Chapter 5: The Suffering of Improvement

Strangely enough, Xisheng found that Princess Azula now had a greater understanding of sunrise than the day prior. She was actually on the deck of the ship as the sun rose above the horizon of the darkened ocean. Xisheng had made sure he was present on the deck at that time, as he was pretty sure that the Princess wouldn't be pleased with his absence or tardiness after ordering him to be there.

Frankly, Xisheng was surprised to learn that she woke up this early to train. Being a Royal, he figured she would be less inclined to be up this early of her own accord, yet here she was, stepping onto the deck of the ship that would have been unoccupied were Xisheng not standing on it. Even this early, she looked completely perfect, devoid of fatigue, irritability, or anything else Xisheng attributed to being an early riser. He was not such an individual. Thankfully, his helmet hid the early scowl that marred his face.

"Good to see you, Lieutenant. It's hard enough to find a good sparring partner as it is, it would be truly lamentable if you disappointed me."

Xisheng cocked an eyebrow at his teenage superior. She said that like he had a choice in obeying her orders. "I'd never miss a chance to train with a legendary Firebender of your status, Your Highness."

Azula unknowingly returned the expression Xisheng had given her. "As talented with flattery as we are with fighting I see. Well, perhaps you are actually more skilled with the prior."

Xisheng inwardly winced. Admittedly, the Princess had talent for being so subtly scathing. She wasn't even insulting, but it still stung. Still, he couldn't just not answer. "Yet you've still selected me to be your training partner, Princess."

"I didn't say your skills weren't passable. Just that they may be sub-par compared to some of your other abilities. But I haven't exactly tested all of the guards here myself, so I can't say for sure if you are the best on board. I don't have time to spar with every soldier beneath my station, and you've proven capable enough to at least keep my skills sharp. I've never missed a day of training before, and I don't intend to start now. I hope you'll fight with as much fervor today as you did yesterday, Lieutenant."

"I'll give it my all, Your Highness."

"We'll see if that's true only after I've pushed you to the limit."

Within moments, Xisheng was engaged in a sparring match with the Princess again. But this time was different. While Azula had toyed with him previously, she now sprung into combat with measured ferocity that was clearly designed to push her opponent harder. The first azure blaze that came Xisheng's way could have incinerated him had he not tried to mitigate it. His defensive fire wall only softened the blow that still engulfed him in searing heat. It was a good thing that Fire Nation armor was fire resistant.

But even though Azula acted a lot more aggressively this morning, the rest of the duel was still similar to the one before it. Xisheng tried as many techniques as he could think of, but none of them came close to scratching his foe. Xisheng did actually catch her by surprise sometimes. He would throw a kick she didn't see coming or interrupt a standard combo with an unorthodox attack, and Azula would be caught off guard.

But even when he surprised her, his attacks weren't fast or strong enough to take advantage of it. She still reacted fast enough to avoid or overpower the attack. Xisheng had skill and creativity, but not enough power to make the most of it. At least not against a foe like this.

Within minutes, Xisheng was flat on his back and heaving for breath. Azula was completely unmarred and seemingly relaxed to the fullest. "Well, I'll applaud you for your effort, Lieutenant. Not for success, but this and that are wholly separate."

Unsure if it would be inappropriate to stay downed in the presence of the Royal Family, Xisheng struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he did so. "Am I at least applauded for my versatility, Your Highness?"

Azula seemed amused by the question as she checked her nails for some invisible dirt no one could ever possibly notice. "Yes, actually. I'll admit I'm impressed with your ability to change your approach in the middle of combat. Were I a lesser Firebender you would actually be formidable. Where did you learn the moves that aren't part of our standard military forms?"

"Well I...just made them up, honestly. You spend a few years fighting in battle and you're sure to come up with new moves. Right around the time the Earthbenders started getting used to the old ones."

Azula graced him with a look that was both curious and intrigued, but ultimately she merely spoke one word.

"Interesting..."

The young ruler to be left it at that, effectively dismissing Xisheng to go lick his wounds and his pride, a task that was only mildly difficult. He had not been seriously injured after all, and he didn't really feel bad for losing to a Firebending prodigy. Still, even though he told himself that, he had to admit that it kind of stung to lose to a girl so young.

Aside from these duels in the morning, Xisheng's days went by fairly normally. Much of what he did was no different to what had been required of him as a regular soldier: mandated drills with his comrades in arms, maintenance of his equipment, guard duty, and the like. Obviously there was no patrolling since they were all confined to a single ship, but that task from the past was replaced with other more specific tasks.

