"Keep your head up, my love. Keep your head up."
Ocean waves split underneath her and the sun above grinned with adventure. Ty Lee inhaled the salty air and stretched her arms, embracing the freshness, and tingling with excitement. She beamed as a loud ship horn blew three times.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are now in Republic City waters, and will be making port in approximately fifteen minutes," a man on the loudspeaker announced.
Ty Lee looked over her shoulder. "Aren't you excited, Azula? Republic City! I can't wait to see it!"
Azula said nothing. Darkened, amber eyes looked past Ty Lee with a thousand-yard-stare, her hands folded beneath black robes, hiding the bandages and the handcuffs. She had no clever retort and no snippy reply. There were moments like these that Ty Lee always held her breath, hoping she would say something, say anything, but Azula's lips were sealed like steel. Regardless, Ty Lee wouldn't give up hope.
"I see that look in your eye," Ty Lee teased in a sing-song voice. "I bet you can't wait to go shopping with me. I've heard there's a place where it's like a mini-Ba Sing Se. I know they'll have my color—pink, of course—but I hope we can find something for you, too. Even Mai thinks your robes are looking drab, lately."
It was a one-sided conversation. Everyone on the ship, watching Azula for safety or watching the two of them out of curiosity, knew it. The only reason Azula had been allowed to leave the Fire Nation was due to this tagalong girl that babbled about everything under the sun, but also had the capability of bringing Azula down if need be. There hadn't been an incident in several years, but Zuko always reminded them that his sister was unpredictable, and they needed to be ready for a reaction at all times.
A long shadow passed over them. Azula tilted her head, following it up the colossal glass statue of the Avatar, standing with his staff planted into the ocean, watching over the city from the middle of the bay. For a moment, Ty Lee saw something spark behind her eyes – something real, this time, and not hopeful as Ty Lee always found herself to be—but it was quickly extinguished when Azula noticed Ty Lee looking at her.
Fifteen minutes later, the Fire Nation ship glided into port. The bridge opened and soldiers beckoned for them to follow, but Azula's eyes were transfixed on the statue of Avatar Aang again. Ty Lee gently tugged at her arm.
"Let's go, Azula," she said. "There's so much more of the city to see."
And indeed, there was. Ty Lee had been to Republic City a couple of times with the Kyoshi Warriors, helping people from all over the world become proper citizens. She hadn't cared for the dry documentation of it all, but she loved the melting pot of tongues, skins, and abilities. She loved that people could blend in, but also stand out. More than once, she had considered getting an apartment or condo in the newly-built high rises that looked out over the ocean, but she could never tear herself away from the woman that walked with her for the first time through the city, as silent as ever.
"Did you know that Republic City used to be a Fire Nation colony?" Ty Lee asked, even though she didn't expect a reply. "Aang and Zuko had to work really hard to get everything up to speed with what it is here. Suki and I were over in that building there helping immigrants."
Ty Lee pointed at a large, very important-looking building situated just offshore, as if to receive a flood of people at any moment. Azula didn't even glance at it.
"And over there is where I helped a little girl find her mom, who worked at the hotel over there. There are so many places for people to stay here, Azula! I wish I could afford to stay just for one night at the top of the Roku. It's that building over there, and…"
Ty Lee's endless chatter buzzed around her like an annoying wasp-fly. More than once, Azula stiffened, heat surging beneath her skin, as the radiance would warn the girl. Ty Lee would notice, pause, and then continue her babbling. She was so excited, becoming lost with Azula through the winding streets and colorful venues. It was a never-ending dream of shopping centers, food stalls, and tourist acts. If anything, the more Ty Lee talked, the more Azula could see that she had found her place in the world.
Ty Lee saw people in vibrant colors and music, but Azula saw them only in shades of grey and whispers. She watched as couples tightened their arms when she walked past, or how elders leaned over and cupped their mouths to shield her from their words, as if it would make a difference. Some gasped and looked away, and others just stared. Everywhere she went, Fire Nation or otherwise, gaped at her like a pariah on a leash.
