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Captain Jurik bowed low, his eyes set to the ground as the Fire Lord swept onto the ship, his heavy and disdainful gaze clear as he looked about. He snapped his fingers, a servant running up to him to wave a palm frond at him as he stood on the deck, looking out across the sea.
For a long moment, the two of them stood in silence before Lord Ozai snapped his fingers again, the sound higher than the time before it and the deck cleared of people, the only other sound the faint chorus of joyous chanting coming from the common people standing in the streets as they watched the Fire Lord.
"Rise," Ozai said, arrogance dripping from his voice. Jurik straightened, keeping his eyes lowered, as Ozai paced before him, each sharp turn another moment of worry as Jurik tried to figure out what exactly was happening, what had led to him hosting the Fire Lord upon his simple warship.
"I have heard," Ozai said, his words cutting through Jurik's turbulent thoughts. "That you are one of the fastest ships in the docks." He waited a beat before snarling. "Speak, fool."
"I- yes, my Lord," Jurik said, confusion clear. "My crew is sharp and smart, and we are able to-" He cut himself off as Ozai held up a hand.
"You will cease what you are doing," Ozai said, his expectation of immediate compliance obvious. Jurik nodded. "You will attend to the Royal Family now," he said, before laughing at the look on Jurik's face. "Not me, you fool," he said, malice clear in his eyes as he looked at the warship. "I would not travel in such… common style. No, you will attend to the Fire Nation's Princess," he said, gesturing sharply for someone to join them.
Jurik let his eyes dart up for a moment, taking in the child moving towards the two of them, her face set in studied arrogance. She paused before Ozai, bowing low before stepping to his right. Ozai didn't say anything, but his face darkened, and his gaze dropped to her.
Jurik held his breath, as the Fire Lord gestured for her to stand in front of him. He kept his eyes lowered but focused, hoping that the Fire Lord wouldn't take it as a sign of disrespect, and watched as Ozai gripped her shoulders, the tight gesture almost hiding the lick of flames as it pressed into her. He stopped breathing, waiting for her to scream, and then closed his eyes, when he realized that this was far from a common occurrence.
"Now then," Ozai said. "This is Princess Azula, as you know." Jurik bowed again, opening his eyes only to focus on the ground to avoid letting either of them see the anger surging in her eyes. "You will follow her every word. You will not let her die. You will train her in naval battles. You will discipline her when necessary, but you will not assume that you know correctly. You are now hers to command. She will be here for the next week. I expect her to return to me fully able and trained in ships." He snapped his fingers again, and three women emerged from between the guards at the base of the walkway, and wheeled a large suitcase onto the deck. "These are her servants. They will test her food for poison. If anyone of them dies, you will be burned for treason." He paused. "You may rise."
Jurik straightened, nodding in agreement.
Ozai watched him with a narrowed look for a long moment, before he squeezed the Princess' shoulders once more and turned, abruptly leaving, the guards coming to attention as he walked away from the ship, leaving the baffled Captain alone with the Princess of the Fire Nation.
Jurik barely kept himself from swearing, before he bowed to the Princess again. "If my Lady would follow me," he said, nodding for the three women to follow him as well, as he led them through the doorway into the cool hold of his ship. He watched the Princess out of the corner of his eye, taking in the way she was fidgeting in pain slightly, her body stilling every time she caught sight of him again.
He led her through the hold, bringing her to his cabin. He paused, glancing over his shoulder at the three following them, and blinked when one of them stepped forward, her face abruptly creased with worry.
"My Lady," she said, dropping to her knees before Princess Azula. "Please, please, let me treat your shoulders."
Princess Azula looked at her coolly and shook her head, turning her amber eyes on Jurik. "I would not see myself healed, when I know that more corrections are to be had this week, Kurna," she spat, turning to glare back at her. "You forget yourself."
Jurik blinked, as Kurna shook her head. "My Lady, please, I would not - I cannot bear to see you hurt."
Azula snarled, her childish face suffused with rage. "You forget yourself," she thundered, flames appearing in her clenched fists as she stared down at the woman kneeling on the floor. Jurik watched with narrowed eyes as she turned, careful, for all of her power, to not hit the woman with her flames. He looked at Kurna, kneeling on the dirty floor, and took in her complete lack of fear, and cleared his throat, halting their argument, as Azula paled rapidly and dropped her flames from her hands.
