2 The Unexpected
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Fire Country. Palace of the Fire Lord. Princess's chamber.
Opening my eyes in the dark room, the first thing I do is to fill my lungs with pleasure, feeling the taste of fresh air on my tongue, and exhale. Then I repeat it again and again. The simple action, unavailable to me for quite a long time, caused a wave of pleasure that travelled through my whole body with each breath. It felt so good to feel the world with all my human senses again. Lifting myself up on the big and soft bed and letting the blanket slide down, the first thing I did was to savour my newfound senses, breathing fully.
It was glorious.
Feeling alive again, after being a spirit for so long, a dizzying pleasure. Breathing was easy, even somewhat pleasant. No trace of bad habits, no lung pain, no joint pain, no back breaking... and other once-common drawbacks for me.
My new body was gorgeous, young, healthy, blossoming with life and strength. Something I had needed for a long time.
Relaxing, I tried to feel every part of my now body. My muscles were pleasantly aching, as if after a hard workout. The past owner had taken good care of it. Everything felt great: arms, legs, fingers, neck. I could even feel my heart pumping blood through my veins. And it felt so wonderful! A smile appeared on my own lips, I had never felt so wonderful. This is it, my second chance. Things would definitely be different now.
It had been a long time since I'd felt alive, and I must have been in the spirit world a little longer than I'd thought, if I was this emotional. Unfortunately, in that place, day and night changed by anything but the rotation of the planet on its axis. So counting the days was simply impossible. I can only guess how much time I spent in the spirit world as a spirit, but that's all in the past now. The journey of suffering and hardship has come to an end, and now I can savour the fruits of my work.
It's done! How can one not rejoice when one has received a second chance at life? By preserving all the experience of my past life, I have actually invented a way to immortalise the mind! It's hard to contain your emotions when you realise what you've achieved.
Touching my face only confirmed this truth. It feels good to be alive again.
But I can't just lie on my bed and enjoy life, there's a whole world of secrets waiting for me. It's time to get up from my soft spot, there must be a mirror somewhere. Unfortunately, there were no windows in the room, so I could only stare at pitch darkness. Moving to the edge of the bed, I found the floor with my feet, but I wasn't going to wander around in the dark looking for a way out. Especially when there was a decent alternative. Putting my hand out in front of me, I focused on the internal Qi energy I felt quietly in my body.
The blue flame that instantly appeared lit up the room, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut from the sharp pain in my eyes.
Despite the unfamiliar sensation of magic, I felt fine. Interacting with Qi Energy was much easier than I thought it would be. Perhaps it was my experience as a spiritual being. It was only the colour of the fire that I began to guess whose body I had so hastily taken over, but I was too happy to be alive again to let my guesses cloud the moment of my second birth. As I became accustomed to the firelight, I began to enjoy the slowly dancing flame in my palm, it was mesmerising in its beauty.
Finally, finally, finally, I have magic! How long ago I could only dream of it, but now it's different!
A moment of elation passed and pulling myself together, I start looking for my shoes. I had to walk round the bed to find my slippers on the other side. At the same time I assessed the luxurious apartment, which in the blue light of the fire, looked a bit ominous. I'd seen creepier places. I could tell from the bed alone that I was in a very high-ranking person's room. The rest of the interior of the room matched the bed, just as luxurious and made of expensive materials. There were symbols of the Fire Nation in places, confirming my guess as to where I was.
Cautiously looking around the room thanks to the small blue light that burned above my palm, not burning my hand in the slightest. Surprisingly there was a mannequin of armour in the room, there were plenty of other things besides it, but the armour was the one that stood out the most. So I kept looking around until I found a large mirror. Looking into the reflection I saw the confirmation of my fears. Long black hair, golden eyes that sparkled slightly under the light of the flames, perfectly aristocratic features, and... breasts slightly covered by the dressing gown.
The dressing gown was wrinkled from a long sleep, so it was practically open, covering her breasts, and I could see her in all her glory. Cute, not too big, not too small, good in the palm of my hand, soft to the touch, my own breasts. Yeah, that's my honeypot. Given the prospects, the lovely healthy body, the position in society, the power of magic and the bloodline... it's not as bad as it seems at first glance, but it's not as good as I'd like it to be either.
A woman's body is better than no body at all, and I realise that. As I continued to examine my new body in the mirror, I couldn't stop thinking.
