She could feel it calling to her, a silent whisper to her chi. Her skin was alive with a tingling sensation and she could feel her blood coursing through her body. She was never more aware of herself than in these few moments.
She was slowly being pulled from her slumber. It would be dawn soon and the sun demanded its presence be known.
As the first rays of light peaked through her small window, Azula breathed in the newfound heat and relished in it. She got out of bed and headed to the deck to properly see and feel the source of all life as it rose to watch its servants below.
It climbed over the horizon quickly and lit her body up. She felt strong, almost invincible. A soft glow enveloped her skin and an undeniable need to bend overtook her. She dropped into a stance. It felt so right, so easy. Like a second nature.
In that moment all her problems were washed away. In didn't matter that her brother and uncle were traitors. It didn't matter that her insatiable father had ordered her to hunt them down. It didn't matter that she already failed once. None of it mattered. All that mattered was the sun.
Her hands were brought to her chest while she focused on the chi flowing through her like the calm before the storm. It was absolutely invigorating. Without warning, she thrust both hands out on either side of her, palms facing outward. It only took a second before a blue orb of fire surrounded her completely, cutting her off from the rest of the world.
She was the center of her own universe now. She created her own sun, a beautiful and deadly blue sun. The heat was overwhelming and seemed to flood all of her senses. Her lungs began to scream when her inferno turned on her and stole all the oxygen in her new oasis. It was painful but she kept it up a little longer, if only for a few more seconds of euphoria.
Her hands dropped to her side so she could watch her flame fade away. She took a deep breath to satisfy her burning lungs and exhaled just as slowly. She would not let it falter; she controlled fire not the other way around.
The sun was calling to her again, begging for more. Everyone always wanted more but she wouldn't refuse, she couldn't refuse. She crouched low and pounced abruptly, sweeping her leg up and forcing a blue arc forward. A half spin brought her other leg around for a follow through before an extended fist landed the would be kill blow.
She moved into another stance fluidly and kicked a leg forward sending a blue flame before her. Years of strenuous practice had made it effortless. She didn't stop there; it still wasn't enough. She kept on until blue streams of light decorated the sky and the metal deck was glowing in places where her intense flame had touched.
She found herself standing on the edge of the ship looking down at the treacherous waters below. She absolutely hated the ocean. It served her no purpose. Really the only people it did serve were waterbenders, and they were as worthless as it came. The element they were born to control didn't hold power like those of the Fire Nation. We were meant to rule and they were meant to submit.
She could admit, though not aloud, that even earthbenders had some function. But the Water Tribes were useless. When she came to power, she vowed to make sure those spineless blue-clad water lovers would follow the Air Nomads into nonexistence. She had no intention of ruling over the weak, she would extinguish them. She would melt their frozen wall and burn them all. She would show them what true power is.
The thought brought a smile to her face while she continued watching the waters lap at her navel ship, reaching up to pull her in. She scoffed. You cannot touch me here. Then, she abruptly flipped backwards sending a powerful wall of flame over the sea. She landed perfectly and took a moment to marvel in its beauty as it grazed over the water. Her fire held a much richer color than that of the sea.
The sun had risen high in the sky now, smiling down on its prodigy. She had lost track of time. Her muscles were every bit on fire as the sun above her. She breathed in deeply and brought her hands together to center her energy, ready to end the morning properly.
With two pointed fingers on each hand, she began the motions that had been burned into her mind so long ago. She brought them around her body swiftly creating a powerful circuit of electricity. Father always was so proud of my lightning.
Not quite ready to release it, she kept the current flowing around her. It crackled and zapped, just begging to be freed. She could almost hear its cries as if it were talking to her, whispering sweet praise directly into her ear. It was exhilarating to create but even more so to release.
In a quick motion she extended her hand upwards unleashing it towards the sky. Everything went dark for a brief moment until a blinding flash of light engulfed the ship and an ear piercing roar rang in her ears. A lesser person might have looked away or covered their ears, but not the princess. She watched in amazement as her power swallowed the world around her. It felt like a lifetime before it faded and when it did, Azula only stood tranquilly staring up at the sky.
That was by far the most powerful burst of energy she ever created. It would have shaken the earth had they been on land. As it were, the sky looked angry and the sea had changed to a raging nightmare, promising death to all who entered. It seemed that she angered the gods. Good. She had never placed much faith in them anyway.
