Well, I'm glad this got good reviews so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own this story that I wrote.

A Second Chance

Chapter One

Wise Words from the Side

Sleep was the very last thing that was significant in her mind; something important was freedom, something she obviously couldn't get, but she wouldn't stop thinking about it. She had paced around the cell over and over, enough to tire her legs after a long time. Azula sat down, crossing her knees, and glared at the back wall. Anything that passed her by through the barred cell door would make her furious and envious. Those things could move around, be free, even if they were stupid guards on patrol. They mocked her, even if they didn't know it, even if they were silent. And she hated them for it.

Azula was told that in the very early morning she would be taken away, to get some sleep for the carriage ride and for a long journey to the Fire Nation asylum, even though it wasn't too far from the Fire Nation capital. It was more of a snide demand in a failed attempt to ask nicely, and it made her feel pathetic to be told what to do, especially by some strangers in armor. She found herself staring at the cold, dark ceiling of her cell, her mind drifting. Her stubbornness, though, was stronger than ever, and she kept telling herself to not fall asleep. I don't need sleep, she thought. I need my palace and my throne. Nothing more!

Due to her incident just hours before, the guards feared of another attack. With this thought, the guards kept a system to be sure at least one guard would watch over the one prisoner for just the rest of the night, always keeping an eye on her. Each fear for their lives but felt assured; throughout the night, the insane princess remained silent, hardly moving from her position of staring at the wall, her back to the cell door.

But the guard that was early in the morning looked into the small room, staring at the fallen princess. They never said he couldn't talk to her, but was there an unintended risk, anyway? It seemed pretty obvious. He sighed and spoke slowly, "Can…can I get you anything, Azula?"

Her head whipped around. The guard flinched by instincts; but otherwise, he remained as calm as he could as the princess's glare crept up his spine. "No, nothing! Unless you can get me out of this place and let me free," she said.

"I don't think I could if I tried."

Azula sighed, expecting more. She glared acidly at her feet, her back smashed against the right wall. She prolonged her previous silence, but the guard didn't seem to notice and continued speaking. For once, a smile was formed on someone's face even while looking at the insane ex-princess. And it wasn't fake like so many she had received. "Azula, I don't know you well…I only work here, so I haven't been to the palace…" He stopped himself, realizing he was dropping into a topic that she would have no interest in, but recoiled once he thought of what else to say. "But you can get out of this on your own, without me."

"How?" A spark of interest and hope rose in her voice. Yet she remained in her place, not smiling.

"You need to…you know, try to think of stuff besides being Fire Lord-that isn't going to happen. And just saying you want to be free isn't very easy as actually getting to be free," said the guard nervously.

"Oh, I'll get out of here eventually," Azula said sharply, but she was really reassuring herself more than telling off some guard

"Yeah. Later this morning. Pretty soon," the guard added with a smirk.

It took a moment for Azula to absorb what he meant. Her nostrils flared again as she mustered a forceful glare upon the smirking guard "No, not that!" she hissed. "I don't want to be trapped in a cell or forced to some asylum. That isn't what a Fire Lord is meant for!"

The guard's grin faltered, but he seemed sympathetic, hoping to show that he cared. Not like Azula cared, however. She wanted more than anything for this guard to leave her alone, but she didn't even get that wish. It shouldn't have surprised her that she, again, did not get her way. "You just need a second chance, that's all. A second chance to…to change. So you can return without trying to, you know, kill anyone," he continued. There was no humor in his tone, even though what he said last sounded like something one could laugh at. Indeed, he sounded very serious.

Finally, a minute passed, and he had completely stopped talking to her. She could've given a sigh of relief, but that was simply a start to getting what she wanted. How far would that even go? Azula turned away once more. The rest of the one guard's time was filled with silence.

Azula didn't want to admit how right she considered the guard. She needed this, whether she was okay with it or not. She needed this to return to her kingdom. It was the only way that didn't involve being on the run and wanted.

But could she really get herself together? Could she really get a second chance? She was all alone, she was without a plan, and she was simply too insane to fully compromise any ideas for her freedom. As of now, after everything in her life crumpled into near nothingness, everything was uncertain. Her future was up to her, while not trying to please her father or rule the world; those choices weren't even hers anymore. Azula wanted more than anything to be free and rule, but she would eventually discover how things could change in her life by the choices she made the night before.

[I really hope I am writing Azula well so far, without making her seem too OOC. Throughout the story, however, she will change and act a lot more OOC than the Azula we know in the show. And that's how I planned it.]