Azula bolted upright, gasping for air. Her eyes opened to see nothing but light. It was too bright. As she caught her breath she squinted, trying to make out anything. She began to see shadows, seeming to come closer to her, crowding her. Her heart began to increase as she tried desperately to escape into her fog. Only, it wasn't there. She backed up into something that caught her arms, trapping her. The shadows were closing in on her, only they weren't shadows. They were changing, morphing into shapes. Shapes more intricate, people. Her friends.
Azula felt her body relax and she stopped fighting the arms that held her from behind. She shook her head to rid the current dizziness and slowly stood up.
As she paced her weight on her feet, she understood just how tired she was. Her legs felt wobbly, and she thanked Agni for the supporting hands that held her. If not for them she surely would have fallen over. However, as always, she pushed through. Soon she was able to make her way to the couch of the bedroom where her friends were sitting. As she sat down, so did Ty Lee, making sure she was still supporting her friend. When Azula realized the hands had been Ty Lee's she felt a pant of something, something she didn't like. Guilt. She slowly moved herself away from her friend, trying to make it go unnoticed. But, Ty Lee noticed and hung her head, wondering why her friend would be so repulsed by her.
Azula tried to shake away the feeling, and found her gaze shifting around the room. The only other people in here besides herself where the water bender, and Ty Lee. But, that didn't last for long. Soon the door swung open and Mai led the group of people into the room. Behind her was the monk, staring at her with confusion and perhaps some pity.
Aang looked at the tired disheveled girl that sat before him. He remembered how she had acted when Sokka was stabbed. How kind and focused she was on healing him. This couldn't be the same girl Roku had told him of. Sure, the past avatar had said she was good but, he never imagined a child of Ozia to be a good person. He hadn't heard of the princess before the avatar told him, so he decided he didn't have any right to judge. But, when she had taken down Zhao, he had seen such anger in her. So, perhaps she wasn't all that untouched by her growing up.
Behind him was Sokka, staring at the girl with a level of distrust. She may have been the avatar, but she was also a fire nation. This made him weary of her. If he knew the whole truth as to who she was, he would never trust her. That's why Aang kept it a secret. He didn't want the girl to be held down by her past when obviously she was trying to do better.
Walking in through the door not caring whatsoever was Toph. She didn't give a crap that this girl was firrnation, all she cared about was that she was badass. And like two avatars, thank you universe. So no, she didn't mind the girl's heritage. Even if she knew the truth she wouldn't have cared.
Once everyone had filed into the room, Azula's growing anxiety settled down. She had come to the conclusion that she would need to tell them the truth. The whole truth. The horrible reality she was forced to live every day of her life.
"There is something you should know," she started as she sighed slightly.
"We already know," Sokka said in his usual distrusting voice.
Her eyes widened, they knew? What did they know? This was bad, it was bad because it hadn't come from her. Who had it come from. How exactly did they know?!
Seeing the look of shock and fear on her face confirmed what the avatars had told him. She was indeed the fire nation princess. However, he decided that until she proved herself unworthy of their trust there was no reason not to trust her. "The past avatars told me everything," Aang started seeing the shock on her face. It was more than shock, it was fear of being cast out. Seeing the look on her face made Aang feel something. For, he recognized the feeling she had. It was the same feeling he had when he was in the south. The fear and shame that kept him from telling them he was the avatar. Only for her she wasn't ashamed of vanishing as he did, she was ashamed of the atrocities committed by her nation and family. But, it was the same feeling. And, knowing how she felt, the young avatar realized that they truly were not that different. "So I told them everything they needed to know." He made sure to put extra meaning behind his words so she would know he knew the truth. However, he didn't feel his little Gaang needed to know. He wasn't into keeping secrets, but this was not his to share.
Azula caught on instantly to what the avatar was saying and sighed with relief. She knew this meant a long talk with Aang, but at least it wasn't with everyone. She smiled at him, telling him she knew and was grateful. "That makes things easier for me then, but they probably missed a piece of information." She said. She noticed the look of confusion on everyone's face, and decided best not to build up to it like she normally did. (okay maybe she had a flare for the dramatic). "There is a solar eclipse coming up, and on it firebenders will not have they're bending."
Everyone stared wide eyed at her. A solar eclipse, when? Why was she telling them this? What had she in mind? However, Sokka was the first to speak up. "Why are you telling us this, aren't you fire nation?" He almost spat the last part, making clear his revulsion for her. Everyone noticed this and glared at him. Really? She had just defeated Zhao and he still didn't trust her. Not to mention she was the avatar. Katara sighed and brought her hand to her forehead. However, Azula's expression didn't change.
