Chapter 6: A New Heading

Azula sat in the belly of her small ship as it sailed away from Kyoshi Island, staring across the table at Ty Lee and wondering at the strange turns that life took. More than a year ago the two of them- and Mai- had disguised themselves as Kyoshi Warriors to infiltrate Ba Sing Se and leave it open for the Fire Lord's armies and succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They captured not only the city but the traitor General Iroh, brought Zuko back into the fold, and neutralized the Avatar completely for weeks, returning home in triumph. Now Zuko was Fire Lord and it was Azula who was disgraced, while Ty Lee had become a Kyoshi Warrior in truth. Had this been someone else's life, the princess would have found the irony highly amusing.

Ty Lee was wearing Earth Kingdom green, rather than her customary red and pink (though this particular shade of green was far brighter and more upbeat than any Azula had ever seen someone born in the Earth Kingdom wear), and she had washed off the distinctive facepaint that the Kyoshi Warriors wore to honor the famous Avatar. She'd already stowed her luggage- consisting of a few changes of clothes, a fan, a shield, and a sword- in her cabin before joining Azula in the hold. The princess had been rather surprised to see the weapons and commented on them.

"I know," Ty Lee said, shaking her head. "I told Suki I didn't need them, but she said that those are what Avatar Kyoshi used and I needed to be familiar with them." She brightened. "Hey, isn't it a rule or something that royalty have to know swordfighting? You can help me practice!"

"Maybe." Azula did know how to use a sword, but unlike her brother she'd never taken the time to become truly skilled with it, preferring to focus on her far more powerful, versatile, and useful firebending. At any rate, the proud princess had no intention of demonstrating a skill she wasn't among the best at.

Ty Lee stared at Azula for a moment, a scowl flitting across her expressive face. "You shouldn't be so down, you know," she said. "It's bad for you. Come on- the war is over, the sun is shining, and we're off on a big, fun adventure! Cheer up!"

"The war is over because we lost, we can't see the sun from inside the ship, and I have to go on this 'adventure' to keep myself from going crazy again." Azula chuckled bitterly. "Forgive me for not enjoying myself."

"Now you sound like Mai," Ty Lee observed. "Hey, don't glare at me like that! I was just saying that all that doom and gloom sounded like something Mai would say."

Azula was about to respond when the door to the hold opened and Captain Shin stepped inside, a roll of paper under one arm. He seated himself by the table and laid the paper out flat, revealing a map of the Earth Kingdom. "As you're most likely aware," he said, "we're currently leaving Kyoshi waters and heading back towards the Earth Kingdom proper. Princess, this is your expedition, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would enlighten me as to exactly where we're going next."

Azula stared at the map for several minutes without speaking. "Based on my vision in the temple my mother is probably somewhere in the eastern Earth Kingdom, but beyond that the spirits didn't supply me with the details. That isn't nearly specific enough for what we need."

Ty Lee's eyes widened. "The spirits told you where to find your mom? Couldn't you just make a fire, burn some offerings and ask them again?"

Azula rolled her eyes. "The spirits are a different order of being from us, Ty Lee. I have no idea why they saw fit to grant me a vision, but I'm reasonably certain it wasn't from the goodness of their hearts. I doubt they'll come when I call like a tame riding lizard, and if they want me to know more, they'll tell me in their own time. Personally, I'm not holding my breath."

"Maybe they want you to figure this out yourself." Ty Lee looked at Azula intently. "Do you know of any way to find help?"

"The only person in the Fire Nation who knew where Mother went was Father, and with him dead I don't know of anyone else who could be useful."

Ty Lee thought for a moment, then brightened. "What about your uncle? He knows lots of stuff! And Suki says he's part of some kind of pai sho club with lots of other smart people. I bet they can help!"

"Uncle Iroh!" Azula snorted. Of all her family, her uncle was the one she understood the least, and so had a tendency to overlook him unless she knew he was involved. Father was supremely ambitious and Zuzu had his honor fixation, but Iroh never seemed motivated by anything except of love of tea and pai sho- which was utterly at odds with his reputation as one of the greatest generals in the history of the Fire Nation, and a firebender to rival his brother to boot. Azula never could understand her uncle, and she had little love for what she couldn't understand.

"Even if I thought he would be able to help me- or that he would even want to help me- I have no idea where he is." Azula turned back to the map, declaring this line of conversation closed.

Ty Lee, however, didn't seem to get the message. "I know where he is," she said. "He's got a tea shop in Ba Sing Se."

