Just a brief little oneshot that floated into my head. I realize it's a little random, but I figured someone would like to read it! I never particularly wanted to portray Azula quite like this, I guess she seems kind of…submissive to me in this fic. But she really just recognizes where she would be if she hadn't conformed to the ways of the new fire nation. And hey, some power is better than none at all, right? I leave a lot of things open for you to fill in with your imagination too.
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Entrances.
If there was one thing Azula could still do perfectly, it was dramatic entrances.
She had stood outside a door for hours before, listening and waiting for the opportune moment to make her presence known. She had hung from ceilings and trees and pillars. She had burned villages to the ground with demonic blue fire. She had forced an entire orchestra to play their most menacing concerto. All in the name of an entrance.
Typically, they went something like this.
She would throw her coat at Ty Lee and momentarily check her hair to make sure it was in place.
Throw doors open,
Strut.
Look left, look right, look forward
Smirk.
If everyone in the room was staring at her, falling to their knees, and begging for her forgiveness because they were not notified that she was coming- then she had nailed it.
If the victims of her entrance were standing there frozen and dumbfounded, that was okay too. The element of surprise was always fun to work with.
She would have planned her outfit long in advance. She would have made sure every aspect of her entrance was faultless.
But that was not the case today.
She sat in front of her vanity in a black kimono-style robe brushing out her hair for what felt like the hundredth time. It was the beginning of summer and her room was unbearably hot and her open windows didn't offer any relief. An elegantly cut red gown hung behind her. Azula looked at its reflection and sighed.
It had seemed like a great idea at the time.
Ty Lee had been on one of her visits to the Fire Nation and had immediately began interrogating her about what she was going to wear to the Fire Lord's engagement party. She gave a lengthy description of the ceremonial uniform she was going to be wearing as a representative of Kyoshi Island. Azula really didn't have a clue, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to attend even though she had been tentatively invited.
After five years of struggle and internal chaos on her part, no one thought she was an urgent threat anymore. She was still guarded closely and she suspected she would be for the remainder of her life. Otherwise, she was fine with her new position in her brother's regime as a military administrator because he lacked "that enviable quality of being able to punish and kill people without remorse" that she apparently possessed.
Zuko and Azula had never been "close", but by their standards, they had never had a particularly bad relationship. They acknowledged that they were both complicated people with complicated lives, and mostly just stayed out of each other's way. Mostly.
She still hated how people reacted when they recognized her though. More often than not she would run into someone who had an issue with her and her guards would have to rush to subdue the situation before it got out of hand. Normally it was quite bothersome.
So Azula hadn't bothered to think about what she was going to wear to the party that was still months away. She was more worried about who she would have to maim if she chose to show her face.
Ty Lee's jaw had dropped when Azula admitted to her that she didn't have anything suitable to wear anyway.
The palace seamstress had been called up and in a matter of minutes she was working on a custom dress for the princess that would be made out of layers of some kind of luxurious rare silk that came from worms that lived on a certain mountain with threads that could only be woven during the night of the full moon.
"It will look stunning! Think of how all the heads will turn! There are so many things that are charged to the royal treasury every month, I doubt Zuko will notice at all!" Ty Lee had reassured her when she noted the ridiculous price of each yard of fabric.
As a matter of fact, he had noticed.
"What the hell Azula! Do you think that I ignore the treasury reports?"
She really thought he did up until that moment.
"Zuzu, I can't very well make an appearance at an important society event looking plain." She said, using her incredible ability to make simple statements sound like insults. "As far as most of your aristocrats are concerned, I'm your charity case. You wouldn't want them to think that you treat your charity case unsatisfactorily, would you?"
"You HATE being called a charity case! The only time you're okay with it is when you want something from me!"
"Behold my victory." She had smiled at him haughtily and hung her new gown up. She knew there was no way he could argue with her and ultimately stormed off.
Now the dress hung in precisely the same place it had that day. It was the color of fresh blood and blowing in the light breeze from the windows.
"Are you coming Princess Perfect?" A voice asked from her open door. Azula realized she had been brushing her hair a little more furiously than she intended to. The blind earth-bending girl was leaning against her doorframe with her arms crossed.
"I suppose you're my escort, then?" Azula sighed.
"If you decided to come and as long as you promise not to terrorize the guests. And don't roll your eyes at me."
Too late.
Thankfully the girl couldn't see that she wasn't even dressed and hadn't put on any lipstick. Azula bit her lip. Why was she so indecisive? Why was this so hard for her anyway?
"So are you coming? I'm pretty sure we're already late anyway, I can't tell time."
Azula looked out the window. It was just past dusk and the sun was just a pale pink line on the horizon.
"No, I think I'll stay here." She said finally, fighting the urge to sigh in defeat.
"Alright whatever." The girl shrugged, waved her had dismissively and turned to leave.
"Can you close the door?" Azula called after her in annoyance.
"Close it yourself!"
Azula growled. The bold younger girl had never been scared of her and had never objected to her coming back to the palace. Apparently the price of her tolerance was being treated like her equal.
"Can someone close the door?" She yelled impatiently. It took a few moments for one of the guards that flanked her door to reach in and shut it.
She turned her attention back to the mirror in front of her and the dress caught her eye once again. She allowed her forehead to hit the flat surface of the vanity.
Facing a room full of her former enemies was daunting of course, but she had done it before. It had been one of her best entrances, in fact. Zuko's new friends were sitting around discussing something when she had casually sauntered in. "Well, this is highly amusing." She had delivered the line flawlessly while everyone had looked at her in complete shock.
For some reason tonight was different. It would be her first appearance in public in quite a while. Zuko was getting married while she still refused to let go of childish antics. (He reminded her of this fact constantly.) Yes, tonight she would be entering into a new frontier- the future.
Azula righted herself, looking undignified was never an option. She impulsively reached for her lipstick, applied it in one swift movement and watched her smirk slowly form in her reflection. Staying in her room for the whole night hiding could be considered childish, after all. Someone had to uphold the family image.
The sentries in the corridor of her quarters stood at attention as she glided past them. Once she was quite positive that she looked absolutely exquisite she had ventured out into the palace. Layers of the luxe fabric swayed noiselessly around her ankles as she made her way towards the ball room. Even in the heat, she barely broke a sweat.
"You are the epitome of poise and grace, my child." Her father had assured her once when she was very young. Even now, she called upon his words for encouragement.
Security in the palace was at its maximum, Zuzu didn't want to take any chances with her. He was blind when it came to the subject of his disgraced sister. Zuko made it so easy. Sure she was his charity case, but in reality he had been allowing her to pull his strings for years.
She exploited his emotions; she played them to her advantage. She had risen in the ranks, she had raised her status, and she was successfully exerting a huge amount of her own influence on the country as an unofficial advisor to her brother. If it was the only way they could live in relative peace, albeit cautiously, then she supposed she could endure her situation. Constantly trying to dispatch your brother could get tiring, after a while.
At last she reached the hall of fire lords, their ceremonial depictions all lined up. She straightened her short sleeves and smoothed out her flat hair once more as she faced the ornate double doors that would lead her into the fateful party. She turned to look at Sozin briefly.
"It's a reminder of where our country has been and where it is going." Zuzu had told her during one of his eye-roll inducing philosophical moments. She fought the urge to slap the back of his head for good measure. But even she knew that their heritage was important; it had made her who she was today.
She glanced at Zuzu's portrait for a moment and scowled. Lately he had been all about breaking with tradition, but she didn't think it was necessary for him to take it to such a ridiculous level. In his portrait, Firelord Zuko was in a rather unorthodox pose on his throne. Mai stood beside him, the Avatar was perched on an armrest, the idiotic Water Tribe warrior was beside him, the blind earth bender lounged on the floor, and the water bender knelt close by. All were sporting similar foolish grins. Azula gave it one last disapproving glare before she turned away from Sozin and opened the doors.
She gazed out onto the relatively small party from the catwalk. Everyone was already busy looking oddly happy. She would have to descend down the stairs according to tradition. The bored caller suddenly became alert when he caught sight of her.
He opened his mouth to announce her arrival but she quickly subdued him. "Shut up, and don't ruin my entrance." She advised him seriously. He gawked at her with wide eyes and wordlessly obeyed.
Princess Azula steadily made her way to the top of the steps and began her journey to join the rest of the party. The closer she got to the end of the staircase, the quieter it became. An awe provoking delayed reaction had been perfect for this particular entrance.
When Ty Lee had noticed her she had jumped up and down gleefully. Zuko watched her, smirking apathetically. And did the Avatar really just wave at her?
She grinned as everyone looked to where she stood. Mai nodded civilly at her. Any other girl would have pulled her friend aside and forcefully told her that it was HER engagement party and she had no business showing up and pretending like she was supposed to be the center of attention. Mai had always given her enormous ego a wide girth; it was probably why they were ever able to get along in the first place.
Zuko handed her a wide rimmed glass of some kind of flaming liquor. She changed the flames into her signature blue and raised her glass to the Fire Lord and his betrothed. "You deserve each other. And it's about time."
Azula sipped her drink daintily while Zuko grinned at Mai and she shook her head in exasperation. "What?" Azula inquired resentfully. "It was a complement!"
At that moment Ty Lee came and swept her away. Azula had no intention of facing her brother again that night. She had done what she was obligated to.
"I want a flaming drink!" Ty Lee pouted and skipped over to the refreshment table. She followed Ty Lee reluctantly.
"Simple things amuse simple people." Azula commented dryly, casting a glance to the other side of the table. Zuko's water tribe friend stood with a familiar Kyoshi warrior under his arm. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear and she giggled before he kissed her briefly. Both seemed like they had been standing in close proximity to the drinks for just a little too long already. "And speaking of simple people…Hello, Water Tribe Savage. And… is that your sister under all that makeup?"
"Hey! I'm not his…" The Kyoshi warrior protested, her voice slightly slurred.
"Ignore her, Suki. She's just trying to annoy me." Sokka glared at the princess. Azula smiled triumphantly.
"I see you've been taking advantage of the free drinks. I'm sure you'll get dragged out by security within the hour." She countered smugly. "I'm surprised you two are here at all, actually. How did you manage to get invited to an official royal function?"
"Zuko invited us specifically to cause trouble." Azula didn't doubt it. "Was there a reason you came over here other than for the delight of taunting me? Or do you have somewhere more important to be?" The warrior glared at her.
She glanced down at her drink briefly. "Of course not." She sighed and shifted her stance awkwardly. "I just wanted to say that… that…I have come to regard you as… as someone I have met." She choked out clumsily. The Watertribe boy continued to glower at her incredulously before slowly nodding.
"I can deal with that." He shrugged. She offered him a faint serene smile that wasn't gloating in his misfortune for once.
"Azula! Come on, there's someone I want you to meet!" Ty Lee latched onto her arm and began pulling her away.
The princess groaned. "Ty Lee, I swear if I have to meet one more of your boyfriends…"
"But you'll like this one!" She insisted. Azula allowed her to lead her in the other direction.
The sound of conversations, laughter, and clinking glasses wandered up into the atmosphere, out the open windows, and exited into the peaceful night air.
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