Chapter 14
"Are you hurt?" Katara asked, pulling out of their embrace as she took in the sight of Aang.
"I'm just a little tired and hungry, but otherwise I'm fine," he replied, glancing down at the trees that populated the Earth Kingdom forest.
"Then why is there blood on your clothes?"
"It's not mine," he said with a frown, bringing his gaze back to his friend.
Sokka didn't seem the least bit phased by that bit of information. However, Katara looked more than a little shocked, thinking he had caused someone else to bleed. Aang noticed and rushed to explain.
"I didn't do it," he began. "Azula was injured. I carried her to her ship."
"Wait, back up," Sokka said. "Why would you help her?"
"Someone from the Fire Nation shot her with an arrow. I think they might have killed her or something if I had left her there," he said.
"And then she repays you by attacking you?" Katara said with disbelief. She had seen Azula launch a firebomb at Aang while he was still on the ship.
Aang sighed. "She sees me as the enemy. I'm not really sure what her story is, but the little bit I was able to figure out during the time I was a prisoner is that Azula's lost her honor. And somehow, bringing me to the Fire Lord will restore it." He paused, looking at his friends thoughtfully. "Are you guys alright?"
"You already know about my burns," Sokka replied, holding his bandaged arms up for Aang to see. Aang nodded with a frown. "Katara thinks I might have a concussion too."
"I'm sorry, Sokka."
"Eh, it's okay. I'll be fine," he said, trying to reassure Aang.
"Now that we've found you, it will probably good for all of us to rest and recover a bit before continuing on to the North Pole," Katara explained.
"The forest should provide us with enough cover so the Fire Nation won't find us for awhile," Sokka added.
"Good idea," Aang agreed.
The trio traveled for a few more miles before deciding to land and set up camp. A short time later, all three fell asleep—exhaustion finally catching up to them.
Azula lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling, her mind swirling with emotion—anger, frustration, and regret fighting for dominance. Her shoulder ached fiercely, and she couldn't help but think the universe was taunting her—letting her get close enough to taste victory before snatching it away in the cruelest of ways.
A knock on the door that the princess knew to be Ty Lee interrupted her thoughts. The acrobat didn't wait for a response and opened the door. With a sigh, she softly closed the door behind her and padded over to Azula's bedside, taking a seat beside the firebender.
"How are you holding up?"
"I don't know," she replied simply, still staring at the ceiling and trying to maintain control of her emotions even though she felt like she was going to lose it any second. "I don't know what to feel, Ty Lee. Two of my men died today. I lost the Avatar. And Zhao… that bastard…" She stopped speaking as a surge of anger flared up in her at the thought of everything that had happened today.
For once, the acrobat didn't know what to say. Ever the optimist, she could usually find a way to cheer Azula up. But even she was having a hard time seeing the positive side of the day's events. Ruon and Xu—two men she had been traveling with for the better part of a year—were now dead. Her best friend had been seriously injured by an arrow. All of this happened at the hands of their fellow countrymen—all because of Zhao's pride.
Azula seethed quietly for a few minutes longer before closing her eyes. She felt utterly defeated in that moment. Finally, she turned her head to look up at Ty Lee. "Do you ever wish you could just do things over?"
"Sometimes," the acrobat admitted. "What do you want to do over?"
"That war meeting my father invited me to."
Ty Lee remained silent. Azula had never told her what had happened in that meeting. She only saw the result in the arena. It was something she had wanted to know, but Azula wasn't forthcoming about it. The acrobat knew better than to push.
"Beforehand, Zuko approached me. He said he wanted to offer me some advice. I knew better than to listen, but I still made a huge mistake."
"So, Azula, I hear Dad invited you to the next war meeting," Zuko began as he took a seat beside his sister in the royal spa, who was busy getting her nails manicured. She could hear the tinge of jealousy in his voice.
For the life of her, Azula couldn't understand why Zuko would be jealous. He was the favored one, the heir to the throne. But the boy was used to his father lavishing only him with praise and didn't like that recently some of it was being shown to Azula.
When Ozai had learned that she could bend lightning, his interest in his daughter piqued—perhaps the Academy had helped her to overcome her weaknesses, he had thought. He still resented his daughter, but she could be a useful tool with that kind of power, he realized. However, Zuko still couldn't bend lightning, and it was something Ozai had been quick to point out to him. Zuko felt he had to knock Azula down a peg.
"You know, I've been attending these meetings for years—always sitting at Father's right hand," he added, making sure to point out his superiority to her. "I thought you might like a little advice."
"That would be helpful," Azula replied, trying not to roll her eyes. He was always so condescending towards her these days. She had a fairly good idea what happened in these meetings—generals and admirals met with the royal family to discuss war strategies.
"When discussing war strategies, it's good to cover any and all options as well as opinions. You should feel free to share your thoughts on these matters. I'm sure Father would appreciate your insight."
Azula's eyes narrowed. "I'll be sure to do that," she replied, knowing that she should do just the opposite.
Zuko smirked as he got up to leave. "See you at the meeting then."
Fire Lord Ozai sat on his throne with his two children—his two prizes to be shown off to his generals and admirals—seated on either side of him. As always, Zuko was at his right. And now Azula sat to his left.
"War Minister Qin, I understand you have some news for us," Ozai began.
"Yes, majesty. We have discovered a group of Earth Kingdom refugees living at the Northern Air Temple."
"And why is this of any importance to our meeting?" came the impatient voice of the Fire Lord.
"Well, there is a man living there—an inventor. He has agreed to supply us with weapons and armor in exchange for his people's safety."
"I see," Ozai said, somewhat interested. "This could prove to have advantages—seeing as it's so close to the North Pole—especially if we maintain a level of secrecy. I'll agree to it. But if they show the slightest sign of going back on their agreement, wipe them out."
