Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN BEN 10 OR AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER. THEY BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS.

XXXVI: Pained Stiff

The light gleamed its bright, soothing rays at a now reformed princess. No longer was she the tyrant taunting others dry. No longer was she that person others feared. She was free from her own demons. She sat up bare, covering her body with her thick red blankets. She noticed that the man she feared was absent. Thank god. She sat up bare, got up from her bed and threw on her robes.

She should feel content but…but she wasn't. She freed her prisoner and yet felt…alone. She opened the window of her bedroom to let in more light letting in a lone pigeondove to fly by her sill singing its morning tune to the new day.

She should feel content…she should feel free…but she wasn't. She felt imprisoned, locked away from the world. These trying anomalies were destroying her, fracturing her mind into itty bitty pieces, shattering like a glass vase. As the light shined on her, she felt her mother caressing her daughter's cheeks. Azula turned around and saw her reflection only to be reflected by…

"Mother?" she froze.

"Yes it's me," her mother said in the mirror, "It's been a long time since I've seen you," she smiled as Azula approached the mirror, "My god have you grown!"

"Mother, is that really you?" Azula asked.

"Of course my little girl," she said reaching out to her daughter through the mirror, "It's alright."

"Mom I…"

"I know," she said, "I saw it all. You struggled, you suffered, and you witnessed pain and seclusion; but you changed. You began to see. Before everything that happened between you and the Zs'Skayr, your mind was beginning to change. And I see that all the time…every day."

"How would you know? You abandoned us!" Azula teared up.

"I know but it was for…"

"It was for Zuko! You never cared for me! None of you have! NONE OF YOU!" she took a brush and threw it in the mirror shattering it to pieces as she cried on her desk.

The new appointed Earl who happened to stand right by the door saw the whole thing. "Princess?" he began. Azula did not comply.

"Princess?"

"Don't you dare call me a princess," she said, "I have been stripped from that name when the love of my family burned on the stake with my friend strapped on it," she began, "A princess did not have to suffice to the pain and misery that I had to go through. A princess would not have trying thoughts of the evoking nightmares I had to deal with EVERY FUCKING NIGHT! A princess should not have to die…from inside. I am not a princess. You don't have to fear me no longer. I do not want it," she said.

The Earl, now outside of her room, relaxed and straightened himself, "My apologies…Azula," he began, "The FireLord wants your presence immediately."

"What does he want?" she asked.

"Even I have no clue, princess. I apologize," she said.

"That's okay," she said, "And I know that if I don't show up, well…I don't want you to end up like the last guy."

"Yeah by the sound of his voice, the FireLord…"

"Leave," Azula said from out of nowhere.

"What?"

"You are free," she said, "The longer you stay here the more likely you will die. Here…" she took a few gold coins from her pockets and dumped them on the man's hands, "Go. Go as far as the eye can see. The Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribe…elsewhere. Go."

As content as the Earl was having these many gold coins in his hands…he denied, "No. My job is to serve the Fire Nation."

"The FireLord…" as Azula was about to argue with the guy, the Earl smiled.

"The FireLord is not the Fire Nation. You are," he said.

"I…what?"

"I saw everything ma'am," he said, "I refuse to see a princess…I mean a young lady such as yourself be backhanded by the FireLord. I won't stand for it, and neither should you," he said.

Azula smiled, "Thank you," she said, "But this is not your fight. You must go and live."

"I see," he said, "But I have a question."

"Sure what is it?" she asked.

"What changed you?" he asked, "You were this power madwoman and now…what happened?"

"Humanity," she started to say, "Humanity happened."

Suddenly something crackled in her stomach.

SNAP!

"Ahh!" she cringed. The Earl caught her before she hit the floor. The pain felt like a man snapping your spine in two with his metal knee plates more like how a delinquent savagely breaks his pencil in a public school.

"Princess! Oh my god, Princess are you okay?" the Earl asked.

Azula shook. The pain went on, pounding her stomach inch by inch until it finally faded.

"Princess?"

Azula groaned in pain, whimpered and coughed blood. She was horrified to look at what she had. This was not good.

"Oh my," he said.

Azula shook, "I-I-It's nothing," she said getting up, slowly not to worsen the pain, "I can still go to see what he wants. I don't want anything to happen to anyone else. And I promised Ben that."

"You promised who?" the Earl asked.

"My friend, Ben. The Changeling," she said, "C-Come on let's go."

