There were only a few select individuals left in the main hall of the palace. Intrigue was present in many but the majority of them were astonished. After all, the spy caught was none other than one of the old elders who claimed that they only sided with Zhao to put an end to war. The man had lost his family to the war and when the waterbenders returned only to raise such a ruckus, the man had sided with Zhao by contacting him out of his free will. The only reason he got caught was that the old man was no professional and left many trails.

"What now?" Still seated on the main seat, Yue couldn't help but question, her head still buzzing with such an astounding find. One moment, she was reading out some saucy take of a princess on the road with a wild adventure, and the other moment, she found herself pulled back to reality... truly, she cannot catch a break.

Her words were met with silence but Nik soon opened up. Pakku and Yoki were present while Hama had the duty of teaching young benders today. On the other hand, only three of Yoki's men and one from the group of benders that returned to the water tribe back then remained alongside Nik's group, excluding Tom-Tom.

"Can we try and make use of this?" Nik inquired.

"Use?" Yoki was quick to pursue while others left questioning glances in Nik's direction.

"Yes... it's like trying to give Zhao a sense of safety. We could use the same channels and make that spy cook up a new message that eludes Zhao of our current schemes. After all, we still haven't made everything public so I doubt that Zhao is capable of knowing everything..."

"I would doubt that," Yoki sighed and rubbed his forehead with a weary expression. Taking care of the tribe was nothing like he had ever done which made him feel more than furious at Hahn for betraying them but also respect his decision of tying the knot with the Fire Lord for assistance because alone, the fool would have destroyed the tribe himself.

"Zhao may not be the youngest Admiral but his career has been the quickest to rise to the peak of the navy from just being a soldier, netting him a nobility of sorts in Fire Nation...

I also heard that he declined to retire and become a proper noble. From birth, the man has faced war and with his wits, he razed many warriors and burned their bones to ashes," Yoki's words made many feel stifled but Mai remained indifferent to it. She may agree that Zhao is a capable leader but she knew full well that she was a better warrior... with the correct equipments.

"The fact that he may know about the Avatar's departure means that they may face some unforeseen troubles," Yoki added as Katara's expression turned slightly worried for her brother.

"So we can't manipulate him with incorrect information since he has an eye for ascertaining misdirections from the truth," Nik frowned, "Again, why not just do the opposite? I think we all can agree that the exchange of hostages is merely suspending the inevitable conflict that this tribe will face surely.

Omashu is safe for now and I would like to think it's because of King Bumi himself and the fact that the Phoenix King needs a lot of time to consolidate a continent as large as the Earth Kingdom but... the water tribe is just this much."

Sensing a tinge of anger flare up in all the denizen's gazes, including Yue and Katara, Nik continued, "I'm sorry if it felt insulting but isn't it the truth. As Mai said once, better to swallow bitter pills than to face an enemy with a lack of honesty and experience.

The Water Tribe will be targeted after the exchange of hostages is successful... and since I'm here, too, and wish to live, I say... we keep the line of spy open to us."

"What do we even send? The number of our troops?" Pakku scoffed.

"Yes," Nik nodded, "And let them know our patrolling routes, too. Force them to take a path that we can control. Even if they ram their ships into that giant wall of ice, we won't have long to prepare.

Of course, the other option is to..." Nik grew silent for a moment before shrugging, "Migrate. Live to see another day... Of course, after we strike the armada with our full force. Strike and run, if you may."

Katara and Suki had weird expressions.

This is what Sokka taught Nik and to see something stupid in their eyes actually make sense at this moment... made them feel a little worried for their own mental faculties. It was either staying with Sokka for long or having Nik defile them even when they're on the top that made them feel as such.

"We won't run," Yoki stated firmly as Yue added with an inordinately serious, almost dignified, expression.

"That was never an option for us."

Nik nodded. He didn't truly empathize with their sentiment to defend their home since his home was quite the hell itself, but he could still respect their decision nonetheless.

"But the idea of controlling their approach is interesting," Yoki agreed for a moment, his expression morphing into a contemplative frown while others waited for his input in silence. While Nik has begun to understand a wider range of approaches in battles due to many scrolls he had ended up reading that explained the exploits of past chieftains, he understood that he lacked Yoki's and Pakku's expertise— heck, he lack such expertise even when compared to ordinary war-hardened soldiers!

