In the Balance...

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- The princess has been poisoned! Uuuuuuuuuua...'' the acrobat replied to me, immediately starting to sob on my chest.

What?

Poisoned? Poisoned by what? How? Where were the guards? Girlfriends? How bad is it? Is Azula alive? And many other questions raced through my mind in a matter of moments as I digested the information I had received, maintaining materiality on reflexes.

Tai Li's sobbing could be heard somewhere nearby while I was in a state of shock. It was so unexpected that I couldn't describe it in words. Like a brick falling on my head, no, not even a brick, but a full-blown meteor. After struggling to cope with the surprise, I calm down almost immediately. Panicked thoughts are replaced by absolute coolness. Panic is definitely not going to do any good right now. More information is needed.

With these thoughts, I turn my attention to the girl still crying in my arms. I hugged her unnoticeably, but that's not what's important right now.

It seems only a few seconds have passed since the acrobat opened the door, we need to hurry!

- Can you help her? Squish. Poison unknown. Squish. She passed out in a minute. Hlup. There's only hope for you! Hlup. I beg you to save my friend, Yoara! - The girl raised her head and a pleading look full of desperate hope and tears met mine.

She's not joking, it's very serious.

Foolish Lee, you don't have to beg me to do this. I'll do everything in my power to save her life, but... we have to hurry. Hurry very much!

- Tai Li! Pull yourself together now! Where's Azula?! Nothing else matters! I command the girl in that familiar princess tone. Perhaps it's a bit harsh, but this is no time for girlish tantrums.

My commanding tone worked, and the circus girl calmed down for a moment and was able to give me a clear answer.

- In the mayor's mansion. In one of the guest rooms. The one that's best guarded. Everyone's on edge in there right now. May is left in charge," the acrobat answers me, forgetting to sob.

- Clean yourself up and get over there. I may need your help, I'm going to her right away," I turn around and head for the wall, finally being stopped by the girl's renewed sobs.

- Lee, don't worry, she can't die from something like this," I decide to calm her down with a little lie, then immediately go through the wall soaring high into the sky.

I didn't want to look at the crying Tai Li. I didn't even want to know if my lie had worked or not. I didn't believe my own words, knowing full well that Azula was only human. A brilliant, strong, handsome, sometimes cunning, sometimes lucky, but a very fragile and suddenly mortal human being. As painful as it is to realise, the princess I've grown accustomed to and attached to may well die suddenly from poison. But there is no time to think about who did it or for what purpose, I must hurry, every moment distances me from the life of someone important to me.

Once above the city, I instantly find the mansion I'm looking for.

The wind whistled in my ears.

It was as if I had become like the wind, and the distance to the house was covered in one breath. The building was large and crowded, and I knew where Azula was only roughly. I had to strain and expend spiritual energy to use spiritual vision. The walls of the mansion became somewhat transparent to me, and the people's auras played with a particularly bright colour against them. Looking around, I noticed the faint glow of a familiar aura almost immediately.

Finding the princess from her aura was no problem, but what I saw in her aura made me even more worried.

Without paying attention to anything, I rush straight towards her, flying through all material obstacles and paying no attention to the swarming people. My spiritual shell instantly enters the girl, immediately feeling hot and stuffy, as if I were in a steam room. Zula was simply burning from the inside out, trying to burn the poison out of her body with her own strength.

As I merge with Azula, I immediately begin to transfer my spiritual powers to her, keeping her alive and helping to slow the effects of the poison. My actions make the girl arch her back and moan painfully. I'm sorry, but it was necessary.

Soon, my mind began to paint a picture of her body and all the vital systems: bone, muscle, blood, nerve... thanks to this I instantly find the black stuff that was slowly spreading through the girl's body. That's the poison that's tormenting the princess's body.

Except my medical education isn't high enough for me to figure it all out. Medicine... the gaps in that knowledge will need to be filled. But calm down, Yoaru, you'll be fine, you just need to remove the poison from your system.

