WARNING: Attempted rape.
AN: Writing Zhao and the imprisonment and pain of the characters was agonizing for me, but trust me, the end of this chapter is well, well worth it.
It will take six days for the ship to reach the Fire Nation. Azula tells no one, but her plan is to let it arrive in one piece. She has a better chance of organizing her next move against the Fire Nation from within it, now that Aang is gone and that duty falls to her and her friends.
Azula can move freely through the ship as long as she is contained and surrounded by soldiers.
And so right now, Azula stands in front of Ty Lee's cell with her hands wrapped around the grimy bars.
"What do we do?" whispers Ty Lee.
"The only thing we can do. We fight or we die."
Ty Lee hesitates. She lingers for a moment with her hand on Azula's hand. Finally, she decides she agrees, and not the blind way she always agrees with Azula.
"You always tell me never to be afraid of a fight, and I have total faith you'll see us through. But what kind of fight can this be?"
"The subtle kind. No lightning, just charisma and scheming. I'm quite good at that."
"I don't know how much I can help."
"Start talking like that and we have already lost."
"I'll do what I can. I trust you. I'll do whatever you say but I need you to promise me something."
"Anything."
"Whatever happens, however this ends, I need you to let me go until it's over. I'm just going to hold you back. I always have."
"That isn't true. I refuse to let you go."
"You should've a long time ago."
"Why?"
"Because maybe… you deserve more. I work better in people's pasts. I always have."
"But not in mine. I will not negotiate this."
Ty Lee averts her eyes as Azula storms away.
Katara turns to face her brother, Ty Lee and Jet as they languish in their tiny cell. All anyone has done is complain and break and fall apart. She was the same, to be honest. But she cannot take it any longer.
They all have been tortured. Bloody, bruised, aching.
They all have been broken. Defeated, captured, exhausted.
But Katara believes in herself and in her friends.
She stands up, whimpering from the pain. They broke one of her ankles with a hammer, but she will not let that stop her. That or anything else.
"We need to do something. I don't want to roll over for the Fire Nation," declares Katara. The three others in the room focus on her, but don't look convinced."
"They'll give us trials. They'll be fair," insists Ty Lee.
Jet grabs the Fire Nation girl by the arm.
"After all you've seen of your precious Fire Nation, do you really think they will be anything but brutal and sick? None of this is going to be fair.
Jet releases her. Ty Lee supposes she agrees with him.
Sokka looks up at his sister. One of his eyes is swollen shut.
"What do you suggest we do?" asks Sokka. His strong voice is weak; he is the most beaten and broken of anyone else in the cell.
"We fight until our last breath. Each of us has to be willing to die to stop the Fire Nation. Anything less and they've already won," says Katara. "We're going to put up a fight the likes of which they've never seem before."
Sokka does not look enthused about it.
Ty Lee weakly nods.
But Jet smiles like a madman.
Azula has a plan. She always has a plan.
But her plan requires her father, and that means she needs to get through this journey without killing Zhao.
Without Aang, they need to start anew. She knows precisely how, but it is a complicated spark to ignite.
And so she puts on the stupid dress and follows the guards calmly in shackles as they take her to dinner with Zhao.
"Would you care for some wine?"he asks as the soldiers force her to sit down.
She nods and sips it as they both silently size each other up as enemies.
"Do you love the circus slut?" he asks, lip contorting into a mocking smirk.
"Yes," coolly replies Azula.
They remain silent for a few moment.
"I must know. Was it good?"
"Was what good?" bites Azula.
"The sex with your little girlfriend. Did your body quiver at her every touch?"
Azula leans forward. "Yes. Yes it did. And it will again."
"She's not the only one who can make you feel that way."
"Maybe. But I know you can't."
"Tell me a story, Azula."
"My bedtime stories are nothing compared to the novellas you tell. I don't think you would be entertained."
"Oh, I'll be entertained. Let me help you start." He rises to his feet. "Once upon a time, there was a little princess with only one purpose: to serve her empire. But she let her bending and bloodline get to her head, and forgot her purpose. We are all below Ozai, and we serve him and his empire. And for her betrayal, she is a slave of a servant. And do you know what a slave does?"
"What exactly?" replies Azula with a wicked glint in her eyes and a mocking tone.
