The Honor of the Princess
Shortly after Zuko was banished, Azula overhears a soldier question her Father's decision to fight his son. Taking matters into her own hands, she challenges him to an Agni Kai.
Her worthless brother was finally gone. Azula couldn't have been happier. Really, she couldn't. She had no idea why her mother doted on him so much. She, being Azula, had spied on their interactions several times. One time Zuko was frustrated that his instructor wouldn't teach him the more advanced katas. Her mother spurted some nonsense about how important it was to keep trying. "Dumb-dumb," she thought. "He's never going to improve if he gets frustrated whenever he messes up." She had already mastered the basic set Zuko was still struggling with. Well…he wasn't struggling, per se. He was determined to make sure it was absolutely perfect, which was understandable. Azula was the same way. However, instead of remaining calm enough to continue to practice, he got really upset. It affected his ability to firebend.
When Azula had fallen and scraped her knee during practice, she had thought about going to Mother. Then she thought of her dear brother and the disapproving looks Father gave him. Father and Mother were always fighting, even when they thought she and Zuzu couldn't hear them. He was constantly mad at how Mother treated Zuzu, how she "coddled" him. That moment her young mind realized something. If she went to Mother complaining about her knee, Father would love her less! And there was no question Mother loved Zuzu more than her. Father had even told her so. He couldn't have been lying; she had seen it for herself. So ignoring the pain, she got back into her stance. If she showed him that she could perform her firebending better than Zuko, Father would be pleased. She would have to be better than Zuko. Otherwise both parents would love her less and that just wasn't…fair.
So, Zuko had left the Fire Nation for good. There was no way he'd get to come back. The Avatar hadn't been spotted for over 100 years, and even in the rare scenario he found the Avatar, he would be defeated. He would have mastered all four elements by now. Even Azula doubted she could beat the Avatar, and if she couldn't, there was no way Zuzu would be able to…unless the Avatar was a water tribe peasant now but there was no use speculating on that. Mother was gone. Zuko was gone. It was just her and Father, and that's the way it should be. Obviously.
After watching the ship containing her banished brother and Uncle set sail, Azula headed back toward the palace. That way she could forget that big ugly scar on Zuko's big ugly face. She smiled to herself. There was no way she would have spoken out of turn in a war meeting, and if Father did ever challenge her to an Agni Kai, she would have fought back. Honor was a very important part of Fire Nation culture, and refusing the Agni Kai was the worst thing Zuko could have done in the eyes of the Fire Lord. He could no longer run to Mother, because there were no second chances. She knew that Father's proclamation of Zuko having to find the Avatar was his version of a joke. Almost wasn't good enough! Almost was what Zuko was, and if she wasn't perfect, she knew very will it could have been HER in that ship. She smiled again. "That's what you get, Zuzu."
Pausing near a garden, Azula heard some soldiers speaking, and caught the word "Zuko." A mischievous eyebrow raised itself. People were such idiots, talking loudly, just begging to be eavesdropped upon.
"Personally, I don't agree with what Ozai did. There was no way Prince Zuko could have faced him anyways!" The voice of the soldier was deep.
"Are you questioning the Fire Lord?" Another soldier, at least aware enough not to shout.
"Well…yeah, I guess I am. I could never do that to my son." A pause in the conversation, the solider was gathering his breath. "How could anyone? I don't…I don't want someone like that leading our country. The punishment he gave was something I'd only consider doing to an enemy, like an earthbender," he cursed under his breath at the word "earthbender."
The other guard began to walk away. "You need to calm down…it's not like it was your son. And what you are saying is considered treason."
Azula came out from behind the corner. "You would be correct. It IS treason."
"Princess Azula!" both soldiers shouted. As custom, they prostrated themselves on the ground. She turned to the solider accusing the other of treason. "It seems to me your 'friend' has a bit of trouble keeping his mouth shut."
"He's…he's not my friend Princess," he stuttered.
"Ah yes, well it is very fortunate for your sake that you disagreed with him." She turned to the treasonous man who would dare speak against her father. "You have insulted the Fire Lord, and therefore insulted our country."
The unlucky solider gulped.
"I challenge you to an Agni Kai!"
When the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation challenges you to an Agni Kai, one must accept. It was hazardous to your health to disobey the royal family. He cursed Agni that he was born a Firebender…"Y-yes, Princess…" he stuttered. Oh, crap. It was too late to lie about not being able to bend fire now.
"It will occur at sunset, as is tradition," Azula snarled.
Stand and fight, or be struck down.
The crowd held their breath in anticipation as they watched the princess and the solider on either side of the arena, knelt on the ground back to back, as was tradition. Azula felt strangely calm. She knew she could beat this common soldier. But there were so many people watching…including Father. To please him it wasn't enough to win the Agni Kai. She had to utterly destroy him. The moment had passed when she could take back her word; there was no stopping now.
An announcer spoke. "Crown Princess Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, has challenged Ping, a member of the Fire Nation military, to an Agni Kai, citing his blatant disrespect and disregard for the decisions of the Fire Lord. Ping refuses to admit to these allegations. By Agni's eternal flame, let combat determine the victor!
A brief cheer from the crowd, and then there was only silence. Each competitor removed their cloak, the soldier being shirtless and Azula donning a sleeveless top, embodied with the black red and gold of the Fire Nation. Metallic bracelets covered each competitor's biceps, another Agni Kai tradition. Both opponents rose. Let the games begin…
X
Azula bowed down to her Father, who was sitting on the throne, after calling her for an impromptu meeting.
"I heard you challenged a solider to an Agni Kai."