The poison... fuck, it's in my head. We have to act now! Calm down and act. All you have to do is get the poison out of your system. What could be easier than that?

But no. First of all, you need to take the fever off your head, no matter how much it boils your brain, and then get the poison out on your own.

You'll be fine, don't think bad thoughts!

It'll work out... it'll definitely work out.

With these thoughts, I started the treatment. Cooling Azula's head was a breeze. I was helped by my knowledge of fire magic, specifically heat control. I simply redirected the girl's heat from her head to the rest of her body. Following that, I immediately began to delay the spread of the poison through the body. But it had to be removed from the body. But how? This stuff had spread literally everywhere!

Soon enough, the answer came to me! I could get all the poison out of my body through sweat. The girl was on fire, sweat dripping off her body. All I had to do was help the princess' body get rid of the foreign stuff. That's exactly what I decided to do. Starting to help the girl's immune system, fighting the contagion first in the vital organs. At the same time, I had to direct the poison to the nearest exit through the skin. It was a lot of work. I myself did not notice how I began to command the girl's immunity, rectifying the situation. Gradually the spread of the infection stopped, death began to recede from the girl's life. The poison was leaving her body and Azula was starting to feel much better.

And so time flowed on, I had to exert great effort, controlling every tiny detail in Azula's body. The strain on my mind was so intense that I was beginning to experience phantom headaches. But a little pain was worth the life of a princess. I could endure more than that. The important thing was to take care of her.

I've always had excellent control over any energy, no matter spiritual or corporeal. I had to work hard on such a skill, and now it was saving me more than ever! It was because of this that I was slowly beginning to cope. The poison, mixed with my and Zula's Qi, was receding and leaving the body with sweat, leaving the girl's body forever.

Time... I don't know how long it lasted, but when the last drops of poison were removed from the body, I felt as squeezed as a lemon. I needed to replenish my strength immediately. Getting energy from the princess was dangerous to her life. The girl was completely exhausted. It took all of our strength to defeat the poison. Her heart was beating so slowly, I was afraid that if I left her, she would die.

A way out...I needed a way out of this situation. There was, I believed there was. All I had to do was think, remember...

(***)

While Yoaru was fighting for the princess's life, Tai Li was having gloomy thoughts near the sick woman's quarters.

The circus girl was squatting in the corridor next to Azula's room. The girl leaned her back against the wall, tucked her knees under her and lowered her head. The acrobat wasn't paying attention to anything. She just sat and waited for a miracle, tormented by dark thoughts. It was beyond her strength to get rid of them.

The princess's guards did not object to her presence, but they refused to let her into Azula's room without orders. And even that was a great permission. Strangers were stopped and interrogated, or even rounded up for further clarification. The best friend had only to wait, wait and hope for the best. But doubts tormented her soul as much as the most evil spirits.

- Lee? How long have you been sitting here? - Raising her head with tear-red eyes, Tai Li saw her ever-quiet friend.

- Mei? It must have been an hour. Finished with your business? - "The acrobat who's not so cheerful at all," she says dryly.

- Yeah. I've managed to calm everyone down. People have all gone mad with this assassination attempt. Too bad the killer got off dead, alive he would have saved me a lot of trouble. Well, enough about the bad stuff. Did you do what I asked? - May says calmly, without emotion.

- Yes. It's been thirty-two minutes," Ty Lee replies, lowering his head again.

- How can you be so precise?

- Counting seconds... - such an answer from the acrobat made Mei arch an eyebrow in surprise.

The melancholy girl glanced at the locked door. The door behind which her friend and princess of all the Fire Nation was now fighting for her own life. Mei had fulfilled all the duties unexpectedly assigned to her and dealt with all the problems that had fallen to her, well, or almost all of them. If Azula didn't survive and die from the poison, a lot of people would lose their heads. And she couldn't say for sure how long she would live if Azula died unexpectedly. However, for the eternally reserved and calm girl, such consequences were not a valid reason to worry. May had done everything she could within her power and authority, and worrying about what you had no control over was foolish to her.

