<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/bb/03Azula.jpg)</div>Name: The Phoenix Queen, Azula<br/>Location: Upon Her Throne<br/><br/><hr/><hr/><br/>Zhao had faced the spirit world before.  He'd stolen books from the hidden library.  He had held a god hostage at the Seige of the North.  For all the legends and all his reading, he had been expecting the Avatar to come upon the world with apocalyptic fury.  Frankly, Zhao was... less than impressed.  The last thing he was expecting was this.  Barely a man grown, if Zhao was being generous.<br/><br/>The Queen sat upon her throne, legs crossed, the fabric of her robes falling seductively over every curve, perfectly applied makeup masking her face, thin red lips smirking.  With every breath she took the candy-blue flames burning softly around her seemed to sway and dance.  Sparking and crackling lightning danced along the ceiling above.  It seemed that even with the Avatar present, she had absolutely no intention of letting anyone question who she thought the most powerful person in the room was.<br/><br/>"So this is an Airbender?" the Queen asked him.  Her voice sounded soft, feminine, smokey.  Almost like the purr of an eaglelion.<br/><br/>When she heard the sound of Toph ariving she supressed a sound of relief.  Unlike Zhao she didn't like to take chances, and she liked to make sure her deck was stacked if a confrontation went down.  Maybe she had no doubt she could kill the man in front of her, if she had to... but with the addition of Toph, Ty Lee, Mei, Zhao and all her guards... she could kill him if she<em>wanted</em>to.  She wondered which side Yue and Katara would fall on.  After all, she was the devil they knew, and the Avatar was already looking at them like meat.<br/><br/>She stood from her throne and extended her hand to Ty Lee.  There was a confidence in her posture.  She didn't even look back.  Her wife would take her hand, her wife would walk with her, her wife would follow her into oblivion.  Maybe Azula took it for granted, but who in her kingdom could say they had as happy a marriage?<br/><br/>The Queen gave a signal that Toph and Zhao would understand meant to secure the room.  Just like with her wife she didn't have to do anything else to know it would be done.<br/><br/>Ty Lee's hand in hers, she approached the Avatar.  His eyes were looking over Azula's water-maidens?  So the legendary Air Nomads were not so chaste and serene, after all.  As she passed them, she ran her fingers through Yue's hair and gently carressed Katara's face.  Little sparks dancing from her fingers as she touched the Southern Water-maiden.  The Phoenix Queen rarely passed on an opportunity to touch Katara.  Sometimes it was to make Ty Lee jealous... jealousy had a wonderful effect on Ty Lee's libido.  Sometimes it was to remind Katara of her place.  Sometimes it was just because Azula loved touching her...<br/><br/>Of all the things she owned, Katara was her favorite piece of property...<br/><br/>And if Aang got the impression that he'd need Azula's permission to play with her toys, well, she wasn't opposed to fast learning.<br/><br/>For the first time since her father had died, she did the unthinkable when she was near the Avatar.  The Phoenix Queen bowed to him.  She placed her fist beneath an open palm, the traditional Fire Nation salute and bowed low to him.  It was a gesture of respect.  And respect was an expression she'd learned to fake ages ago.<br/><br/>A waterbender hurried over to her and placed a silk shaal in her hands that the queen presented to Aang, "You'll have to forgive us," she said. "We had anticipated, should the avatar return... it would be a woman..." she stood to her full height.  Still a head shorter than Aang, but somehow towering over him in spirit. "The belief was that your lives alternated sex between reincarnations."  She turned to Ty Lee, "It would appear I owe both you and Yue a bucket of peaches."<br/><br/>"We have a place for you at our table, Avatar Aang," she gestured sweetly to the table.  There were two chairs marked with the symbol for the Air Nomads, just as there were two chairs for the other three nations, as well.<br/><br/>Azula was a completely different woman when she was putting on her diplomatic face.  She was delicate.  Girly, even.  There were little giggles between her words and her eyes were warm, instead of fierce.  It was something else she'd learned to fake.  After all, she'd been a princess once.  Before she was her father's favorite weapon... and long before the rumors that her father took her to bed...<br/><br/>"May I present to you, my wife, The Silver Queen, Ty Lee," she moved her hand so that Ty Lee would be nearer the Avatar.<br/><br/>"I don't suppose you could humor us with a demonstration of Airbending," she said.  She raised her hand and looked about to touch his chest in a flirtatious manner, but then recoiled as if she remembered who she was addressing.  Every bit of it was calculated.  How much she would reach out, how much she would flirt, exactly where she'd recoil, exactly where she'd<em>almost</em>touch.  Manipulation was an art and Azula was the world's only Heartbender.