Chapter Eleven- Swayed

Ozai paced in his room, restless for obvious reasons, though he wished to calm down so he could continue in his meditation. It was no use, he was anxious for the coup d'état that would be occurring in less than a week.

The ex-Firelord was pleased that he had managed to regain his ability to bend and that after six long years he would be back on the throne where he belonged. After he would dispose of his brother and son, Ozai planned on using the Firenation gold to sway the generals of the army into attacking the Earth Kingdom. It would be unexpected, since his son had "officially" declared the war over.

He also needed to plan a course of action concerning the Avatar. His informants had told him that the young man was fully realized, the most powerful bender on earth, not the child he had almost defeated half a decade before. Ozai understood that he would need to convince someone very close to the young man to somehow betray him. But who?

A swift knock came to the door; it was the archer with the nightly report, the firebender walked quickly to the door and jerked it open.

"Come in," Ozai said stepping aside, so that the shorter man could enter the room. His breath caught when he saw the short woman that followed behind him. "Daughter, what are you doing here?"

"Father," she bowed before him, taking his hand and pressing her pursed lips to it. "I wanted to speak with you."

"It is not wise that you are here," he said to Vachir, very much annoyed, though his tone was not as cold as it normally seemed. "You've certainly grown," he added to his daughter, a thin smile finding his lips. He bent down and pulled Azula to her feet, though he made no move to embrace her. It just wasn't how he interacted with his children.

"I'm sorry I failed you father," Azula lowered her face. "It will not happen again, I swear it."

"I forgive you," he told her quickly, stepping back then. "And I am happy to have you back where you belong. In five days time you will be named my heir to the throne and we will rule this nation the way it is meant to be, and your brother will pay for his treachery, for not choosing to remain faithful to his blood."

Azula only nodded, taking a moment to find her words. "Will we start the war again?"

"It will take some time to persuade the war council, but I already have the support of many of the generals and soldiers," Ozai walked away from them then, and Vachir cast a quick glance at Azula, she held an annoyed expression on her brow. "Yes, we will attack the Earth Kingdom first, and then move onto the water tribes."

"What about the Avatar?" Azula asked quickly.

"I will deal with him when the time comes."

"He and Zuko are very close, he will not sit idly by while you take the Firenation back under your control," she said calmly, though her eyes were alight with intensity. "We need a decisive plan on how to take him down. Something unexpected, something quick and instantaneous that he cannot avoid."

Vachir cleared his throat then, and the two ex-royals turned to him.

"What?" Ozai snapped.

"Sir, do you remember my suggestion on how to dispose of your son?" the archer waited for the older man to nod, Ozai added an unexpected chuckle. "Well, when the Avatar returns to help Zuko, the Yu Yan can take him down; they've done it before, only this time you can give them the order to kill."

As Ozai thought that over, Azula shot him a brilliant smile. The idea was sneaky and backhanded and she absolutely adored it. After all, they were the bad guys, that meant didn't have to play by the rules.

Her father turned then and looked at her curiously.

"What do you think Azula?"

"I think it will work brilliantly," she said quickly, very pleased with her lover.

"Send a message to your brethren then," Ozai said.

"Sir, they're already at the encampment, I thought Colonel Mongke would need the numbers for the attack, he refused of course, but I asked them to stay just in case," Vachir finished, not sure he had over stepped his bounds.

"Excellent," Ozai murmured then. "That's very good…"

All three were silent then, and in that silence they heard the quick footsteps approaching his door. Vachir quickly pulled Azula to the drapes covering the lone window and hid as Ozai's a knock came to the door a moment later.

The Firebender jerked the door open to reveal Mai, who ran into his arms and began to kiss him feverishly.

Behind the drape Azula gasped and made a furious move to leave the hiding place, but Vachir held her firmly, shaking his head. Mai didn't know of any of the coup.

After a few seconds of her intense embrace, Ozai pushed her back and held her at an arm's length.

"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly.

"I just— I needed— I…," she struggled over her words and tried to kiss him once more, but his hold was unyielding. "Ozai, please!"

He laughed then, loud and hard at her struggling to get her hands on him.

"You want me to fuck you Fire Lady Mai?" he asked, amused at the irony.

"Yes," she said through her teeth, angered by his taunting, but still in such great need.

"And what will you do for me?"

"Anything!" she yelled and wriggled in place, the pressure between her legs was causing her concentration to fall apart. "You know I will make it worth your while," she added huskily.

"We'll see," he said ominously, then turned and jerked back the drapes, revealing Vachir and Azula. "I believe you remember my daughter."

"YOU!" Mai yelled, taking a step back as Azula walked forward, her steps full of anger and determination. Her fist curling as her other arm pinned the young woman to the wall.

Ozai made no move to stop the two girls; he simply sat back on the bed, pulled his ankle up to his knee and glanced at Mai intently. "You see my dear, I have a little problem."

"What is that?" Mai asked, her voice strained by Azula's arm. She stared past the fallen princess into the eyes of her lover.

"I am planning to overthrow my son in a matter of days and you and I have become so involved, I feel it is a shame to get rid of you, but I'm not sure you can be trusted."

"Of course she can't be trusted, she's loyal to Zuko," Azula said scathingly, turning to her father with pleading eyes. "She loves Zuko more than she fears us."

When Azula turned Mai took the opportunity to pull the knife from her side and pressed it into the princess' neck, causing Azula to back away slowly.

"Shut up," Mai told her then.

"We should kill her before she betrays us again," Azula said without fear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Vachir pull his own knife from his side and approach behind the Fire Lady slowly. Azula smirked.

"Stay where you are Archer," Ozai said calmly before he stood and separated the two young women.

Both girls were taking shallow breaths and exchanging death glances. Azula backed slowly into Vachir, who held her arms reassuringly.

