As promised, here is my day two submission for Azula Week 2018. This one obviously takes place a few decades after the war and features a pairing that I've only come across once before, Azula/Kei Lo. In case you forgot, Kei Lo was Mai's boyfriend in the Smoke and Shadow trilogy, but they broke up by the end of it.
Motherhood.
In the hallways of the Royal Fire Academy for Boys, Azula sat outside the headmasters office as she waited to be called inside. The Crown Princess had received word that her eldest son, Ryu had gotten in trouble at his school which resulted in her being called down to deal with the aftermath of it. Thanks to the incompetence of the staff around here, Azula had no idea what it was her son had done that was as bad as it was. If she was being completely honest, Azula highly doubted that it would be anything serious since Ryu never got in trouble before.
"I am ready for you now, Princess Azula," the headmaster said as he poked his head out of his office.
Ready to get this done and over with, Azula headed inside the room to find out exactly what was going on. The first thing she noticed was Ryu sitting on one of the chairs with a blank expression on his face. She then noticed the fact that his clothes were battered and somewhat burned before she groaned as she realised that he must've got in some fight, which still didn't make any sense to her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Azula asked, glancing between her son and the headmaster.
"Your son got into a fight with another student earlier today. They were hurling all sorts of abuse and shots at one another by the time a teach intervened and split it up. Ryu is lucky that he got away with what he did, since the other young man received a black eye and a broken arm," the headmaster explained.
Azula looked at her son, who still remained expressionless in his seat, "Ryu, is this true?"
"Yes, mother," Ryu replied.
"Why? Never once have you used unnecessary violence against another person," Azula questioned.
"It was necessary because he was being a jerk," Ryu stated.
"That's still no reason to give him a black eye and a broke arm," Azula scolded him.
"I would've given him more if I had the time," Ryu said.
"Nevertheless, he has to be punished for his actions. Based on what I've heard, he was the one who instigated the fight. He is now suspended from school for the rest of the week, effective immediately," the headmaster proclaimed.
"What?" Azula exclaimed as she stood up from her seat. "That's totally barbaric. You know just as well as I do, headmaster that Ryu is a good boy. He has never once stepped out of line and does not deserve this punishment."
"Under any other circumstances, he wouldn't but given the circumstances of the fight, I have no choice but to deliver serious consequences," the headmaster stated.
Azula scoffed, "If it's effective immediately then I guess we'll be on our way. We will be getting to the bottom of this when we get home, young man."
"Yes, mother," Ryu muttered as his mother lead him out the room.
~*•°•*~
Not too long after that, Azula and Ryu arrived at their house located near the Royal Palace that they shared with Azula's husband, Kei Lo and their twin daughters, Zina and Zira. Neither of them had been too picky about where they would live so when Zuko offered them a house near the Royal Palace, Azula was more than willing to accept his offer. Things between the siblings had been better than ever in recent years, and Azula was even Zuko's most trusted advisor.
However, things between the siblings hadn't always been that great after being estranged for several years following the Kemurikage incident. After getting abandoned by her followers, Azula had spent years doing some soul-searching before she finally cleared her mind of the demons that had always plagued her. While venturing through the Earth Kingdom, Azula came across Kei Lo and the two found themselves attached to each other as they faced difficult situations. Finally, Azula returned to the capital city when Zuko's leadership was once again under threat. Much to everyone's surprise, Azula had been the one to stop the coup and save Zuko's life, restoring her place in the Fire Nation as the Crown Princess.
Now, Azula could finally live the family life that she'd always wanted with her three children who were the light in her days and a husband who she loved more than anything. But, given their current situation Azula wasn't exactly pleased with Ryu since he had gotten himself in serious trouble. It was also somewhat surprising to Azula, since Ryu was always her most well-behaved child. It had always been the twins that caused Azula the most trouble.
"Go straight to your room, young man and change out of those clothes," Azula ordered as she lead Ryu into their house.
Her son didn't even reply to her as he stomped up the stairs. Azula's mother intuition was definitely telling her that there was something more going on with her son that she'd find out when she asked him what he was doing getting into a fight at school.
"Azula?" her husband called out as he entered the hallway. "I thought I heard you come in. Where'd you run off to in such a hurry?"
Azula sighed, "Ryu got into a fight at school so I had to come see the headmaster who has now given him a suspension for the rest of the week starting now."
"Ryu, getting into a fight?" Kei Lo repeated in shock.
"I'm just as surprised as you are. But, I'm going to find out what provoked him to do such a thing since you know just as well as I do that Ryu doesn't use violence of any form unless he has to," Azula said.
Kei Lo nodded, "Alright. I'll bring the girls back from school while you deal with him. Love you."
"Love you too," Azula replied as her husband gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.
Sighing, Azula headed up the stairs and entered her son's room, knowing that if she knocked he'd most likely just leave her standing there. She saw Ryu sitting on his bed with a fresh pair of clothes as he looked out the window, although he seemed to be in deep thought about something.
