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Sugar, Spice, and Every Vice (Part 2)

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Part 2: Every Vice

Chin Tao was supposed to go straight home from the Pre-Academy, but home appealed to her about as much mongoose-dragon liver (with fire onions) for dinner, so instead she dropped by the Boys' Pre-Academy, casually drifted into the crowds coming out of the school, and waited to see how long it would take them to realize there was a girl in their midst.

The stupid boys never caught on. Well, maybe they were stupid, or maybe Chin Tao was just that good at being a (pretty) boy.

When the amusement wore off and the boys started organizing a swordball game, she finally made her way home. There was no such thing as locked doors in the Capital, so she walked right through the front portal of her family's mansion. Supposedly, they used to have servants around to open doors and cook dinner, back when she had been a baby, but there were no servants now. When Mother was feeling coherent, she said that servants were too gossipy, that you couldn't trust them. But if that was the case, then why did the Royal Family have so many of them?

Mother herself was lounging around in the front parlor when Chin Tao arrived. Mother blinked like she couldn't focus her eyes, and then lit up with a smile and raised her bottle as if giving a toast. "That's right! You had... Pracadem... pre-cedmy... school today... right?"

"Yes. We learned the color blue, Fire Lord Azulon's glorious campaign to destroy the Waterbender infestation, how to paint the characters for 'glorious' and 'infestation,' all about Prince General Iroh, some boring number stuff, something called the fill-ah-sofy of Fire, and how to crush a windpipe with one punch." Chin Tao hopped up on the divan across from Mother's lounge. "My favorite was the punching stuff."

Mother started nodding and didn't seem to be able to stop, until she took another gulp from her bottle. "That's... nice. And did you make friends with... whatsername... 'zula? The princess?"

Chin Tao couldn't help but smile. "Not yet, but she's really great! She does whatever she wants, and... and... and she's so different from everyone! Just like me but in other ways! I have a plan to show her that I'm the smartest in the class and can make everyone think what I want like the boys at their academy, and then we can be friends and be different together!" She stopped, and realized what she had been saying. "We can both be different and still be different, right? It's okay if it's just two people?"

Mother took another pull at her bottle, but there was no sound of liquid sloshing around inside, and she frowned at it. "Yeah... sure... what you said." Mother tossed the bottle behind her lounge, with all the others, and laid her head down. "You... such a good girl... but you look like a boy... Just don't be a smartmouth... and you'll be fine..."

"Mother, are you taking a nap?"

"Yeah... Mother is napping... go play with your needles and don't make noise... g'night..."

Chin Tao slid off her divan and tugged the skirt of her uniform so that it hung a little straighter, making it not look like a skirt at all compared to what all the other girls had been wearing at school. Then she was off to her room, trotting past the dusty kitchens. She loved playing with her acupuncture needles, and Mother seemed like she really needed a nap. Perhaps father would come home before Chin Tao went to bed and bring dinner.

And maybe she could do some acupuncture on Ty Lee tomorrow, after the 'game.' Chin Tao didn't dislike the girl, and would be happy to help her feel better after ruthlessly using her to make powerful friends.




Ju Lai watched the scissors as they clipped through the hair hanging in front of her eyes. Mum was cutting it even shorter than before, but at least it was straight now. If only Ayaka wasn't such a-

"There," Mum said. "We can't rid ourselves of evidence of your defeat, but at least now you can maintain a minimum of pride in your appearance."

Ju Lai’s stomach clenched at that, and she kept her focus on the scissors in Mum's hand. "Tomorrow will be better, Mum. Chin Tao had a good idea. Ayaka will leave me alone and we can both be friends with Azula. It will work! She said that all we have to do is help her get rid of the dumbest girl in the class by tricking her into thinking we're going to play a game so that she comes early before the teacher and then we'll-"

Mum sighed, and slammed the scissors down on the vanity. Ju Lai kept her eyes on the clippers, but she could hear her mother pacing around the bedroom. "Always a follower, aren't you? Well, at least you're gathering around a good campfire, and the friendship of the Royal Family is worth a little humiliation."

Ju Lai flinched when Mum said "follower" and "humiliation." She hated words like that. She wanted to be the best, she wanted everyone to say how special she was, but every time she tried to show how great she was, things just always seemed to go wrong. Ju Lai continued to stare at the scissors, and imagined how nice it would be if they could cut people down as easily they could hair. Snip, snip, Ayaka would go away forever. Snip, snip, Chin Tao would look like a proper girl. Snip, snip, Princess Azula would run away crying.

