Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Aces
"I don't suppose you play cards?"
Suki groans as the voice echos through her cell. Great. Her again.
The Kyoshi Warrior had spent the last few hours laying on her back and repeatedly counting how many bolts there were in her small cell's ceiling. She lets out a long sigh and turns her head to glance at the Fire Nation's crown princess. Her captor's auburn lips twist into a smug smile that Suki was all-too-familiar with, despite only being a prisoner for less than a week.
In that week, Azula had separated her from the rest of her warriors, stripped her of her uniform, and interrogated her for information. Suki hadn't planned on telling her anything. She didn't care what the fire nation would do to her, she wouldn't speak. However, the princess made it explicitly clear that the lives of her fellow warriors depended on her cooperation, and while Suki didn't care about her own life, the lives of her fellow warriors were a different story. She wasn't about to sacrifice them.
Since then, Azula visited her regularly. Usually to taunt her about her imprisonment.
"Come on," the princess continues, "I know quite a few. Mao, Omashu Blitz..."
"Not interested," Suki turns herself around so she doesn't have to look at her captor.
"Suit yourself," Azula laughs, "I thought you'd be desperate for an opportunity to do something other than count ceiling bolts. How many are there again? 32?"
"33." Suki corrects without even meaning too.
"And don't you hate that you know that?"
Suki clenches her fists and takes a deep breath. Fine. She sits herself up and turns to face the princess. A moment of silence goes by as Suki glares at the at Azula. Her captor's watchful golden eyes gazed back at her - almost like they were challenging her to engage. As much as she wants to be left alone, she had a feeling that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Besides, Azula was right - counting ceiling bolts had lost its charm a long time ago.
Suki pushes herself off the bed and takes a cautious step forward.
"Suppose I agree. We play cards. What do you get out of it?"
"You're not the only one who's bored out of your skull," Azula states, "guarding you is about as interesting as watching paint dry."
"Oh, poor you," Suki layers her voice with as much sarcasm as she can muster. She tenses as she sees the firebender's smile grow - that probably wasn't a good sign for her. She carefully watches as her captor pulls a small deck of cards from her pocket. The cards are a sleek, bright ruby red, and labeled with the Fire Nation's emblem. Suki watches as Azula starts to shuffle them.
"Why don't we make this a little more...interesting?" the princess says. Suki sighs. She didn't like the way Azula emphasized interesting.
"...Interesting how?"
Azula reaches into a pouch on her belt and pulls out a small bag of...something.
"If you win, I'll give you this bag of fire-flakes," the princess offers, "Have you had them before? They're a Fire-Nation delicacy. I also heard that they are the most valuable contraband at Boiling Rock - which is where you're being sent."
Suki stares at the bag. This felt like a trap. "And what do you get if you win?" she asks, coldly, "you've already gotten all the information you need out of me." The princess thinks for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders.
"The satisfaction of my victory is enough for me," Azula sits down, and sets the cards and pouch between the cell's bars, and onto the ground, "As an added advantage, you can even pick what we play. You can even pick a game I don't know, I won't mind."
Suki sighs. Every instinct in her body told her that this was a trap - nothing good would result in playing cards with the Fire Nation princess. Still, she had a feeling she didn't have a choice in the matter. It'd probably be less painful to go along with it.
Besides, it was better than counting ceiling bolts.
"Have you ever played War?" Suki asks, cautiously walking towards the princess.
"It's all I've ever known," Azula smirks, "though, I'm assuming the 'War' you're referring to is a card game."
Suki nods and slowly sits down opposite of the princess. She carefully reaches her hand out to grab the deck.
"May I?"
"Be my guest."
Suki deals the cards and stops when she has two even piles. She passes one along to Azula.
"It's really easy. Keep your deck face down so you can't see your cards," Suki instructs, "At the same time, we'll both reveal the top card of our deck. Whoever's card ranks highest keep the cards, and puts them at the bottom of their deck."
