Of Fire
Chapter 21
The air was thick with tension as mother and daughter stared at each other. Detia had no doubt that if her mother could still bend fire the Inn would be nothing more than ash at that very second. Surprisingly, it was Azula who broke the silence, chuckling cruelly. "I see you finally have the daughter you always wanted."
Ursa sighed as if she was too old for this, which did nothing to ease Azula's mood. "Azula," she repeated softly, a worn smile warming her expression.
Detia watched as the woman's smile only angered her mother more. The thoughts racing through Azula's mind were erratic and livid with Ursa's journal and the things she wrote. The rapid succession of memories that gave proof to the written words was hard for Detia to follow, but she saw enough to know what her mother was feeling. Not that she needed to see what Azula was thinking to understand how the ex-fire bender was feeling. The violent colors in her aura were enough to clue her in. And from the look on Ty Lee's face, the acrobat was seeing the same violent reds flare into Azula's aura. Detia moved first, before her mother could say anything further, and touched Azula's clenched fist, drawing the woman's golden eyes down.
Ty Lee smiled as her wife's aura cooled the instant Azula looked at their daughter. She couldn't hear the conversation the two were undoubtedly having but whatever it was had Azula's aura stabilizing to calm cool blue. So, when Azula turned back to her mother, it was with a composed, if not calculating, mind, which was ultimately better than a mind clouded with anger.
Ursa's head tilted just slightly in curiosity at who her oldest daughter was looking at. From her position behind the solid counter she could not see who Azula smiled at and pulled closer, and she dared not move near enough to find out. Not when Azula was so agitated. The smile alone, one so full of love, baffled the older woman. At one time, she believed her oldest daughter incapable of love. She could not remember a time when Azula had smiled like that to anyone. Except maybe once when she was younger, and even then, it was towards Ty Lee. Ursa turned her attention to the young woman at her daughter's side. Last she heard, Ty Lee had run off and joined the circus, but that was a very long time ago. The woman before her was far from the happy little child doing cartwheels in the garden.
The older woman's gaze turned back to her older daughter, whose golden eyes looked back at her. Vaguely, she wondered where Azula found the golden armor that looked so much like a dragon. She could still see the things she saw when Azula was but a child, the calculating cold. The only difference being that it was stronger and more dominant than before, distinctly reminding the exiled princess of her husband. Ursa's golden eyes turned to her youngest child, who had yet to move lest she bring attention to herself. The two sisters could not have been more different, Ursa deduced easily. For a brief moment, she wondered if she had spent more time with Azula, showed her the same affection she showed Zuko and Aza, would she have turned out more like her younger sister. Mentally, she waved the idea off. Azula was Ozai's daughter, and nothing she could have done would have changed that.
Because of her position, Ursa didn't see Detia's scowl, but Ty Lee did and wondered at it but didn't say anything. "Mother." The word was clipped and hard but drew Ursa from her musings. "I see you are well," Azula tried again, trying to keep the bite out of her tone. Though, it appeared to be physically hard on her.
"I am," Ursa confirmed. "I see you are in good health as well."
Azula answered honestly, "I've been better."
The older woman nodded, "I see," but didn't ask for further details. "And Zuko?"
The ex- Fire bender swallowed hard, biting back the scathing remark just at the tip of her tongue. "He's Fire Lord now," Ty Lee came to the rescue, wrapping an arm around Azula's waist and lightly touching her wife's arm in an attempt to soothe her.
"Fire Lord!" Ursa remarked, the joyful surprise in her tone the first real emotion she showed through the whole ordeal. "What happened to Ozai?"
"Prison," Azula answered calmly. Ty Lee's supple body pressing against her side was doing wonders to drive out the anger.
For a moment, the older woman looked thoughtful, recalling a certain blind Earth Bender who stumbled upon the city years ago saying the same thing. "Well, I suppose that's for the best," Ursa replied.
"I suppose." Azula remarked.
"Wait a second," The young woman behind the desk interrupted, causing everyone in the room to turn to her. "So, you really are my sister?"
"It would appear so," Azula answered noncommittally.
The girl's smile widened with an expression Detia identified as elation. "Sweet!" she exclaimed and turned to Ursa. "You didn't tell me I had a sister, too."
Ursa didn't get a chance to comment before Azula inquired, "So you knew about Zuko?" Azula's hawk eyes narrowed when Aza nodded, oblivious to the implication. Azula's grip tightened on her daughter's hand before letting it go completely. "Well mother, it would seem my first statement was true."
Before anyone could stop her, Azula stormed out of the building. Ty Lee followed after a second of confusion, leaving Detia in the inn with her extended family. "What happened?" the girl inquired. "Did I say something wrong?"
Detia rolled her golden eyes, turning from the door to her mother's sister. "You cannot be that stupid."
"Hey!" she exclaimed as her mother took this chance to move forward and see the child that was more than likely her granddaughter. Ursa's gasp at the white haired spirit in human form, who saved her oldest daughter's life so long ago, standing in front of the counter stopped Aza from continuing. "Mom?"
"It's you!" Ursa exclaimed, almost pointing at the child.
Detia's narrowed eyes, so much like Azula's, turned to the older woman. "Do I know you?" Detia answered, knowing full well that she did.
"Who are you?" Ursa nearly demanded, some of her calm returning to her tone.
The white haired child stood tall and regal. "I am Detia, only child of Azula and Ty Lee." She enlighten, decided to leave out the fact that she and parents were royalty.
Ursa and her daughter only stared at the child. Aza's confused expression showed clearly on her face, her mother's was hidden but still apparent to the mind reader. "Who's Ty Lee?" Aza asked, though she assumed it was that woman with the brown hair who was with her sister. But then that didn't make sense.
Detia rolled her eyes again. "The woman with brown hair that ran after your sister." Again, there was a silence as the older females in the room tried to comprehend how two women could have a child. Before either could ask, Detia remarked. "Just because your small minds can't comprehend how something happens doesn't mean it's not possible."
Her grandmother scowled at Detia's tone and behavior. And while Detia knew it was rude and against her better upbringing, she could not bring herself care at the moment. "Did your mother raise you to be this rude to your elders?" Ursa inquired, she could only hope that her oldest daughter had better manners than that.