Ty Lee didn't notice the pair of policemen walking past them, but Azula heard their metal cuffs clinking together before she saw them. At first, she thought it was her own pair, latched forever around her wrists, but when she looked up and saw the glimmer of a gold badge, she knew that it was the city's law enforcement. Had they been informed of her arrival? Or was she a surprise, ready to be arrested and thrown back to the Fire Nation like a rotten unagi-fish?
Regardless, one thing was very clear: Princess Azula was not wanted in Republic City.
Both of them had lost time of how long they had been walking. Steel structures and concrete roads gave way to limestone cathedrals and granite streets. It was as if they had stepped into another realm, the narrow alleys opening into wide, four-lane intersections. Ty Lee lead them on the sidewalk, ogling at the hundreds of carriages that waited their turn to move, animals of all breeds pulling their carts.
"Have you ever seen so many different people in one place, Azula?" Ty Lee asked with awe. "I've heard rumor that there's a company here that is working on making these carriages self-pulling. How crazy is that? Do you remember when we used to ride in the palanquin together? People had to carry us, but what if the palanquin could carry itself? I like to think we could have gone… Oh."
Azula had come to a dead stop. Drenched in shadow, she gazed up at the metal statue above, the scarred face of her brother glimmering in the setting sun.
"Hey…" Ty Lee prodded, tugging at her again. "It's okay. It's just a statue."
Whether she could distinguish reality from not, Ty Lee didn't know, as Azula pulled her arm away from the girl. Ty Lee stood still, watching as Azula approached the statue's base. She placed her palm on the recycled metal. It was warm, the furnace inside it feeding the flame that burned in Zuko's hand held above their heads, like a shining beacon of…
"Hope."
She whispered it. She whispered it so low, so quietly, Ty Lee swore she would have dismissed it as the wind itself. But it was one small word out of the millions of others Azula could have chosen at that moment, and Ty Lee came side-by-side with her again. She was still looking up at the statue, tears welling in her eyes, now brighter than Ty Lee had seen them in years.
Instead of tugging at her arm, Ty Lee instead reached between Azula's cufflinks to hold her hand. It was rough and calloused, but it was Azula's nonetheless.
"Yes, hope," she replied. "Everyone kept telling Zuko and Aang that building this place was a bad idea, but they wanted to give the world something good. They had hoped things would work out, and by the look of things, they did."
Azula lowered her gaze to the ground. Without needing to ask, Ty Lee knew that she didn't understand what she meant.
"They kept trying and trying, even if everyone told them they were doomed to fail," Ty Lee continued. " Just like you're trying and trying, even though everyone tells you that you won't get better. But, I want you to know that I do think you can get better, Azula, because I have hope. I don't care if it happens today or tomorrow, or years on down the line when we're old ladies sitting on the front porch. I'm… I'm here for you. For the day you get better."
She held Azula's hand firm, even as she collapsed to her knees, heavy sobs racking her lung. People shook their heads and stared as they passed, but Ty Lee paid them no mind, stroking the convalescent's back, her longing to help her best friend more important than anything else in the world. They stayed there, at the base of the statue, until the sun went down the night sky was cloaked in a haze of amber, hiding the stars Ty Lee had learned to walk by.
Azula's tears had dried a while ago, but she had remained kneeling, listless. Ty Lee hoisted her to her feet, the vacant look in her eyes returning.
"We'll take the train back to the docks," she explained with a gentle smile. "I know it was hard, but I'm glad you came to the city with me. It took a lot of strength and courage on your part. I think it puts us one step closer to what we used to be, don't you think?"
As always, she awaited Azula's reply. To her surprise, Azula nodded, and Ty Lee could feel her heart leap. It was these small things, these pieces, that created the whole reason she could love and care for Azula over and over again.