Leaning against the wall beside her friend, she gave herself up to her own thoughts, looking at the entrance to the apartments guarded by the Imperial Guards. The conversation with Tai Li had ended on its own, both girls decided to wait and believe in the best. There was nothing else left for them to do.

- Huh? "Tai Li suddenly raises her head, starting to look towards the entrance of the room.

- What is it? - Mei starts to look around, but only sees the six guardsmen that are continuously guarding the entrance to the princess, - Li?

But Tai Li didn't answer, she continued to stare at the emptiness, shifting her gaze slightly. It was as if someone visible only to her had abruptly approached the girl. Why someone, though? May knew who it could have been. No, she was sure of who it was. After thinking for a bit, the girl decided to bide her time, letting Yoar and Tai Li talk. Knowing her emotional friend, she would know what happened to Azula by her reaction alone. And if Lee isn't in tears yet, it means the princess is alive. But at the same time, Lee doesn't show any joy....

- Mei I urgently need to be alone with Azula," the circus girl's voice pulls Mei out of her own thoughts. Tai Li's hopeful eyes stare straight at her.

- Whatever you say," the girl replies, quickly realising what's going on. Then she turns to the door guards. - Open the doors!

The Imperial Guards were forced to obey and let the girls through. They stepped inside. The room had no windows, a dim chandelier with candles illuminated the room and the four guardsmen inside. The mere sight of the fearsome warriors made one feel out of place. And while Tai Li instinctively hid behind her friend when she saw the soldiers, Mei was not impressed by the fearsome warriors.

- Clear the room," Mei ordered coldly, looking at Azula's pale face. Her chest was barely perceptibly rising and falling in time with her quiet breathing.

This time, the guardsmen were in no hurry to carry out the order. One of the soldiers stepped forward, blocking the path to the sick woman's bed.

- Do you realise what you are demanding of us? The master of the fire will personally take our heads off if anything happens to the princess," the soldier replied in a hoarse bass, hovering menacingly over the figure of the low girl.

- 'It has already happened. You better worry about what Azula will do to you when I inform her about the failure to fulfil my orders," May's firm reply was met with a gnashing of teeth from her interlocutor.

- As the lady wills," the Guard officer literally squeezed out of himself through force, giving the command to leave the room.

Mei looked at them calmly, waiting for the four men to close the door on the other side.

- Go ahead," the girl said quietly, stepping aside and watching Tai Li's every move.

- Huh? Yeah, right... - Tai Li looks at the princess, but no, she's looking at the seat next to the princess. As if watching someone lying next to Azula. At that, the girl nods faintly, as if listening to the speech of an invisible interlocutor.

- Maybe I should undress? - Suddenly suggests the circus girl, grabbing her own clothes, shocking the only witness in this room. But May was in no hurry to object or interrupt her friend's actions, remaining an observer.

- 'Okay,' the girl declares, climbing onto the princess' bed and hugging her gently. - Just like that?

Mei didn't say anything, hoping they knew what they were doing. She didn't have the necessary skills to help her friend, and neither did Tai Li. All she could do was to be an observer and believe in Yoaru's pious intentions.

Meanwhile, Tai Li began to breathe deeply, no, very deeply. Azula's breathing also became more tangible, and at the same time, the princess began to toss and turn on the bed, moaning slightly. A slight blush began to show on her pale face. You could see that she was getting better and better.

- Um, okay," Having said that, the acrobat deftly wiggled her way out of the bed and changed her pose. Now she was not lying beside her, but hovered over the girl, placing her hands on her forehead and the centre of her chest. The doctor and the patient again continued to breathe deeply.