Detia's golden eyes narrowed. And though from the older woman's thoughts, she knew that Ursa did not mean the question in the way it came out; it still angered her. "My mother raised me just fine," Detia answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is no small feat considering she had no experience with good parenting." She almost smirked when Ursa flinched but stopped herself. "It's you I'm angry with."
"Me?" Ursa inquired, placing a hand over her heart.
"Why are you angry with her?" Aza interrupted. "You just met her."
For a second, Detia's eyes turned to her aunt then back at her grandmother. "The only reason I brought my mother back was because you loved her so much." Which was a lie, but they didn't need to know that. "I don't know what happened to you between then and the day I was born. I don't know why you suddenly decided that she wasn't worth your time, but you hurt her in a way that can't be repaired by anyone but you." She paused to let that knowledge sink in. "When I was born, Ty Lee's biggest fear was that Azula would be like you. For the longest time it baffled me why she would think that. The woman I remembered was a loving, caring mother, but then I read your journal." Ursa gasped. "Yes, Azula found it in the room she died in, and I found it in her room, hidden in the wall. After I read it, I realized why my mommy was so afraid of my mother becoming like you. The fear was unfounded though. Ultimately, even though she had no one to mother her, to show her that kind of love, she is still a better mother than you."
"You take that back," Ursa warned calmly – though the reds in her aura gave her anger away. "You don't know what I had to go through."
The lightning bender's expression was thoughtful before she answered, as if weighing her options. "True, I do not know what you had to go through," she admitted. "But whatever it was did not warrant your active favoritism towards your son. So, I will not take it back," Detia refused calmly, standing firmly. "I find it odd that everyone finds it so easy to betray my mother. At fourteen, she almost expected people to betray her and those feelings all started with you. Everything bad that's happened to her happened because you weren't there for her, and you don't even care. All you care about is your son and husband."
"That isn't true," Ursa denied.
"The first thing you asked her after she told you she'd been better wasn't 'what happened' it was 'How is Zuko?' What's wrong with you? What kind of mother does that? I thought you loved her."
"I do. I love all my children," Ursa exclaimed, unbelieving for a second that she was defending herself and her actions to a child.
Detia only shrugged, she was through with this conversation. She had said what she wanted. "We'll need two rooms." She informed, looking at the younger of the two women behind the counter, who just stood there. "Aziza!" Detia yelled, causing her aunt to jump.
"Two rooms, right. Got it!" the young woman quickly pulled two keys from a board on the wall before she stopped and turned back around. "Wait, how did you know my name?"
"I can read minds," Detia answered with a flip of her hand, as if she were saying the sky was blue. "So, the rooms?"
"I didn't know spirits could read minds," Ursa commented, earning a lifted eyebrow from both her daughter and granddaughter.
"They can't," Detia answered. "I'm not a spirit, nor have I ever been a spirit. So, the rooms?"
"Uh…" Aziza started, the keys to the two rooms in her hand, looking to her mother then back to the little girl. "I'll show you."
~x~
Azula walked, well stormed, through the streets of the Earth Kingdom village until she came upon a large pond. She growled at it, kicking a rock into the placid surface before plopping down into a meditative form. For a second, her temper cooled. The deep breathing and clearing of her mind brought her boiling rage to a simmering dislike. That was until the sound of ducks quacking ruined her meditation. One hawk-like golden eye opened to see the little turtle-duck swimming by itself in the pond in front of her. Both eyes opened as she watched silently. For a moment, she felt connected to the little duckling as it swam restlessly around the open water, calling for its mother.
That is until its mother came into the view, rushing to the baby and coddling it. They quacked happily and sent her anger back to a boiling point. Without even thinking about it, she lifted a large nearby rock with every intention of throwing it at the happy little family. Why did it get to have what she didn't? What was so special about a stupid duck? Her hand trembled with the rage and jealousy flaring within her, and just as she was about to let the rock fly, a cold hand wrapped around her wrist, causing her to drop the rock. "That's uncalled for," the voice of the young water bender admonished.
Azula's golden eyes turned to Yuna then back to the ducks, unable to find even a hint of her earlier anger and cursed the water bender's calming voice. Yuna let Azula's hand go, watching as it dropped limply to the ex-princess' side. "What are you doing here?" Azula asked as if a hundred years was suddenly weighing down on her.
The water bender regally sat beside Azula, crossing her hands in her lap. "I thought you might want someone to talk to. Detia said you might need it."
Azula snorted. "No offense, but you're just a child."
Yuna scowled and rolled her eyes, but Azula didn't see it seeing as she was still looking into the pond – the turtle-ducks long gone. "Fine," She stated, her voice deeper and more mature, "Would you prefer if I were in this form?"
Azula turned to the water bender and if she had been sitting on something she would have fallen off of it at what she saw. As it were, Azula sat wide eyed and slack jawed at the pale adult woman sitting beside her. "Une?" she finally managed, swallowing hard.
The woman chuckled, the amused look on her face irritating the ex-princess. "Une, Yuna, what's in a name?" She flipped her hand with a smile before placing it on Azula's shoulder. "We'll go into further discussion about my appearance at a later time. Right now, I want you to tell me why you were going to throw that rock at those innocent ducks." Azula remained silent, though she did growl. The water goddess sighed and grabbed Azula's chin, forcing the ex-fire bender to look at her. "I may not be your doctor anymore, Azula, but my rules still stand. Nothing you say to me will be repeated, and I will not judge you for it."
Azula jerked away from her once doctor, a well-manicured hand rubbing against her arm as she turned back to the pond. "I met my mother today," Azula started, oddly finding the presence of her doctor very comforting.
"I see."
"She has another daughter. She called her Aza." Golden eyes turned to the pale woman, judging her neutral expression and glad that nothing seemed to have changed with her. "I was so angry at first. I felt like I had been replaced. I look at this girl, who can't be more than five years older than Detia, and see how much we differ. She looks just like Zuko, with all the love and care my mother could give her. That she didn't give me."
