Lotus
Flight
His feet thundered over the grounds. Zuko's harsh pants trembled when he spotted moonlight seeping inside through destroyed walls from outside, with birds chirping through the halls once he landed in the corridors. His chest burned at piercing screams that echoed the palace. Cold wind slapped his face along with the burnt smell of flesh.
"Kiyi!"
"Lord Zuko!" Jiji ran behind him with an army of officers' right behind her back.
At the turn of the lower corridors, he skidded on a tiny decorative table with a picture frame of his mother and Izumi, toppling ornamented gold over as he rushed down. Azula's door stood down the hall to the right, a room secured near the gardens.
The doors were opened, revealing a bright orange light mingling with white. Flames roared, licking at the sides of its edges and on mosaic ceilings. Kiyi stood on her knees in front of the opening in a pool of blood, a dismembered arm near her lap.
He stopped. The bloodied face of a young corpse stared back, eyes glassy under fiery light.
"Put the fire out!"he shouted, running to latch on to Kiyi's shoulders. The ground shook with stomps as officials swarmed in to bend the fire away. He clutched her wet cheeks, heart hammering as she shivered, "Kiyi! Look at me!"
Kiyi eyes were wild with terror, blackened in the dark of the corridors. Heat that flared from behind died down. He turned in time to see the night sky through broken walls. The quarters blackened, he barely recognized Azula's belongings in dark smoke and blood stained walls. A body lay slumped over a stoned edge.
"Kiyi, what the blazes happened?!" Zuko yelled, clutching hot cheeks. Kiyi continued crying, throwing out nonsensical jargon. Her hair thrown about her face, blood matted over stained torn clothing, a pastel pink marred with dirtied red.
"Your majesty, stop!" Jiji knelt beside him, "Princess Kiyi, can you hear us?"
"Azula…"
"Take deep breaths," Jiji said, clutching Kiyi's soaked shoulders. Zuko glanced at the dismembered arm. "Now, tell us what happened."
"He took her…" Kiyi gasped out. "S-she w-wanted me to find you guys but some of them tried to kill me too."
Zuko turned to see the corpse he stumbled over. Blood oozing from its half-arm. Smoke wafted out. Kiyi jumped when Zuko nudged Jiji over to grasp his sister's shoulders.
"Who did this?" he asked.
Kiyi blinked rapidly, "The guards. Some of them don't belong here," she scrambled up to latch onto her brother's arms. "Zuko, all of them were wearing armor like your g-guards. They were listening to Azula and me in her room and then they jumped down-"
"Princess calm-"
"They kept on saying that her father wanted to see her and she almost said yes but she changed her mind and they got angry!"
Zuko pulled Kiyi into a hug. She sobbed, her body shaking so much that he was afraid she would jump away. "We'll find Azula. I promise."
"No. They're going to kill her, Zuko. Your father is going to kill her!"
Zuko froze. Kiyi said this with certainty. A part of him wanted to laugh and tell her no, his father would never kill Azula. Azula had always been Ozai's trump card. Without her, he would-
The firelord looked behind him to witness the destroyed quarters, the bodies sprawled over and the roaring flames dying down. Of course, his father had no reason to live.
He looked at Jiji, "Find the Avatar."
Three Days Later
Ozai's knees creaked with each step he took, startled by this odd memory. The dungeons, dark with a bleeding cold, echoed the further he traveled down. The young girl, a follower's daughter, held his hand. She reminded him of Azula, holding a quickened flight to her steps with a sharp wit.
"What's your name, girl?" he asked the child.
Her cropped her flickered when she looked up, "Xiulan, sir."
He heard about his daughter's arrival on the night they brought her in a coffin bound and mouth, muzzled. His followers, left from the fifteen crusaders that infiltrated the Fire Palace, came severely injured. Eyes bloodied, feet limping and body half burnt, Ozai knew that not many would survive Azula's lasting wrath.
Xiulan led him to the end of the tunnel, near a cell with no window. His followers fed Azula with a morning, afternoon and evening meal, but Azula had yet to eat since she recovered. She hasn't spoken and according to Mao, his leader of the mission, she spent her days looking off in a distance.
"Don't be fooled," Ozai remembered telling the scarred man, "Azula is plotting her escape."
They spotted a guard stationed in front of the cell. The young man, not older than sixteen, used a key to unlock barred doors. Xiulan led him in, locking the cell behind him. Ozai did not want any interruptions. His followers were stationed on every corner, just in case they had to help sedate their captive.
Ozai spotted Azula's abandoned jook in a corner, ridden with flies. Azula's body lay still on a futon. He ordered Xiulan to take the meal. Hushed movements were enough for Azula's eyes to peer open. Ozai smiled.
"You've grown, my daughter."
Azula eyed him like a commoner would a bear lion, her hair covering half of her bruised face. He remembered when Zuko brought her to him while he was in prison. They spent their visit staring at one another, silently speaking through their eyes.
