ASC 105, spring/ catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se

No matter how the tribesman put the fact remained that they were lost. So while Sokka decided to study the map more intently Azula took the time to sit down and clear her mind. The princess wasn't certain why but she kept feeling like someone was watching them from the shadows. By then Azula was able to decide that this wasn't mere paranoia. Her instincts had been trying to give her a warning that she had been ignoring up till now. The princess looked to her right as Ling took a seat next to her. Ling seemed as if she had been crying recently. There weren't any tears to suggest this, but her facial expression and the vibe that she seemed to be getting off seemed to tell Azula that Ling seemed rather distressed.

"I'm rather envious of you Azula."

"What do you mean?" The princess asked.

"You have a family."

"Heh...family. My family isn't that great."

Ling had her elbows placed against her knees and her hands were clasped beneath her chin. She didn't understand why Azula was so dismissive about having a family. Ling had lost both her parents and siblings to this accursed war. She wasn't blaming Azula or any of the Fire Nation's citizenry for her loss. However Ling did blame the regime. It didn't matter that Fire Lord Zuko had provided humanitarian aid; no amount of wealth or apologies would make up for what she had lost. Azula may be abrasive but she wasn't necessarily a bad person. And while it wasn't always easy it was possible to get along with her. Azula was a realist and Ling could appreciate that.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could see them again."

Ling closed her eyes tightly to banish away the tears before they fell down her cheeks. Ling then slowly shook her head.

"It's sad really," Ling continued "People don't really appreciate what they have until they lose everything."

"So what exactly happened?" Azula asked

"It's really not that complicated." Ling answered used her left hand to rub her eyes. "Fire Nation soldiers came to the village and razed it to the ground. I was eight years old at the time so I really don't understand the circumstances that led to it. The only reason I survived was because I ran off."

The princess wasn't able to understand Ling's feelings exactly but she did understand why the Earth Kingdom girl felt the way that she did. Like herself Ling had her world crashing down on her. It was at that point that Azula realized that the end of the world would always be clichéd. The real "Apocalypses" were the personal ones. Life went on of course, but seemed to be of little consolation in Ling's case. The princess wondered if Sokka had finally found out where they were. She decided to use her curiosity to change the subject. The current conversation was getting a little depressing in her opinion.

"I wonder if Sokka has managed to figure out where we are."

"I guess we should find out. Although I had initially thought that he was good with directions."

Azula smiled for moment before speaking her mind.

"I think this incident calls that into question."

"Azula," Ling spoke "I want to thank you for listening. It means a lot to me."

"Okay," Azula deflected bluntly, "Enough of the sappy stuff; we need to make sure that Sokka doesn't get us killed."

"You don't seem to have much faith in his abilities."

"Not at the present time." Azula answered frankly.

Azula walked over to see that Sokka was still engrossed in his study of the old map they had found inside the tomb they had inadvertently stumbled into a while earlier. Azula eventually concluded that this was going to take a while so; she might as well get comfortable. She leaned against the cave wall and slowly sat down. The princess started thinking again like she often did nowadays.

She remembered that her uncle Iroh seemed a bit uncomfortable. It was almost as if he had something to say but was unwilling to say it. Something was obviously on the old man's mind. However it was patently obvious that she couldn't really place what was troubling him. It was quite likely that whatever it was if it had Iroh so unsettled then it couldn't be good.

Eventually Azula found herself drifting off to sleep. She tried to fight the sensation but after struggling against it for a minute, she started yawning. Within moments the princess had fallen asleep. As sleep took over Azula found herself within the dreamscape of a forest full of blackened trees without leaves, spectral personages made from black smoke walked to and fro across the horizon. The voices she heard were unintelligible, Azula could only make out bits and of what the shadow people were saying. The princess couldn't really tell what this all was but, she had absolute certainty that she wanted to get out of this nightmarish place. Azula then felt something hot splash on her skin. The pain prompted her to look up. What she saw was a bunch of tiny fireballs raining from the sky. The princess frantically looked for shelter. The scorched trees provided little assistance in this matter. Eventually her gaze sighted a small house made from stone. Azula ran towards the house as the burning rain began to fall at a faster pace. The hot condensation urged Azula to run as fast as her legs could carry her, but it seemed as if she was moving in slow motion despite her exertions.

