Azula woke up on the couch in Jin's house. She blinked and rubbed the crust out of her eyes, a little confused.
She quickly remembered where she was and why she was there. She shot a glance to Arna, still curled up in the chair in the corner. Azula knew internally that it was sunrise.
There was no chance she could practice her bending here. Too many eyes around, and not enough space. Azula closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
0-0-0
Jin stretched her back as she woke up. It was early morning, and she'd have to get ready to take Azula to the Transportation Office for a passport.
She left her room and entered into the common area. "Good morning, guys," she said to Arna and Azula.
Arna yawned and stretched from her chair. Azula's eyes shot open, but she didn't move from the sofa.
Jin heard her parent's door open and turned towards the sound. Her mother, Ling, a short woman with graying hair and laugh lines on her face came out, followed by her father, Gahng, a stocky, well-built man with piercing green eyes and short, salt-and-pepper hair.
"Good morning, Jin, Arna, Mianju," said Ling. "How did everyone sleep?"
"Just fine, Mom," said Jin, leaning over to accept a forehead kiss from her mother.
"I woke up in the middle of the night, but everything was fine," said Arna. Azula shot her a glance, but stayed silent.
"How about some breakfast, dears?" said Ling, moving over to the kitchen to begin preparing some youtiao.
"Thank you very much!" said Arna, crawling out from under the covers and standing up to stretch. Jin felt for her; Arna had assured everyone last night that she was adept at sleeping in weird places, but sleeping curled up in a chair had to give one various kinks to work out in the morning.
Azula stood up as well, folding the blanket and placing it on the back of the sofa.
Ling fried the youtiao while Gahng set the table, and soon, the three girls had plates with the fried dough strips set in front of them.
Jin immediately took her youtiao and tore it lengthwise in two, nibbling on one strip while placing the other back on her plate. Her parents did the same, and Azula followed their example. Arna, meanwhile, chomped right down on both sections of youtiao without tearing them apart. Every now and then, Jin or her parents would rip off a chunk of youtiao and dip it into the bowl of soy milk in the center of the round table.
Azula was curious, but she didn't want to dip into the same bowl that they were using. How unhygienic, she thought.
A knock came from the door, interrupting their breakfast. Gahng rose from the table, made his way over to the door, and cracked it open.
Azula couldn't hear what was being said, but Gahng opened the door and allowed someone inside.
"My niece!" said Iroh. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
Azula scowled. "What are you doing here, Uncle?"
"I'm here to help you get a passport at the office! Suki told me how you and Arna got stuck in here, I apologize for not thinking that you might need a passport!"
Azula furrowed her brows. "Fine."
Ling stood up and went over to Iroh. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Mushi! Jin speaks so highly of you!"
Iroh bowed to Ling and Gahng. "Jin is a wonderful young lady, and very perceptive! You should be proud to be her parents!"
Azula rolled her eyes. Jin ignored Azula and blushed at the praise.
"Please, come in, have some breakfast!"
Iroh held his hand up. "I'm sorry, but I must collect my niece and her friend. Thank you so much for your generosity welcoming them into your home."
"It was our pleasure," said Gahng. Azula highly doubted that. Jin's parents were pleasant enough, but Azula's sour mood made things very tense at dinner, and until everyone went to bed.
Iroh walked over to Azula and wrapped her in a hug that she made no effort to return. "Come, let's get you situated."
Azula stood up from the table, youtiao in hand. She made to leave, but something tickled the back of her mind. Royal etiquette classes from years ago. It was custom to thank one's hosts, though Azula's hosts used to be nobles.
Still, Jin, Ling, and Gahng had opened up her home to her when she was stuck. She turned to them.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality," she said, bowing. Azula bowed Fire Nation style, with her hands making a flame, but Jin's parents didn't seem to notice.
"You're welcome, dear! Let us know if you ever need anything!"
Azula straightened and turned to her uncle. If she needed anything? What could Jin's family possibly give her? She was a princess, living in the Upper Ring. She just happened to get stuck one day.
She did not voice her questions. Uncle looked to Jin.
"If you'd like, you can take an additional day off."
Jin shook her head. "That's okay, Mr. Mushi. I'd like to come in, though." She smiled sweetly. Iroh smiled back.
Iroh bowed to Jin and her parents, then ushered Azula out of the house.
Arna thanked their hosts again, and trailed out behind her.
"Arna, you can return to the Upper Ring. Get some rest. I'll see to everything from here."
"Thank you very much, Gen—Mr. Mushi."
Iroh handed Arna a silver piece. She tried to refuse, but he insisted that he pay for her transportation. Arna relented, thanking Iroh again and going off to the monorail station.
Azula remembered what Suki had told her the day before. The average wage for Lower Ringers was one silver piece. Was that how much it cost just for a ticket to the Upper Ring?
Iroh led Azula to the Transportation Office. There was a short line outside.