"Bring tea, Xiulan," he called.
It didn't take too long for them to hear the gates opening with the child rushing in with a tray of steaming tea. Amber liquid staved off clouded smoke as she placed the tray between him and Azula. She took the fly ridden breakfast with her.
His deep wrinkled hands cradled a white ceramic cup. They trembled as though one nudge could spill the amber liquid over the dark table. Silvery strands obscured his view. He took a peak at his daughter. Her eyes almost looked black in the ink tinted dark, speckled by its soft yellow light over molten wax.
"I wanted for us to talk," Ozai said, "A father should have the right to beg his daughter to stand by his side, should he not?"
Azula blinked, "You're not going to get to him by kidnapping me," she said. "Zuko will do anything necessary to take you down, with or without me in return."
Ozai said nothing. The daughter he knew would never speak like this to him.
"Firelord Sozin brought glory to the Fire Nation when he instigated the Hundred Years War. You know that. But I never told you about Firelord Sozin's wife," Ozai said. "Do you know why she was executed in the Royal Plaza?"
She scowled, "Why don't you tell me and stop playing games?"
"She slept with the enemy."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"Sozin's wife was executed because she had been sleeping with a monk," Ozai murmured. "My grandfather, killed this woman first before he rightfully slaughtered the nation your husband hailed from. Decide whether you want to experience a fate like hers or whether you want to follow your flesh and blood."
Ozai pushed Azula's tea forward until it was right by iron bars. His daughter stared at it, as though she were trying to lose herself into its dark liquid. Her face pallid, she leaned back. His daughter would always shine bright, even in death.
"I'm not drinking that."
Ozai nodded, asking for Xiulan take the tea back.
Aang moved at a strange pace. The only thing he noticed where the doors. Too heavy, too gold and gnarled. A dragon's mouth gaped over the knob, he let his fingers graze its teeth before he pushed the doors open. Aang didn't fully recognize Suki, decked in green, gold and white armor. He murmured his gratitude when a general put his arms around his neck and told him that they would find her. Jiji even gave him a pat on the arm.
Ty-Lee came, and she wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry, Aang."
The war room lit through the flamed torches lined on the tops of high blackened walls. Choked to the brim with several visitors who came from all corners of the Royal Plaza, a few mongers took refuge on Zuko's platform due to the lack of seats. Dressed in sleeping wear, everyone looked as though they haven't slept in days.
He left off on a short trip to the market. He remembered spotting Kiyi and Azula approaching the bedroom and wanting to inform Azula before he left. Aang asked her what she needed. She said, Fire Flakes. The last thing he remembered was of her laughing and telling him to come quick.
"Aang," he looked up in time to see Ursa's tearful face. "Come sit over here."
She gave him a seat next to Zuko, who had yet to send him a look. Aang ignored the looks of sympathy sent his way.
"This meeting will soon commence," Jiji announced, "find your seats."
Aang listened to soft steps and hush murmurs. He felt Ursa's hand over his shoulder as she sat next to him. All sat on their pillows around the long rectangular table, with many other visitors standing around. Kyoshi warriors circled the room. Ty-Lee smudged her make up as she wiped her eyes.
"Princess Kiyi is still in the medical infirmary," Zuko announced, sounding oddly like Ozai. "She was able to tell us more about Ozai's intent in taking Azula. We have every reason to believe that he wants to commit an honor killing,"
Ursa's grip tightened on Aang's shoulders. More hushes, murmurs.
"This could be a plan for the New Ozai Society to intimidate the public. Due to the damages witnessed in the mid quarters, Azu-my sister could be dead right now-"
"No she's not."
All gazes turned to Aang. Aang focused on the side of Zuko's face. Zuko's jaws tightened.
"We also have to worry about the possibility of more imposters living within our premises," Zuko said. "Ozai's followers, who posed as guards to get into the palace."
"Aren't your guards signed in through contracts?" Jiji asked.
"Yes, which means that either they were killed and swapped while they vacationed over the Winter Solstice or they helped these men get in." Zuko said, "All servants and guards will be locked in their quarters until they prove innocent. I'm implementing a palace wide interrogation while we interview citizens who may have seen injured men with a body-"
"She's not dead."
Zuko stopped, and turned to him, "Maybe if you'd been more vigilant, we wouldn't be in this position."
"Aang, stop!"
Aang found himself standing with Ursa's hands clutching his shoulders. His head pulsed, ebbing. Zuko blinked.
Jiji cut in, "The Avatar is right, Azula may still be alive. If Ozai did kill Azula, he would let us know because-"
"Go ahead. If it's me you want to fight, I dare you to do it," Zuko sneered. He rose and stepped up until his nose almost touched Aang's. The onlookers squirmed in their seats. "My sister had everything going for her until you fucked it up! I worked hard to make sure that she didn't find herself in a position where she wasn't being manipulated and cowered into this game with my father! Look at what your love has done to her!"
