Lee would like to think he was a simple guy,not really good or all too kind but simple. well as simple as the life of a semi-reformed ex-fire nation supremacist could be after the end of the war.

Don't get him wrong he didn't necessarily agree with the idea of exterminating an entire kingdom to bring complete victory to his side in the war -actually he was greatful that insane plan was stopped - but he was definitely a patriotic hotsmen by his own standards.

He would admit it,He was pretty racist for a while there,not really his fault .When you grow up being told that all other countries were populated with either thieves, blasfemers or barbarians it really kinda messes up ones views of the world around them.

The change to open up his way of thinking took a while but luckily he was still young enough to accept the world was not as it seemed and now that the war was finally over he took this knowledge to heart and set out to actually do good with his life by becoming a medical facility guard for the mentally ill to make up for the many bad he did during his short term in the fire nation millitery. In his mind he thought helping to protect the sick was better than blindly killing the sick.

Not that he ever really killed anyone personally. Being only a low level grunt ment he didn't get to be in much action, but he still helped in raids and tax collecting.

He didn't even want to think about all the poor families he would gleefully take their tiny savings from.

Unless they were water tribe of course, stealing from those dark skinned blue eyed bastered's never bothered him.

Again he was still not entirely reformed from his biggoted views, just a more forward thinking.

But seriously though fuck those blue sea monkeys .

Now that the war was over he could finally start to relax a bit, it definitely was nice not having to get up before the crack of dawn to do early morning exercise's anymore.

joining the military was no longer mandatory for anyone with a able body over 13, even a bendingless commoner like him got drafted when he was at accepted age and spent the last year and a half stationed in a Earth Kingdom coloney .

It was a BIG reason why he thought the previous fire lords plan was insane, him along with who knows how many other fire nation soliders stationed in colonies would of been killed too in his crazy plan to burn the kingdom to the ground.

It definitely made him see that blindly Worshipping that lunatic was probably not his best move growing up. But hey he was their lord and master at the time.

Even now he knew his parents still kept a shrine of the crazy bastard just 'waiting 'for the day he would reclaim him throne.

Pfft... Good luck with that.

The current fire lord, while no older than himself was a master fire bender while his crippled father couldn't even make a spark anymore after being stripped of his bending by the Avatar himself.

Oh did he forget that he also had both the earth kingdom and water tribe sea monkeys were backing him up.

If the crazy bastard ever did managed to somehow pull that miracle off Lee would switch back sides purely out of shock.

Putting all this aside for now Lee tried to focus his current task of trying not to stare at some of the more... Special patients he saw being wheeled around in the facility down to the lower floors while he stood his guard in his light red uniform . He shuddered slightly when he noticed the raving mad looks in some of those patients eyes.

True psychotic bastards.

He had been working there for the past 3 months now and more or less got the hang of things. He an the other guards would each take shifts, sometimes even gamble on who get the better positions of any given day. The worse was the dungeon.

NO ONE liked standing guard in the dungeon.

Why would a mental facility have a dongeun you may ask?, well that's simply because every now and then they would get a patient or two that were... Fucking nuts!.

He didn't mean it as a joke, there are very very dangerous people who end up becoming far too much of a treat to the other patients and as a result have to be locked away in solitary cells underground in the dungeon.

Mostly just criminals or sociopaths were held there, all of them would of probably ended up in a prison cell by now if it wasn't for their own madness getting them leniency in court and sent to places like these to be reformed and hopefully Reentergrated into society. But that was just a crock of elephant-bullshit and they all knew it.

It was practically an unwritten rule but everyone that worked there knew that once you were dungeon level crazy it was pretty much permanent, no one who's been placed down there ever got out and chances are after whatever horror they did before getting sent there nobody would miss them.

He use to think that there was hope for them in the early days but the statistics still showed there was a much higher chance of them committing suicide before even a hint of reforming.

It didn't take long for him to realize why.

The dungeon was a nighmare.

They people sent there were basically in a worse position than prison and It was made painfully obvious within his first month that they didn't even get their basic Human Rights fully fullfiled while stuck down there.

