Prologue

...

In a cell, a girl was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall, her eyes closed, her breathing raspy. Her hair was long and messy. Her frame was thin and frail. She wore a red gown that came to her knees, with long sleeves tied around her body to force her arms to hug herself.

The girl- Princess Azula- was contemplating her situation. It had been seven months, three weeks, and twenty-four hours since she had been locked up in this small room. Or, was it twenty-four months, seven weeks, and three hours? Maybe even as short as three months, twenty-four weeks, and seven hours? She couldn't remember. Or maybe she could, but her mind was starting to betray her too! All she knew was that everything and everybody in the world was against her.

Her eyes shot open. She looked around. "They're watching me," she whispered. "They are laughing at my pain. When they are bored, they will kill me," She chuckled. "But they will fail. I will fight back."

Suddenly everything went blurry. Azula blinked and gasped. She was kneeling in the courtyard, her hands bound behind her. She was surrounded by her brother, Zuko, and his allies, though their faces were hazy.

"It's over, Azula," Zuko said. "The Avatar his taken away our father's firebending. And you have lost."

"You're lying!" Azula screamed, struggling against the chains restraining her.

"You lie, Azula," Zuko reminded her.

"NOOO!" Azula screamed. Then she felt something sharp stabbing her in the neck and everything faded to darkness. Azula gasped as her vision adjusted and she was back in her cell. "It happened again. No, wait. Did it happen like that?"

Her head hurt. Things didn't make sense. Everything went hazy again. Azula found herself in a land that was scorched. Smoke hung high in the blood red sky. "It's the Earth Kingdom," she whispered. "The Avatar lost. My father won. The world has been reborn in fire!"

Azula laughed maniacally. She then stopped and noticed her restraints. "But the world was never reborn. My father failed."

The scenario vanished. Azula looked around her cell.

"What is happening to me?" she said. "What is real? Did the Fire Nation win?"

"No," a voice said. "The war is lost and you will die here."

"No, you won't die," said another voice. "You are beautiful. Azula is perfect."

"You're not Azula," a third voice sneered, "You are lost. You must find yourself."

"You can fight, Azula!" a fourth voice shouted.

Azula closed her eyes and screamed and knew no more.

…

To Be Continued.

…

Author note. Next chapter is Azula's adventures in topsy-turvy Wonderland. Tune in.

This is based on a discontinued fic. Hasn't been updated in years and author hasn't replied to my message. Fanfiction has a rule about copying stories, but I don't think I'm breaking the rule since its not an exact copy.

Loopy777 help Beta Read this fic. He gave me advice and helped me eliminate many errors. I couldn't have done it as well without him.