Occasionally, it was Xisheng's turn to join a team of guards that swept the ship and looked for security breaches or other hazards. Mostly as a matter of principle: no one really believed that an assassin had somehow sailed out to this ship while on the open ocean and boarded it without detection, but it paid to be wary. Besides, someone could have stowed away from the very beginning of the journey and somehow remained undetected. Being paranoid was just part of the job.

But while there were many similarities to the regular Army, Xisheng's experience was a bit more solitary than he had imagined it would be. Prior to being transferred here, Xisheng had been among men and women he had been fighting alongside for some time. But he was brand new here, and a stranger by a large margin. Even Akuwagata, who had been the 'new guy' before him, had actually been with the Royal Guards for several months. Xisheng, who had only been around for a few days in comparison, felt very out of place.

It wasn't that he was treated badly or anything. Everyone seemed fine working with him. He was often asked about his experience at the North Pole, which none of the guards had participated in. But ultimately, the Royal Guards felt a little... overtly reserved. They were so professional that it was hard to really feel a sense of camaraderie with them. Maybe it was part of the job, to keep up the visage of unflinching and perfect soldier, just in case a member of the Royal Family noticed you. But whatever the reason, Xisheng just didn't feel as comfortable with them as he had with his old unit. Perhaps that would change in time, but for now, it meant he didn't do much socializing.

In what was perhaps the last thing he had expected, this situation actually led Xisheng to look forward to his morning job as Azula's punching bag. Yes, he definitely ended up with some serious bruises every single day, but at the very least, Azula was interesting to speak to. And the challenge of facing her was kind of exciting, even if Xisheng consistently lost every single time. The prospect of winning was out of reach, but honestly, Xisheng felt accomplished any time he managed to force any kind of surprise out of Azula. Any time he caught her off-guard or 'almost' got her, he was exhilarated. Of course, any time Xisheng did almost actually get Azula, she would immediately go way harder in retaliation, perhaps trying to remind him that she was never really going all out and that he shouldn't get full of himself.

But despite always losing, despite knowing that Azula wasn't giving her all in their bouts, Xisheng felt that the experience was markedly improving his abilities. Every other day, he was ordered to spar against another Royal Guard by the Guard Captain to help keep the unit sharp. And at first, Xisheng had felt that, most of the time, he and his opponent were evenly matched. At the very least, they had initially seemed like a close contest.

After a week of Azula's hellish 'sparring', Xisheng found himself feeling a notable difference against them. They started feeling much less formidable, because compared to Azula's skill even when holding back, they were. By merit of acclimating himself to Azula's performance, Xisheng started to have a consistent edge against other Royal Guards in sparring. Sometimes, they even seemed laughably easy compared to what he had grown used to. It was due to this gradual change that Xisheng believed his experiences against Azula were making him a better fighter. Not good enough to challenge her, but good enough to defeat his fellow guards in combat with what he would consider only moderate effort.

On the deck of the ship about a week and a half after he had been conscripted as Azula's training partner, Xisheng faced the young royal once again. As always, their duel was lit by the orange glow of dawn. As always, it was a fierce struggle. But for the first time, Xisheng found himself feeling rather good about how it was going. They had been going for two minutes already, which was quite a long time in a fight, and Xisheng had yet to be hit even though Azula was using the same amount of effort she had used in every previous duel.

Fact of the matter was, Xisheng was reading her better than he had been. He had started to figure out certain things about the way she fought: when she liked to apply pressure, which openings she was comfortable punishing and which ones she tended to stay on guard against. He had even deduced which side of her body she tended to angle towards him in most scenarios.

Of course, these were things Xisheng did not have the raw physical prowess to take advantage of. He was not fast or strong enough to exploit them in such a straightforward manner. But as he rolled away from one of Azula's blue streaks of flame, the recently promoted soldier acknowledged that he could exploit them psychologically. Martial combat was a matter of strategy as often as it was pure physical traits. If you knew how your opponent thought, if you knew how they would act or react to a certain situation, that was a weakness that could be exploited.

Part of the mind games was presenting yourself as predictable. In almost all of their fights so far, Xisheng had established himself as an evasive defender. Circumstances permitting, he always evaded an attack rather than trying to endure it. He knew that Azula had picked up on this aspect of his fighting style already. And though he had proven many times already that he could be unpredictable in a fight, Xisheng had never extended that unpredictability to his defense.