The cells they were placed in had no space for much exercise with in being on average only big enough for 4 or maybe 5 people to cram in there.

This made many of the patients down there loose alot of their muscle over time along with the poor nutrition they were given that was just barely a step up from gruel.

Being completely devoid of fresh air or natural light outside of glowing crystals that were placed on the walls of each cell,many had taken on paler skin.

This was for a reason of course,many in the dungeon were fire benders of various skill, even a master fire bender would slowly loose their strength if he was disconnected from any source of the Sun light or warmth long enough, for this reason small glow crystals were only things the guards were aloud to walk around with while in the dungeon.

It was still a risk to bring torches, even when doctors were working on them.

Sometimes whenever the they would act up in their cells a popular punishment by some of more cruel staff was something they called 'black out'.

Remove all the crystals for a 24 hours period putting them all in pitch black darkness.

Mix that in with their individual warped minds and they immediately become compliant the next day begging for even the smallest flash of light just to see their hands in front of them.

As you can see, taking a shift down in the dungeon would be practicaly the same as being a prison warden.

A realy fucked up one.

So far Lee had lucked out an mostly managed to get shifts above ground with the only moderatly unhinged who he had grown fond with and genuinely hoped would all get full recoverys

Except for today.

Today he lost the usual rock paper scissors gamble between co-worker's and was stuck with a night shift in the dungeon.

Seeing as he had no other choice he grabbed one of the glowing stone's and dragged his boot covered feet down to the lower levels of the building into the dark dungeons.

Thankfully he wasn't the only guard down there as the dungeon had at least 5 gaurds around keeping watch at all times. Some of the fire nations most twisted bastereds were caged down here after all.

It took several more minutes of walking but he finally managed to navigate to the section where he was to be posted for the night. He always hated this part of the dungeon the most as it was at the very furthest from the surface 5 floors down and not only was everything always cold and damp even on a sunny day on the surface, but it also had a ever-present pungent stale air smell that was possibly mixed in with the stench of un-washed filth or urine.

It made him stomach was by far one of the worse places he had ever been to, it was a sick joke to even call this floor a part of a mental asylum .

It's felt like more of a literal underworld.

Greeting his fellow gaured who was more than happy to leave his shift Lee sat down on a hard ground leaned up against a wall in front of a few cells trying to make the best of his situation by taking a nap.

He might be on duty but he didn't really take it seriously most of the time an choose quit moments like these to take in sleep.

It's not like any of these nut jobs were still sane enough to think of an escape plan any way right?.

Wrong.

Less than 5 minutes in his nap his eyes snapped open as he felt something pulling at his side where his cell keys were. Whipping around he snatched the out stretched arm that tried to make a grab for his keys.

In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea to be choosing to sit next to a cell for a nap.

When he yanked the arm forward and shined his glowing crystal at the cell he saw the culprit growling pressed up on the cell bars glarring at him.

It was a girl. Probably around 15 ,she had long messy greasy hair from what must of been months of lack of care and her face was covered in smudges of dirt. He knew people down here usually were too dangerous to let bath normally and had to be hozzed off by the gaurds from a distance but from just looking at her he could tell she more than could use a good wash.

Plus her smell wasn't nice either.

Standard procedure for them to try an escape would be to get the senior gaurds to discuss out punishment but he hesitated.

He knew this girl!.

Underneath all this scum, muk and filth was the feral glare of a pair of icy cold golden eyes that ANY fire nation solider could recognize and shudder in fear of.

He had to blink twice just to prove what he was really seeing was a trick of the eyes.

Nope, his eyes weren't messing with him, it was really the one girl that could terrify harden war generals into submission. The Alpha solider of the fire nation army ,the fire lords human weapon.

Princess Azula.

In his shock he let go of her hand an fell over on his on his back side shuffling away from the girls cage eyes wide.

He was beyond shocked, he knew she was locked up after the defeat of the fire lord but Lee never once thought she was under the very asylum he worked at all this time.

