EDITED: So if you've read this before you might be slightly confused but it's mostly grammatical changes for this one.
Azula paced in front of the Earth Kingdom throne. A pity her thoughts kept her up and active, and would not allow her to sit on the throne as she deserved to.
Azula was a woman of manipulation.
Zuzu did like to call me "puppet master," she thought sardonically.
It was all in good fun for her, if she was being honest, and she didn't feel as though she should apologize. Why apologize for being a people person?
Azula supposed the term 'people person' would usually be used differently, to describe someone who genuinely liked people and enjoyed their presence. She used it to describe her uncanny ability to choose the words that could act as a noose around her targets throat. She could see people, often before they saw themselves. She could predict how the latest, volatile emotion would cause a person to misstep, and she used her knowledge to angle herself in the best way to take advantage of that moment.
After all, that was how she had easily replaced Zuko.
On some level, she lamented the way her relationship with her brother had turned out. He was one of the easiest people to read after all, a flaw that made him useful. With Zuko, it had always been obvious that he was...soft. He craved affection, love, and above all, acceptance. And because he was so naive, he could never quite figure out how to use that desire to fuel his future. He could have acceptance as Fire Lord, could he not? He would have the love of his people, was that not enough?
All he had to do to gain all that he desired was to be more focused on himself. But, this is where Zuko did not excel. He tried to focus on himself, but his stupid morals would constantly get in the way, leaving him looking and feeling fractured, floundering and confused.
Lacking conviction, she thought amusedly.
Azula was focused on herself. She knew what she needed to do to make her Father approve of her enough to pass on the throne (love was a fickle emotion she did not seek), she knew which Generals to bully when she wanted something, she had unflinching control over her two minions (friends, she thought, they probably think so). Her plans always fell into place.
Except tonight.
Azula had taken the same path that was tried and true when it came to Zuko. Dangle the carrot, love and acceptance, then follow with the stick.
Her wrath if he failed her.
Clearly in his betrayal he had failed her, after all. He owed it to her to follow the script, to be predictable. To not stand in the way of her opportunity to give the Fire Nation a Crown Princess they could be proud of.
For some reason however, the usual tactics had not worked. She hadn't even seen him waver, not truly. That hand movement towards the Avatar has been an act that she had not seen through, she could tell from his eyes.
Which meant Zuko could, to an extent, lie.
This was news to her. Zuko has never been able to lie, even when they were kids. While Azula had been practicing her tone in the mirror, controlling her expressions and allowing the lies to become the truth, Zuzu had never been able to so much as fib about washing his hands before supper.
Pathetic, she snarled in her mind.
And yet, something had changed. Something or someone had allowed Zuko to lie, had granted him the acceptance he so desperately craved. Whatever had occurred, something had accepted him in a way that glued all the cracks in his mind together and made him a loyal soldier to the cause. The wrong cause.
A loyal, dedicated soldier was dangerous. She should know that, no one could be as dedicated to anything as she was to herself.
There was a light knock at the door. Ty Lee, she thought to herself. This was just another thing that those who did not plan did not notice. She smirked to herself, even though she had failed to capture her traitor brother, she was still superior. It was in her blood.
"Come in."
The door swung open and in walked Ty Lee, though she was accompanied by Mai. That made things slightly more difficult. Azula couldn't have failed to notice Mai's attraction to her brother if she were blind. (She supposed that might be a tad bit of a stretch). Though she didn't understand love as she had never been the recipient of it, she did know that those in love were less easy to control unless you possessed the object of their desires. The emotions made those poor fools disoriented, it clouded their judgement. It made them do things common sense and self-preservation demanded they never do.
Ty Lee bowed low before her as Mai mimicked her, though the stiffness of her back portrayed anything but servility.
Ty Lee began to speak after a moment of silence. "Your Uncle has been, umm," she glanced nervously up at Azula from under her lashes. Azula was careful to give away no emotion. The best threat is the kind that's unknown.
"He's been tied up and Ty blocked his bending," Mai interrupted in her signature flat tone.
Azula did not respond for a moment, allowing them time to drum up their own theories about how she felt and work themselves up a bit before she released them. Then she struck.
"Thank you ladies, I will be sure to tell the Fire Lord the role you both have played in what we accomplished for our Nation today."
They stilled. Azula had not hand picked Mai and Ty Lee from the Fire Nation Royal Academy for Girls because they were lacking in intelligence. They knew as well as she did that being in the Fire Lord's favor was a double edged sword. Pleased as Ozai may be, everyone slips up after a while. Then, those unfortunate enough to make mistakes are there, perfectly poised in his reach, ready to be punished.
It's a good thing she never makes mistakes.
"What about Zuko?"
It was Mai of course. Azula rolled her eyes inwardly. For someone who is so careful about never showing emotion, she couldn't be more obvious.
"What about him?" she asked deceptively lightly. "Wouldn't you say he's a traitor?"
A pause. Mai knows this is a trap either way her answer falls and, though she doesn't want to allow herself to be trapped so easily, she knows there are two ways to deal with Azula:
Submit to the clean kill or prolong a future torture.
She chooses the clean kill for today, her elaborate buns moving with her head as she simply inclined her chin in acquiescence.
Ty Lee looked uncertainly between them before plastering a large smile on her pretty face. Azula admired her commitment to her chosen identity.
"Well," she said after some time had passed and Mai had looked down again, "I'm pretty tired".
She made no move to fake a yawn and she was well aware she didn't look tired. This was another lesson she had slowly taught her friends.
I don't need you to trust me, but you will anyway.
The two girls looked at each other before bowing and seeing their way out of the throne room. Ty Lee looked over her shoulder once to throw a bright "Good night!" her way. Mai never looked back.
After the door had closed behind them she settled back into her pacing. She still had plans to make after all. They would be leaving for the Fire Nation in a week after she had properly arranged the government to run smoothly in her absence. The people might be resistant, but she knew they would bow to her will eventually.
Everyone did, after all.
She allowed her thoughts once more to drift towards her traitor brother. That situation would clearly require careful planning. She would not underestimate him again.
Dedicated soldiers are the most lethal, she reminded herself.
She looked around the throne room before extinguishing all the lamps at once with a thought.
ZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutara
Author's Note: Below is the original author's note as this chapter has been edited. Few changes have been made though. In one of my favorite English classes of undergrad ever, our teacher let us choose between a 7 page final research or writing 10 pg+ alternate ending or continuation or scene from one of the novels we read. I chose Gone Girl, and I wrote a piece from the mind of Amy pregnant with the couple's first child. If I'm being honest, it scared me a bit how easy it was for me to write a literal psychopath. Even my professor was impressed my how on point my inner monologue was lmao. I feel the same way about Azula, it was way too easy for me to think like Azula would when writing the dialogue. Antyway, hope you enjoy. The next chapter will bless you with some Zutara ;)