Ty Lee is standing on her head with her back against her bedroom wall when guards pound on the door. She nimbly transitions to an upright posture and walks to open the door before they break it down.
"Lady Mai would like to see you," the burliest one says. Ty Lee finds herself gazing at his muscles for a little too long. It makes her feel a strong sense of shame. Ty Lee tells herself it is because she wants to only have eyes for Zuko, but she knows that ship sailed the moment Azula clawed her way out of the mass grave.
It seems so long ago. Ty Lee cannot remember how much time had passed, but it must have been an eternity. The world before the rise of the Dragon Queen does not exist anymore. In fact, it feels like it never did in the first place.
"Okay," chirps Ty Lee. "Just let me get dressed."
She walks back into her room and one of the guards closes the door. Ty Lee frowns at first, but then quietly giggles. It would have been really funny to get undressed. She does not know why; she should not find the idea so hysterical.
Ty Lee dons her clothes and follows the guards to a large room with a beautiful fountain and several mirrors. Several women are at work, and Mai looks like she wants to die. Ty Lee smiles; she missed seeing Mai bored. Bored and in the palace and everything they were supposed to be.
A spirit screeches outside. Maybe not everything, Ty Lee corrects.
"I need you to pick out this stupid wedding stuff," Mai explains, studying her fingernails. She finds them about as remarkable as anything else in the world. "I have no interest in selecting fabrics and flowers."
"I'm so excited!" Ty Lee nearly jumps for joy. She dives into the crowd and gets to work setting up a dream wedding. She stops to examine the flowers first, and looks up at Mai. "Do you want the wedding I planned for you and Zuko or the one I planned for me and Azula?"
"Neither?" Mai sighs. "Oh, I don't care. Surprise me."
Ty Lee decides on the one she had planned for herself. It is much more fitting for the Dragon Queen. It was plotted in great detail to revolve around her, after all.
###
An hour into the affair Mai calls grim and Ty Lee calls exciting, Mai says to Ty Lee, "You could've escaped. You've had a lot of opportunities."
"I'm sure I'd get caught," Ty Lee brightly replies, rubbing her hand on a sample of dress fabric and trying not to look Mai in the eyes. She does not want to have this discussion, but she does not say no to friends either.
"Maybe." Mai finally catches Ty Lee's gaze. "I just figured, since you're clearly having second thoughts, you'd want to stop playing prisoner and run off."
Ty Lee sets down the fabric and forgets the commotion in the room. All she sees is Mai on that gilded chair, and all she hears is the throbbing of blood rushing to her head. "What?"
"Second thoughts about killing her," says Mai. She speaks as if she were discussing the weather, not the assassination of the most powerful person in the world.
"Why would I kill her?" Ty Lee asks nervously, teetering on her feet without noticing.
"Because she's the Dragon Queen and mad with power, and because I'm sure Zuko had to tell you to come here—or at least someone did—because you never could think for yourself." Mai says that and another thought occurs to her. "Maybe that's why you haven't escaped. You needed someone to tell you to."
"What?" Ty Lee repeats, lacking any other words to turn to.
"You don't have to act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm sure she knows. If I didn't value my life, I'd ask her why she hasn't killed you yet. She'd do it first." Mai scratches her cheek and continues treating the topic with a dreadful apathy.
"I don't know…" Ty Lee takes a breath. She looks away. "I don't know how to answer any of this. I just don't."
"Alright then," says Mai.
Ty Lee flashes a big smile at her and gets back to her work.
###
That evening, after servants bring Ty Lee her dinner, she executes her escape. She knew there was a way out all along, but she never had the guts to use it. Ty Lee unlatches the window, swings from the sill and lands on the nearby balcony.
She pulls a pin from her braid and picks the lock, sidling inside without making a sound. Then, Ty Lee walks to where she knows she will find the Dragon Queen: up a long, long flight of stairs at Ryzu's roost.
Lo and behold, Ty Lee finds Azula kneeling beside her son, stroking his scales and talking softly to him. Ty Lee's stomach lurches and she changes her mind about coming here. Azula has not seen her, and so she spins to hastily exit.
She was clearly wrong, because Azula says, "You went out of your way to come up here. You cannot simply turn back now."
Ty Lee turns, her head hung in a childish shame she had forgotten with age. Azula smirks at her and Ryzu sighs smoke.
"I just wanted to ask you why you haven't killed me yet," Ty Lee says, trying her best to be brave. It is difficult, however, when she feels so overwhelmingly afraid.
"I want to play with you for a while," Azula answers, her smirk twisting further. "Is that so bad? It might be unlike the me you fantasize about, but it is the me you betrayed at the Boiling Rock and left in imprisoned in a tower without a single visit."
"You're you, and I love you, of course," Ty Lee replies, managing to smile.
"I find it funny that you escaped and ran all the way up here. It is like escaping a wolf den by running into the maw of a tiger-zebra. My test, I see, yielded surprising results," coolly says Azula.
"Test?"
"Ty Lee, I know you, and I know you could very easily get from that window to that balcony. A less curious person would have welded it shut," Azula says. She rests her hand on Ryzu for a moment and then stands.