"I'm guessing we keep playing until someone has the whole deck?"
"Whoever has all the cards at the end, wins."
"What happens if the cards rank the same?"
Suki smiles, "Then we have a war. We both draw three more cards, keeping them face down. Then we draw one more card, face up - highest ranking card takes the pile."
Azula nods, taking the information in, and Suki couldn't help but notice that her captor's cold eyes lit up with a playful glint - almost childlike, "Well, that's easy!" the princess exclaims, "Come on, let's play."
And so they did.
First draw: 3 and 2 - Suki takes the cards. Second draw: 6 and 9 - Azula takes the cards. Third draw - 4 and a Queen - Azula takes the cards. The firebender laughs.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Suki said.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Azula smiled back.
Fourth Draw: 7 and 3 - Suki takes the cards. Fifth Draw: a Jack and an Ace.
"Do aces rank higher or lower than royalty?" Azula asked.
"Higher."
"Excellent."
The princess takes her cards.
Sixth draw: an 8 and an 8.
"War!" Both girls exclaimed. They quickly deal their extra cards, revealing the top: two kings.
"What happens if it's the same again?" Azula asks
"Than the Hundred-Year-War continues."
The girls add more cards to the pile before revealing the top: an Ace and a 3.
"Victory!" Suki exclaims and takes her cards. Azula scowls.
"You may have won the battle, but the game's still on."
The girls keep drawing cards, and Suki can't hold back her smile as she watches Azula's deck gets smaller and smaller. The game starts to near its end, and Suki's victory was imminent.
The thirty-second draw: 7 and 2 - Suki takes her cards. Azula scoffs, and Suki notices the childlike pout on the princess's face. She bit her lip, eyes flickering between the two decks. There was something different about the fire-bender. She no longer gave off the air of a war-hardened fighter. Instead, she was just a kid playing a card game.
They both were.
Suki couldn't help but wonder...how old was the princess? It never occurred to her that her captor - the ruthless warrior who had bested the famed Kyoshi Warriors in combat was most likely younger than her. Looking at her now, and how entranced she was in her card game, she reminded Suki of some of the younger warriors in her group.
"Can I ask you something?" Suki inquires.
"You just did."
Thirty-third draw: 7 and 8 - Azula takes the cards.
"You said that guarding me was boring, but... why are you even guarding me? There are soldiers everywhere, surely the crown-princess can order one of them to watch over me, right?"
Thirty-forth draw: 10 and 4 - Suki takes the cards.
"It's too much of a risk."
"What, afraid I'm gonna break out?"
Thirty-fifth draw: 9 and 6 - Suki takes the cards.
"Of course not," Azula scoffs - three cards were left in her hand, "These cages are designed to contain the greatest benders in the world. A non-bender like you escaping is about as likely as wooly-pigs flying."
Thirty-sixth draw: an Ace and a Jack - Suki takes the cards.
"So you think someone might try and rescue me?" Suki says. She kept her eyes steady on Azula's face, trying to get a read on the princess. She squints at her small deck before her eyes flicker back to meet Suki's.
"Do you think someone will come for you?"
"Sokka," Suki states, though it was a bluff. Sokka probably didn't know she had been captured yet. How could he? Suki highly doubted Azula had publicized the Kyoshi Warrior's capture. While she had no doubt that news of her defeat would get to him eventually, who knew where she would be by that point.
Still, though, in her heart...she couldn't shake the feeling he'd come for her. Was it wishful thinking? Probably. Still, against her better judgment, she was hopeful.
"Sokka," Azula repeated the name, "Is that your boyfriend?"
"Something like that."
Thirty-seventh draw: 4 and 7 - Azula takes the cards.
"You're being held in heavily guarded, heavily armed, fire-nation encampment. Forgive me if I'm not worried about some dumb boy trying to save his lady-love."
Thirty-eighth draw: a Queen and an 8 - Suki takes the cards.
