Our squad grew smaller with every passing minute. Some were crushed again by stone slabs, others were pierced by sharp spikes, or simply struck by stone pillars that shot unexpectedly from the ground. Such blows were usually enough to break the point of impact and send a person flying far away. A portion of the soldiers simply fell into a massive pit that opened in our path. Then, that hole in the ground vanished, burying several people alive.
The Badgermoles were clearly enraged at us for killing one of their kin. Their anger was expressed through the flowing blood and snapping bones of our squad members. The enemy itself never showed. It acted through its tunnels, burrowed parallel to ours.
Princess Azula, whom I had to put back down on the ground because running while carrying her was becoming too difficult, initially wanted to fight the animals. She gave an order to stop. Only the youths who had recently finished their training obeyed the Princess. The more experienced soldiers already knew what happened when you paused during a fight with a Badgermoles.
I yanked the Princess by the arm. In that very moment, spikes began to rapidly emerge from beneath the ground. Azula survived, with only her dress shredded, but the other members of the squad who obeyed her... She understood why stopping was forbidden.
Because of the delay, Azula and I lagged behind the surviving group members. Having lost sight of command, they scattered across different tunnels at a junction. This is what saved us. A burst of flame occurred in the two outermost paths, the ones closest to us. Methane had detonated again due to the application of firebending. This caused a section of another tunnel to collapse. If we had been running faster, we might have been buried alive or burned.
Azula and I abruptly changed our route to a completely different one. One of the firebenders was also running down this tunnel. He was in no hurry to blow himself up or be killed by a collapsing ceiling. This instilled hope...
After several minutes of running, we emerged into another massive cavern. A firebender lay on the floor, catching his breath, the small flame in his hand barely flickering.
"Get up, soldier!" I yelled, running past him. The fighter managed to get back on his feet and feebly hobble after us. In the end, he fell behind, and a minute later we heard the crash of yet another stone slab.
Our run continued and lasted for no less than an hour. We had to distance ourselves from the Badgermoles as much as possible. They are practically blind. They navigate space using incredibly sensitive hearing and their earth-based bending. But at a distance of a kilometer, it was unlikely their hearing and seismic sense would reach us. They also had a developed sense of smell, but it was much worse than their other senses, so I wasn't particularly worried about that. The "volunteers" willing to check the tunnels for explosive gas had run out. None of us were in a hurry to become the next one. Therefore, we ran in the dark, so as not to simply explode after all the distance we had covered. Truthfully, the enjoyment of this was below average. We constantly stumbled, tripping over rocks, and sometimes even ran straight into walls.
"Princess, I think we've gotten far enough..." I said, gradually slowing my run until I transitioned to a normal walk.
Azula, too, seemed to know that after a long run, it was better not to stop abruptly. After a while, we finally sat down, leaning against a wall. My legs were slightly throbbing from the prolonged exertion. The numerous bruises sustained from collisions with the walls and falls ached. Luck was clearly on our side, and no one had broken their neck. But we weren't about to test just how brightly it was smiling at us. The flame had not been lit.
Sleep began to creep up. And I wasn't the only one. A few minutes later, the Princess slid down onto my shoulder and seemed to try to press against me, as if I were the only source of warmth in the vicinity. A realization struck me. This might not be sleep, but lack of oxygen. Methane, after all, has no smell. But then I realized I felt perfectly fine. I was just physically tired. No longer resisting the sleep, I rested my head on the Princess's head and closed my eyes. The posture wasn't the most comfortable, but at least I wasn't breathing the stale air of the cave. Azula smelled of flowers...
I was the first to wake. Princess Azula continued to sleep, using my shoulder as a pillow. It had gone numb. But I was in no hurry to interrupt the Princess's sleep. I needed to think. And it was preferable that no one disturbed me while I did so.
Since we didn't die in our sleep, that means there is no natural gas nearby. I lit a small flame on my hand. Looking at the fire, it was somehow easier to think. Well, our supplies definitely wouldn't last long. The provisions were carried by the fighters who had been specially chosen for it. My own bag only held a light snack. Water, too, definitely wouldn't last long. There was only my flask, and that was it. Furthermore, it wasn't full, just over half. I didn't want to die here. In this world, I wished to die fighting a powerful bender, not so meaninglessly, perishing from dehydration or starvation in some cave.