It was possible that Azula would not fall for this ploy. But there was also no reason to not try it. Xisheng was just reaching the end of the evasive roll he had taken a moment ago. Azula, always focusing on calculated aggression, was already launching another fireball at his new position. Ordinarily, Xisheng would have immediately dodged again, generally while trying to close distance. He knew that Azula expected this of him.

This time, Xisheng didn't move. He raised his left hand to intercept Azula's fireball and mitigate the damage as best he could, and with his right, he launched an immediate counterattack with as much speed and force as he could muster, creating a brief moment in which Azula's blue flame passed by his own by a hair's breadth, like two comets en route to different sides of the sky.

When Azula's fireball drew close, Xisheng could already sense its overwhelming pressure, and he knew he would not be able to actually stop it. He was going to take a heavy hit, and it was probably going to hurt. But the brief look of stunned shock on Azula's face as she registered an unexpected danger she had comfortably ignored the possibility of made it all worth it. Her eyes widened, her eyebrows shot up into her hairline, and Xisheng could swear on his mother's life that he could see the 'oh shit' moment going through the young girl's mind.

The fact that the orange fireball almost actually reached Azula proved just how off-guard she had been caught. Alas, the blow was thwarted: Azula regained control of the situation and swiftly diverted the incoming attack over and away from her face, whereas Xisheng caught Azula's fireball square in the palm of his left hand, which was slammed back into his chest before kicking back his whole body entirely. He slammed heavily onto the steel deck of the ship, knocking the wind out of him immediately. Azula was none the worse for wear, physically. As always, he had been soundly defeated.

And yet, the Crown Princess didn't have that smug look on her face that she usually did when she won. If anything, she seemed to be appraising her fallen opponent quite deeply, still looking a little stunned by his gutsy attempt to hit her.

"This... is the first time I can say that you almost got me. Unbelievable... slipping up against a mere soldier...?"

Xisheng coughed some of the soreness from his chest as he sat up on the deck. He didn't get to say anything, since Azula actually directed her voice to him this time.

"Why did you do that?"

At first, Xisheng didn't understand what she was getting at. "How do you mean, Princess?"

Azula's brow furrowed as she tried to get to the root cause of this. She had won, as always. She'd even won unscathed, just like always. But the fact that she had almost been caught lacking was enough to disturb her. So she had to know how this had happened.

"That attack, at that moment. Why did you do it? A wild flailing strike in a last-ditch effort to make any headway? A miscalculation on your part? Did you misread the next move I was going to make, and find yourself with no alternative?"

It was obvious why Azula wanted any of these to be the answer. Because if any of those were true, it meant that she was not at fault. While one could take unpredictable errors of the human opponent into account when strategizing, it was impossible to actually know how those errors would manifest or when. Even the best strategist couldn't predict when their foe would make a mistake. They could only be prepared to take advantage of mistakes when they appeared. If Xisheng had just messed up, she could not have actually done anything to be prepared for his strategy falling apart in that exact moment. In that case, she would actually deserve praise for reacting so quickly and efficiently to something that she could not have predicted.

Xisheng wondered how honest he should actually be when answering this question. But ultimately, he figured that lying to the Royal Family was just bad practice.

"Thus far, there are certain ways that you react to the actions I take in battle, Princess. Every time I roll to avoid an attack, you always apply pressure to try and get me while my footing is uncertain. Ordinarily, I always evade a second time to avoid that followup. I knew that you knew that. So this time, I played into the action I knew you would take, based on the action you believed I would. I never take hits I don't have to take. Except when I do. I knew you would be caught off guard by this."

Azula scowled as she contemplated all of this. This meant that she had slipped up. She had underestimated her opponent's ability to read her movements and patterns. Even worse, she had been arrogant enough to just assume that she could not be baited by her own complacency. Her opponent had deciphered her behavior, set her up for an opening to exploit, and taken perfect advantage of it when it all came together. If she had been facing a bender of superior speed and power, Azula would have been on the receiving end of a mouthful of flame. That someone obviously inferior to her as a combatant had come so close to getting the better of her was infuriating. In fact, as far as Azula was concerned, Xisheng had gotten the better of her. If he had just been a more powerful fighter, she'd have lost to his strategy.

Xisheng was, of course, unable to miss the very troubling expression on Azula's face. Wondering if he had insulted her in some roundabout kind of way, he wasted no time in trying to save some face.

