Azula stood before the mirror, admiring and analyzing her dress, deciding what she'd like to change about it and what just had to stay the same. She had already spent quite a lot of time updating her wardrobe, making sure she would look like a proper Fire Lady, but this was even more important to her. She wanted her wedding to be perfect, and that obviously meant she needed the perfect dress.

And she believed she had found it. The dress was elegant, and accentuated her curves, but it was still comfortable. The neckline was semi-transparent, and showed just enough cleavage to be tempting without any vulgarity. The white fabric was covered with small shiny stones that gave it a golden glow in the sunlight or near a flame. She was used to only wearing dark colors, especially black and red, but this worked just as well, and the change would make her look even stunning.

"You look so pretty! You'll be the most beautiful queen!" Kiyi said, and Azula couldn't help but smile. The kid knew how to be endearing when she wanted to, and that fact was almost enough for Azula not to resent Zuko for making her spend time with their little sister.

Almost.

"I know, but thank you anyway."

"Are you sure you want to change it? It already looks so good!"

"It does look good. I want it to be perfect" she explained.

"But there's nothing wrong with it, Lala!"

"Kiyi" Azula reprimanded "It's my dress and it's my wedding. I decide how it's going to be."

Her little sister pouted and gave her a sheepish look "Sorry, Zula."

"Here's one thing you should know: everything and anything can always use some improvement, even there's nothing wrong with it."

The little girl reflected on Azula's words for a second "Like you and Zuko always practicing your firebending, even though you two are already the best at it?"

The princess smiled "Exactly."

"And what will you change about your dress?"

"Well, there's one obvious thing: adjusting the length of the skirt so I won't step on it" she said, making Kiyi laugh "And I want it to have sleeves. Long, semi-transparent sleeves to match the neckline, and I'm considering adding just a few tiny stones" Azula saw her sister's expression change from understanding to excited as she described it.

The princess went to her close and picked up one of her favorite dresses - a fancy black dress, with a red cape stitched to it.

"I'll add a cape like this one, but white to match the dress. Then I'll just need the perfect headpiece. I'm thinking a crown will do."

"But isn't it a tradition for the bride to wear flowers in her hair?"

"Yes, but I never liked that."

Kiyi seemed annoyed "What's wrong with flowers?"

Here we go again.

Azula sighed "Nothing, Kiyi"

"Then wear them in your hair!"

"I'll think about it! Now go, I have things to do"

The little girl nodded, but gave her a tight hug before leaving, and Azula had to fight the urge to push her away. She would never get used to that.

You owe me, Zuzu, she thought as she took off her dress and put on her regular clothes. There was a lot of work to do.

She would question some old friends the next day.