Rubik's Cube
A/N: Winging this chapter (again). They are preparing for takeoff as the procrastination epidemic sweeps through my mind!
Chapter Eight: Preparations and Travel
A quiet knock echoed throughout the princess's room, making her aware of someone's presence. She stood and swiftly walked through her room to the door. Behind the door stood Zuko, clad in simple training clothes – the same fashion she wore currently. Azula opened the door and looked at him disdainfully.
"What do you want?" she almost snarled. It was apparent that she did not want him in there.
"We'll be leaving soon." He said with a small smile "Hurry and get ready, we'll all be waiting outside." Azula nodded.
"Alright," was all she said back. Zuko gave her a small smile and exited the doorway, calmly taking off down the corridor. She watched him leave and closed the door.
Opening her closet once more, she chose almost the identical attire as her brother. Getting out a small satchel, she packed it with her few necessities. That seemed about all she needed. She threw the bag over her shoulder and left the room.
Following the path Zuko took, she led herself to the front gates of the palace. Out there stood the two peasants and her brother; waiting for the Avatar, she presumed. As if on cue, Appa swooped down and landed just feet in front of them with Aang adorned on his head. Azula watched calmly, until the waterbender decided to discuss things with her brother.
"I think we need to have someone watch her." started the waterbender.
"Katara," replied Zuko "we don't need to put her on wa–" He was promptly cut off as Sokka budded his way into the conversation.
"You don't need to worry! I'll take first watch!" Sokka grinned and walked over to Azula, waving his boomerang in front of her "You hear that, Princess. I'm goi– GAH!" His sentence stopped in its tracks when the princess sent a small spark at his hand.
This action got her a quickly frozen hand and feet encased in earth. "Don't touch him!" was the waterbender's cry.
Azula simply rolled her eyes "Tell your brother not to wave his toy in my face." Katara growled at her and climbed up on Appa as Zuko walked over.
"You know you're going to have to be nicer if you want to get along with them," he looked at her.
She smirked, "Keep your merry band of misfits in check and we'll get along just fine." With a chuckle, she jumped up onto Appa and sat in the back.
Zuko shook his head and got onto the bison, taking a spot next to Katara. "What am I going to do with her?"
Katara looked at him "I don't know Zuko. I still don't understand why you brought her along. She's a monster. She –"
"She's just a little girl." He looked at her with intensity enough to match Azula's flames.
Katara looked at him "She tried to kill you!"
"She was only acting how she was trained to."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I wasn't the only one who had family issues."
"Oh please, your father loved her. She was his shadow." Katara crossed her arms.
"No. He didn't. She had a talent that he could bend… He corrupted her and molded her into his little weapon. He didn't deserve a child to raise on his own, especially one that fit him as much as Azula" Zuko said, his shoulders sagging with the weight of regret. "And all I did was spite her."
Katara's gaze softened, confused "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Zuko started "that all he saw in her was a weapon and he made her believe he loved her." He looked back at his little sister then at Katara "The days of and before the comet were the days she lost everything; our father, her title, her power and even her mind. And I am ashamed to say I helped make it happen." He looked down at his lap, tears glistening in his uninjured eye.
Katara blinked "Even if all that did happen, everyone has a choice in their actions. She chose to –"
"I knew you wouldn't understand." He interrupted her "You didn't know our father… The pressure he could put on you. She acted out on his orders. If someone you failed him… If she failed him it would be going against everything she was taught.
"She was a prodigy. And he convinced her that her duty was to him and her nation; not her emotions."
Katara looked completely baffled. "I'm sorry Zuko, but until she starts to change, I'm afraid I can't forgive her for anything that she's done."
Zuko sighed "Fine."
The entire group sat in almost silent for the most of the ride. Azula was in the back with her eyes closed the entire time, muttering incoherent sayings under her breath from time to time. Zuko and Katara kept their spots next to each other and Sokka would ask Aang how much longer the ride would take every hour or so.
But everything changed when the small island if Hira'a came into view.
A/N: SORRY FOR THE DELAY I PROCRASTINATE A LOT. And I hope you all liked it. Read and review. Reviews are like Nutella for my brain.
