"You look well, Azula."
After a decade of not hearing his voice, the man in heavy crimson and gold with a topknot streaked by gray hair did not resemble the one who banished her.
They sat in a communal igloo with his twenty henchman, while forty Southern Water Tribe attendants stood outside, surrounding the igloo with spears and axes. Their leader, her husband, stood near the entrance on the highest watchtower, in a perfect position to strike first if the Fire Nation did not hold their word - again.
She knew deep down that he'd be brooding over her decision to attend this meeting with Ozai. Sokka's father, Chief Hakoda sat by her side, as quiet as the day she met him for the first time. His presence alone calmed her enough to force her hands to stop trembling.
A maid from the Fire Nation entered with a tray and smiled so brightly Azula feared her eyes would roll out of their sockets. "Spiced tea, your majesty?"
Your majesty? Azula's gaze narrowed, "No."
The maid blinked, "It is your favorite-"
"I'm fine."
The young girl stepped back. Cold air seeped into the space. Ozai watched Azula the entire time. He glanced at Chief Hakoda, "I wanted to have a with you alone."
"I prefer having company just as you do," she said, admiring Hakoda's calm. "The last time you wanted to speak with me, you sent General Zhao to my husband and threatened to have him killed if he did not return me."
"I only worried a warlord refused to give me my own daughter-" Ozai said.
"No one holds me against my will."
She can tell she struck a chord. "If an apology is what you need, know I never intended to make you forget who you are."
"I don't need it. You aren't the kind the person to bow down to anyone, Phoenix King. But what I do want to know is why you're here."
He blinked, "I didn't realize a visit to my daughter would be a crime."
Azula watched him place his cup on the silver tray between them, "The last time we saw each other, you stripped me of my title and put me on a hundred year old ship over here to the Southern Water Tribe to sell me off to my husband. You specifically requested I not show up in the Fire Nation ever again and ordered for the marriage to be consummated, just because you wanted to teach me a lesson."
"I banished both you and your brother, to teach you the ways of the world. But you have done something interesting. After only three years, you've mediated an alliance between the Northern and Southern Tribes. Since our invasion in 94 AG, you have returned many of my soldiers without their vessels..."
"When one tries to physically take you away from your home, you do whatever is necessary to defend yourself."
Azula watched the maid slip out. The Fire Nation soldiers were hidden by the shadows. Candlelight flickered over gleaming armor and weaponry. Ozai took a swig from the porcelain cup. The stupid five year old she'd been had valued the words of a man who drank Firewhiskey in the mornings more than anyone else's.
"I heard you have little waterbenders in your midst. Is that true?"
Being Ozai's daughter taught her a few things, namely, if he had easily plotted her grandfather's death, he could kill anyone, even her. But if Ozai killed her and the chief, he'd die along with them.
"The Water Tribe's affairs are none of your business," she replied, "but if you must know, the Southern Water Tribe invites Northern immigrants often for trade agreements. Naturally, their waterbenders settle here."
Azula felt the chief's body tense. She watched her father's face - his jaw tight and the aftereffects of alcohol complimenting the dark bags underneath hawk-like golden eyes. This is how she knew that she had failed him, and never gave a damn.
"This is the third time I am asking you to come home. Are you telling me you won't return?"
On the day she left the Fire Nation, her father had asked her if she had anything to say to atone for her sins. She recalled falling on her knees and begging him for forgiveness. But he looked beyond her body and asked the sailors to start the journey.
If she had to die this way, after being forced to marry a man she never imagined she'd live without, then so be it.
"Yes."
End Note - I want to thank Timebomber for looking over this for me. You have been patient and I couldn't ask for a better betareader for me. I deleted Solace to change the direction I took with the story and this is what came out of it. Stay tuned.
