Me: Hello! So, here's the (not so) long-awaited Chapter 3 of "Sister Dear"! By the way, I think the title sounds a little weird. Any better suggestions for a title? Leave them in the reviews! Thanks!
I'll try to update regularly, so do follow the story! *shameless advertising* No, but seriously. The plot hasn't even begun to unfold yet ;) There are many more chapters to come! I'll update as often as I can :)
Enjoy the story!
Azula: Oh, and Wraven here so does not own Avatar.
Me: Duh. But I own this story, so get back into character, you...you...
Azula: Don't tell me what to do, you terrible excuse of a princess. *stalks away*
Me: *cries* I am just as royal as you are, princess. So there.
Azula: *calls over her shoulder* As if.
Me: Be that way.
Anyway, ignore our bickering. Here's the story :)
Takes place during "The Avatar State", and a little before that, too.
"So, what did Father want to see you for?" I inquired, as Azula strolled happily back into her room, where I was waiting, splayed out on her bed.
"Oh, nothing much. You'll get to see your precious Zuzu again really soon," she taunted, dragging the "really". She gracefully sat herself down beside me on the bed.
I rolled over to face her, hiding my little grin of excitement and glaring at her instead. "Tell me, please?" I gave Azula a puppy-dog look that had absolutely no effect on the princess. Since that failed to work, I pouted at her, hoping that would draw at least the tiniest bit of reaction. Nope, none at all.
"Oh, come on, Zula, you know you can't keep it from me anyway," I reasoned, when my failed to gain a reaction from the bored princess. I sat up, frowned and crossed my arms, trying to look as intimidating as I could.
"Zuna, you know that "angry" look doesn't suit you at all," Azula scoffed, narrowing her golden eyes at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Just tell me already!" I whined. This was something new, since I almost never whined. And I mean never.
Undaunted, Azula just laughed. I sighed. After a spontaneous little staring competition (which I won), she finally relented and told me the news.
"Father wants me to go find Zuzu dear and get him back home. Apparently, Father suddenly realized the importance of having family here with us. After all, they're the only ones you can trust," she shook her head, as if upset at the state of the world.
"What? Zuzu's coming home?" I nearly yelled in surprise, but I managed to convert the tone to one of shock and disbelief. Azula gave me a "isn't-that-what-I-just-said" look. A smile threatened to burst out from my lips. I was going to see my brother again after three long years! Oh, how I missed him!
"But...why did Father suddenly...?" I trailed off, wondering.
Azula shrugged. "I'm not going to question his motives," she pointed out, daring me to disagree. I shrugged it off and changed the subject, since I had no interest in Ozai's motives anyway.
"Hey, Zula, do you think that, maybe...I could come along? I won't be any trouble, and I'll stay in my room at all times," I promised, giving her a hopeful look.
"Why would you want to come?" she lifted an eyebrow. "I mean, it's terrible. At sea for so long, seeing nothing but the horizon. And the food is horrible."
"I've never been on a ship before," I insisted. "Furthermore, I'll be dead bored here without you. And anyway, I haven't seen Zuzu in years. I don't even know what his scar looks like." I gave Azula a pointed look. She grinned.
"I'll ask dad."
So there I was, sailing for the first time. Azula was right. It sucked. I was getting sea-sick, and I couldn't even leave Azula's room to go up on deck. I'd snuck in as Azula, so I could not be seen, ever, or the crew may start being suspicious, what with Azula being at two different places at the same time.
I was so eager to see Zuko. The excitement bubbled up within me, and I grinned to myself. I didn't matter that I felt like throwing up. I'd give anything to see Zuzu again. But the rocky waves...plus, the food was terrible. Sometimes, just sometimes, I told myself, Azula does tell the truth. I made a mental note of that.
Azula was somewhere up on deck, where I wanted to be right now. Lucky her. I heard a sudden crack of thunder. She must be practicing lighting-generation again. Lo and Li were on board, too, teaching her. They were one of the few who knew I was still alive, but they didn't know I was on the ship.
Azula was awesome at Firebending, and I told her so, but she was a perfectionist. Everything she did had to be perfect. Sometimes, her lightning and techniques scared me. I shivered and snuggled deeper under the covers, suppressing the urge to throw-up from all that rocking.