I didn't like the duties of women in this era, although I didn't know them for sure, but I guessed. The mirror reflected a young girl of athletic build, about sixteen or eighteen years old, but I could be wrong. The thing is, I might be married off now, without my consent or even my opinion. That would defeat me and my purpose, but if I'm right and I'm in Princess Azula's body before the bald monk shows up. I have every chance of avoiding such a fate and more. With this situation, it would be much easier to realise some of my ideas, albeit at great risk. And I've had plenty of ideas...
In the worst case, I would become a spirit again and find a more suitable body, without such obvious flaws that would harm my plans. But I'd better try to avoid that, because I don't want to feel like a disembodied spirit again, and I might have even less luck with a body. Besides, I should not forget that I have my own problems in being a spirit. Compared to all this, being a princess doesn't seem like such a bad option.
It's definitely worth the gamble. I remembered a lot of things about this world, while still being a spirit I learnt where I ended up after I died. I was lucky to come across a non-aggressive interlocutor who told me about the world of the living, the four nations, and the Avatar... Yeah, that conversation was productive. I didn't get all the answers from him, for example, how come I could understand that spirit as well as he could understand me? We're supposed to use different languages, but the spirit didn't understand my resentment and couldn't answer my questions.
The only thing left to figure out is exactly where in time I am now. When did Zuko go into his exile? How much time do I have before the Avatar appears? Only after I find out can I make my plans while remembering all the ways I can become stronger and more powerful. Oh yes, and not expose myself to my subordinates and my father. That last one would be the hardest, but after death, there was little that could scare me.
Smiling at my reflection, I take pleasure in noticing my beauty once again. Yes, Princess Azula is quite beautiful in appearance, it's hard to deny that. But it's time to stop admiring myself.
I was about to go light some candles so that I wouldn't have to walk around with a fire all the time and think about the situation and what I should do next, when I suddenly felt a strange rush of intense fatigue.
The flame immediately went out, my legs gave out, and instantly I was on the floor, leaning with my hands on the tiles, so as not to fall down with my whole body.
What's going on?!
Trying to move anything, I was horrified to realise that I had no control over anything. It was as if someone was pushing me away from controlling my body, pushing me to the back of my mind. And the most disgusting thing was that I couldn't resist it! Resistance was like trying to move a huge mountain with muscle power! Vain and futile. Even my senses began to fade, as if I was once again becoming a disembodied spirit. Feeling the control being literally ripped from my consciousness, I felt a growing horror.
"What's happening!"
It's... not my thoughts!
No, she's staying!
Azula! No, no oh no!
My body! I won't give it back! I won't give it back! I will not!
Agrgh...
The last attempt to regain my body ended in intense pain. It felt like I had been burned all over my body. The pain sobered me up quickly, forcing me to pick myself up and think. It made me retreat deeper into myself and stop resisting, giving way to the real owner of my body. I had no chance of staying conscious, all I had on my mind was to hide in the depths of someone else's mind, to hide in her soul, to hide from her attention, to lick my wounds, wondering what had gone wrong....
(***)
Fire Country. Palace of the Fire Lord. The Princess' quarters.
This morning, the princess woke up not on her luxurious bed, but on the floor next to the mirror. It was dark, but Azula knew exactly where what lay in her room.
Realising she was in such an obscene position, she straightened up in a flash, trying to assume a position befitting her status by standing up on her feet and straightening her back. The sudden movement made her dizzy. The room spun, but before she could fall to the floor again, Azula managed to grab onto the table she was leaning on to hold her position. Freezing in place, she stares at the spot where her reflection in the mirror should have been, which was not visible due to the complete darkness in the room, while fighting her sudden weakness and dizziness.
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Breathe in-breathe out...
Pulling herself together, the girl relaxed, no longer leaning on the table, she straightened her back perfectly flat. Her well-being quickly returned to normal, it was only worth it to perform a special breathing technique. Bending her arm at the elbow, Azula snapped her fingers. The candles on the chandelier and candlesticks instantly burst into blue flames, surprising the princess for a split second.
"It wasn't a dream" flashes through her mind the hazy memories of a recent time that was like a dream.
Under the princess's gaze, the candle flames quickly became normal. Wanting to make sure she wasn't imagining things, she immediately created a small blue coloured flame in her right palm. Convinced of her hunch, she easily dispels the flame with a faint smile on her lips.