"Forgive my presumptuousness, Princess. I did not mean to say that I presume to know the thoughts of the Royal Family. Nor did I intend to place you in harm's way."

Initially lost in her own thoughts, only now that Xisheng was talking did Azula realize that she was probably making a scary expression that was giving him the wrong idea. Then again, maybe he would have gotten said wrong idea either way. He had, after all, come dangerously close to blowing her face off. Though their duel was sparring, Xisheng had gone all out in his attack, putting every possible effort into actually hitting Azula with a lethal blow. Officially, no Fire Nation citizen should have ever had the audacity to do such a thing.

But Azula was not displeased by this. The whole reason that she had commanded Xisheng to be her sparring partner on this trip was because he fought her when she demanded it. Not the illusion of a fight, not standing around and letting her wail on him, but an actual fight. When she told him to fight, Xisheng tried his utmost to defeat her, royal status be damned. There was a drive and determination to that notion that she greatly respected, mostly because she felt herself a kindred spirit in that regard. Doing your utmost to surmount any and all obstacles, regardless of how formidable they may have been: that was a rare trait.

With that in mind, Azula made a conscious effort to lessen the severity of her expression. She was still livid, but she was angry with herself for falling short, not for Xisheng for almost getting the best of her.

"Don't apologize for giving your best, Lieutenant. If every warrior of our nation fought with such drive to succeed, this war would have been over long ago. I ordered you to fight me, not be a target for me to practice on. I'd be more insulted if you were daring to hold back against me. Be that as it may... you've still been defeated, so our session is over. I expect to see you tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

With that, Azula wasted no time in walking away, a little more hurriedly than usual. Despite what she had just said, Xisheng couldn't shake the feeling that she was still bothered by the final moments of their fight. But although he was troubled by that, Xisheng couldn't deny that he also felt nearly giddy with excitement. He, of all people, had made the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation sweat in a fight, even if it was only for a brief moment. There was no way anyone back home would have believed it.

 ---

Roughly two weeks into their trip at sea, each day of which Xisheng had been thrashed by Azula quite thoroughly, the Princess' retinue finally reached their destination, which was little more than the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom. They were stopping at a small port town under Fire Nation control, where the trees were in full bloom with gorgeous petals of pink and red. All of the Royal Guards were gathered on the deck of the ship, waiting for their Princess to brief them on why they were here.

Thankfully, the young girl was pretty quick to fill them in as she came to stand at the fore of the assembled soldiers. "We will soon be apprehending my Uncle and my brother. I am going to be confronting them alone, but I expect all of you to be ready for anything when I bring them back to the ship. That said, try not to act too hostile; I'd like to avoid a conflict here if at all possible."

While it went against the training of the Royal Guards to allow the Princess to go anywhere alone, there was little they could say to stop her from doing what she wanted. As for Xisheng, he was curious as to how Azula could know that their target was in this town. Sure, you could use deductive reasoning to determine that this town was the most likely place for them to have come after the North Pole, but she seemed fully confident that they were there, with no room for error. He supposed that was a question he should just leave unanswered, tallying it up to the Princess' unknown machinations. Maybe the rogues had just been reported by one of the town's citizens.

The Princess was only absent for a short time before she returned to her ship, though she was alone when she did so. This prompted confusion from her guards, who had expected their targets to be in tow, but she dispelled their confusion as she walked up the ramp. "My uncle and brother will be along shortly. Do line up and give them the proper respect owed to the Royal Family, would you?"

The guards could only assume that Azula had somehow convinced Iroh and Zuko to come along willingly. It was the only explanation for why they would come to the barge of their own will, or why they would be treated respectfully. That said, there was no need for an explanation. They simply did as they were told, content to leave the planning to their Princess. They knew it was unwise to make any assumptions on Azula's behalf.

So they did as instructed. Twelve of the Royal Guards, Xisheng among them, went to stand on the dock, waiting for the arrival of their 'guests.' They only had to wait for ten minutes for the Prince and the traitor General to descend from their mountain resort, what little they had in their possession with them. It was truly little beyond clothing and some bare necessities, but Xisheng was more concerned with the suspicious look in the General's eyes above all else. The young Prince Zuko looked completely at ease, eager to return home for the first time in many years. But Iroh was clearly expecting treachery, eyeing every single guard with doubt.

Of course, Xisheng couldn't blame him for being suspicious. He had not killed the guards that had witnessed his treachery at the North Pole. Surely they had relayed news of his actions to their superiors, and by now Ozai had to have known what he had done. He did not believe that his defense of the Moon Spirit would just be overlooked. Still, it would have been foolish for him to do anything rash without a reason. Until it was obvious that they were in a compromised situation, he would rather play along.