"How're you doing, 'Na?" Azula asked as she looked at herself in the mirror, retying her hair into a perfect, straight topknot.
"Sea...sick..." I groaned, still curled up in bed. Azula smirked, giving me a look that so clearly said "I-told-you-so".
"I'll go see what the crew can do for you. By the way, we've docked," she informed me. I knew she wasn't really going to look for someone to help me. How could Zuko stand living on a ship for three years?
I ignored her first sentence, processing the second instead. Wow, living in a metal cabin on the waves for a few days sure makes your brain less sharp...
"Oh? I couldn't tell," I commented after a moment's pause, my voice still a little sickly. The world was spinning around me. "What have we docked for?"
"I heard Zuzu's on the island, I'm going to go look for him now," she said. "In the meantime, you stay hidden. It'll be a wonderful surprise for our dear Zuzu when he sees you here." I nodded as she adjusted her armor and headed for the door.
"Be good now, Azuna, and don't come out till you're supposed to," she gave me a teasing grin. I rolled my eyes at her, and she closed the door and left. She always teased me about missing Zuko. So what? He was my brother; it was only right that I missed him. I closed my eyes to keep the giddiness out, dreaming about falling asleep in Zuko's arms like I used to.
Azula was gone the whole evening. As I lay in bed that night, I heard the door creak open and a silhouette I knew all too well entered the room. Azula sighed as she lay down beside me.
"How was it?" I questioned her, sitting up quickly to face her. The previous nausea was gone; the ship was comparatively stable docked at the port.
"Well, Zuzu's grown a lot since the last time. He's like, what, 15, 16 now?" she acted like she didn't know, didn't care. "Anyway," she continued. "His scar still looks as terrible as before, but, oh well, that's Zuzu we're talking about." I frowned. She pretended not to notice.
"I've told him about Father's wish to have him return. He seemed suspicious, but agreed. He's gonna pack up tonight and he'll be on board by 10 tomorrow morning," she stated simply. I smiled to myself, excitement bubbling up all over again. I'd get to see him in less than 12 hours' time!
"It's late, let's get some rest," I told Azula, trying to keep my voice calm. She didn't say anything more, just nestled under the covers and fell asleep. I lay awake, listening to Azula's gentle breathing and feeling the ship's constant (and less violent) rocking momentum, a single thought running through my head again and again. I'm gonna see Zuzu very soon.
The Sun was up, and the minutes seemed like hours crawling by. I hardly slept at all last night, tossing and turning with anticipation. I hope I didn't disturb Azula too much.
I placed my ear against the cool metal of the ship, straining to hear what was going on outside, on deck. Azula had gone out to fetch Zuzu ten minutes ago, and would return any moment. I could hardly contain my excitement.
"Brother! Uncle! Welcome! I'm so glad you decided to come," Azula greeted with overly-enthusiastic tone and what I could imagine was a pleasant and sincere smile. Why did her voice sound so sugar-sweet and, well, fake? Wasn't she genuinely happy? And if she wasn't, why act? Zuko would probably accept the fact that Azula wasn't that happy about his return.
There were some muffled sounds that I could not make out, and I stood on tiptoe on the bed, keeping my ear pressed against the wall. I thought, though it might have been my imagination, that somewhere in that noise, I heard Zuko's voice. Zuko. I'd see him soon.
Suddenly, a loud shout came through that I clearly heard. I guessed that it was the captain speaking.
"You heard the princess! Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners home!"
Wait...prisoners? Father wasn't being nice, after all, he just wanted to capture Zuko! And Azula knew this! She came here to bring Zuzu back, not as a brother, but as a...a...prisoner. She...she lied to me! To me!
My heart sank as reality hit me. I could not believe Azula would just lie to me so simply. I thought she told me everything truthfully. I thought I was special. But no, I was just another person she'd had to lie to to get what she wanted. Did this mean I would not get to see Zuko anytime soon?
Up on deck, Zuko seemed to realize it, too. The them-being-prisoners-and-Azula-lying part, at least.
"You lied to me."
His voice was sharp, full of disgust and disbelief. Exactly what I was feeling right now. How could she do that? My heart didn't even race at the sound of his voice. I was angry. No, angry wasn't the word. I was furious.
