This was written for Day Two of Fire Nation week on deviantArt. The prompt was "Breaking the Rules."
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Thunder rumbled in the distance. From her bedroom window, Ty Lee watched the black clouds roll over the sky, a cool breeze swaying her bangs and playing with her ponytail. Another growl of thunder sent a shiver up and down her spine.
She padded across the soft rug to her wardrobe, threw it open and riffled through her clothes. It has to be in here somewhere… She frowned. Where is it? …Come on…ah! Her hand snatched at a glimpse of black fabric. She tugged hard, pulling it loose, and soon she held a black cloak in her hands. It was this cloak she had worn the night she ran away to the circus, and it had been big on her then. She could only hope it fit her now. She folded it, placed it on her bed and sat beside it to wait, gaze locked on the approaching storm.
Two hours later, after night had fallen and the world was lit only by flashes of lightning, she donned it and crept from her room. She didn't bother to dodge the servants; they all knew how she hated storms, and some of them had even comforted her as a child when they didn't dare to wake her parents. Ty Lee also knew they were aware of where she was headed. One of them touched her arm lightly, stopping her long enough to whisper good luck before telling her to avoid the back door and that it would be better to climb out one of the windows on the side of the house, and, for the spirits sake, don't get struck by lightning while climbing all over creation!
That didn't really make Ty Lee feel any better, but she accepted the grandmotherly love and affection with which the comment was given.
The glass was cold on her fingers as she pushed the window open. She climbed out, closed the window, and slunk along the side of the house, close to the ground, as she pulled her hood over her head. The wind howled through the city, pushing at her back. She crossed her arms and grabbed fists full of her cloak, pulling it tighter around her shoulders.
She found a tree growing next to the outer wall, scurried up to the topmost branch, leapt, grabbed the top of the wall by the tip of her fingers and pulled herself up to peek over the top and check for guards. There weren't any at the moment so she pulled herself up and jumped down onto the other side.
She hissed, pain lancing up her legs as she landed, but she ignored it and dashed for the inner wall, praying to the spirits she wasn't seen.
She reached the inner wall to the Palace moments before it began to rain. It came down hard, pounding the stone and titled roof of the Palace and lashed her body like falling pebbles. Her bangs plastered to her face, and she ducked her head, blinking and trying to wipe the rain out of her eyes. But as soon as she wiped it away, more water was running into her eyes.
Great. Blinking furiously, she steeled herself and stared up at the top of the wall. The water stung her eyes. She ran a hand along the wall; it was sickeningly slick. It was hard enough to climb it on a normal night, tougher still in even a light drizzle. Climbing it tonight… Her stomach lurched.
Tonight, she would probably get halfway up the wall—or even worse, the top—and loose her grip. Then she would tumble downward and break her leg or her arm or her neck or all three and a couple of ribs; and if the fall didn't kill her, she would probably lay there all night in too much pain to cry for help or else she would be able to cry for help, but no one would hear her over the wind and the rain and thunder, and she couldn't decide which one was worse because both left her laying on cold, unforgiving stone, freezing all night in the rain until she was discovered sometime tomorrow morning or even—she shuddered—as late as the afternoon.
Ty Lee gulped, tears mingling with the rain. Fingers shaking, stomach twisted into knots, she felt along the wall. It was old and the stone was chipped in places; nothing too big, and a normal person wouldn't have been able to use them as finger holds, but her time in the circus had strengthened her fingers until she was able to support her weight on two of them alone. Normally, that strength was also enough to pull her up the inner wall, but tonight…
A roar of thunder made her jump, and, gulping again, she located some finger holds and began to climb. It was hard and slow going. Her nerves were shot from fear of falling and fear from the storm, and her fingers and arms were screaming with pain by the time she was only half way up the wall. She gasped for breath. She couldn't stop moving; if she did she would fall, and she might have been able to jump from the top of the outer wall without injury but that wasn't even half as tall as this one. A sob tore from her throat.
She forced herself to keep moving, and it felt like an eternity before she reached the top of the wall. It took all her self control to keep herself out of sight, hanging by her fingertips from the edge while the guards passed. Once they were well out of sight, she hauled herself over the edge and sunk to her knees, leaning back against the battlement, shaking with exhaustion and relief.
