Prologue: Childhood Memories

10 years ago...in the Kingdom of Katolis…

Soren trudged through the dimly lit hallways of Katolis Castle, alone and despondent. His father, the High Mage Lord Viren, was teaching his little sister Claudia another lesson in dark magic. Soren had once tried to learn the art himself, when his father had encouraged it, but for whatever reason the boy could never get the hang of it. Claudia was different though, she took to it like a fish to water, so she was the one getting their father's attention now.

Soren entered into the west wing of the castle, where the library was built. It was old, musty, secluded, and the last place anyone would think to look for Soren, the perfect spot to get away from it all. Normally he would be playing outside, pretending to be a knight with a wooden sword, or go mud-sledding, but lately he had not been in the mood for fun. Things were different now.

The little blond boy walked between the tall shelves, scanning the tomes that surrounded him. Most were about the history of Katolis and Xadia, but Soren's favorites were the ones with stories of heroic adventurers who fought monsters, found treasure, and saved lives. It had been some time since Viren had read him or his sister any stories though. Soren thought perhaps he was getting too old for them.

Soren paused when a noise caught his ear, something raspy and high pitched coming from the corner of the library. He followed the sound, and he began to recognize it as crying, from a young girl. Soren's thoughts immediately jumped to Claudia, and he quickened his pace. He rounded the end of one of the sturdy, wooden shelves, and was met with the sight of a little child, clad in crimson and sitting against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she cried and sniffled.

Soren paused to examine the girl. It was not Claudia, but she was about the same age, with the same dark hair color, only tied into a little knot on top. She wore a red dress and pointy little shoes that Soren had never seen before. This girl was unfamiliar to him, not one of his friends or a lord's daughter.

"Uh, are you okay?" Little Soren finally spoke up. The girl wiped her face and looked at him with gold eyes, frowning angrily.

"I'm fine. Who are you?" She asked impetuously. Soren frowned at the rude tone.

"I'm Soren, who are you?" Soren shot back. The girl turned her nose up at him, though her face was smeared with tears and snot.

"Don't you know? I'm Princess Azula, dum dum." The girl crossed her arms and pouted, her lip still trembling. "Tell me where I am, now, Soren." Soren was not sure what to make of this girl. She was crying but rude and saying she was a princess, only he had never heard of her. The boy did not think she was lying though, and as bratty as she was acting, the tears were still bothering him.

"You're in the library of Castle Katolis," Soren answered, taking a few steps closer. "How did you get in here? No one really comes to the library this time of day…"

"I don't know!" Azula replied, huffing. "I was running into the palace treasure room and wound up here." She fixed her gaze on the floor, trying to avoid eye contact. Soren frowned in confusion, but decided not to press further.

"Okay," Soren began as he took a seat next to Azula against the stone wall, about a foot away from her. She eyed him coldly for a second, then stared back at the floor. "So, why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying, I'm just frustrated!" Azula snapped. Soren leaned back out of fear, but managed to hold his ground. "I was just having a little fun! Then stupid Zuzu tattled on me, my mommy yelled at me! And my daddy…didn't…do…anythinnnnggggg…." Azula's voice turned into a whine as her tears welled up once more. She buried her face in her arms now as she started sobbing again. "It's not fair! She's always taking Zuzu's side…"

Soren's brow furrowed with worry and concern. He was reminded of when Claudia cried, whenever their mom and dad got too intense. Soren thought himself old enough to handle it, but he hated seeing his little sister so sad. He knew how to calm Claudia down and cheer her up though, so perhaps he could do the same for Azula.

The boy scooted closer to Azula. Reaching out cautiously, Soren gently put his arms around the little weeping princess and pulled her into a loose hug. Azula stiffened, and her cries quieted down for a moment as she looked at Soren, but she did not pull or push him away. Soren smiled back warmly at her.

"Hey, don't cry," Soren said cheerfully. "If you cry, then I'll cry, and then we won't stop crying until we both dry up into raisins!" Soren grinned a moment, hoping that would work. Azula stared at him blankly before she burst out a laugh.

"That's stupid! People can't turn into raisins!" Azula blurted out, making Soren frown. It was not the reaction he got from Claudia. Still, Azula's mood was brighter now. "I guess most boys are dumb, but I like you! You're nice!"

"Uh, thanks!" Soren grinned again. He reached into his pocket to take out a handkerchief. There was a little S embroidered at the corner. "Here, your face is all sticky." Azula took the cloth and wiped her face with it before blowing her nose, getting green snot all over it. "Ew, keep it."

Azula sniffled once more, then sat back up straight and grasped Soren's hand with hers, to his surprise. "I wish mom loved me as much as she loves my big brother," She said, leaning back against the wall "He's another dumb boy, but he isn't nice like you. He always ruins my fun and gets me in trouble, and mom is always treating him special, even when he messes up all the time!"

Soren frowned sadly and looked away. "Well, at least you've still got a mom," He replied. Azula blinked in confusion. "My mom left me and my sister. She didn't like my dad anymore." Soren gave Azula's hand a little squeeze as he kept his composure. "She asked us to choose her or dad, but my dad wasn't the one who left us, so I chose him…" The little boy shut his eyes tight as he forced himself not to cry. "But now my dad's so serious all the time. He never wants to spend time with me, it's always lessons for Clauds…"

Azula frowned, then reached over to poke Soren in the head. It got his attention, and the boy opened his eyes to look at Azula. "My daddy is like that. He's always doing something important, he doesn't even yell at me or Zuzu when we do something bad…" The two children sat in silence for a while. Whoever this strange girl was, Soren enjoyed talking to her. With Claudia, he had to be strong, but it was nice opening up a little, even to a stranger. It made him feel lighter, somehow.

