AN: Not sure where I would place this on the "timeline." I'm thinking somewhere before Book 2, when Ty Lee and Mai are gone off doing their own thing, Azula, age 12-14, is doing whatever she can to keep herself entertained.

I've been working on this one for a real long time now, I've just never got around to finishing it. It's a couple chapters, maybe five of this sort of length.

The Princess would sometimes begin her day by waking up and immediately saying, "I'm bored

Some days Azula would wake at midday, open her eyes, sit up and very plainly state to no one in particular, "I'm bored."

This was never unexpected from the servant always waiting on hand. She was there every morning to deliver a wet towel for the princesses' face or anything else for that matter. At first she had been offset from the girl's sudden almost random statement, but now she had grown used to it enough that she could automatically reply: "My apologies, princess."

To which Azula would throw the servant a sour stare, but silently take the towel anyways and wipe the sand from her eyes.

"Fetch me my clothes. Something comfortable." Azula would say with a bit of a sigh, dropping the towel carelessly into the perfectly waiting hands of her servant.

The maid would then bow her head, carefully put away the towel and begin to shuffle away. "Of course, Princess." She would say…

It was a routine that happened only sparingly through the months. Azula was after all, a princess, there was always something to do for her so she was rarely bored. There were things to do, laws to pass and enforce, people to meet and possibly kill, and territories to be visited and subsequently conquered. But then there were days when someone would arbitrarily decide that she needed a break and there'd be an entire day with absolutely nothing for her to do. And Azula who always kept a tight eye on her schedule would begin those days by very explicitly saying just how bored she already was.

From there the day would end in either two ways, Azula would find something to amuse herself with or she'll have found nothing to do except torment everyone else, which she always did exceedingly well.

Azula had taken to the viewing balcony outside her room. It had a commanding view of the capital and a mock-throne that Azula used to use in her little fantasies in becoming Fire Lord. She would proudly sit there, legs straight, hands perfectly positioned on the armrests and her posture perfect. Now though, the only use the "throne" got was as a bed. Azula sat in it with her legs thrown up over one armrest, her head placed lazily on the other, nearly sleeping.

"I'm bored." The princess said again, her eyes completely closed.

"My apologies, Princess." The servant, always stationed nearby, responded calmly, though she didn't have the luxury of relaxing as Azula did. She knelt on her knees in a corner of the balcony, always trying to make her presence as insignificant as possible. But Azula would always notice.

"I want to do something."

"I see."

"Find something to entertain me."

"Would the Princess like to have the circus called or perhaps the acting troupe?"

"Neither, I want something to do, not watch."

"May I suggest a game of Pai-"

"No."

"Then my apologies, Princess, I do not know what I can do to entertain you."

Azula opened her eyes. "I have an idea."

"Yes, Princess?"

"We'll play a game of Hide and Seek."

"Pardon?"

"I'll give you exactly one minute to dash out of this room, find an appropriate hiding spot – make it a good one, don't disappoint me – and after 60 seconds, I'll come out and find you."

"That's it?"

"Of course," Azula looked at her servant, "There will be a punishment if you're found."

"Wha-"

"Sixty.

Fifty-nine.

Fifty-eight."

The servant jumped to her feet suddenly and dashed out the door. Partly because that's what Azula asked her to do. Another reason was that for just a second, the servant saw it. An odd glimmer in Azula's eye and the slight tightening of her cheeks, as if she were suppressing a smirk. And the woman had been in Azula's service long enough to know when the Princess was scheming something.

Her worries however, were misplaced. The servant certainly did know Azula better than the Princess would like to admit. There was definitely a devious glint in Azula's eyes as she started counting down, but it had nothing to do with the servant girl. In fact, all Azula was thinking about was how to get rid of her attendee quickly and quietly so she could sneak out of the palace.

Not that Azula was confined to the Palace like some sort of damsel in distress, but the whole process of assembling bodyguards, planning a route and bringing along a tour guide even when she didn't want one didn't appeal at all to Azula. It was bureaucratic and stupid, but most of all it was just too many people, it would be a hassle having to move with them all.

But now that there wasn't anyone to get in her way, it shouldn't be that hard for someone like Azula to sneak out with anyone noticing.

And it wasn't.