Azula crossed her arms and stood in line with Iroh. The office opened, and they slowly began to move indoors. Finally, it was Azula's turn.
"Papers, please."
Iroh pulled some folded-up papers from his sleeve and handed it to the Transportation Office lady. She looked it over, before gesturing to a waiting area.
"You are number 3,357. Come up when that number is called. NEXT!"
Azula tried to keep the number in mind. She sat in the waiting area, arms crossed. All she had to do was wait.
0-0-0
Ba Sing Se bureaucracy made no sense. Attendants yelled out different numbers with no apparent meaning or correlation to each other. If the numbers were just the amount of people who came through the office Azula would have understood, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"642!" A tall, thin man with a mustache stood up when this number was announced.
"7,894!" A short, stout woman stood up.
"12!" An old man.
"329!" A child.
Azula could not make rhyme or reason out of the numbers. She was trying to when, at almost noon, her own number was called.
"3,357!"
"That's us, niece." Azula and Iroh stood and went to the window the attendant had called from.
"3,357?" asked the lady.
"Yes."
The lady slid over the Earth Kingdom passport, a small wooden board with a tassel on the top, painted green with her fake name on it. Azula scowled at the characters written on it.
土國護照—洪面具
Earth Kingdom Passport—Mianju Hong
Azula didn't realize her alias came with a surname, but she supposed it made sense. Uncle did own the finest tea establishment in the Upper Ring, after all. Even if his identity as "Mushi" came from new money, and not the kind of generational wealth that most people with surnames had.
Come to think of it, Azula didn't actually have a surname herself. She supposed the dynasty name might serve as one, but the Royal Family didn't really have any need for surnames. They were just "The Royals." The dynasty name really just served to separate eras, and wasn't really used for identity or status like the surnames of the Beifongs, or the Chous.
Iroh placed a hand on Azula's shoulder and guided her out of the Transportation Office, and towards the monorail station.
She showed her passport to the ticket seller, and Iroh handed over two silver pieces. Azula once again thought of the average peasant's daily pay.
"Uncle," she said once Iroh purchased their tickets and they walked away from the ticket booth.
"Yes?"
"Does a ticket to the upper ring really cost a day's wages for a peasant?"
Iroh looked at her, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Yes, it is quite difficult for someone from the Lower Ring to enter the Upper Ring. That's part of why I helped Jin get a passport. I also give her a monthly pass to use on the monorail. That way she doesn't need to spend so much of her own money on travel."
Azula nodded, looking down at the ground.
The two of them boarded the monorail and returned to the Upper Ring.
0-0-0
Despite being exhausted, Azula couldn't find it in herself to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow that night. She sat up in bed, lit the candle by her bedside with a flick of her wrist, and looked around. Her eyes landed on her green Earth Kingdom passport.
Something twisted in Azula's stomach. She sat for a minute trying to figure out what it was. Disgust? Contempt?
It took her a while, but Azula slowly realized what she was feeling was homesickness. Here she was, in a foreign land, with only what her uncle and brother provided her. She had no possessions, not even her identity. The little wooden card that said "Mianju Hong" made it official.
Azula's heart constricted, and she closed her eyes. She would not cry. She would not cry.
Her body ignored her silent commands as tears slipped down her face. Azula shuddered with a sudden intake of breath. She fought as best she could, but tiny, quiet sobs began to rack her body. She clutched her nightgown over her heart, leaning forward to try and stop the onslaught of tears.
Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, Conqueror of Ba Sing Se, fell asleep curled up on her futon, tears streaming down her face, whispering her name.
"Azula. I am Azula."
In the next room over, her uncle heard her through the thin walls, and composed a letter to the Fire Lord.
Author's Note:
A detail that is very easy to miss, especially if you don't read Chinese, but Zuko and Iroh's forged passports both have surnames on them! It's never said aloud, but the names on the passports are Mushi and Lee Hong! (Hong Li and Hong Mushi, since the passports are written with the surname first, like actual Chinese names are).
Youtiao (油條), pronounced "yo-tyao" is a real food! Commonly eaten for breakfast! It's made so you can tear it into sections like a Kit-Kat, but not everyone does (much like Kit-Kats lol). You can also dip them in things, like soy milk!
Jin's family are named Ling (鈴) and Gahng (鋼). So, their names have meaning. It was never written down in the show, but I thought it would be nice if Jin's name were written as 金 (jīn), meaning "gold" (she does have a heart of gold). Ling's name 鈴 (líng) means "bell," and Gahng's name 鋼 (gāng) means "steel." They are all related to metal, and if you notice, both Ling and Gahng's written names have a tiny, squished version of Jin's name to the left of the character! (Gahng's name is pronounced with a long A, like in "father," if it wasn't clear).
Poor Azula, having an identity crisis. I wonder what Iroh is writing (I know exactly what he's writing, you'll see soon!)
Please let me know what you think! Comments are appreciated!