For Day 2 of Comfortember, "First Night"
Azula laid awake in bed, staring up at the canopy of her new bed, exhausted but not able to sleep. It was all so surreal. In the dark, it was almost as if she'd never left the fire nation, and the last few weeks had been a dream she'd woken up from. But the curtains on her bet were pale and gossamer, more suited to keeping out bugs than light. The room was smaller, and decorated in white, turquoise, and silver, with a balcony looking out over the eastern sea. The bed was softer, the ceiling higher, and Azula knew if she rolled over she would see her coronation gown hanging on the wardrobe door and her silver circle of flowers and leaves waiting for her by the mirror. All the same, it was just similar enough to her room in the fire nation that the differences threw her off.
She threw off her blankets and went to stand on the balcony, staring out at the stars reflected on the water. The room wasn't the only thing that was just different enough to throw her off. Ever since… well. Ever since, even the inside of Azula's own head had been different. The skills, instincts, and attitudes she had cultivated growing up in the Fire Lord's court were at war with the teachings of Aslan and the hard, cold realizations she had come to as she traversed the oppressed lands, watched Aslan go to his death for her, and marched into battle with the White Witch. Azula didn't know which was winning. She didn't know which she wanted to win. Over the course of just a few days everything she knew about herself and her world had changed beneath her feet, and she was struggling to find her balance.
It was like… A hummingbird moth still in its cocoon, Azula decided. Princess Azula of the fire nation had been one person, Queen Azula the Merciful of Narnia would be another, but for now Azula wasn't either of them, caught halfway through a metamorphosis without any idea which way was up and which was down or who she really was anymore…
A gentle hand laid on her shoulder, and Azula nearly jumped out of her skin. She craned her neck to see Laith standing behind and to one side of her, staring out at the water. She belatedly realized that her door had been open.
"You're not alone," Laith said quietly, not looking at her, "We're all a little lost. It'll take time to find our footing, and that's okay. We'll get through it."
Azula couldn't think of anything to say to that, so rather than snap at Laith for coming into her room, she looked back out at the ocean and stayed quiet. It occurred to her that, hard of a time as she was having with this transition, she might be the one in the best place for it. Out of the warrior in training, the forest vagrant, the princess, and the isolated villager, the princess would probably be the one most prepared to become the queen of a far away kingdom. If she was having this much trouble…
As if he heard her thoughts, Laith gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"There you two are!" They both turned to see Teo in the open doorway. He smiled happily at them, "Suki and I couldn't sleep, so she snuck down to the kitchens and snuck out some candy and sausages and stuff, and I got a fire going to roast them! You two should come join us, it'll be fun." With that, he did a wheelie and sped off, cackling quietly.
Laith and Azula shared a look.
"That seems like it's going to end badly," Azula said neutrally. Laith nodded. "Let's go."
It did not end badly, but only because Azula was a firebender and could keep things under control. Eventually they all dozed off around the fireplace, and when their attendants came in the morning to get them ready for the day, that's where they found them, sprawled out near the embers of a fire gone out, smears of sugar still on their faces.