When she finally did turn, she found most of the crew watching, awestruck. With no visible expression, she walked past them and up to the top of the tower to find Ty Lee waiting for her.
She took a seat on the cushion next to the acrobat and crossed her legs. Ty Lee was staring at her with slightly parted lips but said nothing. How unlike her. Ignoring the girl's odd behavior, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing again. She waited for the quiet to take over but it never did. She couldn't silence her mind that was still reeling from the mornings practice.
Her thoughts fell to the day she fought her brother. She hesitated when it came time to end it. She had him right where she wanted him and then she hesitated. Even worse, she only charged her lightning after she seen her uncle making his way towards them and she couldn't decide on the reason why she did so. Was I counting on him somehow stopping me?
She let out a frustrated breath and tried to think more rationally. I didn't even know it was possible to do… whatever it was he did to stop me.
She shuddered when she thought of what her father would have done had he witnessed her momentary weakness. He most certainly would have reminded her exactly what happens when she disappointed him. Then she would need to spend days with the healers to ensure his lesson wouldn't leave a permanent mark. It wouldn't be the first time, she thought regretfully. At least her father afforded her that luxury; Zuko would be stuck with his for the rest of his life.
It was a lose-lose situation. This mission set her up for failure, she was sure of it. If she had killed Zuko the Fire Lord would blame her jealousy for taking his firstborn. But hesitation and not following orders was cause for painful discipline. She couldn't kill him and she couldn't not kill him, so she would be forced to capture him somehow, but that looked impossible now.
She shook her head furiously and opened her eyes to look for a distraction from her failure. Ty Lee was looking at her worriedly. Surely, the girl would be reading her aura or some such nonsense, and knew how the princess was feeling at that moment. That little trick of hers was little more than a nuisance to the princess.
The acrobat opened her mouth to speak but Azula rushed in quickly before she got the chance to ask what was wrong. "I need you to distract me." She placed a hand on the acrobat's knee as she spoke and Ty Lee lit up at the rare show of intimacy, forgetting the problem at hand, just as Azula had set out to do. She eagerly began to look for a distraction when her gaze landed on the sky above her.
Her uniquely grey eyes found Azula's and a shy smile crossed her lips before asking the princess to lie back. Azula looked at her questioningly but the acrobat was already moving to lie down so she followed suit, placing her head on the pillow she had previously been sitting on. She looked up at the sky to find that it had calmed immensely.
Ty Lee scooted over till she was as close as can be without actually touching. "Before you shot your lightning and scrambled everything all up, I was looking at the clouds." She turned to face Azula who was rolling her eyes. "One of them looked just like a Rabaroo, ears and all. Oh it was so cute." She always spoke so animatedly that someone might even mistake the things she said for something important. But almost nothing Ty Lee ever said was important.
"Is this how you spend your free time, Ty Lee? Finding animals in clouds?" Her words were mocking although she was slightly amused.
"Of course not silly. It isn't just animals, you can find anything in the clouds," the acrobat scolded before turning her attention back on the clouds above her. "See that one there?" She pointed up at a fairly large cloud. "It looks just like your palace."
Deciding she would humor the girl, Azula looked up at the cloud she was pointing at and tried to find the palace hiding within it. She squinted and turned her head to the side but all she could see was a white puff. She strained her eyes before getting frustrated and turning back to the girl beside her. "It's just a cloud. I don't see anything."
A small giggle made its way to Azula's ears. "That's because you're trying too hard. Just look at the cloud and you will see it." Azula huffed out in annoyance. 'Look and see' she says. Does she think I wasn't looking? Biting back a snide comment, she did as the acrobat bid and looked.
Her golden eyes were fixed on that one cloud, willing it to take the shape of her palace, but nothing happened. She fought the urge to get up and leave and tried again. If someone as simple minded as Ty Lee can see a palace, than I should be able to as well.
At some point she had stopped blinking, because it was distracting her from her goal. Her eyes began to sting but she held strong. She wouldn't give in, not until she saw the stupid palace. I will not fail. She repeated the thought over and over in her head whileshe focused every ounce of will to no avail. Ty Lee began snickering, breaking her concentration, causing angry golden eyes to fall on the amused form of the girl next to her.
"What is so funny?" Azula snapped icily.
Ty Lee slowly brought herself out of laughter and reached over to touch the princess softly. Azula flinched, causing a sad smile to make it's way across the aura reader's face. "You have to relax." Her usually shrill voice had taken on an alluring tone, something like that of a siren's. It was so soothing, so unlike Ty Lee, but she didn't entirely hate it.
