Hello. How are you all? I hope that everything is going well. I think some apologies are in order. I would love to blame the extreme chapter tardiness on being busy, but that would be a lie. So, I'll try to get back on schedule while attempting to maintain quality (That will be fun). So, here we have a legitimate interaction between Aang and Azula…it only took ten chapters to get there…in an Azulaang fanfic. I hope that they are in character and that the writing is of quality. Review and tell me either way. No, seriously, review. You can even say, "It's boring." (you may be right…though, there is some excitement coming that will last a couple of chapters).
Aang could feel the familiar twisting in his stomach as he ascended the stairs that lead to the large metal door. It had been almost a week since he had seen the disheveled young woman. At the request of the healers, he allowed her time to recover from her recent bout with fever.
His muscles tensed, binding together and almost freezing, on the prospect of seeing the former princess once more. The time away from her nourished the nervous feeling that ran sickly at the back of his throat. He was afraid, truly frightened, that Azula may have reverted back to the almost catatonic state in which he found her in a little over a month ago. He hadn't made much progress, but eliciting a response was better than nothing. It was, in the least, a step in the right direction.
He sighed heavily, standing at the top of the stairs, as he stared down the hall at the large metal door.
Almost all that Aang touched in the post war world appeared to come apart at the seams. The relations between the Fire Nation colonies and the Earth Kingdom nationals unraveled on a daily basis. The latest treaty between the two groups fell apart within the span of a fortnight.
Conflict continued to rage between the two groups, so much so that it required the Avatar's physical presence.
The past few days didn't allow him to share a moment with Katara. Whatever happened between the pair remained far from resolved. She avoided him and made excuses, taking every opportunity not to be alone with him.
The renewed tensions around the colonies carried him away from attempting to make any form of reconciliation. He had been in the colonies for days, putting forward his best effort to heal almost a hundred years worth of damage; there was simply no time for Katara. Somewhere inside of himself, he felt that she found relief within that truth.
It had been over one hundred years, and the balance that he was to bring to the world still seemed so far away. The thought weighed heavily on Aang's chest, as he continued down the hall. He felt as if he was failing at his duties as Avatar.
Over one hundred years ago, he allowed the world to descend into chaos. Multiple generations paid dearly for his shortcomings. There was no more room for mistakes. Every failed attempt had a consequence, and each day that the tensions go unresolved diminished not only his ability to maintain order, but put into question Zuko's role as Fire Lord.
As the guards opened the large metal door, it's loud and deep sounds reverberated through the Avatar's body, amplifying the anxiety that crept through his chest. He could feel the cold trickle of doubt flow through his veins as he started towards the room of white stone.
He seemed to find little success in all of his recent efforts. He would not and could not allow himself to blunder yet another situation. He vowed not to fail Azula. It was one person he thought; if he was unable to save one, just one, then how could he consider himself as of use to the world.
He stepped into the room of white stone, chest filled with apprehension. According to the elder healer, he had little to worry about; however, he would have to find this to be true for himself.
Aang's heart almost stopped within his chest, and his eyes began to grow wide with fear before he took control of his reaction. He saw a ghost, a reminder of the past, seemingly staring into his soul.
She was sitting, sitting in a newly decorated room. The amenities were sparse, yet, arranged in such a fashion that revealed an underlying sense of order. A round table, under a rug decorated with dark flames, centered the room. To one side of the room a nice bed and night stand sat in the place of her mundane cot. On the other end of the room, a desk and chair sat idly. The desk's scrolls and contents arranged neatly on its surface.
Aang looked at the figure dressed in red fire nation robes sitting behind the table in the center of the room. The distraught and tired look that once adorned her face was replaced with the fear inducing smile that had chased him across the Earth Kingdom many months ago. Her wrists were shackled together, no longer chained against the wall. Her lips were slightly painted, rose in color. Her dark hair flowed casually behind her shoulders, combed and untangled.
Seeing the person before him calmed the anxiety that gripped at his chest. However, a new sense of fear washed over him. Those golden eyes were rested upon him as if small embers burning his flesh.
He almost let out a slight shudder. He had forgotten, in the span of a month, how terrifying Azula's calm and cold demeanor could be when standing in her presence. Aang could see it in her eyes, her expression, and the pattern of her breathing. She was once again in control of herself, no doubt; but it didn't simply end there. The tendrils of her desire spread almost as if physical things, slithering across the room looking to grab hold of something, or someone.
