She longed for the Fire Nation.
They had been travelling by sea for a year now, hiding at ports where no one would recognise them. Her crown had been taken from her and hidden away for her own safety.
She missed home. She missed her Father and her friends, and even Zuko. Her only companions were the men loyal to the throne. They were taking Azula to safety, where Azula did not have to hide her fire bending or wear cloaks to disguise her royal identity.
It had been a long time since Azula had been home, where she was respected as the Princess of the Fire Nation, granddaughter to Azulon and daughter to Ozai. Azula who is ten knew Ozai had been regarded by many, but not loved. No, they loved Iroh.
The people of the Fire Nation rebelled against the Fire Lord Ozai and his family. They had all been separated, and Azula did not know where her remaining family were. Ozai had been killed, and she did not know where her brother was, he had been banished the year before and was with her Uncle, but she suspected they was dead.
Commander Zhao had found her, lying next to the corpses of her servant. He quickly took her and a few men and sailed to somewhere safe – where the rebellion would not find her. He explained that her Father the Fire Lord was dead.
Zuko was weak, he had always been weak, but he did not deserve death. Once she was old enough, Azula would avenge her family's death in an Agni Kai with the Usurper – General Xao and make him pay for what he has done to her family.
Azula was not stupid, she understood that in order to win, she would have to train.
Which, Azula has not been doing.
Commander Zhao said it was for her protection, which Azula understood, but it was hard. From bending every day to infrequent sessions with her guard was frustrating. She would not get strong by lazing around and doing nothing. She would not be able to avenge her family.
Her bending was not at the level that she wanted it to be at this stage. To defeat the rebellion, she theorised that she would have to train at least twice a day to overcome the Usurper – General Xao.
He was famous for his finessed in the battle field, with every battle he lost the Usurper won more.
Commander Zhao has not told her the current Fire Lord's name. He kept a lot of secrets from her.
Azula could not fault the commander for trying not to upset her in telling her information of her home, but she needed to know what was happening, to find out who were her allies and who she needed to get rid off. She had voiced her grievances to him about keeping secrets from her – the last child of Agni.
He did not get upset, but he had stared at her for a time. It made her uncomfortable. Commander Zhao could see she was embarrassed, and his lips twitched.
He was amused.
She had tried to hold his gaze, but she was only ten, and he was a man her senior. She could not compete for long.
Azula soon turned her gaze away, ashamed that she had not upheld her father's teachings and left the room hastily.
Remembering the incident made Azula shiver. It was unbecoming of her, the Princess to the Fire Nation. The last child of Sozin.
She should not be afraid of a low-ranking officer.
Contemplating her situation, she turned to the sea. She needed to work with Zhao, and then when older, she would take control. Zhao would be in control.
For now.
Fire is the superior bending form, the structure of firebending allowed them to combat and reign superior over the other elements.
She had been taught this by her Father.
Commander Zhao reinforced the lesson in her teachings; though she's not allowed to bend in her lessons, the teaching went on as normal, taught by the crew.
He did not teach her himself, Azula knew that Commander Zhao was busy plotting course around the world: making sure she was protected. Whenever the ship docked at the port, she would stay on the boat, and Commander Zhao would send spies to the village to make sure it was safe for her.
He would also bring back presents.
She'd politely accepts the atrocious gift of a doll dressed like a Princess or books on Princess and Princesses. They were boring, so when she got to her room, she would burn them and made sure to hide the evidence of the ash.
He did not ask about the gift, but Azula felt that the Commander knew everything. Specific comments that were made in the past about Azula such as: trying to firebend without the knowledge of the members of the ship or not wasting resources by throwing away food because it tasted horrible. It made her conscious of her actions, now going into the future that she would have to be careful.
She would need to gain the trust of the crew; they're required for the success of her plan. She would try and apply to different tactics that she had learned from her Father.
Azula tried to gain information from the cook, by being nice to him; she knew from experience that adults who are not nobles strangely preferred her brother over her. During the earliest months of travelling, Azula did not think much of the cook and others with menial tasks.
They were beneath her.
She approached the cooking station carefully, the cook body posture changed; it became stiff. He did not trust her.
"I would like a steamed bun." She asked. "Please." Azula tried smiling for good measure. The Cook nodded and handed her food to her and quickly turned his back on her.
She frowned, replicating similar methods to Zuko proved to be a failure. She walked away humiliated, Zuko would not struggle with this, he would have befriended the crew members and the other staff.
Many people preferred Zuko to her. Uncle Iroh had whisked Zuko away and Mother loved Zuko more than her.
Father did not.
He did not care for Zuko. He'd preferred Azula, for the first time someone preferred her to Zuko training her daily so she could reach her full potential.
Until he was murdered by the rebellion. Thinking about her Father made her depressed. She was now without a parental figure and had no family or home; she was a homeless orphan now.
Zuko
Azula and Father were dead. A rebellion had taken place, they said the nobles revolted against his Father and took control over Caldera.
Zuko was glad that he had Uncle, his hand was steady as he explained what was going back home.
He did not know how to feel.
Ozai his Father had burnt Zuko and has left a visible scar on his face that he is unable to get rid off and banished his only son for speaking out of turn to find the Avatar. His Father was not kind and yet he still wept for him.
Azula was his only sister, he wept for the ten-year-old who he would never get to see again. Uncle was hugging him now, rocking him back and forth whispering soft comforting words as if he was a baby. Zuko did not know what to say. He was now an orphan.
A.N
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