"Have you ever thought about why you're the only person in your family- in the world with that color of hair?" Iroh said.
Tsai wished more than anything that she could see his face or be sitting next to him. She didn't know what hurt her more. Having had to hurt Iroh like that or her melodramatic break up with the prince.
She touched the tips of red auburn-red hair as she looked at the color pondering on the ominous meaning of his words. All along she thought she had inherited it from a distant relative from a faraway land. She always thought they there might be somebody else with the same hair tone but Iroh was right. They had practically gone around the world and had yet to encounter someone with similar hair.
"Tsai, your hair. It's that color because-" He was interrupted by a door being slammed.
"Prisoners are to be kept in isolation!" A guard intruded as she heard them barge into Iroh's cell.
"I feel that your journey will be difficult Tsai. Much more difficult than mine!" He shouted as they seized him.
"No! No!" She pounded on the walls. "Wait!"
"Be strong! Have faith and be brave! But most of all remember who you are! Look for the light! You are the light!" He shouted over his shoulder as he was escorted out of the prison cell dungeon.
"Please! Don't take him!" She pleaded her voice cracking. "Don't leave me alone," she let out a miserable whimper as the tears spilled from her eyes.
"Please…" She managed to let out a squeak. She wrapped her arms around herself feeling more alone than ever. That night Tsai spent the night in the cell in isolation and her tears almost drowned the miserable prison...
xxx
Zuko frowned slightly as he leaned against the ship railing and stared out at the moonlit ocean in front of him. He was finally going home after three long years. It was something he should be happy about, but a part of him rebelled against the stomach churned with anxiety at the thought of seeing his father again.
Why did he feel so… filthy?
Why did he feel as if there was a missing part of him? As if he had lost something?
He didn't understand the heartache that consumed most of his internal turmoil and blended emotions.
"Aren't you cold?" A voice suddenly interrupted hit thoughts
The scarred prince turned his head slightly to glance at his ex-girlfriend. Not Tsai. It was Mai his ex-ex-girlfriend. She looked the same as she had before his banished. Her chalk porcelain skin remained emotionless her midnight straight black hair flowing down in two strands like two-night cascades. She walked over to him, hands hidden inside her sleeves and stopped less than a foot away from him cool, calm and collected.
"I've got a lot on my mind," he responded his tone flat as he turned his attention back to the ocean.
"It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed."
Mai suddenly yawned and she looked at Zuko with a bored expression, "I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story."
Zuko pursed his lips and turned away from her, his brow furrowing slightly in annoyance. Thoughts of a certain auburn-haired girl from the Fire Nation colonies flooded his mind. Thoughts about his uncle also seized him. His-No- Their betrayal. Yes. That's how it had been. They betrayed him. He shook his head slightly in an attempt to rid himself of his thoughts and the pulsating headache that was about to become a migraine.
He was so distraught he didn't notice Mai stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around him.
"Stop worrying." She said with a small smile as she cupped his cheek and turned his face towards her.
He looked away, turning away from her. She leaned in to kiss him. Yet he recoiled. The only thing he could see was Tsai's look of pure horror on her face in the crystal chamber back in the underground lake cave. Mai pulled back with a frown, her expression one of hurt and confusion. They hadn't spoken in over three years; he hadn't seen her in over three years. He didn't feel connected to her anymore.
Then again he was sure he didn't feel anything at all anymore.
"Zuko?" She questioned perplexed, her brow knotting as she didn't understand just what was going through his mind.
Zuko starred at her for a moment. Her eyes weren't warm. Her skin wasn't sun kissed. Her hair wasn't red, but she was standing right before him and maybe- just maybe she'd help. She'd help put the memory of Tsai in a box and become the last nail in the coffin that would be buried away forever.
After all she was a traitor to his country and to his uncle- the apathetic look that she flashed him her empty eyes haunted him.
He hesitated but leaned forward to kiss her. She gently touched his face when she did and smiled faintly at him when she broke the kiss and walked away.
Zuko bowed his head and shut his eyes as he leaned on the ship deck's metal rail. It didn't work. Just like it hadn't worked when he kissed Jin in front of that fountain that night. His insides churned with unease as guilt stirred inside of his consciousness. He had to get rid of her. He had to forget her. Nothing would ever be the same after Ba Sing Se. He had to forget ALL of her.
