Chapter 10

Every time I saw a hand mirror, I crushed the glass into a powder and made sure it was gone and out of my sight. When I took my baths, I put a towel over the mirror before my mother even began talking. I closed the curtains to avoid her if she were to ever reflect in the window panes.

Mai was conked out most of the time now because even though the attendants were there to help, Anya's crying woke her up. The reason that the crying didn't bother me was because I slept in the opposite wing of the palace. And since Ty Lee was her bodyguard, she was stationed in front of her bedroom.

Katara began to visit a lot; she was staying on Air Temple Island, an island that Katara and Aang built their home in. Every day, as Aang came to talk to Zuko and the Earth King, she came to visit me. I felt like she understood me the most. She was the one who stopped my rampage and I was grateful. I would've turned the world into a dictatorship with sole power at my fingertips.

She didn't talk to me unless I talked first and even then, she didn't push me to talk at all. Sometimes Toph accompanied her and I listened to her babble on about her 'lily livers' or something. I mostly listened and didn't speak. Then, one day, I noticed something that made me crack.

I hadn't paid attention before but I could see a slight bump on Katara's stomach as well as on Toph's. I reached out and lightly touched Katara's stomach.

"Yes, Toph and I are pregnant," she smiled.

After they left, I went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror that replaced the one I had broken before.

"Azula, let go of your guilt," my mother said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I growled at her.

"Don't you see? You will never be happy if you feel so guilty. You will never feel inferior to anyone if you just let it go,"

I slammed my hand against the mirror, cracking the glass. I shrieked and blue flames appeared at my fingertips. Without a second thought, I trashed the room.

"Azula, please," she pleaded.

"SHUT UP!" I punched the mirror, completely shattering it.

"'ZULA! 'ZULA!" Ty Lee banged on the door. "WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE?!"

I ignored her and I picked up a shard of glass. Her eyes reflected in the glass and I screamed again. The blue flames became hotter and fiercer than ever. The doorknob rattled and I could hear Ty Lee and Mai yelling for me to open the door. I raised the glass once again.

"Azula, please, just let go," she cried out.

I raised the shard of glass to my face, screeched one more time and then everything went black.

Epilogue

I was walking down the hallway to check on Azula when I saw Ty Lee and Mai desperately banging on her bathroom door. I could hear glass being broken and smelled something burning. She was screaming at someone to shut up but no one answered her.

"Move away," I pushed Ty Lee and my wife away from the door.

I burned the door down and what we found was a complete disaster. Shards of glass were everywhere, her mirror was broken again and blood was splattered all over the room. Worst of all, blue flames were still eating away at some part of the room and furniture. Ty Lee and Mai put out the fire quickly.

Her anger; it was bottled up and finally exploded. Now I knew why she refused to take classes. It had happened to me, I couldn't fire bend at one point and with the help of Aang, I found a new purpose and point of view on fire bending. Anguish had built up in her and exploded into her infamous blue flames but she couldn't fire bend before because of her quiet demeanor.

I knelt down next to my sister, ignoring the glass on the floor. What I saw up close was ghastly; Azula's face was a mess. Shards of mirrors were lodged into her eyes and it looked like she tried to scratch them out. I got up and threw up in the tub. The sight of my sister in that state made me sick. Ty Lee began to cry while Mai froze up in shock. I left, feeling sickened; I just couldn't stand the gruesome scene.

The next time I saw her was back at the psych ward. Her hair had gotten even longer and unruly. There were bandages around her eyes; she was now blind, having succeeded in tearing her eyeballs out. She was back in the strait jacket and the wheelchair.

"Hello Azula," I softly greeted.

"Zuzu!" she grinned. "Is that my dear brother?"

"Yeah, it's me, Zuko,"

"Oh, Zuzu, how is everything?"

"Things are fine," I said uncomfortably.

"Don't give me that tone of voice," she mockingly pouted.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel great!" she laughed. "Never better! Princess Crazy couldn't be any happier,"

After talking a bit more, I left but as I walked away, I could hear her crooning to herself. Here and there, she cackled in a way that sent chills down my spine.

"I'm Princess Crazy!" she giggled. "Oh, I just love being royalty! Come back soon Zuzu!"