I felt the Princess's steady breathing as she slept... It would definitely be easier to survive alone. But it was too early to get rid of Azula. I should first try to get out of here with her.
"Princess, do you love anyone?" I asked her when she woke up and was collecting her thoughts a little ways off.
"I already defined my attitude towards love when we were at the entrance to the cave," Azula replied with a terse expression.
"And you brought spirits down upon us."
"You think that was me?" Azula skeptically raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if I were a fool who believed in various stupid superstitions.
"I assume you are involved in the misfortunes that have befallen our group."
"Lucky me, to be stuck with a fool..." the Princess quietly groaned, covering her face with her palm.
"Neither I nor the other soldiers knew that this cave contained methane. And your squad had enough firebenders. Someone would surely have been informed about it. Additionally, we can recall the Badgermoles. They feature in the legend of this place, yet no one had seen them. Until now. One might say we are the first after the couple from the legend."
"Fine, I am guilty of the deaths of the Fire Nation soldiers. What now?"
The Princess accepted my reasoning, but there was no repentance in her words. Ordinary soldiers were consumable material to her, intended to help her reach her goal faster. There was a little regret, but it was likely caused by the fact that the Princess would look bad to the Fire Lord if he found out that most of Azula's squad had died without even properly beginning the mission — the search for the library of the spirit of knowledge.
But to be honest, I felt almost nothing myself over the squad's deaths. We were barely acquainted, and I was their Captain, meaning I was obliged to keep a certain distance in communication, and that doesn't foster good relationships. If someone more sensitive, more sentimental, were nearby, for instance, I would have feigned grief for courtesy, but I felt this was unnecessary with the Princess. Well... it made things easier for me. I didn't have to play-act worry over the deaths of people I barely knew. Especially when I myself knew that death was far from the end... No, if it were someone close to me, I would feel the bitterness. But as it was... well, indeed, consumable material that would have simply made my search for the library easier. If I had known people would die in the cave, I would have dragged the spies from the ship here too.
"Try to appease the spirits. Fill your head with thoughts of a loved one, ignite the flame of passion in your heart. Show them that you love. Then, perhaps, the spirits will forgive you and maybe even give a hint on how to get out of here."
The Princess's gaze turned cold. Anyone else in my position would have certainly started to worry and feel nervous, all because of that gaze...
"I don't love anyone. Love is for the weak. A foolish sentiment for sniveling idiots who want to depend on someone or want someone to depend on them."
Now it was my turn to cover my face. To say such a thing in this place... Either I overestimated her intellect, or she was deliberately provoking the spirits to lure them out and defeat them. The latter was quite possible.
"Why don't you try to appease the spirits yourself?" Azula's voice sounded slightly offended. Either she was offended by my weary sigh, or I somehow reminded her of something unpleasant. I doubt the former. The Princess didn't strike me as the type of person to take offense at trifles. And there was also the option that she was frustrated that her spirit-baiting didn't work.
Another weary sigh escaped me. I replied, looking directly into the Princess's eyes:
"It didn't work for me. I think the spirits want..."
Azula interrupted me, bursting into laughter.
"Ha-ha! And Mother said I was the only monster incapable of love..." The phrase sounded strained toward the end. So that was what it was about. I reminded her of her nickname. Azula was smiling, but she did so horribly, unnaturally. The attempt to show that such a phrase from her mother didn't hurt her at all was a failure. "Alright, what were you going to say?"
"I think the spirits want to see your feelings specifically. Not mine. After all, you were the one who angered them."
Such a supposition was indeed possible. But initially, I tried to summon a feeling of love in myself and... nothing. No, the feeling isn't foreign to me. I've just managed to forget it. Because in my last several reincarnations, I was usually busy looking for a way to finally die. Completely focused on that goal. The memory of numerous women remained, but no warm feelings towards them arose when I recalled them.