"At first?" Une inquired, placing a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"My child, my precious little monster, informed me that people can change. That maybe Ursa had regretted the way she treated me as a child. I was willing to believe it. After all, I'm a prime example of someone changing." She chuckled, though it was forced.
"Why were you so angry just now then?"
Azula sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest. "It was going well, all things considered, maybe more than a little forced. She asked me how I was, I told her the truth that I had been better. She nodded and said 'I see'. For a second, I thought maybe she was going to ask what happened to me. That she cared enough. But then she asked how Zuko was. I let it slide, I understood, she hadn't seen us in a long time. So naturally, she'd want to know how he was doing. But I came to find out that she told her other daughter about him and not me."
"Aza knew about Zuko?" Une questioned, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.
Azula nodded, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. "Why would she tell her about him but not me?" She paused and took deep breaths to try and calm herself as she moved her legs till they were stretched out in front of her. "You know, I found out why she started to believe I was a monster." She didn't let Une ask before she continued. "I was very little, about three or so, when I died," Une gasped; this was news to her. "My father was so angry that he attacked me, and I died. Detia brought me back."
"And Ursa feared the darkness in your eyes and started to favor your brother," Une finished, surprising the ex-fire bender.
"How did you know?"
Une sighed. "It's happened before. We don't usually bring a person back to life because when they return to the living they change. Even if they remember nothing of what happened, or their time in the spirit world, their eyes darken. People tend to confuse the darkening with a person getting colder. But it isn't true. Someone doesn't just go into the spirit world after death and come out completely unscathed. I'm guessing your bending became better and your mind was sharper."
"That's what she wrote," Azula agreed, watching as Une sighed.
"The spirit world is a place of peace and tranquility. When a person dies and they go into that land, they are at peace with everything, and when they come back that tranquility stays with them. Usually their minds are clear and sharp, able to see all sides of a matter and the best way to do things. Your father probably used that to his advantage, turning that peace into something completely opposite."
Azula only nodded, very glad for the brief distraction. The silence between the two stretched for what felt like forever. "What should I do?" Azula asked.
Astonishment flittered over Une's face. Azula had never asked for her advice before. "You really want my opinion?"
Completely serious golden eyes turned to her, "I don't know what to do." She paused as she gathered her thoughts. "At the very beginning, I hated my daughter. I wanted nothing to do with her, but over a short period of time, I learned to love her with everything I am. I can't imagine ever treating her like my mother treated me. Even knowing that she's more powerful and intelligent than me doesn't change the way I feel about her. She could be the most powerful being on the planet, but she'd still be my little girl. She'd still come to me when she's scared or worried or just needs to be comforted, and I would be there for her. That's the kind of mother I know how to be. I can't begin to understand how my mother can do the things she does. And if you tell anyone I said this I will kill you."
Une chuckled and placed a hand on Azula's shoulder. "Your secret's safe with me, and I understand how you feel. My advice to you would be to talk to your mother." Azula grimaced. "I know; it will be hard. I never said it wouldn't. But you have questions, and she has answers. You don't have to do it today. In fact, I suggest you go back to the inn, spend time with your family, ignore your mother if you have too, explore the city a little, maybe train a little in the arena, and think about what you want to say to Ursa. Then, when you're ready, sit down and talk to her, privately."
Azula nodded, looking out at the calm water. "So you can change your form?" She decided to change the subject, and then paused. "Well, I guess I already knew that."
Une chuckled. "Yeah, guess you did."
"Does Detia know?"
The doctor nodded. "She's aware."
"Azula!" the worried voice of the ex-princess' mate called out as the sounds of Ty Lee running echoed off the walls of the buildings. The acrobat skidded to a stop when she caught sight of her wife. "Azula." Slightly out of breath, Ty Lee approached the two women.
"Let's see how long it takes her to notice," Une whispered with a conspiratorial smirk.
Azula nodded just enough to let her doctor know that she had heard. "Ty Lee," Azula called back, turning to watch the woman she loved walk up to her.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," the acrobat admitted, turning her attention to the woman sitting beside her wife briefly before turning back to Azula. "Are you okay? I think we left Detia back at the…" she paused, her eyes drawing back to the woman Azula was sitting next to. "Une?" the acrobat questioned, recognizing the calm solid blue aura.
The water bender chuckled, turning to look at the surprised look on the expressive face of the acrobat. "Ty Lee," the doctor nodded, still smiling. "You look well."
"What are you doing here?" The acrobat ignored the comment. "Not that I'm not glad you are, but what are you doing here?" she repeated the question.
"She came with us," Azula answered, earning a confused look from her wife and gentle slap on the arm from Une.
"You weren't supposed to tell her." Une admonished gently.
"I'm confused," Ty Lee admitted, looking from her wife to the doctor several times and still unable to understand what was going on. "What am I missing?"
Before anyone could answer, Angi walked up, stopping beside the acrobat, though her attention was completely on the blue rock in her hand. "Hey Yuna, you have to try this Jennamite. I totally forgot how much I love this stuff, way better than fire flakes." Her red eyes looked up into the blue eyes of her companion and the smile on her face fell. "I see you're in adult form. What was the name you went by while in this form?" She thought a moment, ignoring the acrobat's gasp of surprise. "It was Une, right? Detia's gonna feel left out if we're both adults. She can't do that yet."
"Then stay the way you are," Une stated the most obvious solution, increasing the fire bender's frown.
"You should just accept it, and don't ask too many questions. It's easier that way," Azula told her still stunned wife.
The comment drew the attention of the other two benders to Ty Lee, who was standing with a blank expression on her face. Grey eyes turned to Azula for a moment, latching onto the one thing that was different about her. "Where's Sunstone?"
"Back at the inn, I told her to watch after Detia," the ex-princess answered.
Ty Lee nodded, her eyes turning back to Une then to Angi. "We should probably go back to make sure she hasn't hurt anyone. She was just as upset as you were."
"Probably gave that woman a piece of her mind too," Angi remarked, her smirk devious. "I remember back in the day whenever one of us was going to do something stupid. She would shoot us down in that blunt, calm manner of hers. It used to piss me off so much."
Une laughed as she stood. "I remember."