BANG!
In the blink of an eye, the room fell into sudden chaos. No bending was needed for the heavy blows that blinded him. He heard terrified screams and shouts as he threw both their bodies over the tables, forcing the visitors to run aside.
Zuko's nose was bloodied by the time Aang grasped his collar, holding him up on the wall while three Kyoshi warriors held him back the shoulders. Zuko threw him a bloody grin.
"You better be out of the picture by the time this is all over."
Ursa didn't knock. She spotted her daughter turning away on her bed when she entered the infirmary. Mai sat by Kiyi's side, keeping watch. Ursa's body ached, as though it were about to explode. Her headache made her squint her eyes.
"Grandma!"
Izumi stood by her mother's side, scrambling over to Ursa. Mai pushed her seat back and began to leave.
"Lady Ursa," Mai greeted.
"It's fine, Mai." Ursa said, embracing Izumi. "You can stay. I need you all to be here.
Ursa took the seat Mai held out for her, with Izumi in tow. This discussion wouldn't be good for a girl like Izumi, but at this moment, there was no way they could trust anyone to watch her. The Fire Palace now stood barren, emptied of its servants and guards. Kyoshi warriors were small in number, but they were enough to protect them for now.
"Zuko is going to interrogate all the workers here," Ursa said, stroking Izumi's hair. "It's the only thing we can do at the moment."
"I heard about a fight…" Kiyi croaked.
Ursa sighed, glancing at Mai, "They haven't seen much of each other since Aang and Azula decided to wed. I wasn't surprised it happened."
They wallowed in silence. Ursa placed a hand over her daughter's.
"Mai, can you get me a cup of tea for Kiyi?"
"Of course," Mai ambled over to the small table to prepare the tea. Izumi skipped along.
"How are you feeling?" Ursa asked Kiyi.
Kiyi swallowed, "Did Zuko tell them about…"
"No. He didn't. It's not necessary," Ursa whispered. "If you had been merciful, that man would have killed you. Do you understand?"
Kiyi's face crumbled. Zuko told Ursa about the armless corpse in the corridors. Physicians studied the burned flesh, and told Zuko that the man's arm was cut off by Kiyi's bending.
"She was fighting by herself and I got so scared," Kiyi stammered with a heavy sob. "She was telling me to leave but I couldn't. It's my fault that they took her…"
"Oh Kiyi…" Ursa could do nothing but put her arms around the young woman, "You remember the time you saw Azula again after the Forbidden Valley? You got on her nerves so much that she began complaining to me." Kiyi sobbed again.
"And do you know what she said about you?"
She shook her head.
"She said, 'I can't stand her, but she's very bright.'" Kiyi heaved. "'She knows how to bend and does so well in school. I suppose she's more of a true sibling than Zuko ever is.'"
Knock knock
Ursa's heart stopped when Jiji rushed in. Mai already had the steaming tea on a tray. Kiyi held on to Ursa, now upright.
"A guard tried to kill himself just now," Jiji said. "He attempted to slice his throat. Zuko stopped him. The culprit is now being interrogated."
"Then what's wrong?" Mai asked, holding Izumi close to her side.
Jiji breathed hard, choking out, "Orators from Fountain City were told that Princess Azula was murdered yesterday morning."
The Day Before
Azula never prayed so hard before in her life.
She knew she was going to die. She knew it. She refused to cry, clenching her fists and closing her eyes.
She shook when she heard the bars open. Two guards entered the room, armed with spears ready. She didn't speak when they came in her cell to haul her up. She had to make a plan to get out.
Their walk up the tunnel was long, their steps echoing. Her father anticipated every plan route she made. No chance to flee. Azula could try to break free, but her arms and feet were shackled. She could spit out fire if she wanted, but she wasn't sure who stood outside of the tunnel.
"Move it!" the female guard by her side snapped.
Azula glanced at her, "My legs are shackled, you dimwit."
The guard scowled but the other one who held Azula spoke up, "I'd focus more on our task than your problem with Princess Azula, Jiao."
"My problem? She killed our comrades, Chen! You shouldn't even address her by her title!"
Azula turned to watch the young man on her left. He had an odd expression, his glare directed at the female guard on her right. Green eyes glinted, held up by thickened eyebrows and a round face. Chen looked too young to understand these things. Jiao harrumphed, and proceeded to drag Azula ahead.
Bright light made Azula's eyes squint. The room she stood in was filled with similar dressed men and women; faces she had seen more than once, wandering in the halls of the Fire Palace. Imposters. All of them, having the audacity to smirk in her direction as though she were some filthy idiot!
"Sit!"
Azula's knees buckled at a table. Her father sat across, waiting until her chains were shoved off.