"Yes, majesty."
"General Kanzo, you've expressed some concerns about the Earth Kingdom's war criminals," Ozai said, moving onto the next topic of the meeting.
"Yes, Fire Lord Ozai. We continue to be victorious in the Earth Kingdom's northwestern territories and are now making headway into the southwest as well. But we're running into a logistical problem. There is overcrowding in our prisons, and it's taking too long to build more in time."
"I agree. This is becoming more problematic. Any suggestions?" Ozai asked his audience.
"I have a suggestion, Father," Zuko replied.
"Yes, Prince Zuko?"
"The earthbenders are already being put to good use, being used on mining rigs and the like. But the nonbenders are fairly useless. They might as well just be killed off," Zuko began. His casual cruelty stirred something in Azula, and she found herself gripping the arm of her chair. "We should make it interesting though. After all, our own soldiers work hard enough as it is. They deserve some entertainment. Why don't we have the prisoners kill each other off for our amusement?"
"Sounds intriguing, Prince Zuko," Ozai replied with a sadistic smile. "What do you think of this, General Kanzo?"
"I think this is an excellent idea, Fire Lord Ozai. Of course there is the issue of the prisoners who have injuries. They wouldn't be able to fight." He paused, thoughtful for a moment. A cruel smile came to his face then. "Perhaps we could feed them to the saber tooth moose lions for sport."
Something went off in Azula then. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and all thoughts of waiting to speak until being spoken to went out the window.
"They may be our enemies, but how could you suggest something so cruel!" Azula shouted at the general as she shot up from her chair. Zuko sat in his seat smirking, his golden eyes flashing with mirth. The conversation had gone exactly as he had hoped.
"Azula, silence yourself!" Ozai commanded, and the princess immediately slunk back down to her seat. His angry eyes were on her. "You have shown a complete disrespect for this court with that outburst. There is only one way to resolve this—Agni Kai."
"As you wish," she replied, glaring at the general. Zuko looked at her amusedly, like he often did—like he knew something that she didn't.
Azula entered the arena a few hours later. Many high ranking military officers and nobles were present—including Princess Mai and Ty Lee. Dressed in the traditional Agni Kai clothing, Azula crouched at the end of the arena with her back facing the center. Long moments passed, and there was an uneasy silence in the crowd. Azula ignored it, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, preparing herself for the duel with the general.
The gong sounded and she rose, allowing the ceremonial brown cloth to fall from her shoulder. The gong sounded a second time and she turned to face her opponent. Her jaw went slack. In front of her was not General Kanzo, but rather Fire Lord Ozai.
Azula immediately prostrated on the floor before him—it was like she had been hardwired to submit to him. Ozai glared down at his daughter.
"Rise, Princess Azula," he growled.
With a shaky breath, Azula obeyed and pushed herself back up to stand, but her arms remained at her side.
"You seem surprised to see me in the arena. It was my war room you spoke out of turn in. So it is me you disrespected."
"I didn't mean any disrespect, Father," she replied, keeping her gaze lowered.
"You will fight for your honor."
Honor. A word that carried so much significance in the Fire Nation—the eyes of the nation upon her now. Suddenly, the words of her uncle Iroh came to her: "Honor is not something that ever needs to be defended."
"I won't fight you," she said, looking up at him.
Ozai was furious by yet another act of disrespect in public by his daughter. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher," he threatened, advancing on her.
Azula's eyes widened in fear and for a moment she felt frozen. Ozai's palm was in her face then as he let loose a flame. Azula screamed as it seared her left cheek and neck. The Fire Lord extinguished his flame then, looking upon the princess with disgust as she fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands.
"I see that you were not able to overcome the weakness you displayed as a child. Today, you not only defended the enemy, but you disgraced yourself by refusing to fight. You have shown shameful weakness and disrespect. As punishment you are hereby banished. Only when you capture the Avatar can you return with your honor."
Ozai turned his back and began to leave the arena as Azula curled in on herself in pain. Zuko sat next to his wife, a satisfied grin on his face. Mai's expression betrayed none of the turmoil she felt, but she felt like she was going to be sick. As always, she kept up the façade of being cool and collected.
Once the Fire Lord had left, Ty Lee—tears running down her face—made her way to the platform and helped lead the disgraced princess from the arena and out of the Fire Nation.
"What General Kanzo suggested was cruel and wrong. I don't regret speaking against his idea. But I wish I hadn't spoken out of turn," Azula said, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the scar on her face.
"I'm sorry, Azula," Ty Lee said sadly, pulling Azula's left hand away from her face and taking it in hers. "Do you… well, do you ever wish you had actually fought your dad in the Agni Kai?"
"My uncle once told me that honor wasn't something that needed to be defended. That's why I didn't fight. But after having it taken away from me by my own father, I'm not so sure what my uncle said was true. Or maybe I didn't understand what he meant, which is more likely. I probably would have lost the Agni Kai anyway—my father is the greatest firebender in the world—but maybe I should have tried. Maybe then Ruon and Xu would still be alive today. You could have joined the circus, and I wouldn't have so many scars," she finished glancing down at her now bandaged arrow wound.
Ty Lee frowned thoughtfully for a moment, searching for something to say to cheer Azula up. "What was it that Li and Lo used to tell us at the Academy? Something about polished gems."
"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a person perfected without trials," Azula recited, recalling one of her old masters' favorite sayings.
"That was it," Ty Lee said, brightening a bit. "I think that's like you, Azula. All these things—these trials—it's the universe's way of helping you reach your potential."
Azula simply raised an eyebrow at her friend, seriously doubting that at the moment, but not in the mood to really argue with her. She was too tired. "Maybe," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes once again. "Maybe."