Cautiously pushing the closed window open, I took a peak inside, making sure the coast was clear before I slipped my way through the small opening; using my air bending to silence my landing, I closed the window again just in case someone happened to take this path.
'I've finally found an advantage to being a child.' Mused Aang lightly as he glanced at the small window before silently walking down the poorly lit hallway.
After asking Roku about the layout of the Royal Palace, I hoped to possibly learn a secret passage I could use that would take me straight to either the throne room or Sozins room, though, I suppose, despite being rather good friends with Sozin in his younger years, neither ever mentioned such things. However, Roku knew the Royal Palace like the back of his hand, so he did inform me of some paths that hardly anyone tended to take, simply because they were either longer, dead ends or out of the way, which was good for me since I wanted to remain as stealthy as possible.
Even though it was night, meaning fire benders would be weaker than usual, I still don't think I'd make it anywhere close to Sozin if I was discovered; I was confident against a small group of guards, but not every guard within the palace.
"When you get to the end of this hall, enter the door on your left; it'll allow you to bypass a busy hall." Said Roku softly, his ethereal figure floating right behind Aang while he followed his every move.
Nodding to Roku, I continued to silently walk down the hall, and just when I was about to walk around the corner, I suddenly spotted an approaching light, along with several footsteps echoing through the hall; clicking my tongue, I thrust my palm to the ground, creating a small gust of air that launched me up to the ceiling. Grabbing two wooden beams on the ceiling, I silently watched as the three guards passed where I was previously standing, and only when they made some distance between us did I land on the ground before quickly vanishing behind the corner.
"Well, that was quite unlucky." Muttered Aang lightly as he continued down the hallway, encountering no one else.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I saw it branched off into a much larger hallway, one that had guards stationed on opposite ends, and from the looks of things, they didn't seem like they would be moving anytime soon.
Entering the door on my immediate left, I silently closed it behind me before snapping my fingers, creating a small flame that gave me some illumination, allowing me to see all the tarps covering several large objects.
'Hmm, storage room?' Thought Aang with a raised eyebrow as he carefully navigated through the dusty storage room, requiring a surprising amount of agility given how packed it was.
After a few minutes, I finally arrived on the opposite side of the room, only to spot another door; before I opened it, I placed my ear against the door, though after a few moments of silence, I dissipated the flame and slowly opened the door.
"Go right, and there should be stairs that bring you directly to the first floor; however, don't go all the way down; from what I remember, there is almost always a guard staring directly at the bottom of the staircase." Stated Roku lightly as his ethereal figure floated right through the door, prompting Aang to nod.
The path to the stairs was clear, so I had nothing to worry about, though when I arrived, I could hear two men speaking, and they sounded somewhat closer, probably just beneath me; I didn't want to peak around the stairs in case one happened to be looking up the stairs, so instead, I turned around and entered a random door in front of the stairs.
"Now, let's hope this works." Muttered Aang softly as he opened his hand and began concentrating a tremendous amount of air into a small, rotating sphere on his hand.
"That is quite deadly… Yangchen would be proud." Remarked Roku lightly as he looked at Aang, who rolled his eyes before glancing at him.
"Of course, it would make her proud; she makes Kyoshi seem like a Saint." Replied Aang calmly as he glanced at Roku before shifting his focus to the ground, causing him to faintly chuckle with a nod.
Carefully placing the spinning rasen against the ground, I slowly shredded a hole into the floor, making sure to do so with precision so I wouldn't go too much; after a minute, I made a hole small enough where I was able to just barely see, and what I saw was half a hallway and two guards standing beside each other while speaking with their back facing the stairs.
'Hmm, that might work.' Thought Aang with a slight frown as he eyed a door on the far left.
Having devised a plan to distract the two guards, I covered the hole with some random furniture before exiting the room and approaching the stairs; since the guards had their backs facing me, I could make the turn without worrying about getting spotted.
Spotting the door on the far left, which I could barely see from this angle, I thrust my palm forward, creating a small gust of wind that flew about the guard's head before hitting the door, causing it to rattle, grabbing their attention.
"Hmm, what was that?" Asked the guard with a frown as he and the second guard, snapped their eyes at the door while slowly approaching it.
