The princess's ship left the safe waters of the Fire Nation. And if I was impressed by the Gates of Azulon: the huge steel net with a statue in the middle of the bay was an excellent line of defense for the capital of such a militarized country against any ships, then the blockade on the border impressed me even more. A huge line of more than a hundred military battleships patrolled the border, thereby perfectly showing who dominated the sea. Dozens of ships sailing one route from horizon to horizon—it was impressive…
The number of huge battleship-class ships, with thousands of people on board, was striking. It was practically impossible to cope with such an obstacle with brute force with the current level of technology and the number of enemies of the Fire Nation. It was not surprising that with such protection, people felt a maximum sense of security on their islands. Throughout the history of the Hundred Year War, the Earth Kingdom fleet and army were never able to break through even the first line of defense.
After leaving the safe waters, the princess's ship continued to sail through Fire Nation territories, but these were territories captured during the Hundred Year War. Here, there were non-zero chances of meeting pirates or even Earth Kingdom ships. And in accordance with the new dangers, some changes occurred on the princess's ship. First of all, a briefing was held, after which all patrols and watches were strengthened, and it was forbidden to open all portholes without necessity, as well as to be on the deck at night without necessity.
In short, the ship was on full combat readiness, and almost every night Azula conducted inspections of the personnel, keeping the soldiers in constant tone. The military were not simple recruits but combat veterans, so everyone took this for granted. And, of course, all this did not concern Zula's personal staff of maids. We had our own plans for them…
It was early day; the ship, as usual, was rocking on the waves. The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The soldiers and patrols were busy with their own affairs. And at the same time, I was also busy with my own affairs in the apartments of the princess's staff of servants.
— Ahem! Ahem! Hee-hee… I can't, ha-ha-ha-ha… I can't anymore… it tickles! It tickles, my lady!!!—another maid could not stand my abuse and began to laugh. Meanwhile, I was performing the healing technique, moving my glowing blue palms, which were burning with fire, over her bare back.
— Bear it—I coldly put down the girl who distracted me. I was going to work with this girl a little more before changing the maid.
In the temple, we learned all the knowledge about this technique. I was even able to master it without crippling a single patient. Unfortunately, I haven't really learned how to heal. Only practice will help with this. Therefore, we decided not to stay in the temple—we could practice on the go.
It was on the maids that Azula and I decided to train the fire healing technique. First, I jokingly offered Mai for this role, but Zula flatly refused to use her friend as a test dummy. She never realized it was a joke. And, of course, I was the first to train, since the princess wasn't getting anywhere with this yet.
While the girl was shuddering under me, holding back the laughter that was bursting out of her, I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. She was supposed to feel warmth, not tickling. There was light, there was fire; I could even see the structure of her body and the movement of Chi along with the chakra points, but something was still going wrong. Maybe it's because she's healthy? However, further experiments are needed. I had already learned a lot of new things, while at the same time confirming some of my guesses. The most significant thing was that Chi exists not only inside people, or any living organisms, but also everywhere, in plants, water, air… energy was everywhere, including in spirits and, probably, even in space…
After a little while, the maid began to twitch too much and laugh too loudly, and it was impossible to ignore this. Having stopped the torture, I still did not find what my mistake was, but that was not scary. There is time, and girls too, so I can continue, just with another maid.
At these words, my hands stopped glowing, and the flame above them dissipated.
— Enough. Get up, Li. Jun, you'll take her place—with these words, I stopped tormenting the girl, getting up and addressing another maid. There were a total of three of them in the room; the other two were busy working in the princess's apartments.
— As you wish, my lady—the girl, having somehow gotten up from the bed, got dressed, giving way to her already undressed colleague.
The ladies did not undress completely; local analogues of bras hid everything intimate, and I did not order them to take off their pants. I was not here for the pleasure of the eyes, but for training, and Azula would not like such behavior and would, no doubt, try to take control of the body. And I already feel her embarrassment from everything that is happening. Which, by the way, distracts from work a little.
Meanwhile, the girl lay down on the bed; I sat on top of her, right on the girl's butt. This way, my hands had access to the entire back of the maid. A small effort of will and mind was required to create the technique. It was unusual to use it, since the princess did not own this technique. As a result, I didn't own it either; I had to learn everything from absolute scratch. After a couple of moments, my palms again shone with blue, and a fire flared up above them.