Hell he had heard rumors she was already put to death after he brother officially took the throne. Looking at her poor form now he wondered if death would of been a kinder punishment.

The entire time he was thinking all this she didn't move from her spot as just she glared at him with her piercing gold eyes. he knew immediately that something was very different about her eyes.

Usually any poor soul that had the miss-fortune to see said eyes glare at them were usually seconds away from a flaming death as she would gladly demonstrate infront of new recruits the heights of her cruelty on disobedient subordinates that she felt needed to be made and example of.

Her eyes that always felt so easily linked with brutal death usually had a cold an calculated sharpness to them, as if she could deconstruct anyone or anything she gazed at and used all their weaknesses against them. True tactical genius hidden behind those gold eyes back during the war.

But now.. It was gone.

Gone was the acute sharpness or tactical gaze of superior intelligence. Gone was her calm demeanor that she used to hide her intentions or inner emotions.

All that was left was a down right farrel looking girl who glared at him with hate and contempt. she was like an animal.

A scared animal.

The words Azula and scared didn't sound right even in his own mind. This was the girl who set out to murder the Avatar , his friends and even members of her own family after all.

But he had seen enough scared villagers defending their homes from the fire nation army to know that look in the girls glarring eyes.

She was frightened and caged, she had no way out or even a small Hope of seeing the sun again in her life time.

All her accomplishments in the past ment nothing and her future was at his and the rest of the gaurds mercy as she sat here in this pit underground to rot.

No wonder she looked so angry , watching his every move down to the slightest flinch. She was basically a caged beast now with no real option but to put up a front of strength.

Oh her eyes did scare him, but her malnurish and weakened form gave him the impression that she wasn't in a condition to be a threat to anyone.

He could see a little of her skin peeking out from her ratty white shirt, her collar looked unnaturally thin and something told him that her slightly baggy clothes that were provided for all patients use to fit perfectly when she first got them.

Just how badly were they starving her.

By now he had gotten back to his feet an took a few steps towards the cell hoping to get a better look at his fallen princess only to step back as she breathed a pathetic puff of fire.

It was small at about the size of a fist and mostly smoke than actual fire and unlike in all the rumors her fire was now pale orange instead of her legendary deadly blue flames.

it was probably the best she could do in her condition as she looked very out of breath afterwards but it was very clear what It meant.

Stay away, don't come any closer.

He might have taken it more seriously if the girl didn't go into a rough coughing fit afterwards.

Despite probably hacking out her lungs she still managed to hold her glare at him even as she coughed into her hand.

Lee wasn't sure what to think really, one hand if this was anyone else -man or woman - he would without a doubt felt sorry for them and at they very least try opening the cell to give them a fighting chance of making it out of here by themselves.

Which he had done twice before.

But on the other hand this was the monster of the fire nation, his ex merciless princess. The princess of lies. She could very easily be faking to get his gaurd down.

This girl had been in everyone's nightmares in the military as she always used phycological manipulation to torment and control everyone and everything around her.

She was even rumored to be a evil spirit in disguise as a human girl.

An Honestly looking back at all the things she was said to have done at such a early age that last rumor might actually be legit.

But here right now she was no extrodinarily danderious war general with lighting running through her finger tips followed by a power hungry smirk.

She was a sad little shell of her former self that couldn't even shoot a half decent fire ball.

He knew that the smart thing to do was to look away and just complete his shift then drink this memory away with a few of his co-worker's at the local bar. It was clearly non of his business what condition the little monster was in, she more than deserved this after all the lives she's destroyed.

He knew some -alot -would say It was too good for her as it was and that any suffering she got here was far too over due and should be tenfold what it was now.

Hell a part of him fully agreed. He honestly didn't care for her at all back in the military and that still didn't change much at all even now seeing her at her lowest.

Him and many of his old war buddies would always take shit about their superiors on the army behind their backs whenever they had free time, the topic of the cruel ways of "bitch azula " was common.

