Perfection
An Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction
Lonesome Bird
The first time Azula saw the prostitute, she was sitting in her palanquin and enjoying the afternoon air of the city. Azula was usually one to hate being around so many peasants, but today was a day that she felt entitled to some extra attention. Though Azula hardly ever paid mind to the common folk outside of her carrier, something about this girl caught her eye. Perhaps it was the clothes that she was wearing. Concubines and prostitutes, even though commonly considered to be lower class citizens, were often highly revered and utilized by the masses. Their traditional garb consisted of brightly colored dresses, accentuated with some sort of sash. The sash symbolized the profession and was often colored purple, though not always.
This particular prostitute was wearing pink. How curious. Pink had never been a popular color in Fire Kingdom fashions, as it was considered to clash with the never-out-of-style red. Azula hated pink. Perhaps it wasn't the color, but the way the girl wore her hair. She had lighter brown hair, which was unusual in the sea of inky black hair that was the Fire Nation. Azula assumed she had lightened it, possibly to give off a more exotic feel for her customers. Oftentimes, Fire Nation folk had a taste for the exotic. She wore it in a long braid that fell over her shoulder and curled at her waist. Bangs covered her right eye. And her eyes… they were a lighter shade as well, perhaps blue or grey. The striking resemblance to Ty Lee did not go unnoticed by Azula. She grimaced and turned away, a small, blue flame now burning in her chest.
When Azula made it back to the castle later that day, she stalked to her living quarters, throwing looks of anger at anyone that managed to cross her path. Azula made her way to her desk and slid onto the chair, pulling a blank scroll, ink well, and brush towards her. There was only one enormous brothel in the Fire Nation, and it housed all the city's concubines in one convenient location. Azula wrote, describing the girl's appearance down to her slippers. Azula had always been very good at noticing details. She was sure she would get what she wanted. She always did.
Once Azula was done with her letter, she summoned for a servant with a messenger hawk. When the servant arrived, she tied the summons with ribbon, and slid it into the tube attached to the hawk's leg. She took the bird from the servant, who then bowed and departed. Azula walked towards her balcony, taking a step into the waning light of day. She whispered the destination of the letter to the hawk, and cast it off into the sky. Azula then walked back into her room, sat on her bed, and smiled. It was time to wait.
Of course, the girl came to Azula. It would have been quite rude for her to deny an invitation from the Fire Lord's daughter. So rude in fact, she could have been banished for the act of insolence. As the girl entered the room, Azula surveyed her. It was stunning how much the girl looked like Ty Lee. Granted, she was soft in places where Ty Lee was taught, her breasts were not quite as big as the acrobat's own, and her voice not quite as lyrical. It also did not escape Azula that there was a slim chance of this girl being one of Ty Lee's five other sisters, though this was unlikely. To quell the thought, Azula questioned the girl and quickly found out that, no, she had never even heard of anyone named Ty Lee. After her questions were answered, Azula motioned for the girl to come to her. She did, and Azula pulled her down in a rough kiss. They fell on the bed in a flurry of clothing.
Over the weeks, Azula made use of her Ty Lee look-a-like. She would often come at least once or twice a week, occasionally bringing a bottle of special cherry blossom wine that Azula was so fond of. Azula never asked for it, she just considered it a well-deserved gift for all of the hard work that she had done for the country, especially recently. Azula was always pleased after the girl left, and paid her handsomely. Prostitutes were quite common in the Fire Palace, so it wasn't very widely discussed that Azula had a new maiden to distract her. It wasn't as if the Princess had never made use of the city's women before.
As the weeks wound down to Sozin's Comet and the eventual taking of the Earth Kingdom, Azula began to feel the stress building up in her chest. She was sleeping less, seeing shadows dart around in the corner of her eye, and hear things. It was as if the edges of her mind were beginning to get fuzzy, less defined. There was an aching in her chest that she had felt only once when she had been younger, before she had learned to force feelings away. It was loneliness. Fire Lord Ozai was so involved with his war plans, he pushed her out. It panicked her, the way he waved her away as if she was a fly. She began to see her concubine less and less, preferring to stay alone in her room, trying to catch the sleep that had become so good at eluding her.
The day of the invasion, Azula found out she was going to become Fire Lord. Fire Lord Azula. It was destined to be. All of her dreams had come to fruition. She felt as if she were going to burst, especially when her father denied her the opportunity to help with the burning of the Earth Kingdom.
"Y-you can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!"
"Azula, silence yourself!"
"But it was my idea to burn everything to the ground! I deserve to be by your side!"
"Azula!"
Azula felt something within her crack, but like a good princess, held her tongue. She watched her father don his glorious new armor and climb onto the airship. They took off into the sky, leaving her behind. Azula turned and started to walk down to her palanquin. She needed to get ready. She was going to become the Fire Lord, after all. As Azula was being carried back to the castle, all she could think of was how much she wanted Ty Lee with her. At least Ty Lee would have been proud.