He suddenly felt a sensation burning in his pocket, he snatched the burning coal out and realized it was her family's necklace. The one he had taken from her as the Blue Spirit. He had forgotten to return it to her and had stayed lost amongst his possessions in Ba Sing Se. He looked at the amber sunstone that decorated the center of the choker and the way that it gleamed. Wild thoughts raged inside his head. He clenched it in a shaking fist and raised it over his head throwing it into the dark depths of the ocean. Yet- his palm did not open. He could not let go. He used every ounce of physical strength he could muster, but his hand would not unclench.
"Why can't I let you go?" He roared in anger as frustration consumed him.
xxx
Isolation was a different type of hell. It was depressing. It consumed your sanity.
Tsai had a schedule of activities she would practice every day in an attempt to keep her sanity at least in the borderline. They would feed her flavorless rice and a bucket of water a day. She would sleep in the cold, dark floor and the only sound she could hear besides the crashing waves was the one of the sea gulls outside flying on the deck. Feeding on whatever scraps had been left over from lunch.
"You have to stay active." Iroh had instructed. "Keep both your mind and body strong."
She would awake, scratch another white line on the ground which symbolized another gone day. She would spend a period of time stretching, running from one side of her cell to the other, keeping her muscles strong. Part of it was spent singing and the other thinking.
Thinking was the worst. She couldn't stop thinking about the what if's. What if she had never gotten on that ship? What if she had joined the Avatar when she could? What if she turned really turned on Iroh just like his ungrateful nephew had? What if she had conformed with what she had known about the Fire Nation her whole life and stayed quiet? What did Iroh mean about her strange hair color? She also thought about her dream… The one that had been lost so many times… Maybe Zuko was right. Maybe she would never acknowledge anything extraordinary in her life.
Several weeks had passed now and she suspected they were nearing the Fire Nation's dock.
Tsai was taken to the prison dungeons in the North Tower upon their arrival to the Fire Nation. People threw rotten food and other trash at her and the disgraced Dragon of the West as they were escorted to the tower. Whooping, cursing and trash talk followed them as people cruelly hollered them on.
A part of her thought it was slightly humorous that she had been imprisoned in the Southern Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom and now in the Fire Nation. All this prison bird was missing from her BINGO was visiting the Air Nomad's jail.
"They will first take you as a prisoner," Iroh had predicted. "It is very important that you remain true to yourself. That you know what you want and what you have to do." He had instructed.
She had to play the long waiting game and by their rules. She let out a breath she had been holding and attempted to find comfort in her discomfort. The rats that kept her company, grime and filth in the small cell did not help.
xxx
"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's Capital."
Her royal aides, Li and Lo, stood before at the top of the battle tower in the Royal Plaza in the Fire Nation Capital's harbor. Li addressed the soldiers below "In Ba Sing Se, she found her brother Zuko, and together they faced the Avatar..."
"And the Avatar fell!" They chorused together, "And the Earth Kingdom fell!"
"Azula's agents quickly overtook the city." Lo continued loudly, "They went to Ba Sing Se's great walls..."
"And brought them down!" The two women shouted in unison.
"The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the walls and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory." Li exclaimed.
'Several Dai Li agents stood at the top of the Outer Wall then they leapt down, sliding down the wall with their hands and feet pressed against it. When they landed on the ground they quickly lunged forward and slammed their fists against the wall, bringing down several sections and allowing hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers into the once impenetrable city of Ba Sing Se...'
"Now the heroes have returned home!" Li and Lo shouted together.
"Your princess, Azula..." Lo introduced and the crowd below cheered loudly as the young princess stepped forward, a smirk on her face.
"And after three long years," Li continued to speak, "Your prince has returned..."
"Zuko!" Li and Lo shouted together.
Zuko swallowed imperceptibly and walked forward with a vaguely worried expression on his face, his head slightly bowed. How would his people react to his return form exile? He was taken aback in surprise as crowd cheered loudly when he reached the edge of the balcony and he stared down at them for moment then lifted his chin, holding his head up proudly. A small smile on his face. They accepted him. They welcomed him back. This was all that he had ever wanted.
Their honorable prince had finally returned home.
xxx
Zuko sat cross-legged beside the small pond in the palace's square garden he and his mother used to sit by, and he tossed small pieces of bread into the water, watching quietly as the turtle-ducks quacked. His thoughts went to his mother. What would she think of him? What would she have done? Would she be proud?
He sighed and pulled out the sunstone necklace from his pocket. He traced the stone with his thumb and looked at it sadly.