Azula stood at the top of the boarding ramp with two of her guards flanking her, where she exhibited a personality Xisheng was almost certain was false. Either that or his short time in her presence had yet to reveal a far nicer side to her.

"Brother, Uncle; welcome aboard. I imagine you're quite ready to return home."

Zuko made some whimsical remark about returning home after so long, understandable considering his absence, but Xisheng ignored it in favor of the ship's captain, who proceeded to shout orders back to his crew on the deck. "Raise anchor, men! We're escorting the prisoners home!"

Everyone present visibly stiffened as the captain practically ruined everything in a mere moment. Azula shot him a glare that promised fitting repercussions for his foolishness, but more importantly, Iroh immediately turned to attack the two guards nearest to him on the dock, catching them unawares and tossing them into the water. The next pair of guards attempted to retaliate, but the old man was faster than he looked, and they were swiftly knocked away before they could do anything either.

As for the captain, he was standing between Zuko and his sister, so he quickly found himself thrown overboard by the scarred Prince, who was directing an enraged glare at his younger sister.

"You lied to me!"

Despite her own irritation with how this situation had turned out thanks to one foolish blunder from an incompetent moron, Azula managed to remain as calm and collected as ever at Zuko's approach. "Hardly a first, Zuzu. But before you do anything foolish here, do consider your actions; attacking now will be committing a crime against the Fire Nation. That would be very unwise."

Zuko ignored her advice entirely, stepping up to fight the two guards that were protecting the Princess. As for Xisheng, he had to trust in Azula's ability to defend herself (and he certainly had faith in that), as he and the rest of the guards focused on Iroh. Unfortunately, the narrowness of the dock prevented the guards from simply swarming him with superior numbers. They could only really attack one or two at a time, and this meant they had no real advantage. Against one or two enemies at a time, the Dragon of the West easily outclassed his foes, even being the elite Firebenders they were. After all, there was as considerable of a margin between average and elite as there was between elite and legend.

Still, it was an terribly pathetic encounter. Nearly every guard that attacked Iroh was defeated within one or two blows. The pattern was simple enough; the guard would attack, Iroh would deflect or divert it, and then he would shove them over the edge of the dock with his superior weight and poise. Perhaps the guards were refraining from powerful Firebending attacks because they were supposed to take Iroh alive, but they would never manage to beat him if they didn't give it their all. When the line of soldiers was diminished enough to place no one between Xisheng and Iroh, the recently promoted elite Firebender decided against engaging in melee in favor of launching a fire blast large enough to engulf the dock with both hands.

Unfortunately, an attack of this magnitude wasn't overly difficult to disperse for the Dragon of the West, who simply kept his stance as he shouted back at his nephew on the ship. "Zuko! We need to go, now!"

Xisheng tried to catch him off guard while he was glancing over his shoulder, but the dual fireballs that came at the traitor general from both sides were easily caught and sent right back at him. Xisheng deflected those to either side of himself, refraining from attacking again as he contemplated his best approach to this fight. Unfortunately, he got the feeling that this engagement would be uncannily similar to their last one, which was infuriating since he outright hated this traitorous coward. Still, even if he felt he had no chance, Xisheng would do everything he could: after all, even the Princess had found that to be an admirable trait of his.

On the deck of the barge, Azula was doing her best to hold back a sigh as she effortlessly dodged literally every move Zuko tried to hit her with. The guards that had been protecting her had been dispatched far too easily, which frustrated her immensely, but more than that, she was trying to get Zuko to understand why everything he was doing right now was a terrible idea.

"You're making a mistake, Zuko."

"My only mistake was trusting you!"

Azula leaned back to dodge another swipe of Zuko's flaming daggers, wondering how anyone could be so dense. "Zuzu, we're only here to arrest Iroh. He's the only one that committed treason."

"Prisoners' definitely sounds like more than one person to me!"

The Crown Princess caught her brother's hands at the wrist when they came at her in a downward swing, pitting their similar golden glares against one another. "The captain was a fool that made an assumption. I technically didn't specify that you wouldn't be a prisoner, but I had no way of knowing that you weren't in league with Iroh until now."

"In league with what? He's done nothing wrong!"

"He teamed up with the Avatar and attacked an Admiral and his retinue. That's treason, Zuko."