"You're right, Sokka, I am fire nation." her voice was calm and controlled, sending ice through her target. "I'm telling you this because I care about my nation. What Ozia is doing is wrong, but not everyone agrees with it. Everyone follows him out of fear, fear of what would happen were we to lose the war. So, when we go in on the day of black son, you kill Ozia, and I take care of the rest. I am in no way saying we defeat the fire nation, because we don't have to. All we have to do is defeat the fire lord."
Everyone shivered at the callousness in her voice. Though they didn't necessarily understand, it was hard to disagree with her, or at least voice their disagreement. She was intimidating, that was for sure. However, Toph wasn't a part of everyone. "Hate to say the spice queen, but someone will just take the throne with him gone. I've heard his heir is his daughter, and she's almost worse than him. Do we really want a total basket case on the throne again?"
Azula tried her best not to be offended by her statement. She was in no way close to the level of evil her father was on. "Trust me, the princess won't be a problem. It was said she disappeared months ago, so we needn't worry ourselves with her."
Toph nodded, Safire wasn't lying. And, that made their job all that easier. All they had to do was kill one fire nation bastard instead of defeating the whole fire nation. The only thing she didn't understand was why Safire hated Ozia so much. She understood that the girl was the avatar and as such meant to restore balance to the world, but something else fueled this as well, something Toph could feel from the girl's heartbeat. Revenge. She wanted Ozia to not only die but suffer, suffer knowing that he had failed. That he had not won his precious war. And for a man like Ozia, not winning was losing. Toph gained a new understanding and respect for Safire. She was strong, willing to do what must be done for the world while also protecting her people. And, she was getting revenge in the process. "If you say so spice queen."
After talking over the plan and deciding on what to do, they all came to the same conclusion. They would need the help of the earthlings army if they were to plan an invasion. Sokka, who Azula hated to say was a brilliant strategist, came up with the idea of sneaking into one of the earth kings' parties. They had asked for an audience with the earthling before in regards to finding their lost bison, and they had been denied. So, this happened to be the only way. There was a party three days from now that they could infiltrate under false identities and finally get an audience. After the plan was thoroughly worked through, everyone left the room. Well, almost everyone, both Aang and Katara stayed.
Aang looked to Katara and then back to Azula. "Hey katara, do you mind giving us some space, you know, to discuss avatar things." Katara looked to Azula who nodded in confirmation before getting up from the couch and exciting the room. The door closed with a loud thud, that seemed to dissipate into the thick silence of the room. When Azula began to feel as if she could no longer take it, Aang began to speak.
"The avatars told me everything, Azula." Aang said, making sure to use her name. The girl winced at the sound of her name, perhaps because she hadn't heard it in so long. Aang noticed this and sighed, he hadn't meant to upset her. He thought using her name would tell her that he truly did know. He shook his head, it didn't matter. "They told me you're the daughter of Ozia, crowned princess of your nation. They told me since your brother's banishment that you have been your fathers right hand. They told me you destroyed countless earth kingdom villages and killed countless soldiers." He paused, seeing the shame wash over her face. It was almost unnoticeable, but somehow he noticed. He paused, taking a breath and figuring what he needed to say. "But they also told me you suffered. They told me you suffered the most by the hands of your father. They told me you're trying to do better. And, seeing where you are now, I believe that to be true." He saw her release the breath she had been holding.
Azula felt relief wash over her with his words. He believed she was good, something not even she herself believed. It gave her a feeling that she hadn't felt before. It wasn't pride, for she was very prideful. No, it was honor, she felt honorable. "Thank you, Avatar Aang," she bowed her head slightly to him. Though he was younger than her, Azula held great respect for him. Afterall, not only was he the avatar (as was she) he was also the last airbender. "I'm sorry that the avatars left you," she said sorrowfully. She truly was. She knew what it was like to be abandoned. First by her mother and then her uncle. All for stupid Zuzu.
"The way I see it, they did what needed to be done for hope to survive. They never would have known if I was ever getting out of the iceberg. Plus, two avatars, we got the advantage." he said smiling brightly. Azula agreed with him, it was great to have another avatar, someone who not only understood the pressure she was under but would help her defeat her father. "And, we can teach each other what we know." he paused, "how many elements have you mastered?"