"Yes, Father."
"I expect you have a good reason for this," he spoke, voice laced with venom.
"I do. He questioned your decision on banishing Prince Zuko. He insulted you, and insulted the entire Fire Nation as well." She tentatively looked up from her bow to meet her father's eyes.
"I see. I will inform my advisors to have the arena ready to go by sunset."
"Thank you, Father."
"And Azula?"
"Yes, Father?"
"Do not disappoint me."
X
Her opponent was the first to strike, creating a giant fireball in hopes to finish the fight quickly. Azula dodged by rolling toward the left. The soldier likely had more strength and stamina than her, but the princess was cunning, smart, and despite her young age, a very good firebender. She continued from her roll by keeping her hands on the ground and spinning her legs to deliver a precise spinning strike. The soldier managed to block Azula's attack. Using a jet of flame, he was now heading straight for her!
There was no way Azula stood a chance in a collision with a grown man. Thinking fast, she shot a thin line of flame at his foot. She heard a scream of surprise as the soldier lost his balance. "I've got his foot!" Azula thought excitedly. "This might affect his bending as well!" The soldier fell, but kept his balance, rolling and creating a wall of shooting fire. Azula used her knowledge to block the fire that was sent in her direction. She sent of her own flaming strike, but was blocked by her opponent. This wasn't good. She would eventually lose if they kept trading blows like this. Despite her vigorous training and exercise every day, the 11 year old prodigy still tired quickly compared to competent adult firebenders. She had recently vowed to go running even more after collapsing in a training bout with Father. It had made him…angry. "It was nothing compared to Zuzu's scar", she reminded herself.
She sent off another jet of flame. A jump of the soldier left him completely unharmed, but he looked slightly unsteady landing on his burnt foot. "If I can just hurt his other foot, he's a sitting duck," she thought. Dozens of fireballs were sent Azula's way as the enemy sent wave after wave using punching arm motions. One passed by and singed her hair, a little too close for comfort. Blocking a fire blast with a single hand, Azula used the pointing technique that her Father had shown to her. With her two fingers, she rapidly spliced towards the soldier's uninjured foot. She heard a rather piercing scream from her opponent, but she had toppled after failing to completely block the fire blast. The Princess somersaulted back up, trying to make it look like that was part of a move she was executing. What she saw after she quickly got her bearings almost made her want to puke.
She didn't just burn the soldier's foot. It was severed. Completely. She looked away from his legs, and began to walk towards him, panting slightly. "Given up?" she snarled. Why wasn't he still fighting? Did he really just surrender? Had she won?
The soldier merely trembled.
X
"Stand and fight, Prince Zuko!"
"I won't fight you."
"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."
"AHHHHHHH!"
X
This soldier would learn respect, and suffering would be his teacher. "Stand and fight, traitor!" Azula said loud enough for the audience to hear.
"I…surrender…" he said.
As of right then, there were three things the Princess could have done. She could've declared the fight over, kill him outright or…
The last acceptable thing to do at the end of an Agni Kai was burning your opponents face, forever marking them in shame and defeat. The thing Father did to Zuzu. "Traitor," she spoke. "Do you know what happens after an Agni Kai?"
"Yes, Princess, I do."
"Well then. You will live, but for awhile you might wish the opposite." She pressed her small hand near his face, getting ready to burn it. A jet of fire shot from her hands! And the fire wasn't yellow, it was blue! Azula struggled to maintain her blue fire in practice. It came and went. However, blue fire was hotter than yellow fire, and would cause more damage than she originally intended. Echoing screams reverberated across the arena, even louder than the ones Zuzu made.
That was an understatement. His entire left side of his face was melted off. The remaining amounts of flesh were charred and smelled revolting. And all Azula could do was stare.
"Your victor, Princess Azula!"
She was in shock for a few hours after that.
X
And yet again, she found herself bowing before the Fire Lord in the throne room.
"You did well, Azula."
"Thank you, Father."
"That was an excellent performance. How well did you think you performed, Azula?"
A pause. "I – I thought things went pretty well myself, Father."
"So no mistakes, nothing at all?"
Oh no. She thought he didn't catch her slip-up. She should've prepared for the fireball earlier and dealt with it before it was close enough to knock her down…
"It seems to me you are growing complacent. You must never let yourself lose your balance, especially against a much weaker opponent."
"It won't happen again Father."
"See to it that it doesn't, or I won't be so lenient this time." He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. "That being said, you did the right thing. In order to be successful you must command respect and never show weakness. We are blessed by Agni as the divine rulers of the Fire Nation." After another pause he said, "You are dismissed."
X
She didn't have nightmares after what happened. She didn't feel…anything really. Was she supposed to feel bad? That man hated the Fire Nation and said mean things about Father. The world was far better off. She still didn't know whether he survived the attack. It was likely that he didn't…but there was really no need for her to investigate. None at all. She spent most of her time concentrating on training her firebending skills. If she fell behind Father wouldn't love her as much. He might even treat her like Zuko! If a few enemies had to suffer for the glory of the Fire Nation, so be it. Deciding to stop pondering for the night, the tired princess went to sleep.
"What is wrong with that child?"
Azula thought she heard the voice of Mother, but it must have been a gust of wind, or a servant, or any number of things. Still she felt the need to say, "I'm fine. Everything's just fine. Perfect!" In the morning she'd find out who made the noise and punish them. Yes, that sounded like a good idea.
As people often do, Azula forgot about her dream when she was awake. She had won her Agni Kai. Azula was born lucky; she always got everything she wanted.
And in the end, she had only lost her mind.