"I am relaxed!" Azula argued a little more forcefully than she had meant to, marking her words false. Ty Lee stifled a giggle when Azula's golden eyes dared the girl to laugh at her once more.
"No you aren't." She gestured to the princess' stiff body. "Look at you. Your muscles are tense, your arms crossed, your eyes are squinty, and your eyebrows are all squished together. You are the furthest thing from relaxed. You are…" she pursed her lips thoughtfully, "unrelaxed?" It sounded more like a question than an accusation but the acrobat seemed proud of herself nonetheless.
Azula purposefully uncrossed her arms and threw them angrily at her side. "You see, I'm relaxed now and I still don't see anything." Still gazing intently at the sky she didn't notice when Ty Lee moved closer so that their bodies lightly grazed one another's.
"You know, I can help you relax." It was whispered directly into Azula's ear, startling her back to reality. She sat up instantly and looked down accusingly at Ty Lee who was wearing an impish smile. "What exactly are you doing?" the princess asked with an evident bite to her words.
"I'm helping you," the acrobat replied simply before sitting up to join the prodigy. She moved close again and leaned in so she could whisper once more. "You trust me, don't you?" Her lips grazed Azula's ear as she spoke and the princess found herself being pulled back down. She allowed it. If she trusted anyone, it would be Ty Lee.
Azula lie on her back and felt a calm wash over her as Ty Lee continued murmuring into her ear. Whatever words the acrobat had been whispering quickly lost meaning and melted together. She peered back up at the clouds and continued her quest but the cloud Ty Lee had originally pointed to was gone, she instead began looking for any shape in any cloud. Really, this cant be too hard at all.
Suddenly, she realized Ty Lee was no longer saying anything as her lips had busied themselves just under the princess' ear. She had meant to stop her immediately but the words caught in her throat. It felt surprisingly good. This wasn't the first time the girl had done it, of course, but Azula had been too preoccupied all the other times to really take notice to just how good it felt.
Ty Lee nipped tenderly at the prodigy's pulse point before placing a soft kiss to it. Azula could feel her eyes beginning to close while she hopelessly fought against it. Ty Lee moved so that her body was flush against Azula's, letting her feel every soft curve and magnifying every little move.
A fire started deep in her belly and spread throughout her entire body till her skin felt as if she had accidently set it aflame. Her clothes felt heavy, and itchy, and just plain uncomfortable, and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off so she could feel the cool sea breeze on her heated flesh. She felt alive in a way she never had before. Every nerve in her body was tingling and just begging to be touched.
Ty Lee's hand snaked around her stomach and began to play with the clothes hiding it. She could feel the acrobat's soft hand brush against her stomach and she desperately wanted more. More of this thing she had never experienced before. She was like a child trying sweets for the first time, it could never be enough, and she would never be satisfied.
She could vaguely hear a voice inside her head screaming at her to stop this immediately but she was afraid if she opened her mouth she would only ask for more, or worse, make those wonderfully disgraceful noises Ty Lee made when Azula would take her. She tried to push her away but her body would not respond, it didn't want to. It was like she was somehow paralyzed but could still feel everything. Did Ty Lee do something to me? Was she even capable of-
All thought ceased when Ty Lee had kissed her way along her jaw and landed on the Azula's lips. It wasn't like their last kiss, Ty Lee was gentle where Azula was violent, but the gentleness wasn't enough for the princess. She leaned up into the kiss forcing her lips against the acrobat's harder. She opened her mouth and tried to nip at her but Ty Lee pulled away at the last second.
Before the princess could force the girl into submission, Ty Lee brought her lips back to her neck and began to do something with her tongue that made Azula lose her train of thought once again.
She could still feel the girl's hand still caressing her stomach but Azula noticed the aura reader was carful not to move to high or to low. Usually she would not allow such things to take place but right now she was sure if the girl tried she would not deny her. She wanted it.
In fact, she was sure Ty Lee could ask her anything and the prodigy might be compelled to do so. She felt so out of control and she hated being out of control, but with Ty Lee it was almost okay. It scared her.
When she was younger she had heard the stories of the downfall of great men and they almost always started with a woman. She had not truly understood before this moment.
Women are not to be trusted, especially those who share your bed. She had overheard a guard say that one night and took it as a compliment. Even at a young age Azula knew she was the superior gender. She was a girl, a princess, and that made her smarter, more cunning, more beautiful, and more exceptional in every way.