I heard fighting going on on deck. Fire was blasted around. I was missing out on everything. I just wanted to see Zuko! But I couldn't. As angry as I was at Azula, and eager to see Zuzu, I could not appear up there. Father would kill me. His reputation would be ruined, and then he'd kill me for sure.
I sighed, resigned to my fate. I heard a voice shout, "Zuko! Let's go!" I gasped. Uncle. I had not seen him in forever, too. I was glad that he was there for Zuko. What would Zuzu do without him?
Then, a clear, crisp voice cut the air. "You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar! Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?" I imagined Azula looking at Zuko as if he were unworthy of her time and efforts. As if he were stupid.
Her words, though not directed at me, stung. How could she say that to her own brother? To our dear Zuzu? I had half a mind to storm out of the room and tell her off. But I was always rational, never acting before I thought, so I stayed put, thinking of ways to yell at her afterwards without being heard by the crew. I was still crushed about the fact that she lied to me.
After a prolonged silence, which I can only imagine was because they were in combat, I heard a splash and footsteps running off the deck, onto firm ground. Go, escape, my dear brother, I wished him. I really wanted to see him, but he had to go where it was safe. It hurt to know that he had been so close to me, yet so far.
"Princess, princess!" The men on deck were calling. I wondered what had happened. Azula wouldn't be defeated by Zuko, would she? No, she'd never let that happen. All I could do was sit and wait. That was all I could ever do.
A few moments later, Azula stomped into the room, dripping water everywhere. Her hair hang limply around her, and her clothes were soaked. So, she was the splash I'd heard. I stifled a giggle as an image of Azula being thrown overboard filled my mind. No, now's not the time to think like this, Azuna. You're still mad at her, remember? I scolded myself.
Azula frowned into the mirror, shook her soppy mess of hair frustratedly, and pulled her topknot free. With a shake of her head, she splashed water droplets all over the room.
"Hey!" I protested. I wanted to yell at her, to accuse her for lying at me...but what good would that do? It wouldn't do anything. Instead, I looked at my sister, soaking wet and close to tears (though she did a good job of hiding them), and I couldn't help but fetch a towel for her.
"Here," I gave her a smile in the mirror, standing behind her and patting her hair dry. Her frown slowly vanished and she gave me a thin smile back.
"Thank you," she whispered, a tear running down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, ember eyes daring me to say something. I remained silent, giving her a look that told her it's okay to cry. She nodded and looked down, recovering immediately.
"Get me some dry clothes, would you? I have business to complete," she ordered, taking the towel from me. I sighed. Azula, my little sister, was gone. Princess Azula was back.
"Our dearest brother Zuzu," she smirked, completely dry now and looking perfect, as usual. "Is now wanted," she finished. Her voice was sickeningly sweet. I flinched.
With a wanted poster in hand, she exited the room. I shook my head. What was wrong with that girl? What was wrong with Ozai, for turning her into this monster? I hated Ozai more than ever.
One question remained, burning into my mind. Are Uncle and Zuzu somewhere safe? I hoped for the best.
To KarminLove3: Wow, you guessed the plot! Clever. Shh, don't leak the secret! Though anyone who wanted to know could just read your review and know what I'm talking about -_- Pity you don't have an account. Do stay tuned! :)
To all the fabulous, wonderful, awesome reviewers and/or followers: THANK YOU so much for reviewing/following! It means a lot to me. Here, have this slice of pizza ;D Stay tuned! (I think I use this phrase too much :/) I'll update as often as I can!
Me: What do you think? Please, please, please leave a review. I'll give you a waffle, or whatever you'd like, since cookies are overrated anyway! (Just kidding, cookies are awesome) Oh, and I'll let you speak with Azula here! :D
Azula: No way. Uh-uh.
Me: But you must :(
Azula: You can't make me.
Me: I so can. I'm making you speak to me right now, anyway.
Azula: Hmmph. *stalks off (again) with blue flames in her hands this time*
Me: Azula, wait! I'm sorry! Don't burn my books again, please!
Azula: Then, I demand more reviews. And don't tell me what not to do. *glares at PrincessWraven, then at the reader (which is you, by the way) menacingly*
Me: *small voice* Review, please? I'd better go calm Azula down...
And stay tuned for more! I'll update pretty soon ;D
-PrincessWraven