"Don't bother escaping," Ozai said. "You'd have to go through a hundred of my followers to freedom."
She scoffed when he ordered for others to leave the room. She could tell that they were still under some edifice of some sort, staved off with only a little light peering in. Underground. Ozai jerked his hands in a wave. A little boy rushed over with a tray of tea. Only one cup.
"Drink."
Azula blinked. This was the same tea her father ordered for her. When she refused, he never complained as asked for it to be taken away. The Fire princess stared hard at the tea, her heart thundering in her chest. She could hear fire crackling in a distance.
"No."
"Drink it!"
Her father didn't raise his voice. But he spoke to her with a bladed edge, a voice that always made her cower when she was young. If this was her last day alive, she had nothing to lose.
She laughed, "Is this your way of killing me? Giving me a dose of poison to drink?"
"This is no poison for you," Ozai said. "I am giving you a decision to decide."
Something forced her to stop. Azula's grin died on her face. Ozai slowly stood, his body leaving the seat across from her. She could smell the must wafting off his robes. Azula remembered her father with strong cologne, not smelling like this. She forced down the urge to vomit.
"When they brought you in, I had you examined by a physician here," Ozai said. "When he told me that you were expecting, I wasn't surprised. I do intend on killing you, but I am merciful enough to give you a choice first. You decide on your life or your child's. It's as simple as that."
Azula didn't speak, she waited until her father stood in front of her across the table. The tea still wafted off a thin trail of smoke.
The Fire Princess stared at her father, whose face gave way to a look of rage. She thought of Kiyi, her mother, Mai, Izumi…Zuko…Aang. She had no time left. Azula grasped the cup. Hot ceramic toasted her palms. She clutched it, taking it up to her lips. Her father smiled.
Good.
She threw hot liquid all over his face.
Cool wind brushed against Azula's face. Shackled again, she felt herself dragged over cold mud near a patch of grassland. They were on a countryside somewhere. She spotted a small cluster of huts not too far away before they disappeared behind a pile of rocks.
"Dig the pit!" her father ordered.
She listened to the sounds of shovelling, troubled to find herself about to cry. She closed her eyes, thinking of the color grey and a warm embrace. I'm so sorry, Aang.
"Lord Ozai!"
Azula looked to her side. Her father's half burnt face twisted against the morning sky. Again, something in her focused on the young guard that approached Ozai.
Chen.
"What is it now?"
"Allow me to dig the pit!" the guard said, bowing down with a fist thrust out. "I am an earth bender. I know a better way to bury your daughter. In the lower soils are bedrock. They will entrap the traitor from escaping her pit!"
Ozai waited, "Go ahead."
Azula kept looking at the guard's face as he bended a deeper pit. The ground shook under her. Another guard came over to her. Her body lay numb in his arms as he leaped over about thirty feet in the ground.
He and Chen situated her body. Face up and bound.
"Hurry up!" Ozai hollered.
"Yes, Lord Ozai!" the other guard left, sending Chen a quiet look before leaving the earth bender with Azula. Azula felt that he wanted to say something. But he slipped a gleaming object by her side in her palm before he climbed away.
After one last look at her father, she held her breath when mounds of dirt thrusted up on top of her. They pressed so hard that they dug at her stomach. Her body felt heavy at each haul. Azula squirmed, breathless at each mound of dirt. She choked. Her body screamed for her to move, but her hands and feet were bound. She tried to spit fire but dirt filled her mouth.
The earth closed in, squeezing her body until she panicked.
She couldn't breathe.
Choke.
Something began pawing at her. Dirt started to move. Choke. But she was headed somewhere and then she fell! Down on a hard surface. BAM! Hack. Taking deep breathes, Azula leaned over to heave out the dirt from her mouth.
Her body shuttered, cough echoing in an unknown place. Cold. Too cold. She dragged her body away from the pile of vomit.
"This wasn't how I thought we'd see each other again but, oh well."
Azula's head snapped up to watch the shadowy figure walked out from behind a boulder. She looked around: this was a cave. Chen bended her into a cave!
The visitor's voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was from. The figure had on armor that seemed too bulky for his own good. He walked forward, but Azula could not see his face in the pitch black darkness. She saw the outline of a tight topknot and a stout but sturdy body.
She thought she saw a smile.
"You've already forgotten your one and only cousin?" the visitor said with a grin that sparkled in the dark. Her eyes widen. "It's the incredible Lu-Ten, you idiot!"
End Note: So sorry for the delay! I didn't expect to last this long. Thank you all for your follows and reviews. I'll be wrapping things up soon. And by the way, Chen is Bolin's cameo debut.
Just for fun.
oneranger22 – Thanks for your review!
Tyleepoot – Again, you're wonderful! Thanks for your review!
Holmesfreak1412 - Thanks for your review!
Guest – Ha! Don't worry, it'll be over soon!