Snip, snip.

A servant came in and announced that the dinner guests had arrived. Mum left to go greet General Someone, Admiral Who Knows, Minister So What, and their wives, leaving the scissors on the vanity. Ju Lai reached for them, but then let her hand fall away. There was a plan. Chin Tao's plan. Best to stick to that, and settle for a place at the campfire. If that didn't work, then Ju Lai would do her best to grow up into someone like Mum, someone who could snip away problems.




"This is our moment," Zhao intoned. "We need only reach out and grasp the opportunity!" To drive the point home, he reached out a hand and clutched his fingers together to form a haphazard fist. He was pleased with how graspy it looked, but he couldn't dawdle over that victory. "Many others would seek to take our rewards, but only we deserve the honor of the glory of victory! Only we have shed the inhibitions that would make us weak, that would hold us back! Only we have found the true path to victory, a path made not from bribes and sexy favors to petty bureaucrats, but from true companionship with those who have the divine right to rule!" Zhao turned and looked out over his audience.

Ayaka stood alone in the center of his office and stared back with scrunched eyes.

Zhao sighed. The girl was a delightful monster, the spawn of two of the military's most obsessive killers (he assumed they wound up mating through some kind of bizarre training accident) and had been raised to do nothing but hate and kill and terrify. Ayaka was, however, not the brightest flame on the candelabra. In fact, she was more like a little wick that had gotten covered in candle wax, something that only gave off heat and life if you applied excessive fire to it in the first place.

(Zhao couldn't help but privately admit that Admiral Jeong-Jeong would have disowned him for a metaphor that strained.)

Slowing down, Zhao pointed down at Ayaka. "It is your strength, your ability to fight, and your delight in pain that makes you a natural companion to Princess Azula. Prince Zuko is a weakling- he had to be pulled out of the Boys' Pre-Academy after that ridiculous incident last year- but Azula is a true heir to her father and grandfather! She is ruthless, and intelligent, and a Firebending prodigy! She will grow up quite well, I have no doubt." He looked down and found Ayaka staring back up at him with wide eyes. "Not like that. I mean she will become a perfect warlord. If her father doesn't get Prince Iroh out of the way first, then I have no doubt that she'll complete the job."

Ayaka nodded slowly.

Zhao cleared his throat and began again, pacing as he drew warmth from his own words. "This plan that your classmate came up with will showcase how suitable you are as a companion for Azula, and by extension, will demonstrate my intelligence in adopting you. Together, with the Royal Family's backing, we will be the Fire Nation's rising stars! It doesn't matter that someone else came up with the idea. Let this 'Chin Tao' reap the rewards of her cleverness, if she wishes. Only we can offer true strength, the kind of strength celebrated by Sozin himself!" Zhao look over at his adopted daughter, and found her staring back without enthusiasm. Of course. She had enthusiasm for only one thing, and there weren't any small animals around for her to crush in her little fingers. "And if you fail me," he added, leaning down until his nose was practically touching the girl's, "I will throw you back into the military camp so fast, the ground will shake with the force of your impact, and they will think you an Earthbender and kill you."

Ayaka nodded, completely nonplussed.

"Good." Zhao smiled and gave her an approving pat on the head. "Now, go brush your teeth and get in your jam-jams. I'll read you one of the reports about my military victories before bed."




Every night, Mai let Momma brush her hair one hundred times. It made Momma feel good, and sometimes- alone in Mai's room, sitting in front of the vanity and not really looking at each other- Mai found the strength to haltingly state her own thoughts and opinions.

Tonight, she decided to say, "School is scary."

She expected her mother to argue, but instead, Mai glanced at the mirror to see Momma's reflection nodding. "I know. What specifically frightened you, child?"

Mai thought back over the day, and had a tough time narrowing it all down. Classrooms were scary. Instructors and other new adults were scary. Ayaka was scary. Princess Azula was scary. But there was one thing that was more terrifying than all of them put together. "There's a nice girl named Ty Lee. I think some of the other girls are going to hurt her."