This was the Azula that Aang expected to encounter a month ago. This was the Azula who used to strike fear into the hearts of all within proximity of her will. This was the Azula that once brought down the force of nature known as the Avatar. This was the Azula that rested her eyes upon Aang as she wore a mischievously wicked smile.
"Hello Avatar," A voice said, bringing Aang's mind back in focus.
It sounded formal, almost royal.
"Hello Azula," Aang responded with courteous bow. "I trust that you're feeling-"
"Better?" She interrupted with a casual tactfulness. "Oh yes, I suppose that I am."
Her fiendish smile grew wider. Aang's apprehensions whispered louder.
"I see that you're healing exceptionally well, in fact, the flesh looks as if it were almost never burned." She said, focusing on his left forearm.
He looked down at his arm, and smiled, "Yeah, Katara helped with that."
"I figured as much," she casually remarked. "So, you are still associating with those miserable peasants. Please don't tell me that my brother actually has them as guests in the palace, I would just die," she chuckled devilishly.
Aang grimaced in protest.
"Relax, Avatar. It's a joke. Honestly, not even Zuzu would allow those ill-bred water tribe siblings into the palace."
Aang's mouth opened in protest, but he stopped himself as he studied the expression upon the young woman's face. She was an expert in the art of manipulation, and used it to her every advantage. He decided to take her insults in stride, he wouldn't allow her to place him in any mindset that he didn't desire for himself.
Breathing deeply, Aang sat at the opposite end of the table, facing the former princess of the fire nation.
"So, Avatar, why is it that you're here exactly?" She inquired with little genuine interest.
Aang pondered upon the implications of her question and decided that it would be beneficial in the long run if he was open. He hoped that he could establish a sense of mutual trust with Azula.
The Avatar focused on Azula's golden eyes as he spoke, "I'll level with you. I was initially asked to do this-"
"Of course," Azula interjected, breaking eye contact and looking away from the grey eyes that gazed in her direction.
"But," Aang continued, "I'm now here out of my own desire to help you."
Azula faced Aang once more, crinkling her nose and curling her lip in pure spite.
"Help me to what?" she scoffed. "Make peace with the conditions that I have found myself to be trapped within? Do you expect to spout self righteous air nomad nursery tales to help make all of this ok?"
He continued his steady gaze; the soft smile that settled upon his face remained un-phased by her apprehension. His smile was calm, reassured by some childish sense of good; she despised it.
"Avatar, you may leave," she declared with a dismissive air of authority. "Your job has been completed without any thanks to you. I have indeed come to terms with things; as abysmal as it may seem, I have accepted my fate. These are the consequences for losing the war, and these are the conditions that I must now begrudgingly live within. So, Avatar, if you have anything more pressing that needs to be accomplished, which I'm sure you do, then I would suggest that you leave this place and attend to it now."
The child like smile remained painted upon his face despite the cool dismissal that Azula delivered to him.
"I'm not here for that," he laughed. "I may have come here to do that in the beginning, but not anymore. Now, I'm here to work with you, and eventually get you out of here.
Azula's face made no movement, but her heart felt as if it skipped a beat.
"Can you repeat that?" She asked with a voice almost devoid of emotion.
He smiled, cocking his head to the side and closing his eyes.
"I'm here to work with you until you're ready to get out of here," he said once more.
She looked at the young Avatar, the calm, reassuring smile continued to decorate his face. It was transparent, there was nothing hidden behind his warm and cheerful gaze. His words were those of truth. Azula couldn't fathom the fact that the Avatar could be such a fool.
"Then you're more naïve than that goofy look on your face gives away," She hissed through her teeth.
Aang stopped smiling, and simply looked towards the young woman who sat before him. He then began to frown comically, furrowing his brow and curling his lip, exaggerating the expression of anger to absurd lengths.
"How about this one," the Avatar asked through his deliberately contorted expression. "This one goofy enough for you?"
Azula raised an eyebrow. She wondered who in their right mind would bestow so much power into a child such as the one who sat barely an arm's reach in front of her.
"What am I supposed to be looking at? Is that supposed to make me laugh?" The former princess demanded more so than asked.
"I don't know, you tell me, it's your face," Aang said as he began to cross his eyes.