…

Azula, now fully dressed in her daily garb walked to the throne room to meet with her "father". The air around her heated up like a wave of invisible flames. No one but the servants were there. The Earl kept her company throughout their journey. When they entered the room, the Earl took a look at Azula. He could read her based off of Azula's breathing patterns and expressions. She was terrified.

He could not blame her.

"Azula," Zs'Skaryion greeted calmly, "Approach me."

Two guards closed the doors behind them both, "Approach me like you would if I were your mother."

"Don't you ever mention her you monster," Azula snapped.

"Why are you being so defensive?" he asked as if disappointed, "All I want is to be your friend."

Azula kept her mouth shut.

"No words? Hm, you are a bit taciturn. Well that is normal since you are so young."

"What the hell do you want from me?" she finally asked.

"Nothing in particular," he said, "I just want to see how you are doing."

"You brought me here just for this? Just to say hi?" Azula asked.

"That and something else," he began, "You see there comes a time in a man's life that he just want to bond with the girl he loves."

"Forget it," she said, "I'm already your whore disguised as your murder-victim's daughter."

"Aww, come on. Now that's rude," he tried caressing his hands on her cheeks, Azula brushed it off, "Can we all just get along?"

"Kill yourself and then we talk," she said.

"And talk we shall," he said, "Why do you hate me?"

"Out of all the questions that you could have asked to deceive me that is what you ask? And I thought that you would be more clever than that," she told.

"Quit jousting, princess. All I ever want is you," he said trying to caress her again.

"Touch me again and I will kill you in your sleep," she said.

"Ooh, kinky," he said, licking his lips, "You turn me on every time. But enough with the foreplay. I want to get down to business," he got down on his knees, "Will you be my queen?"

Azula gratefully said, "Fuck you."

"What?"

She smiled, "You heard me. Fuck you. You destroyed my life: you killed Ty Lee, you tried to kill Mai and Zuko. You are a bloodythirsty psychopath and…and I am merely an age and you want me to be your queen? How sick and twisted are you? When I was just a girl my mind was in shatter. You know what you are? You are one sick girl's fantasy to whom you could fuck and abuse. So fuck you and your plea," Azula said.

Zs'Skaryion kept smiling, "I don't think you understood the question."

"No I do. I really do."

"No. And I said no you don't," he said.

SLASH!

Azula's eyes widened. She turned around and saw a spear pierced through the Earl's stomach and finally yanked out from his body.

"Where is Ben?" Zs'Skaryion asked darkly.

Azula ran to the Earl in tears to see her new friend shaking as blood poured from his wounds like a rush of water. She looked as if unsure of what to do.

"I'm sorry…" he died in her arms.

"Where is Ben Tennyson?" he asked once more.

"You…you killed him," Azula teared.

"Well technically they did so…who is to blame. Now I know I asked this before miss but, where is Ben Tennyson?"

"Somewhere you will never find him," she said, "He's gone from this place."

"And you are responsible for that right?" he asked, "Because I told Mai…"

"Yes I know. I saw the poison. She was hesitant to do it. She didn't want to do it," she said.

"She left to?"

"Yes."

"To the Camping Grounds where the Avatar was at right? Seven-hundred or so miles away from here?" he asked smiling at a shocked Azula, "Building him a tent for him to keep warm so he can defeat you and I and save the world from my wrath"

Azula stood up in her kata ready to strike. She had had enough of this guy's folly, "If you put your hands on him…" she said threateningly with a darkened tone in her voice.

"You'll what? Kill me? Really you hardly have it in you. Marry me and I will spare him," he flirted.

"Not if you are the last person on Earth," she said in her stance.

"You are crazy," he said, "You are willing to die for this one guy? The same guy who will fuck every bitch he sees? You are not special! Trust me I was in his Omnitrix and I know what kind of person Ben is! You think he really cares about you? You are just a walking hole ready to be entered. That's why you are so…" without even a second thought Azula blasted Zs'Skariyon with a lethal dose of electricity sending him flying to his throne straight to the burning inferno. Not even looking to see if he was dead, Azula kept blasting bullets of electricity at the same area.

BOOM!

Zs'Skariyon scaled through the walls and dodged her attacks, "Is that all you got!"

"SHUT UP!" she yelled throwing a large firebeam at him blasting off from the ceiling. Zs'Skariyon threw black flames at her. Azula ably dodged them.

Author's Notes: Hello guys. That is all I have for tonight. Hope to catch you guys tomorrow! This is D-Man signing out!

D-Man out!