A/N: This isn't quite edited; I wanted to get it out quickly. I promise the future chapters will be easier on the eyes, heh. Enjoy! :3

The first few weeks in the hospital were exceedingly difficult for the young former princess. She was constantly slipping in and out of consciousness, and her treasured moments of lucidity were spent staring at the bare walls in desolation. Every few hours, professional chi-blockers (trained by Ty Lee, she'd heard) would enter her room and disable her firebending. When her mind had cleared enough for her to try and discover what had happened to the former Fire Lord, she learned that the Avatar had discovered a way to permanently remove a person's bending. Lucky for her, he'd compared it to 'taking someone's soul', and she apparently wasn't deemed worthy of it. Her father, on the other hand, had not been so lucky.

People rarely talked about Ozai around her- and when they did, it was in hushed whispers with nervous glances at the once proud daughter of the man in question. She gathered from them that he was in jail for life with no reprieve, probably to prevent plotting against brother dearest.

Months after her incarceration, Azula got her first visitor. It was mid morning on a sunny day- the chi-blocking she'd had a couple hours ago was starting to wear off, and the sunlight streaming through her tiny window made her chi react with a dull buzz. She was sitting in her bed, her golden eyes focused on the door in front of her, willing someone, anyone, to come through it. Loneliness had been her downfall, and she suspected that any more of it would shatter her fragile psyche.

The wooden door opened a slight crack, and Azula's eyes widened, hoping for her doctor, or even a chi-blocker at this point. Instead, a very familiar figure slipped into the room. The girl who came to visit shuffled towards her with grey eyes full of hope.

"Azula? Are you in there?" she said, looking at the former princess with anticipation.

"Ty Lee, I practically have a clean bill of health. So yes, I am 'in here'." The acrobat gave a tiny squeal at those words, and attacked her with a hug. Azula instantly recoiled, pushing the bubbly girl away from her. "What are you doing? The last time I saw you, I was lying on the ground, paralyzed. Don't think I've forgiven you so soon." She failed to mention that she hadn't received genuine physical affection since the betrayal at Boiling Rock- the only time anyone touched her here was when her chi needed blocking.

The girl in pink looked at the ground, distraught. "I'm sorry, Azula… I didn't mean, I thought…" Azula cut her off with a curt hand gesture. She looked closer at the acrobat, and noticed that her eyes were starting to water. An unfamiliar pang of something shot through her, and she frowned.

"Why are you here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes accusingly. The acrobat looked up at Azula, her eyes drier. Her strange pang faded away with Ty Lee's tears.

"Well," she said, cheerful as ever, "I missed you! Simple as that."

"You missed me?" Azula said, barely managing to mask her amazement. "I thought you hated me. You and Mai…"

Ty Lee squeaked. "I could never hate you! What I did at Boiling Rock was necessary- I mean, you were gonna kill Mai! She's my friend too, you know." Azula sat back and considered that.

"Fine. If that's the case, why hasn't Mai visited? Is she too busy seducing little Zuzu?" That comment elicited a gasp from the other girl.

"No, silly. I mean, how would I know? I haven't really talked to her since Zuko's coronation. She's his betrothed now, though. I can't wait for their wedding! I bet they're going to have the prettiest decorations, and, ooh! Mai's dress! The royal seamstresses have been working for ages on it. And who could forget the cake? I hope it has strawberries on it. Strawberries are my favorite. And-"

Azula didn't hear anything else Ty Lee said; the news of her brother's betrothed sent her into a state of shock. She should have guessed that they were going to take the next step in their relationship- Zuko was Fire Lord now, after all. Having a Fire Lady as soon as possible was practically a job requirement. But for some reason, she felt… jealous? She'd already known that Mai would pick Zuzu over her any day, that had been unfortunately proved before. But this hit that fact home hard. She blinked, her focus turning back to the world outside her mind.

"I mean, Zuko and Aang are totally best friends, he'll be there for sure. What about the Kyoshi Warriors? It'd be so great to see them again! I had a lot of fun times as one, you should see me with those fans."

"Ty Lee. That's enough. If you're so obsessed over the wedding, answer me this- am I invited?" The acrobat stopped short, her face contorting into an expression of worry.

"Gee, I dunno… you are his sister, and everything, but there was the whole Agni Kai and insanity and you being, well, you know, kinda evil…"

"I was never evil. Just ambitious." Ty Lee shrank back at Azula's biting words, wringing her hands together.

"Maybe some people sorta saw you as not so good because you were ready to burn down a whole kingdom?" She said in a timid voice. "I mean, I never thought you were evil! You were always so pretty, and perfect, and just all around wonderful-"

"But now I'm not." Azula muttered.

"What?"

"Now I'm not pretty, perfect, wonderful, or even ambitious. I'm trapped here in this dingy little hospital room, probably doomed to spend the rest of my life with 'insane' practically stamped on my forehead."

"Don't say that! Of course you'll be let free! Someday…"

Azula scoffed. "If I know Zuzu, that someday is not going to happen anytime soon. He'll keep me in here until my face is deformed with wrinkles. Maybe longer." Ty Lee collapsed on the floor with a defeated sigh, burying her face in her hands. She perked up a second later, her eyes lighting up.

"Hey! Maybe I could talk to Mai, and she could talk to Zuko about letting you attend their wedding! It's worth a shot, right?"

"I don't want to go to their inane wedding," Azula fiercely replied. "I want to be able to walk outside and sleep in silk sheets and firebend at full strength again. I want to wear my crown and my title with pride. I want my life back." Ty Lee stared up at Azula, her eyes filled with sadness.

"I wish I could help…" she said. "Maybe-" The acrobat was cut off by a sharp knock at the door. A pair of tawny eyes appeared in the wooden slot.

"Lady Azula? Fire Lord Zuko is here to speak with you." Azula almost choked with surprise, a thousand thoughts running through her mind as to why her brother wanted to talk to her.

She finally gathered her words together, and said in a sharp voice, "Of course. Let him in." Ty Lee was just as shocked, picking herself up off the floor to exit. She opened the door and slipped through it just as easily as she had come in.

"Good luck!" she mouthed. As soon as the door had closed, it opened again, this time ushering Azula's favorite relative in.

"Hello, sister."