Naturally, the banished Prince didn't accept this. He had been taught that his sister always lied. Strangely, he couldn't quite remember who had ingrained that notion in him. "You're lying! Uncle would never help the Avatar, he knows how important capturing him is to me!"

With a smirk, Azula kicked her brother away, lowering her already casual stance as she did so. "Then by all means, feel free to ask him about it, Zuzu. Ask him where he was and what he did during the invasion at the North Pole. I know you're a little slow, but even will be able to recognize evasion when you hear it."

Despite the futility of his efforts, Zuko prepared to engage his sister again, only to be interrupted when his Uncle came racing up the ramp. "Zuko! Don't waste your energy. We have to run!"

Azula briefly contemplated attempting to fight both of them to take Iroh prisoner, especially since her Uncle was clutching his side. He had apparently been wounded, which meant that Azula could have an advantage. But even so, it was likely that she would need all of her attention to defeat the Dragon of the West, and that meant Zuko could be moderately dangerous if they fought her in tandem. Confident though she was in her skills, Azula also wasn't a complete fool. Still, she wasn't going to let them get away without sowing a few seeds of doubt.

"Go ahead and run along, Zuzu, but do try to think for yourself while you're at it. Look back on your hunt for the Avatar. Ask yourself how much Iroh ever really helped. I think you'll see the truth soon enough."

Zuko looked like he wanted to object or otherwise defend his Uncle, but he was clearly conflicted. Despite how much he wanted to deny it, he felt that Azula may have actually been onto something. But he wasn't going to just trust her at face value like this. He would investigate things himself. For now, he was far more inclined to trust his Uncle than his younger sister.

With a clear opening to escape, Iroh led his nephew off of the ship and down the boarding ramp, passing the prone Royal Guard on the dock there. Objectively, Iroh appreciated the soldier's skill. Subjectively, he had to admit that tendril of flame to his flank had really hurt. Still did, actually.

Azula casually sauntered off of the deck of her ship as she watched the now fugitive duo flee the docks, eyeing the entirely defeated Royal Guards that were mostly clambering back onto the dock by now, soaked through with seawater. Only one of them was actually incapacitated on the dock itself, though the masked soldier was slowly pushing himself to his knees. There was a rather severe scorch mark in the center of his chest piece.

"I'm going to assume that's you, Lieutenant Xisheng."

The soldier glanced up at the completely unscathed Princess, only to bow his head a moment later. "Forgive me, Princess. I was completely useless."

Azula glanced around at the other soldiers, raising her voice loud enough for all of them to hear her. "Well, at least you weren't absolutely humiliated like the rest of these incompetent fools. In fact, you did actually wound my traitorous Uncle, no? That's more than anyone else here achieved."

"But I still failed. The mission is a failure because I was too weak."

The Princess scoffed. "The mission is a failure because someone is an idiot. Get up, Lieutenant. You can berate yourself when I think you deserve it. You haven't proven as useless as the rest of these fools."

The Princess turned on her heel and began walking back to the ship, with Xisheng slow to follow her considering the gradually dulling pain in his chest. However, he was forced to stop when the Princess did the same, the young girl glaring down at the water where the captain of the ship was just beginning to climb back onto the dock. Naturally, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed the scathing glare of the Crown Princess on him.

"Captain, I suggest you jump right back in that water and find another way home. Unless you'd like to be thrown overboard once we're out to sea instead?"

The bearded captain visibly gulped before releasing his hold on the edge of the dock and slinking back into the water. It would have been kind of comical if Azula's threat wasn't so obviously real.

"The rest of you had better be on the ship in the next sixty seconds if you don't want to be left behind."

The rest of the Royal Guards, still reeling from their recent defeat, now hustled to get back on the ship, fairly certain that the Princess never made empty threats. Xisheng simply followed the rather terrifying teenage girl up the boarding ramp, incredibly relieved that he seemed to be one of the few people with her favor on the ship. Apparently, guts and enough combat prowess to be somewhat respectable could go a long way.

 ---

Later that night, as the ship was docked a little farther along the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom, Azula contemplated her next move as she rested on the palanquin that sat at the top of the stairs on deck. Her two advisors, an extremely old pair of ladies who happened to be twins, sat to her left and right. Four of the Royal Guards were prostrated before her on the deck, though Xisheng was not among them. They simply stayed still and silent as Azula listened to the two crones beside her.

"When tracking your brother and Uncle, traveling with the Royal Procession may no longer be an option..."

