章 5: First Night of Marriage
Azula nodded with a pensive expression, the pieces of the puzzle slowly falling into place in her mind. "I see," She murmured, her expression focused. "It's all about mastering that balance."
...
..
Her curiosity seemed insatiable as she continued with her questions, her mind racing with newfound knowledge and a desire for understanding.
"How can you fly with a broom?" She inquired eagerly. "What caused your fire to turn purple earlier? Is that the next level? How did you suddenly get stronger? And where did you acquire such a large abundance of Chi Energy?"
Ash smiled awkwardly, his expression a mix of amusement and reluctance. "How about we continue this tomorrow?" He suggested, hoping to postpone the barrage of questions.
Azula responded with a dismissive huff. "Hmph, very well, but you shall move into the Royal Palace since you're my husband now."
Ash shook his head, his expression firm. "I'm good, I'd rather stay here."
Azula seemed displeased, as they engaged in a silent stare-off, neither willing to back down.
Finally, she relented with a small smile. "Fine, I'll move in with you, your place seems decent enough anyways."
Ash shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't mind."
A tense silence settled between them once more as they stood facing each other.
"I suppose I should give you a reward for answering all my questions." Azula remarked coyly, her voice softening as she closed the distance between them.
She tiptoed up to his face, leaning in for a kiss with her eyes closed.
However, before their lips could meet, she felt a finger against her lips, halting her advance.
Azula watched in surprise as Ash shook his head, denying her the kiss she had expected. Her frown deepened at his unexpected rejection.
"What's the meaning of this?" She demanded, her voice tinged with irritation.
Ash's features remained teasing as he posed his own question. "Is this your first kiss?"
Azula nodded with no hesitation.
"Then treat it more special," He advised. "Don't just kiss me because of a reward or because I'm your husband, but because you genuinely want to."
Azula rolled her eyes in response. "Aren't you a romanticist." She muttered sarcastically.
Undeterred, Ash placed his hands on each side of her cheeks, his touch surprisingly gentle and affectionate. "Wouldn't you rather do something you want to, rather than force yourself?"
As his hands gently cupped her cheeks, Azula felt an unfamiliar sensation wash over her, a warmth spreading from his touch. It caught her off guard, stirring something within her that she couldn't quite identify.
'This is one of his tricks...'
But despite the unexpected tenderness in his gesture, Azula maintained her composure, her expression guarded as she responded.
"How am I forcing myself?"
"How would I know?" He replied cryptically.
Once again, they both just gazed deeply at the other, both having differing thoughts.
But, Azula broke away from his hold, feeling a mixture of frustration and confusion. "Whatever," she muttered dismissively. "I'll be bringing over all my stuff."
She then swiftly turned around and started walking away.
Despite that, a playful smile crossed her lips as she glanced back. "I'll see you later, husband~"
Ash responded with his own smile as she disappeared beyond the gate of his estate.
He couldn't help but think.
'I am so going to fix her...'
Gaining Azula's trust would be far from easy, but he had his methods.
'In a world like this, having a powerful partner like Azula would be ideal. With her by my side, we could really dominate the world, and her intelligence would be invaluable.' He paused, a hint of anticipation in his exhale.
'But right now, she's unstable, out of control. I need to stabilize her, make her reliable.' Ash contemplated his goal. 'And if I can gain a beautiful wife in the process, all the better.'
At the end of the day, he was but a simple man.
Breaking out of his thoughts, he decided to train a little.
Throughout the past year he has created various abilities, but the most prominent ones he uses are.
Infernal Surge.
Lava-bending.
Plasma-bending.
Heat Absorption.
Infernal Surge was the technique that he used to enhance his physicality, by filling his body with fiery chi energy, he can emit an aura of hot dense heat, while simultaneously increasing his explosiveness in all physical aspects.
Which was why he suddenly got stronger and faster in his fight against Azula, the downside is that it has a limited usage of about 3 minutes.
His other technique was Lava Bending, and while he didn't create it, he was the first fire-bender to utilize it.
After that would be his most powerful technique, Plasma-bending, given enough time he could create purple flames that were the hottest ever seen. This was the beam of energy that he used at the end of his fight with Azula.
By concentrating his energy, Ash generates a rapidly spinning ring of plasma. As the plasma rotates, the molecules within it experience increased kinetic energy, causing them to vibrate and collide with one another more frequently. This heightened molecular activity leads to an exponential rise in temperature.
The downside to this technique was that it took time to charge up, and it wasn't very versatile, but he presumed he would eventually be able to use it normally, similar to Azula's blue flames.
And his most vital technique, Fire Absorption, this was something he did not display in his battle with Azula because it was more of a support ability.
He could absorb fire energy and convert it into his own chi energy, by a simple cultivation method.
The only issue was that Ash could only absorb and contain fire energy from actual fire benders. The effects were that while his overall power didn't increase, his quantity of energy became massive, he was confident that in terms of energy he wouldn't even lose out to the Avatar.