Thus, it wasn't really a choice that he remained silent because he felt that he knew his limits quite well.

"First thing we need to make sure is that the spy doesn't have some form of a secret set of words that alert Zhao we are trying to fool him. It will take some time to break him but let's see what we can do," Yoki sighed deeply.

"B-break him?" Yue lost her cool for once as Yoki looked up in her direction and nodded, "Princess Yue, I would not trouble you with the details but the crueler options will only be left for the end."

Seeing complications flickering on her expression, Yoki sighed softly.

These are hard measures but then again, their situation only allowed those who made the tough calls to survive.

"I just feel that... the elder would listen to reason," Yue reproached gently, trying for Yoki to adopt a gentler approach to the situation as Yoki kept his quiet. It wouldn't do well to refuse the Princess at once but he couldn't agree with her methods at the moment. In a more peaceful world, Yue's method may just work. Unfortunately, the threat of invasion loomed and they were short on time.

Unable to find a good reason to refute the Princess aside from stating cold facts that would surely plummet many individuals' moods, Yoki did just that...

And surely, many felt sour. Not against Yoki, no. But against the situation the tribe was put into.

---

"I feel so useless," Yue slumped down on her mattress once again. A trace of self-mockery flashed past her gaze as she internally admonished herself for sounding so stupid in the main hall today.

Aside from Mai, others didn't have anything else to do and they were quite fond of Yue's bedroom due to the service she had so they followed her back.

"Hey... what's this?"

"Ah!"

"I don't know."

Nik's inquiry was met with Katara's gasp and Suki's flat refusal of ever seeing the item he was suddenly interested in.

"Hmm... the Beast and the Fair?" His further words as if reciting a title to a... 'great' story made all that Yue felt throw out of the window and she sat up in a one snappy moment, "Don't! That's mine!"

A greatly stupid decision once again... Suki felt. Just like them, Yue could have either feigned ignorance or denial but... she adopted the move of openly claiming that the erotic literature belonged to her.

"Apparently the beast's sword, too," Nik mumbled as he opened the scroll, his eyes incidentally landing on the texts that read—

And the beast's sword thrust into the Fair Maiden's sheathe, filled up with his presence, and finally completed.—

He didn't need to read further to know what was what. An amused smile hung on his lips as he dodged Yue's attempt at grasping the scroll and pulled his attention to the beginning of the scroll, expecting a full adventurous ride that also seemed to keep the princess of a great power occupied in probably some sleepless nights.

Only after a good few minutes of persistent chasing against a limping Nik who would, at times, make the scroll disappear and then reappear to read it by quite an extent did Yue give up and groaned while slumping on her bed. Katara and Suki watched by the sidelines, each finding themselves a seat and not partaking in the chase since it was already too late.

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed... it's a well-written tale. Especially the part where the Princess has to choose between her responsibilities and her lover."

"What's so good about it?" Yue pouted, "The princess spat on the efforts of her tribe. If she accepted their kindness, she must return the favor, too!"

"Really?" Nik titled his head slightly and sat down, too, setting the scroll next to him while shrugging, "All I got was that the warrior was amazing in sheathing his sword and that attracted the princess more," his words making the girls blush slightly as his added chuckle didn't help, "Although, I do think that he had no other reason to wait for more than their first night other than his own inhibitions. All that stuff about not wanting to taint a pure flower and all... was crap."

"What do you mean?" Suki's interest was instantly roused.

"Well, it's like brushing over our own excuses by loading the blame on something entirely different. If the princess in the story was really someone that evoked the feeling of pureness and unwilling to taint then the warrior wouldn't have done that... you know? Sheathe his sword..."

He chuckled again as he said it out loud. Just the words— Sheathing Sword— would now make him chuckle or smile at the very least through the near future.

"No, you're getting it wrong. It was the princess who made the first move by making excuses to get near him," Yue countered after regaining her bearings.

"That's the point. The princess never said— oh, I'm pure, don't touch me— the warrior thought on his own and kept on holding himself back. If it were me, either I would hold back because I want to develop a connection or taint the purity the very first night."

