He emerged from the door, sighing and rubbing his hands together. Looking up, he noticed that a crowd had gathered. It seemed every doctor from all the departments had been waiting for him. And there was—
He quickly stooped into a low bow. "Firelord Zuko, I did not expect you today. What brings you to visit?"
The Firelord nodded once, and he rose to his feet. "Good day, Doctor Zheng. I apologize for arriving unannounced. But I need your opinion, as well as," he looked to the group of doctors around him, "the entire staff's, on the Princess' progress."
His palms began to sweat. He willed himself to pull it together. The Firelord couldn't punish him for things out of his control. And besides, Zuko was known as a good and just ruler. He had redeemed his nation and aided the Avatar in bringing peace to the world.
But before he was able to speak up, Doctor Yao took over. "Your Highness, we have nothing more to add to the report we sent last month. The Princess is unchanged."
The Firelord gave Yao a piercing stare, before looking dejectedly off to the side.
"I see," he sighed. "Very well. Do not blame yourselves, doctors. I have known, for a time, that my sister is beyond help." He clasped his hands behind his back, looking despondently at the group. "Avatar Aang is arriving next week. I have written him to ask if he might…drain Azula. Her powers pose a danger to herself and your entire staff. Expect him next week, then." With that, the Firelord started out.
He felt his heart drop. Drain the Princess? He couldn't possibly mean that the Avatar would strip her of her firebending, like he had to Ozai?
Forgetting the consequences, he hurried after the Firelord.
"Lord Zuko, please, I beg you to reconsider!"
A collective gasp was heard from his fellow doctors. The Firelord turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.
"Reconsider? Doctor Zheng, my sister is dangerous in her present state. You yourself know firsthand what she is capable of, even mad."
He felt the burns along his arms prickle at this. Every eye was on him, and he could practically hear the thoughts aloud. Reconsider? Is he mad? The Princess nearly roasts him alive with every session! The dragons would sooner return to Earth than Azula to sanity, if you could even call that what she was before! Pushing this aside, he bowed before the Firelord.
"Yes, I do. But I implore you, Your Highness, to seek another way."
Zuko said nothing, only stared at him. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He chanced to look up at the Firelord.
"You say the Avatar will be visiting. Will not, then, Master Katara be with him? My fellow doctors and myself are experts in our fields, but even the best of our medicine and methods cannot compare to the Water Tribe healers. They say Master Katara can work miracles. Could she attempt—"
He was cut off by the Firelord's bitter laugh.
"Doctor Zheng, I understand your logic. Yes, Katara is a talented master of the art. But if my presence is enough to send Azula over the edge based on what happened four years ago, I can only imagine what would take place if she were to lay eyes on Katara."
His eyes narrowed further. "What I don't understand is why, Zheng, you seem so determined to allow my sister to keep her powers. She will not thank you for it. She will only continue to keep burning you."
He did not answer this. He was afraid of the answer himself. Why did he care so much for the deranged Princess? Lord Zuko was right; she didn't give him one thought. Any time he went closer than five feet away she breathed flames in his face. She screamed and writhed against the chains that bound her hands and ankles if anyone tried to give her medicine. She cried herself to sleep every night. Lord Zuko was right; nothing they could do would bring her back.
Perhaps she reminded him of the reason he had become a doctor in the first place. Memories of his son, muttering to himself and screaming tantrums as village boys laughed and jeered at him came flooding through his mind. He pictured Azula as she looked when he saw her asleep: she would be slumped against the wall, head tilted at an odd angle and strands of hair in her face, looking like the tired and scared girl he knew she felt like inside.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Firelord Zuko, the Princess is beyond help. Which is why she needs her firebending. She has lost her mother, her only friends, her father's love, and now her mind. Her fire is the only thing she has left. If the Avatar takes it away, she will not be able to carry on. Please, Your Highness," he bit back the tears he felt starting to fall, "I don't care if I am burned. I want to help her. Azula is already broken. You can't break her further."
The dead silence in the room rang in his ears. Finally, the Firelord's low voice called out.
"I will consider your request, Doctor." Footsteps echoed off the marble floors as he started down the hall. "And I will ask Avatar Aang's opinion as well." As he slowly rose to stand again, Zuko stopped walking and suddenly turned to look at him.
"But Doctor Zheng, you are dedicated to a hopeless cause."
As if echoing this thought, a wail rose from the chamber behind them, followed by the muffled light of hot blue flames.