friend", she said and Mai closed her eyes. "I'm home", she whispered and took her seat to Azula's right.

"Furthermore", said Azula. "For services rendered I name you chancellor of the Fire Nation, as the head of my council."
"It is an honor", said Mai.

"So this is your reward for ratting us out?", spat Noren. "A fancy title and a kiss from the Fire Lord. You are truly a noble assassin, nothing more." Mai didn't even hear him, to absorbed in her own thoughts.

"Ikem, son of Karo", said Azula loud and glared at him. "After Ursa told the story of her voluntary memory loss the charges of kidnapping and rape can be dropped I think. But you still admitted to consorting with the faceless one, even dealing with him in souls and memories. This is heresy in all religions, blessed by fire."

He snorted. "That is what you want to convict me of? I was broken, my love stolen from me and I didn't want to be me anymore."

"What price did you pay?"

"Ursa's memories, she wanted to lose anyways. And...", he stared on the ground. "And what?" asked Azula. "And my Name. I am Noren, nothing else. I do not remember what I was before, just that I loved Ursa and hated Ozai. Even now I can not hear the name you call me by."

"You tremendous fool"; screeched Ursa. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you."

"So I cannot judge Ikem, for he wanders the sea of fog without a body", said Azula. "Noren stand before me, the empty hull of a man, who signed away his life. Hear my judgment. As you are tainted by by the faceless one and without a name, you are an empty soul, a vessel a malicious spirit can easily possess. You will be confined in a monastery of the great dragons, where the nuns will try to fill your empty vessel with the light of Fire."

"What does that mean?", asked Kiyi, still crying.

"Names are powerful seals", sighed Ursa. "They keep our souls in our bodies and keep malicious spirits out. Your father does not posses a name anymore, so his soul is in danger. The Fire Lord tries to help him." She bowed. "Thank you, Azula. For you to show such mercy..:"

"I am sure you always expected the worst of me, Ursa. Spare me your thanks. You are next."

Ursa bowed her head and just nodded.

"You are more difficult to judge justly, mostly because I hate you and your crimes are far graver. You killed Fire Lord Azulon, betrayed your Nation and us. Nothing I can convict you of without admitting far more dirty secrets than I am comfortable with. So here is what I am going to do with you. I will have the old residence of Roku's line on the Island of ashes restored. There you will live the rest of your days in exile and you will not be allowed to meddle in politics ever again or leave the island. Your daughter Kiyi will be the head of the family, to reinstate Roku's line of dragonblooded to my council. Until she comes of age I will be her regent and she will be my ward at court."

Ursa nodded. "You are merciful, Azula. Will she be allowed to visit me?"

"She will", answered Azula.

"I do not understand", said Kiyi. "What does that mean?"

"You are a noble Lady now", said Mai. "It is time for you to inherit your birthright."

Ursa hugged her daughter. "It is true. Our family is quite an important one in this Nation." She winked. "You will stay with your big sister for a while and learn from her how to be a princess. She is quite good at it."

Kiyi looked up to Azula. "I am not a princess. That's just silly."

"There is an easy way to find out", said Azula. "Ai!", she ordered and the dragon slowly rose from it's perch, his head dangling over Kiyi's intimidated form.

"Offer him your flame", said Azula.

Kiyi held her hand out and a tiny red flame danced on top of her palm.

"How did you know she was a Firebender?", asked Ursa.

"Her dragonblood sings to me", said Azula. "Ai and I can feel it calling to our souls."
The dragon had breathed a tiny flame onto Kiyi's hand, where it was now dancing in a flurry of colours. The girl laughed with delight and the dragon growled low and content.

"You have become quite spiritual Azula."
"There is no denying that she is dragonblooded. She is however of Roku's line, not of Sozin's. If I do not bear a legitimate heir, I may have top adopt her as my heir."

Ursa chuckled. "Who would have thought that I would return like this. We probably won't speak again, right?"