"Is that true Mai?" Ozai began as he paced around her thin form. "Will you truly betray us again to Zuko, your oh so loyal husband?"

Mai looked at him then, shifting her gaze to the floor as tears formed in her eyes.

"Did he ever tell you how he got that lovely scar on his chest Mai?" Azula asked from across the room. "He dove in front of the Watertribe slut just as I was about to kill her. He risked his life to save her, he nearly died," she stressed that last part. "I don't seem to remember him returning to the Boiling Rock to save you, though I'm sure he had a good reason."

Ozai sighed then, loud and dramatic. "That is most suspicious, I even recall him mentioning that girl several times. Katara is her name, right? Yes he definitely said it more than once."

"He loves her," Mai whispered then, as if she had just realized the fact. She sunk to the floor in a heap, placing her head in her hands.

"He betrayed you," Ozai said knowingly. "You his loving wife who sacrificed so much to keep him happy and safe. It's quite tragic," Ozai added over his shoulder. "The whole palace is gossiping about how Zuko and the Waterbender carry on."

"I betrayed him first," Mai said through her tears.

"But for what?" Ozai asked. "You assumed I would help you find his mother, I admit I was wrong to deceive you, but I had become so attached, I really didn't want to let you go."

Mai looked into his eyes then a hopeful sort of glance. Ozai bent down and embraced her gently, hugging her. Mai met Azula's eyes with an ample amount of grit.

"What do you want of me?" she asked then, clearing her throat and wiping her tears away.

"Simply to keep silent, but you know how to keep a secret, don't you?" Ozai purred.

"Yes," she told him and kissed his cheeks, then his lips as she hugged him again, narrowing her eyes at his daughter. "I have one request," she added then.

Ozai pulled her back with a wary look. "What?"

"After this— whatever you are planning, I still want to be Fire Lady."

Ozai thought a moment, and then gave her a sinister smile. "I think that can be arranged."

He pulled her to her feet then and Mai gave him another pleading look, placing a soft hand on his chest.

Without breaking her gaze, he spoke aloud: "Leave us, report back tomorrow Vachir."

"Yes sir," the archer replied and pulled the princess after him. Azula was speechless at her father's declaration.

As the door closed behind them Ozai picked the young woman up and carried her to his bed. "You have no idea how much your loyalty pleases me."

Mai nodded at that as she pushed the dress from her shoulders. She would not say it aloud, but her loyalty had left Zuko sometime before. Around the time she unwillingly gave her heart to someone else.

Azula was silent all the way back to their camp, her temper seething as she followed Vachir straight to his tent and pulled her clothes from her body and looked up to him with impatience. He followed suit, only to have her jump him a moment later, riding him furiously, letting her anger fuel their sex. The archer simply held onto the irate bender, he did not expect her to reveal her gentle side that night.

So it surprised him greatly when she reached her release and then broke down into a soft sobbing. He held her tightly, rolling her to his side as he comforted her the best he could.

"Azula," he whispered her name, taking pleasure in the sound of it rolling of his tongue. Most of the time he called her princess, or spoke other sorts of endearments in her ears as he made love to her, never her name. At his utterance she looked up and stroked his face gently, tears still in her eyes.

"He didn't even care that I had returned," she said, her voice scratched. "And Mai, Agni, I'd rather my father be fucking that Waterbender than her, she's like a royal leech, sticking herself closest to the seat of power."

"I never trusted her either," Vachir said, wishing he had killed the Fire Lady that morning in the woods.

"I refuse to let her get away with this," Azula said, bristling at the thought of Mai becoming her stepmother. "I'll just have to kill her," she sighed deeply.

Vachir sat up and looked at her intently. "Do you want me to do it for you?"

Azula's eyes widened in surprise. "My father would not approve of that."

"My loyalty lies with you and no one else," he said, nuzzling her neck, Azula chuckled lightly at his words.

"What if I told you I wanted to kill my father as well?"

"I might ask why, but that is all."

Azula nodded and stared at the roof of his tent.

"Father wants to resume that pointless war again," she sighed.

"And you disagree with that?"

"It is a waste of our Nation's resources. I agree that we are the superior element, but I could give a flying fuck about the earth and water benders."

Vachir thought over her words.

"What would you do if put into power?"

"Probably the same plan that Zuko has laid out, though I wouldn't be pumping money back into the other nations so heavily, we are going to run into an economic crisis if we continue to finance all the reconstruction."

Vachir held her tightly then, clearly impressed by her reasoning. "Why you spent six years in a mental hospital, I've no idea. You have more common sense and reasoning than any leader I have ever met."

Azula's smile was forced at those words; she didn't like to remember her time in the hospital.

"I lost myself for a while there," she hugged him in return. "Betrayal is a powerful thing, I just need someone to depend on, someone to anchor me in place, and I am fine."

Vachir smiled at that. He had no problem holding onto the young woman. They both stayed silent, letting the darkness overcome their senses. As they started to drift to sleep, the archer found his voice and it rang clear through the still air.

"I don't want this to end."

"Me neither," the princess replied softly. The words that followed were indeed what he wanted to hear, but he was sure they were also not entirely truthful. "It won't, we'll make it work."

As he felt sleep overcome him he was certain he felt his shirt dampen slightly, only in his dreams did he register that it was her tears, fueled by doubt and longing. Mirroring his own feelings exactly.

A/n- Chapter 11, hmm, no Zutara this chapter, as the plot thickens it gets harder to have them in every scene, lulz, I'm saving those awkward times for later in the story.

Next chapter should be up in a couple of days, it's called Past and Present. We'll finally get to see what caused the rift between Zuko and Aang all those years ago as well as what happened to Katara during her pregnancy. Should be pretty interesting.

Thanks so much for reading and for all of your reviews, you all are awesome!