"Ah." Momma gave a little smile that didn't look at all happy to Mai. "You have an ambitious class, then. Yes, I know how that can be scary. There's the pressure to perform well, and to obey the Instructor without understanding all of her orders. And the other children bring their own pressures. The nice ones don't realize it, but they pressure you in their own way to be a good friend, to not disappoint them. And the ones who aren't nice- the ones who want to hurt your Ty Lee- they will seize any opportunity to make themselves look good for a fleeting moment, in the vague hope that it will somehow lead to a better life." Momma sighed. "Did you know that when I was growing up, my family had money problems? That my father was spending us broke?"

Mai's jaw dropped like she had just been told that the Fire Nation didn't have a divine mandate to rule the world. She knew that despite being an old bloodline, Momma's was not very powerful, but this was a new scandal. Only the tug of the brush through her hair reminded Mai that she was in the middle of a conversation.

Momma seemed to have gotten the idea. "Oh, yes. I try not to talk about it, but my family was close to ruin. The only things I had were ancient blood of great honor- which is no small thing- and of course my considerable womanly charms. I... er... won the attention of your father, and now he's working in Fire Lord Azulon's Special Weapons Administration and Application department. Mm, just saying the name makes me feel good. Fire Lord Azulon's Special Weapons Administration and Application department. I have no idea what it actually is, but it sounds important." She giggled, and Mai resisted the urge to squirm. It was always weird when Momma got like this. "Anyway, together your father and I earned our place in the Capital and rose up in the world. We can continue to rise, through diligence and hard work. You have reaped the benefits of this, and it is your responsibility not to waste them. To uphold our family's honor."

Mai knew she was supposed to nod here, but the insistent tug of the brush took away her control. Bereft of any other option, she ventured, "Maybe I can do something to help Ty Lee?"

Momma frowned. "You're a good girl, Mai, and I know you won't disappoint me. Or your father, of course. Most other little girls are chatterboxes, but you are so well-behaved and quiet, like a good girl should be. Making friends, having Azula in your class: those are opportunities, but they are also risks. One would have to be smart and ambitious to make proper use of the situation, but a wrong step could bring dishonor on the family. And some families can handle less dishonor than others, you see?" Momma sighed, a long and deep exhalation that seemed to contain her entire spirit. "Just be careful, Mai. Survive."

Momma put the brush down, and Mai stood up from the vanity. The conversation hadn't made school any less scary, or told her what to do about Ty Lee, but she hadn't really expected it to. Momma wasn't very good at making Mai happy. "Can I read some of my adventure books before bed?"

"Yes, but just for half an hour, and you must be quiet, because your father is working in his study." Momma gave a graceful wave of her hand. "You are dismissed. Good night, child."




Ty Lee was trying to figure out why the world went upside down whenever she stood on her head when her mother sauntered into her room, followed by a bunches (Ty Lee still needed help with her counting) of the sisters. "Ty Lee, daughter, darling!"

"Hi, Mommy! Did you know you're upside down?"

Mommy giggled. "You're the one who's upside down, silly. Did the Instructor sit you next to Princess Azula today?"

The gaggle of Upside-Down Sisters stared at Ty Lee (but she ignored them because they were all stupid) and said to Upside-Down Mommy, "Nooo, I sat next to the nice sad girl Mai and then Princess Azula was late but the ladies threw flowers and it was so wow! Then Azula had to sit in the back because that's where the empty seats were and scary Ayaka sits back there, too."

Mommy rolled her eyes and Ty Lee thought that was really neat because eyes were usually straight-ahead and them going up and around was funny! Ty Lee laughed, but the sisters all looked at her like they didn't get the joke, but how couldn't they? It was twirly eyes! Once Mommy was done she looked back to Ty Lee. "Do you know what you can do for me, dear?"

Ty Lee somersaulted into a proper sitting position and sang, "Bring you a rainbow? Rainbows are the prettiest things ever!"

Mommy giggled. "Oh, you dears are such dears. No, Mommy wants you to ask Azula if you can be her friend, even if it means going near the scary girl."

All the sisters ooh'd like Ty Lee was in trouble, but that's why they were stupid. To show them how stupid they were she hopped to her feet and clapped her hands. "I can do that! Chin Tao talked to Ayaka and there's a game and they asked me to play and somehow we'll become friends with Azula and they must be so smart but everything will be happy!"

Mommy patted Ty Lee on the head. "Just try not to get yourself killed. Even if you can't get in good with the princess, I still need you. Every extra little girl is another chance to bind this family to Prince Zuko, at least."

Ty Lee was still trying to figure out what that meant when Mommy moved on, the sisters skipping along in her wake.