"I do too," Detia's voice deadpanned beside the Firebender, causing her to jump in surprise.
"Shit! Where the hell did you come from?" Angi demanded, small flames licking her wrists.
Detia looked at her blankly then turned to Une with a white eyebrow lifted. Une only shrugged. "It was necessary."
The lightning bender nodded. "Hey, don't ignore me!"
"I wasn't ignoring you. You asked a stupid question that I did not think needed a reply," Detia answered with all the calm bluntness in the world.
For a second, fire engulfed Angi's arms before it was smothered to nothing but a dull stream of smoke. "Sometimes, I really hate you," she mumbled, crossing her arms and turning her attention to the golden baby dragon, though it was longer than she was, hovering behind the lightning bender.
To distract herself and help her calm down, the god of fire examined the little dragon. She determined that it was in good health and should start blowing fire soon. A smile came to her face at that thought. Dragons were not known to be able to control their fire breathing during their hatchling years. Oh! That would be so much fun to witness!
This time Detia did ignore her friend as she walked to her sitting mother. Fluidly, the little goddess held out a set of keys. 'I got two rooms at the inn,' she thought as she dropped the keys in her mother's hand. Just as quickly as the keys left her hand, a scroll with a leather strap replaced it, an identical one still tied to her belt. 'I also took the liberty to write this letter to Uncle Zuko, telling him where to find his mother. I thought Sunstone would take it back to the Fire Nation. The second scroll is to Toph, I mean Queen Toph, telling her where we are. I think we've had enough adventure. Thunder will be taking that one.'
Azula took the scroll and opened it briefly to skim over the detailed directions to their current location, not even bothering to ask how Detia knew where they were. Her golden eyes turned to the innocent red ones beside her daughter's head and silently commanded the dragon to come to her. Sunstone did as she was told and moved closer to Azula. The ex-princess strapped the scroll to Sunstone's back. "Do you know where to go?" The dragon nodded. "Good. Be safe."
Sunstone nodded again and took off into the sky. Everyone around watched the dragon leave, but it was Azula whose gaze turned away first, looking at her daughter's neutral expression but amazement shining through her golden eyes. The little lightning bender turned to her mother just in time to see the smile on her face before she was pulled into her lap and a strong, warm embrace. For a second, Detia froze at her mother's completely uncharacteristic action. That second passed quickly, and Detia relaxed into the embrace as she laid her head on her mother's shoulder. She was vaguely aware of her friends leaving the area, which left only Ty Lee standing. 'Are you okay?' Detia asked, and Azula's hug tightened.
"Did I ever make you feel like this?" Azula asked in a loud whisper, aware of Ty Lee's gentle intake of air and the tears that pooled under her grey eyes.
The lightning bender hesitated before answering honestly. 'Yes, when I was really little.'
Again the embrace tightened. "I'm sorry," the ex-princess apologized.
Detia pulled away from her mother to look in her eyes, so full of regret and seeking forgiveness. "I forgave you for that a long time ago. I couldn't ask for a better mother."
Azula smiled, cupping her daughter's cheek with one hand. "You are such a good girl, and I am so proud of you."
Ty Lee sobbed, a hand to her mouth to try to stop the sound, drawing her family's attention to her. She wiped her eyes with the back of sleeve. Azula stood suddenly as she tucked the key into a pouch attached to her belt. "Well, enough of all this…mushy-ness," Azula said, her normal mask of indifference becoming dominant. "Let's explore the city while we're here." She paused for a second as she took Detia's hand and moved over to her wife, taking her hand as well. "Where is Thunder?"
Detia shrugged as they made their way to the center of town. 'He'll be here soon.'
~x~
"Well," Azula remarked dryly as they entered the bustling market place. "This is just like every other market place I've ever been to."
Only a few of the people shopping in the district stopped to pay the visitors any heed, most being far too busy shopping to even bother. "Oh, come on Azula," Ty Lee offered optimistically, wrapping her arms around her wife's. "This is a secluded Earth Kingdom village. We could find something," she paused as she tried to think of the right word, "nifty," she finished, earning her a blank, disbelieving look from both her daughter and wife. "What?"
"I suppose it's possible. Unlikely, but possible," Detia conceded, her mother nodding vaguely in agreement.
Ty Lee rolled her grey eyes. "You're as bad as she is," she chided Detia lightly.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Azula almost sounded offended, but Ty Lee could tell she was more amused than anything.
Knowing this, the acrobat did not answer as something shiny caught her attention, and she dragged her family over to it. Simultaneously, Detia and Azula sighed at the jewelry displayed across the table behind a sheet of glass. For her part, Ty Lee effectively ignored their reaction, internally shaking her head at how much alike they were. Vaguely, she wondered if Sokka and Aang had the same problem with their daughters. The merchant noticed her then and started telling her about the jewelry she was looking at. Not that she listened. She learned not to believe everything merchants say long before she left the academy.
Her attention was averted from the jewelry as an annoying screech assaulted her ears, and from the expressions on her wife and daughter's faces, it was assaulting their ears as well. The screeching, much like nails on a chalk board, was suddenly accompanied with the sound of a different kind of screeching. Notably, the second screeching was nowhere near as annoying as the first. The second resembling someone who was clearly tone deaf abusing an otherwise harmonious instrument. Meaning it was terrible, but sometimes the right note was hit to alleviate the pain. "What the hell is that?" Azula demanded.
The merchant chuckled and shook his head. "Two of our village idiots are attempting to play the instruments from a long lost civilization. The archeologist will give them away to whomever can play them properly."
"What kind of instruments?" Ty Lee inquired, clearly interested.
The merchant shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that those idiots who are attempting to play them try every day, and one of these days, they are going to be killed for it."
"Let's check it out!" the acrobat exclaimed.
With her hands over her ears, Azula turned to her wife, the closest thing to a glare she would give her lover expressed clearly. "Let me get this straight, you want to get closer to that noise." Ty Lee nodded happily, assuming a completely innocent, child-like expression. "Sometimes," the ex-princess growled, removing her hands from her ears just to ball them into fists. "Let's get this over with."