So was wondering what brave soul would have the nerve to try and bed her. Whoever finally did that deserves a medal they would say to one another.

It was always a joke though , the very idea of even being able to lay a finger on the girl much less her body was always thought of as insane. A warped fantasy that some of the more hormonal recruits would joke around about.

He saw her stiffen up in full alertness as he reached under the sash,she no doubt thou he was searching for some sort of weapon with how fast her face turned to fear.

Then to confused.

He had pulled a small rectangular wooden box out of his robs and looked on with with barley held back smirk at the look of curiosity that form on the ex-princess's face. Iit wasn't any special, just something he picked up on his way to work. It was about noon any way so it was the perfect time to open it.

He definitely smirked when her saw the look of hunger on the girls face when he opened his lunch box. It was just mostly rice and sweet sauce covered meat probably made of hawk-duck . Complete street food, nothing note worthy especially for someone who probably grew up eating meals a hundred times more extravagant than this.

That didn't seem to matter to the girl sitting in the cell as she unconsciously licked her dry lips at the sight of it. He had to stop himself from laughing at the silent desperation in her eyes as she looked on longingly as he took a bite of his meal.

To him it tasted almost bland as always with only the sauce giving it any real flavor, but he had a feeling it was world's above the slop she was feed here. She couldn't even take her eyes off it.

He thought back to his old days in the military and thought of something that he knew himself would be pushing it, but he actually wanted to see her reaction.

Not that he was gonna mean it anyways,he knew when to stop with a good laugh.

He used his chop sticks to pick up one of the strips of meat and lifted it above his mouth, in the corner of his eye he saw her watching him silently, she obviously wanted the food he was practically dangling infront of her,he was actually enjoying the way her eyes followed his hand. He definitely was gonna enjoy the look on her face.

"you know " he finally said breaking the silence getting her attention " I really don't feel all that hungry today" Lee said casually playing around with the food in his chop sticks " but I really don't feel like letting all this food go to waste by just throwing it away, oh what to do? "

He could see it, the need on her face, her dry lips started to quiver slightly only to close shut in a thin line. Seem's what tiny scrapes of her pride she had left prevented her from begging.

He wondered how long that would last.

Looking almost bored at his food Lee covered the half eaten lunch box and stood up giving Azula a passive look" well then I guess I got no choice but to given the rest of this to the wolf-bats I saw rummaging through the garbage, poor things must be starving "

He didn't even get passed a few step before he herd it.

"w-ait..can.. "

Spinning around on his heels with his smirk growing Lee looked to her cage to see the extremely rare sign of a broken Azula looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Oh what he wouldn't do for a painting of this. It would probably make him a fortune if he tried selling it in Omashu. If he remembered correctly they were still having mock witch burnings with puppets that looked like her, it was turning into a popular tradition.

"What was that I couldn't hear you " her glare returned for a second not liking the being patronized, but her growling stomach made it painfully obvious what she wanted. But she ignored it an held her tounge looking at him with spite.

They both knew what she wanted, an they both knew he wanted her to beg for it. Her former pride would sooner her die than loose one of the few things she had left , she had already lost her crown and nation even her sanity was slipping more an more far worse than it had before being locked away in this hell. At least when her friends had betrayed her she still had her own strength to stand on.

But now her body was weak, tired and more hungry than she ever thought possible. Her bending was basically non existent due to both her poor health and broken will breathing that miniscule fire was the best she could do with her limited strength. She had been cut off from the sun far too long to do much more than that.

How long had she seen sun light again?, she lost track of time months ago an just assumed almost a year had passed due to how long her black hair had grown since last she was on the surface. It was already to he waist.

She was in no condition to put up any fights much less with a gaurd who looked like he served some time in the military from the conditioned way he walked. In the back of her mind she knew it was all on purpose.

They were torturing her. Slowly killing her with malnurishment and illness, she had already stopped trusting the food they gave her as nothing more than scum they scraped off the ground.

And here she was already on her knees practically begging for scraps like a filthy street peasant from some random gaurd who would of been an insect compared to her a year ago.