Daoshi made sure to get to her classroom early the next morning, walking the streets of the Capital before the sun had even risen above the walls of the Caldera. She had never really thought about it before, but being both at the western-most end of the Fire Nation islands and situated in the center of a benign volcano, the Capital was actually the last city in the country to see the light of the rising sun every morning.

How odd. Someone should do something about that, perhaps arrange for the sun to rise from the other direction when Sozin's Comet returned in the next decade.

She made her way into the Pre-Academy, and headed straight for her classroom. It always looked so different in the low light, not at all the cheery and industrious place it was supposed to be. Even the picture of Fire Lord Azulon, hanging in the front of the classroom, looked more like the scowling visage of a cranky old man than... well, a more inspiring scowling visage of a cranky old man. Perhaps if the picture didn't have him snarling behind clenched teeth?

Daoshi looked out over the empty desks, where little girls were meant to toil away until their pesky capacity for independent thought was completely suppressed; after all, wild imagination could make things so untidy when you were looking to yoke the entire world under a single ruler. Ideas led to things like art, and art led to things like dancing for fun, and once fun got into the mix, you never knew where it would take you. Among the possibilities, though, were vacation islands where people could strand you while they hijacked your identity for nefarious ends. That was always annoying, never mind what would happen to the war effort if that kind of thing became popular.

Staring at the empty desks, Daoshi felt vaguely sad. So much work went into creating the perfect nation, most of it spent herding people who were only interested in their own gratification. Even the people of noble class, who were best poised to help the Fire Nation rise, were usually more interested in accumulating power for themselves for petty reasons. Daoshi tried her best, but sometimes she wondered why people were so awful. Couldn't they see what would happen if they lived solely for the good of the world, as expressed through the Purging Flame?

All Daoshi could do was teach, and get the lessons in as early as possible. And also send troublemakers down to the flogging room, but that was so common it was hardly worth mentioning.




Ty Lee looked around in wonder as she made her way to school. It was so sunny early in the early morning! It was sunny pretty much all the time on sunny days, but sunny early mornings looked sunny in a different way. There were new colors early in the morning, colors that were like those in a sunset but more pink. Since pink was the bestest color of them all, then sunrises must be the best kinds of sun! She skipped down the lanes of the Capital, waving at everyone she saw. Some even waved back!

There were servants carrying things around, and servants cleaning things up, and servants giving orders to other servants. So many servants! Where did they all come from? Did they come from farms, like cabbage? There were also some shirtless men and almost shirtless women coming back from the public Firebending grounds, and it made Ty Lee want to try going shirtless, too, because that seemed so much more fun than wearing a school uniform. Ty Lee's uniform was pink and that was the greatest thing ever, but except for the color it was just like everyone else's uniform. Ty Lee hated looking like everyone else! It reminded her of the sisters. She began squirming out of her dress right there in the street but then she remembered how nasty it was to do anything with her school-dress (armholes were hard) and decided to wait for Sozin's Day of Glorious Rest to try going shirtless. For some reason, there was no school on Sozin's Days, but that really confused Ty Lee because everyone said that Sozin was the greatest person who ever lived (even if none of his pictures had any pink in them) but school was great, too, so that just didn't make sense.

The Pre-Academy was just ahead, and it looked so weird without a big army of girls hanging around in the courtyard waiting for classes to begin. But it was too early for that, and Chin Tao had said to get there really early so that they could play their game, and Ty Lee wanted to play the game so much she started buzzing as she walked. She spotted three girls waiting in the courtyard all wearing the same uniform, and Ty Lee recognized Chin Tao and Ju Lai and Ayaka so she waved both her hands and ran over to them.

She almost tripped over the hole in the ground filled with red rocks and shaped like Fire but instead threw herself forward and jumped so that she made a spinning leap right over all the nasty sharp stones. "Ta da, rock garden acrobatics!" Ty Lee giggled.

The other three girls were looking at her with their eyes all wide open and funny so she waved again. "I'm ready to play our game now! What's the game what's the game what's the game?!"

Chin Tao looked at the other two girls, bowed, and stepped back. Ty Lee was going to ask what was going on when Ju Lai suddenly shoved her to the ground. It was scary and Ty Lee screeched and landed hard on her hands, hard enough to scrape skin and get her palms all ouchy.

That wasn't very nice! Ty Lee was going to tell Ju Lai that and demand a special apology with frosty cream on top when Ayaka raised a foot and kicked Ty Lee hard in the stomach.