I was relying on Azula. Although she tries to behave like an adult, it's very difficult to deceive the body. Hormones were, are, and always will be. Right now, the Princess, no matter how much she wishes otherwise, is an emotional teenager. Next to her, I am a senseless log. I possess empathy. But it works a little differently — it's delayed. I need to be stoked first to elicit emotions. Definitely a block of wood... I didn't like the analogy. I grimaced in displeasure at it.
"I don't love anyone."
I don't know if Azula herself heard it, but the fact is that her voice trembled. Probably not even because of the lie. The topic was clearly unpleasant for her. But it was still necessary to continue the conversation and press my demands. This was a possible way to get out of here.
"If you don't like boys, how about girls, Princess?" I decided to test the waters, but it seemed I caused indignation in Azula and hastily changed the subject. "Then your father... The Fire Lord. Do you love him?"
A cold stare was my answer. According to the rumors that reached me, Princess Azula was quite close with her father. But the recent quarrel...
"I respect him, as a powerful firebender and a wise ruler." Azula stood up and disappeared into the tunnel's darkness, signaling the conversation was over.
Extinguishing the flame, as it was unknown where the safe zone ended, I followed the Princess.
"I tried!" the Princess suddenly exclaimed irritably, after about a day had passed since our last conversation. "The spirits aren't answering me!"
I nearly bumped into the Princess, as she had unexpectedly stopped. And she quietly muttered something under her breath. I only heard parts of the words.
"...the legend was about lovers... Maybe we should..." after the last phrase, she fell completely silent. I felt the Princess turn towards me. "How old are you, Long?"
"Twenty-two years old, Princess."
"At least it won't be with some old governor for the first time," I barely heard Azula's grumbling. "Bend down to me!"
I was surprised by the Princess's demand but complied. She leaned close, almost touching my ear with her lips, and quietly whispered:
"I think the local spirits want a more carnal proof of love, rather than its spiritual manifestation... Let's try to deceive them. We will kiss. If you thought I developed feelings for you, then you are a naive fool."
"I would never dare to think that you, Princess, would fall in love with me."
I wasn't even lying. I truly hadn't had such thoughts.
"Close your eyes," the Princess's voice sounded demanding, but it seemed to me that she used such a tone to conceal slight embarrassment. And I didn't remind her that we were standing in complete darkness, so as not to amplify that embarrassment.
Azula compressed her lips to the limit and literally pecked mine. The next instant, she stepped half a pace away from me. And judging by the sounds, she quickly wiped her lips with her sleeve. The expected nothing happened. Even children kiss with more passion. I don't know how intelligent spirits are, but no one would believe in this kind of act.
"Tch, it didn't..." the Princess was silenced. I lunged towards her, gripped her head and waist, pressing her tightly against me, and kissed her unexpectedly. Feeling a slight pain from hitting my gums, I did not pull away, let alone let go of Azula. If she wasn't shocked, she was definitely experiencing intense surprise, which only increased when I introduced my tongue, invading her mouth, and began to "misbehave" with my hands, at the very least earning myself a couple of death sentences. But at least I squeezed the young girl's firm bottom...
The Princess came to her senses. She stomped her heel onto my toe, and then headbutted my nose. A wet crunch sounded. Escaping my grasp, Azula lit a flame in her hand, completely unconcerned that we might explode, and hissed at me better than any snake in the world.
"How dare you! You are dead!"
Unexpectedness prevented the Princess from attacking. Somewhere on the cave ceiling, crystals lit up. A line of light stretched into the distance, as if inviting us to follow it. Besides the glowing crystals, I also saw embarrassment on the Princess's face. Her cheeks were pink for the first time in my memory.
"Do I need to explain that if... if anyone finds out about this, you are dead?**" Azula's lips were trembling with rage.
"Find out about what, Princess? The crystals lit up on their own," I replied, expressing surprise on my face.
Azula looked at me sourly. Overcoming her embarrassment, she turned away and ordered me to move. Except... we didn't walk for long. The crystals shone for five minutes at most. We had to repeat the procedure to light them up... Repeat it many, many times, since we were quite far from the exit. Only this time, I wasn't allowed to let my hands wander. She slapped them and promised to tear them off if I touched the Princess with them again.
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