The hint of a smile vanished without a trace, only to be reminded of her strange state and place of awakening. Azula remembered walking up to the mirror, but that memory was somewhat strange, as if she wasn't fully awake at that moment. Such a thing excited the girl, as nothing like this had ever happened to her before. However, she wasn't going to lose her head, preferring to remain calm.
"I need to find out all the details of the ritual, but first I need to make myself look good," the princess quickly decided, thinking that her feeling was caused by yesterday's ritual.
She turned to the mirror and looked at her reflection and threw the dirty dressing gown on the floor, completely naked. No one ever entered her private chambers without knocking, so she was not afraid to appear naked. Without even glancing at her reflection, Azula walks over to the wardrobe. Taking the same red and gold dressing gown from it, she put it on, glancing at her reflection in the mirror again.
Satisfied with the fresh and perfectly ironed dressing gown, she heads out of the room. Once in the corridor, she turns right. Looking out of the nearest window, she glances up at the sky. Recognising the time by the position of the morning sun and her sense of magic, she heads further down the corridor. Straight to the royal hot springs, where her personal maids' quarters were located nearby.
Before she reached the door, Azula saw one of the maids yawning in the distance. As soon as she saw the monarch approaching, her drowsiness disappeared. The servant immediately tried to make a proper appearance, perfectly straightened her back and waited for her princess to approach.
- Good morning, Your Highness," the servant bent her back in greeting. She was acting a bit agitated and even nervous, which did not escape Azula's gaze.
- Where are the others? - The princess starts the conversation coldly.
- They haven't gathered yet.
- I remember you were recruited on the condition that you would serve me as soon as the sun began to rise? Or was that not the case? Perhaps I'm mistaken about something? Is it still night outside? - Playing with a lock of hair, Azula presses on.
- 'No-no, Mistress,' the girl began to stammer.
- Perhaps the work of maids is too difficult for the rest of us? - The question made the maid wince. She understood the unspoken words perfectly.
- No, Mistress. It is not too difficult to serve as a member of your staff," the maid tried to assure the princess, not wanting to be chased out of the palace.
- In that case I would like to see all my maids after visiting the hot springs," Azula ordered, passing by the bowed girl who was trembling with fear.
- I'll take care of it, Mistress," only when the princess was far enough away was the maid able to exhale and straighten her back.
On this day, the princess of the Fire Nation, Azula, woke up too early. Accustomed to their mistress's schedule, the servants were not ready to work earlier than usual, but no one would dare to accuse the princess herself of anything. Everyone was too afraid not even of her anger, but simple annoyance. Including the guard patrolling the corridor, who also got a beating from the princess for his sloppily worn armour and poorly polished boots. The princess had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, and was more picky about her surroundings than usual.
While the monarch was taking a bath, the servants had time to get ready and get themselves in proper order. The princess came out of the hot springs, and they greeted her according to all the rules of etiquette.
- Good morning, Your Highness," said the four maids in unison as they bowed.
Having carefully examined each of the maids, the princess was satisfied and ordered them to serve her. Together they went to one of the many rooms of the palace, where the maids gave the princess a manicure, a pedicure, perfectly combed her hair and fed her, for dessert Azula had cherries with the pips cut out.
She emerged from her maids dressed in armour, with the perfect hairstyle befitting a princess of the strongest country in the world. After finishing her morning routine with the maids, Azula went to train in one of her personal training rooms, where she began to repeat all the techniques of fire magic with her new blue flame. The guards passing by were greatly surprised by the colour of the princess' fire, but they could only share their surprise with other guards while on patrol. The princess herself was busy studying and comparing her new fire with the old one, and she did not want to hide her new peculiarity, allowing rumours to spread throughout the palace and then throughout the country.
Finished with her training, Azula went to see the Fire Lord. She had not forgotten what had happened to her that morning. After waiting for her father to be free, she went to him with a desire to learn all the information she knew about the past ritual, and to speak with the fire sage. At the same time, the princess proudly displayed the results of the ritual. Ozai was pleased with his daughter's new flame, considering it entirely her own merit.
After satisfying her father's curiosity, Azula went to see the sage who had performed the ritual. Unfortunately, he knew little of what had happened. Only what the Fire Lord had given her to read from the secret scrolls to which she herself now had full access. The princess was independent enough to personally seek answers to her questions. Once she had the scrolls she needed, she began to study them, occasionally looking in the palace library.