Bwagh.

Ty Lee didn't feel like talking anymore. She held her stomach and tried to remember the last time she hurt this much. It wasn't like a boo-boo, this was a heavy hurt that came from somewhere really dark in her stomach, and made her whole body feel achy. It seemed wrong for pain like that to be. It wasn't fair! People shouldn't get hurt like that! Ty Lee was a little sad at the world for having something like that in it.

Then Ty Lee remembered the two girls who had made this pain. That was sad, too, but Ty Lee had sisters so she was very smart about what to do when other kids tried to hurt her.

She threw herself to her feet and ran.

Ju Lai grabbed for her but Ty Lee did a little bob and twirled out of the other girl's reach and left her behind. Ayaka jumped out in Ty Lee's path and threw a punch, and Ty Lee skidded to a stop close enough to see the way the skin on the fist stretched like a trampoline over the knuckles. Ayaka tried more punches, and Ty Lee danced a boring kind of dance (Ty Lee's greatest secret was that she danced) that didn't involve any shaking her backside but did have some funny ways of stepping that moved her around so that Ayaka's fists kept whiffing through the air. Whiff, whiff, whiff, try again!

Ty Lee spotted a flash of ugly, ugly green off to the side so she spun like a funny little top and Ju Lai went stumbling past her to where Ayaka was still all punchy.

One of Ayaka's fists crashed right into Ju Lai's chin and both girls fell away from each other. Other people getting hurt wasn't funny, but it was kind of silly how the two girls had been trying to hurt Ty Lee and wound up hurting each other. So she stuck out her tongue, said, "Ha ha!" and turned around to shake her rear at them before running away as fast as she could for home.

She tripped over Chin Tao's foot.

Ty Lee was on the ground again, hurting again, and this time her hands felt wet against the ground. She tried to get up so that she could run but pain came- fists and shoes and punches and kicks- and this time it didn't stop long enough for her to get away. She looked up and tried to ask Ju Lai and Ayaka to stop please it would really mean a lot and she was sorry for laughing and trying to play in their game-

-but they didn't stop.

Ty Lee began crying. She sobbed and sprayed tears and gave up all hope of the world ever again being a happy place with no pain and ladies who sang and threw flowers.

"Leave!

"Her!

"Alone!"

The words swept through Ty Lee's sobbing like an acrobat through a circus-tent and stole everyone's attention. Ty Lee looked up and was so surprised she didn't know what to think. Chin Tao looked up and tilted her head like she was confused. Ju Lai looked up and pouted like someone had stolen her fire flakes. Ayaka looked up and didn't do much of anything before a red rock the size of a fist slammed into her stomach and doubled her over.

Mai was standing in the distance.

She was holding a red stone in each hand.

She was standing right in the middle of the Fire-shaped rock garden.

Ju Lai ran at her but Mai's hand moved so fast it looked like a blur in Ty Lee's vision. The rock that it had been holding just disappeared completely into the air until it popped up again like magic to smack into Ju Lai's knee hard enough to slice through her pants. Chin Tao moved and it took Ty Lee a second to realize that the other girl was trying to take cover behind her, but Mai's arms became little whirlwinds turned on their sides and stones started raining down so fast that Chin Tao just hunched where she was and raised her hands to cover her face. Ju Lai tried to move again but Mai gave a little twitch and Ty Lee couldn't even see how another rock got shot right into Ju Lai's shoulder.

Then Ayaka was rushing at Mai.

Ty Lee cried out a warning of "Aaaaghlookitlookithitherhitheraaaaaagh!" and Mai turned to start pitching at Ayaka. Ayaka's run slowed down as the red stones bounced off her arms and legs and chest but she still kept coming!

Ty Lee got so scared for Mai it hurt like a punch to the deep part of her stomach.

Ayaka got close to the rock garden and jumped at Mai-

-Ty Lee screamed-

-Ju Lai groaned-

-Chin Tao was crying-

-Mai raised a stone to throw-

-and Teacher Lady yelled, "Everyone stop this RIGHT NOW unless you want a double-flogging!!"

Ty Lee swore that Ayaka somehow stopped in midair and floated straight down to her feet.