"Thinking about what you've done?" Azula asked as she shut the door, alerting him of her presence.
"Yes, I have. And if I could do things differently, I'd hit him harder and leave more of a burn behind," Ryu seethed.
"Ryu, what's gotten into you? You've never been one to act out like this. You've always been the easy part of my days. Is this your rebellious stage kicking in?" Azula wondered.
"No. I knew what I was doing when I attacked him," Ryu replied.
"Then why did you do it?" Azula asked.
"He was saying bad stuff about you," Ryu murmured.
Azula's eyes widened. Dread instantly filled her as she started worrying what could've been said to set Ryu off the edge. Admittedly, her children knew nothing about her tenuous past and Azula was hopping that was something that she'd never have to share with them.
"What sort of stuff?" Azula inquired.
"That you were a psychotic bitch and tried to kill Uncle Zuko and Grandpa Iroh," Ryu answered.
That was when Azula's worst fears became a reality. Even though Azula did fear that her children would one day find out about what she had done, Azula was hoping that they would never have to find out from mindless gossip. In hindsight, Azula shouldn't have been surprised since there were still people in the Fire Nation who doubted where her allegiance truly stood, even decades later.
Ryu turned to face his mother when he noticed her silence, "You didn't really do that, didn't you, Mom?"
Azula sighed, "You stay here. I'll have a chat with you and the girls when they get home."
Without even giving her son a chance to reply, Azula walked out of his room before letting out a deep sigh. It looked like that whether she liked it or not, Azula would have to tell her children about the part of her that she never wanted them to know.
~*•°•*~
An hour passed before Kei Lo returned with their twin daughters. By that point, Azula and Ryu were silently waiting in the living room for the rest of their family to return. On one side, Ryu was wondering what his mother could possibly have to reveal to them while Azula was preparing herself to tell the secrets she had kept hidden for so long. Part of her feared that by telling her children about her past, that it would make them fear her which was something Azula never wanted. She refused to have a relationship with her children like she had with her mother. Not if she could help it.
"What's this about?" Kei Lo asked as Azula pulled him away to the corner, leaving the three kids to themselves.
"Daddy said you got in trouble," Zina teased.
Ryu glared at her, "So?"
"Mr. Goody Two-Shoes isn't so good after all," Zira taunted.
"Shut it, you two," Ryu snapped, not in the mood to deal with his sister's teasing.
Moments later, Azula and Kei Lo returned to the living room before taking a seat with their children. Ryu couldn't help but noticed how nervous his mother seemed while his father gave her a look of support.
"What's wrong, momma?" Zira asked, noticing the look on their mothers face.
Azula sighed, knowing that it was now or never, "Kids, there's something that I have to tell you."
"We're here," Zina stated, urging her mother to continue.
Brushing any thoughts of hesitation aside, Azula cut right to the chase. Not wanting to leave anything to mystery, Azula told them everything, from her mother's disappearance to everything that she did during and after the war until now. The whole time, her children watched with earnest looks on their faces, their eyes widening with each story that their mother told. Finally, when Azula finished speaking she let out a small sigh as she waited for their reaction.
"So, it's true then?" Ryu spoke first.
Azula nodded, "Regretfully so. Yes, I did try to kill Uncle Zuko and Grandpa Iroh. But I was a different person then. There was no way that I would do that now."
"I know you said you and Uncle Zuko never really got along when you were our age, but I really didn't think it was like that," Ryu admitted.
"And I thought you were annoying," Zina whispered to Zira who sighed.
"Is there anything else you would like to say to your mother?" Kei Lo asked.
Zira stood forward and hugged Azula, "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, mommy. That must've been so hard."
"I can't imagine having a crazy mother, but I'm glad I don't have one," Zina said, causing Azula to chuckle.
As the twins hugged their mother, Azula couldn't help but notice how silent Ryu was being. It was then that Azula realised that she had probably just destroyed whatever perception he had of her, which made this situation even worse. Ryu had always looked up to her, but after what she had just told him, she feared that he wouldn't want to look up to her anymore. Not that she wouldn't blame him.
"Ryu, what are you thinking?" Azula questioned.
Ryu sighed, "I'm glad I was able to help you, mom. That doesn't change the fact that you're my hero."
"You're my hero too, mommy," Zira added.
Zina smiled, "Same with me!"
"I love you little rascals," Azula said before she wrapped her arms around her three children. "Just remember that there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for either of you. I love you all with everything in my heart."
"We love you too, mom," they chorused.
As Azula had her family in her arms, she couldn't help but think how lucky she had been to be blessed with a family like she now had. Without them, there was no telling what she'd be like since they were what got her through those difficult times. It was safe to say that there wasn't anything that Azula would trade being a mother for whatsoever, since her children were the light in her day.
Aww, gotta love a sappy little ending. I don't know why I put Azula with Kei Lo in this piece but I just thought of him when I was thinking of who to have as Azula's husband. Anyways, I hope you guys liked that one and keep your eyes out for the next one :).