He had so many questions that were unanswered…
"You seem so downcast. Has Mai gotten to you already?" Azula commented with false warmth as she approached her brother and she smiled slyly as she stood in front of him, "Though actually, Mai has been in strangely good mood lately."
Zuko ignored her provocations and stared at the pond lost in thought, "I haven't seen Dad yet. I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished."
What would he say when they met again?
"So what?" Azula snorted. Thinking her brother's concerns were pathetic.
'"-Your father sent you on a fool's errand to capture the Avatar was because he didn't want you-"' Tsai's harsh words echoed in the back of his head.
What if she was right?
"So," Zuko growled in annoyance, "I didn't capture the Avatar."
"Who cares? The Avatar's dead..." Azula replied flippantly, though her eyes narrowed when she saw her brother look away, "Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived..."
'"This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole." Katara explained as she held up a small vial on a leather string for him to see, "It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important."' He could still remember the waterbender saying to him.
"No." Zuko growled lowly after the memory faded from his mind and he turned his head to glare at his sister, "There's no way he could have survived."
Azula's eyes narrowed and she glared down at her brother for a moment then she shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."
It was then that Azula's eyes caught a glimmer in his hand.
"What's that?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
Zuko instantly pulled his hand away in a defensive tone. "Nothing," he said much too sharply.
"Let me see!" Azula wasted no time and dove for his hand prying it open.
"Go away Azula!" Her brother argued back as he tried to keep his hands clamped over the jewelry artifact and tugged his way. Azula tugged the opposite way. "Let me see!" She insisted childishly. It was then that Zuko fell back hitting the back of his head against the tree's back. Azula gave a step back from the sudden momentum yet saw a glimmer go up in the air. With one swift motion she jumped and caught the gem midair with one hand.
Zuko starred at the strappy part of the torn part of choker necklace in his hand and rose to his feet a deep scowl on his face.
"Look what you've done!" He exclaimed angrily.
"What is this?" Azula narrowed her eyes and inspected the small orange colored stone between her index and thumb. It was small, round and well-polished.
"None of your business!" He barked.
"A gift for Mai?" She assumed. "Why would you give her such a tacky present?"
Zuko snatched the gem from her hands and shoved it into the depths of his pockets. He wouldn't allow her to have it. To touch it. Even look at it.
"You've got awful taste." His sister said looking down at her brother's taste in jewelry. That was totally not Mai's style. "Besides, everybody knows that diamonds are a girl's best friend. Much classier too," She said something about this being fun and walked away laughing as she did.
Zuko sighed and secretly looked at the gemstone as he retreated and once again took his seat by the pond. By this point all the turtle ducks were gone and he sat alone.
Zuko pursed his lips and he looked back at his reflection in the water, his anxious thoughts drifting from the ruined heirloom to his reunion with his father when he suddenly saw a familiar reflection appear next to him in the water. He almost fell to the side as he turned in shock. It was her. Tsai was standing next to him clear as day. She stood proudly with her back straight as an arrow as she usually did hands crossed over her chest.
"What do you think the Fire Dad will do to you if the Avatar is alive?" She clicked the back of her tongue in disapproval and shook her head.
"What are you doing here?" He snapped angrily hiding the stone in his pocket again, this time for good.
She rounded around him not breaking eye contact.
"Am I.…really here?" She pondered out loud. "Or am I rotting in the dungeons where you sent me!"
He must be going mad. People in his family had a history of mental turmoil and hallucinations. He wouldn't be surprised if he was actually seeing things.
"You're not real!" He shouted tossing a piece of bread at her which clearly went through her shape.
"Guess I'm real enough to haunt you," she shrugged casually. "What's it like?" She cocked her head to the side hair falling to one side. "Having everything you ever wanted back? Your honor? Your throne? Your family's respect!" She snapped viciously her eyes fixed on his, her expression loaded with contempt.
"Shut up!" He shouted back. He shook his head. He was speaking to nothing. There was no one there. She wasn't real. He was talking to himself. "SHUT UP!" He shouted pulling at his hair shutting his eyes tightly.
When he opened his eyes she was gone.
xxx
"I am so proud of you, Prince Zuko. I am proud because you and your sister conquered Ba Sing Se." Fire Lord Ozai said with pride as he walked around still kneeling son. This was it. The words he had longed to hear. His father's approval and recognition. It was what he had always wanted. So why was he on edge expected to be lashed out at? "I am proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous uncle, you did the right thing and captured the traitor. I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishment. You slay the Avatar."
Zuko's eyes widened in shock before he schooled his face into a neutral expression as he turned his head slightly to look at his father over his shoulder.