Zhao is unfazed by it.
"She licks the boots of her master."
He sets his booted foot on the empty chair between them. Azula just laughs at his boldness.
"Lick. My. Boot."
"Fuck you." Her words are oh so casual.
He strikes her and she recoils.
"Lick. My. Boot."
Azula rises and pretends to lower her lips to his filthy boot, but in a rapid movement, Azula seizes him by the ankle, twists it, shoves him and flips his large body to the floor.
The traitor princess strides over and crosses her arms as she gazes down on him."
"I have no patience for your ego nor your little games. There's a war on, Admiral Zhao, and only the strong will survive. Are you strong?"
He shoves himself to his feet. "Stronger than you. And you will regret your defiance when you need me to protect you."
Azula just slowly shakes her head.
He is a joke.
"I want to go to bed," says Azula, absolutely fed up with indulging him.
"You may be more comfortable in my cabin."
"In your dreams."
The soldiers escort Azula to her room at the behest of Admiral Zhao.
In the middle of the night, three days into the journey, strong and brutal soldiers force Azula out of her room and take her to Zhao.
"Welcome," says Zhao as the door to his quarters is shut behind her. "Get comfortable. Your legs must be tired."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you've been running around in my mind all day."
Azula grinds her teeth and crosses her arms over her chest. Zhao smirks at her.
"So, what are your plans for your little friends? Your plans to escape me tying you to my bed? Your delusions of grandeur about a destiny?"
"I will allow my father to handle these matters."
"You're more rational than your recent actions have led me to believe."
"It's mercy, compassion and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality. And trust me, you will experience those traits of mine very soon."
"It would be smart to bury the threats, Princess."
"I'll toss them in your casket after I kill you."
"We're almost to the Fire Nation. Little Princess, all you can do is wait for the hammer to fall."
"Bring a bigger hammer. Your last attempts have been inadequate." Azula looks him up and down. "Like certain features of yours, I imagine."
He grabs her roughly, violent anger flashing across his face. But she remains cold and unafraid. She enjoys how much that enrages him.
"I think you would be very impressed by those certain features. Particularly after wasting so much time on women."
He pins her against the wall, and the moment she lights her flames on her palms, he grabs her by the wrists to keep her in place.
He roughly presses his dry, cracked lips against her neck. "Wrap your legs around my waist."
She spits in his face.
"If you don't let go, I will snap your neck."
"I can let go. Perhaps the little circus slut is up for a ride. Not that she'll have much of a choice."
Azula quickly schemes up a plan. She always has been capable of that even within a split second.
She wraps her legs around his waist, fighting the churning in her stomach and the vomit rising into her throat.
All she wants is to strike him down with lightning. But she needs to play smarter than that.
Some people are extremely easy to manipulate. And as for Zhao? It would honestly be harder not to manipulate him.
"If it means protecting Ty Lee…" Easy. So easy. This plan will be painfully simple to execute.
Well, she supposes it is one of her most necessary and important. She would sooner drown herself than let him have his way with her.
He kisses her hard and then darts his tongue over her lips. She reluctantly bucks her hips against him and he groans.
"You're such a bad girl for a princess."
"Do you need to punish me?" It makes her sick to be getting him excited, but it is necessary for her scheme to run smoothly. She feels her stomach churn as he keeps her pinned against the metal wall and tears open her shirt, vomit rising in her throat.
"Where were you hiding those?" He squeezes her left breast so tightly she imagines it will bruise. He kneads it forcefully as he presses his hips harder against hers.
She breathes in. She has used seduction as a weapon before. But never with someone as vile as him. She needs to save her friends. She needs to pretend to be loyal to the Fire Nation. She needs to fulfill her destiny. She needs to save herself from the deplorable and violent fate Zhao wants for her right now. So she fights in the lovely and subtle ways of a politician.
She breathes in deeply and quickly through her mouth to stifle the gag as she feels his erection against her.
"Tell me what you want me to do to you," he breathes in her ear. It is difficult to keep her mind on plan and purpose when she feels his hot breath.
The words feel painful and sickening in her mouth as she forces herself to say, "I want you to fuck me raw."
His eyes flash with eager arousal.