This was so stupid. What was I thinking? Ty Lee wiped the tears and rain from her face. It was useless, though, as once again the rain coated her cheeks. So stupid… Why didn't I think this through? Why didn't I leave earlier to beat the rain like I always have before? Why did I wait so long? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
The guards would return soon. This thought got her back on her shaky legs, and she crossed the wall, climbed over the battlement on the other side and dropped down into the trees.
The hard part was over now. Azula's room was on the second floor, and the oldest tree grew near that wall. There had been talk of cutting it down ("It's too conveniently placed. What if an assassin used it to get the Princess? The Fire Lord would have our heads!"), but Azula had order them to merely trim the branches to a height she specified—one that ensured a gap between the tree and her balcony that she was confident only Ty Lee could leap (Ty Lee had been flattered when Azula first told her this, but now, exhausted and shivering, she wondered if Azula had too much confidence in her).
She labored up the tree and stopped at the top to catch her breath. It took several minutes. Finally she jumped, grabbed the edge of Azula's balcony, climbed up and ran to the glass door. The curtains were drawn, the door locked.
Is she sleeping? I wanted to catch her before she went to bed. She groaned. She slipped her hand into an inside pocket of her cloak, pulled out a small knife and slid it in between the wall and the door, moved it up and unlocked the latch. The door slid open, the noise covered by the howl of the wind, and she stepped inside and closed it before the rain could soak the carpet.
Turning around, she frowned. Azula was curled up in the center of the bed, back facing her, and her stillness told Ty Lee she was already fast asleep. Her shoulders slumped. She trudged toward the bed, paying no mind to the fact she was dripping water all over the carpet and began peeling the cloak off her.
"Azula," she whispered loudly. "Azula, wake up."
Azula stirred, murmuring softly and settled back down into sleep. Ty Lee rolled her eyes, but didn't dare get closer. The last time she had gotten too close while waking Azula, she had almost end up with a nasty burn. She wasn't keen to repeat that experience.
"Azula!" she said.
Azula jerked awake, rolling over to face her. Ty Lee got a glimpse of wide, surprised eyes before they narrowed dangerously. After a moment, her face softened a bit. "Oh. Ty Lee, it's you. Well, I can't say I'm surprised."
"Right." Ty Lee smiled.
It was then Azula glanced over Ty Lee's shoulder at the door. The curtains had been separated when Ty Lee walked through, giving them a clear view of the storm outside.
Ty Lee saw Azula's eyes widen a touch. "You climbed the walls in the rain?" she said. Ty Lee nodded, and Azula's gaze turned back to her. "You're trembling."
So she was. Her legs felt like jelly from the adrenaline still coursing through her, and her arms ached and hung useless by her sides. She didn't think she would have even been able to hold a brush if asked.
She realized Azula was waiting for her to say something. "Climbing the inner wall in the rain is a lot harder."
"You could have fallen." Was that a hint of anger in Azula's voice?
"I know."
"And you did it anyway?"
"Well, I couldn't exactly have gotten back over the outer wall. That one's almost brand new."
Azula took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine. Well, are you just going to—"
Thunder crashed overhead, sending Ty Lee flying across the short distance to the bed and diving under the blankets. She pressed herself against Azula and smiled. "You're warm."
"And you're cold. And soaking wet," Azula said flatly.
"Well, I did come here in the rain." Ty Lee snuggled closer to Azula who wiggled away. She clamped her arms around Azula's waist, trapping her where she lay and rested her head against Azula's shoulder.
"Ty Lee, what part of 'you're soaking wet' don't you understand?" There was a warning growl in her voice that Ty Lee ignored.
"The part where it says we can't snuggle." A flash of lightning lit the room, and Ty Lee clung tighter to Azula in anticipation of the thunder.
Azula sighed, finally wrapping her arms loosely around Ty Lee. "Fine. Just go to sleep. And be sure you're out of here before anyone notices in the morning." She smirked. "I'm pretty sure this is breaking the rules."
Ty Lee giggled and closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax and forget the storm.