Daoshi stomped over to the girls and had to keep from screaming. Ty Lee, Ju Lai, and Chin Tao were all collapsed on the ground like the detritus of another attempt to crack Ba Sing Se. The latter two girls were covered in cuts and bruises that Daoshi could directly link to the stones in Mai's hands. Ayaka was standing, but she bore the same injuries. Mai herself seemed to be unharmed, attesting to the wisdom of her choice of weapon, but Ty Lee looked like someone had rolled her down a hill. The ditzy girl's dress was all mussed, the palms of her hands were scraped bloody, her hair had escaped its braid, her face was all bruised over, and she moved like she was elderly.

Daoshi had seen bar brawls that ended better, but then drunks didn't tend to be as mean as little children.

Daoshi chose to start with Mai. "Young lady, we do not throw rocks. Put them down this instant or I will send you to the frontlines and tell them to make sure your death isn't at all glorious." Two red stones dropped from little hands. Next, Daoshi turned to Ty Lee. "Did Mai throw anything at you? Even one stone?" Ty Lee's head shook hard enough to free more of her hair from its braid, and Daoshi nodded. "Good. Now, tell me what happened. I heard screams from the classroom, and I want to know what caused this."

Ju Lai hopped to her feet and pointed at Mai. "It was her! We were playing a game and she started throwing rocks at us!"

"Nuh uh!" Ty Lee glared at the other girl like a snake that had woken up to find itself in a bowl of noodles. "You all were being mean and hitting me and Mai saved me like a hero! I love her forever! You should get froggings!" Then the stupid girl looked up at Daoshi. "Do froggings taste good?"

Before Daoshi could say anything, Chin Tao rose shakily to her own feet and sniffled. "We were playing a game with Ty Lee and maybe it was a little rough but we weren't trying to hurt her. For reals! Mai must have gotten confused and thought we were hurting Ty Lee on purpose but she didn't have to throw rocks at us!"

Daoshi glanced at Ayaka, but the tall girl was just glaring at Mai like she was considering a renewal of their battle. Daoshi threw her own warning glare at Ayaka and said, "I will not be lied to! I want to know the truth and I want to know it now!"

"I can help with that."

Daoshi's eyes snapped to the source of the calm voice, and she beheld Princess Azula walking into the courtyard, smiling beatifically, with the sun rising behind her.

Daoshi had to admit, the kid knew how to make an entrance.

Azula walked up to the gathering and inspected the other girls like they were soldiers at a particularly disastrous review. "I saw the whole thing, but I didn't get involved because yesterday you told me that good girls don't light each other on fire unless it's an Agni Kai. I, of course, do everything that I'm told." She glanced over at the other girls. "I saw Chin Tao, Ju Lai, and Ayaka ambush Ty Lee and start beating her. Ty Lee tried to get away, never responding with violence, and did well before she was overcome by numbers. At that point, Mai came along, and demanded the surrender of the aggressors. She was then forced to engage them in battle. Her skill allowed her to combat all three without injuring Ty Lee, and she achieved victory conditions when she lasted long enough for you to arrive." Azula looked up at Daoshi and gave a little tilt of her head. "Is that what you wanted to know, Instructor, or did you require more analysis of the specific tactics involved?"

Daoshi looked the princess over. She seemed fairly calm about the whole thing, and Daoshi didn't miss that Azula had chosen to watch the incident and not seek help from an adult. On the other hand, she was the princess, and it was considered beneath the Royal Family to get involved in spats between noble houses, which this whole thing technically was. Her testimony was useful; not even Ju Lai was protesting or offering denials. And Daoshi knew how to pick her battles. She was an Instructor, after all, and the Great Teacher's Union War had nearly destroyed the Fire Nation while Avatar Roku was off training, until Sozin had ended the conflict and began teaching the efficiency of honorable peace. ("Honorable peace" being defined as repurposing your enemies for you own profit. History contained many such jewels of wisdom.)

"Thank you, princess, that is enough," she said with a bow. "Ju Lai, Chin Tao, and Ayaka: I will be escorting you to the flogging room. Then you will be getting extra assignments highlighting the chaos that comes when Children of Fire fight each other in dishonorable ways, and I shall be sending notes home to your parents, detailing the ways you have failed to live up to the Pre-Academy's standards. Mai, there should be a healer open for business down the street to the west; could you take Ty Lee to have her injuries treated? Tell them that I sent you; they have an agreement with the Pre-Academy."

Mai nodded, and Azula added, "I'll go with them! In case Mai needs help with Ty Lee. I'll also cover the cost, so that the Pre-Academy isn't troubled. It's only proper, since I failed to control my fellow students."