Ty Lee gave the closest thing to squeal an adult could give, which was almost exactly like the ones she could do when she was a child before her voice deepened with age, and she hugged her wife. "You won't regret this," Ty Lee promised.
"I better not," Azula agreed angrily, though her mind was already coming up with ways her Ty Lee would be repaying her.
Detia groaned and not because of the noise as she took a slight lead, distance was best in these kinds of situations. It was easier to tune out her mother's thoughts the further away she got.
Instead of following the quickly retreating villagers, like any sane person would, the trio did the opposite, not surprisingly finding the village idiots quickly. If Azula had still been a Firebender, she would have turned them to ash the instant she saw them, just for temporarily making her deaf. As it were, she turned her glare on full. Which, given her new found lightning bender tendencies, had the potential to literally freeze them in shock and fear. The ex-princess, however, was new to her bending and her glare only resulted in the same result it usually produced. The two idiots stopped once their eyes landed on her, and started to shake with fear. They associated the glare to an angry saber tooth-moose-lion, an angry female saber tooth-moose-lion protecting her young.
As expected when the cruel smile slowly formed on her lips, the two had enough sense to run away. Detia stared up at her mother in sheer awe as the façade vanished. "Well," Azula said happily, "I feel much better now."
Ty Lee only giggled at her wife's behavior. 'Can I learn that?' Detia asked.
Azula nodded, placing a hand on her head, "Yes. It's in your next lessons I have planned."
"What are you teaching our daughter?" Ty Lee asked rhetorically with an exasperated sigh as she walked towards the abandoned instruments.
Azula only smiled. "At least I haven't lost my touch," she said proudly as she followed her wife.
Ty Lee didn't even respond to that as she picked up the smaller of the two instruments, the one that was being used as a guitar or banjo (and making the annoying nails on chalk board sound) but was much too small for such a thing. The man from the shop came out of hiding once he was sure those idiots had stopped. "Hello ladies," he said kindly with a tip of his straw hat, the relief in his features as clear as the sun on a cloudless day at noon. "How can I help you today?"
Ty Lee flipped the instrument, which really did look like a miniature guitar only with more feminine, even curvature. The long thin neck pulled four thin strings taunt and could probably be used as a weapon if they were removed. Ty Lee held the instrument like one would a guitar but the strings cut into her hand and she held it out again. The archeologist only smiled as she re-examined the instrument.
While she was looking at the smaller instrument, Azula looked at the bigger one. She really had nothing to compare it too. It was a triangular box in basic shape housing many strings with the top board dipping once then coming up slightly to dip again in an effort to create a sort of elaborate wave, though the board that the strings were attached to was slanted straight. The plans of the strings were perpendicular to the soundboard, though Azula didn't know that; she didn't know anything about any kind of instrument. That kind of knowledge had been deemed pointless at a very young age. What made this instrument truly odd, though, was that it was tall, almost coming to the bottom of her chin, with at least thirty strings. There was no feasible way to play the thing without sitting down or standing, one could not easily pick it up.
"Where did these instruments come from?" Ty Lee asked, neither adults noticing that Detia had yet to approach them.
The man continued to smile as he answered, "They are replicas of artifacts found in a cave very close to this city."
"Oh?" Ty Lee asked, setting the small instrument on a nearby table.
"Yep," he said happily. "The leader of the city found the cave by accident when we were just little kids. We've been studying everything in the cave since then."
"What nationality made them?"
He chuckled, which got on Azula's nerves more than anyone else's. "We believe it's from a tribe of people who were destroyed long ago." He laughed at himself. "We can't decipher most of the writings on the walls and on some of the scrolls. Moreover most of the things in the cave are in heavy metal boxes. So, half of what could be studied can't be."
"And these instruments?" Azula inquired, taking a seat in the chair in front of the instrument, finally noticing that her daughter was not there looking with them but still standing in the middle of the street staring, the color from her face completely drained. 'Detia,' she called mentally.
The girl didn't respond but the man started talking again. "We don't actually know the names of these instruments. But I like to call them…"
"A harp and a violin." Detia supplied as she slowly walked up to Ty Lee and took the smaller instrument in her hands, resting the bottom between her chin and left shoulder for a second.
Her golden eyes grew distant as the memories flooded her senses. Her right hand made the practiced motions of running a bow along the strings, and she was home in the garden of her pristine palace, smiling at her daughters as they watched in amazement. The youngest and the most bold of the three stood and ran the short distant, which couldn't have been more than a foot or two, to place her small hands in her mother's lap. Innocent grey eyes looked up at her as pale yellow locks tumbled from her pigtails, waving in the small breeze. And then she smiled.
Detia sighed, drew out of the memory forcefully, and placed the violin on the table a bit too roughly though it did not break. Her golden eyes looked up into the light green eyes of the archeologist and noticed how distant they looked. "What the hell was that?" he demanded as Detia turned to see similar expressions on her parent's faces.
"We all saw it," Azula confirmed the unasked question, shaking her head slightly to get the images out of her head.
"Sorry?" Detia guessed and turned back to the man. "I didn't mean to bring you into my memory," She said aloud then changed the subject. "The violin needs a bow in order to play it properly." The lightning bender turned to her parents with an indulgent smile. "It was my favorite."
"A bow," the man repeated, very eager to push what he had just witnessed as far away from the front of his mind as possible. "What kind of bow?"
"I could draw it for you," Detia answered instead of giving a description.
Within a second, a pen and paper were placed on the table in front of the child and it took Detia about that long to draw, in detail, the bow for the violin. "What about this one?" Ty Lee asked, pointing to the bigger instrument.
Detia handed the drawing to the man and turned to the harp. "I never liked the harp. It's big and bulky and a pain to carry around."
"So you can't play it?" Azula challenged.
"I didn't say that," Detia corrected. "I just said I didn't like it. It was Maya's favorite instrument."
Ty Lee lifted an eyebrow, "Maya? Which one was Maya?" Unable to get the image of the happy little blonde from the memory out of her mind.