Azula shook her head. "No. I hate you still, but your daughter will not bear the price of your sins, that much I promise you."

"I never wanted that life, neither for you or for her, but I think I did a great injustice to you Azula. If my exile can quench the flames of your hatred, then so be it. Please promise me that you will be good to Kiyi."

"I promise you, that I will make her great", answered Azula. "She is of my blood after all."

Ursa nodded. "Thank you, for your mercy. I will not waste it."

"See that you don't. Now leave me. You may stay in my old quarters for the night but in the morrow you will leave for the Island of Ashes. Farewell Ursa. I don't think we will see each other again."

Ursa made to turn around but hesitated. "What happened to Zuko?", she asked.

"He is dead", answered Azula.

Ursa just nodded, tears in her eyes and left with Noren, who glared at her, and the still very confused Kiyi, holding the dragon's flame in her palm. She would be back as soon as she learned more of Zuko's demise, that much was sure. Azula however was done with her mother. She was her own person now and refused to let herself be defined by her parents anymore.

She stroked Ai's mane and slowly approached Mai, who had remained silent. "Azula I.::"; she began, but Azula shushed her. "There is no need for words anymore Mai. I was angry and foolish to cast you out in anger. Can you forgive me? If I had kept you with me, maybe Ty Lee would be still alive."
"Don't say that", cried Mai. "We both know only to hurt each other. She was the one who opened our hearts to love." She took a deep breath. "Can you show me their graves?"

Mai kneeled in front of Zuko's grave, within the first chamber of the Dragonbone catacombs. The grace itself was beautiful, the artist had managed to make Zuko's features look far more peaceful than they had ever been in life. He even included his scar in a show of very fine craft. His urn was decorated with red dragons and great ships, while the curtain that covered his sarcophagus depicted his last failure in excruciating detail.

"Disgusting", whispered Mai, while tears prickled at the edge of her vision. Azula stepped forward to stand directly behind her. Mai looked back and noticed that her burnscar was on the same side as his, an angry red line from her eye up towards her hairline.

"What is?", she asked quietly, now directly behind Mai.
Mai gesticulated down to the face of serenity on Zuko's sarcophagus. "This peacefulness. That isn't him. He was always angry, always passionate about something."

Azula nodded. "That he was. This serenity is unbecoming of a Firebender. I will have to replace the mason. I wouldn't want my own grave defiled like that."

Both of them fell silent again until Mai asked: "How did he die?"

"Full of hatred", answered Azula, while putting her hands on Mai's shoulders. Her hands wandered upwards towards her neck, once as pale as alabaster, now burned from the merciless sun of the Fire Nation. Slowly she caresses Mai's hair. It was filthy and tangled form the weeks on the road and had lost it's inky blackness and great length from the sun and sadness. Mai had always been lauded a great beauty, but to Azula the pain and the hardship had made Mai even more beautiful. It reminded her of better days, just the three of them and no worries.

Mai was crying now.

"And her?", she asked slowly.

Azula grabbed Mai's hand and lead her to another alcove, the one reserved for Azula herself. Ty Lee's urn was decorated with pink flowers, her likeness etched into cold marble without her usual smile, just still and peaceful.

"You really need to fire that mason", whispered Mai between her tears. She left the alcove and made her way back to Zuko's crypt, which was strangely enough far more bearable to her, than to look at Ty Lee's still face, which seemed so wrong to her. Azula followed her without a word until they had reached Zuko's crypt again. .

"Isn't it funny?", asked Azula, choking back her own tears an softly caressing Mai's neck. "If you came beck before she died, I probably wouldn't have killed you either, Mai."

"I guess she would have talked you out of it."

Azula smiled. "She always had a soft heart for her friends."

"And a frightening ability to get you to do things you didn't want to", Mai laughed, but her eyes remained sad.

