Azula steadied her breath, motioning silently to the Dai Li agents following her down the long Earth Palace corridor. The agents entered the room on her motion, and Azula smirked internally as she heard the confused whispers of Zuko and her Uncle through the open door.
"Something's not right."
An eye roll. What gave him the hint?
She straightened her back, a perfect image of what true royalty should look like, before she allowed herself to enter the room, basking in Zuko's priceless expression for just a moment, before his face hardened with disgust.
"It's teatime," Azula mocked, her face set in her practiced and perfected smirk. The very smirk that would have had the palace servants trembling in fear. As they should have been, too. Fear was all she had, all she could control.
Her father saw her as a weapon, to bend to his will… and her mother?
Azula nearly scoffed.
Her mother never loved her, no matter how hard she tried. Zuko had no idea how truly lucky he was to receive true love, without a price or need to prove himself. He could call himself unlucky all he wanted, Azula knew the truth.
Fear was all she had, not love. Not adoration.
Intimidation was the only thing she had power over, and the only thing that allowed her the barest scrap of attention from the very man who saw her as nothing more than a weapon in his upholstery.
Zuko, the poor fool, stood up suddenly. "Azula!"
Azula levelled him with her smile, terrifying - if the ever so slight change of stance in Zuko's feet were anything to go by. Good. "Have you met the Dai Li?" she began, not moving her hands from behind her back. Poise. Elegance. "They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so firebender." Unlike you. Azula brought her gaze to Zuko's, knowing that he heard her hidden words. Too weak to be a true firebender. Mere earthbenders have more fire than you ever will. "I just love it."
Before Zuko could give her some indication of hatred, before he could attack without thinking like he so typically did, Uncle surprised her by pouring a cup of tea, indifferent to the dangerous soldiers and Fire Princess standing around him.
Azula narrowed her eyes as he got up to stand beside Zuko, face a perfect description of calm.
What are you doing?
Zuko was supposed to lash out, give into his hot-headedness and give her an easy open. To knock his core and bring him down from his too obvious weak spots.
"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the 'Dragon of the West'?"
Of course. Trust her Uncle to not notice danger when it was quite literally right under his own nose. Ridiculous fool.
But… if Azula knew one thing, her Uncle was not a fool. Not like Zuko.
He was playing a game.
Distracting her.
No sane person would allow their enemy a story while they were moments away from an attack. Azula allowed herself a moment as she settled back a familiar sense of boredom.
If he was going to play innocent, then so was she.
She examined her nails, her demeanour a perfect description of disinterest, while placing all of her attention on the old man and her brother. There. A sure smirk was spreading on Zuko's face.
His face was so easy to read, laughably so.
"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle."
Just a moment longer. She could sense it.
"It's more of a demonstration really," he said, kind. Far too kind to be meaningful to somebody like Azula. Nobody was ever kind to her.
He sipped his tea as Azula's mind ran in a constant burning stream of frantic "trap! It's It's a trap." and "Don't underestimate. Never underestimate."
Now.
Uncle jumped into action the moment she stepped back, behind a Dai Li agent as the fire from his lungs reached them. The Dai Li, ever so driven, only blocked his attack with their fireproof rock gloves, and their rounded hats.
She had to get one for herself. Who knew what they could prevent, and do.
Azula stood and watched from behind her wall of Dai Li as he blasted a hole in the wall, allowing enough space for him and Uncle to escape out of.
She shook her head silently to herself, and motioned for her Dai Li to follow them. Ignoring the fighting sounds, she continued walking, stepping over the broken wall as she walked on after a moment or so of waiting. She wouldn't waste energy on running after him. He was too curious, and hoarded all that hatred and anger. That was Zuko's main downfall; predictability.
He had to be coming back.
She eventually rounded a corner near the opposite side of the floor, following the noise of the fight.
Soft achievement. Exactly where she wanted him to be, looking oh so determined as he stood there, firebending stance versus her casual step and army of ruthless agents.
Oh Zuko. His stance had improved, she'd admit that much, but he was still such an idiot.
She allowed herself to laugh slightly. "You're so dramatic. What are you going to do, challenge me to an Agni Kai?" Allowing herself the amusement of bettering Zuko in a serious fight, and him with both eyes scarred, she smiled as she anticipated Zuko's next words.
"Yes! I challenge you."
A whole second to think it over. "No thanks."
Zuko let out a grunt of anger and Azula felt a thrill shoot through her - finally, the anger he had been harbouring. Now she could begin to mould it to her advantage. He raised his hands in a water peasant stance, raising a ball of flames as water and leaned forward to shoot it her way.
As if she'd be intimidated by a waterbending move. Had Zuko sunk so low as to take peasant's stances. It was fitting, really.
Unflinching, she allowed her Dai Li to step forward and raise the stone tiles from the floor in front of her to block the move. She had no protest when they sent rocks from their stone gloves to trap his feet. A trap. He stumbled, landing on a hand that was soon trapped along with his feet. Immovable. Stuck.
Azula turned her back and began to walk down the corridor, away from dear Zuzu.
Her Dai Li knew where to put him.
With the water barbarian who he'd taken his inspiration from, where a true firebender would stick to fire, to burning and the pulse of flame.
Water and fire just didn't mix.
Like she didn't mix...with anything really.
Azula stopped in the hallway once she was certain she couldn't be found or seen by any passers by. Deep in the palace.
She blinked to herself, looking down at the polished floor in thought...
Her own mother thought she was a monster.
Mother never trusted her, never saw her as a human child who just wanted to be loved, and getting into trouble and setting things on fire was the only thing that would get her attention...who would truly want her? Even as an innocent, baby-faced child nobody saw her as deserving of love. Not unless she was useful.
To - to show off to grandfather as a shiny new sword. A trophy to gawk over. A monster to fear.
Azula felt a tear as her bottom lip wobbled. She wiped at it angrily.
They had no right to treat her that way.
When she would be Fire Lord, she would be loved. She would-
She dropped to her knees, unable to keep herself up.
She was strong, she couldn't let anybody see her like this. She was strong. Powerful. Worthy of respect.
She was loved, just not by her mother.
Her father did love her, and Uncle and Ty Lee and Mai… and-
She was loved .
Azula never lied to herself.
Azula always lies