A/N: Kinda ran out of time this week so my deepest apologies for the meager length of this chapter, I'm working hard on getting caught up! Meanwhile, meet Azula… *evil cackle*

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Azula scowled. Here she was in the middle of nowhere chasing old fools and ghosts; how Ty Lee would laugh at her. Her scowl deepened as the komodo rhino she rode stumbled on the rough terrain.

If that traitor WAS still alive, she planned to make him he'd died! Still, there was a certain amount of pleasure to be had in playing with his trusting little mind. In some ways she hoped he had survived, because she was now the official heir to the throne of the Fire Lord and she would greatly enjoy removing her competition from this world.

Fire Lord… The title burned in her mind like an inferno. More than anything, she coveted that title! It would be hers, oh yes, and no one, NO ONE, especially not her pathetic older brother, would stop her for achieving that goal! It should always have been her, he didn't deserve to rule!

Once and for all she would finish off any who dared stand in her way, that old fool Iroh, Zuzu, it didn't matter. It would all be hers!

The komodo rhino had the misfortune to stumble once again and she let out a frustrated growl, releasing a jet of fire across the shoulder and neck of her mount. It grunted and attempted to whip around and gouge her with its great nose horn, but Azula was much faster and smarter than the massive animal and she gouged its sides with her heels and pulled her legs up, turning the animal's head tightly in the direction it had already tried to turn and forcing it into a tight spin. The already exhausted creature came to a halt quickly, frothing at the mouth and panting hard with exertion.

"That'll teach you to act up with me!" Azula crowed, and then urged the animal forward once again, this time straight ahead. The defeated komodo rhino simply lowered its massively horned head and trudged on to catch up with the rest of the mounted unit that had turned to wait for their Princess to bring her beast into submission. A few of them feeling a little sorry for the poor dumb animal, but none of them would ever have dared to speak of it.

It was past the midnight hour when the lieutenant in charge of the unit of fire nation soldiers that traveled with her finally found the courage to speak out. They had been riding since sunrise today, and for several days before that, and he reminded the Princess that their komodo rhinos would eventually collapse if they did not rest, and then they would be on foot. The battle-hardened firebender nearly quaked in his saddle when the diminutive form of the heir to the throne suddenly appeared before him on his own mount, having vaulted out of her saddle to land in front of him.

Azula grabbed the huge man by his uniform pulling him partially out of his saddle with inhuman strength for a 14 year old girl and planted a knee in his groin while shoving her face in front of his. The man's knees came up and his body involuntarily tried to curl around the immense, nauseating, breath-stealing pain.

"If I want your opinion, you useless waste of space, I'll ASK for it!" She spat at him, releasing him to thump hard back into his saddle, jarring his injury, and making him gasp aloud, finally able to hunch over his lower body. A tremor of fear ran down his spine and a loathing born of pure hatred burned in his heart as he struggled to swallow the pain and stay seated on his komodo rhino. Slowly he straightened himself up and fought the bile rising in his throat. If this cruel and unhinged girl was going to be their next Fire Lord, the country, no, the world; was doomed.

Protocol dictated his apology, so, swallowing his pride he apologized to his Princess and tried to keep the disgust from his face. Suddenly, Azula laughed. She hopped back over to her own mount that had been kept for her by a soldier who'd grabbed the reins as she'd jumped, and plopped into the saddle with a sideways grin that was anything but happy.

"You should save that hatred for the traitors, lieutenant; my humor has its limits you know!" she said in a sing-song voice that suddenly turned hard. "If you value your head, oh, and anything below it that is!" she spat the words through gritted teeth and that sideways grin that was somehow easy to see, even in the darkness. Every single soldier in the unit felt a twinge of fear. They hoped they'd survive this detail, and it had nothing to do with who they were possibly chasing, but everything to do with the person who led the chase.