This time I decided to act in a fundamentally different way. The girl was under me not for the first time, so she lay relaxed and did not worry about anything. My hands glided over her back, while my Chi, or rather, Azula's and my Chi, penetrated her body in the smallest doses I was capable of, giving me all the necessary information. I was calm about the appearance of a working human body. It's a pity that only I can see this, but on the other hand, it's extremely convenient for healing. The aura, nervous, bone, blood… all the human systems and, in addition to them, the chakra channels. Such a scope for a medic.
— What do you feel?—I asked a leading question to the maid.
— Warmth, your hands are very warm, my lady. You are making progress—she answered more than was needed, apparently feeling that she would not be reprimanded for it now.
— You could say that, less talk, I want to check something else—this must have been a success, but I still needed to be completely sure of it.
Having made sure that the maid was not laughing, I ordered her to give me a sai. Jun immediately tensed up, as did the other girls. The maids had been informed about everything by Azula herself, but I still explained my actions. And this did not help at all; Jun remained tense, and the sai was extremely sharp, while the witnesses, with pale faces, watched me, as if… oh, yes, I was really going to cut their friend now. The girls did not dare to refuse the princess, but they had no idea about such sacrifices. With all this laughter and my very kind behavior, the ladies had somewhat forgotten themselves. Twirling the black sai, forged by Piandao himself, in my hands, I for some reason began to think about the adequacy of my actions…
— My lady…—the girl said, scared, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the pain.
Shifting my gaze from the black blade to the girl's back, I began to act.
— Oh!…—a sharp movement of my hand was accompanied by Jun's squeak. — Is that all?
— Yes, I didn't need it—I gave the sai back, licking someone else's blood from my long and extremely sharp nail.
Someone else's blood was disgusting. The girls relaxed a little when the cold weapon disappeared from my hands and did not pay attention to me licking my nail. Even with Azula's memory, I never cease to be amazed at how much the princess has frightened everyone around her. And this memory… it still affects my thinking. Cutting a girl in front of her friends… and I perceive this as normal. How horrible…
— Let's continue, everything as usual; as soon as you feel anything, let me know—I warned Jun with an impartial face, again creating the fire healing.
— Yes, my lady…
It didn't work the first time, but not the tenth either. I knew how the technique worked, I saw the wound in all possible spectra, I theoretically understood what needed to be done, and I had all the appropriate skills for it. Soon, the tiny scratch on the girl's back disappeared without a trace! But I continued to train, guided by interest, to see what else this technique was capable of. Several times Jun notified me when she felt pain, weakness, vigor, or the usual tickling, which most often occurred when I did something wrong.
The maids changed several more times, but I still got my way. By the old good method of trial and error, I learned some interesting things that only confirmed my assumption about the high potential of this technique.
— My la-ady…—the girl's embarrassed voice sounded. Her breathing quickened, blood rushed to her face, and a fine tremor sometimes pierced her body.
— What is it? Are you uncomfortable?—I calmly asked the girl who was behaving suspiciously.
— N-no, everything is fine. I feel good—Jun answered shyly, continuing to enjoy the massage.
Yes, this was already a full-fledged massage, awakening many interesting and, of course, pleasant feelings in the girl. Of course, I almost immediately felt her arousal. And it wasn't because I knew women so well; it was just that as long as we were connected by Chi, I felt her emotions a little. I achieved such an interesting effect on purpose, and having received a kind of consent, my hands continued to give the young maid real pleasure.
The girl slowly began to writhe under me. It became more and more difficult for Jun to hold back her sighs, gasps, and other moans. I, meanwhile, continued my work, intending to bring the lady to the very end with just a massage, noting with the corner of my consciousness the increasing embarrassment inside me and the growing arousal, and not all of these emotions were mine. By the way, Zula herself was in no hurry to show any displeasure with my actions, which said a lot…
— Ah! Hah! A-ah!
— Should I stop?—I asked my victim with some domineering pleasure, not ceasing to bring her to ecstasy. I myself was beginning to feel something strange, somehow starting to move my hips while still sitting on the maid's butt, and not feeling any desire to stop. So this is what female arousal is like…
— No-o-o. I… I'll endure, I'll endure, my lady!
— What a… strange training—I heard Li's surprised voice.
— Quiet, don't distract my lady—the older maid, who, like Li, was watching my actions with a shocked look, hissed at her, not daring to do anything.