All of a sudden, Azula stood back up and pocketed the handkerchief. She put her hands on her hips and looked around the area. Soren looked up at her curiously before she spoke.

"I think I came from…this way! Come on!" Azula pulled Soren up and began leading him deeper into the library, passing by the stain glass windows, desks, and reading podiums. He could barely keep up with the precocious princess as they twisted and turned dozens of shelves and corners. Finally, Azula brought Soren to the darkest part of the library, where little light from outside could penetrate. There was an open door leading into an even darker room.

"Wait Azula!" Soren said, holding her back from entering, much to her annoyance. "This is where my dad keeps his dark magic spell books and stuff. It's always locked, but he told Claudia and I we shouldn't go in…"

"Don't be a chicken possum Soren," Azula replied. She raised her hand and a little orange flame lit above her palm, illuminating the darkness. Soren gazed with awe.

"Whoa, you know magic?" The blond boy gawked. Azula just scoffed.

"It's not magic, it's firebending dum dum. Don't you know anything? Now come on." Azula pulled Soren into the room, and he followed reluctantly. The walls were filled with not just books, but artifacts and potions, a place for Viren to store his objects of study. What caught Soren's eye though was at the back of the room, a large, rectangular mirror with a gold, flaming border beset with rubies. He had never seen it before. The reflection showed the two children, but there was something off.

"This mirror, dad never told me about it." Soren whispered. Azula held her flame higher to light more of the room. She examined all the strange relics with intrigue, but she too was most interested in the mirror. Soren walked up to the looking glass, and as if compelled, reached out to touch it. Instead of hard glass, the mirror rippled like water. Soren pulled his hand back, but Azula stepped up and poked her head right through.

"Azula!" Soren whispered loudly. She looked downright headless at that moment, and Soren began to panic. The little princess pulled her head back out and scratched it, much to Soren's relief.

"It's like a weird door," Azula surmised. "The other side is the treasure room. Look…" Azula grabbed Soren and pushed him towards the glass. He yelped in fear as his head went forward and through the portal. It felt like a breeze of cold air, and when Soren opened his eyes, he saw a large room filled with countless treasures, from crowns to chests to exotic, spiky armor. He was transfixed before Azula pulled him back.

"What was that?" Soren asked, flabbergasted. Azula put her free hand on her hip and smiled smugly.

"That's my family's treasure room," She answered. "Since you don't know, my family is royalty, and we have lots of stuff. I must have run into another mirror like this one."

"Oh, okay…" Soren connected the dots. He was not good when it came to magic, but he could understand that. "So, can I go look some more?"

"No way," Azula shook her head, and she reached up to tug Soren's hair. He grunted in pain. "Your hair is all yellow, and no one in the Fire Nation has hair like that. They'll think you're a spy and kill you."

"Kill me?" Soren's eyes went wide. Azula let go of his hair and nodded.

"Yeah, we're at war, all the other nations are stupid and hate the Fire Nation, so we have to be careful," Azula explained. "I don't know what kind of nation this is, but I bet grandpa won't like it. Your hair is still nice though." Azula combed Soren's hair back in place, then faced the mirror once more. She sighed as she stared back at herself. "I should get back before my mom gets mad at me, again…"

"Alright…" Soren replied dejectedly. He didn't want to lose a new friend so soon. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course you will, dummy," Azula said cheerfully. "I'm not gonna have a secret portal mirror and not use it. I'll visit when I wanna get away from Zuzu. You can be my secret friend no one knows about." Soren's face brightened at the idea, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, okay!" Soren put his hands on his hips and pushed his chest out. "When mean old Zuzu is being a jerk, come see good old Sore-bear!" Azula giggled at the nickname, and they smiled back at one another.

"Okay Sore-bear. This'll be our secret. Bye!" Azula waved at Soren, and he waved back as she walked through the mirror and back to her own world. The flame in her hand was the last thing to pass through, and when it went, so did the light, leaving Soren in darkness. The boy managed to stumble his way out, and quickly shut the door behind him with a sigh of relief.

"Soren?" A voice called, followed by the tapping of a metal staff on the stone floor. The boy looked up and saw his father, Lord Viren, coming around a corner, followed by his little sister Claudia.

"Hi dad!" Soren almost yelled, trying not to seem suspicious. Viren merely raised an eyebrow at Soren, then looked between him and the door to his room of dark magic.

"I told you and Claudia not to enter here…" Viren said softly. Soren gulped, and tried to think of a good lie. He could not reveal his new secret friend.

"Um, I was just looking for a new story for you to read us," Soren answered as Claudia beamed at him. "One with lots of magic!" Viren chuckled and reached down to pat his head. "Well, I have plenty of those. Move along now, we can't be late for our lunch with the King, Queen, and princes."

Soren and Claudia took each other's hand and ran towards the exit. Viren, though, stayed behind, looking at the door to the chamber. He reached for the door knob and turned it, finding it unlocked. Furrowing his brow, Viren reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the key. No one had taken it from him. He opened the door briefly to look inside, creating a light from his palm to illuminate it. Nothing from inside had been taken either.

Lord Viren gazed at the strange mirror in the back, wreathed in flames of gold. While he knew it contained latent magic, its function had remained a mystery to him, acting as nothing more than a reflection. Still, he knew to hold onto it, for the time when he could find its secrets. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he had merely forgotten to lock the door the last time he had been here. No one could have gotten in from the outside after all…

The mage closed the door once more, and locked it shut. Right now, he had a lunch to attend to, and his children already had a head start.

Author's notes:

Hope you enjoyed this little prologue. The rest of the story won't all be like this, but this part is very important. Please R&R