"I loved her", Azula said. "I never thought I would be capable of it, but I loved her more than anything. To think that she is gone, it feels as if I lost the only thing holding me together, as if I was spiraling into a dark place, from where there is no return."

Mai looked back at Zuko's grave and Azula followed her gaze. "Did you love him too?", she asked.

Mai shook her head. "I thought I loved him, but it was only an idea that I loved. We never spent enough time together to really fall in love with each other and when he came back he was so full of hatred and I had already hardened my heart to much."

Azula just sighed. "I thought so. Still you thought you loved him enough to betray me."

"And I regret nothing more, Azula. I will accept any punishment." Mai looked her straight in the eyes, without blinking, but Azula could see her fear in the way she was shivering.

Azula sighed again. "I should kill you. You betrayed me and had the audacity to come back with my thrice damned mother and her spawn in tow." She caressed Mai's hair.

"I should kill you all, but I can't. You're all that I have left."

Slow and very awkward Azula put her arms around Mai. Both of them had never been huggers, that was Ty Lee's role and they had endured her attentions with stoic voices and faked protests , secretly loving the bubbly girls demand for affections.

To think that she was gone. The sweet little girl, the cold assassin, her best friend and the lover. Just gone forever. She leaned into Mai, who hugged her back, silent tears streaming down their faces.

"I promise you Mai, I will find Iroh and I will rip his heart out", whispered Azula. "Everything seems so unreal. My duty, my throne, it seems nothing without her."

Still crying Mai backed up a bit and held Azula's hands between hers. "Please Azula. I can't lose you too."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Since when have I been yours to lose? What do you care?"

"You always were", cried Mai. "You were my first and greatest friend, you are the only one who ever understood what I was going through and you are my Fire Lord. There is no king I would rather follow than you."

"Not even Zuko?"

"Not even him. I love you, Azula."

Her eyes looked shocked in this moment as if she couldn't believe what she just said.

Azula leaned forward and kissed her so slowly on the lips. She tasted like cherries, with a hint of iron and ash to her lips, from the Fire she roared like the dragon she commanded. Mai had kissed Azula often, even slept with her, innocent kisses during sleepovers, passionate nights under the stars and during forbidden trysts on boring parties, but never had she been so aware of it like in this moment.

The thin robe Azula wore instead of the heavy ceremonial robes she had worn during the audience hugged her form and Mai felt her heath through the then fabric, a heath she gad missed terribly. Azula was warm, very war,. Firebenders had normally a higher body temperature than other people but Azula seemed to be always burning. Ty Lee and Mai had used that often when they were children or in the field together and Azula had accepted her role of their personal heater. She had also learned to use this heath, to excite with the promises of her warm body and Mai knew this was exactly what she was doing at the moment.

Mai broke the kiss and their eyes found each other, both seeing the same terrible loneliness and loss they themselves had experienced.

"Would you marry me, Azula?", asked Mai softly. "I am so tired of being separated, of not knowing where my loyalties lie. You are the only one I still love, so make me yours forever and I can stop doubting."

Mai looked away. She just couldn't bear to look into these golden eyes anymore, the only person she still loved and that she had betrayed so terribly. Mai didn't want to be alone anymore, didn't want to lose anymore and she never wanted to give up the warmth, to experience the terrible loneliness of loss and betrayal again. And Azula understood, for she felt the same.

"I do love you", said Azula. "But I couldn't love you as I did Ty Lee. The hole she left cannot be filled by you or anyone else."

"Nor should it be", answered Mai. "For she left the same hole in my heart." She took Azula's hand and laid it between her breasts, so that she could feel Mai's heartbeat. "I just want to make sure I never lose you."

She kissed Azula again. "We are the last ones. Let us love each other, before there is no more love to place." And again she kissed Azula. "We both were the ones with the hardened hearts of stone, who had to be showed how to love. Let's not waste the gift Ty Lee made us."