Well, better to grant the request before it became a Royal Command. Daoshi motioned her assent and then pushed the other girls towards the school so that they could begin their punishment, and she could begin overseeing their rehabilitation into productive future productive-members of the Fire Nation's great social machine.

It was Daoshi's part in that grand machine that made her life so rich.

That, and the chance to look out for nice girls like Mai and Ty Lee.




Ty Lee sucked on her Flame Candy on a Stick and hummed happily. The healers had given her rice wine for her pain, and wrapped bandages over all her cuts which put white stripes all over her pink uniform dress and made it look different from everyone else's uniforms. Then, because she had been a good girl and apologized for playing with the bone saw, they gave her a Flame Candy on a Stick and gave her a bed where she could sit and talk with Mai and Princess Azula while the healers waited to see if she had a Con-Cushion.

The world was so pink now!

While Ty Lee sucked her candy, the princess was talking to Mai.

"You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Mai looked down at her shoes and Ty Lee thought they were okay shoes but far too black. Pink would be a better color. Without looking up, Mai said, "But Momma says I have to be a good girl, and good girls are quiet."

Princess Azula petted Mai's shiny hair. "For most people, yes. But you're different. You have something that has to be shared with the world. That makes you better than everyone else, so you don't have to worry about what they think." Azula smiled and added, "And you're my friend, now. So if I say you're a good girl, it doesn't matter what you do. Everyone will have to say you're a good girl, too."

Mai smiled, and Ty Lee smiled because she liked seeing Mai happy. Mai shouldn't be sad; she was the bestest friend ever and she could throw rocks better than an Earthbender!

Mai looked over at Ty Lee and said, "And what about her?"

Princess Azula reached out and patted Ty Lee on her hand. Ty Lee giggled and patted the princess's hand back, but she had healing ointment on her palms for the scrapes so she got Princess Azula's hands all messy, but Azula didn't get mad or anything. She just said, "Ty Lee's my friend, too, of course. Her charisma is significant, and the way she dodged those bullies shows she had some skills. And... I like her. She has a unique way of looking at the world."

Ty Lee nodded, popped her Flame Candy on a Stick out of her mouth, and shouted, "I'm pink and Mai is gray and you're red! We all go together!" Then she put the candy back and sucked happily.

Mai and Princess Azula stared at her.

Azula said, "See? She's special." Ty Lee was so happy at being called special that she started bouncing where she sat and tried to sing but then realized she still had her candy in her mouth. It was the bestest aftermath of a bloody fight ever! Ty Lee giggled again because that sounded so silly in her head, and she heard Mai giggling next to her and the other girl was flashing pink and Ty Lee was so happy she giggled louder and bigger, and Azula started giggling, too.

They were three friends, sitting and giggling together, without any sisters or meanies around. It was everything Ty Lee ever wanted and more! She leaned over and gave Mai a sticky-candy kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to Azula and sticky-kissed her on the cheek, too, and screamed into the air, "We're going to be best friends forever!"

Yay!




In the dark, intimidating flogging room, Instructor Bangbi hefted her bamboo rod and turned to the three little girls who had been sent for disciplinary action. "Who's first?"

Chin Tao looked at Ju Lai. Ju Lai looked at Ayaka. Ayaka frowned, and said, "Can I have a 'frogging' instead?"

Instructor Bangbi then proceeded to interpret that as volunteering.

END
Part 1: Sugar and Spice

Ayaka was created by Alabaster86 for the stories "Equivalent Exchange" and "Miscalculation," and is used with permission. Alabaster86 has since left the fanfic community.

Ju Lai was created by :iconcapt-ba: for the story "The Raven and the Wolf," and is used with permission. Capt-BA has since left the internet.

Chin Tao was created by :iconlavanyasix: for the story "Not As Hard As You," and is used with permission. Lavanya Six has since left the fandom.

The Lesson: If I come to you asking to use one of your original characters, run.

More seriously, my profuse thanks goes to the above authors for letting me play with the creations. Please check out their writings, as all three were very popular and you'll more than likely find something to enjoy in their archives.
© 2014 - 2024 Loopy777
Comments10
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mizzizabellaSMS's avatar
I'm intrigued about Ayaka. who are her real parents? that line about two of the Military's most obssessive killers ending up mating through a bizarre training accident made me LOL the most. :lmao: