Most people thought Ty Lee for an air head. She didn't mind. It meant that she could escape the suspicions of the strict teachers of the royal academy, of a mother that almost never could call her by her name, the girls whispering about her in envy and all the other guards of their throughfully defined little world.

Their lifes were seized into schedules that were to be carefully followed and even the most obedient students were immediately questioned by everyone. Not so Ty Lee. Most teachers had found her to be a lost case. Too low attention span, they said. No academic ambitions. But she was pretty and friendly and well liked nonetheless so most let her get away with her lack of dedication.

Only her instructors of anatomy and physical education were truly delighted by her and praised and encouraged her every day. She was fascinated with the human body, what potential it held and how it only was your choice of how to develop this potential. She was no bender. So what? She could exceed their natural superiority by learning how to disable it. She could exceed her body, an equal to all her sisters, by toning and shaping into that of an agile acrobat. To train and understand her body meant to exceed all penalties nature had thrown at her. And that brought her happiness.

"What are you doing now, Ty Lee?"

The snarl made her twitch and loose her balance. She fell but gracefully caught herself and turned around, landing softly in the dried down grass.

Before her, in the blazing light of the midday sun, stood Azula, princess of the fire nation. And her friend.

She broke into an exhausted but wide smile.

"Oh, hey Azula! I was just trying to learn to make a handstand on my fingertips. It's really hard though and it's so hot today!"

It was the hottest day of summer yet. Ty lee brushed the sweat of her forehead and looked up to the princess.

She wore her training attire, long cutted dark red breeches and a tight top that only covered her breast and left her toned stomach, arms and calves bare to the sun.

Not a drop of sweat clung to her and her eyes...

Ty Lee was always fascinated by the princesses eyes. She was the only one whose atlethic abilities matched those of Ty Lee and whose body hold the same toned beauty but her eyes always impressed her the most. They seemed to emit a deep coolness and yet a blazing fire. They looked like fluent gold to her.

Those eyes now narrowed in thought.

"If it is a stand on your fingertips is it still proper to call it a handstand?"

Ty Lee frowned than smiled. "Agh! I don't know. But whatever you want to call it I can't seem to get it right. But I can try tomorrow again. Wait, aren't you supposed to be in training with you father?"

She knew with anyone else Azula would have taken these words as a hint of accusation, the implication that the perfect princess had done something wrong. But she had learned she was the exception to that rule. She had learned by studying Azula.

Azula gave a little sigh.

"Well, father is in an important meeting with the war council and has postponed our training for an hour. I came to tell you that you are expected in the palace this weekend."

"Great! Sure I'll be there!" It was easier to act like she actually had been invited and not ordered.

"If you have some time left, you wanna join me?"

"Doing what?"

"Oh, I don't know. We could steel Master Endu's fireflakes and hide them in the stables!"

Azula frowned and gracefully sat down. Everything Azula did looked graceful and Ty Lee admired it greatly about her.

"Ty Lee, we're fifteen years old now. We're above such things. You understand?" Her voice was even and determined and left no space for arguing. But it hadn't always been like this. Ty Lee remembered her princess' voice when they had been six years old and playing together on ember's island filled with kindness,curiosity and laughter.

These softer notes in the princess' voice had decreased more and more by the years but they remained there. Until her mother had left and her father took her into her personal training and her brother had been banished. She hadn't heard it once since then.

"Come on Azula, that doesn't mean we can't have fun anymore!", she laughed and nudged the other girl in the shoulder.

Azula's face maintained it's blankness as she raised.

"I will go to my training now. I will see you at the weekend." With that she left and soon Ty Lee followed.

She often wondered if the princess knew she was still being watched when she trained before her father's personal lessons.

Ty Lee hung high in the timberwork of the hall, motionless and completely quiet,all people never thought she could be. An she didn't like it one bit. But it was worth it to be able to watch what Ty Lee knew to be the greatest fire bender of history in action.

She always was watching. People thought she played around, didn't actually care couldn't imagine she would sneak in some place just to watch.

But she loved nothing more than to watch this.

Azula was the incarnation of perfection. Her movements were those of contained explosions, pure, raw energy bended into precise an deadly forms.

An then there was the blue. That banned beautiful colour, so unique and rare and so fitting to this unique being. Whenever the princess let loose a blast of her blue fire Ty Lee smiled.

It was the only time she ever say sweat on Azula's ebony skin. It trailed down the lines of her muscles an beautiful face.

It was the only time she really saw emotion in this face.

Groans and screams if she couldn't do something immediately or to her satisfaction. Not perfect enough. Fury an agony distorting that beautiful face.

And fear when the fire lord entered an she hadn't mastered it all.

It was were Ty Lee saw the person Azula and not just the princess.

She remembered the first time she had come and watched.

Azula had been training the whole day and had been more ruthless than ever. Something was of. When she had asked Azula had shoved her aside and deeply worried she had followed her into her training, knowing if caught she was to suffer punishment by the fire lord himself.

So she had watched hidden how Azula performed a perfect kata of blue fire bending under her father's cold eyes.

When she was done he nodded.

"Good. And have you mastered what I told you to?"