"Really?" Katara hummed thoughtfully, "Then what about us? Did you wait... or think we were too pure?"

Anticipation was clear in Katara's and Suki's expressions while Yue couldn't help but give the two girls a sidelong glance as they managed to turn this, too, into something related to their relationship. Honestly, it was a great but annoying talent.

"I thought if I did make a move, you two would beat the shit out of me."

"Only that?" Katara frowned.

"Hmm... and I guess, I did enjoy our travel as training partners and friends. But I like what we have even more." Already trained to perfection to pull out the corn when necessary, Nik didn't hold back to butter the two up shamelessly while Yue rolled her eyes from the sidelines and interrupted, much to Suki's and Katara's annoyance, "You think that a princess can be so easily seduced? Nevermind that, if the princess herself wasn't infatuated by the warrior, she would have never acted so... shamelessly."

"It's easy," Nik shrugged.

"What is?"

"To sleep with someone the day you meet them. Even I've done it," he replied while recalling Michi.

Katara and Suki, too, recalled the gentle woman and felt a little complicated. Not because of Nik... but because of Mai and Tom-Tom.

"Stop lying," Yue crossed her arms, "I'm not so ignorant that you can fool me with such fictional claims."

Nik looked at Yue intently as she added with her ocean blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, "If you are as good as you claim, why haven't you persuaded Mai to finally teach you on your terms?"

"Because it's irrelevant," Nik smiled, "Mai is a great warrior, similar to Suki. Suki didn't agree to teach me just because of what we grew to be. She did so after Avatar Kyoshi gave her blessing. Mai is the same... no, worse. Look at Tom... poor boy. But that's because Mai cares for her. If I happened to have made a shot at her—"

He looked towards Katara and Suki, "Which I haven't," making them roll their eyes, "then her conditions would grow stricter."

His explanation came with a living proof that is Mai's brother so Yue could only accept it reluctantly but kept a firm stance, "Regardless, I don't believe that genuine attraction can be achieved in a single day."

"Alright," Nik nodded.

"Alright, what?"

"If you think that, alright." He smiled.

Dazed, Yue couldn't help but grumble, "Just like that?"

"Yeah, I mean, those that believe don't need any proof so it doesn't really matter if you don't want to believe me. All I'm saying is, that the warrior's excuse of not tainting the pure princess was just a cover-up for his excuse that he wasn't either up for the task until he began to sense consent from the princess... or he simply wasn't raging with... you know, an erect weapon— the sword."

He ended up chuckling by that end once again.

'Hah... sword... fuck, it's quite funny,' Nik sighed internally.

"Demonstrate it then," Yue finally spoke up.

"Sure, Katara, do you mind?" Nik inquired as Katara's expression lit up. Standing up, she walked towards Nik only to see him present a devious grin as he walked past her and sat next to Suki, surprising the Kyoshi Warrior pleasantly.

"Hey!" Katara scoffed, but ultimately pouted silently, making sure to have her vengeance come the full moon.

"Not them," Yue frowned, "The three of you already favor each other positively. I, on the other hand, am quite annoyed by you today. Try me and let me break the illusion that you feel your charm possess."

Nik stopped for a second and then looked at Katara and Suki.

He wasn't really looking for permission but it would do him well if they were fine with it.

It was as Yue said, his charm wasn't outlandish. He was quite the looker as he would still gain stares from the opposite sex but he was just an extraordinary case of charm. This only lowered the need of overcompensating for a few things but his face wasn't a ticket to get out of any troubles from a relationship. A few rough patches over the month while trying to balance with the two girls already made Nik feel that... unlike stated in a few records, having multiple relationships would be more taxing if the 'rewards' weren't that great.

Fortunately, Nik felt plenty satisfied with what he gained in return, and seeing him look at them and waiting for their reactions before making a decision, a smile finally touched Suki's and Katara's lips.

"I think the two of you would be fine as long as you don't cross some pretty obvious boundaries," Suki pecked Nik's cheek and stood up, "Should we be waiting outside?"