— How… unusual—that calm voice?
Turning around at the familiar voice, I instantly met Mai's gaze!
A second later, a huge volcano of other people's feelings exploded inside me. I had a hard time controlling my own, and here the princess also became too emotional. From the raging hormones and emotions, I felt like a blushing schoolboy who had been caught doing something shameful. My mind felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. But I was above this!
— Mai…—my restrained voice showed no emotion, only composure.
— Azula…—the princess's friend answered in the same tone.
The other maids, as if sensing that something was wrong, began to pretend to be furniture. Even their breathing became much quieter.
— How long have you been standing here?—I asked the poker-faced girl, feeling very stupid.
— I came before the healing became a massage—Mai answered calmly, not changing her expression.
— I see. What are you doing here?
— I got bored; I was looking for you, and when I found you, I decided not to interrupt your…—she paused, trying to find the right word—training.
— Hmm…—I had nothing to say to her words.
I remember that at this time, she and Azula usually train. Then everything falls into place. I got too carried away with my… ahem, business. Inside me, Azula's consciousness had already calmed down. Pulling herself together, the princess demanded her body back. I didn't want to ruin the already fragile relationship with her, so we switched places. To others, it looked like the princess, getting up from the maid, closed her eyes, sighed, exhaled, after which a completely different person began to look at the world.
"Here, you can deal with this yourself"—I told the princess, taking the most comfortable place to watch Zula's further actions.
Azula did not waste any time.
— That's enough for today. Clean up here and return to your duties—the princess spoke in an authoritative voice, instantly making the maids stand at attention, reminding the girls of their place.
— As you wish, my lady—the girls answered in unison, bowing to the departing princess.
— Do you have any questions?—Zula asked Mai coldly, as soon as they left the room.
— No.
— In that case, let's have a little sparring; these healing trainings are so tiring…
What, I wonder, was I expecting? I worried for nothing. Although no, it was Azula who was worried, but it was still unclear whose emotions they were? In any case, there will be more time to think about this.
The princess was not going to explain anything to her friend; I understood this, and Mai understood it too. Azula was embarrassed; it was so unusual for the girl that she could become aggressive at any moment, purely for self-defense. Pressuring her with questions would have been a mistake. And why would the princess explain anything? And it turns out Mai is much more perceptive than she wants to seem. My interest in her grows every day.
In any case, the girls went to a training sparring session, and after a good fight, they returned to their routine affairs. The everyday life of the princess on the ship, as well as the other crew members, was not interesting to me. Returning to Azula's tidied-up chambers, I took a book and continued reading. The book was a fiction one and not very interesting, but I needed to do something useful. And interacting with the material world, being a disembodied spirit, is a very good training.
Azula returned to her cabin only in the evening.
Before bed, I was given the role of her mentor. The girl was wide awake; she wanted to learn a new, previously unknown technique too much. I had to explain everything I did, everything I achieved, and everything I learned that day. After that, I taught Azula herself this technique. As I expected, the princess had big problems learning this technique. She did not have the phenomenal energy control that I did, and fire healing became a real challenge for her. A challenge that I used to strengthen our connection.
Again and again, she took on the technique, dedicating more and more time to training every day, but the results… they were insignificant. Especially in comparison to mine. If I grasped everything on the fly, Zula had problems with every step on the way to learning this technique. She had neither control nor understanding, only desire and wounded pride. Nevertheless, this was enough; with only perseverance, she was quite actively mastering the new technique. And, of course, I played on her wounded pride, within reasonable limits. A genius and a fire master, and she can't repeat a "simple" technique…
In addition, I did not forget to praise the girl and show my belief in her undoubted success, as well as encourage her from time to time. Although she pretended that such a thing was not important to her, I knew that my words were pleasant to her. Our communication lately has brought us closer than I could have imagined.
The very next day, I continued to teach the princess other things. Interaction between people. I explained concepts such as friendship, family, love, society, respect… and she even began to listen sometimes! I had tried to change the girl before, but it was all in vain. Now, Zula listened to my opinion much more often. She even started spending more time with her friend, taking my advice on how real friends spend time together.
And so the days on the ship passed. On the third day, Azula was able to create the fire healing technique on her own. On the fifth day, I allowed the girl to train with the maids. And on the sixth, the ship entered port.