A Monster

Azula had always been a light sleeper. Despite not being the eldest, and therefore the least likely the one to inherit the throne even though she was certainly more skilled than Zuzu, Azula routinely had assassins sent after her. And the few (unlucky) ones that managed to pass through all of the guards, when they open the door, usually got a face full of fire. As content as she was with taunting Zuzu for the night, she still felt a bit...uneasy. As weak as Zuzu was, even he didn't deserve to be killed by their father. Thus, she was more awake than she should have been when the door to her bedroom opened.

With a slight tense, Azula was ready for any attack and could feel a hand brush on her face. As she was about to attack the intruder with a fireball, she could feel her hair brushed to the side in a motherly way before a kiss to the forehead followed. Azula shot up, putting a hand to the place where the kiss was, and stared up in shock at her mother, who had also recoiled.

Her mother immediately softened. "I'm sorry, Azula. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"What are you doing?" asked Azula, confused.

Her mother hugged Azula and she accepted the hug, putting her small arms around her mother's waist. Was her mother...shaking?

"I love you, Azula," her mother stated with strong conviction. "Never forget that."

Azula blinked in bemusement. What was going on? By her calculations, her mother should have bargained for Zuzu's life by now and, most likely, her father would have taken his rightful place on the throne. Why was her mother acting like she was about to leave…?

Oh.

"Are you leaving?" asked Azula quietly, making sure that her voice didn't break from her emotions. Emotions were a weakness that needed to be stifled out. That was what her father taught her.

"Yes," her mother confirmed, not afraid to tell her only daughter the truth. "It is not because I don't love you, please believe that. I love you, Azula. I just wish I could see you become the beautiful and strong woman I know you will become."

Her mother broke off the hug and left another kiss on Azula's forehead. "I have to go now."

"When I told you, this evening, I didn't want you, I didn't meant for you to go," Azula blurted out emotionally. She almost reached out a hand towards her mother, as if to grab onto her sleeve and never let go, but aborted the motion before her arm could be raised fully.

"I know," stated her mother with a gentle smile. "Please take care of yourself. I love you."

"I l-love you too," Azula stuttered back, the word "love" flowing awkwardly from her mouth, and watched as her mother disappeared from her life.

She stared at the empty door, silent tears falling out of her eyes as she gripped her blankets with a grip that she didn't think she had.

Her mother had to leave because of her father. Her mother might have favoured Zuzu over her, might have loved Zuzu more than her, but she was still her mother and her father drove her away.

Azula's eyes hardened with resolve. No matter what troubles that came her way, no matter how hard her path would be, she would get her vengeance on her father. It was all about finding the right idea.

And, thus, that night, a monster was born.

A/N: I feel like deleting that last sentence.

And, yes, here is another interesting idea that could, quite possibly, create a divergence in the cartoon. Or maybe it wouldn't. I think Azula could go a whole lot of different ways here. She could go some completely original ways (like, maybe that right idea would be getting Zuko to be the Fire Lord, or maybe that right idea is finding something dark in Ozai's history and showing it out, or maybe that right idea would be joining Aang) or she could go exactly as she did in the cartoon.

But, alas, I don't think I could go much further than here. Thanks for reading, though!