It was only partially true that men ruled the world because they all shared the same weakness: women. Although men may stand at the top of a pyramid it was the woman standing behind him that held the true power. She would make him fall in love with her and like the fools men are, they would fall fast and hard. It would only be a matter of time before that woman began whispering in his ear.
A woman might word it nicely and deliver it in a velvety package but venom is deadly no matter how sweetly it's injected. That's what made a woman so dangerous, you never expect them. You don't see them coming until its too late. Women stand in the shadows while the men take the glory but really, it's the women who stand victorious.
She spent countless hours reading the histories of the past lords and kings and studied every aspect of their fall from glory to make sure she would never suffer the same fate. In all the books and scrolls women were kept out of them but subtleties would lead Azula to the truth and so she thought she had nothing to fear. She was a woman. She would never have to deal with the infectiousness of another sharing her bed, and so she paid it no further thought.
But as that dangerously beautiful girl wove a leg between her own all those previous thoughts came rushing back to her. How could I be so stupid? How could it have slipped my mind? With a newfound clarity she wrenched her eyes open with every intention of ripping the girls soft body away from her own, but those golden irises landed on a white dragon soaring through the sky.
The cloud was stratified in a way that made the dragon appear so real that for a second, her heart stopped. They had gone extinct before she was born but she vowed she would destroy one were she ever given the chance. Then she could become a Dragon herself.
Her buffoon of an uncle was the last person to become a Dragon. The selfish old fool killed the last one before she could ever be given the chance to. But as a child she often thought of the honorary title she would be given should she ever kill a dragon. Oftentimes you would be named for the area in which you prevailed, The Dragon of the West or The Dragon of the Black Cliffs, but she always fancied herself a more befitting name. Something like The Dragon Princess or The Young Dragon, in her fantasy she often imaged herself to be the youngest to ever slay a dragon.
She threw the girl off of her, completely forgetting her in the newfound excitement, and stood up as if that would get her any closer to the mirage. The dragon soared through the sky as if it ruled the world, and Azula wanted it. She wanted the chance to make the creature bow to her. What better an animal to fall to my blue flames than a white dragon?
"What do you see?" asked a small hesitant voice behind her. She sounded so distant, so far away that Azula had to turn around to make sure the girl was still there. Ty Lee sat cross legged staring up at the princess with her usual delighted smile.
"A dragon." She turned around and pointed up in the general direction but couldn't find it. As quick as it had appeared to her it vanished. She searched and searched but it was gone.
"Hmm," Ty Lee stood to join Azula by the rail, "I see a flower."
That daft acrobat dare call her a liar? Her grip on the rail tightened until her knuckles turned white. She had seen it. She knew she did. Just because she couldn't find it now didn't mean it wasn't there, right? But where had it gone? Did the wind reshape it so soon? How could she prove what she had seen if it was no longer there? Worse yet, why did she even care to prove such a useless ability to an equally useless girl?
Ty Lee jerked her hand off the railing with a short yelp, causing Azula to look at the now glowing metal. She let go and took a deep breath to regain control of her devices. She looked over at the aura reader who was wearing a pained look on her face and held her hands behind her back.
In fear that she had hurt the girl she ordered to see her hands but Ty Lee only shook her head defiantly. Azula could see the unshed tears in her eyes and she knew she had burned her. She didn't think the acrobat had held on long enough but it would appear that she heated the metal too quickly, not even Ty Lee could react fast enough.
Azula took a step forward to reach for her but the girl took a step back. She tried once more but for every step the princess took forward, the acrobat took one backward, not allowing herself to come within arms length of the princess. Why is she being difficult? She did nothing wrong.
She was overcome with an emotion she could not name, but Azula knew she didn't like it. It was something akin to the shame she felt when she failed her father only it was stronger. She felt an uncontrollable need to rid herself of it, to fix the problem she had created. She wanted to stop the pained look on Ty Lee's face and would do anything to return that annoyingly endearing smile she usually wore.
She decided on a different tactic, seeing as force would not work. "Let me see?" Her usually cold voice held that unnamable emotion, much to her dismay. She had hoped to coax the girl out of whatever idiocy made her afraid to show her hands, but hadn't meant to sound quite that pathetic.
