Chapter 3: Healing Begins

At dusk, I made my way back over to the hospital. I got more nervous with every step I took. I was heading into unknown territory—territory of the mind and of the spirit. It seemed to me like it would be more of Aang's strength, but he insisted that this was something I could do—something I should do. He had faith in me—faith that I will succeed—even if it took time.

Lazu was there to meet me when I arrived, and he took me down a hallway leading to a staircase that wound down into the ground. Before making my descent, I glanced out the window where I could see the moon begin to rise.

We walked down yet another hallway to a room all the way at the end. Lazu opened the door to an observation room, where a middle-aged woman was sitting and taking notes. She looked up when we entered the room.

"Katara, I'd like you to meet Zee. Zee, this is Katara."

"It's nice to meet you, Katara," Zee bowed in greeting, her smile soft but still reaching her gray eyes. "Lazu told me that you would be coming by this evening."

"It's nice to meet you too, Zee," I replied, bowing as well. My gaze left hers for a moment, and I could see to my left the room in which Azula was being kept.

"This entire wall looks to be made of glass, but I know that can't be the case. Azula could easily break it and cause some serious damage."

"Actually, it is made out of glass, but it's one-sided glass with a special coating that makes it virtually unbreakable. She can't see us, but we can see in. As you can see, this allows us keep an eye on the princess around the clock."

"Amazing…" The Fire Nation was known for its ingenuity with inventing machines for war, but it made sense that they could put some of that to other uses.

"Before you go in to see her, there are a few things I should tell you. We had to use some energy blocking on her in order to disable her bending abilities temporarily and prevent her from attacking us the first several days she was here. We haven't used them the last three days since being out of the sun has pretty much done the trick. That, and the temperature is much cooler here underground.

"When she first got here, she was panicked. Her eyes indicated that she wasn't quite seeing us. She was still going through some kind of nervous breakdown. She has calmed a bit since then, but is extremely paranoid and mistrustful of everyone she encounters."

"Thank you, Zee." Zee then opened the door that led to Azula's room and walked in. I followed her.

"Princess Azula, someone is here to see you."

The princess did not respond. When I walked to Zee's side, Azula came into view, and I had to hold back a gasp at what I saw. Azula's wrists and ankles were shackled and chained to the sides of the bed, which was bolted into the wall. There was enough slack where she could move around, but not get away from the bed. Her hair had been cut to her shoulders and her sharp nails filed to blunt edges. She wore a simple white sleeping shift. A far cry from the powerful princess I remembered hunting us.

Zee showed herself out, and I slowly approached Azula. Pulling up a chair a few feet away from her, I took a seat. She was sitting in the middle of her bed, still not looking at me, but I knew she knew I was there.

"Hello, Azula," I said, not really sure where to start. This whole situation was feeling very surreal on so many levels.

Her gaze slowly turned to meet mine. At first there was nothing in those golden eyes except wariness and then I saw it—a hint of recognition. She knew me.

"What do you want, waterbender? Come to finish the job?" Azula sneered. But her usual aura of invincibility was gone. There was fear and defeat in her voice.

"No, I've come to help you."

Azula went to open her mouth for a retort, but no words were coming. It was clear that I didn't say what she expected me to say. She certainly was lacking the mental sharpness and clarity she once had. Her eyes shifted around the room, looking everywhere but at me. After a few moments of silence she had another outburst.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance! But I guess that was your plan. To have me rot in this place instead of letting me die honorably," she hissed, her breathing becoming more erratic.

"You have no idea what honor is!" I thought to myself. I had to bite back the words. "Killing you would have been dishonorable if there was a way to let you live."

"You call this living!" It looked like she wanted to say more, but then she remembered who she was talking to. "Get out!" she screamed, building herself up into a tantrum, lunging at me. Surprised at the movement, I jumped up and instinctively brought my hands to my waterskin, but there was no need. The chains kept her a safe distance from me. She growled in frustration and let out another series of yells as she thrashed on her bed, trying to break free.

I didn't know whether to stay and wait her tantrum out or to leave. I wished there was someway to do both. A knock on the door made my decision for me. Zee entered and swiftly moved to Azula's side, applying rapid pressure point techniques, much like Ty Lee, knocking the Princess back down onto her bed.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, stunned at how quickly everything had happened.

"If her rage grows too strong, it could awaken her inner fire."

"But constantly blocking off her energy can't be good for her."

"No, but it's the only way to deal with someone in her condition."

"There has to be another way." Then it came to me. "May I try something?"

"You may. She's pretty much incapacitated, so you should be alright. I'll be in the observation room if you should need me." With that, Zee once again left me alone with the fallen Princess.

I approached the bed where she lay. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes now held true fear since she was unable to move. I tried to put myself in her shoes. I remembered what it felt like to have my energy blocked when fighting Ty Lee, and it wasn't a good feeling at all. Now added to that, she was alone in a room with someone she saw as an enemy without the ability to bend or defend herself.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Azula. I meant it when I said I was here to help."

Her expression didn't change at my words. She was still distrustful. I sighed. Not that I could blame her.

Bending some water from my waterskin, I brought it up to my hands and the water began to glow. Azula's eyes widened and she made a muffled sound. I had to try to put her at some ease.

"Shh, Azula. It's alright. I can use my waterbending to heal people. Let me try to help you get your energy unblocked."

She nodded her head slightly, giving me permission to proceed. I began to move the water over her energy pathways, feeling where Zee had blocked it off. I focused on each spot in her body one at a time until I felt the blockage open. With each opening, I could feel the Princess relax a bit more, although she kept her eyes on my hands the entire time.

When I was done, I sat back onto the chair I had been sitting in earlier. I didn't say a word, not wanting disrupt the moment. She stared at me now, almost like she was trying to figure me out. There was a look of confusion and then her face scrunched up as she turned onto her side, facing away from me.

"Leave now," she said in a strained voice.

"Azula…"

"Just. Leave," almost a whisper.

Confused, I got up to go.

"Goodnight, Princess," I said before closing the door behind me.