Azula moved so Detia could sit in the seat. The lightning bender closed her eyes as her hands plucked the strings in a calm pleasant melody. "Maya was the middle one, the one with the darker yellow hair. My people loved her. They liked to portray her as the embodiment of a lightning bender. They would always say that she was everything a member of my people should be. She was calm and understanding and giving. Some of the diplomats from the other nations would often confuse her calm nature with a lack of intelligence or a slower mind. The truth couldn't have been more opposite. She had more than a basic knowledge of just about everything," She stated with a warm smile, still playing the harp like she had been studying it all her life. "She married Agni's son and became Fire Lady sometime before the end of the War of the Gods."
"An arranged marriage?" Azula inquired, impressed that her daughter was still playing like a professional despite being distracted. Though, none of that emotion showed in her body language or facial features.
Detia scowled, reminding Ty Lee of Azula so much it made her smile. "I would never force my children into a union that was not of their own choosing."
"Who was that little one then?" Ty Lee inquired, moving closer to her daughter. "I'm guessing that the oldest one with the short white hair was Linka."
Detia nodded. "The youngest one was Alia. She couldn't bend lightning like the other two." Her golden eyes opened to look fondly at Ty Lee. "Her specialty was the same as yours, mommy. In fact, she acted a lot like you."
"Really!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily.
Detia smiled happily, "Yes. She married into a Fire Nation noble family. Actually, you are a descendent of hers, mommy."
The lightning bender smiled at her mommy's ecstatic aura. "Does that mean that Ty Lee and I are related?" Azula questioned, as if asking if the grass was green.
But Ty Lee gasped at the implication. "No. None of my children were biologically related to me. Not that it would matter since it's been so long."
"Wait," the archeologist interrupted. "You're a lightning bender! You look just like the people painted on the walls of the cave," he stated in sheer amazement. Detia's scowl returned. "The things you must know! I would love to study…" He paused as Detia cracked one eye open only a little so no one would notice. "What was I saying?"
For a second, there was utter silence – minus the sounds coming from the harp – until Azula started chuckling. Closing her eyes the lightning bender assumed a ridiculously innocent face, even if there were hints of a smug smile forming on her lips. "Detia," Ty Lee scolded, "did you do that?"
Making sure not to look at her mommy, because no matter how well she could lie to Toph (or anyone else for that matter) she could not seem to lie to her parents, the little goddess replied. "Do what?"
Ty Lee's hands found a home on her hips as her stance became firm. Detia tensed. "I'll be able to learn that, right?"
Detia turned to her mother, who had Ty Lee deflating like a balloon. "Azula!" Ty Lee yelled at her wife. "We're supposed to be a unit and stick together when disciplining her."
"We are," Azula replied, taking Detia's hand from the harp and smacking it lightly – just enough to make the sound but not even sting a little. "Don't do it again."
Detia resumed her playing, biting her lip to force herself not to laugh. "Azula!" Ty Lee whined, causing the ex-princess to roll her eyes.
"Oh, come on Ty Lee. It wasn't that bad." Azula responded.
"Excuse me…" the archeologist tried to interrupt but his words fell on deaf ears.
"How often does she do things like that?" Azula countered logically, crossing her arms and answering before Ty Lee had the chance. "Never." She continued. "You agree she's an intelligent child, yes?"
Ty Lee nodded, the question confusing her. "I do, the smartest, but what does that…"
"Then as an intelligent child don't you think she may have had a reason for doing what she did. She rarely ever uses her abilities, only when the situation warrants it," Azula stated, and Ty Lee almost wanted to hit her for being so logical, almost.
Of course, Azula, being the tactical genius she was, could see her wife's inner thoughts; not that it was hard. Ty Lee's thoughts were an open book to her, even though Ty Lee had learned to control and/or hide her expressions as she got older. But before she could say anything to calm Ty Lee down, the acrobat spoke first.
"Fine," Ty Lee stated, putting a hand to her brow to try to stop the head ache that was threatening her.
Her other hand balled into a fist. She was just so angry, mostly at Azula for condescending her in front of their daughter. If she could have her way, she would have stormed off back in the direction of the inn, but a smaller hand gripped her wrist, suddenly. 'Don't go,' her daughter pleaded, her golden eyes looking so pitiful when Ty Lee looked down at her. 'I'm sorry I did that. I won't do it again. I just didn't want to deal with it. He was going to ask me all kinds of questions and take up a lot of my time. I just want to relax.'
Ty Lee sighed, deflating for a second time within ten minutes. She placed her hand on her daughter's head of white hair and smiled, "If you weren't so cute and I didn't love you so much..." she threatened half-heartedly.
'You should apologize to her,' Detia told only Azula.
'I know,' The ex-princess answered. 'You let me deal with that.'
Only slightly did Detia nod, just enough for Azula to see. 'The basis for what I did will be in your next lesson.' Azula had to forcefully control her joy at that news. The lightning bender stood as she took her mommy's hand and looked at the archeologist. "If you get the bow made in time, I'll buy the violin from you." He only nodded, scratching his head as he tried to remember what he was talking about. "Let's go look at other stuff. Maybe we'll find more things that I know about."
At that precise moment, Ty Lee's stomach growled. "Or we could get something to eat," Azula suggested, making sure to stop herself from chuckling. She was already in enough hot water.
"Food sounds good," Detia agreed and took the lead again.
"I'm still mad at you," Ty Lee replied in a whisper as Azula walked beside her.
Azula nodded once. "I know," she said in the same whisper. "I didn't mean to insult your parenting skills. You raised her for a year before I stepped up. I'm sorry."
Silently, the acrobat cursed herself and her inability to stay mad at her wife. She really, really wanted to remain mad. But Azula said she was sorry, and damn it, she hated those words and what they did to her. Sometimes, she wished Azula said them more often so she could become immune or something. However, because the ex-princess made it her personal mission to never say the words 'I'm sorry' unless in a sarcastic manner when she did say that phrase and meant it Ty Lee's anger always melted like ice in a Fire Nation summer. Every single time. Without fail. She sighed in exasperation. "I forgive you."
Then she smiled when Azula took her hand and brought it to her lips to kiss gently, promising with the look in her eyes that she would further apologize later that night. "I found a restaurant that looks like it serves decent food," Detia informed as she ran up to her parents then stopped and amused her parents by the look of disgust on her face. "Would you two get a room or something?"