Azula shivered, her pupils wide, but other than that there was no trace of emotion in her face.

"I - I did, father."

"Then show it to me."

Azula took a deep breath. Then she raised one arm and pointed two fingers in a cutting motion. Ty Lee frowned. She had never seen that move before and yet there was no trace of a flame to see.

Azula repeated the motion with her other hand and finally connected the fingertips together. For the briefest second there was a blue spark to be seen, lighter and more intense than fire.

Then it exploded and Azula was thrown a yard backwards.

Ty Lee had to press both hands over her mouth to muffle her shriek.

Azula hit the ground with a groan of pain. Her face was red an her hands bleed.

Quickly she stood and limped.

"Father,let me try ag-", she began, her voice raised in panic.

"So you didn't."

The fire lord stood, his eyes narrowed.

"It has been three months, Azula. Three months since I showed you this technique."

"Father-"

"You were to master it in one. I have been patient..."

"But father-"

"SILENCE!"

Ty Lee shuddered and cramped her fingers deeper into her face. Azula lowered her head.

"Your grandfather mastered lightening at his fifteenth birthday. I told the generals you would master it before that. Do you know how I will look if you fail? Have you ever considered that?"

"Father, I did nothing but training! I didn't sleep, I - I didn't rest! I'm trying, it just won't-"

"Shh", her father soothed, his face suddenly controlled again. Ty Lee let her hands fall, relieved his out break seemed to be over. Still, she couldn't relax.

"Now, I love you my daughter." Gently he brushed a hand over Azula's cheek. "You know I wouldn't let you fail like your brother Zuko. You don't want to disappoint me like he did, do you?"

Azula shook her head, trembling.

"Do you?", the fire lord asked a little louder.

"No", whispered Azula.

"Then don't!"

The strike clang though the hall like thunder and Ty Lee cried, but her sounds were swallowed of those of countless other slaps, kicks and punches and Ty Lee watched frozen in horror how the fire lord beat his daughter until she was nothing but a shaking little broken bundle on the floor, bleeding and whimpering.

Through a veil of tears Ty Lee saw how the fire lord stood and massaged his hands.

"I will give you two more weeks, Azula. Do not disappoint me."

And with that he left, no even looking back.

Azula didn't move. She just lay there, shaking and crying in pain.

When she flinched at the hand on an unbruised part of her arm, Ty Lee didn't even remember herself when she had jumped down and rushed to her friend.

Azula's golden eyes turned to her and widened.

"Ty Lee", she said, her voice rasped.

"What are you doing here?"

Tears ran over Ty Lee's cheeks. She shook her head and carefully stroke Azula's arm. The other girl hissed in pain.

"Is this was he always does to you?", she asked under sobs.

Azula was quiet for the longest time. Meanwhile Ty Lee stroked her damped hair and every inch of her boy that didn't seem to be bruised somehow.

Finally her breathing calmed down a little and when she spoke, Ty Lee actually twitched.

"He is right do so. I failed him."

She shut her eyes. "I never took so long to learn a new technique. What I am worth if I am just like Zuku and don't get better. I know I can do it, I feel the lightning, I-"

Suddenly her eyes snapped open again an she looked at Ty Lee in horror.

"You saw."

There it was, that deep inhuman snarl.

"Azula -"

"How can you dare!"

Ty lee ducked but the princess' blow was too weak anyhow. Limply she let it fall again, stared at it and then broke out into sobs.

Azula didn't say or move anymore that night.

She let Ty Lee wash her, let her put salve on her wounds and let her stroke and caress her.

When she managed to bring the princess to her room there already was a nurse waiting.

She wordlessly helped Ty Lee put the broken princess to bed and than put some other salves on her. Afterwards she turned to Ty Lee.

"I know who you are. You are one of her consorts."

"Friend", Ty Lee corrected. Her voice was hoarse from all the crying.

"Friend", repeated the nurse an chuckled humorlessly.

"I give you a good advise, girl. If you're smart you forget you ever saw this. You are never to speak to anybody of this or you will deeply regret it. An now leave."

Ty Lee bit her lip.

"Now!"

"No."

Both Ty Lee an the nurse turned around to the bed. Azula's eyes hadn't opened.

"Leave us alone."

The nurse bowed an left.

"Come here" Azula ordered and Ty Lee obeyed.

For lthe ongest time after that Azula didn't say any more and when Ty Lee thought she had drifted back to sleep her princess whispered:

"Am I a failure?"

Ty Lee took her hand.

"No. No you are not, Azula. You are the strongest, most beautiful an perfect girl I know. You don't deserve this..."

"Then why didn't my mother love me? Why did she leave?"

"Your... your mother?"

Suddenly Azula clenched her hand so hard it hurt and Ty Lee hissed.

"She is weak. That's why she feared me. She fears my power. But I don't need her. I will be the strongest fire bender in the history. Father will love me."

Golden eyes opened and starred at Ty Lee in feverish despair, looking for an answer.

Ty Lee lowered herself behind Azula an hugged her tightly, her hands stroking soothing patterns on the princess' skin.

"I love you, Azula. I will always love you, I promise. No matter what. I will never hurt you just because you didn't something right for once. "

Azula closed her eyes.