Azula

Raki was up before I was. I sat up in bed and saw a steaming bowl of something on the table. I stood, letting the blanket fall back on the bed, and shivered at the sudden cold against my bare skin. I dressed and ate, then went outside in search of my… I don't even know what he is. Boyfriend? Partner? Lover? Or maybe even husband, though that required marriage which we hadn't done. Though we had just consummated that, so maybe we were married in the flesh? I don't know, but that would be an interesting conversation for later.

The sun was barely up and the dew was still burning off. My feet got soaked as I walked around the island searching for Raki, but I didn't find him. He wasn't with the boar-q-pines, though they had been fed, or with the Koala Sheep, though they also had been fed. Evidence of him was everywhere, yet he wasn't. I made my way back to the house and saw that the ship from yesterday was practically at our little harbor. Raki stood on the beach, looking so tall and strong against the morning light. I rushed down to him.

"Raki, there you are!" I caught his arm and he pulled me in for a searing kiss.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He knew I had been frightened, but he took all my fears away. "I've been out here most of the night, the ship-"

"I know." I said, wrapping my arm around his waist. He did the same.

"I hope they've come to rescue us." The doubt in his voice surprised me. But then the ship dropped anchor, the splash and clank echoing over the water. A row boat dropped and it bobbed on the waves before starting towards the island. The crew was in heavy armor, probably being baked alive even in the cool morning air. Raki held me tighter, but neither of us moved. "Azula, I want you to run." He said, almost in a whisper. "At least go hide until I figure out if they are friend or foe."

"I am not leaving you." I said, looking up at his set chin and fierce eyes. "I can handle myself."

"I know you can, but even so. I'm not strong enough to lose you, so please," He was afraid, I saw it in his eyes. "Please, Azula, go and hide. Stay near and watch if you like, but get out of sight so they can't hurt you."

Once, I would have fought to stay out of my own pride. Maybe I should have stayed, but I knew that who I was once upon a time, was not who I was now.

"Fear is not the only way, Raki," I said, reaching up and touching his scratchy chin. "But I trust you." I kissed him on the cheek and hid behind a clump of bushes just above the shore.

Raki turned back to the sea, but I saw his shoulders shake. If this went south, I would fight to save him. I would likely have to bend, these men looked dangerous. I stilled my thoughts and delved deep inside me to find that fire. Like slipping on a pair of old boots, I found it, smoldering in my stomach and I took deep breaths, fanning the flames until a tiny furnace lit inside me. I remembered how, how could I forget? But I prayed I could keep my mind in check, that it wouldn't set off and destroy everything I had gained over the past four years.

The boat landed and the men hopped out. Breathe in, breathe out. They talked to Raki for a moment. He gestured back to the house, then out to the ship. The lead man in armor tried to grab his arm. Raki pushed him away.

"I'm not leaving without her." He said, his voice carrying up to me. The man said something. The other armored men surrounded Raki. He dropped into a bending stance. His flames flared from his fingers. All the men stepped back. Raki said something, I could see his mouth moving. The men stepped forward. Their flames shot out. Raki had no chance. He was too weak, unpracticed, and completely outnumbered. He managed to shield himself, but it was high time I used this fire within me. I leapt out from my hiding place.

"Miss me?" I asked the men before bending for the first time in years. My fire was hot and blue and beautiful as it writhed through the air. Back to back, Raki and I fought, but even with my help, the men kept coming. Reinforcements arrived from the ship, replacing every man I felled. We were surrounded. The armored men knew they had won, even with my help.

Raki was panting and losing steam. He was going to give up. I could feel it, but I wouldn't let them win. Their armor was made of metal and metal was an excellent conductor.

I closed my eyes and breathed deep. I felt the balance of energy around me. I touched the first two fingers on each hand and pulled them apart. Lightning crackled between them. All that power, all of it in my hands. With one motion the first man fell. He collapsed, writhing on the ground. I threw lightning at the next. He screamed. Blast by blast, I directed it through their ranks. They all fell as the lightning bounced from metal to metal as I directed.

I knew I was smiling, that grim smile I used to have all the time before I was defeated. I would not be defeated again. I took down the next wave and the next, all of the time flowing in one surge of absolute power until the next. I was unstoppable! I began to laugh in the glory of it. I was as strong, no, stronger than I ever had been. No one, not my brother, or that water tribe peasant could stop me now!

Then, the last man fell. He kicked and screamed in pain as the lightning did its bitter work. With a flourish, I dissipated the energy and allowed the electricity to fade. The haze of my focus faded and I turned to Raki. His eyes were wide with fear. He stepped back, his knees shaking. I felt the power high fading with every breath I took. I didn't understand why he was looking at me like that, I had just saved him. So I turned around.

At least forty grown men lay dead in front of me. With armor scorched black and smoke drifting off into the air, they lay still. Blank eyes staring up at the sky. Burnt flesh appearing in the gaps of their armor. I had roasted them alive. I, single handedly, had killed them all. The weight of what I had done sank onto me all in a second. These men had families. Each one of them had people who loved them.

And I? I had destroyed them.

Oh God, what have I done? I sank to my knees, unable to bear the weight like a cross on my back. Tears began to stream down my face and I wept.

I had thought I was different, that I had changed. Yet, as soon as the power was in my hands again, I reverted, perverted to the same, blood thirsty girl I had been four years ago. I hadn't changed at all. I had slaughtered these men without a second thought.

The hopelessness of who I was ate at my heart, devouring it whole. Crying wouldn't fix it, it couldn't change what I had done, but it was all I could do. I cried so hard that I didn't even realize that they, the few, the lucky few, had taken Raki until it was too late.

I screamed at them to bring him back. I screamed, and yelled, and cried, but I couldn't reach them. There was nothing I could do.

I was alone again.