"You'll understand when you're older," Azula assured.
Detia rolled her eyes, taking the scroll from her belt. "I understand now. But still, come on, you're acting teenagers."
Ty Lee giggled, "We never did this when we were teenagers."
"And we're making up for all the lost time," Azula finished.
Both parents laughed at the look of utter disgust on their child's face that rapidly changed to a look as if she had just heard way more than she wanted to know, ever. "I guess I should be happy my parents love each other so much," Detia replied, rolling her golden eyes and tossing the scroll into the air.
Ty Lee and Azula ducked instinctively, their good mood becoming serious, as a huge grey and yellow bird swooped down on them, catching the scroll and ascending once again. "Was that Thunder?" Ty Lee inquired, shielding her eyes against the sun as she watched the bird rise.
"Yes," Detia answered. "Let's get food now."
On purpose, the lightning bender moved between her parents, breaking their held hands. Neither minded since that's what she usually did. "That bird is never around anymore," Ty Lee noted.
Detia only shrugged, 'He's curious about the new land.'
Azula stopped in her tracks when they reached the restaurant and glared – gently – down at her daughter. "Detia," she warned.
The little goddess looked up at her mother. 'What?' She turned her attention to the restaurant's outdoor tables and the younger, nicer, version of her mother sitting at one of them. 'She just wants to talk to you,' Detia explained. 'Give her a chance. She just found out she has an older sister.'
"She's right you know," Ty Lee put in.
Azula didn't even bother arguing, knowing it was a losing battle. Besides, she sort of, in a very small way, wanted to get to know her other sibling. The ex-firebender made her way to the table and sat in the seat in front of her little more than likely half-sister. Aza's entire face lit up when Azula sat in front of her, Ty Lee and Detia taking the seats beside her. "I thought maybe you wouldn't sit with me," the girl admitted. "We didn't get properly introduced. I'm Aziza, people around here call me Aza," she informed in a slight bow.
"Azula," Azula answered, bowing her head slightly. "How long have you lived in this village?"
"All my life." Aziza answered readily, overjoyed that her older sister was talking to her. Especially given the way she had stormed out of the Inn, Aziza feared she wouldn't.
"And your father?" the oldest royal inquired.
"I don't know him," she answered after hesitating, swirling her finger in the water from her drink. "Mom doesn't like to talk about it."
"I see," Azula remarked, seeing the warning look her wife was giving her. "I suppose it doesn't matter," Aziza perked up. "How much did mother tell you?"
Without an ounce of hesitation, Aziza answered, "Nothing."
"Nothing?" her older sister parroted.
"She caught something not too long ago and became very ill. She was feverous and delusional. While I was taking care of her, she mumbled the name Zuko then something about turtle-ducks." She threw her hands up in a shrug. "When she got better, I asked her about the name. She said, 'he's your brother' and nothing else, no matter how much I badgered her about it. She doesn't like to talk about her past."
Azula nodded, suppressing her smile. "Well, that's kind of a relief," Ty Lee put in as she turned to her wife. "If that's all she told her."
The ex-princess nodded in understanding. She could understand why her mother didn't want anyone to know she was a Fire Nation princess living in the Earth Kingdom during a war. So, she kept quiet and old habits die hard. Aziza, being completely oblivious of these implications, saw it as her turn to ask questions and started. "What is it like out there?"
"Be more specific," Azula remarked, her mind snapping back to reality like a whip. Aziza only stared at her and Azula rolled her eyes. "What part of the world would you like to know about?"
"You've been around the world?" the young girl stated, clearly amazed. "What do you do for a living that allows you to do that?"
An elegant black eyebrow lifted and Azula remained silent as a waitress came to take their orders. When the waitress left Azula stated rhetorically, "She didn't tell you anything at all, did she?" Aziza shook her head in the negative. "Zuko is the Fire Lord."
"I know." She pointed a finger to Ty Lee. "She said so. What's a Fire Lord?"
Azula's golden eyes widened with disbelief. Had it been anyone else, anyone at all, besides a young girl from a backwater Earth Kingdom village, she would have yelled at them. "The Fire Lord is the ruler of the Fire Nation," Detia answered as she sipped the drink in front of her.
Aziza jumped out of her seat at this news, her wooden chair clattering loudly to the floor. "You're a princess!" she whispered loudly.
Surprisingly, this amused Azula. "So are you," she stated. "Well, not technically, but Zuko will more than likely overlook the fact that you are our half-sister from an exiled princess."
Ty Lee pulled the chair up just in time for Aziza to fall into it. "I'm a princess," she said lightly, her golden eyes distant, not even hearing the last part of Azula's statement. "Do you live in a palace?"
Azula chose to lie and say, "Of course."
"What's it like there?" Aziza asked excitedly, her dazed state disappearing like a wisp of smoke.
"Huge," Detia answered deadpan as she sipped her drink. "You wouldn't be able to explore the entire palace in a week."
"It's hotter and dryer in the Fire Nation as well," Ty Lee put in.
Azula nodded in agreement. "Wow," the girl stated, imagining the palace. "Can you take me there?" she asked, grabbing her sister's hands.
The ex-princess took her hands from the girl. "No. We're heading to Ba Sing Se."
Aziza's expression fell comically. Her expression lit up as an idea hit her, but before she could give voice to it, Ty Lee interrupted, "But Zuko should be coming here soon. We've sent a message to him."
"Really!"
"Yes," Azula answered, getting slightly annoyed at her sister's…expressiveness.
To her credit, the younger sibling seemed to notice Azula's change in tone and straightened her act immediately. "Will you stay till then?" she asked calmly.
This impressed Azula. At least, there was some hope for her, and she answered, "More than likely."
"Excellent," she stated as she stood, smiling at her big sister. "I have to get back to the Inn. Enjoy the city; there are actually a lot of things to do."
"We will," Ty Lee assured as Aziza began to walk away. "Wait!" The girl stopped. "How old are you?"
"15," the girl answered, before checking the sun. "I have to go. See you around."