"Did you trust me?" Ty Lee hopefully asks.
"The opposite. I wanted to test your dedication," says Azula. "At first, it was your dedication to killing me, but you seem to have lost interest in that. I have no idea why you want to be here. Your love for me could not be that powerful. What is it you are seeking in my city? In my palace?"
Ty Lee's heart begs her to whisper, "You."
Her lips disagree, and she loudly says, "To find a way to stop the spirits and dragons."
If Azula does not believe her, she does not comment.
"Then our interests do not align. Unfortunate, but to be expected," says Azula.
"I wish they did, your highness," demurely says Ty Lee, batting her eyelashes for good measure.
Azula sets a hand on Ryzu. She stands and walks to Ty Lee.
"Knock me off of the tower," she says, making the acrobat's eyes bulge. "Go ahead."
"R-Ryzu would eat me," Ty Lee complains.
"I am the way to stop the spirits and the dragons," says Azula. "I am their voice and hand in this world. Without me, without my natural born talents with dragons, they would be far easier to defeat. So, knock me off of the tower."
Azula weaves backwards and stands over the edge. She faces Ty Lee, a wicked gleam in her golden eyes. It makes Ty Lee fall for her again, which is sickening.
"Would you drag me down with you?" Ty Lee whispers, willing her hands to stop shaking to no avail. She sees Azula's eyes flit to them, witnesses Azula sizing her up.
###
"I wish I could see a dragon," Ty Lee languidly remarks. She lies on the beach with Azula. They are not naked, but their clothes are half discarded, and they are coated with a thin layer of sand. Ty Lee feels it matting her hair but cannot think about her beauty while looking at someone so beautiful. "I really love them."
Azula turns over, her elbow resting beside Ty Lee's ribcage, her sandy raven locks tickling Ty Lee's face and neck as they danced on the breath of the sea breeze.
"I am a dragon," Azula confidently states. Ty Lee stares up at her.
"Well, then the paintings of them don't do them any justice. They are so much more beautiful than I thought they were," Ty Lee says softly. It is not the flirting she indulged in, the kind she claimed to be qualified enough to teach last night.
Azula laughs that wicked laugh. Ty Lee does not know if she should be scared or thrilled. She supposes she is a little of both.
"Well, if I ever find a dragon, I promise to let you meet him," Azula says.
Ty Lee grins. "I'd like that a lot."
She knows Azula tells lies like that, but they are such gorgeous, tempting falsehoods that she falls fast when she hears them.
Azula might be bad at flirting, but she is very good at using people.
###
"Yes," Azula says, the smoky wind picking up, causing her hair to billow. She looks both terrifying and grand; Ty Lee could not look away if she tried. "But you risked death in order to bring them down. So, risk it again."
Ty Lee tries to come up with another reason, but cannot.
She walks forward. Ryzu bares his teeth and growls, giving Ty Lee gooseflesh.
"I think I'd want to be dragged down with you," Ty Lee says, her voice barely audible over the bleak, loud city below them. "It wouldn't be a bad way to die."
Azula slowly shakes her head. "I am never going back to you. You had more than one chance to be with me, and now I am with Mai. She is having my child and we will be wed in five days. There is nothing you can do."
"Mai's the same as me. We're your dolls. We always were," Ty Lee hoarsely says. The smoke and fear take a toll on her; she struggles to breathe now.
"Yes, you are, and it may not seem like it right now, but I love all of my dolls." Azula returns to Ryzu's side. Ty Lee stands still. "Would you jump if I asked you to?"
Ty Lee replies instantly, "No."
"The only way you could ever regain my affection is by answering yes." Azula runs her hand over Ryzu's wing. "Such a shame. Maybe I just love Mai more than I love you."
"I'm sure you do," Ty Lee says quietly. "You don't love anybody, so…"
"I love my son," Azula fiercely retorts, a passion behind her words Ty Lee has never heard. "And I love my empire. That is enough for me. He speaks. Would you like to feel?"
Ty Lee strides over and kneels a healthy distance away from the Dragon Queen. Ryzu has attacked her more than once, and so she also is wary of him.
Azula reaches out and takes Ty Lee's hand. The former Fire Lady's heart begins to race, a rush hitting her veins that feels like liquefied lightning. Dragon Queen Azula sets Ty Lee's hand down on Ryzu.
Ty Lee does not know what she should be listening for until she feels it. Or sees it. No, just feels it. There is nothing to be heard or seen; she just knows. It is a method of communication Ty Lee thinks humans would benefit from.
"What did he say?" Azula asks softly.
In a frightened, hollow whisper, Ty Lee honestly replies, "That I don't deserve your love, and that he would never have me as his other mother." Ty Lee stands up and walks towards the door.
Azula watches her leave.
She does not bother calling for guards or escorting her prisoner; Ty Lee will never leave this palace. Azula knows that for certain.
###
Ty Lee lies in bed the night before Azula will wed someone other than her. It is the worst feeling in the entire world. To know that the woman you love soon will belong to another—or another will soon belong to her—is purely soul-crushing.