"May no longer be wise..."

The two of them finished together. "If you wish to keep the element of surprise."

Azula resisted the urge to sigh. "Lo, Li: believe me when I say that my appreciation for the novelty of your rhymes and downright unsettling unity you have has been lacking for quite some time now. Likely since I was a toddler. Don't do that again."

The old women said nothing, merely nodding their acknowledgment as Azula continued.

"Still, you're absolutely right. Aside from the logistical issue of moving this many people about, the Royal Procession has proven to be quite... inadequate. I gain no benefit from bringing along all of these worthless sods, two of which were bested by Zuzu of all people. No, I need a small team, and preferably one where the term 'elite' actually means something."

"Most wise of you, Princess Azula."

"Indeed. Thankfully, I know just the people I need to bring along. I think we'll be visiting some old friends very soon."

Naturally, the Royal Guards present for this discussion were a little uneasy with it all, but considering their humiliation at the hands of the traitorous Dragon of the West, they supposed they were getting off easy. Certainly easier than the captain earlier, and that seemed a like a blessing to be grateful for compared to what could have happened to them as punishment instead.

 ---

Despite his injury, Xisheng was present on the deck of the barge at the crack of dawn the next morning. He was not sure if the Princess would care to be there herself all things considered, but as per the usual, she likewise stepped onto the deck of the ship just as the sun was rising. Apparently, her training was one thing she was absolutely determined to keep punctual. For the record though, she did seem surprised to see Xisheng there.

"Lieutenant. I thought you'd be recovering from your wound today."

Xisheng bowed to her, gingerly since the aforementioned injury did hurt quite a bit. It hadn't really pierced his armor or anything, but the concussive force of the blast had given him quite the bruise. "You never gave me permission to cease this routine, Princess. Some pain and suffering won't obstruct me from my duty."

"Is that so? Well, in that case, I assume you're ready for today's session?"

Xisheng would have scoffed at the euphemism. Even though he had done alright a few times, most of their 'sessions' felt like him getting hopelessly throttled. At any rate, using such a word to describe a fierce duel seemed a little strange. But he had more important things to worry about right now.

Since he had acknowledged that his abilities were growing thanks to his fights with Azula, and especially since he had been soundly defeated by Iroh yesterday despite that growth, Xisheng had allowed a certain stray thought to take root in his mind. A somewhat absurd thought, but one he wanted to explore all the same. He knew he was taking a big risk here, but it felt like the potential reward was worth it.

"Actually, Princess... if you would allow it, I have something I would ask of you."

Azula was noticeably surprised at such a thing, though she had no initial quarrel with it. At the very least, Xisheng had earned the right to politely ask a question in her eyes. "Very well. I do hope it's important."

Knowing that what he was about to ask could quickly result in many bad things he did not wish to experience, Xisheng got to his knees and bowed before the Princess, prostrating himself completely before making his request. After all, he knew he was overstepping his station here.

"Princess, please train me!"

Simple as that, Xisheng laid out his desires, and Azula suffered a very rare moment of confusion where she didn't know what to say. Of course, it didn't take very long for her to find her voice.

"Excuse me?"

Unsure if it was wise to continue, Xisheng nevertheless did so. He had already said it: it was too late to rescind the request now. "I must be stronger. If I were taught by someone as talented as you, I could be."

Azula cocked an eyebrow at him, an expression that Xisheng couldn't see considering his position. "You honestly think I'm going to use my precious time and effort to train a mere soldier? I'm surprised you have the gall to even ask. What makes you think a member of the Royal Family would ever agree to such a thing?"

She didn't sound angry, or even irritated. Just... factual. Of course, that was equally scary when it came to her. Nevertheless, Xisheng hoped his reasoning would be seen as admirable, or at least forgivable.

"I have served both you and my nation poorly, Princess. Twice I have had the Dragon of the West before me, and twice I've allowed him to escape. I know you do not need my protection as a Royal Gaurd, but I would like to at least be useful to you. I want to serve my country to the greatest possible capacity I can manage. I know I am overstepping my boundaries in asking this of the most prodigious Firebender of the Royal Family, but I know the future self molded by your tutelage would be far more valuable to this country than anyone else I could be."