After running for what seemed like an eternity she came to the doorway of the house. A closer revealed that house was covered in scorch marks from the rain. Azula forced the door open and slammed it behind her. After a period of ragged breathing she inspected her surroundings. The house was what one would expect from a common home. The furnishings were Spartan in nature. Azula grabbed a plain wooden chair from the dining room table and sat down in order to allow the haze of fatigue to leave her body. When her senses cleared she noticed a grisly scene in front of her. The princess saw four human skeletons huddled against the wall. On the outside were to adults who seemed to be hugging their children close in there last hours. It was at that point the voices became clear.

"Why? Why did you do this to us?"

"What did we do to deserve this?"

"Were we really such a threat to you?"

"Did we really warrant death?"

It was at that point that Azula seemed eager to leave the house. She went for the door, but it was locked. One of the skeletons stood up and walked towards the princess. Azula backed herself against the wall behind her.

"Get away from me!" the princess screamed.

The skeleton ignored her demand and kept coming closer. The skeleton curled its bony finger's around Azula's shoulders and pinned her to the wall. It then locked its empty gave with Azula's eyes and questioned her with a masculine voice.

"WHY? What gave you the right to do this to us?"

Azula had no answer.

"WHY?"

Azula snapped up from her slumber with a scream.

"I didn't do it! It wasn't my fault!"

The skeleton's voice spoke within her mind to say otherwise.

"Why not? It was your plan, after all."

Ling and Sokka looked at Azula curiously wondering what had gotten into her.

"Are you alright?" Ling asked

Azula snorted and answered with a harsh snap in her voice.

"Yes, I'm fine."

In truth however Azula was not fine. She knew what her recent nightmare was in relation to her plan to use the power of Sozin's Comet to burn a swath of land through the Earth Kingdom, starting from chameleon bay all the way to Ba Sing Se. The purpose of this action was to crush any and all resistance within the Earth Kingdom. Although nowadays Azula wondered whether or not her plan would have had the effect it intended. A part of her mind suspected that it would've likely served as a rallying cry or another reason for resistance to continue. In effect had her plan come into play without the intervention of the avatar and friends it would have dragged the war would've dragged on much longer than a century. Azula snorted a contrail of blue steam from her nostrils, it had been five years since this period of tumultuous events and she was still wallowing in the past. The princess just simply wished these thoughts would leave her mind and allow her to move on with her life. Azula was of the opinion that once something happened the issue was dead and done. But, apparently as her dream suggested this wasn't the case. It made Azula wonder what she was missing; what she was not seeing. The princess wasn't seeking some kind of nirvanic enlightenment; she was simply seeking to put a close to her past issues and move on. The fact of the matter was that the plan Azula had put forward made the events of the return of Sozin's Comet partly her responsibility. Before she her eventual return home Azula resolved to see the effects of her plans first hand on her own. It was something she had to do in private for herself.

Azula's train of thought was interrupted when she overheard Sokka speak out loud.

"Okay people; let's go I've figured out where we're at."

"Really?" The princess inquired questioningly "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes Miss Bossy; I'm sure." Sokka returned his attention to old map before he continued speaking. "From what I've been able to gather we need to go...That way!"

Ling and Azula looked to their right to see a long corridor of squared arch ways stretching out beyond the limits of their sight. The girls followed Sokka as he started walking down the arched corridor. All the while, Azula was fervently hopping that this charade was now coming to an end.

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ASC 123, summer / Imperial palace

Suzuka trailed after her sister Ursula down the hallway with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. She really didn't want to deal with another conversation with her mother that night. Suzuka sighed and restrained a growl in her throat, it was would simply be best that she complied with her mother's summoning and got this ordeal over with. Ursula walked with long even strides at a casual pace. She shook her head because in her opinion Suzuka was being childish. When they were younger Suzuka sometimes throw a temper tantrum when she got angry enough. Ursula had often kept herself in her twin's company because she often had trouble with other people. It wasn't that Suzuka was anti social, not really anyway. It was just that Suzuka had little patience for people whom she considered to be idiots. And in Suzuka's honest opinion the world was full of them. The Twins eventually came to the garden, their mother the esteemed Princess Azula had table set for tea in the middle of the lawn by the turtle duck pond. Suzuka then realized that this conversation was going to be a bit lengthy.