For the past year in the war he's been absorbing the chi energy that resides in the core of Fire Benders. The limitations were that he could only do it to corpses that recently died, fortunately he was in war and he had many opportunities to do so.
So overall, his energy rarely ran out, and by using this he could do multiple large scale attacks, giving the illusion that he was the most powerful bender, even considered to be as powerful as the Avatar, hence his title.
Nevertheless, in reality, these attacks could easily be defended against by skilled benders.
'Jeez, I really do get lost in thoughts...'
Focusing back to the present, for the rest of the afternoon he did slow movements of martial art techniques, practicing control and focus.
Hours later, the sun came down, and he was still practicing, until eventually he heard a familiar teasing shout from the gate.
"Husband! Open the door!"
Ash's brow twitched, 'She's really enjoying herself with this marriage.'
Walking over to the massive gate, he opened the small door on it, and stepped out, "Now what do we have here?"
He watched as a line of large carriages lined up in a single row, with Azula standing at the forefront in her usual uniform.
"I have brought all my stuff." She smiled, before turning around talking to the servants, "You two! Open up the gate and load up all the luggage inside the estate!"
Without even waiting, two men just walked past him, and opened the the large gate, promptly after the carriages were dragged inside by what seemed to be llama-like creatures.
"You do know this is my house right? Asking for permission would be appreciated." Ash nonchalantly remarked as he stretched.
Azula herself raised a brow as servants would walk past her with large boxes, "You don't peg me as the type to care about such things. Not to mention, I am the Princess, so I'll do what I want."
Ash's brows couldn't help but twitch once again, "Do I need to put you through another beating?... I even saved your reputation by taking you out of the arena before people could see you collapse. A little respect would go a long way."
Azula's lips curled into a sneer, a flash of irritation crossing her features. "Another beating?" She scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. "You may have won in the arena, but don't mistake that for control over me."
"Nor do I need your pity, or protection. Remember, you're only here at my Father's behest."
Ash just shrugged, "You're one prideful girl..."
With a mocking smile she approached Ash, "But that's my charm, don't you think?" Her hand slowly trailed over his face.
Before she retracted it and simply entered through the gate.
Ash lightly laughed, "I guess that is her charm."
For the next 30 minutes, her luggage was quickly assimilated into the household and all the servants had left.
Inside the large house, namely in the master bedroom, Ash could be seen sitting on the edge of the bed.
As he was about to go to sleep, he sensed an approaching presence, as they entered his room.
"Is this our bedroom?"
Glancing behind him he watched as Azula walked around, seemingly unimpressed, "You have such a mundane room, my bathroom is larger than this."
Ash raised an eyebrow at her comment, his expression unreadable. "It's a bedroom, Azula," he replied evenly. "It's meant for sleeping, not hosting banquets."
As he was about to go in the bed, his eyes couldn't help but linger on Azula's slim figure.
The absence of her usual makeup and the simplicity of her Fire Nation robe somehow emphasized her natural beauty. He found himself admiring her, though he tried to keep his expression neutral.
Azula caught his gaze and smirked knowingly. "Like what you see, husband?" She teased, her voice laced with amusement as she gracefully made her way to the bed.
Ash chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You know I prefer honesty, Azula," he replied, "And honestly? You clean up pretty well."
Azula raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening ever so slightly. "Well, well, looks like even you can appreciate true elegance."
With brisk movement, she sauntered over to the bed, "I suppose it's not the worst place to rest my head," She mused, her voice laced with a hint of sarcasm.
As she slipped under the covers, she couldn't resist a sly comment. "Just remember, husband, this is your side of the bed, and that's mine." She declared, drawing an invisible line down the center with her finger.
"Noted," He replied, a wry smile playing on his lips. "But I can't promise I won't accidentally cross that line in the middle of the night."
Azula rolled her eyes, though there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Just try it and see what happens." She retorted, a challenge in her tone.
With a final exchange of words, the room descended into silence once more.
Despite the apparent peace, an undercurrent of tension lingered in the room, palpable yet unspoken. Both Azula and Ash lay in bed, their bodies still, but their minds restless.
Azula's eyes flickered open, her gaze fixed on the ceiling above. Despite her fatigue, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of her stomach. Trust didn't come easily to her, especially not with someone like Ash. She knew he was capable, perhaps even more so than she had initially thought.
But that didn't mean she trusted him completely. There were too many unknowns, too many variables to account for. She couldn't afford to let her guard down, not now, not ever.
Beside her, Ash lay with his eyes closed, his breathing steady. But beneath the façade of calmness, his mind whirred with thoughts and calculations. He had underestimated Azula before, and he wouldn't make that mistake again.
Despite her outward confidence, he sensed a vulnerability in her, a vulnerability that could be exploited. But he also knew better than to underestimate her. She was a formidable opponent, and he couldn't afford to let his guard down around her, not even for a moment.
As the night wore on, they both remained awake, their minds locked in a silent battle of wills. Each was wary of the other, each keeping a careful watch, even as they pretended to sleep.
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