"What did you hear?" He poked.
"Azula told me everything." The Fire Lord explained lowly, "She said she was amazed and impressed at your power and ferocity at the moment of truth."
Zuko pursed his lips slightly and looked off to the side, his mind whirling with questions.
"Like I said- what will daddy think if the Avatar is alive?" A familiar voice echoed inside his head.
Xxx
"Seems odd doesn't it?"
Zuko stomped through the hallways of the Fire Nation's palace. A figment of his imagination haunted him. A most annoying figment.
"Azula doesn't do things to be kind. Specially not for you." Tsai shrugged as she walked next to him. She looked like she always had. Strong, unapologetic, glowing.
"She's my sister. She wouldn't do that. You don't know her," he growled out at the nothing. Trying to keep his eyes focused forward. "You're right," the girl answered after a moment. "After all, I'm just a figment of your guilty conscience. I only know what you know." He turned to where the girl was standing and swatted his hand over her repeatedly making her mirage vanish.
Zuko threw open the door to Azula's chambers and narrowed his eyes, "Why'd you do it?" He demanded to know. He hated to admit it but his conscience was right. Azula really did not do things out of kindness for anyone and less for him.
"You're going to have to be a little more specific." Azula commented coolly without opening her eyes or moving from her bed.
"Why did you tell Father that I was the one who killed the Avatar?" Zuko demanded as he walked further into his sister's room, his hands clenched at his sides.
"Can't this wait until the morning?"
"It. Can't." He spat.
"Fine." Azula sighed and she opened her eyes as she sat up in her bed, "You seemed so worried about how Father would treat you because you hadn't captured the Avatar. I figured if I gave you the credit, you'd have nothing to worry about."
"But why?" Zuko asked in confusion.
"Call it a generous gesture." Azula asked smugly as she slipped out of her bed and walked towards her brother, "I wanted to thank you for your help, and I was happy to share the glory."
"Generous? Since when does Azula share her glory?" It was that voice again. Scoffing in the back of his head.
Zuko's eyes narrowed as he regarded his sister, "You're lying."
If you say so..." Azula replied as she walked past him.
"You have another motive for doing this, I just haven't figured out what it is." Zuko growled as he turned to glare at his sister.
"Please Zuko, what ulterior motive could I have? What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar?" Azula asked mockingly as she turned around and approached him, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Unless, somehow, the Avatar was actually alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness. But you said it yourself, that was impossible."
Zuko scowled at his sister as she laid back on her bed and he turned his back on her, preparing to leave the room, "And what did you tell father about Ts-" He faltered slightly and stopped himself. The boulder of guilt on his shoulder's becoming heavier and heavier with every passing moment.
"About the girl that was traveling with uncle. " He corrected.
She appeared in his vision once again. "I have a name you know?"
Azula smiled slyly, "You mean your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Zuko said. This time more quietly.
"You got that damn right!" His torturous vision screeched as she stood next to Azula.
"That's not what I heard," Azula said teasingly. "Did you see the look on her face?" She laughed. "When she was begging you to betray us alongside uncle. It was pathetic. I should've struck her down when I had the chance, but I guess rotting in the dungeons is a fit punishment. Even tho in an interesting turn of events she was the one that brought down Uncle."
Zuko saw Tsai's translucent imaginary hands wrap around Azula's neck as she attempted to strangle her. Zuko clenched his hands into fists at his sides as he stopped in the doorway, his back to his sister. He couldn't see or hear Tsai's voice anymore.
"Of course, father knows about her. He wants to meet her. Wants to find a fit punishment to atone for her family's crimes towards the Fire Nation's crown" Azula continued with a wicked smile as she closed her eyes, "Sleep well, Zuzu."
Zuko swallowed thickly and closed the door behind him, his eyes closing in anguish.
xxx
They came for her suddenly. She didn't even have a moment to react. She resisted kicking, fighting and scratching the soldiers that seized her.
"Where are you taking me?" She shouted.
She was completely stripped off her clothes and thrown into a moist concrete pit where buckets of ice-cold water were thrown at her. She shivered and was told to wash herself. After a pair of semi decent clothing consisting of a dull brown dress with long no sleeves were given to her. It was fastened at the waist with a simple string.
She was escorted into the palace. A palace which as a little girl had more than anything dreamed of visiting one day. It was as mighty as the nation with tall traditional Fire Nation roofs that curved up and reflect a bright red color. Crimson columns, gold and painted dragons danced the royal hallways.