Only a few seconds. Only a few seconds until Azula executes her clever scheme. She reminds herself of what she is fighting for. She knows she will do whatever it takes to escape being raped by him.
She licks his neck and softly blows on the damp spot. It works like a charm on women. Makes them lose their damned minds, makes them easier to control.
The second to last act she intends.
Yet, it turns out, her plan does not need to be fully executed. She cannot recall a time she had such a lucky break in ages, to be honest.
He comes before even taking off his pants.
She laughs as his face reddens and reddens.
"Perhaps you should work on your stamina before we return to the Fire Nation."
The pathetic man is so stunned into silence that she pats his face twice.
"I suppose I'll go take care of myself then."
She doesn't, of course. She returns to her own cabin, locks the door, and then vomits and vomits until there is nothing left in her, and claws at her skin until the pain manages to soothe her.
Playing along with that vile fucking rapist in order to escape, to protect her love, is the most disgusting and mentally shattering thing she has ever done.
As much as she fantasizing about killing him a thousand ways, the Avatar is dead, and she needs to make her father trust her if she wants to burn his kingdom down. Killing his most faithful little servant would destroy her chances.
But she has to be more careful to avoid his sick and twisted lust for her.
Has to be.
She wants Ty Lee.
She has never wanted Ty Lee more in her life.
Ty Lee rests her head on Sokka's shoulder, asleep. He is drifting off too, half dead to the world.
But Katara and Jet are wide awake.
"Can I ask you something?" dares ask Katara, toying with her dirty hair.
"You can ask me anything, Katara," says Jet smoothly.
"We haven't really talked about the sex. Is this going somewhere?"
"Well, I want it to. Do you?"
"I mean, maybe. Don't get me wrong, you're an amazing partner in a fight and the sex was honestly really good. But do we fit together as something real? Love is pretty dangerous in this world."
"We're great at danger, Katara. And I think we'd be good together," says Jet.
"Why?"
"We have a lot in common. We both would do anything to fight the Fire Nation. And we're both good looking."
Katara, despite these agonizing circumstances, cannot help but laugh.
She becomes serious again as she asks, "You'll stick with me? You won't run? You won't get yourself killed? You really want to find some kind of romance in this messed up world?"
"You bet your sweet Water Tribe ass."
He kisses her passionately.
When they break apart, Katara smiles.
She is happy.
But if only they found this in a different place and a different time.
Azula spends the last day and a half of the journey cementing plans if Zhao tries to do anything to her or her friends.
But maybe her father was right about her luck.
Zhao refuses to look at her.
His shame is stronger than his desire for her.
But Azula is smart enough to doubt that it will last very long.
When they arrive in Caldera, the prisoners find themselves shackled at the wrists and feet and surrounded by an almost unnecessarily large armed guard.
Azula knows she should not feel the way she does when she looks at the palace.
Her destiny, Ty Lee, fighting for a better world.
She should hate this place.
But she feels like she is home.
Once inside, a decorated soldier enters to bark orders.
"The Fire Lord wants the princess in the throne room. Take the rest to the dungeons. He will deal with them later.
Once her friends and true love are dragged away, the soldier begins to undo Azula's shackles.
"Don't try anything. Come on."
He leads her through familiar halls to the throne room.
Azula starts to cry against her will and better judgement as she buries her face in her father's chest. He softly strokes her hair.
"I missed you," she whispers, disgusted by how earnest she is in her words.
Ozai knows he should be harsh. He should punish her as fiercely as he did to Zuko. She was a worse traitor than him, in some ways.
But she was his only weakness. His daughter, who he loved despite loving no one else in the world.
He will have to try her, have to contain her.
But, for now, he pulls her deeper in the embrace and gently kisses the top of her head before they break apart.
"Then why did you run? Why did you betray me?"
"Because it was my destiny."
"Your destiny is not for ghosts to decide, and certainly not you. I decide your destiny."
She told the truth about missing her father and switching sides to pursue destiny and glory of a different kind than she ever imagined. But now it is time to lie.
"I wanted to come home. I knew I made a mistake. But I was afraid. I was afraid that I would lose everything for that mistake. I did what I could to bring the prisoners here, and I abetted the death of the Avatar." All lies, but he believes every word. "I surrender to you and your judgment. But I hope, as your daughter, you can one day forgive me."