With guards busy with the door, I didn't hesitate and swiftly walked down the stairs, though I didn't stop on the third floor and went on to the second floor, where the coast seemed clear for now.
"Which floor was Sozin's room and the throne room on?" Asked Aang softly as he carefully checked both ways down the hallway before quickly entering a room.
Before I could get a response from Roku, I was forced to quickly hide behind the nearest object after entering the room.
"~Ahh~ s-so good!" "Heh, ~Ugh~, y-you like that? You like that?" Remarked a maid and guard, respectively, as they copulated on the couch while Aang hid behind a small cabinet.
'This is awkward.' Thought Aang with a twitching expression as he glanced at Roku before peeking behind the cabinet, eyeing the couple going to town on the couch.
Thankfully, the two were really focused on each other and didn't seem to notice my actions at all, which was good, but now, I had to leave before the man finished. Staying low to the ground, I swiftly approached the door before quietly exiting, only to be met with the sound of footsteps approaching from the stairs, causing me to click my tongue as I left the door open instead of closing it before dashing left down the hallway.
"Huh, what's that moaning?" "Is someone…?" Said the two guards as they walked down the stairs before gazing at the opened door where moaning and grunting originated, prompting the two to quickly enter the room.
"So, where do I go now?" Asked Aang as he hid in the ceiling while glancing at the floating Roku, who cleared his throat.
"You're close to the Throne room, but considering the time, it's doubtful Sozin is still there; his bedchamber is a little further." Replied Roku lightly as he glanced at Aang before looking at a small group of guards walking beneath them.
"Haa, great." Muttered Aang with a sigh as he silently landed on the ground, following Roku's words while slowly yet steadily sneaking through the Royal Palace.
___
___
After nearly an hour of sneaking through the Palace, nearly getting caught a few times, I finally made it just outside Sozin's bedchamber, thanks to Roku's guidance.
"I know I assisted you, but still; Sozin needs better guards." Muttered Roku lightly as he stroked his beard while standing beside Aang, whose expression twitched.
"Are you helping me or the enemy, Roku?" Asked Aang blandly as he glanced at Roku, who fainty smirked before his gaze hardened.
"Aang, may I-" Asked Roku solemnly, yet he wasn't able to finish speaking before Aang shook his head.
"You don't want to speak with Sozin… Do you Roku? You've already tried and failed. Twice." Asked Aang firmly as he looked at Roku, who simply sighed while not bothering to elaborate.
"Just be careful Aang; despite being so young, you're a force to be reckoned with, but so is Sozin." Said Roku solemnly as he gazed at Aang, who calmly nodded.
Watching Roku's ethereal body slowly dissipate, I took a deep breath before stepping forward; I was about to face not only arguably the strongest fire bender alive but the Fire Lord, not to mention I was in the heart of the enemy's territory.
Mentally preparing myself for anything, I pressed my hands against the doors and pushed them open, half-expecting a massive fireball to come hurling towards me, yet none of that happened; instead, I saw Sozin in the corner of the room, sitting at a desk illuminated with a single candle. Despite seeing him for the first time in this life, he looked just like I remember; the only difference was he was wearing night clothes, and every time I'd seen him, he wore more formal attire.
"What did I say? Not tonight." Said Sozin sternly in a deep voice while not even bothering to raise his head.
"If you're referring to possibly your concubines, then I'll have to disappoint you." Said Aang calmly as he closed the door behind him while Sozin furrowed his brows and placed his pen down.
With a burst of strength unbefitting his age, Sozin speedily leaped out of his chair and kicked towards me, launching a large wave of flames at me; however, I was expecting this, so with a spin of my arms, I created a powerful gust of wind that overpowered his flames, quickly dissipating them before they could reach me.
'Despite it being night, that still required a decent amount of strength; he could probably best several Air-Nomad Master's. Let alone when it's during the day.' Thought Aang solemnly as he and Sozin locked eyes, only for him to clasp his hands before slightly bowing.
"Fire Lord Sozin." Said Aang softly with a bow, his words causing Sozin's brows to furrow deeply while his eyes narrowed.
"Roku." Muttered Sozin with a deep frown as he stared deeply at Aang, who seemed slightly surprised his identity was discovered too quickly.