Azula allowed a few moments of silence to pass between her and this Lieutenant that was certainly not cut from the same cloth as the rest of his comrades. Having agreed with Lo and Li's advice, Azula had been planning to ditch the Royal Procession wholesale. But admittedly, even before now, she had quietly questioned whether or not she had wanted to leave Xisheng behind as well. She at least held him in somewhat higher regard than everyone else on the ship. He had his uses. Not to mention, she was consistently finding new admirable qualities in this man, which was rare for her. She didn't often find other people admirable in any way.

As a perfectionist at heart, Azula understood the drive to improve on a truly integral level. She was always seeking to improve, regardless of the risks or obstacles. Xisheng was doing the same here, going so far as to risk the consequences of insulting the Royal Family to make it happen. Moreover, it was a rare day indeed to find someone this dedicated, both to his duty and his nation. After all, were any of the other guards out here trying to convince the Princess to teach them so they could better serve? Certainly not.

That said, Azula did think the position of teacher was beneath her station. Why should she of all people use her time to train up someone weaker than her? Why spend her time and effort to make someone else better for their own gain?

But was this situation really like that? Xisheng wanted her guidance not so he could gain greater glory for himself, but so he could better serve her and her cause. In the brief time he had been in her retinue, the newly-minted officer had already proven to be the most dedicated of all of her guards. Besides, he was quite possibly the only man besides her father that Azula actually had some halfway decent modicum of respect for. He wasn't pretentious enough to reject the idea of asking for assistance from someone better than him. He understood his own weakness and sought to make it stronger rather than hide it. He had guts, unyielding loyalty, and the will to fight any enemy. He was a rare one definitely, and Azula had already admitted to herself that he had potential. With a teacher of her caliber, perhaps he really could reach an astounding level of skill.

Honestly, perhaps this was actually a good idea. Azula herself would probably get more practice by teaching her skills to another rather than effortlessly beating him up with them. After all, you could only find so many ways to demolish a weaker foe before you stopped gleaning anything useful from it. But teaching your skills required you to explore new perspectives and angles of your craft, to find new and better ways to understand it.

And if she were going to form a small, elite team to hunt her enemies with, what better candidate than someone who was completely, totally loyal to her, and one that she could train herself? She would never have to question his level of competence if she were the one teaching him. She would always know how good he was and what he was capable of. He was actually a prime candidate for her envisioned team.

"Say that I actually had enough pity to spend my time on a grunt like you, Lieutenant. What guarantee do I have that you'll take it as seriously as required?"

Xisheng maintained his bow. "All I can offer is my word, Your Highness, as well as your brief experience with me."

Normally, Azula would have scoffed at such a notion, but her brief experience with Xisheng was actually a pretty good indicator to take into consideration. He didn't back down from any challenge, no matter what the odds. Few soldiers would fight their hardest against the Dragon of the West and the Crown Princess, especially knowing that they stood no chance. There was a foolhardy determination about him, one that Azula actually appreciated.

"I see. So when my tutelage grinds you into the dirt, and your body begs for mercy, you will ignore it and stand up to suffer my teaching time and time again, yes?"

"I swear. I will never rest unless you command it, or death takes me."

Inwardly, Azula had to admit that there was a certain drama to this situation that may have been unneeded, but it was honestly amusing, so she did nothing to rectify it. As for making this decision, she figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. At best, this young officer continued to impress her and serve as a valuable asset. At worst, he failed to meet her expectations, and she could get rid of him with little more than a snap of her fingers. It was really no big deal for her to see how this worked out, especially because she did honestly believe it had potential.

"Very well then, Lieutenant. Congratulations, you may very well be one of the only Firebenders in recent history to ever be a personal pupil to a member of the Royal Family. Now all you have to do is stay alive long enough to reap the benefits of my tutelage."

Actually flabbergasted that he had succeeded in getting the Princess to accept him as a student, Xisheng nevertheless managed to get to his feet without delay, bowing again when he was finished. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will not let your graciousness be wasted on me."

"That remains to be seen. That said, we may as well start now. Be grateful; today at least we can focus less on actually doing anything and more on making sure you actually understand the most important core concepts. I mean, one would think you did already, considering your ability in a fight, but you'd be surprised how seemingly strong a Firebender can become even with their art rooted in a flawed understanding of the element. That being said, tell me what the most important physical aspect of Firebending properly is."

"Breathing. The most potent Firebending is achieved through the power of the lungs."

"Well congratulations, you're already a better Firebender than Zuzu and probably half of all the benders in our nation."

Honestly, Xisheng was not sure if that was supposed to be an actual milestone, but at least he was off to a good start. Under the ruthless teachings of his new teacher however, he wasn't sure how long that would last.