"If you want my forgiveness, earn it."
"Of course, father."
"You also will have to earn my trust. You will be under heavy guard and careful observation until I know that I can trust you again."
"That is wise, father, but I promise I will earn your trust. And what will become of Ty Lee?"
"You know me, Azula. I am a cruel man and I do not believe in second chances, but I am not wasteful. She will help me keep you in line. Under enslavement, of course."
"Thank you."
"And, since you are my beloved daughter, if your trial goes well and you prove your loyalty, you can use her as you see fit."
Azula clenches her jaw. Once upon a time she used Ty Lee for sex, yes. But she grew to see that Ty Lee is the most incredible woman Azula had ever met, and she was not to be used by anyone.
"And father, before you give Admiral Zhao his parade, I want you to know he tried to rape me on the journey. I was terrified on that ship, afraid he would eventually have his way with me. I would have killed him for touching me like that if I didn't think it would only count as evidence against me upon my return."
"He did what?"
"Father, you are the most intelligent man I know. Surely you see that Zhao is a curr, even if you have done well to keep him on a leash. I also have evidence proving he planned to have me killed after he married me. It is one of the reasons I ran. I hope he pays for his crimes, even if my loyalty has always been to my nation, despite my recent actions."
"I will… look into it. Guards, take her to her room."
Azula submits.
Azula opens her bedroom door cautiously, so cautiously, for the hinges creak.
It seems the hated world sleeps save for her.
She hates it more after her father has arranged a trial for her and believed Zhao instead of his own daughter. Being branded as a traitor has made everyone in her nation — in her home — mistrust her. And he recently accomplished the greatest victory in years.
But at least Ozai insisted her virginity to be properly saved until her wedding night. She would protest that she is far from a virgin if she could. But she has only been with women, and these men seem to believe sex only counts if it involves a cock.
Cautiously, she creeps through the halls and enters the slave quarters.
She finds Ty Lee almost immediately. They are not alone but Azula does not care. They embrace so tightly that their bodies may as well be one, and crush their lips together in a messy but passionate kiss.
When they break apart, they stand across from each other with sparkling eyes.
"You probably shouldn't be here," says Ty Lee softly. "I mean, I want you here. I want you with me more than anything. But I heard they're putting you on trial. This won't look good."
"I love you enough to risk it," says Azula in utter honesty.
Licking her lips, Ty Lee tells herself to make Azula leave. Keep Azula safe.
But she is too selfish.
Ty Lee has no wish, no purpose, other than to love and be loved by Azula. A love that even the purest, most beautiful spirits would envy. Souls impossible to sever from each other.
They savor every moment of the night.
Not long after dawn, Azula's bedroom door opens to reveal her father.
"How are you?" he asks, and she wonders whether he actually cares or not. He does not seem to care that she is in love. He does not seem to care to understand why Azula left. He does not seem to care about what Zhao tried to do to her.
"Is my execution early?" asks Azula in a tone she regrets. If she is going to save herself and her friends by playing politics, she cannot be snide with the Fire Lord.
"Execution is not an option in your trial. I obviously can not afford to have you executed when you are my only child capable of producing heirs."
"But you want to pass me off to a boor who once tried to have me killed? Who tried to rape me?"
"Show some respect. He killed the Avatar and returned you to me. Few men are that deserving of you."
Throttling him briefly crosses her mind in an enjoyable fantasy before she snaps back to reality.
"Can I ask you something about arranged marriages?" inquires Azula softly.
"Yes, you can play all you want with women on the side."
"That isn't what I wanted to ask."
"Then what is it?"
"Did you love mother?"
It strikes him like a slap across the face.
"Yes," he admits after a brief silence. "I did."
"So you know what it feels like?"
"I think everyone remembers the wild and reckless love of teenagers together. But one day you have to grow up."
"If I am old enough to marry Admiral Zhao, I am old enough to know what real love is."
"I don't understand what you see in the circus freak."
"I could say loyalty or beauty or our history together. But I am being honest, truly honest, is because she makes me feel, and I think my real home is in her eyes and arms."
Ozai furrows his brow. Azula thinks for a brief moment she may have struck something in him, but his expression quickly fades.