Slowly Azula reached for Mai's shoulders and Mai felt her untying her robe. As it sank to the floor Mai briefly looked away, ashamed of the dirt on her once creamy white skin, the scars and the blemishes life on the road gave her.

But Azula's kiss took her worries away and left her just wanting for more. Her fingers traced the scar above Azula's eye as her kisses wandered lower, thinking that their losses left scars on both of them. Her guilt made way for lust as she fucked her dead lovers sister in his crypt and she couldn't help but laugh in between her moans as she thought about the irony of it, at least until Azula reached her goal and she couldn't think at all anymore.

Ba Sing Se was not like other cities. Because of it's sheer size and the gigantic wall it was almost as if several cultures existed within, aware of each other but very different.

It couldn't be besieged like a normal city. It's walls were to vast, the city too big to be encircled by even the largest of armies. Additionally the defenders were Earthbenders, so they could just open the wall at any place and attack the enemy while they were distracted. It was impossible to besiege Ba Sing Se normally. The city could not be starved, for entire rings of the city were dedicated to growing food and in a dangerous situation, the nobility would just let the lower rings starve to death, to reduce the number of mouths they needed to feed.

The first time around Azula managed to take the city through treachery, but to try the same plan a second time would be folly. The defenders were wary and the Avatar was inside.

Ba Sing Se had to be besieged in a different way, that was only really possible, when the Earth Kingdom was on the brink of collapse. Iroh had tried it once, but the armies of the Earth King were still too strong and the food inside the city would have lasted for a long time. Now however Azula saw a different chance.

The Earth Kingdom was weak and refugees bolstered the ranks of the city's peasants far too much for it to sustain itself. The Avatar wouldn't allow people to just die, so Azula could use this weakness. She ordered her raiders to take everything from the refugees except their lifes, straining the city's capabilities even further.

The plague that ravaged the lower city played well into her hands, making the peasants angry against their current masters and even the Avatar couldn't save the dying people. The air was thick with the stench of the dying and the hate of the people against everything and everyone. The lower city exploded in crime that couldn't really be stopped by the occupied army without the Dai Li. The plague did it's own and soon rebellions were happening, that were either stopped by shutting of sections of the city or all of them dying of the plague soon after.

The lower rings were lawless wastelands, were few survivors scattered at the slightest sign of trouble, while the upper rings were paranoid, the people erupting into violence at the slightest hint of trouble. And people began losing faith in the Avatar and the King, who couldn't do a thing to save them. This half anarchic city-state was what Katara arrived to.

As when she entered the city through the gates a terrible stench assaulted her and she gagged, while Ming behind her covered her face with a perfumed cloth.

"What happened here?", she asked, as a few rats scattered from the intrusions.

Loud, cackling laughter let both of them turn their heads around. An old Man was sitting on a big pile of trash and laughing like mad. They didn't see him at first, because he was so dirty, that he blended in with the trash.

"The end of times", the old man cackled, "The prophecy of flames, the great unclean one. The plague has come over us to punish us for our transgressions."

Ming tried to hold her back, but Katara walked a bit closer to the crazy man. The healing waters of the moon flowed from her fingers into the man, who was riddled with disease, cleaned the blood out from his lungs. His eyes cleared and he looked up to her.

"You are the lady of healing. We thought you dead, Lady Katara."

"Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated."

"The Avatar will be glad to have you back. Maybe not everything is lost."

Ming, who followed behind looked over the ruined city, the burning fires of violence and the dark smoke, coming from the lower quarters. She wasn't so sure.

Well nobody ever said they were good people. Azula hates Ursa but she is just so irrelevant in the greater sheme of things, that her hatred seems misplaced. She also needs an heir and legitimazing Kiyi would allow her to mould one in her own image, instead of using one of Ozai's ambitious Bastards, who may not even be truly dragonblooded.

Next time we see the grooming of Kiyi, Azula's negotiation with toph and the Avatar's side of things as Katara reaches him.