Azula sat at the table as she tapped the finger nails of her right hand against the table. She didn't have the enthusiasm for tea like her deceased uncle had but she did have her preferences. The kettle in the table's center had been filled with tea made from a combination of lemon and orange zest along with some cinnamon added in for additional flavoring. Azula grasped the handle slowly to make certain that she didn't burn her hand. She then grabbed a grabbed a cup for herself and poured the tea in slowly. Azula set the kettle back into the center of the table set the cup to the side for a moment to cool. It was odd really at first she felt about telling her life's story, but now that the event was at hand she felt rather calm. Azula grabbed her cup with both hands and took a moment blow the steam that had risen from the hot liquid. She then placed the brim of the tea cup to her lips and took a short sip and set the tea cup back down in time to see Ursula walking towards the table with Suzuka in tow.

"Please girls, take a seat." Azula invited.

"What is this about mother?" Suzuka asked pointedly "You didn't drag out here just to tell us your life's story. So, I have to ask; what's really going on?"

"Not every action has an ulterior motive Suzuka."

Suzuka eyed her mother with a questioning tilt of her head.

"Please Suzuka," Azula requested cordially, "Take a seat."

Suzuka took pulled a chair from the table and took a seat across from her sister.

"By all means," Azula coaxed as she gestured to the tea pot "help your selves."

Azula waited patiently while her daughters poured themselves a cup of tea and got comfortable, before she began to address the girls and state her reasons for this meeting.

"Now then," Azula continued "I asked the two of you here because; I wanted to talk to both of you about certain events. The first reason is dispel the rumors about me regarding the events surrounding my disappearance from the public eye. And second, you deserve to know."

Azula took a moment to breathe through her nose before she continued speaking.

"I'll have to at the beginning. You must realize that at the time I really wasn't the best person to be around." Azula closed her eyes tightly and shook her head slowly in disgust. "I was young, I was arrogant...And I was foolish."

Azula paused for a moment to gather herself. Before she decided to continue there was a lot that needed to be said and she could no longer bring herself to withhold the truth from them anymore. Azula started with the reunion she had with her brother during the third year of his banishment. Azula suspected things were simpler then because she was oblivious to the word "consequence". Azula made no excuses for her actions or behavior during that period of time. She had already suffered the consequences. And as Azula had stated earlier her children had a right to know.

When she finally got the point of the Agni Kai that she had with her brother on the day of the comet's return Azula found difficult to speak. However she persisted, she had come this far and she was determined not to let events of the comet dictate the course of her life.

"So, why did Uncle Zuko send you to an asylum?" Ursula asked

"The fact of the matter was that I needed professional help. I was angry, confused…" Azula paused momentarily before she continued speaking. "Scarred. I didn't know what to think any more. It was as if nothing made sense. Nothing turned out the way I thought they were supposed to. Zuko tried to help me, your grandmother tried as well but at that period of time I didn't want anyone around me. In the end, I had the foresight to plan things to meet my goals but, I was too foolish to understand the meaning of consequence. If you don't think of the consequences then you'll always run into situations that your unprepared for. And life often has a way of reminding you of your own actions when you least expect it."

Azula felt cotton mouthed after speaking so much, she took another sip of her tea because there was so much more she had to say. Azula hoped that she wouldn't end up rambling on

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Author's notes: well That's it for chapter 21 I hope you like it reader's. Please reveiw people because to be honest I hate lazy readers. it's great that alot have made story alerts and have faved this story...However some of have neglected to tell me why!

Vivid Dreamer 624: I wonder who you suspect the father is? lol

Vahnati: Thanks for the pointers. Your review means that I have a lot of work to do.