I hope that I got her character right. This is literally the first extended interaction between another character and Azula that the reader encounters. I hope I did her character justice, because if I didn't I'll have to consider starting over. Ok, well, tell me if Azula is as in character as she's allowed to be.
Her eyelids rose as if traveling upwards from a deliberate blink. She was awake, aware. Her mind was blank, and chest unburdened. Lucid, she sat upwards and scanned the room. She could see that the rays of the morning sun flooded the room with a warm and vibrant light. She shifted her position, sitting upright in the bed.
Placing hands upon the dark red lining that covered her lap, she began to think. Were they nightmares, or were they dreams? Azula could not make heads or tails of the images that ran through her head as she slept; however, there was one thing that was certain. Her mind was clear.
No longer did she have to attempt to force down the taunting and scathing voices of torment and ridicule that once plagued her mind. She found that they now seemed to no longer exist. There was nothing inside her mind, save her own thoughts. This new realization caused her to close her eyes shudder, as she exhaled in relief.
She thought that maybe she could find some sort of peace.
"Ah, Princess, you are awake." The old healer said, as she entered the room with a bow.
Azula slowly opened her eyes, refraining from clutching the sheets in anger. Apparently she would have to wait a bit longer to enjoy her newfound peace of mind.
The old healer made her way towards the young woman's bedside, sitting down as she began to talk. "You gave us quite a scare, Princess. You had quite the fever, so much so that your bending began to heat your body from its core. We weren't exactly sure how to go about helping the fever to break. Though, all of that is over now, and by the looks of it…" The older woman reached towards Azula, placing a hand gently upon her forehead. "…we seem to be out of the fire, so to speak." She removed her hand from the young woman's forehead and continued to speak, "It's a relief to have you back in a stable condition princess, for a while none of us were sure what was to become of you."
Azula, still not looking at the woman began to speak in an almost somber tone, "There's no need to call me by that title, not anymore."
"Title?" The old healer asked, oblivious to what Azula was referencing.
"Princess." Azula whispered, looking down at her lap.
"Princess…I see. There seems to have been more to your illness than meets the eye. What would you like to go by?"
Azula turned her head and shot the woman a fierce, powerful look, one filled with a murderous intent. Her golden eyes burned with intensity as she fixated her gaze upon the healer. She would not be patronized, not like some mental case, not anymore.
The old healer simply closed her eyes and smiled. "All there, I see. And still so very…Azula. This is good."
Azula broke her gaze, annoyed with the hag's psychological evaluation games. Those too, were going to be things of the past.
The healer stared at Azula for a couple of moments, studying her condition. "Though, there is something different about you, Azula. An air of calmness surrounds you. It's been a while, a long while actually, but I've seen such before. Some individuals, when they undergo battles of duality within their being, exhibit physical illnesses. Fevers, hallucinations, and other manifestations overtake them."
Azula stopped listening at a certain point, leaning back against the head rest of the bed with her eyes closed and brow downturned. However, she seemed to tune in once again to hear the last few words of the woman's droning.
"Whatever you're feeling now, is important. I do not know what choices or realizations you've made, but I do have advice. And it's damned good advice, so I'd really appreciate it if you listened," the old woman said with calm smile as she leaned closer to the former princess.
Azula cocked her eyebrow, not expecting the healer to be so disarmingly cheeky.
"I say this because I know that now, now you can process it all. You should accept what the world has become. Your father is no longer Firelord. The war is over, and Firelord Zuko has taken the throne. The world has taken a different path and it may be time for you to join it, and walk upon that path as well."
Azula blew air at this, "And now, here I am."
"Yes, here you are," The old woman said with no humor in her voice. "How horrible must it be to live as a young woman who will be catered to for as long as it takes her to recover, a young woman who the Avatar himself comes to visit day in and day out, without fail. How horrible."
The sarcasm could be cut with a knife.
Azula let out a guttural laugh, and then craned her neck towards the old woman, allowing her hair to drape partially over her face. "You're quite bold, I'll give you that. I should allow you the honor of wearing my brother's crass little fashion statement on your face."
The old healer smiled, "And the fact that you spare me the pleasure, shows tremendous progress on your part."
Azula rolled her eyes as she placed her head upon the headboard of the bed once more. "The Avatar…was he…here…during all of this, I mean," Azula asked as casually as she could pass off.
"Oh, yes. An entire night spent holding your hand. If it weren't for the particular circumstances of the situation, and it was a different place and time, I would have to comment on it being one of the cuter things that I've seen." The old woman says laughingly.
Azula's eyes rested upon the woman with pure disdain.
Ignoring the young woman's displeasure, the healer continued to speak, "Regardless, I do think you should re-evaluate how you treat the young man. Not many people go back to place their hands in the fire after getting burned."
The side of Azula's mouth inadvertently jerked, and a cold feeling trickled down her shoulders and back. She had forgotten. Remembering, through a teary gaze, she recalled the fact that she did indeed injure the Avatar, almost grievously so. Her dismay transformed into a slight smile as she found a strange sense of pride in being able to damage the most powerful being on the planet, again. She turned her head to the side looking away from the older woman, as to not let her see the smile that had forcefully overtaken her face.
"Thinking about all he's done for you, a thank you may be in order."
Azula's smile disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. She could only stare at the woman with a blank expression. "Gratitude?" She asked almost as if responding to an unclear joke.
"I'm of the opinion that an apology should accompany the show of gratitude, but baby steps; one foot in front of the other rather than trying to jump over a smoldering caldera all at once." The woman said to Azula.
"And I'm the one locked in the asylum." Azula said, stabbing the healer with her eyes.
"Is what I am saying in any way irrational?" the healer asked.
Azula scowled, "It is if you expect me to apologize to the person that caused all of this. If you believe that, then I do believe you're the one that deserves to be locked in the cage."
The old woman responded to Azula's bitter anger with a placid expression and stoic voice, "It was just something to consider. Also, the Avatar did convince the Firelord to add any amenity that you desired for your room; to a certain extent, of course."
Azula's upper lip curled as she turned away from the healer, sinking back into the bed and raising the sheets over her shoulder. She was done talking about the matter any further.
"Will you be needing anything, Azula?" The old healer asked.
The former princess wore a frown as she considered the question she had just been asked. She responded, "Time alone, water, and in a few hours, someone with ink and a scroll."
"It will be done," The woman said to the girl whose back now faced her. "Consider what I said. That young man has a lot of faith in you. It would be a shame for all the time he's invested in you to have been wasted."
With that, the old woman rose and exited the room, leaving Azula to close her eyes and re-enter the dark world from where in which she emerged.