Regardless, it worked. Ty Lee didn't shy away when the prodigy took a step forward this time and allowed her to pull her hands gently into her own. Azula eased her clenched fists open and examined them. What she saw made her angry but she was carful not to let her emotions get the better of her again. Only the weak couldn't keep themselves in check and Azula was anything but weak.
Her hands were as red as blood and the prominent areas on the underside of her knuckles were already starting to blister. They looked terrible and painful and she knew exactly how it felt. Her father had once made her lay her hands flat on hot iron for missing a step on a novice move. That had been one of her worse punishments, especially since she wasn't allowed to heal it until she perfected the move. She wouldn't wish that on her worse enemy. Well, maybe she would, but not Ty Lee. That silly little acrobat didn't deserve pain like this.
She tore her eyes away from the burned flesh and found those grey orbs staring at her intently. She looked back at the princess apologetically, making Azula feel all the worse. Somehow that absurd girl had got it in her head that she had done something wrong. Unable to handle the crushing weight of that damnable emotion, Azula pulled her by her elbow as fast as she could to the sick bay.
Ty Lee said nothing and fought her tears the entire time the healer worked on her hands. Azula only watched from the doorway, unable to leave for whatever reason. She felt horrible. She hadn't meant for this to happen, shouldn't that count for something?
It was rather ironic that all those times she purposely hurt the girl she had felt nothing, except for some sort of sadistic satisfaction, but her one accidental injury had turned Azula's newfound conscience against her, leaving her a confused mess.
Every guard that walked past would spare a few seconds to look at the obviously remorseful princess questioningly. She knew she was losing face in front of them, but she would deal with that later. An Agni Kai or two would clear that up real quick. Right now though, she needed to stay and be sure the worthless healer would fix the problem as soon as possible.
She wished desperately for a waterbender who could fix this problem in an instant and remembered that only a few hours ago she had cursed the Water Tribes and vowed to destroy them all. She quickly recanted that promise and decided that she would allow a few to live and breed, only to be kept around as healers since those unable to bend did little and less. The healer currently working on Ty Lee certainly seemed unable to do much at all.
Ty Lee flinched again as the doctor tore a piece of hanging flesh from her hand, causing Azula to grimace at the knowledge that this was entirely her fault.
His voice cut through Azula's self loathing. "She will be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Just make sure to reapply this serum every 3 hours." She nodded curtly and waited while the doctor finished giving Ty Lee limitations. Once the rules were set and the medicine given, Azula followed the girl back to her chambers.
It crossed Azula's mind that she shouldn't be walking behind the acrobat; it should be the other way around, yet she could not bring herself to fix the situation. Watching Ty Lee drag her feet as she stared solemnly at her wrapped hands was enough to distract her from what is proper protocol.
An overwhelming need to say something took over as she spent the rest of the walk to the room searching for the right words. When Ty Lee entered her chambers she seemed a bit surprised that Azula was still with her. But before Azula could get the chance to really break down the reaction a soft smile took over her features as the acrobat took the stiffened princess into her arms.
"You're still here?" It was almost a hurtful statement. Of course I'm still here. It was odd that the girl hadn't noticed the princess following her the entire time, but Azula supposed that it never crossed the acrobat's mind because Azula had never followed her before.
The moment had was now or never. Now would be the time to say whatever it was that she needed to say. She hoped it might make herself feel better about the whole situation, though Azula could not quite fathom the reason why. She had heard from others that apologizing supposedly makes problems better. But how a few words could fix something like this, she didn't know, but she would try anyway.
At the very least, it will make Ty Lee feel better. She always was a sucker for a few pretty words. She pulled out of the aura reader's embrace and brought a hand up to fix the imaginary out of place hair in her topknot and took a moment to straighten her crown.
"Ty Lee," she started, her voice coming out stronger than she had expected. Their eye's locked as she spoke, lending an air of seriousness to the coming conversation. "My earlier actions were careless at best and not at all a testament to my prodigious upbringing. This was not my intention." She let out a breath of relief. Well, that was easier than I thought. She smiled, or tried to at least. It turned out looking more like a triumphant smirk.
Ty Lee only stared blankly back at her, clearly not understanding the intentions of the princess' words. Oh well, I tried. Is it really my fault that she is too stupid to understand it. She cleared her throat.
"All right then, I shall not bother you until we dock at the Earth Kingdom. We're picking up an old friend and you need plenty of time to rest so you can heal properly. You are of no use to me hurt." She turned on heel and walked out the door. She was right; apologizing did make her feel better.
