"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" She growled into my ear for what seemed like the fifty quadrillionth time that morning. I was on the brink of crying; I'd been trying to create a simple stream of lightning all morning. It was bad enough I was being screamed at by my own aunt for barely being able to make a spark, but did I mention I had been training since six that morning under twenty pounds of armor in ninety degree weather? Yeah, I didn't think so.
I looked over at my father, who had been leaning against the rail of the ship watching me train for the past four hours, my eyes sending a desperate plea for help. He pushed off of the rail and walked calmly over to me, pushing my sweaty, unkempt black bangs out of my eyes. He smiled at me, then looked over to his sister. "Let her rest, Azula. Maraza always works so hard." I had never been more grateful to my father than I was at that moment. Azula may be my aunt and my lightning bending teacher, but she's also controlling, manipulative, and, well...just plain mean. That much hadn't changed in thirty years. Azula shot a glare over to my father. "I'm teaching her, Zuko, and when I work her I can do whatever I want." I didn't know exactly what to think at that moment, so I just went with this; 'Gosh, if looks could kill, we'd have a war on our hands.'
"Azula," He began, clinching his fists at his side. I could tell by the look on my father's face that he was struggling to keep his temper in check. "Maraza needs a break. You may be her teacher, but I'm her father; and frankly, I'm pretty sure I know her better than anyone." Azula looked ready to completely lash out. She lunged at him. He pushed me behind him, guarding me. I stumbled slightly, almost dropping to my knees. I was exhausted. She threw a punch aimed at my father, which flamed up within a second. He backed up to avoid it, but in the process accidentally knocked me onto the ground. I hit the ground hard, groaning as I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to get rid of my sudden pounding headache. My father was absolutely furious now, I could tell by his stance. "Azula," He growled, his gold eyes blazing. "Maraza needs a break. Look at her, she's on the ground! Nobody masters lightning bending in a day, especially not at ten years old!" This time Azula decided to get cocky. It just made my father all the more furious. "If I remember right, Zuko, for the longest time, you couldn't even create lightning. What would make me believe you knew anything about it, much less enough to teach that worthless daughter of yours?" Her words stung even more than being knocked to the ground.
My father saw the sad look I got on my face when she said that. His face pretty much screamed 'you've gone too far' "Azula, if you don't give her the rest of the day off, I'll-" "You'll what?" She gloated, advancing forward. "I'll tell her about our Agni Kai. Remember, the night you almost snapped?" He said coolly She gasped quietly; her cocky smile had turned into a look of pure horror. "You. Wouldn't. DARE." He smiled. "Try me." That did it.
Azula advanced toward my father even more, forcing him almost on top of me. He guarded my fallen form with his back, facing toward Azula as he shot off some pretty huge fire blasts. But she had blue fire as well, which I remember my father telling me he never mastered. As he continued shooting off blasts, he turned slightly to face me, whispering in my ear. "Maraza." He shook me a little. I had fallen asleep from my pure exhaustion. "Maraza, baby, wake up. I need your help." I forced my eyes open. "Wha? Father?" I whispered, on the verge of falling asleep again. "Yes, Maraza. It's me, listen up though. I know you're tired, but I need your help." I saw a fire ball come dangerously close to us and knew instantly what was going on. "I know what I need to do." I said softly, but confidently as my father helped me slowly to my feet.
I wobbled a little; my legs were stiff from being curled up on the ground. Taking a fire bending stance, I put my hands up in a double guard, my left palm open and facing toward me. Closing my eyes, I took a slow, deep breath to clear my head, and adjusted my feet just right. My father stood near me just in case Azula tried to pull anything that was too advanced for me to handle. She rushed at me the second she saw I was up. Seeing the hot blue fireballs she threw at me, I immediately knew she was attempting to get me back on the ground. All I did was dodge her fire; I had to keep my head clear. As Azula herself once told me, lightning generation is all about keeping a clear head. Little did she know, I was about to use her own advice against her. I wait until she got about ten feet from me, then dug in and struck a small lightning bolt about a foot from were she stood. The blast was enough to knock her off of her feet, at least for the moment. 'Well, Aunt Azula," I thought, grinning. 'Now we BOTH know what it's like to hit the ground.'
My father turned to face me, tilting my head up toward his and placing a proud hand on my shoulder. "You sure gave her what she deserved. I'm proud of you, my little Fire Bolt." He whispered softly into my ear. I grinned; I loved it when he used my nickname. Then suddenly I yawned, totally ruining the moment. My father was already easing my armor off of my body, as if he expected me to collapse from exhaustion at any second. I must have been hanging around with my Dragon-Horse, Zesta too much; I swear for about thirty seconds I fell asleep standing up.
"Maraza," I felt my father lightly touch my shoulder. He must have managed to get my armor off when I'd briefly fallen asleep. "Maraza, baby, come on. You need to rest." I opened my mouth to argue, but all that came out was an incredibly loud yawn. Groaning as he swooped me up in his strong arms, I fought to keep my eyes open. "Zesta," I mumbled as I fought back another yawn, my voice thick with sleep. "Have to...take her for...a swim..." I moaned in exhaustion, finally allowing sleep to overtake me as I snuggled deeper into his arms. He walked into my room and lightly kicked my partly open bedroom door. Walking over to my bed, he carefully laid my sleeping form onto the soft mattress, careful not to wake me as he slid off my knee high black riding boots and threw my favorite silky red blanket over my thin frame. "Thin, but strong. Yes, so very strong you are." He muttered as he knelt down next to my bed and dimmed the light, stroking my cheek with his thumb as he watched my chest rise and fall. "I don't care what Azula says," He began softly, still stroking my cheek. "I know my little Fire Bolt is going to be a great warrior."