29 Audience

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- Aah!" diluting the silence with a vivid moan of pleasure, Azula relaxes completely in the hot water. Tilting her head back and covering her eyes, focusing on the pleasure with peacefulness. Hot springs were always a magical place.

It was morning. The princess was busy doing her ablutions while the maids and cooks were busy preparing breakfast for the imperial personage. The familiar expanse of the palace's hot springs brought pleasure and long-awaited relaxation to mind and body. However, the princess could not relax completely, but she felt a sense of inadequacy. Something was definitely missing for the complete peace of her soul. Azula could even guess what, but she didn't want to think about it. The lack of spirit in the morning had hurt her deeply. Trying not to think about anything, but only enjoy the silence, the girl relaxed in the water, leaning on the edge of the pool.

Suddenly she felt something cold on her shoulders. Shuddering, she suppresses the urge to twist in an inept grasp and rush to attack, to scorch the impudent in blue flames! But in time she manages to stop her reflexes. Such actions were futile. Only one creature could have crept so close to her for such foolishness. And it was long dead. Her hunch was correct, as Yoaru's familiar voice soon rang out.

- What an unusual reaction. In the past, you would have attacked immediately, wanting to finish off whoever dared to sneak up on you from behind," the ghost's calm voice was full of pleasant surprise.

- I just know it's useless against a dead man," the girl parried back.

- This is progress. How's that? - Yoaru begins to knead her shoulders, trying to massage them. His actions make Azula frown, squirming at the not-so-nice sensations.

- It's cold. Your hands are icy, and your skills as a masseur are pretty average," she said, releasing herself from the grip of the not quite incorporeal spirit. The ghost's touch was not the most pleasant.

- Oh, what a shame. So much effort and all for nothing. I'm a ghost, after all," he replied with a slight grudge, not insisting on continuing the massage.

- How long have you been doing that? - She looked round and noticed the ghostly figure of her interlocutor, through which she could see the walls and the interior. It spoke directly to the fact that he was still incorporeal. However, that didn't stop him from touching her with his cold hands.

- Recently learnt. You are aware that spirits may very well incarnate in and interact with the material world, right? Ah, yes... you don't know about that," Yoaru recalled, stroking his chin, "Anyway: I learnt it recently. - Azula arched an eyebrow in surprise at the spirit's explanation.

- What do you mean recently?

- Just the other day, to be specific, I recently remembered about it, decided to try it, and it worked! It wasn't as difficult as I had imagined. Though I'm still a long way away from full-body embodiment," the spirit calmly satisfies the girl's interest, stepping around to the side under the girl's attentive gaze, he sits down opposite. Right in the middle of a pool full of hot water.

He sat cross-legged on the water, admiring the beauty of the girl's body, which was blooming with its own special beauty. After the spirit treatment, any scars on Azula had disappeared. Despite the still present internal injuries, she looked quite beautiful. Observing her body, one could see a well-defined strength of personality that was reflected on the princess's body. A beautiful and mesmerising sight, worthy to be put on canvas as a masterpiece of art and the pinnacle of female beauty. Watching the girl, Yoaru enjoyed the views without holding back his smile. He didn't hide his pleasure at the sight, but rather showed it off.

Grinning at the actions of her interlocutor, Azula defiantly relaxes, making no attempt to hide the beauty of her body. Instead, she conversely changes her pose so that everything is perfectly visible, clearly proud of her appearance. The time when she was embarrassed by such attention had passed. Now she was even glad of it. Taking such attention as a compliment. Just as Yoaru had once said: If people are looking, there's something to look at.

- You are as beautiful as ever. - compliments the spirit, which made Azula's lips twitch into a smile. But she quickly pulled herself together, remaining calm outwardly.

- What are you looking at? - Notices the woman the direction of the ghost's gaze.

- Your tummy.

- My tummy?

- Mm-hmm. It's beautiful, I especially like the barely visible abs that show their beauty when you tense up. It shows you're used to getting things done and how hard you work to achieve your goals. Your body can say a lot about you. I already know all that, but just watching you like this is a real treat for my eyes. It's like I'm looking at a masterpiece by a brilliant artist. You're so strong and feminine at the same time. Ahem," he stammered, "it's hard to find the right words to describe the beauty and strength you possess.

- Is that a compliment? - The girl can't help herself and raises her left eyebrow in surprise. It seemed to be the spirit's first compliment that wasn't cloaked in sarcasm, irony, or a joke. And those words of his...

- Yeah... I think it's a compliment. I'm not sure though, I just said what I thought looking at you. But you can take it as a compliment.

- I see..." the girl replies briefly. She feels that she is getting a little hot, and her heart is speeding up the rhythm.

- Let's go back. Where did you disappear? If it's not a secret? - Azula inquires, making an effort to remain calm and not give away her embarrassment.

Yoaru continued to stare at her, his smile growing wider and wider. Under his gaze, the princess began to gradually blush. It was rare to see Azula like this. In public, she managed to keep her composure. It was only with him that she felt a strange feeling. Unexplainable, unfamiliar, unknown and yet desirable?

- I knew you'd be interested in this," the spirit said, enjoying the girl's embarrassment.

- I plunged into the dirtiest mud that people have ever invented!...!

Such a strange phrase makes the girl exhale hot air along with tongues of blue flame, regaining her composure. Azula begins to frown her eyebrows, not understanding the essence of Yoaru's reply. The spirit, noticing the perplexed look on her face, decides to elaborate.

- I studied the memories of ministers, military officers, politicians, officials and all those who I could reach during the night. I learnt a lot of new and very interesting things.

- And... your father's memory? - The princess is quick to guess.

- Of course. He's as human as the rest of us, even if he thinks he's something more. Would you like to know some of his secrets? - The spirit leans closer, closing the distance between them. Except that kind of answer didn't sit well with Azula.

- I told you not to do that! - With a fierce hiss, she exhales a huge jet of flame right into the face of her interlocutor. The fire passes through him, disappearing into thin air. And Yoaru continues to smile a sort of sad smile.

- Not really. You ordered me not to do this, but... - he reduces the distance between them to a minimum, - am I your subordinate?

The princess had no words for a suitable reply. With the tone of voice alone, he reminded her of the simple truth. The spirit was not her subordinate. An ally? Yes. But not a subordinate or a servant. He was a force to be reckoned with, just as much as her father, if not more so. Yoaru was right about something, but she didn't want to admit it. Feelings of resentment and fear began to fill the girl's heart.

- Why did you tell me that? - The princess glared angrily at him.

- I want you to know about my opportunity. You're smart, you'll find a way to use it. Besides, now I know a lot of your daddy's secrets. Just ask, and I'll be happy to share them with you. Any questions you have, I'll give you an answer.

- No! I don't want to know..." the girl replies too sharply, quickly shutting up. Surprised at her behaviour, she still hasn't finished her sentence. Quickly pulling herself together, Azula steps out of the pool of hot water, starting to dry herself off with a towel. Thus hiding her worried face from Yoaru's gaze.

- Better tell me about what you've managed to learn about the others. Those who have achieved crumbs of small power," Azula's voice comes through the soft towel as she takes a long time to wipe her head, gradually regaining her composure.

- As you say...

Yoaru shared what he had learnt during that night. To the princess's surprise, the information the spirit had received was quite interesting. Extremely personal secrets of not the last people at court. Even though the information was very little, the fact that Azula could not fully read and predict the actions of certain people spoke volumes. It overlapped with the reasons for so little information. Most of what Yoaru had learnt, Azula already knew or at least guessed. Still, she was a genius and had been trained by the best masters in the country. In her years, the girl was well versed in politics and even better at intrigue.

The princess spent the time talking until a servant girl announced that breakfast had been prepared and an audience with the Fire Master was coming up. While Azula busied herself with destroying the breakfast, the spirit continued to tell the personal secrets of those in power. After the treatment that followed the breakfast, after consulting with Yoaru, the girl decides to do a little training. On it she sorrowfully confirmed her hunch that she had not yet recovered completely. Her movements were not so sharp. There was stiffness, and sometimes the joints were pierced with pain. Unfortunately, in such a state, she could not perform at her best.

Meanwhile, the appointed time for the Fire Master's audience had arrived, and the princess hesitated at the door to his office. Gathering her strength, she knocks, then, hearing a short order to enter, opens the door.

- Fire Lord, I have come at your command," the girl kneels down, glancing round her father's office. Refinement and grandeur were combined with practicality and compactness. Many scrolls and papers were on her father's desk, and he was busy with them. This office was meant for work, not receptions.

Time was ticking away. Azula froze, kneeling before the ruler. She should wait until the Fire Lord deigned to give her his attention. He must have a lot of important business to attend to, and their conversation could wait.

"Showing you where you belong. It's not nice to do that to your own daughter, but at the same time it's a very effective way of showing your place to your subordinates," Yoaru shared his thoughts as he stood behind her father's back and began cheekily reading the papers he was working with. The ruler of the strongest country and leader of the greatest nation didn't notice the spirit that stood right behind his shoulder.

"Do you want to know what he's up to?" - the princess slowly blinked once in response, defiantly showing the spirit her refusal. It was a response that attracted no one else's attention and was only understood by the unseen participant in the conversation.

"That's a shame. But I'll still say it, these are the reports from the colonies. Can you imagine? It's more important than you and your well-being. Ridiculous, isn't it?" the girl's teeth clenched tightly at the spirit's words. Even though she realised it was important too, she knew that the reports could have waited, especially when he had set the meeting time himself. Azula understood what her father was trying to accomplish, but patiently continued to wait.

After a few minutes, Ozai finishes with the parchment, setting it aside. His gaze stops on his own daughter.

- Azula. How was your training with Master Piandao? - Ozai begins coolly.

- Excellent. I'd like to demonstrate my progress, but the wounds I received in the battle with the sea serpent won't allow me to do so right now," the girl replied quickly, having already imagined variations of their conversation in her mind several times. Her father had given her plenty of time to think about it.

- How long will it take you to fully recover? - The voice of the fire lord was devoid of any emotion. Despite what he said, it was clear that he was not at all interested in his daughter's condition. He remained as cold and impartial as ever.

"Three more days," Yoaru prompted as he stepped aside, closer to the girl, continuing to watch their conversation. The ghost's face remained impartial, only at rare moments did he allow himself to cast the girl a sad look.

- Three twenty-four hours," Azula answered briefly. Ozai's face still does not express any emotion.

- Good. After three days, I wish to personally see your skills and training progress in conquering lightning.

''Hmm, we should somehow bring up your desire to benefit the country. Add some flattery. An inspection with a private ship and personally selected crew is the best choice," the spirit quickly put in his word while father and daughter remained silent.

- And also, it has come to my attention that you, before your departure, borrowed a lot of literature from the capital's library on poetry," Ozai paused, after clearly demonstrating his awareness of his daughter's every action.

These words of his seemed to carry little meaning, but it only seemed so at first glance. It was only to those who could read between the lines that something more was apparent. The Fire Master was displeased with such wilful actions of his heiress. Ozai was willing to hear her excuses. For he thought poetry was not something his heiress should be doing.

- It's a training in eloquence," Azula replies rather cleverly, alluding to certain things, namely lying and scheming.

- 'That's how it is,' the ruler replies thoughtfully, stroking his long goatee and continuing to stare coldly at his own daughter.

"He didn't like your answer," the spirit says, as if it were a third participant in the conversation, but only Azula alone could hear it.

- 'I see, I am satisfied with your answer. You may be free to go. Rest and recover.

- As you command, Fire Lord.

Azula left her father's office. After walking through the grand corridors of the palace, she found herself in her wing, where she ordered the servants to prepare some more food, before hiding in her own chambers.

"I wish I'd had a chance to express our idea of being an inspector of cities and colonies. So to speak, to see how well your father's orders are carried out," the spirit expressed his opinion, as soon as Azula was in her room and collapsed on the bed. The girl wasn't feeling well. Meeting her father had not been the most pleasant.

