CHAPTER 1: Not So Humble Beginnings
Focus. She took a deep breath.
Land, wipe sleeve, side punch. Yes! The crowd cheered as she continued her form.
Quick stomps, step forward and block. Receiving another applause, Azula Sozin internally smirked to herself. She was currently performing the Plum Flower - one of the forms of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu she had learned recently - at an international martial arts competition.
The judges were cautiously watching her every move and Azula had to admit she was kind of nervous. But it wasn't the jury that made her heart beat faster than the speed of light. It was her very own father, Ozai Sozin.
He was somewhere in the crowd, probably watching her with hawk eyes and she knew that if she'd make even the slightest mistake, a single slip up, things wouldn't end well for her.
Step back, kick twice.
Azula quickly cleared her mind of such thoughts. Why was she even worried about meeting her father's expectations? She was his favorite child, the prodigious daughter. She was not a quitter. But most importantly, she was not Zuko. If anyone can do this, it's her.
Turn body, straight low kick. Another applause, Azula acknowledged.
Right turn, land, double pointed fists. And another one.
Retreat, open hand, left spear hand and done!
The crowd cheered loudly as Azula bowed Japanese style and walked off the floor with her head high up, smirking. She knew she could do it.
The cup was heavy but still light enough for Azula to carry it to the locker rooms by herself. Hell, even if it were as heavy as a bag of bricks, she still wouldn't ask anyone to help her carry it. She would figure something out like she always does.
It felt quite nice taking a shower and getting out of the now sweaty red silk kimono with gold dragon embroidery. Instead, she put on a black tennis skirt and a white blouse with a black bowknot, topping everything off with a red plaid blazer. Her long pale legs were dressed in white sheer stockings. At last, she put black mid-heel Gucci loafers on her feet and swung a large Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulder which was already filled with all of her stuff.
Azula was just fixing her topknot, letting two strands of raven black hair fall over her face, when she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.
She swiftly turned to face the figure gripping her shoulder, already knowing who it was.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Her father's amber eyes bore into her very soul, an emotionaless expression on his face. He wore a black designer suit, a red satin tie and leather dress shoes.
Azula tried to conceal her nervousness as best as she could. "Are you pleased, father?" Trying to keep her voice steady, she mirrored his expression.
Ozai rubbed his goatee and nodded in response. "Come," he said, starting to walk towards the exit.
Not wanting to stay behind, Azula quickly followed him out of the locker rooms, down the hallway and out in the parking lot. Their chauffeur - whose name Azula never bothered to remember - was waiting for them infront of a black limo.
The chauffeur put Azula's stuff in the trunk as she climbed into the limo after her father. Camel brown leather surrounded her almost completely.
The whole drive was silent as per usual. Her father wasn't one to indulge in meaningless small talk. He wasn't a huge fan of listening to the radio either.
They finally arrived. The chauffeur opened the car door for the both of them. Azula immediately recognized the destination as one of the fancy restaurants, where her family would occasionally dine on the weekends when Zuko and her were kids. But that was a long time ago.
Inside, the waiter led them to a table. As they sat down and ordered drinks, the older Sozin began to speak.
"You did well today, my prodigy," he said without any sign of emotion in his voice, whatsoever.
Azula just barely managed to conceal her surprise. Her father had always expected her to excell at everything she did but never praised her for it.
Well, at least not directly. He did, however, praise her in comparison to her brother Zuko, which was the only reasonable thing for a sensible person to do. The boy was a weakling.
Ozai took a sip of his wine. "That is why I am rewarding you." He slipped his hand into a pocket of his blazer and pulled out a key. He held it out for her to take it.
Azula hesitated for a moment. What was going on? Couldn't he just stop with the shenanigans and get straight to the point?
Stop! She quickly brought her head out of those thoughts. Everything father does is for a good reason.
Internally scolding herself for hesitating - hesitation was a sign of insecurity and insecurity lead to weakness - , she took the key in her hand.
It was a Mustang car key, she figured. Father probably decided to finally buy her a car. It was about time, considering she's had her driver's license for over a year. But despite that, the Northern Shaolin champion did not expect this.
She looked up at him, surprise written all over her face. If Ozai was displeased by her unnecessary display of emotion, he didn't show it. "I see you're surprised," he pointed out and Azula quickly changed her expression to a more dignified one. "Did you think I had forgotten about my daughter's birthday coming up?" He arched an eyebrow, his voice anything but sweet.
Azula mentally smacked her forehead. How could she forget about her own birthday? Especially when it was only less than three weeks away. Not wanting to look unsure of herself, Azula gulped and gave him a firm nod. "Thank you, father," was her curt reply.
The rest of the dinner was almost as silent as the car drive. Only the sound of plates clattering and the mild chatter of the eminent guests were able to reach Azula's ears.
Admittedly, the food was amazing but not very filling. An average person in their right mind wouldn't pay two hundred dollars for a lobster tartine. But the Sozins obviously weren't your average people.
If Azula didn't know better, she would've most likely order a pizza upon arriving at the Sozin estate. But her father always said that pizza is a food for the commoners. Azula wasn't particularly bothered by this, her father knows what's best for her. And besides, good shape is crucial if one wants to master a martial art as complex as Northern Shaolin.