"You're not serious." Azula slowly rotated her head to stare at Ty Lee, an expression of incredulous disbelief written across her face. She knew that Iroh had started a tea shop while on the run, but the notion that any royalty would sink to such a position permanently was utterly incomprehensible. Then again, the princess thought, if there was ever any royal who would do something that bizarre, it would be Uncle Iroh.

"I am serious!" Ty Lee said indignantly. "The Kyoshi Warriors were in Ba Sing Se for a festival a few months ago and we went there, and your uncle makes really good tea. He serves it himself, too, and makes really funny jokes."

Azula found herself torn. On the one hand she had never been remotely close to her uncle and it was becoming increasingly obvious that the old man had absolutely no respect for the royal line from which he came. On the other hand, he had been one of the few people in the palace to continue holding her mother's respect, and despite her opinion of him Azula had to admit that Iroh had an uncanny talent for knowing exactly what was needed when. More to the point, it was the only lead she had.

"Very well," the princess said. "We sail for Ba Sing Se." She stood. "Now then, I need air and sun." Without another word she turned and departed from the room, shutting the door behind her.

/

Ty Lee stood to follow Azula when she felt a hand on her arm. Turning, she saw Captain Shin, who had remained silent for most of the discussion.

"Would you mind staying for a moment?" the captain said.

"Sure." Ty Lee sat back down in the chair and pulled her legs up into it. "What d'you want to talk about?"

"The princess," Shin said. "You know her much better than I ever will, most likely, and I'd just like to try and understand her better. She isn't an easy person to talk to."

Ty Lee giggled. "I know that."

Shin leaned forward. "I know that you and Lady Mai travelled with Azula during the war, before the… complications that happened later on. Was she the same then as she is now?"

"Kind of," Ty Lee said. "I mean, she's always been ruthless and not an easy person to get along with, but she was always in control before, if you know what I mean. Now she's lost control and that scares her. I think that's why she's taking her temper out on everyone."

"Why did you stay with her, then? I have orders to help her do what she has to and bring her home in one piece, but you're not part of the military. You're nobility, aren't you?"

Ty Lee snorted. "Yeah, but that wasn't very fun. I always wanted to join the circus, and then I met the Kyoshi Warriors and decided I wanted to be one of them. But, well, Azula's a hard person to say no to- and I think she needs friends, even if she won't admit it."

"Why would you think that?" Shin seemed genuinely mystified.

"Well, she likes to cut herself off from people because she thinks it makes her stronger, whatever that means. But when she does that she gets even colder and even more ruthless- you know, she only went crazy after she thought Mai and me turned on her? Mai just wanted to save Zuko, and I didn't want my two best friends killing each other, but she didn't get why that was important to us. Having friends around reminds her that she's, you know, an actual human being." Ty Lee closed her eyes and hung her head. "Sometimes I think she's so sad, and she doesn't even know it."

Captain Shin stood. "Thank you for telling me that, Ty Lee. I do appreciate it."

"I'll talk to you anytime!" Ty Lee leaped to her feet and wrapped the startled captain in an embrace. "I love making new friends!" And with that, beaming, the acrobat bounded from the room.

/

Azula paced back and forth on the deck, her scowl causing the crew to give her a wide berth. She hated having to rely on her uncle- and at someone else's suggestion, no less!- but there was no escaping that this was her only option.

"Is it?" a cold voice said from nearby. Azula didn't need to look to see that her father now kept pace with her, his face expressionless. "You are forgetting who you are, my daughter- that is the source of your troubles. Remember what I taught you- people are weak. You can only rely on yourself, because everyone else will fail you or betray you."

Azula spun to face him. "I tried that once and ended up a mindless beast chained in front of my own palace. I won't let that happen again. I will find my own way- not yours."

Ozai smiled. "But Azula, everything you are you owe to me. I made you, dear daughter, and you will never be free of me while you still draw breath."

Azula snarled and her fist snapped up, shooting a blast of blue fire at her father's smirking image- only to have it shoot harmlessly over the deck as the hallucination faded, leaving only mocking laughter hanging in the air. Azula stood there on the deck, panting heavily, and when she looked up she saw Ty Lee staring at her.

"Azula," the other girl asked, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," the princess snapped, turning away from the acrobat and stalking towards her cabin. "Leave me alone."

/

A short chapter, and one without a whole lot going on beyond Azula figuring out where she stands with Ty Lee now and deciding to go and see Iroh. For the most part, this is all pretty straightforward, though we do see a little bit of what I mentioned last time about how Azula and Ty Lee's dynamic has begun to change. We also see the Ozai hallucination again – not for the last time! For the most part, though, this chapter was a bridge to the next one.

-MasterGhandalf