Chapter 53: Preparation

Azula cleared out almost all the soldiers from the base, leaving a minimal number of fighters. This small fleet, consisting of five ships, sailed toward the Earth Kingdom.

Ty Lee approached Azula. With a concerned look, she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and asked:

"What are you planning, Azula?"

The Princess broke away from gazing at the horizon and turned her eyes to Ty Lee.

"To do what the Fire Nation hasn't been capable of for a hundred years."

Azula's friend released her shoulder and instinctively took a step back. She was frightened by the bloodthirst that flashed across the princess's face.

"Umm, catching the Avatar? Am I right?" Ty Lee decided to clarify, just in case.

"That, too," the Princess answered with a nod.

No one knew about Azula's plans except for her and me. Initially, she wanted to tell her friends and the unit commanders, but after learning about Mai's betrayal, she changed her mind. In general, the situation with that girl had a severe effect on the princess. She became more suspicious of everyone. Judging by her interactions with Ty Lee, Azula was having trust issues. When no one was watching, she would shoot people dark glares, as if promising to dig up all their dirty deeds and expose them. Sometimes I was asked to check on one soldier or another. But sometimes Azula did it herself, without seeking my help.

Once, I even noticed that someone had been in my own cabin. All the items seemed to be in their proper places, but they had been slightly moved. Fortunately, I didn't hide any compromising evidence against myself in my cabin, so the spy left empty-handed. There was also a faint scent, which I recognized almost immediately. That was Azula's scent. Her servants prepared her bath with all sorts of herbs. The princess's softened gaze convinced me that the check had, indeed, taken place. She sometimes looked at me, too, as a potential traitor when she thought I wasn't watching. After the check, she stopped doing that.

Our ship arrived in the Earth Kingdom, on the territory of one of the Fire Nation colonies. We needed to visit this colony to acquire special riding animals. We were there for the Dragon-Mongoose Lizards.

These creatures, which look like giant lizards, are usually only found in the Fire Nation jungles. But one enterprising dealer decided to breed them in the colonies. They were just too convenient a form of transport, and the demand for them was constant. Azula had recently learned about this merchant and that the first batch of lizards would soon be fully grown and put up for sale.

The portly merchant's eyes lit up when he learned that Azula had come for his Dragon-Mongoose Lizards. However, his joy quickly turned to disappointment. The money disappeared from his eyes as he heard what Azula told him.

"I am confiscating all the Dragon-Mongoose Lizards for the benefit of the Fire Nation army."

"But this is tyranny!" the merchant retorted angrily.

"Of course," Azula nodded at him with a smirk. "The most genuine tyranny. You can complain to the Fire Lord. He will surely punish me."

The Princess created the false impression that the Fire Lord himself had truly authorized her to do anything she wanted. It was unlikely that anyone would genuinely complain to Ozai after that, assuming they had any sense in their head. Doing so could cost them that very head.

Although there were a little over a hundred Dragon-Mongoose Lizards, there weren't enough for everyone. Azula had assembled a group of one hundred and fifty people. Therefore, some of the animals carried two riders. In general, a whole trio could comfortably fit on their backs. Dragon-Mongoose Lizards barely felt the strain. They practically didn't care how many people or how much cargo they carried. Most often, the limiting factor was the length of the mongoose lizards themselves. Their bodies average about six meters, including the tail. These animals are extremely strong, resilient, fast, and nimble. When needed, they can show miracles of flexibility. They are an effective means of transport. However, despite all their advantages, they are not supplied to the army.

Raising a Dragon-Mongoose Lizard takes many years and a lot of money. Young mongoose lizards are very capricious animals. For some reason, outside of the wild, they are susceptible to many diseases unless a whole team of veterinarians cares for them. Only upon reaching adulthood does their immune system become sufficiently hardened. The average lifespan of these beasts in service is about five years. After that, the Dragon-Mongoose Lizard begins to age rapidly and eventually, like all living things, dies.

Only aristocrats and merchants with at least a mid-level income for their profession can afford them. The dealer from whom we confiscated the mongoose lizards is probably bankrupt now.

It took several days to train the soldiers to ride. Fortunately, the mongoose lizards were rightly considered extremely docile animals, so no major problems arose.

We continued our journey on them. Our next target was War Minister Qin, who was responsible for supplying and developing new technology for the Fire Nation army. According to Azula, only this Minister had enough equipment and engineers to help us install it. An additional factor in Azula's decision to head to this specific Minister, despite the distance, was that Qin held a positive view of the princess. In the court games, he placed his bet not on Prince Zuko, back when he was not yet exiled and was the Fire Lord's heir, but on Azula. He probably saw greater potential in her than in other candidates for the role of Fire Lord.