"So why have you taken it upon yourself to personally guard me?"
Azula shrugs, looking at her dwindled deck of two cards.
"The fire nation prides itself on honor," she explains, "I'd...heard rumors that a group of soldiers here have acted dishonorably towards female prisoners in the past. I won't allow it to happen on my watch."
Suki pauses, trying to process the information. Azula, the demented princess who a week prior, mercilessly defeated them. The cruel firebender who had coaxed information out of her by threatening the lives of the other Kyoshi Warriors. Azula, who'd made it a point to come and taunt her every day since her capture...was guarding her against the other soldiers.
"You're…protecting me?"
Azula rolls her eyes and scoffs, "Please, I couldn't care less if you lived or died. The only thing I'm protecting is the honor of the Fire Nation."
Suki nods, "...I see."
That's when it occurred to her - the other warriors. While she had been kept away from them, she knew they were being kept somewhere else on the base. Where they in danger? Was it too late?
"Ty Lee and Mai are guarding your warriors on my personal orders," Azula states before Suki can ask. Suki doesn't even notice she sighs in relief. At least she had some assurance that her warriors would maintain some dignity through this ordeal.
Still, it was odd. Even before her capture, she had heard the rumors of the crown princess's cruelty. A cold-blooded firebender who loved nothing more than causing anguish to those who opposed her. Suki had faced that cruelty first hand.
Even monsters have their limits, she supposed.
"Ty Lee...she's the bubbly pink one, right?"
Azula nods, "Why do you ask?"
"She's your girlfriend, right?"
"What?" Azula hisses. Her eyes dart up at her prisoner, and the cards slip from her hands. Suki smirks, noticing the pink flush that started to form around the firebender's cheeks. She seems to have touched a nerve. Interesting.
"I'm just making small talk," Suki shrugs. She briefly debates if prodding Azula about her love-life was a rabbit-hole she wanted to go down. After all, as civil as this card game had been, she was still at Azula's mercy. Then again, it wasn't as if she had much more to lose. Besides, causing the princess to lose her steely composure, even just a little bit, was a victory in itself. "I've seen the way she looks at you, you know."
"She admires me is all," Azula shrugs, "I'm the crown-princess, I have plenty of admirers."
Suki smirks. Sure. "I've seen the way you look at her too."
The princess's face became redder, "Ty Lee is a talented warrior and a skilled acrobat..."
"And she's really cute."
"Don't interrupt me!" The princess demands. It was all Suki could do to keep from laughing at her outburst. The princess took a deep breath before continuing, "As I was saying - Ty Lee is a valuable asset to my plans, nothing more."
"Then why are you blushing?"
"Because pointless questions agitate me!"
"Fine, fine," Suki smirks, "for what it's worth, I think two would be a cute couple." She locks eyes with the firebender, who quickly shifts her gaze back to the two cards in her hand.
Thirty-ninth draw: 5 and 4 - Suki takes the cards.
Azula has one card left. Suki laughs.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," The princess scowls. Suki realizes she shouldn't enjoy her victory so much - it was clear that the firebender was a sore loser. However, as much as Suki wanted to deny it, she was having fun. It reminded her of the times she'd play with her friends back home, back before they became warriors. She wondered if Azula felt the same.
The fortieth draw: an Ace and a 7. Suki takes her cards, smiling a big, toothy grin at her victory.
"Congratulations," Azula says, slow clapping, "You must feel so proud, beating the crown-princess at kid's game."
"We are kids," Suki says. A small silence falls between them.
"So we are."
Suki reaches for the bag of fireflakes, cautiously examining it.
"Go ahead, try one," Azula says. Suki shakes her head, "What, afraid I've poisoned it?"
"Yeah, actually," Suki replies. She handed her cards back to the firebender, who stacks them all into a singular deck, and starts to shuffle.
"What do you say, best two out of three?"
"You're on."