Mei watched all of Tai Li's strange actions, no matter how suspicious or ambiguous they were, she didn't dare to disturb the girl and the spirit. She was even beginning to think that the acrobat's hands were beginning to glow slightly with a warm light that was being absorbed into Azula. Not being a fire mage, shaman, or any other spirit expert, Mei had no idea what was going on right now. She could only watch as Azula's normal complexion returned, the princess was definitely getting better.

All that was left was to wait...

- Ah. Aah! Aah-pchi! Oh. Ty Lee? - After a little while, the princess regained consciousness, opening her eyes and immediately starting to examine where and with whom she found herself. - What's going on, what are you doing? Get off me!

- Hush," the acrobat's fingers gently run through the girl's curls before closing their palm over her forehead. - You need to rest. Sleep...

- Lee... - The princess' eyelids grow heavy, she slowly covers her eyes falling asleep.

- That's it, we're done. Yoaru said that Azula's life is not in danger, but she needs rest. She'll be fine once she gets some sleep," the acrobat explains to her friend.

- I'm glad to hear that," the deputy princess replies with a faint smile.

- And, Mei, Yoaru would like to ask you about how it happened, but not here," Tai Li adds, throwing a glance away from her friend.

- I understand you. And now you can get off the princess, the guardsmen might misunderstand.

- Oh, I forgot. I'm exhausted. Ha-ha-ha, - laughed quietly circus girl that only now noticed in what pose and on whom she is sitting. Yeah, the guardsmen definitely shouldn't see that.

The girl climbed off the princess, standing next to her friend. May called the guards back. The guardsmen didn't ask any unnecessary questions, and even if they did, no one would answer them.

After giving all the necessary orders to the guardsmen, the girls left. Walking through the corridors of the mayor's mansion, they entered one of the work rooms that Azula's current deputy, Mei, had requested for herself.

- Here we can talk in peace," the throwing enthusiast stated, once the girls were in a small room with a desk with several chairs and cabinets. It was one of the offices of the mayor's office. However, Tai Li only glimpsed the interior of the room, focusing on the empty space beside her.

- Yoaru wants to know how it was that the attempt on the princess almost ended in her death," the girl said, shifting her gaze to Mei.

- Here," Mei pointed to a pile of papers that were neatly stacked on the table. - Everything the soldiers had learnt about the killer and his motives.

- Yoaru is tired, he won't be able to interact with the world for a while. Mei, tell him in your own words, please.

- I will. It all happened suddenly. A madman jumped off the roof and attacked immediately. The young lad was immediately killed by Azula, but at the cost of his life, he managed to scratch her. The poison began to take effect instantly, and in half a minute she was already unconscious. It all happened in a crowded street, the incident quickly became known to the whole city. The princess had foreseen something like this long ago, and ordered the guards to obey me as if I were her own. I had to command the frightened soldiers. Not a fun time, so mature and so emotional, but okay. The subordinates soon found out that the local doctor and all his assistants had been killed that very day, and it was no accident. Not much was learnt about the killer. He was a refugee whose hometown had been burnt down in the war. The people who got this information concluded that the young man wanted revenge, even at the cost of his life, and was probably well acquainted with the doctor. He borrowed some poisons from the latter, mixing a more dangerous mixture. All the details are in these papers," Mei finished her summary of the day's events with a calm face and a steady voice.

- Is there anything else? I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible.

- Yoaru is pleased with your work, he says you're good and smart. He is pleased that you performed so well in an extreme situation. His advice to Azula: to make you his deputy, has paid off.

- So he's the one I have to thank for this headache? - squinting her eyes, Mei showed a slight hint of anger.

- Apparently so. Yoaru tells you to remember how the guards behaved when they heard about the princess incident, you were the best option. Now he's talking about the importance of staying calm.

- Hmm... he's right about something," Mei replies after a little thought, satisfied that she is appreciated. - I still have some business to attend to, if that's all, I will leave your particularly gifted company....