We may have attracted the attention of Earth Kingdom soldiers, moving in such a large detachment across the continent without any attempt at concealment. But we encountered no problems on our way. We didn't fall into traps or ambushes. I think it was all due to the speed of the Dragon-Mongoose Lizards. We moved much faster than the enemy could react, gather enough forces, and throw them at us. I also didn't rule out that the Earth Kingdom generals had once again decided to play defensively, using their favorite philosophy of neutral Jing. That is, they would wait for our actions to launch a devastating counterattack.

However, we didn't give them that opportunity. Even if we appeared in enemy territory, we quickly left it.

I don't exclude the possibility that an ambush was set up for us in the area around Ba Sing Se, as it appeared from the outside that we were heading directly for that city. But that was not the case. A sharp turn toward the Northern Air Temple once again ruined the enemy's plans against us.

War Minister Qin was located somewhere in that territory. Recently, he had established his base near the Temple. Most likely due to the rich ore deposits in the area. He had fortified himself there so well that no one had been able to dislodge him.

The journey that should have taken several weeks was completed in just one. The Dragon-Mongoose Lizards once again proved their effectiveness as a means of transport. Their special ability to literally run on water was particularly helpful. Thanks to it, we didn't have to build crossings on our path or travel to existing ones, which significantly saved time for our group.

The meeting between War Minister Qin and the Princess was radically different from the analogous one with the former base captain from whom we recruited soldiers for Azula's plan. One might even say that two old acquaintances stood opposite each other, sharing a mutual liking… At this thought, something suddenly twisted in my heart. It only got worse when Qin and Azula exchanged welcoming smiles and even shook hands. Not the most common gesture in this world… My gaze intensified. Qin's face turned pale, and his escort drew their weapons.

"An E-evil spirit…" Qin suddenly uttered, shielding himself with his hands. A crowd of soldiers stared at him in surprise. Qin noticed this, nervously dropped his hands slightly, and ordered his men to put away their weapons. "Forgive me, Princess Azula," he bowed to her. "I haven't been sleeping well lately. I had a vision that the Captain behind you was an evil spirit."

Azula laughed:

"You're not the first, Minister Qin, to call Long that. I immediately understood who you were referring to."

Azula wasn't at all concerned that Qin's men had almost pointed their weapons at her. This showed the level of trust she placed in this Minister. Few are granted to get away without punishment after such a stunt.

Qin wiped the sweat from his brow with a white handkerchief.

"You know, I am even grateful to you in some ways, Captain Long," he addressed me. "My old bones have been freezing after I spent a considerable amount of time outdoors. I haven't been able to properly warm up for several days. But looking at you, ahem… I forgot the cold and even started to feel hot."

Qin himself was not a Firebender. That was probably why he couldn't warm up. After all, it is genuinely cold in the northern part of the continent, near the Air Nomad Temple. Snow lies there all year. And Qin is also an old man, sensitive to the weather.

The War Minister was an aristocrat who managed to occupy a high position through his own wits. A useful asset. But I continued to look at him with the very gaze Azula had been giving everyone on our ship not long ago. For some reason, I didn't like him. And I couldn't understand why…

"Anytime, Minister Qin," I replied to him with a kind smile, which made him turn pale again, clutch his heart, and his soldiers once more reach for their weapons.

"You are so… good-natured, Captain Long," the Minister managed to say, and then turned to Azula, trying to ignore my presence. "I suggest we continue our conversation within the walls of my base." Qin had met our detachment outside the gates, and the entire dialogue had taken place right there. "Your soldiers and you yourself surely need rest, Princess Azula, after the journey you undertook to meet with me. I must say, it flatters me greatly. Thank you!"

The soldiers definitely wanted to rest. A whole week on Dragon-Mongoose Lizards had exhausted them. Furthermore, not all of them were Firebenders, so they had felt the full force of the weather in the northern part of the Earth Kingdom continent.

"Of course, Minister Qin. My group and I will be happy to sample your hospitality," Azula said with a smirk.

"Then, so as not to disappoint you, Princess Azula, I shall order a feast," Qin nodded. "It is not every day that a humble Minister is visited by the Princess of his beloved nation."

We passed through the gates and headed toward the living quarters. Azula drew level with me and whispered quietly, with a suspiciously pleased look:

"And here I was, being judged for jealousy…"

My eyebrows shot up. My face took on such a surprised expression that Azula couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. Me jealous?! Nonsense! I just don't like Qin! That's all!

Azula continued to tease me:

"This is the first time I've seen you pout, Long. I should make you show emotions more often. There's definitely something to it. What was it you called it? Cute, right?"

I looked at the princess reproachfully. Then I pretended to trip on a flat surface and, unseen by others, pinched her on the rear.

"Hey! That hurt…" she hissed.

Now my expression became pleased.

"You wanted to see my emotions, didn't you, Princess? Behold."