They thought they won. They thought they had finished the war. Oh, how wrong were they. They didn't know how clever Azula was. Or rather, they didn't know how far she'd go…

This fanfic is an AU fanfic, Azula being the protagonist. Let me stress it being AU, before anyone jumps on me for not following some of the shows. I won't be able to for my idea. Also, the finale hasn't aired for those in Canada, so I do not know what happens beyond the Boiling Rock.

Azula haters beware, I'm a major fan of hers. Hopefully I will write more than just one chapter and not leave you hanging. This is my first fanfic. Pairings implied/made clear will be Sukka, Kataang & Maiko. I'm not sure about any other ones.

I'm going to apologize in advance for any spelling errors; I'm very reliant on a spellchecker, and sometimes things may fall through. I do try my best possible, however.

"That's it, then, I guess." Aang's words were slow, like he couldn't believe it was happening. Ozai was dead. They'd won. Amazing. Impossible…but here, it had happened. His moment of thinking outside the Fire Nation palace was cut short by an argument.

"I don't want to be Fire Lord!"

"But Uncle, you're more suited to it than I am..."

"And this is why I am heir to the throne."

"Shut up, Azula! You aren't any more."

"That's what you think, dum-dum."

"I just want to open my tea shop. You take the throne!"

"I'm not ready!"

"See, I told you this would happen, avatar, but here I am, chained to a wall." Azula commented from where she was chained to a pillar as Aang came in. She hardly looked fazed by losing the war, but then, Azula was insane, so Aang supposed that that would just be a part of it.

"Zuko, you're the real heir to the throne." Aang said slowly, "But Iroh, you can't just leave, we need you. You have the experience. That's what's going to happen." The avatar decided for them, and Zuko nodded slowly. They had a Nation, a world to rebuild. Aang had enough on his plate without everyone 

arguing when they were supposed to be helping him. "Right? Okay…" He looked around, catching sight of Azula watching him with narrowed eyes. What were they going to do with her? Zuko had refused to kill her, and Aang wasn't sure he could. Killing Ozai was one thing, but killing someone only fourteen was another. Ty Lee, while she'd switched sides, had asked for Azula not to be killed as well, but she was a dangerous prisoner to have. Those in favor of the war would be after her freedom.

"Well, what do we do with her?" A voice called from down the hall. Suki. If anyone wanted Azula dead, it was her. The scars from her time imprisoned where there still, and always would be. Sokka was following close behind. He'd been trialing after Suki like a lost puppy as soon as the battle was over.

"We chain me to a wall, in a prison and chain my ankles, too, so I can't bend, and then gag me so I can't give you suggestions on how to do your job?" Azula suggested from where she was. Judging by Suki's cold stare, that was exactly what she had wanted to do.

"How about the gag now, then?" Suki asked angrily, and Azula smiled. She'd been riling anyone and everyone who passed her pillar for the last few hours. The fact no one thought to gag her was embarrassing, but they were more concerned about making it impossible for her to move to bend.

"Stop it, all of you." Aang grumbled. "She's just trying to work us all up." Sokka nodded, and placed a hand on Suki's shoulder. She quieted, but was angry still. "I've got so much to work out. Just leave her chained here with a couple guards. Ones we know won't let her go. The Boulder, Longshot and Smellerbee. How about them? Suki, you can be in charge of that, but you can't-"

"Starve, torture, or kill her." Suki finished off Aang sentence. "I know, I know, Katara told me. Don't worry, Aang."

"Having fun?" Azula asked Longshot as he paced back and forth. The damn days chained to this pillar, eating nothing but a bit of bread and water. And Longshot never said anything. It was driving her mad. The Boulder she could rile up, Smellerbee she could too, but never Longshot. And Suki, of course, was always angry with her, so she was easy to annoy. "You could stop pacing for a second, you know. It's not like I can hurt you, you know. You always look so very tense. What, do you expect the palace to be stormed? My brother had attended to that."

"You're as bored as I am." Longshot finally whispered, just loud enough for her to hear as he stopped very close to her pillar. In all honesty, the dethroned princess had not expected him to say anything. "I can tell, how you grasp at anything to chat about." Azula nodded, for one looking unsure. Defeated. "You're going to be a lot more bored, when they're done with where they're sending you." Azula smiled.

"A special prison, just for me? Well, now, I feel honored." She felt more worried than anything, but it was hidden as Longshot began to pace again.

Two more days passed before it was finally finished. Toph and Aang had been working tirelessly to complete the underground chamber that would be Azula's for the rest of her life. It was on an island, a small one, little more than a rocky, tall, cliff, in an area known for violent storms and cold seas. It was simple. Azula would live on the rock, and get supplies via Appa every now and then. Not much. Next to nothing. There would be very little furniture, so she would be unable to build a boat, and some of it was made from stone, and very few comforts. She could use her own firebending to keep herself warm. And that would be it. It was much more free than what Suki had rallied for, but Aang hadn't wanted to put guards there. Not because he didn't think they needed then, but because it would be hell for the guards.

"Time to go to your new home, Azula." Katara hissed, unchaining her from the pillar. After six days being chained in a standing position, Azula swayed when she was released, but didn't fall down. Her escourt? Dum-dum the Fire Lord, the Avatar, Ty Lee, Katara, Sokka, and lastly, Suki. Toph was passing on flying on Appa. "Such a housewarming party." She growled, as she was escorted to the bison and helped on, hands chained behind her and shackled. Longshot had told her where she was going. And she had devised a plan, one so brilliant, they wouldn't see it coming in a hundred years. Or maybe two. Or three, or four…she knew the Fire Nation, a lot of it, still wanted to rule, not be 'equal'. And she had found a little way to immortality. Or rather, as close as she could get to it.

"There it is." Aang said, and everyone watched the lonely rock, in the stormy weather come into view. The landed on the rock and marched Azula off of it, into a small chamber with a bed (thankfully, there were ample blankets and a two pillows; there was a horrible draft) a stone table, stone shelves with a small wooden bowl a spoon, a fork and a knife. There was a cloth sack of food, and a smaller chamber leading to a washroom. There was a bucket on a rope leading down a shaft to a supply – a spring of fresh water. It was too narrow for Azula to fit down, however. And that was it.



"Welcome to the rest of my life." Azula said. Her words held an ominous promise, a promise for revenge. She was unchained to a degree at that point. The shackles were removed, and she was not bound by the hands behind her back, instead, in front, letting her move her hands a maximum of about two feet apart. The rope, needless to say, was coated with something that made it fireproof. She watched as they flew away again on Appa, and as soon as she was gone she let out an insane laugh. Oh, she would show them yet!

Azula worked her way down the Cliffside, using the rope that held her wrists to help. Against the near-vertical surface, it was a blessing. There just had to be ice here. There just had to be. Her life, her honor, her kingdom, it all hinged in the presence of ice. Ice and her firebending. If it didn't work, she'd die. If it did work, it was her ticket to immortality- or as near as she could get to it. Aang, after all, had already shown it was possible. She grinned when she got to the bottom, hanging by the reinforced rope, her feet barely half a foot from the ocean frothing below her. She could see a cave from where she was, and that blocked out the pain in her wrists, because that cave held ice. Enough for when, in winter…

She'd outsmart them. On no, they couldn't take everything away and expect her to be the perfect prisoner, oh no… That insanity clawed at her as she heaved herself up and worked back to her new home, her new palace until midwinter. She'd use that time to work out every detail, she'd use that time to get ready. She had all the time in the world, but a deadline to meet.