"Why?" Yue's expression froze and Katara revealed a similarly devious smirk that touched Nik's lips recently, "Why not? We wouldn't want to be your third and fourth wheel. Of course... we'll be peeking from the outside!"

With that, she left and Suki sighed helplessly, following Katara out. While the door to her room did close... Yue now felt a little embarrassed by the tiny slit left uncovered.

Nik and Yue looked at each other for a few seconds silently until Yue smiled, "Nervous?"

"No, just thinking what did I do today to make you annoyed at me?" He inquired.

Yue thought for a second and decided to respond. Her hesitation only lay in the suspicion that this might be a trap.

"I felt a little annoyed at how you easily downplayed the tribe's strength... even if true and a bitter pill to swallow, it seemed to have affected me more than I would have expected." Yue sighed before composing herself, "And now what? Are you thinking of ways to apologize and appease me?"

"No," Nik shook his head and stood up. His sudden movement made Yue flinch but she cleared her throat and awaited what Nik had under his sleeves.

"Why should I apologize when I don't feel like it?" He narrowed his eyes while standing in front of Yue, his gaze boring down on her while he added, "Do you wish for men who grovel at any given chance just to keep you happy?"

Before Yue could respond, Nik gave her another option as he leaned down, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders, "Or do you just want a man for a single night? To take you away from this war..."

His whisper seemed to have struck home as confusion flared in Yue's eyes, "Or someone who would take your hand and win this war by staying in front of you?"

Yue felt her head buzzing, this was something she desired greatly.

"Or... do you want to be the princess free from worries. In the loving embrace of her warrior."

Yue's eyes widened slightly while Nik's lips brushed against the tip of her nose before he tilted his head and whispered into her ear, "In my loving embrace as we hold moon to our sights every night. Live to be happy and chase our desires instead of grounded by external responsibilities."

"But..." Yue whispered. Her expression softened slightly as her breathing turned hotter, "I can't be that princess... no matter how I wish."

"You should know this, my untainted flower, that now, I will get you once we win this war."

The sheer confidence in his voice shook her but her eyes revealed melancholy, "I'm hardly pure... if it is purity you seek, I'm not that princess."

Nik's hands left Yue's shoulder. Although she was prepared for such a reaction, it still managed to strangely hurt the very depths of her.

Still, this momentary sadness was nothing compared to the excitement with which her heart thumped as Nik held her chin between his thumb and curled index. Pulling back, Nik held Yue's gaze with his own and commented, "Tainted? You? Don't make me laugh."

A mocking smirk on his lips, "It's not your body I desire to set free, princess... but that beautiful and pure heart of yours."

Her expression grew dazed as Nik delivered what he truly would gain in the event he did all that in the spirit of transparency.

"And once I've set you free... I will hold you. I will taint you in the manners you would never expect and imprison your... now, tainted self with me. Next to me...

Below me..."

Breathless just by his words, Yue let out a soft, dazed hum.

"What are you two doing?" A slightly loud voice emerged from behind the door.

"Nothing!"

"Go away!"

Suki and Katara responded frantically as Yue came to be due to the noise.

Seeing this, Nik's wicked smile turned gentler and he pulled back to an appropriate distance before chuckling lightheartedly, "So? Did I manage to make you less annoyed at me?"

However, Yue silently stood up and pushed Nik out of her room. Outside, a slightly confused Mai met her gaze but Yue soon shut the door to her friends.

Despite such a silent and cold reaction, Yue couldn't help but lean against the door, her head burying into her arms while she still stood and her head felt as if stuffed into a furnace.

Her shuddering breath only made her feel... more sensitive to her needs for the first time in ever.

All this time, many figures contended within Yue's heart for the spot of her future husband. Each of them loyal and great warriors who respected her dearly...

Yet, in a matter of a day, nay, a few minutes, a particular figure had rushed to top.

An embarrassed but gleeful smile touched her lips as she recalled Nik's words...

'If I knew it would be as easy to say that I want him to win the war... I would have done it already. Truly, what a simpleton to have tried manipulating me,' Yue derided internally... but her foolish smile betrayed her genuine emotions.

***

Hidden Title: Yue's Mind Go Brrrrrrrrrr!

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