She glides down the palace hallways like a ghost, her face blank and pale. Her red robes hang off of her thin frame. She's been ill and this is the first day she is able to get up on her own. He steps are slow, her right side is stiff but her head is quiet. Just like the palace. She passes the servants and they whisper, but she can't bring herself to care. She stops as she enters the dining room, suddenly unsure of herself.
"Azula? Are you feeling better?"
She turns to her mother and nods slowly.
"Will you join us for breakfast?"
She nods again and slowly shuffles to her place at the table. Her brother is already up and pulls out the chair for her. She is exhausted by the time she sits and lets her mother fawn over her. Her younger sister sets a plate in front of her and she eats. She is not hungry, but the food is freely given and no one is stopping her from eating it.
"Azula, are you in any pain?" Zuko asks hesitantly.
She stops eating for a minute and then shakes her head before resuming.
"What do you feel like doing today, Azula?" Her mother asks pleasantly. Ursa seems to be making up lost time now that her eldest daughter is home. She will not leave the Princess alone for more than an hour at a time.
She does not respond. Instead, she stares into the space across from her.
"I have a meeting with the Avatar later, so I won't be able to join you today." Her brother rises from the table.
"We can go out to the garden, Azula," Kiyi rises and takes her older sister's hand. Azula stands and allows the thirteen-year-old to guide her.
"Zuko! There you are!" The young Avatar calls out as he enters the royal dining chambers, though he pauses mid-stride upon seeing the woman that once murdered him.
Princess Azula does not react. She does not react to much of anything these days.
"Azula?" Aang turns to Zuko for an explanation. The last time he saw Azula, she had tried to kill her mother and fled into the wilderness.
"We found her a year ago, wandering near the Forgetful Valley. I sought out the Mother of Faces, but she said she did not help Azula. She was… unstable, nearly feral. She was taken back to the hospital for treatment. Then six months ago, she was released back into my care."
"But what happened?" The Avatar found himself staring at the woman that haunts his nightmares, but all he sees is a ghost. Maybe she turned into a hallucination like the ones that plagued her? She feels unreal most times. Like she could just phase through the walls if she pushes hard enough.
"She had an operation to treat her mood swings. She's perfectly safe to be around now, Aang," Her mother steps up to put a hand on her arm. She squeezes her sister's hand slightly.
"And this was a success?" The Avatar looks surprised and distressed all at once. Those are alien feelings that do not pierce the fog in her mind.
"Yes. She no longer sees things that aren't there. She's much calmer and she's become part of the family now." Her mother runs her fingers through her hair. It was longer before, but was shaved before her operation.
"Azula?" The Avatar looks at her and she meets his gaze. "Can you hear me?"
Azula nods slowly.
"Are you happy?"
She takes a long moment and then shakes her head.
"Why not?" The Avatar gently holds the princess's hands. She opens her mouth and all that comes out is gibberish. The woman that conquered Ba Sing Se with a handful of words has had hers taken from her.
Her babble continues and she grips Aang's hands tightly, though she shows no outward emotion.
"How can you say this is better? Look at her, her soul is gone!" The Avatar shouts and she drops his hands. The room around her grows silent except for the sound of water hitting the floor.
"Avatar! We had no choice! It was either this or she would destroy herself and others. This way, everyone stays safe," her mother implored the Avatar, begging him to believe the words.
Her sister gently pulls her away from the Avatar, away from the puddle she created. "Come, Azula, let me help clean you up." She knows she should feel… something. But the world seems so flat now. She relies on Kiyi to help her now. Ty Lee had been around, but couldn't stay. Her non-bending sister was her only ally against her mother and brother that dress her like a doll and parade her around silently to the nobles.
Nobles that crave power enough to want to marry her, despite the fact that she can no longer care for herself. There are many powerful men in the country that will take the crippled princess so that they may produce an heir to the throne.
Not that she would be able to stop them. Her fire is still there, but she has no will to burn. Burnt out when the ice spike was formed behind her eye and stabbed at her brain. She has no memory of it, but Kiyi does. The child is unhappy in the palace of lies. She dreams of leaving, but lacks the courage.
The girl is cursed like the rest of the family. Tied to the ghosts that haunt them.
The ghost of Azula clings to her sister as the younger girl cries again. She misses her mother, Noriko, and despises the Fire Lord for taking her away. Turning her into another woman who is quick to lie and scheme. The elder princess mutters nonsense syllables to try to soothe the girl.
She remembers what it was like to be abandoned. That is why they must stick together.