Despite the full day of spa treatment, Azula still felt exhausted. She had every right to be, of course. She had to be on full alert to make sure that there were no traitors in her midst. If Ty Lee and Mai, her two closest friends –well, former friends – could betray her, then anyone could! She was fully convinced that she had done the right thing by banishing most of her court.
Azula still had several hours until she was given the crown, so she stayed in the throne room, surrounded by flames. The shadows being cast by her blue fire was eerie, yet accentuated her sharp features. She felt fidgety and anxious. She would give anything to go out to the training grounds and let off some steam. Unfortunately, with all the risk of assassins and traitors, that was not possible. A different idea came to her head instead. Every monarch had the right to some carnal pleasure before her greatest moment, right? And besides, there was no way a regular prostitute could ever harm her, even if sent by an assassin. Azula would just have to be quick. She turned and headed to her room, eyes glancing every which way for fear of any flying arrows or darts sent to end her life.
The prostitute arrived quickly, looking as if she had put on her customary robes in a hurry. Azula did not mind however. At this point, clothing was not important to her. All she wanted was a feeling of closeness to someone, anyone. Azula shut the door behind the girl, locking it just in case. She motioned with her hand for the prostitute to take her customary place on the bed, slipping her sandals off as she walked towards the girl.
"Princess Azula, would you like some wine before we m-mmmph!"
Azula did not give her a chance to answer before capturing her mouth. The girl seemed surprised at first, but quickly relented. She had learned not to struggle with Azula. Things could get painful. The two slid back onto the bed, Azula placing one hand behind the girl's neck and the other deftly sliding her robes open, revealing the prostitute's chest. Azula her slender fingers over the girl's pert nipples, eliciting a small, yet needy sigh from her. This was most pleasing. Still kissing her, Azula expertly unfastened the rest of her outfit, leaving the girl completely nude. Pulling away, she lifted the girl's pale legs up on the bed, and then climbed on top of her. Azula straddled her, removing her own robe in the process. It slid off her body and onto the silk sheets, leaving both girls against one another, skin against skin. The girl shivered, a motion which did not go unnoticed by Azula. She grinned and leaned over, nibbling her jaw line, fingers sliding down her thighs.
Azula's kisses trailed down, first to her chest, making sure to spend ample time on each breast. Next down, to her stomach, where she left dark love marks around the girl's navel. Finally, down a little more, where Azula bit on her thighs, kissing, sucking, moving towards the girl's center. When Azula hit that point, the girl let out a quiet moan and threaded her hands through her now disheveled hair. Azula continued to work, licking and biting, making the girl squirm beneath her. Eventually she moved back up to the concubine's face, her fingers taking up where her tongue had left off. She slipped inside the girl, watching her face contort in pleasure.
Emotions were a fascinating thing to Azula. They were something that she had never understood. After all, perfection had no emotion. And she was anything if perfection. She had to be perfect. She had to try her hardest. She had to be the best at everything. If she wasn't the best, she was…she was nothing. It was in that moment Azula realized how desolate a being she really was. Choking back tears, she continued her thrusting, making the girl wrap her legs around Azula's waist, muscles tightening around her fingers.
"Ahh...mmm, Azula!" the girl cried, her legs squeezing Azula's hips, hands grabbing handfuls of jet black hair. Azula let the girl ride her waves of pleasure for a few moments and then pulled away, leaving her panting. "Azula…do you want me to…?"
"Don't call me that," Azula snapped suddenly, her eyes full of a sad sort of fury. "I am your princess, soon to be Fire Lord. You will refer to me as Princess and nothing else. Now get out of my sight, I'm done with you, Ty Lee."
The girl's eyes widened, first in shock, then fear, and then confusion.
"What did you…that isn't my name…Princess. My name is – ''
"I don't want to know your name! Now gather up your things and get out of my sight."
The frightened prostitute did so very quickly, adamantly avoiding making eye contact with the obviously upset princess. She then got up, adjusted her hair and walked swiftly towards the door, placing her hand on the handle. She turned and looked at Azula, her eyes cloudy.
"Thank you for everything, Princess. Whoever it is that you're using me to replace…you must love them very much."
Azula's hands filled with blue flame and her hair flared behind her, as she stood to face the girl. Seeing her mistake, the prostitute fled. For good reason. Once the door slammed shut, Azula extinguished her flames and sat back down on her bed. She shrugged her robe back over her shoulders and tied the belt tightly. Catching sight of herself in the mirror she stood. Her hair was a mess; it simply wouldn't do for her ceremony. She walked towards the mirror and picked up the hairbrush that was lying next to a strand of ribbon and a pair of gold scissors. Slowly, Azula began to comb out her long, thick hair. Perfection takes time, after all.
Author's Notes: If you're reading this, I hope you love and feel for Azula as much as I do. Yes, she was awful. Yes, she was crazy. But deep down, I think she really just needed someone to show her love. She's always been a sort of fascinating character to me for this reason. Her relationship with Ty Lee was interesting, as Ty Lee seemed to be the only other character to ever show her love, simply for the sake of love and friendship. Ty Lee always seemed sort of in love with Azula to me. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story. Even if you didn't, it would be awesome if you'd review anyway. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how I can improve. :)
