AN: Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday, I hope you enjoy this early present and have a happy holiday!


Chapter 28: Welcome Home

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.


Seated on top of a very high balcony at the royal plaza facing a large crowd of Fire Nation citizens, Azula, Zuko, and Liling reside, being introduced by the court announcers Li and Lo. "Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's capital. In Ba Sing Se she found her brother, Zuko, and their cousin, Liling, and together, they faced the Avatar. And the Avatar fell, and the Earth Kingdom fell. Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to Ba Sing Se's Great Walls, and brought them down! The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the wall and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory. Now the heroes have returned home. Your princess, Azula! And after three long years, your prince and princess have returned. Zuko and Liling!"

Zuko and Liling walk side by side out onto the balcony and face the crowd. The Fire Nation citizens cheer for them. Zuko sullenly gazes over the crowd while Liling waves graciously. The two stare out at their adoring citizens as Azula joins them, stepping between them. She waves to the crowd cordially before placing a hand on either of their shoulders, pulling her brother and cousin closer to her, much to the love and adoration of the crowd gathered below them.


The guard spins around, leveling his spear. He recognizes the hooded figure. "You again? Stop where you are." The figure raises its head, revealing a well-known face coupled with her telltale luminescent hair. "Princess Liling?!" he gasps, lowering his weapon in shock.

Liling grabs him by the collar and slams him against the wall, her nails digging into his cheaply made uniform. In a tone of insolent menace, she hisses, "I'm going in for a visit. You're going to stand guard here, and no one is going to know about this." The guard can only nod as Liling lowers him before walking forward into the Fire Nation prison, a small smirk plastered on her lips as she observed her nails.

She soon reaches a cell. The cell is bisected by a wall of bars so that one half is accessible from the door and the other half serves as a cage. Iroh, unkempt and dressed in rags, is seated cross-legged on a mat, facing the wall to the right of the cell door as Liling enters it. Liling walks in and up to the bars. Lowering her hood, she says with a small smile, "Iroh. It's me."

Iroh turns to look at her, then, and smiles, pushing his unkempt hair out of his eyes. "It's good to see you. How are things?"

"Apart from Azula and our beloved Fire Lord having complete control over the entire world, you being imprisoned, and myself being nearly powerless to stop them, things are just swell," Liling explained, her hushed tone reaching a panicked crescendo as the sentence neared an end.

Iroh reached through the bars and placed a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It will be alright. Just take a deep breath and relax. Trust me, everything will right itself in the end."

Heaving a heavy sigh, Liling smiled appreciatively and replied, "I needed that. Thank you." She slides him a cup of tea before laughing. At Iroh's arched brow, she explains, "It's funny that even though you're the one in prison, you're comforting me when I should be the one comforting you."

Seeing the humor in that, Iroh chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, Liling. In fact, I wouldn't want to trade places with you. I'd rather be left to my own devices in this dungy dungeon rather than imprisoned inside the walls of the Palace, under the watchful eyes of both Azula and my brother."

"Funny," Liling mumbled, "Really funny, that. You're not wrong, though. It hasn't been pleasant dealing with Azula. I'm fortunate that I can stay shut up in my room most of the time under the pretense that I am still resting from the injury I sustained when the Avatar was struck by Azula before fleeing Ba Sing Se. I'm dreading my encounter with the Fire Lord if he even deems me worthy of his time to converse with me that is."

"Glad to see my point has been made," Iroh said with a sad smile. He was trying to make light of the horrible situation he and his daughter had found themselves in but the fact remained that their situation was not light; it was dire. They had to plot their every move well in advance to avoid punishments worse than imprisonment. Iroh was just grateful that Liling was still able to walk free and that Azula seemed to have a soft spot for her because that was probably the only reason his daughter had not been thrown into the cell with him.

"I should get going. The guard out front will only be so shaken for so long. Goodbye, Iroh, I'll see you soon." Liling said after a moment, interrupting the heavy silence.

Iroh smiled sadly as he watched her go. After she had fully disappeared, he took a small sip of the tea. Looking down at the cup, he sighed dejectedly. Even tea couldn't cheer him up now.


Liling was reading a scroll in her room, her eyes skimming but not absorbing any of the actual material. She was too on edge to actually get anything done. Taking a sip of tea, she was interrupted by Azula, who entered her room unannounced. "So I hear you've been to visit Uncle Fatso in the prison tower."

Dismissing the insult, Liling simply asked, "That guard told you?"

With a smug look on her face, Azula replied, "No, you did. Just now."

"Okay, you caught me. What is it that you want, Azula?" she asked, holding her hands up in mock surrender.

"Actually, nothing. Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If people find out you've been to see your father, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be careful." Azula replied with genuine concern etched on her face.

Doing her best to suppress her suspicious glance, Liling smiles fondly at her childhood friend and said, "I had no idea you cared so much." She grabs Azula by her hands and forces her down on the bed beside her. "We haven't spent any time together since I left with Zuko over three years ago. We should do something together soon."

Smirking slightly, Azula replied, "I was just thinking the same thing actually. A trip to Ember Island. The two of us, Ty Lee, Mai, and even Zuko. How does that sound?"

Liling clapped her hands excitedly before replying, "That sounds marvelous. Goodness knows I need to get away from it all."

"Then it's decided. Pack your belongings because tomorrow we depart for Ember Island."