It was amazing how much better a bath and some breakfast could make one feel. Azula had gone to sleep the night before with the weight of the world on her shoulders. But now that she was warm, clean and well-fed for the first time since leaving Taonan, she was feeling a bit more optimistic. She'd even done a few stretching exercises afterward. She sat down on her mattress and leaned her back up against the wall, thinking.

Who in the world would have sent June after me? she wondered. It has to be someone rich – June doesn't come cheap. It has to be someone with a lot of political connections in the Earth Kingdom– the head of the Dai Li wouldn't kowtow to just anyone. Her brow creased. King Kuei – the Earth King, maybe? He has enough money and enough clout to have done it. But why would he? I'm no threat to him at all, and I doubt he'd expend this much energy on a mere personal gripe this long after the fact. Hm. She studied her nails and picked absently at a broken cuticle. I'd certainly suspect Long Feng, if I didn't know for a fact that the Dai Li consider him a blot on their record now. Besides, even if he still had the connections, I doubt he'd have access to the funds. But who else is there? I don't know of anyone else in the Earth Kingdom who has the power, the money and the motivation.

With a sigh, Azula abandoned her train of thought. She rocked her head back against the wall, feeling the cool smoothness of the obsidian band that encircled her throat. All was silent, save for the distant sound of flowing water. She listened to it idly. I wonder if Ty Lee's down here somewhere, she mused. I wonder if I can get her freed? After all, I doubt that whoever took me has any grudge against her, and she's even been pardoned by Zuko. Then she could go back to the Fire Nation. She'd at least have Mai – and maybe Zuko, depending how he feels about her. And her family might even take her back.

Her mind drifted back through the years, remembering the good times – back when her father had first become Fire Lord, and everything had seemed so much brighter. I had it all figured out, then. I would grow up to be beautiful and terrible, a great general and strategist. I would bring back the Earth Kingdom – the only nation that still stood against us – and lay it at my father's feet. Then, later, I would become Fire Lord myself, and rule over the world! Her lips twitched into a rueful smile. And I'd have Mai and Ty Lee as my most trusted advisors and generals, and my brother would bow and snivel before me as some kind of a puppet-general. And it all seemed so close to happening once, too.

She remembered when the illusion had begun to shatter. It was after Mai and Ty Lee had turned against her at the Boiling Rock, and after Zuko had turned his back on her to align himself with the Avatar. She'd begun to notice, then, that her father's pride and faith in her was perhaps not as unassailable a fact as she had thought. Oh, he never said that she was inadequate – never in so many words. But he pushed her aside with ease sometimes, just as coldly as he'd pushed aside Zuko. And then, since she'd no longer had anyone to distract her from it, she'd realized that these sorts of things had been happening all along; she'd just never allowed herself to recognize it.

That was when her mind had begun to splinter. She had built herself – everything that she thought and did, everything that she was – on the solid bedrock of her father's expectations. When that rock had turned out to be quicksand, she hadn't known how to handle it. She'd begun seeing visions of her mother. Terrified at her own growing weakness, she'd thrust everyone away, certain that every sleeve concealed a dagger, and every eye a treacherous plot. She'd raged, she'd thirsted for revenge – she'd hunted her brother down like an animal, seeking to destroy the only other viable heir to the throne. And finally, it had been her own rage that had destroyed her. She'd been unable to control her burning anger during her Agni Kai with Zuko, and she'd blundered blindly into the trap that Katara had set for her.

And now – what did she have to live for now? Mere survival? Her mind drifted back to Ty Lee. She tried to picture her in her mind, lingering over every detail of her round face, her expressive gray eyes, and the sensitive curves of her mouth. The worst part of all of this is the not knowing, she thought miserably, opening her eyes and staring up at the ceiling. I don't know what they're planning on doing to me – to her. I don't even know where she is. Her lip curled. They'd better not have hurt her.

With a grinding sound, a section of the prison wall came down, and a Dai Li agent appeared. Azula sat up straight, her eyes suddenly sharp. Instead of entering himself, the earthbender stepped aside and bowed. A heavyset man stepped into the cell instead. At the sight of him, Azula sprang to her feet. She could feel the blood rushing to her face. She knew that face – the groomed gray beard, the deceptively mild-looking eyes, the oft-broken nose...Her fists and teeth clenched. "What the hell are you doing here, Uncle Iroh?" she demanded.

He smiled cheerfully. "Can't an old man enjoy a peaceful cup of tea with his niece?" he asked.

His...his "niece?" Azula was struck speechless. Her father's brother had never referred to her as his niece before. She had always been "Azula" or "my brother's daughter," never his "niece." She watched in mingled anger and bewilderment as the Dai Li agent handed Iroh a tray containing a tea set. The silent earthbender vanished then, and the wall closed, leaving Azula alone with her uncle.

Calmly, Iroh put the tray down on the small table and sat down on the stool. The prisoner watched him in wary silence as he heated the teapot. A spicy smell came to her nostrils as he carefully added the tea leaves; it was a Fire Nation brew, and none of that Earth Kingdom swill. Azula's eyes narrowed. "It was you, wasn't it?" she accused. "You're the one who sent that bounty hunter after me."

"I hired no one," he said placidly. "I am doing a favor for an old friend."

"You lie!" she hissed. Her fists clenched until her nails dug into her palms.

