A/N: So I forgot to mention, Mai throwing daggers at the wall in a dark room is actually an idea right out of the creators' mouths; I read some interview where they said they imagined Mai honing her talents by sulking in her room, just throwing knives at the wall for fun, so I thought I'd run with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Read and review!
Accusation:
Azula tilted her head, observing her new roommate from the doorway. Lights out was ten minutes ago, a strict policy at the Academy, but Azula wasn't worried. Mai seemed to like the dark, and blew out the candle on the desk. Azula noted Mai's gaze lingering on the portrait she'd left of her family on the desk.
"Did you finish?" she asked, finally revealing herself as Mai got up from her chair.
"Oh, it's you," Mai sighed, climbing onto her bed.
Azula smirked. "Who did you expect? Now I said, did you finish?"
"Finish what?" Mai snapped. Azula heard her roll over to face the wall.
"Your work," she replied, slipping into her own bed.
"Why do you care?"
"I was simply wondering how long you've been admiring my family portrait," Azula told her, unable to wring out all of the satisfaction from her tone. She could practically hear Mai blush from across the room. "There's no need to be ashamed, of course. It is, after all, the Royal Family." Azula cut herself off. She'd learned early that it didn't ever help to brag outright.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai grumbled into the wall.
"It's okay," Azula smirked. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Leave me alone. I don't know what you're talking about."
Azula stared up at the ceiling, heaving a sigh. Mai could deny it all she wanted, but Azula didn't think she'd been staring at the picture to admire her father. Her brother did seem to stand out.
Azula remembered the portrait of her family getting painted all too easily; it had been done only that summer. She remembered kneeling in front of her mother, watching as her father rested his hand on Zuko's shoulder. Azula had attempted to prepare herself for similar treatment from her mother, but remained shaken and unsure about how she'd imagine it would feel when Ursa rested a hand on her shoulder; the anticipation nearly killed her, wondering whether she would be repulsed by her mother's touch, or whether she would relish the attention, even if her mother bestowed it unwillingly. The worry was unnecessary. Ursa didn't touch her. The Fire Princess kept her hands neatly folded in her lap, out of reach of her daughter.
Azula rolled onto her side, squirming beneath her blanket. She couldn't sleep, and was tempted more than once to sneak into Ty Lee's room. But that wouldn't be practical, and she felt exhausted. Sleep still didn't come.
The bell rang at six in the morning, a harsh, clanging sound with the capability of waking the whole island. Already awake, Azula quickly slipped into her crimson school uniform. She combed through her hair, putting it up while Mai got dressed.
"See you at breakfast," Azula said, opening the door to the room and slamming it behind her before Mai had a chance to respond.
Azula fell into the ranks of other students, scanning the crowd of crimson for Ty Lee. She couldn't even see a dash of pink in the crowd, or a braid bobbing in the river of red. Hope sprouted for a moment when she saw Ty Lee's six clones…but none of them were the acrobat. Azula's expression hardened. Something didn't settle with her, and she turned around, heading away from the dining room and back towards Ty Lee's room.
"I thought you were going to breakfast." Azula didn't stop to cater to Mai's deadpan commentary.
"I'm looking for Ty Lee," she said, striding past the pale older girl.
Mai looked bored, but followed Azula down the hall. "That peppy, happy girl? Why?"
It was the first time Mai seemed to show any interest in Azula, but she didn't bother to contemplate why Ty Lee brought out emotion in the apathetic Mai.
"She didn't go to breakfast with her sisters."
"Why would she?" That made Azula pause. "She seems to hate them."
Azula's eyes narrowed. "How would you know? You only met her once."
Mai continued looking bored. "Seven identical sisters are hard to overlook. Everyone here noticed them."
Azula shook off Mai's response, continuing towards Ty Lee's room. She could hear raised voices coming from what should have been an empty hallway. Her pace picked up.
She took in the scene in half a second. Two girls had Ty Lee backed against a wall like a cornered animal, and there were unmistakably tears in her eyes; one girl, her slick black hair tied in a high ponytail, laughed and pulled at Ty's pink sash. "You think this piece of garbage will make you stand out around here? You think you're any different from your sisters because of some stupid pink scarf?"
The other girl yanked at Ty's braid. "Look at her hair, Sky! You think this makes you look pretty?"
"I think you need a little haircut," Sky said, wielding a ball of fire just under the braid her friend held out. "You want to look different, now's your chance. How's this, Jin?"
Azula didn't wait to see how short Sky wanted to cut Ty's braid. She immediately jumped to action.
"Leave her alone." Mai coming to Ty Lee's aid was a surprise to more than just Sky and Jin. A dagger glinted in the light, but only Mai's eyes narrowed; it was as if she hadn't even moved, except suddenly she held a dagger in one hand.
"You call that firebending?" Azula's taunt drew Sky's attention away from Ty Lee. "This is firebending." Raising only two fingers, Azula shot a firebolt towards Sky; barely able to dodge the blow, her perfect black hair was singed by the flame, leaving the ends ragged and uneven.
"Are you crazy?" Jin shouted. "You aren't supposed to firebend in the halls! You're going to burn down the whole building!"
Azula rolled her eyes, ignoring Sky's friend. Sky, whose hair was still smoking, glared at Azula, raising a fist to blast fire at the girl. Before she could take another step, Ty Lee regained her confidence.
"That's for calling me ugly," the acrobat said, jabbing Sky's shoulder and back with her quick fingers.
Sky fell to the ground, gasping for air. Jin suddenly released a surprised gasp, and both Azula and Ty Lee glanced towards Sky's sidekick; Ty Lee was unable to withhold her smile as she examined Jin's predicament. Two of Mai's daggers pinned the girl's crimson sleeves to the wall.
Azula smirked, kneeling next to Sky. Holding up two fingers, a single flame shooting from her fingertips, she said, "Mess with her again, and it'll be more than just your hair getting burned."
"You can't just leave us here," Jin shouted as the trio turned to head to breakfast. Azula felt only pleasure at the helplessness in her tone. She'd smashed the arrogance right out of her.
"I hope I get my knives back," Mai said as they turned the corner, leaving Sky and Jin incapacitated in the hallway.
"Thanks you guys," Ty said, adjusting the sash around her waist. Her upbeat attitude was gone.
"Don't listen to those two," Azula told her.
"But they're right," Ty whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm just like my sisters, and no braid, no sash is going to change that. I'm not even pretty."
Azula laughed. "Oh Ty Lee, don't be so pathetic. Of course you're pretty." She continued towards the dining room, as if handing out compliments were no big deal.
"You really think so?" Ty asked. The eagerness and innocence in her tone made Azula stop.
"Don't be so shallow," muttered Mai, whose gloom returned with twice the force now that she'd realized her daggers were probably not coming back.
"Don't pay attention to her," Azula said, grinning wickedly. "She's just jealous she's not as pretty as you." She leaned conspiratorially closer to Ty, speaking just loud enough that Mai could hear her. "She has a crush on Zuko."
Ty Lee giggled under Mai's cold gaze. "I do not. I don't even know him."
Azula smirked. They'd finally made it into the dining room, and slipped quietly into an empty table so no teachers would ask where they'd been.
"Deny the accusation all you want, Mai." But I know that's the real reason you're sitting with me at this table right now.
"Well I think you two would be cute together," said Ty Lee, who stood up to go fetch the group food as a thank you for saving her what was sure to have been a humiliating haircut.