"Find a place to make camp! Make it quick, no fire!" She ordered and settled into the saddle to wait. A scout was sent to find the best spot to make camp and the Princess passed the time imagining what she would do to dear Zuzu once, ok if, she found him.

Before dawn, fear of Azula had the men awake and breaking up camp after, once again, only a couple hours of sleep. She was pushing everyone hard, yet she, herself, acted as if the grueling pace had no effect on her. Sometimes the soldiers wondered if she was even human.

They were moving by sunrise and as she had before, the Princess ordered two scouts to search for tracks, clues, any sign of the fugitives. Halfway through the day, one of the scouts came back early, his mount moving at a very fast pace. Azula felt her heart quicken ever so slightly. Had the scout found their trail? Her hands tightened on the reins in anticipation. Zuzu, or at least, that useless old man needed to feel her wrath; she itched for it.

"Report!" barked the lieutenant when the scout finally reached them. Azula leaned forward in anticipation. This was it!

"Sir!" The soldier replied. "I found some strange areas of ground where the earth seems to have been wetted, and dried, but does not match the ground around it. I have found two areas such as this; the last further East than the first. I believe whomever it is we've caught the trail of is attempting to hide their camps." He cleared his throat "It appears that he/they are on foot and we are perhaps a day's ride behind them if they continue to move in an Easterly direction."

"YES!" Azula burst out in a growl of triumph "Zuzu, you're almost mine!" She turned her cold gaze to the lieutenant. "We move faster, keep them scouting."

"Understood, Princess Azula" the man she'd demoralized less than 24 hours previously barked, and ordered his men to do just that.

By the middle of the next day the fire nation scouts had learned what to look for and they were now following directly the trail they had found. That night found them making camp late once again, and the blue fire wielder began to get a feeling; the feeling they were close. She commanded the lieutenant to have his men scout once again, and not an hour later the scout burst back into camp gasping for breath! Azula's cold heart jumped in her chest; this was it! He found them, he had to! She was so close! Unable to wait for the scout to give his report to the lieutenant she flew out of her tent and demanded he speak.

"Aah ah, your highness.." he stammered "I found the traitors! I'm sure of it!" There is a campfire with three figures sitting around it, one is large and fat, and the other two are shorter and slim. It's just slightly Northeast of our location, maybe 20 minutes on foot!"

The heir to the throne of the Fire Lord felt a quivering inside. Suddenly she was nearly shaking; it had come, at last! She almost had him! Azula threw her head back and burst out laughing. "Nothing, NOTHING will stand in my way now!" she muttered and grinned that same, maniacal grin as she had before. "They're MINE!" she growled.

The lieutenant spoke almost hesitantly "Princess, shall we attack now, or wait until dawn? The scout reported three…" He allowed his voice to trail off as her head whipped around to meet his gaze. Still smirking, she ordered them to wait. "Send the scout back out just before dawn to confirm our targets. He will NOT engage them, recon only. Once he has confirmed their identities he is to return immediately. If it is my traitor brother and that old fool, no matter who they have with them we will mobilize and attack!" Her smirk deepened. "Clearly they think they've fooled us with whatever tricks they're using to cover their tracks. They won't be expecting us."

The orders were given an Azula stalked back into her tent, attempting to control her excitement. She was just..so…close! It felt as if she might explode if she didn't have Zuzu's ugly scarred face to burn another scar into right at that moment. The agitated princess stomped back out of the tent and moved some paces away from the camp and began to move through firebending stances.

As she moved through the stances that were as familiar to her as breathing, her excitement calmed and her mind settled. The throne of the Fire Lord would be hers, the traitors would be dealt with, and she would finally be number one. Everything was going exactly according to plan.

A/N: I'm sorry (sorta) for the cliffhanger (again!)! Hope you all liked getting to see what Azula's up to! We'll be back with our heroes (and their imminent DOOOM [maybe]) in the next chapter! Thanks for reading, if you like, please review, pretty please? :)