Messing With Your Heir
An Avatar: The Last Airbender fan fic by Kali Gargoyle
The young prince stared into his mirror, taking in every detail as it was reflected back to him. He searched the surface for any imperfection. The shades of red and gold in his dress robes were bright and vibrant, creases and folds only where they should be. Every strand of ink-dark hair was pulled back into his topknot with a bright crimson tie.
Well, almost every strand.
Zuko crossed his eyes, trying to focus on the lock sitting right in the middle of his forehead. He repeatedly pushed it back only to have it fall forward again. Eventually his frustration got the better of him and he gave in, deciding that it didn't look bad that way.
"Spend anymore time in front of that mirror and people will start thinking you're the daughter in this family."
Startled by the sudden break in silence, Zuko fell off-balance, and hit his elbow on the bench he grabbed to stop his fall. "Don't do that!"
Azula shrugged, leaning against the mirror frame. "They're just portraits, nothing to get worked up over. It's not as if we're meeting someone important."
Zuko rubbed his arm, glaring at his sister. "Mom says they are important, and she told us to look our best. You dressed up, too."
Azula twirled away, her skirt moving gracefully, spinning around the princess' legs as she came to a stop. "It's not that much work for me to look good. Ooh, you might want to deal with that thing on your cheek."
"What!?! Where?" Zuko was examining his reflection for several seconds before he realized his sister was teasing him. Her maniacal laughter was the biggest clue. He just stood there, silently fuming as his little sister continued to laugh, holding onto the bedpost to keep from falling.
He balled up his fists. Zuko hated how his sister was always teasing him. He wished her words didn't upset him so much, he felt so weak, letting her insults have so much power over him. But no matter what, they always hit him directly in the heart, so painfully that he had no choice but to strike back.
Azula easily rolled out of the way of her brother's flaming punch. She smirked. He was so easy to predict, and even easier to provoke. "What's wrong, Zuzu?" she asked sweetly, moving aside as her brother advanced, acting as if it wasn't worth the effort to fight back. Honestly, it wasn't. "Was it something I said?"
The prince clenched his teeth and launched himself towards Azula with a yell. The princess simply turned and grabbed his boot as it came by, causing her brother to lose balance and fall flat on his face. He kicked out with a burst of flame then quickly got back to his feet, ready to attack again only to find no opponent. She... retreated?
"Tsk tsk, you've messed up your hair," Azula taunted from behind her brother. "Now you won't look good for the portraits."
Zuko spun on the balls of his feet, sending an arc of flame around the room. But Azula was much faster than he was and she only had to push aside wisps of flame. Although she smiled wide, her eyes were anything but joyous. "Or for anything else you might have been prettying up for."
The young firebender had had enough. His pulse pounded in his ears. He pushed flame-daggers from his hands and was about to throw himself forward with all his energy.
"Cease!"
Both children pulled themselves up straight, facing the tall figure standing in the doorway. The light from the hallway left his face in shadows but they could feel the anger coming from their father. He stepped into the room. "You were told to prepare yourself."
Zuko avoided looking his father in the eyes. He must have looked like a mess from the fight. The drapery, bedspread, and furniture in his line of sight all bore scorch marks. A quick glance sideways told him that Azula looked as primped and perfect as when she came into the room. Zuko would get all the blame, all the disappointment, all the anger.
As usual.
"There's still plenty of time," Ursa said as she entered after her husband. She was the one to meet his gaze as she stood between him and her son. "Zuko will be ready."
Ozai paused, as if considering an argument, but he relented. "Azula."
The princess followed along after her father, pausing only to quickly stick her tongue out at her brother before disappearing into the hall.
"Alright, Zuko, let's fix your hair." Zuko winced as his mother took hold of his arm but he felt a lot better with her beside him. "We want to look nice for Master Masuya, don't we?"
The prince let his mother straighten his hair, smiling as she managed to get that stubborn bit of hair to stay in place. "Yes, we do, Mother."