People Person

Loyalty, Azula knew from a young age, was never a good quality for a leader. Loyalty lead to trust and dependence, something Azula knew better than to rely on. People were foolish and predictable. In the end, they would always choose themselves over others. But, more than anything else, loyalty was for mere followers, people who didn't have what it took to accomplish what they wanted. They seemed to believe that blindly following others would somehow solve their problems. Worse, in her opinion, were people who believed that the spirits and other such nonsense. A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. Azula wasn't like those foolish peasants. So, she should have known better than to rely on others. She should have known better than to trust that her father would deliver. She'd always had her suspicions before, of course. But, it was when Lo and Li had showed up to postpone her coronation that Azula had felt they were confirmed. Still, there was no point in going after her father. Being utterly humiliated by the Avatar, a 12 year old child was hard to beat. No, Azula mused, there was no point in inflicting her punishment upon him. No, dear Zuzu and the water tribe peasant where she would seek her revenge. The water bender had directly humiliated her, and her brother had taken what was rightfully hers. And, she intended to take it back.

Winners were cocky. Azula was no stranger to the pride herself. After conquering cities, she was entitled to be smug. But, she didn't let it lower her guard. The Avatar and his friends didn't seem to share that quality. They chi blocked her and took away her flames, thinking that her only weapon was her mastery of the cerulean flames. It was true. She was a fire bending master. A prodigy. Yet, they still left fire in her presence. She could always sense the scented candles that sat around the room in the back of her mind. On days where she felt more bored than usual, she would do nothing but concentrate on the individual perfumes. Not that she particularly like the scents that her Uncle seemed to revel in, but Azula knew that she needed to keep her senses sharp. Despite her hyper-awareness of the flames, there wasn't for her to do more than let it flare higher. Nothing to help her escape. But, there was still the skill that they seemed to have forgotten about.

People. Despite what everyone though, Azula was a people person. Maybe not the way Ty Lee was, laughing and chatting with everyone, or her Uncle, drinking tea and giving advice to random people, but a people person nonetheless. She used her people skills in a much more practical way. She remembered the idiot soldiers in the fire nation military who were impressed with her ability to manipulate people and take control. There was nothing to it, really. They were all the same, and did a terrible job hiding their fears and desires. Azula simply embodied whichever she needed. Even if she didn't need them, there was a small satisfaction in that control that made her take pleasure in doing it for fun. Her mind was as sharp as her fire daggers, and their most recent fire lord had done little to try to take it away. It was his mistake. His miscalculation. His undoing. Because, there were so many people in the fire nation, especially the higher ups and military, that were unhappy with the way things were going on. All it took was a few grievances and a few words from a certain ex-princess, and they would be under her control, just as they had been before. After all, Azula wasn't selfish. She was only taking back what was rightfully hers.

Fear and desire. The two key characteristics to controlling who she needed. The weak points in the chain desired the old fire nation, but they feared the wrath of the fire lord to what they needed to do. It was almost too easy to swoop in. Her reputation was still rather formidable. She could easily convince them that she was stronger than Zuko. She wouldn't even need to twist any truths, there. She wouldn't need to that to convince them that she would restore the fire nation to its former glory, either. All she had to do was get free of her straight jackets and restraints. Which wouldn't be too hard. There was a certain doctor in the asylum who was about to be thrilled that he got to tell the Fire Lord that his mentally broken sister was healing. That she would be ready for less secure restraints and maybe even some time outside. Azula could just barely keep her signature smirk off her face. She couldn't control the satisfaction of success.

Word Count: 829 words

Fairy Tale: Pied Piper

Prompts:

Cerulean (Color)

Scented Candles (Smell)

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." ~Colin Powell (Quote)