"Knowing my brother, they will grant you an audience… Not to hear you out, but to humiliate you. I warn you. My brother is not the forgiving kind." She could still remember Iroh's instructions.
She was taken before Fire Lord Ozai.
The Fire Lord's face was striking with the embers that surrounded him. His cheeks were prominent and hollow, eyes were a pale yellow like a snake's and his midnight dark hair was work in a half up updo as if was traditionally worn. He looked down at her as if she was an insect ready to be squished.
She could definitely see the family resemblance between him and his children.
"Play them like a game of Pai Sho."
How many times had she been instructed to bow before the Fire Lord in her childhood if he was ever to visit the colonies. Of course, the man never did. How many days had she pledged her allegiance to the Fire Nation before school started as a child. Hell- she had drawn the face of their powerful leader countless of times, and now she stood before him. It was all a little unreal.
Azula stood to his right, Zuko to the left. The three of them standing before her. She suddenly fell to her knees being pushed to the floor by a guard. She glared at the man from underneath her bangs which had grown long and now covered most of her face.
"I should have your head," Ozai suddenly spoke. "For your dishonor and disrespect. Your family's too." He stroked his dark slim beard with one hand.
She remained silent.
It pained her but she had to play the long game...
Zuko looked at her. He did not look like she remembered. Her cheeks were thin, her eyes were wild, and her hair had grown dull and longer past her shoulders. She didn't glow like she seemed to in his mind, in his memories. She almost looked feral. Like a wounded animal.
"This is the harlot you decided to keep as company?" He tossed at his son who had been holding his breath this entire time. Ozai had asked a question, yet it sounded like a statement.
'Coward..' Tsai thought bitterly. 'To think that she had… That she had lov-' her eyes snapped back to Ozai. She couldn't afford to be distracted.
"I can see why you kept her. She's quite striking. And you know what they say about colonial women they are.." He paused for a moment. "Less sophisticated than us. In more ways than one," a ghost smirk made way to his face. "I should teach you a lesson." The Fire Lord stood, his fist gleaming with a burning fire.
This was Zuko's worst nightmare. He looked at his father with fearful eyes while attempting to wear a stoic mask of indifference. He wanted to say something. To speak up but he couldn't. He had already suffered the consequences of speaking up once without being spoken to and the results had been dire. Tsai didn't move. Her body stiffened at the sight of the flames. She remained silent as she wondered how Iroh could be related to this monster?
"Your existence is a mere insult to my nation. A half-bred mongrel with blood from the Earth Kingdom. Your existence is a stain in the history of a line of prestigious Fire Nation military men."
'Don't speak about my family,' she wanted to snarl. His cruel words were tearing at her as he insulted her pride, her home, her heritage and family all being shredded before her. It hurt. Standing in silence went against her nature. What she was about to do went against everything she had learned and grown in the past year. It broke her, but it was something she had to do. She had to at least make them think she was on their side.
"Fire Lord Ozai." She then rose to her feet and bowed her head to him with nothing but respect. Keeping it lowered hoping he wouldn't see past her façade.
She knew that this family was obsessed with honor and decided to have a play at it.
"It is truly an honor to be in your presence."
Zuko kept his hands behind his back as he starred with his jaw going slack. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing.
"I captured the traitor and bow before you and acknowledge my sins against the Crown and my Nation whom I hold so dear." She looked up at met his pale-yellow eyes. Here she stood before the most powerful man in the world lowering her head pathetically, groveling to him. Lying. It made her sick to her core. She couldn't believe what she was going to say next. "And I hope... I hope the Crown will pardon me and grant me the opportunity to regain my honor."
The prince kept a composed expression, yet he clenched his fisted hands behind his back tightly. Nails burying into his palms. His heart racing against his rib cage uncomfortably.
"You freed the Avatar." Ozai stated. "At the Pohuai Stronghold. Because of you the siege for the North Pole failed."
"My intentions were noble." She said bravely standing her ground as she pushed her hair back out of her face. "I couldn't allow a filthy man like Zhao to have that glory and honor of capturing the Avatar. Not when it didn't belong to him."
"Who did it belong to then?" The Fire Lord asked leaning forward slightly in what appeared to be intrigued.
"Your son. Our Prince. I saw it upon my duty to protect his honor." She lowered her head once again and the Lord let out what sounded like a blend between a humorous huff and a scoff.
"My son doesn't need anybody to protect his honor. Much less a colonial harlot."