She pushed her cravings aside as she exited the limo with the chauffeur holding the car door open. It was already dark outside but an eye as sharp as Azula's could still see the shape of a cabriolet parked on the side of the vast paver driveway. While most teenagers would most likely be eager to go for a drive in their new car, Azula simply eyed it as she walked right past it.
Inside of the massive mansion, Szofia - her maid - immediately took her bag and went to unpack it. Ozai moved to his office.
Upon entering her large bedroom on the second floor, Azula didn't plop down on her king size bed with red and gold silk coverings like any other person would. For Azula, that would be a sign of laziness and laziness meant being unproductive, which would eventually led to failure. The thought of failing sent chills down her spine.
She strolled over to the spacious walk-in closet and changed out of her day clothes. After tying the sash of her blood red silk robe around her thin waist and stepping into black fur slippers, Azula made her way to the living room and sat down on the dark red leather Chesterfield couch.
"Szofia, get over here now!" Azula yelled all of a sudden, while putting on an episode of American Horror Story on the huge plazma TV.
Naturally, the young Hungarian woman in question instantly came running towards the living room. "Yes, Miss Azula?" she asked with a nervous expression.
Azula looked her over. With mousy hair pulled into a dreadful loose bun at the back of her head, a minimal amount of makeup, a white blouse, dark jeans and black knock-off Gucci flats, the twenty-something girl looked like the epitome of misery. Azula hardly resisted a scowl as she ordered the maid to bring her a glass of her favorite Sauvignon.
She did so without question, despite the fact that the Sozin heiress was underage. Szofia feared Azula more than she feared Ozai, which was rational. If she were to offend Ozai, he would simply fire her with a few harsh words and without this month's payment. His daughter, however... Szofia didn't even dare to imagine all the plots Azula would hatch to bring her down, firing her only after she was done tormenting her.
After two episodes of her favorite show, Azula heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and boyish laughter. Groaning, she already had a pretty good idea of who it was.
As always, she was right. The very next moment, her eighteen-year-old brother and three of his friends burst into the drawing room, horse laughing. Azula naturally narrowed her eyes.
When they walked into the living room, their obnoxious laughter died down at the sight of a certain raven-haired girl sitting on the couch with her bare feet on the French coffee table, calmly watching TV while sipping the expensive red wine.
"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked sharply, his tone sounding annoyed as he spoke through clenched teeth. She could practically feel him clenching his fists.
Azula reluctantly put the episode on pause and turned her head to give him a dark look. While Zuko didn't flinch, already being used to that look of hers, the rest of the lot bore nervous expressions, atempting to look at anything but the pair of fiery golden eyes. Azula identified them as members of her high school's football team, whose names she also never bothered to remember.
"Well, I live here of course," she replied, amused by the fact that her presence made Zuko and his friends feel uncomfortable.
The look on Zuko's face told her he had no interest in playing games with his little sister. Sighing dramatically, Azula rolled her eyes as she placed the nearly empty wine glass on the coffee table. "Fine." She put her feet off the table and straightened her back a little more. "If you must know, I'm celebrating."
Zuko's one good eyebrow - the other being gone due to an ugly burn scar, which was covering the majority of the left side of his face - rose in question. "Celebrating?"
"I won the international martial arts competition today," she replied casually, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Again." A smirk slid onto her lips upon seeing the dumbfounded expression on her brother's marred face. She knew how much this would upset him. Both of them have been training in Northern Shaolin since they were little - it was sort of a family tradition - but Azula proved to be much more talented than him and had already mastered fourteen more forms.
"Zuko, come on, dude." The guy with tan skin and an undercut ponytail, dressed in a blue Champion hoodie, gripped the sleeve of Zuko's black leather jacket. He glared at the younger girl, whose smirk only grew wider.
With that, the quartet slowly started walking away. But Azula wasn't done. "Oh and Zuzu?" The boys stopped in their tracks, one of them snickering slightly at the nickname. "If you were by any chance confused as to why there's a brand new Mustang parked in the driveway..." She took the last two sips of her wine. "I should inform you that father got it for me as an early birthday present."
Zuko suddenly launched at his sister with a loud grunt. He didn't get far though for the ponytail guy and another olive-skinned guy with a brown mess of slightly longer hair held him back.
But Zuko being Zuko tried to jerk his arms out of his friends' firm grasps - he just never knew when to give up.
"Let it go, Zuko," the lanky boy with a buzz cut said from behind him with an annoyingly calm tone. Azula smiled wickedly at the furious Sozin, being greatly amused by the situation. This only made him angrier, though, as he growled and once again tried to launch at her.
"Bro, she's not worth it!" the ponytail guy exclaimed, pulling him back with more effort. Zuko's stance finally began to relax and his friends let go of him. He glared at his sister, amber eyes still burning with rage. Then he turned around and walked to the drawing room and up the broad winding marble staircase with his peers following behind.
Azula smirked to herself. She absolutely adored tormenting her dumbass of a brother. She put the American Horror Story episode back on play.
"Szofia! Fill me up with some more wine!"