Iroh shrugged a little, smiling agreeably. "Believe as you like, Azula. But come, sit down and enjoy some tea with me. There is nothing so good as an excellent tea." She hesitated. She was off-balance here, the element of surprise was in his favor – but perhaps she could worm some information out of him if she humored him. Besides, that tea does smell good. Slowly, Azula moved to the table and dropped gracefully to her knees. She watched as he poured the steaming brew into a cup and pushed it toward her. "Here, drink. It's good for the nerves."

Azula smelled it suspiciously before she sipped. It tasted good. "Why are you here, Uncle?" she asked, her tone still hard. "What do you want?"

"I want to have a chat and a good cup of tea," he said cheerfully. "After all, we have a lot to catch up on, you and I. I've not laid eyes on you since just after your exile, Azula."

Ah, yes. Of course he's bringing up the way he and his White Lotus cronies foiled me. "Going to gloat about that, are you?" she said coldly. "Is that why you've come?"

He sat back on his stool, sipping from his cup and gazing up at the ceiling. "Gloating seldom does anyone any good," he said philosophically. "It only succeeds in making people angry, and it usually undermines whatever was being gloated about." She scowled and took a defiant mouthful of tea. Then his eyes were on her again. "No, that's not why I'm here. I want to know about you, my young niece. Where have you been since I last saw you?"

Her hawk eyes narrowed. "Wandering aimlessly about the kingdom, mostly," she said curtly. "Fending off bounty hunters and assassins while trying to stay alive. Living hand to mouth. Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure, Uncle. Unless you'd like to gloat about it, of course, given that I'm sure you had some hand in it."

Unruffled, Iroh topped up his steaming cup. "So, no plans for world domination, then?"

"I'm hardly in any position for that, which I'm sure you know perfectly well." She smiled, baring her teeth. "Get to the point."

"This isn't an interrogation, Azula," he said gravely. "There is no 'point', as you understand it. There is only an old man, his niece, and a pot of tea."

This isn't getting us anywhere. More to the point, this isn't getting me anywhere. Azula set down her cup and fixed him with a stern look. If he won't question me, maybe I can question him. "Why have I been brought here?" she demanded. "And don't tell me you don't know, because I know that you do. Is this just some elaborate buildup to my execution?"

He shook his head, the ghost of a smile twitching his lips. "Of course I know why you're here. I'm simply not going to tell you." He sipped. "And no, you won't be killed. If it turns out that you prove unbendable, you will be free to go."

"What?" She almost laughed at this. "You expect me to believe that you would just let me go, after all this?"

"As I said – you may believe as you like." He had finished his tea; his powerful fingers set down the cup as daintily as a woman's. "That is a trait you and your brother once shared. Neither one of you could accept that the hand shaping your destinies was your own."

Azula's brows raised. "Destiny," she echoed. "You don't expect me to believe that kind of claptrap, do you? If anything like destiny actually existed, I would be sitting on the throne of the Fire Nation – not grubbing in the dirt in some godforsaken Earth Kingdom city. I was the prodigy. The hand of Agni marked me."

"Did it?" He looked at her keenly. "Or did your father just tell you it did?"

In a flash, she was on her feet, her body moving instinctively into a firebending kata. Had her chi not been blocked, she would have scorched him. "Coward – traitor! Don't you dare speak against my father," she snarled.

Iroh studied her for a minute or two, his expression inscrutable. Finally he sighed and shook his head, rising heavily to his feet. "Perhaps I was wrong. You are not capable or willing to speak with me," he said. "I had hoped...ah, well. It cannot be helped." He turned away, beginning to move toward the wall that had closed behind the Dai Li agent.

A sudden thought struck Azula. She struggled briefly with her pride. Slowly, she let her fists drop. "Uncle." Iroh paused, glancing back at her. She looked away. "What's happened to Ty Lee?"

There was a long silence. When she looked up at him again, she found him watching her with a new expression. "Ty Lee is unhurt," he said quietly. "She is being held in another cell, and has received the same care that was made available to you." He paused. "What is she to you, Azula?"

"Why ask me that, Uncle?" She smiled sweetly, but her voice was cold. "I'm sure you have your spies, after all. You must already have some idea of what the answer is."

"I do have some idea. Things were suggested to me. But I would rather hear it from you, since you're the only one who really knows." His eyes found hers and held them. "What is she to you?"

She's...Ty Lee. She's my best friend. She's the one who stands by me even when everyone else has given me up as a lost cause. Azula scrutinized him through narrowed eyes, considering. What do I tell you, Uncle? The odds are good that you mean me harm – you've certainly had no love for me in the past. But allies are few and far between in this place. Whether I trust you or not, I'm already firmly in your power, so it makes no difference what I say. Perhaps it's worth taking a chance...another ally would be good. "Ty Lee...she's...I..." I love her. Azula stopped, struggling to find the right words. "I...I don't want to see anything bad happen to her. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to be here."

"And you do?"

The question was mild, but Azula saw a flash of something in her uncle's face. She had the disquieting feeling that she was being tested. She glared at him. "Yes," she said shortly. "Yes, I deserve to be here. I've done horrible things and been a terribly naughty girl and I ought to be punished. Happy now?"

Iroh's eyes twinkled. "Believe it or not, yes." He turned away. "Ty Lee will not be harmed," he said as he tapped his hand against the wall. "You have my word." The wall opened up. As suddenly as Iroh had come, he was gone. Azula was once again alone with her thoughts - and her uncle's tea set.