The words didn't sting. Yet fueled her internal anger.
"And the Blue Spirit?" He asked after a moment of quiet.
Zuko stiffened next to his father.
"It was me." She once again lied through her teeth.
Zuko's face went white. What was this idiot doing? She was going to get herself killed. He could feel a bead of sweat sliding down his temple. His voice gone. He didn't want to look at his merciless father. Ozai spoke and he expected the worst. He was beginning to feel his knees growing weak. After all he was capable of anything. He had to do something. He had to speak up- but his voice. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth it would betray him and it wouldn't sound out.
"Killing you would be kind," The Fire Lord breathed almost in a sympathetic tone.
"What do you think we should do?" He questioned out loud. Azula slightly bounced ready to present her list of vile ideas and ploys in which she could torture and humiliate one of the Fire Nation's biggest traitors.
"Zuko..?" He turned to test his son.
It was then that their eyes suddenly met, and he felt a pang in his chest. His eyes went slightly wide. Heart almost stopping. Her eyes. They held no sympathy for him, no care. They weren't the same ones he had looked into countless of times before. His father was testing him. He had to answer something. Now more than ever he couldn't be wrong. He had once promised her he wasn't going to let anyone, or anything hurt her when they arrived to the Fire Nation. He had promised they were going to get it all back. If there was a time to act upon his promise it was now more than ever.
"She's to spend the rest of her days in the dungeons. In isolation," he answered coldly. 'At least she would be safe there…'
The Fire Lord remained silent. His displacement obvious.
"Boring," Azula laughed. "Is that the best you can come up with?"
"I have a better idea," she stepped forward. Malice clear in her voice. She waved the guards away with her hand and walked around Tsai mockingly. The girl only kept her eyes frozen forward on the Fire Lord's pale ones.
"She's harmless really," Azula laughed and pushed her forward making her tumble. She then kicked the back of the girl's head stepping on it pressing her face against the palace's cold marble floors.
Zuko fought the urge to run towards her. To help her. To knock his vile sister on her back. To fight the aching that longed for her inside him. The sunstone burning hot in his pocket.
"All I want is a shot at redemption," She tried to speak as eloquently as possible. "I would be spitting at the graves of my ancestors if I continued to pretend I'm something I'm not. Back in Ba Sing Se I realized that what I wanted more than anything was to serve my nation. The Fire Nation. The greatest Nation of them all. Just like my father and fore father's before him."
Ozai looked at her with intrigue as he once again stroked his beard.
"Without me. The Disgraced General would've never been captured." Azula stepped harder on the back of her cranium.
"I need a new servant daddy. Can I keep her?" Azula pouted as she stepped harder on her head. The red head let out a snarl from the back of her throat. "I have always wanted a pet."
"I don't have time for such trivial things," Ozai dismissed bored. "Do as you wish Azula."
Zuko could feel his father's eyes on him. He had just gotten in his good graces. He couldn't afford to disappoint him again.
"She'll be our servant." Zuko managed to find his voice. He looked at her hard, his chest swelling with a shaky breath he was holding. "You will be stripped of all of your noble and royal titles and you will work every day for the rest of your life as a peasant. Serving us. Until you are deemed of being considered honorable."
"Which will be never!" Azula cackled proud of her brother stepping up.
Ozai relaxed back into his seat appearing pleased with his son's punishment.
"I…" She rasped and heaved anger dripping from her words. This was humiliating. "I pledge my loyalty to the Fire Nation and to the ruling Crown." She lowered her head. "It will be my honor."
Ozai's malicious grin stretched even further. An expression which sent cold chills down her spine.
Azula stepped harder on the back of her head. "You're going to wish you were dead by the time I'm done with you!" Azula cackled maliciously. She finally stepped off her and kicked her side laughing. She kept her head low not wanting to meet Zuko's eyes. She couldn't bear the sight of him.
The colonial girl was taken to a private servant quarter near the royal chambers. She had no belongings. No name to her. Nothing. Not even a mirror in her new prison. On the way to her new 'prison' she thought a thousand and one ways in which she could poison Azula. Not that she would get away with it, but if she was going down, she might as well take the bitch down as well.
Zuko remained petrified. His heart was pounding in his chest. Sweat had formed on his brow and he was finally able to unclench his tight jaw. All while his father's cold eyes scrutinized on him.
"Don't tell me you actually grew to care for that colonial half-breed mongrel," his father spat out venomously.
"No," Zuko answered back, eyes hard and cold. "She means nothing to me."