The white's of Azula's eyes grew around her golden irides almost instantly in shock, she was not accustomed to being mocked. Almost three months ago she was to be Fire Lord, ruler of the Fire Nation and a god to her people. Now, a bald grey eyed child openly ridiculed her without regard for any form of retribution.
Her eyelids fluttered together, batting her lashes against one another with great speed as she shook herself out of the initial shock. She bit her bottom lip and looked away from the Avatar. This situation made her think that this was worse than spending time with Ty-Lee.
"You're such a child. How are you going to convince my brother, the Fire Lord, to allow me to leave this place for good?" She spat at him.
He stopped twisting his face in an immature fashion and a genuine frown crept across his face.
"Oh, I think…I think you misunderstood. I mean temporarily, you know, like little outings." He reluctantly revealed.
Aang could see a slight wave of disappointment was over her face, before she managed to harden her features into the familiar cold stone that she chose to wear on a seemingly daily basis.
"But, it's definitely not out of the question, Azula!" he blurted out in attempt to mend some hope of freedom that the young woman seemed to hold on to deep within the recesses of her mind. "It's possible that one day, and one day soon that we'll figure-"
Aang was cut short, mid sentence by an almost demonic cackle that echoed throughout the room of white stone.
"Wha- did I…say something funny?" Aang asked in pure bewilderment.
"Absolutely," she said as a smile worked its way across her face. "Do not attempt to placate me, Avatar. It is a futile effort. Must I reiterate the point once more? I have accepted these conditions as the consequences of losing the war. There is nothing more for me."
The smile faded from her face as she looked down at the shackles that bound her wrists together.
A small silence was shared between the pair.
"That's something we're going to have to address as well. How you view the turn of events, the war I mean," He said in a concerned tone as he attempted a sheepish and reserved smile.
She slowly looked up from her shackled hands towards the Avatar. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, "What do you mean?" She growled as her facial features became engulfed in an inferno that emanated from her core. "Are you referring to my life? My birth right? Am I to not only accept the turn of events, but also re-evaluate the perspective in which I view them? Would you have it so that I magically come to the realization that the Fire Nation was wrong in what it attempted to accomplish? Would you like that I somehow admit to you that my accomplishments, my aspirations, and the entirety of my existence was based upon lies? She asked rhetorically as she rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the notion.
"I'll inform you now Avatar, so listen carefully. It won't happen. I can promise you that." She stated calmly, as her rage died down to a controlled simmer.
Her eyes burned through him, with great intensity, setting the young Avatar at unease. He began to open his mouth in protest, so that he could explain his position.
She cut him off once more, "Let's just…talk about something else."
Aang's eyebrows rose, as he was hit by something he did not quite understand.
"W-What?" The Avatar asked dumbly.
With an exasperated sigh, the former princess repeated herself, "Let's change the topic, and talk about something else. You're obviously not going anywhere, and not from a lack of effort on my part. I've chased you across the Earth Kingdom, I've burned you, and I've even struck you with lightning; yet, here you are. Honestly, if you're going to sit there are bother me, I might as well receive some form of entertainment out of it, it's only fair. The guards are afraid I'm going to kill them, and the old croons are relatively quiet. I either talk to you or sit here in silence."
Aang's face shifted into a small but warm smile.
"You could always talk to yourself," he jokingly put forward.
Her scowl elicited an immediate apology from the young air nomad.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked, genuinely curious.
His eyes were full of anticipation, and his body language revealed his eagerness as he almost seemed to lean forward in impatience, waiting to hear her response.
Azula paused for a moment, closing her eyes, only to open them with a sharp and stabbing accuracy into his own.
"I've always been meaning to ask, just how did you survive the lightning?" she inquired in a chilling manner.
Aang could feel a warm prickle near his lower back spread and almost sting as he looked away from the young woman.
"The thing is...," he said looking back at her with an expression of slight discomfort, "I didn't."
The edges of Azula's mouth rose upwards in delight.
So there we are. I don't know if I kept Azula as frightening as I know she can be, characterization is sometimes difficult with established characters. I hope that Aang's behavior wasn't cheesy. If it was, help me out by reviewing and telling me. Seriously, tell me if the direction of the story is not going in a stimulating direction. I'm open to change and suggestions, you as the reader have to let me know. Also, tell me about the dialogue, because that's why this exists. Well, with that said, you'll be seeing more chapters soon. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading. See you next chapter. Later days, true believers.