Honestly, Azula didn't know how to answer that, the only element she had truly mastered was fire. And, perhaps water she could claim mastery over, but there was still much she had to learn. "Water and fire, I learned air from Ty Lee's grandmother's scrolls but haven't mastered it because I haven't had an actual teacher. And, I can't even bend earth, so there's that." she said, swallowing her pride. She hated admitting just how weak she was as an avatar.
"It's fine, I can teach you to master air and Toph can start you on earth. Plus then you can teach me fire," he smiled brightly. He was right, this whole having two of them would work in their favor. Azula nodded, smiling back.
"And, there is a water technique I could teach you. It's unorthodox but great for healing." she said recalling blood bending. She saw Aang nod excitedly. "Okay, we start tomorrow mourning, and I should warn you, firebenders rise with the sun."
Only, when Azula woke the next morning it was far before the sun. She woke up from a dream, gasping for air. It wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. No, it was a memory. She slowly got up from the bed in her room and made her way to the full length mirror. She stood in front of it, staring at her reflection. Slowly, she lifted her nightgown up, revealing her upper thighs. Only, they couldn't be hers. For, there were no scares. No scars to remind her of her hatred for her father. No scars to remind her that her pain was real. She lifted to nightgown up more, revealing her stomach. The cool milk colored skin stretched over her toned muscles, but, no scars. She brushed her fingers on the skin, feeling the smooth texter. It was strange, you couldn't see any traces of the scars she had. She was so immersed in thought that she didn't notice when the door opened, revealing a certain waterbender.
"I healed that for you, thought you may not want anyone asking about those scars." Katara said as she approached the firebender. She knew Safire would notice sooner or later, it was just a matter of time.
"How? Scars don't heal," Azula said as she stared at her flawless reflection. She dropped her gown back over her hips, turning to face the waterbender that was staring at her sadly.
"Your right, they don't." She said as she plopped down on Azula's bed. "I just healed the physical ones, but they won't be truly healed until you talk about it." katara motioned for Azula to sit with her, and Azula complied. "I know about the nightmares, Saf, do you want to talk about it?"
Azula looked into Katara's blue eyes, flooding with compassion. Did she want to talk about it? Honestly, no. she truly didn't. But, she knew she needed to if she was ever to move past what happened. She sighed, laying her head on the girls lap. She felt so vulnerable, just as she had when her mother would console her. Something about Katara reminded her of Ursa, the good parts. Only, she was scared if she told her the truth she would leave.
Seeing Safires golden eyes stare up into her blue ones, Katara took this sign as a yes. She sighed and began running her hand through the girls hair soothingly. "Where did you get the scars?" she asked as her voice cracked a little.
She knew what the scares meant and Azula could tell this. After spending years in denial about what happened to her, Azula wondered how someone hadn't noticed. Well, Ty Lee knew, but that was different. Azula looked up into the waterbenders eyes, and shook her head, a tear falling from the bed of her golden gems. "You'll leave," she said as her body began to shake. "They all do."
Katara looked down at the shaking girl in her lap. She could see tears running down her face as she sobbed quietly. The scars clearly ran much deeper than what Katara knew had happened to her. And perhaps the scars that were not visible were worse. But now it didn't matter. The scares they were discussing didn't have to do with those. "Never," Katara promised with a shaking voice.
Azula looked into Katara's eyes, seeing the promise in them. And, she believed her. So, she admitted a truth that she didn't ever speak aloud. "My father."
Azula slept like a baby the rest of the night in Katara's arms. She had never slept this well. Even when she stayed with Ty Lee, the nightmares were worse. It wasn't Ty Lee's fault, if anything it was Azula's. Azula blamed herself for the death of Ty Lee's grandmother since the women had died trying to save her. But, that's not what Ty Lee saw when she entered the room. No, what she saw was her best friend, her friend which she had been in love with for many years, laying in someone else's arms. Even though it only looked to be confort, it angered Ty Lee. She had always been there for Azula, always. For the past few days her friend had barely even talked to her, and now she walked in on this. Tears began to pour down the acrobats cheeks as she stood there. Her grip on the door handle tightened as her knuckles turned white. Seething, she closed the door and walked away from the room. Fine, Azula could be like that. There just so happened to be a cute tribesman that caught her eye.
It wasn't until an hour later that Azula woke up, and it certainly wasn't with the sun. it was with a loud gasp and a "I found her," by the tribesmen.