She waved as she ran off. Azula looked at her wife as Ty Lee gained a look of thinking. Finally, she shook her head, her braid flowing with the movement of her head. "I was wondering if it was possible for her to be your full sister. But I don't know how unless Ozai actually knew where Ursa was this whole time."
Azula shrugged, it didn't really concern her. "It doesn't matter, really."
If Azula didn't care who her sister's father was, then Ty Lee didn't either. Besides, the waitress had just set their food on the table. "Okay, Zula. If you say so." The ex-princess didn't respond but smiled at the look on her wife's face. "This smells spicier than most Earth Kingdom dishes," The acrobat noted as she took her chopsticks and tasted the dish. "This taste like something from the Fire Nation." Detia nodded in agreement.
"Good," Azula replied and began eating.
~x~
It was night. The full moon hung high in the sky, dimming the stars and casting more light onto the village than the lit lanterns. The day had been busy for Azula and her family. Though, all they did was explore the marketplace and go to the arena, which was surprisingly large, and train. After that, they returned to the inn, sitting on a porch bench and talking. A lapse in the conversation had Detia falling asleep. They placed her in the bed of the one room they had a key to. Angi had run by and lifted the other from Detia's person earlier that day. Uncharacteristically, the little lightning bender stretched out and took up most of the bed once she was placed on it.
Azula and Ty Lee had looked at her then each other before Ty Lee shrugged and suggested that they go to the secluded back porch instead of the front. The conversation for those few hours was minimal, seeing as the couple simply basked in the presence of the other and felt no need to talk. Eventually, Ty Lee had drifted to sleep, her head resting in Azula's lap. The ex-princess continued to look at the moon, her long hands running through Ty Lee's bound hair, unintentionally causing it to become unbound. Not that she was paying any attention to that as light footsteps caught her attention. Her golden eyes narrowed as the door opened and her mother stepped out.
The older woman seemed just as surprised to see her oldest daughter out on the porch as Azula was to see her mother so soon. For a minute that felt like an eternity, the two stared at each other. Azula looked away first, allowing her mother to decide what she wanted to do next. To her slight surprise, the older woman moved to sit next to her, on the side that didn't have Ty Lee separating them. Silence fell between them, Ursa not knowing how to start a conversation and Azula unwilling to begin. Ursa's golden eyes turned to the sleeping woman resting comfortably in Azula's lap. "She seems to love you very much," Ursa began, hoping it was a safe topic to begin with.
"She married me," was Azula's curt response.
Ursa sighed. "Azula, this has to stop." She wanted to touch her daughter, to place a hand on her arm in a way to try to convince her through bodily contact that she did want things between them to change. But she didn't. She remembered all too well how powerful a bender Azula had been as a child. That, coupled with who raised her, her age now, and her open hostility towards her, gave her reason to fear Azula would attack her. "You are my daughter, and despite everything, I do love you."
The sound Azula made sounded just like disbelief. "I'm sure. You thought I was a monster."
"But I still loved you." Ursa remarked and turned away from Azula's piercing gaze. "I know that the way I treated you as child was wrong. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I can give you justifications for why I did what I did. Spirits know I gave myself enough…"
"Give me one," Azula demanded. "The best one you have, let me hear it."
Ursa sighed deeply before looking into her daughter's eyes. "I lost you. You died, and it hurt so much. Then that spirit brought you back to life, she gave you back to me. You probably don't remember, but I never let you leave my side more than a few minutes for weeks after it happened. But Ozai wanted more time with you. He increased your training, and you'd come out hurt but wouldn't say anything about it. And I thought he was going to kill you again. I'd lose you all over again and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't listen. So I distanced myself from you. I couldn't deal with losing you again. You don't know what it's like to lose a child."
"Yes, I do," Azula interrupted, looking down at her wife. "Last year Detia was struck by lightning." Ursa's shocked expression relieved some of Azula's tension. "The doctor said that she would live, but the chances of her waking from her coma were slim." Fighting the tears, because it still hurt her to think about it, Azula continued. "He said that if she did wake up she wouldn't be able to see or walk or use her left arm at all. And there was no telling what kind of mental disabilities she'd have. She was in a coma for about a month."
"Oh, Azula," Ursa whispered. She didn't want to wish that kind of pain on anyone, better less her daughter. "I'm sorry."
Azula smiled at her mother – and meant it – making the older woman almost gasp at how good it made her feel inside. "It's okay," Azula assured. "The little monster survived it and came out completely unscathed."
"How on earth did she manage that?" Ursa inquired before answering her own question. "Oh right, she's a spirit of some kind."
"Not a spirit," Azula corrected, earning a slightly lifted eyebrow from her mother.
"She said the same thing," Ursa responded. "What is she then?"
Azula smirked. "My daughter."
For a moment, Ursa only looked at her oldest daughter before smiling and shaking her head. "Of course."
"Anyways," Azula replied, changing the subject back to the topic it was on. "I know what it feels like to come close to losing a child. I can understand why you thought that growing cold to me would be the right thing to do, even if it wasn't. Not even close. I even understand why you began to think I was a monster. Again, it was wrong but I still understand. You hurt me more than you can even know."
"I know I…"
"I'm not finished," Azula interrupted, ignoring her mother's scowl. "For my daughter's sake and for my own, I'm willing to put the past behind us. So we can start a new relationship."
Unsuccessfully, Ursa tried to stop the tears from falling from her eyes, dabbing her eyes lightly with the apron she still wore. "You would do that?"
Azula nodded. "I'm willing to try."
TBC
A/N: I just found out that according to the Ultimate Avatar Pocket Guide Zuko was 17 at the end of the show. All this time I thought he was 16. It doesn't really change anything, except now he's a year older. Go figure.
Anyways, sorry it's longer than normal…or not…whatever. Things just had to happen in this chapter. There was a lot of talking though, I am sorry about that. But conversations are good, right? :]
Also, I noticed that I unintentionally stole the name 'Aza' from the story Firelight (which is fantastical and if you haven't read it yet you totally should – puts my story to shame, seriously). My awesome Beta, Chaos Sparda, pointed it out to me, along with some other things but we won't get into that. I asked if it was okay but I haven't gotten a response back. So I'm hoping it is. ;}