"What is she doing?" Azula seethed.
As usual, chills ran down Ty Lee's spine. It always happened whenever Azula got mad, or looked really angry, like she was about to blow up. Ever since they were young, Ty Lee realised she had never Azula as a friend, but more of, like, the Fire Nation Princess. Well, technically, Azula was the princess, but Ty Lee often felt like she was nothing more than a servant who followed the princess everywhere.
From atop the gondola, Ty Lee looked down in shock as she saw Mai take out the prison guards. Mai's knife-throwing skills had never failed to impress her, despite herself excelling at gymnastics and the art of chi-blocking. But what caught both Ty Lee and Azula off-guard at that moment was that Mai was taking out the prison guards, who were supposed to be their allies.
For a moment, there was a flicker of hope within Ty Lee. Was this finally her chance? From the looks of it, Mai was betraying Azula. And no one has ever betrayed the Fire Princess. Ty Lee had always thought about attempting to escape Azula, but it seemed almost impossible. And it would probably meant a lifetime in prison for the traitor, or worse, seeing as it was Azula.
Ty Lee's thoughts traveled back to many months before, when Azula had came to the circus looking for her. Ty Lee had not seen her friend in several years, and she had been so delighted and ecstatic to see Azula again. But it actually crushed her inside to find out later that her childhood friend had only went looking for her to recruit her on a mission to capture her brother and uncle. It hurt her even more when Azula would not take 'no' for an answer and actually ruined her circus show. The circus had been all Ty Lee had ever thought of, ever since she was a little girl, which was why she had trained herself hard in acrobatics. During her circus days, Ty Lee had never felt happier in her whole life. It was her calling, what she really wanted to do.
And Azula came along and took it away. It wasn't Azula's calling, but more of the princess's art in coercion.
As the gondola docked and the two of them leaped off as the prison guards apprehended Mai, Ty Lee's thoughts flickered back to another event in the past, when they were in Ba Sing Se. Azula wanted to set Mai and Zuko up and the acrobat still remembered how she was ordered around like a slave and forced in on the plan. Though, it was pretty worthwhile, since Mai and Zuko shared their first kiss and grew closer.
Ty Lee stood at the side, her eyes darting between a menacing-looking Azula and an expressionless Mai. Her hands were clasped together, as she feared what was going to happen next. A betrayal, especially to someone from the royal family was considered a great offense in the Fire Nation.
"I never expected this from you," Azula spoke, her voice low, just above a whisper. Ty Lee's fear and worry reached a crescendo. The acrobat herself was debating what to do. Should she help Mai and risk everything? Or remain on Azula's side? Her mind reeled. "The thing I don't understand is 'Why?'. Why would you do it? You know the consequences." Ty Lee shivered ever so slightly at the word 'consequences'.
"I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you," Mai said, boldly.
Ty Lee was in shock for a moment. This was it! Her chance to finally be free from Azula's clutches! But after all the ordering-around and ill treatment she got from the princess, Azula was still her friend and Ty Lee still believed there was goodness inside her. But then again, she had always been closer to Mai...
Azula's flawless demeanor was distorted as she flew into a rage. The acrobat was appalled, as she had never seen the princess act like that before. Azula was often calm and calculating, and didn't normally fly into a rage so easily. "No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" she yelled, before getting into her fighting stance, ready to firebend. Ty Lee watched as Mai pulled out one of her stilettos.
And it clicked. Ty Lee knew what she had to do.
Just as Azula was about to shoot Mai, Ty Lee intervened by hitting Azula on her pressure points. Having traveled with the princess, the acrobat knew which crucial parts of Azula's body which wasn't protected by her armour and she aimed for those parts. Azula gasped and fell to the ground, her chi blocked, while it was Mai's turn to be shocked. Ty Lee knew right in that instant that there was no turning back.
She hurried to a shocked Mai, who seemed to be rooted to the ground, and shook her. "Come on! Let's get out of here!"
But it was too late. Guards surrounded the two of them and they were captured. "You're both fools!" Azula seethed, as she was helped up by two guards.
"What shall we do with them, princess?" asked one of the guards. Ty Lee awaited the sentence with bated breath, hoping it wouldn't cost her or Mai's life.
"Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot!"
As Ty Lee was led away with Mai, she couldn't help feeling a ripple of anger. Azula didn't need them, she had the Dai Li, and the Fire Sages and the whole of the Fire Nation, basically, at her feet. And then, something Azula had once mentioned crossed the acrobat's mind.
"It's terrible when you can't trust the people who are closest to you."
And Ty Lee had a weird guilty feeling that the princess was never going to be the same again.
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