"My Lady," Jurik said, taking a step back and dropping to his knees as well, abruptly deciding that if he was going to burn, he was going to burn in an attempt to protect the Princess. "My Lady, if there is one thing, one thing I know, one thing I have," he said, watching her face closely. "It is that you are in charge," he said. "I would not- I do not- there will be no… corrections, upon my ship," he said. "I am, and I do, I swear to you, my Lady." He bowed his head, waiting for her to call the guards, the murmured rumors of her cruelty floating in his mind, even as he turned over the last few moments in his mind. "I would stand against the ones who hurt you," he said, well aware that he had now committed treason, as Azula stopped breathing and Kurna gasped, but he couldn't, he couldn't just stand there, as the Fire Lord hurt his own child. "I would stand for you," he said. "And I would take your burdens as my own, and so would my crew."
For a long moment, no one moved, the other two women watching the three of them with wide eyes, their gazes fixed on Azula.
He stilled entirely when he felt a small cool hand touch his forehead, Azula pausing for a moment before she stepped back, her face somber. "Please," she said, all arrogance and pride stripped from her voice. "Please, Captain Jurik, rise." He pushed himself up, vaguely noting that Kurna had risen with him, and looked at Azula, taking in her worried expression.
She turned to Kurna, the older woman nodding at her. "I told you he was a good sort," Kurna said good-naturedly. "Our network was right, and besides," she said, eyeing Jurik contemplatively. "Tala's never steered us wrong."
Jurik coughed, swallowing air down the wrong pipe, and choked for a beat, before regaining himself. "Tala?" He wheezed, staring at Kurna. "Tala, as in my first mate?" Kurna nodded at him, her expression calm. "I- " he said, looking back at Azula. "Was this a test my Lady?"
Azula sighed, looking wearied beyond her years. "It was an opportunity," she said slowly, before shivering. "I could not approach you, and I apologize for-" she cut herself off. "I know that you had - I know that my mother trusted you," she settled on, ignoring the way Kurna's eyes widened, the information obviously news to her. She fidgeted before the four of them for a beat before sighing.
"It would please me," she said, her shoulders slumping, "if we all followed the rules that have been set for us." She straightened, her eyes flickering down the hallway, taking in to rough wood, the metal walls, the ship clearly well-loved by its crew. She looked back at him, her eyes dark and serious, as Jurik straightened at the sight weight of her burden. "We must cast off at once Captain," she said. "If you would please show me to my room."
"I- yes," Jurik said, bowing slightly again before leading her down the hallway towards his room. "Here is your-"
"No," Azula said, cutting him off. "I will not be taking your room." She glanced down the hallway, taking in the multitude of open doors, before narrowing her eyes at a section of closed ones. "If I may?" She asked, looking at Jurik, and catching his nod, before she walked over to the door. She pulled each open, studying them intently, before coming to a decision. "Kurna, Wren, and Jul, if you would be okay with sharing the larger room?"
The three women exchanged a glance and nodded, before Kurna stepped forward. "My Lady, if it would please you-"
Azula sighed, cutting Kurna off. "I want the smaller room," she said, smiling fondly at Kurna. "Do not worry so much." Kurna nodded in muted amusement before helping Wren and Jul lug in Azula's chest of clothing. "Captain," Azula said, turning her attention to Jurik. "I do not mean to take control of your ship, but, some things may be spoken of over open water that couldn't be done with all the rats in the walls."
Jurik nodded, swallowing hard at the look in Azula's eyes before he turned, and began to stride to the bridge, his mind reeling with everything he had witnessed in the past hour.
He swallowed hard when he entered the control room, his gaze landing squarely on Tala, the woman's face serene. He said nothing for a long moment, issuing a command that echoed through the ship of immediate departure, waiting for the corresponding shouts to start and for the bustle at the docks to begin before he turned to face her.
"Just a wandering woman," Jurik said quietly, his eyes fixed on hers.
Tala nodded. "Once I was done helping Ursa escape, I was," she said simply.
Jurik narrowed his eyes at her before he choked on air. "You helped the Queen escape?" He hissed at her. "You could've killed us."
Tala shook her head, watching him closely. "Only Kurna knew," she said softly. "And no one can make Kurna do anything."
"Except for the Princess," Jurik muttered, watching Tala back just as carefully.
At his words, Tala relaxed fully, a small smile grace her lips. "You've met Lady Azula," she said, the fondness unmistakable. "She's quite a force, isn't she?"
"She is," Jurik murmured. "Makes one wonder how she's able to cope."
Tala's smile slid from her face. "We have spoken at length about this," she said, warning clear in her voice. "If you attempt to hurt her-"
"I would never!" Jurik said, staring at her with wide eyes. "She is clearly more than what meets the eyes." Tala blinked at him, waiting for him to smoothly ease the boat from the docks, her gaze steady on his face. "And besides," Jurik said. "You know as well as I do, just who else helped Ursa with her flight."
Tala grinned at him, reaching out to clap him on the shoulder. "Aye," she said, squeezing his arm. "And what a beloved crew they were."