Just A Broken Little Girl
It had been four years. Four years being in the institution. Four years of peace. Four years since the Avatar had won. Four years since her brother became Fire Lord. Four years since she had lost everything.
Azula sat there, murmuring incoherently to herself words only she knew the meaning of. Or so she thought. Her brother would come, try and get her to talk. Once. She had only spoken to a person once since she had been there. One time was her limit, the only time she'd carry out a conversation was with the man who stole it all. One time she let her guard down. One time was all it took. That one time, made Zuko realize his sister was broken.
"Azula..." whispered Zuko, his face concealed by the darkness of the prison.
The former princess did not reply, she didn't even move. She sat in the darkest corner of the cell. Silent. But her eyes said the complete opposite. She could barely control them anymore. Her emotions were nearly haywire. But here was that one sliver of sanity. That one thread that she was holding onto, one thread stopping her from breaking down right then and there.
But here were four chains. Four chains holding her and that thread to the wall. Four chains ensuring she would never heal. Four chains for the four members of her family who left her to rot. Four chains for four limbs, for one girl, for one thin thread. One thread that was left of her sanity and four chains urging her to cut it.
"Azula, please, talk to me!" the Fire Lord nearly screamed, grabbing onto the bars of his sister's cell. Again; no reply.
He lifted his head, looking into her cold, unforgiving gaze, his eyes locking onto her's, refusing to look away "Please..."
It had been two years. Two years since the Agni Kai. Two years since Katara chained her to that grating. Two years years since she broke down and lost every shred of dignity and honor she once held. Two years since she shot him with lightning. And two years since she had spoken to him.
"As you wish, Fire Lord." her voice was hoarse from underuse, though it was still laced with malice.
He smiled slightly "How are you?" he waited with cation for her reply.
"Oh, I'm just fine, Zuzu. I don't understand the reason you care. You're the one who threw me in here in the first place."
"Azula..." he away, visibly hurt by her words "You know I had to, you're in here because-"
"I'm a monster." "No... you're not a monster! It's just because-"
"I'm not you. The perfect little child. The savior of a country. The ruler of the Fire Nation. The one who came back to the Fire Nation and got father's love on a silver platter!"
His eyes widened a little bit, he hadn't known how much he had hurt her. His little sister. His father broke her. He was equally to blame as was their mother and uncle. Why didn't any of them realize this? Why couldn't they help her. Why didn't they care?
"I'm done speaking with you." that was all she had left to say. He slowly nodded, releasing white-knuckled grip on the bars of the cell and stood. His steps echoed as he left her solitary cell.
How could he not see it sooner? Was she always cracking with every emotional blow she received? He should have seen it when they were younger. But it was too late. The Azula that was his sister is gone now. She left a long time ago. That Azula died after her first training session with their father. The realization at the fact made his blood boil. He wished he would have helped. He wished maybe his mother would have helped.
But there the young woman sat, in a dark cell. Left to rot by her friends and family. The thread had been cut. Every shred of sanity she once held was gone. She was so broken, so lost. Her hands gripped her head tighter as she let out a deranged scream. Tears hit the floor soon after. Her mother was haunting her again.
"Stop it!" she yelled at nothing "You're gone! You're not supposed to be here! Get away! You hate me!"
"I love you, Azula." was the soft voice that echoed from her imagination. The one sentence she craved continued to shred what was left of her sanity to bits and pieces.
"Lies! That's all you ever gave me! You think I'm a monster! I am no fool!" The former princess kept yelling back at nothing. She lunged out at the ghostly figure only to be held back by the chains. She pulled and pulled harder, the metal cuffs digging into her wrists. She kept pulling until blood trickled down her arms, and even then she kept going. Moments later doctors and guards came in to hold her back and sedate her. All went black.
She woke up with the moon's light reflecting off her face. They only ever let her experience the moon's power; never the sun's. The sought her to be a demon, a monster, the devil. Even so, she felt the moon enrich herself. But how? No devils dance in moonlight. She sat up off ground. She sat and waited. For what, she didn't know. For whom, there was no one willing to see her. She sat like that until morning came. Then the afternoon.
The doors leading to the chambers that contained her solitary call had opened. She didn't bother to look up, she knew who it was. Zuko was the only one who would come to see her. She kept her eyes on the concrete. Her mind was jumping, voices echoed throughout her conscience.
"Azula..." said a woman's voice.
Her head shot up so quickly she thought it may have broken. She knew that voice... She knew that face. She knew those robes, that hair... No. It wasn't her. It was simply another one of her hallucinations. She grabbed her head, messing up her already disheveled hair and closed her eyes tightly, murmuring things to herself once more.
There was a jingle of keys, followed by the click of a lock. The guard gave the visitor a few words of warning before she heard the scrape of the bars against the concrete the door slid open. The guard left soon after. The woman walked over to the broken mess of a girl inside, her silk robes trailing behind her. She crouched to be level with the young woman.
"Azula, it's me... You're mother." she forced a small smile on her lips.
"Go away," she murmured "you're not real."
"But I am, my daughter."
Her hands gripped her head tighter "Then why... why are you here. You hate me! All I am in your eyes is a monster!" she choked back a sob "You hate me."
"No, Azula. I love you" said Ursa with a voice of silk.
"You're lying, you're lying, you're lying, you're lying..." Azula kept murmuring that single phrase over and over. Tears spilled over her eyes and stained the ground, scattering little bits and pieces of dust. A hand rested on her back.
"I'm not lying, Azula. You just have to trust me." Ursa was slightly fearful. Why was her daughter like this? What had happened to her? How long has she been in here? Is there even hope for her?
"Trust is for fools!" shouted the crying girl, nearly in hysterics. Ursa's eyes widened, what would ever make her daughter like this? To put notions like that into the mind of a girl her age. it was disgusting. And he had a hint of who did it.
"What did your father do to you..." Ursa muttered. It was barely coherent, but Azula heard it.
She couldn't hold it in any longer, Azula lost control, the dam had burst. Tears streaked down her face, as she thrashed around. The cuffs of her chains digging into her already raw wrists, blood flowing freely down her arms from the open wounds they caused. She had resorted back to holding her head, sobbing. Blood mixed in with her hair as she only cried harder. Her uncontrollable flow of emotion only getting bigger and stronger.
Ursa watched in horror and heartbreak as her youngest child cry, thrash and bleed without any signs of stopping. The sounds of Azula's gut wrenching sobs echoed off of the stone walls, surrounding them both with her cries. She couldn't stand not doing anything. Ursa wanted to pull Azula into a tight embrace, but was unsure of how the girl would react. So she didn't. But the line was crossed for the older woman as Azula slammed her fists into the ground, a large cracking noise echoed soon after. Her sobs just got harder and harder with every passing moment. It was almost to the point where Ursa felt she may go insane as well.
Ursa grabbed a hold of her daughter and pulled her close, holding her tightly; afraid to let go. This loving gesture only caused Azula's cries of agony to increase; the young woman grabbed a hold of her mother and held her as if she would die otherwise. She buried her face in the red silk that covered Ursa's shoulder, soaking it with her tears.
Ursa held her daughter tighter; how could this have happened? She was sure that Azula would be fine if she left. But now, Azula was nothing but a broken little girl that no one knew how to fix.
A/N: Well, I hoped you all liked it! I've been writing a lot of one-shots lately and I guess I should update my other stories. Well, don't forget to review! :D