At the sound, Azula bolted upright. She instantly remembered the last night and looked down to see her friend slowly coming to consciousness. She then looked over to the door and saw a totally shocked tribesman standing in the doorway. Seeing by the look on his face, she instantly determined where his head had gone. Her eyes widened and she jumped up from the bed. The fact that she was in a thin satin nightgown made it worse and the tribesman gaped at her. "It's not what it looks like," because no one said that before.
Sokka looked from her to the drowsy form of his little sister. His baby sister. His 14 year old sister. How? What? Why? He couldn't form any coherent thoughts. So, he did the one thing any older brother would do, he rushed Azula.
Azula saw him coming and quickly pulled on the water of the flowers. However, though they moved, the water didn't remain in her grip. Her eyes widened as the young tribesmen tackled her, slamming her body to the ground. He held her down, fists trying to hit her face. Azula easily overpowered the tribesman as she had been trained in military combat. In less than a minute he was on the ground with his arm held behind his back. Any movement and Azula would be able to snap it as easily as a twig. It just so happened to be the moment Aang made his way to the scene.
"What is going on?" the monk asked, staring at Azula. She held herself on top of Sokka, holding him down. His eyes then glanced over to the bed where he saw Katara, staring wide eyed at the scene before her.
"You need to put a leash on your savage, he attacked me." Azula hissed as she released the boy under her. This gave her a pointed stare from Katara and a comment from Aang about how that was racist. To which she responded that she wasn't calling him a savage due to his race, which got her an eye roll and groan.
"I only attacked her because she screwed my baby sister!" Sokka yelled as soon as he was recovered. This earned a dry laugh from Azula and a face palm from Aang. however, Katara's eyes widened with the realisation of what this looked like.
"What? No Sokka we were just talking and fell asleep, she tried to recover quickly. Of course, she couldn't tell him what they were talking about because that was very much personal. Katara looked to Safire, trying to hide the pity she felt for the girl.
Don't pity me, it was like he told me. The pain made me strong.
How could he have told her that? It was so wrong, so perverse. To make an excuse like that was disgusting. Katara found herself holding more resent for this man than she did Ozia, she only wondered if it was common for fathers to treat their children so poorly. However Safirehad assured her it was not, that her case was special. Though Katara didn't understand what she meant, she believed her. She had to. And yes, Safiure's story caused her to pity her, but it also caused her to respect the girl. Safire was a survivor, and through all the pain she was still a good person.
Sokka looked from his sister to the scowling firebender, well that would make much more sense. He didn't even bother to apologize before leaving the room. After he left Aang sighed and Katara groaned into a pillow.
Azula just rolled her eyes and walked towards the dresser. "It's okay, my older brother's an idiot to."
Right, her older brother. Katara thought back to what Safire had told her about him. It didn't sound like he was a bad person, however it seemed some part of Azula blamed him for her fathers wrath. It would make sense, everyone good in Azula's life left her for him. But, Katara knew, no matter how angry Azula seemed at her brother, she loved him. And, he loved her. Because that's how things were.
Azula dug through her drawers until she found it, a set of firebending armbands. She tossed them to Aang, telling him she would meet him in the backyard after she had gotten ready. He gave her a strange look asking her what they were and she explained that they helped regulate the chi. For non-practiced and powerful firebenders it was hard for them to control their inner flame. These helped by limiting the amount of chi flow to the hands. The ones she had given him had been hers but she only wore them for looks. Plus, they would fit him anyway as he was very petite. After both him and Katara left her room, Azula began to get ready for her day.
The first thing she did was take a warm shower, washing her newly smooth skin. It was strange not having any showable scars. It made her feel new. As if she had just exfoliated and all the dead skin was gone. She no longer needed the scars on her skin. For, she had them on her heart. After she finished showing she tried waterbending the water from her skin. However, as before, she found her connection to the element was severed. This worried her deeply and she decided she would talk to Katara about it later. But, this made the process of drying all that harder. Luckily for her she was also a firebender and quickly raised her body temperature. Once the water had dissipated into the air, she walked into her bedroom. She crossed over to her bed and reached under it for her case. There, she found her amor. She only took the under armor, a tight black leather halter suit, and changed into this. Once she was done with that she tied her hair in it's typical topknot, and left for the backyard.
When she got there she found Aang already there, seated on a rock and meditating in the sun. He seemed to notice her present as he looked up as soon as she was in his close vicinity. He smiled brightly at her and jumped up, ready and excited to learn. Azula smiled wickedly, she had never gotten to be a teacher before.
