A/N:

AU prompt challenge from Tumblr - Back to the Future. Requested by Focusas.

- Time Machine -

Liunaq froze, hands trembling as she clasped the handle of the door.

She had made it this far disguised as a maid and the old splendor of the of the Royal Palace Heritage Museum was truly a sight to behold.

Or rather the Royal Palace, as the people of this time period often referred it as, seeing as it was still in use.

Without the hordes of tourists, smiling guides, and flashing camera bulbs, the palace seemed almost empty by comparison, with occasional servant and guard patrol walking the halls. All those secret passages the books and guides talked about came in handy and the guards were surprisingly relaxed in their vigilance.

All that confidence she felt after infiltrating the old palace, to see what it was really like in its heyday, completely evaporated.

She didn't even recognize their voices at first. They were so young and full of pent-up frustration. She could've sworn one of voices cracked just from the yelling. Playing the part of a maid only made it easier for her to blend in, so it was only natural to act like she was checking up on the residents of the palace. That's what she thought maids did anyway.

But seeing them turn their eyes toward her, cut off amid a heated argument, Liunaq could've sworn she felt the very blood in her veins freeze over. A snow shrew caught by a spotted leopard.

Spirits beyond, they were so young. She knew she had gone back far in time, but this was inconceivable. She wasn't even expecting them to be here. Perhaps she turned the dials wrong on the switchboard or cranked out the numbers incorrectly pulling the dozen or so levers to set the appropriate date in time. They were always so stiff, so hard to pull, she had meant to fix that.

But this? Just a few short years after the war, with them in this very room? Had her precious machine somehow malfunctioned during the warp-slip back through time? Did she make a miscalculation? How the-

"And who do you think you are barging in here like that!? Witless woman!"

The imperious remark, the indignation in her tone, the sharp delivery that cut straight to the jugular, that black hair so immaculately combed, those burning eyes she shared with her, a look as deadly as a fire breathing dragon. No, there could be no mistake.

It was Mom.

"Oh yeah, sure, take your anger out on the servant just making her rounds cleaning up your home. Real mature, Azula!"

Oh spirits no. That sarcasm, the awkward way his hands would fly over his head whenever he was so passionate about something, those proud blue eyes that had the utmost confidence in whatever endeavor she pursued.

It was Dad.

"Peasant! I will incinerate you and throw your ashes to the wind if you don't shut up!"

"Why do you keep telling to shut up all the time!?"

"Because if I had to answer every infernal question your idiot brain could field I'd be stuck in this cell of a room for an eternity!"

Liunaq, against all logic, against all fear she had of sending devastating ripples through time, despite every theory she could possibly conjure up that told her not to do what she was about to do, took a chance.

She gulped hard, and feared for the future, "My lady! My lord!"

They both looked to her, shock twisting their faces.

Blinking, completely frozen, Liunaq was back at their penthouse in Republic City, her little hand opening the door to their room as she held her stuffed polar dog, their eyes glowing with passion in the dim light, caught in the act amid tender embraces.

Mom. Dad. Please stop that.

Her eyes darted from one to the other as she hastily immersed herself into her role, "… while I am sure the subject of your current, uh… discussion is no doubt pressing, perhaps it would be wise to keep the passion in your voices contained. Someone may here you."

The thunder is scaring me and I want a hug. Please stop being weird.

The tension slowly eased from their bodies, her mom flashing her dad with a searing gaze. He just rolled his eyes as he walked away.

Suddenly, Liunaq felt she was the parent for a change.

"Crazy princess," uttered Dad, making his way passed her as he stormed out of the room.

"Filthy peasant," Mom muttered under breath, striding passed her to turn the opposite direction.

Liunaq's skinned crawled uncomfortably. She had heard those phrases uttered in more lustrous tones through thin walls a little too often.

Before she could even sigh, her Mom called out to her.

"Servant! When you are done dusting the furniture, I want a new carpet laid out on the floor by the time I return. I grow tired of looking upon that hideous rag. See to it!"

Liunaq's back straightened, stiff as a soldier, "Yes! O-Of course-"

Mom.

She bit her lower lip, catching the word before it escaped, "-Your Highness!"

The footsteps down the marbled halls faded. And just like that, decades back in time, with the pull of a lever and the turn of a dial, Liunaq was a little kid again, cleaning another room as if it was her own, and groaning just the same.

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed that little itty-bitty touch of steampunk. I decided to go for an H.G. Wells approach here rather than sticking to Back to the Future, but I attempted to keep the concept of time travel in it regardless.

If you'd like to read more Sokkla stories, please check out LordStone's completed story "Opposite Elements". You won't regret it!

See you next for the latest installment!