Oh how far she had fellen.

"come on, I knew I heard you say something " he goated getting closer to her cell as the smirk on his lips grew.

Her stomach grumbled even harder as the heavenly smell of the food enveloped her nose.

She couldn't stop her mouth from asking.

"Can I have it.. " her voice had no reason to be used in the passed few months beyond screaming,her throat almost always felt raw because of this and whatever illness of the week she had ,she could see it amused him how feeble she sounded.

Oh how she would grow to dispize that smirk he had on his face.

"Oh sorry, I already planned on giving this to someone hungry animals in need, I have a soft spot for them you know " he said juggling the lunch box from one hand to the other "weeeell maybe I'll reconsider -"

She felt the long distant feeling of hope raise up in her, she didn't even notice how quickly her dry tounge started to salivate at the thought of a proper meal. Even just the rice would do.

"-if you do something for me first"

And just like that the little hope she had was crushed with and replaced by fear.

"Maybe I'll let you have it if-" here it came, the moment the Lee fully expected to laugh about till old age, he could already imagine her face."-you get naked for me".

It took all of his will not to burst out in laughter when her dull gold eyes widened in shock. Oh he couldn't by this level of entertainment!.

I mean just look at her all defeated and depressed...Oh..okay now he was kinda feeling a tiny bit like an ass but it was all a joke really, he'd just tell her he was only having some fun and toss her the box so-

Lee's thoughts were halted to a complete stop as her heard the sound of clothes ruffling, looking down once more his dark brown eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

Azula had pulled off her ratty shirt an sat bare chested on the floor refusing to meet his gaze. Her body though now skinner than what would be called healthy was still very much feminine.

His mind was in such a storm of confusion and shock that by the time he could rub two brain cells together to tell her to stop she was already one leg out of her under garments .the very last piece of clothing she had.

His mind started working again when she made a grunting sound as her head tilted towards the box in his left hand.

he saw her sigh under her tangle of hair. Not that he was paying attention to that, he was more interested in the rest of her. And it showed.

She was definitely not the most ravishing looking woman he had ever seen, her body had grown much thinner than he expected and practically frail compared to the powerful warrior every sane man feared just a year ago.

Her young supple breasts were nothing to be amazed about as they were even now still maturing an probably wouldn't grow much larger under these poor conditions the girl was in.

The rest of her wasn't much more appealing either, her skin was filthy, he would suppose not having a proper shower for months aside from the weekly hosing would do that to a person.

It was so bizarre to think that this pathetic reatch squandering in her ouw filth was once the same girl who would of been his current fire lord if the crowded prince and his blue sea monkey friend hadn't knocked her down during her coronation.

He took a moment longer to gaze at and inspect her body, seems she at least had some semblance of modesty left as her hands where firmly clasped over her lap on the ground covering her private's in a last effort to save some dignity. That.. That just won't do now would it.

He shook the box in his hand.

At the sound of the food she craved so badly Azula's head snapped back up staring at it as it was now only inches from her cage. Just one grab and it would be Her's. But in order to do that..

The hands on her laps clenched a bit.

She would need to sacrifice more than her already beaten pride would allow.

"come on then princess,its getting cold"

Never once had Azula ever resented her title as the fire nation princess, but after being stripped of her royalty and title to hear it now twisted by this man was like a rough slap in the face.

He shook the box again.

Her stomach ached even harder than before practically demanding to be pleased with proper nutrition after all this time in this hell.

It took only once last shack and like a animal that had been disciplined she bowed her head then reached up through the cage bar's to get her treats, completely disregarding her own bodies dignity as she sat there completely exposed to his disgusting eyes that glazed over her like he had won a great battle.

She didn't care, she stopped caring anymore, nothing seemed to matter anymore. Once ,she use to be the crowning gewl of the fire nation Army feared by all for her immense power and status.

Now, it took everything she had not to ball like a child as she stuffed her face with cold cheap street food in a cage bare to a man she didn't even know the name of to see.

All the while he laughed.

This must truly be hell.