Aang saw her malicious smile and instantly cringed, he was in for it.
Four hours later Aang was on the ground, sweating in the heat. It was oficial, she was crazy. First she had asked him to put on cuffs to dampen his power, and then she had asked him to create a flame. Easy enough, right? Wrong, she literally gave him no instruction how to even create the flame, and got angry when he couldn't do it. Then she shot fire at him, which was blue. Aang had managed to dodge it but she just kept coming. Until finally he was stuck and had to bend the fire to escape. After that she gave him a thirty minute break, and when he came back told him they were going hiking. Being in ba sing se, he thought there was no place to go hiking. Only he was wrong. She had taken him through the catacombs under the city to a lava deposit. Apparently she learned that Ba Sing Se used to be a volcano or something which was why the city was shaped like many fire nation ones. And, she had him suffer. He was stuck in the heat until he managed to create a flame. After an hour he finally did and now they were here, him laying panting on the ground exhausted.
"You know my first time creating a flame was when I was a year old in my sleep." she said staring at the boy under her. Honestly it amused her just how much trouble he had creating fire, however, after putting him through those tasks she understood why. "You're scared of it, that's your problem."
"Of course I'm scared," he said exasperated, "fire is dangerous, it consumes, it destroys it--"
"It's life Aang. Just like life it can be dangerous, cruel. But it also gives. My people burn the crops at the end of the summer so that new ones may grow. Because from the ashes we rise as to the earth we fall. That is the flames way." She said to the young monk.
Aang looked at the princess with a newfound respect for her. What she was saying, it was true. Perhaps he had misjudged the fire nation, perhaps he had misjudged her.
"We are done for the day, there's this new tea shop I wanted to check out and Katara's coming back early so we all can go together," She said, turning from the monk. As she walked to her room to change, she couldn't help the genuine smile forming on her lips.
"So Safire what's with you and tea?" Toph asked her friend as they walked through the crowded streets of the upper ring. She was truly curious, the girl seemed to enjoy tea, but certain flavors seemed to trigger her.
"My uncle fatso was a tea fanatic, and he forced us to drink what he deemed the best teas. Eventually I lost my taste for them. But I do enjoy other teas." Azula said, answering the question. She would literally gag at the smell of Jasmine tea. Hopefully the place they were headed didn't just serve that, afterall it was called the jasmine dragon.
Toph understood that, being forced to constantly endure the same type of food was something she had to live with. So she could relate.
"Right, aren't all you ashmakers in love with your teas," Sokka scoffed as he brushed ahead of her to hurry into the shop. Azula rolled her eyes and looked to Mai who was shaking her head. Ty Lee however had gone ahead with the tribesmen into the shop. It puzzled Azula, lately Ty Lee had been spending a lot of time with Sokka, and even seemed to be avoiding her. However, she decided it was probably nothing and pushed it to the side as she entered the shop.
They seemed to be the only group that hadn't been seated and went to the front desk. A woman who seemed to be busy looked at them and then over her shoulder into the kitchen "Lee, we got a big one, stop sulking and help me."
The group was seated and waited there their waiter, 'lee', got done with whatever he was doing. Azula scoffed at the name Lee, she wouldn't be surprised if it was some retired fire nation general by that name.
Zuko scoffed as he finished brewing the next batch of tea. His uncle was being studpid, he should just let him use his firebending. But, no, that wasn't allowed. He grumbled under his breath as he walked out to serve the next group. However, when his eyes landed on the group he would be serving, they widened. Sitting here, in his uncle's tea shop, was the avatar. The same boy he had tried to capture countless times. And, sitting by his side, was none other than his sister. He blinked, telling himself this isn't right. How had his sister even gotten in ba sing se. Why was she at their tea shop, and why was she with the avatar. But, before he had time to even ask himself that question, his mouth opened. And against his will he spoke her name. "Azula?"
A/N: So Azulas not really feeling water anymore, I wonder why. Nah ik why lol and so will yall next chapter. Stay tuned to find out. Love yall. Also check out my story World on fire: stranded. I keep changing the name idk why but read it lol you guys will love it trust me. I have another chapter coming out this weekend. Just stick with it. As always please review and have a good one.
Ps. I finished the next chapter but will post it after I have updated my other stories bc honestly I'm just feeling the other ones rn lol.