"She was always meant to be played with, nothing more. If your trial goes well, you will be wed to
Zhao and bear my heirs. But you are always welcome to play with the slave girl on the side.
Azula has never wanted to hurt her father so much in her life.
Azula is summoned to the throne room and accompanied by several guards. She arrives expecting to discuss her trial for treason but what she really sees makes her eyes flash wide.
"Ty Lee!" she cries out.
Her father is nowhere in sight, but there are a multitude of heavily armed palace guards.
And standing before her, instead of her father, is Zhao holding a red hot blade to a handcuffed Ty Lee's neck.
And Zhao says so simply, "We all know where you were last night. Were you making plans with her like you did to ruin my chances of marriage to you? Having sex with her when you deny me? Figuring out how to free her? Plotting more treason?"
"I missed her. I wanted to make sure she was unharmed. Put the blade down."
He looks… unsettled.
Azula knows he had three meetings with her father in the past two days.
He did not seem as stable after even one, although Azula has no clue what they discussed.
"I killed the Avatar! I brought you home! I deserve the happy ending, not this circus slut."
"You have a dilemma in your way. I love her, and I can't unlove her." Azula grabs a blade from a guard. He lunges at her and she pushes him back. Zhao holds up his hand to stop the guards, but tightens his grip on Ty Lee. Azula places the blade to her neck. "You kill her, and I slit my throat. No happy ending for you."
"Princess Azula, I never thought you could be so soft. So melodramatic, of course, but not a silly girl so in love she would kill herself and deny an heir to the Fire Nation over some little used up slut from the freak show."
"I love her. I love her more than my own life. If you had ever truly loved someone before, you would completely understand."
They remain there. Face to face. Violence against violence. Blades unwavering.
But at last, Azula speaks, albeit still with her knife pressing into her throat."You must see how uncivilized this standoff is. If you are truly loyal to the Fire Nation and my father, and if you ever want to lay hands on me, we will settle this dispute properly. An Agni Kai. Now. For Ty Lee's life. If you win, you can kill her. If I win, she lives, and moves into my chambers."
"Sweeten the pot a little and I may consider it. Those prizes aren't balanced enough in my favor."
"And if you win, in addition to the other prize, I'll suck you off. No complaints from me."
"Hm. I must admit an Agni Kai is always a fair and legal way to settle disputes. No one loyal to the Fire Lord would disapprove." He throws Ty Lee at the guards. "Hold onto her. And if this one oversteps the bounds of a proper Agni Kai, drag her out of here in chains."
Once it starts, Zhao remains deluded they he can conquer her. But anyone could see it was a mistake for him to challenge the most powerful firebender alive. Such a proud, proud, fool.
Ty Lee knows Azula will win, but she still squeezes her eyes shut.
They fight brilliantly.
The throne room lights up from a clash between red and blue.
He has force.
Azula has control.
After wearing him down well enough, Azula feigns weakness and exhaustion just long enough for him to charge at her. Once he is close enough, she snaps up and seizes his arm with a burning hand. She twists it.
"You are so overconfident," hisses Azula as she thrusts a flaming fist into his stomach. When he doubles over, she strikes his back, knocking the winds out of him.
He gasps and crumbles until he is slumped on the floor. But not dead, exactly as Azula wanted. He tries to sit up, but the blows to his back and chest make him cough and fall back down.
She strides over, kneels, and lifts up his chin to face her. The guards prepare their weapons, advancing step by step.
"For a moment there I thought you were going to kill me." He snorts and shakes his head.
The guards begin to rush over, but Azula pushes them back and keeps them away with an eruption of blue fire.
He sweats profusely from the supernova surrounding him as she straddles him and claws his neck with her sharp nails.
She wraps her hands around his neck, still maintaining her wall of fire. The exhilaration of fiercely squeezing his neck is indescribably powerful, flowing through her veins.
Zhao sputters out, "Your father will never forgive you for this. Your trial will end in execution if you do it. An Agni Kai is one thing." He gasps for breath and weakly attempts to shove her off of him. "You're better than this! This is cold blooded murder!"
Azula grins with an utterly insane look in her eyes. She leans down and snarls,"That's right, Zhao. Cold. Blooded. Murder."
She snaps his neck.
And she laughs wildly, pure madness in her eyes, the guards bind her wrists and drag her away.