Despite her words to her Captain when she first took the mission to capture the Avatar, Azula knew quite a lot about the tides. Not only the tides of the ocean, which sailed her ship and let her travel seas in her quest, but the tides of politics. She had seen her father grow stronger through his time in the war, and with that strength came loyalty from the men and fear from his enemies.
It also brought a certain paranoia, which made his summons for her and her team that much more disconcerting. He would not reward success in the capture of Ba Sing Se with a summons, he would send a messenger, or troops, or funds. The last time she had seen anyone summoned, it was when Iroh returned from Ba Sing Se a failure. The result had not been pleasant.
For Iroh, at least. She had giggled.
There was no laughter now. She leaned against the railing, staring out at the sea, lost in thought. She was aware (she was always aware. She could not afford to be caught off guard) of Mai standing next to her, tall and regal as her upbringing demanded, bored and aloof as her personality warranted. Yet she knew that beneath her sleeves, in which her hands curled to stave off the cool ocean climate, two spring loaded daggers were poised to fight off any attack.
I don't think she thinks of us as friends. The phrase intruded on her musings, and she snarled in surprise. If Mai had noticed, or cared, she did not show it.
Ty Lee was not so discreet. "What is it, Azula?" The Princess had not even heard the acrobat walking up behind her, but she did not let her surprise best her again. Instead she turned with what she knew was a thoughtful scowl.
"I want to know what my father is thinking, pulling me from the site of the Fire Nation's greatest victory. The city of Ba Sing Se, hand delivered to him without the loss of a man. Their army ready to fight as our own. Why call us home now? Why not let us carry our momentum into a capture of the Avatar?"
Ty Lee shrugged, barely concealing her obvious discomfort. Azula imagined the poor girl had her own theories about why they were being brought back, none of them good, or even pleasant. Azula herself was not worried about unpleasantness, however. She had done nothing wrong, and by extension, neither had Mai or Ty Lee.
Mai looked sideways at the two, then faced the ocean again. "Whatever it is, we'll find out in two weeks. There's no sense in fretting about it until then."
Azula huffed slightly, turning back to face the ocean. "The more I know, the more I'm prepared to deal with," she said, quietly, knowing the other two heard regardless. Ty Lee leaned next to her, and Mai stepped closer to the rail.
No matter how she thinks of me, she's still my friend. The word struck Azula as Ty Lee's arm brushed her own. She glanced at the girl, sideways, taking in her profile as she watched the ocean, lost in her thoughts, grey eyes mirroring the clouds above. She turned and looked at Azula, catching the Princess watching, and smiled brightly before turning back.
She always has a smile when she sees me, no matter what I've done. She never blamed me for taking her away from the circus, even though she ran from a very noble house to join it. She has never held anything I've done against me. Even setting her net on fir- A rock sank into her stomach, and she nearly groaned. She had never, not once, felt like that before. The feeling, she knew was called something, and before long she remembered it's name. Guilt.
Oh this will not do at all! She straightened and turned, her back rigid. "I'm going to train. I'm aggravated, so I wouldn't come to watch today. It will be dangerous." Without waiting for a reply, she strode to the front deck of the ship. She could barely hear Mai over the waves.
"What's gotten into her?"
"Yeah, I know... she actually warned us this time."
Azula had spent most of the rest of the journey in training or in her cabin, receiving pigeonmice with status reports from Long Feng, sending them back with instruction. Once, maybe twice, Mai and Ty Lee visited, but her surly demeanor kept them away for the most part. She felt satisfied that she could be a lone, yet, oddly, she found something was missing when they weren't around as well.
More troubling was her training. She was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. And she had discovered an even worse side effect of the so called Avatar's Spell.
She could no longer summon lightning.
The Hall of the Fire Lord was dark, lit by pyres on either side of the cavernous room, one every three meters on the entire length of the room, torches spaced just as evenly down the long walk from the massive chamber doors to the throne itself. Despite the amount of fire, it was dim at best, owing to the cavernous proportions of the royal hall. The result were shadows in pools of light, and stifling heat.
In a way, it was yet another line of defense for the Lord of the Fire Nation. He would never be without flame to control, manipulate, and the heat would drain the energy of those not used to it. If they could muster an attack, it would be quickly contained, either by the guards or by the Fire Lord himself.
For this reason, anyone who sought audience with the Fire Lord would be forced to walk through a stifling hall full of shadows, hiding guards and rife with the element of the land. The very act of doing so was enough to quench the desire of anyone wishing to attack the Fire Lord directly.
Adding to the psychological impact was the fact that the shadows completely engulfed the Fire Lord himself, so that no one could see his face. To not be able to see ones opponent is to never be sure what that person was thinking. If the heat did not stop them, if the walk through fire did not disuade them, the very fact that the one they would attack seemed to absorb the light often gave an attacker enough reason to keep his rebellion to himself.
So it was that three young women walked into the throne room and approached the throne of the Fire Lord. One walked with noble bearing, hands in her sleeves, eyes and face composed in a mask of indifference, if not boredom. The other walked gracefully, staring ahead to keep her eyes from wandering to the shadows, to keep fear from her face. The third, their leader, walked with her head back, her eyes held on the Throne with an almost lustful attention, her very posture screaming that she belonged her. It was only proper for a princess.
They knelt at the foot of the throne, and Azula looked up to the silhouette that was her father. A shadow, as she had ever known him. The man who taught her that power must be everything, simply because he never lowered himself to touch her or Zuko when he could have spent time in the throne room, surrounded by his own power.
"Father, what is it you would ask of me?"
The shadow of the Fire Lord gazed down at Azula, unanswering, as if looking for a weakness in her. She held her gaze where her Father's eyes must be, unwavering, fighting the urge to raise her brow in a show of impatience. Though not many deserved respect from her, Azula knew that to show any disrespect to the Fire Lord was to ask for death.
"The traitor, Iroh. The failure, Zuko." His voice was deep, imposing, and devoid of all emotion. "Where are they?"
Azula swallowed. "Zuko has..." Before she could continue, a blast of fire pounded into the ground close to her leg. She looked up, eyes narrowed.
"Zuko has earned his reward for his treachery. Why are they not dead?"
Azula said nothing as her father stood, imposing on his throne. "Why is the Avatar still alive to plague me? Why do the nations not tremble at my name? Explain this to me." He stepped on the first step, then the second, his face slowly coming out of the shadow, then stopped, still hidden by the flickering light. What Azula could see of his eyes was disturbing. Mad.
"My Lord," she began, carefully. "I have taken, in your name, New Ozai, a strong city formerly called Omashu. I have also brought to you the capital itself, Ba Sing Se, with soldiers willing to fight to keep it in the Fire Nations hands. Do you doubt that I can stop one boy and a motley gang of rogues with him?"
"And yet, they still plague me." Ozai's voice was cold. "You know from Zuko's mistake that failure will not be tolerated."
"I have not failed you," Azula growled, standing to her full height. "The Avatar will be neutralized before Sozin's comet comes to give us it's strength!"
The Fire Lord regarded her through the flame, standing in a defiant pose, her fists clenched at her sides. He smiled, a smile that, to Azula, didn't seem to meet his eyes. "I have faith in you, my daughter," he said, as soft as his deep voice could manage. "However, I think, perhaps, you need a reminder of the price of failure."
Before she could react, the Fire Lord had dropped into a deep crouch, brought a fist up, and sent a fireball hurling.
Straight for Ty Lee and Mai.
I think, maybe, I need a beta reader. I hope this isn't as bad as it looks to me. :-\