She lies awake, tossing and turning. No position can be comfortable when her soul aches and her heart feels heavy in her chest. Ty Lee does not think she has ever been so sad. No, the only other time she has been so heartbroken is when Azula never came home.
Now she is to blame for things she did in her grief.
It was probably wrong to fall for someone's brother while in mourning, but Azula was not alive then. Everyone thought she was dead.
Ty Lee gets up and out of bed. She sits beneath the window and lets the tears fall freely.
Her sobbing gets louder and louder until someone bangs on the door. She rises and opens it. A guard. Huh. He steps inside and shuts the door behind him.
"I can kill you with one punch."
"Why are you crying?" asks someone she knows. "Are you hurt? Did she hurt you?"
Ty Lee throws her arms around him and sobs into his strong shoulder.
Even though it scares her, she whispers his name. "Zuko. Zuko, she's getting married tomorrow. She's getting married tomorrow."
"Then I guess that makes you two even," softly says Zuko. "I want you so bad. I want you so bad, please."
"But tell me how and why you're here," Ty Lee pleads, tears twinkling in her tawny eyes.
"You took a long time. I pulled a favor with some guys who were still loyal to me and not her. They hooked me up with fake papers and a couple uniforms. I was worried about you. I came here for you." Zuko kisses her. "I would do anything for you."
Ty Lee gnaws at her lower lip. She would do anything for Azula, not him. Ty Lee cannot be a heartbreaker; she was not made that way.
"I feel the same way about you," Ty Lee whispers in his ear. She embraces him and sucks in his warmth for as long as she can.
Finally, she releases him when someone bangs on the door. Zuko quickly returns his helmet to his head and stands. He rushes to the window and opens it, then slides it closed as Azula walks inside. Ty Lee's heart begins to race wildly. If Azula catches her brother, she surely will kill him.
Ty Lee says, "You can leave now. The window is good."
Zuko silently nods and exits the room. Ty Lee admires his smooth motions and nonchalance during such a scary situation.
As he begins to shut the door, Azula addresses him, making Ty Lee's heart stop. "Stand guard with whoever is out there. I want to be alone and undisturbed. It is the night before my wedding."
Zuko nods and gets out as fast as possible.
Ty Lee gazes at Azula as they wait for the door to lock and the guards to fall silent.
"We're going to have sex," says Azula very bluntly, unlike her usual riddles. "I want to do this before I wed. With you, that is. I am not certain what will happen to me and Mai after seeing you and Zuko back before I was in power. I want to be with you while I can."
Ty Lee swoons over the command. She does love being ordered around and Zuko never does that. Ty Lee eagerly leans in to her love and kisses her neck. Azula shivers.
Neither woman has any reservations about doing this.
###
Azula leaves immediately afterwards. Ty Lee understands; she has a wedding tomorrow.
However, that gives Zuko ample opportunity to walk in. Ty Lee barely has a few moments to put on a robe before he enters. Softly, he shuts the door behind him, then he walks up to her and looks straight into her eyes.
Ty Lee cannot look away despite the shame she feels.
"You slept with her," states Zuko, no emotion in his voice. That frightens Ty Lee.
"I'm trying to win her over. Don't you see? This is more complicated than Azula on a power-trip. The spirits are controlling her. She's a mouthpiece for them, and we have to stop this at the source. It'll take a lot more than just stabbing Azula in the neck to save the world," Ty Lee whispers, wrapping her arms around him. She tenderly kisses him and ignores the lack of heat. Azula lit her on fire, Zuko barely creates a spark.
"Do you love her?" asks Zuko. Ty Lee averts his eyes. That is the only answer he needs. "I never thought about her returning from the dead, but if I did, I always would've known that you'd go back to her. I was just the closest thing to her you've had."
"I've—Zuko—I've had feelings for her since I was a little girl who felt electricity when she pulled on my braid in class. I have loved her for as long as I can remember, and I broke her. I broke her and I need to atone." Ty Lee breathes in and Zuko watches her lips and the glow of her cheeks. She lights up brighter than the sun when she speaks about Azula. "But I love you too. I love you a lot. And I think she and Mai love each other. It might not be the same way, but I believe that there's more than one perfect person for everybody out there. Maybe Mai is her other perfect person and you're mine. We can accept that."
Ty Lee kisses Zuko's cheek. Hesitantly, she kisses his scar. He never has allowed it; her lips on his biggest insecurity never flew in their relationship. But right now, it signifies the trust between them. They must trust each other to destroy the dark spirits and save the world.
"Have you seen Ryzu?" asks Zuko.
Ty Lee bitterly recalls his most recent words to her and the times he bit or scratched her. She brushes that sadness aside and tries to keep her energy positive. They need that now.
"I've seen worse. Mai is…" Ty Lee does not know if pregnant is the right word, but it is all she thinks up. "Mai is pregnant with another one. Another dragon. That's why they're getting married."
Zuko's face says a thousand words. He fears for Mai more than he feared for Ty Lee.
Maybe it will work out right. Maybe the two couples will return in all their glory, save the world and go make a bonfire on Ember Island.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
The sun begins to rise.