- There wasn't an opportunity. Oh, and he wouldn't give his permission until I showed the perfect lightning conquest," the princess replies with ease.

"I know, I guessed it myself, still, it's a waste of time. And thanks for not trying to tell me about the Avatar," Yoaru thanks, settling down on the bed too, next to the girl.

- Don't take me for a fool. I need to heal as soon as possible.

"We'll get started as soon as you've eaten, you'll practice afterwards. I think it's about time to start rebuilding your skills. We don't have much time and too many plans that need immediate implementation,'' Yoaru summarised, calmly collapsing on the bed with the princess.

- I agree...

(***)

The three days went by very quickly. Azula ate a lot, and trained even more, recovering her own skills. Conquering fire, conquering lightning, cold weapon and hand-to-hand combat skills, everything was returning to its previous performance. Her body no longer ached from the sudden movements. It was already ready for heavier exertion. And the day before the fateful test day, I encouraged Azula to train together.

The idea was that our minds would merge and our energies would resonate while I was in it, and control the body along with Zula herself. To be honest, a similar idea occurred to me when I remembered Aang's avatar state. When his eyes started to glow, along with his tattoos. In addition, all of his magic scores would increase by a hundred times or more. When I remembered that, I decided to try a similar trick on Azula.

I'm not the great spirit of Rava, but I'm also capable of something now. And what exactly I was capable of, we decided to test it in the training room. It didn't work the first time, and not even the tenth time, but the thirtieth or fortieth, but it was definitely worth it.

- Interesting... - the girl said with a slight shock, as soon as we released a huge fireball from her hand, which should have been smaller at least several times, according to the effort and Qi we spent.

"Let's continue, we need to see everything we are capable of in this state," after which we continued to perform attack katas and other fire magic techniques known to Azula, some of which she had created herself...

The first practice showed the flame amplification by almost five times. Control increased, so did the fire's power and quantity, as well as other body stats, strength, speed, power, agility, and even emotion control as we practically merged into one consciousness. Quite a strange but interesting sensation.

And all this with the same effort and waste of Qi to use magic. This state was only possible because of Azula and I's energy, which was almost identical. Other people suffer and take damage from my presence, while the princess becomes stronger. And so did I, for that matter. An interesting and predictable effect.

By the way, I was beginning to think that it was thanks to Zula that I learnt to partially incarnate myself in the human world so quickly, but it takes experimentation and training. I won't be able to use my hands alone. And already for experiments I need time, a lot of free time.

This was another great advantage of our co-operation for the princess. We were stronger together than we were separately. Not as strong as the Avatar, but still in this state Azula became stronger than herself several times over. And that was a lot, considering how strong she was on her own.

Of course, in between training and restoring her abilities, we did a lot of other things. We talked a lot, discussed future plans, made plans... we even discussed some stories from her childhood. It was strange and unusual to have only one memory, but after spending time with her like that, I could feel the bond between us growing stronger. Gradually, I began to notice her becoming more and more attached to me. However, I remained vigilant. My memory was still vivid of the moment I had confided in her the first time and how it had ended.

A few hours of hellish pain is not something I want to repeat, even for another leap in strength and ability.

The three days went by very quickly. In that time we had time to discuss and think about a lot of things. Team selection, Azula's two girlfriends, one bald mercenary, politics, economics, social order, army, food, weather... During this time the girl recovered completely and even became a little stronger.

The time to test her skills was getting closer and closer. We even began to speculate what her father would prepare. After all, even half a dozen fire masters wouldn't be enough to fully test her skills.

As she strode majestically to the right training room, I saw a familiar energy through the thick walls of the corridors. It was Azula's opponent. He stood in the middle of the spacious room amidst the sands. I was immediately seized by an unsettling feeling. How would Zula feel about something like this? Or rather, how would the girl's psyche behave under such an ordeal?

"Zula, be prepared for anything," I decide to hint to the girl about the dangerous ordeal, showing my support. Luckily I was already in her, and if anything I could back her up from making fatal mistakes. After all, something like this could scare her.

- What do you mean?

"Go ahead, you'll soon find out for yourself..."