I don't own Avatar. If I did, though, I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe I'd make it Zutara. And I'd get rid of the second series. And… nevermind.
My daughter appeared to dance in the flames, but I knew the technique was much more complicated than that. And yet she executed it smoothly, perfectly. She was extremely talented, but I felt little pride. Why do I feel nothing? I asked myself. No matter how hard I try, I cannot make myself feel for her. I am a failure.
No, there was something in my daughter that repelled me. A hidden anger. Seeing the cold joy in her eyes as she performed for Firelord Azulon, I was reminded of the deadly flytrap, drawing its prey in with its beauty, then snapping it up in an instant. I am being silly, I thought. Azula is a little girl. A child. And yet…
"She's a true prodigy," said Azulon smugly. "Just like her Grandfather for whom she's named."
I heard Azula whisper something to Zuko. No, son, don't let her get to you, I thought desperately, but my son had already stood up. "I'd like to demonstrate what I've been learning," he said boldly. I groaned quietly.
Zuko could have done it. He really could have. But his anger swallowed him up, and he stumbled, eventually falling to the ground. I ran to him.
"I failed," he said. I felt anger at these words. What kind of world did we live in, that a little boy should think himself a failure because of a small mistake like this? "No," I said calmly, "I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard."
Azulon obviously did not feel the same way. "Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp? Just tell me what you want. Everyone else go." Oh dear, I thought. Ozai, don't do this. This is not a good decision. As my children left the room, my apprehension grew. What would Azulon say when Ozai told him what he wanted?
"Father," said Ozai in his calm, innocent voice, "you must have realized as I have, that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his son's death, my brother abandoned the siege at Ba-Sing-Se, and who knows when he will return home? But I am here, father, and my children are alive."
"Say what it is you want," said Azulon, losing patience quickly. No, husband, please…
"Father, revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me."
I winced, not daring to look up and see the Firelord's outraged expression. " You dare suggest I betray Iroh? My first born?" The heat rose in the room, and I knew that the flames near Azulon's throne had become an inferno. "Directly after the demise of his only beloved son? I think Iroh has suffered enough. But you, your punishment has scarcely begun!"
I was consumed by fear, for my husband, myself, and my children. Ozai had doomed us all. This is worse than anything I could have imagined.