Rise from the Ashes Chapter 9: A Renewed Purpose
The princess paced down the streets of the city. What was left of a city anyway. It could hardly be called that any longer. It was as dreary and desolate as a tomb. It had been three days since the comet had streaked across the sky. The majestic, unique beauty of the city made of ice was gone, and it was literally melting away.
It's like a wounded animal. It will be a slow death, but it is inevitable. Everyone will have to relocate further north, and this area will fade into the ocean as if it never existed.
Azula had no personal escort, she did not need one. The city was occupied with Fire Nation soldiers throughout the entire area, and no peasant could ever come close to harming her.
Azula had a very specific purpose for being out in the city, while her father and his generals occupied the palace where the chief of the tribe had lived.
She needed affirmation of her superiority.
I have always enjoyed seeing the fear and defeat in the eyes of those I have bested. Even when I was a child, the looks Zuko would have as I dominated him at every turn were amusing. Seeing the fear in the eyes of my subordinates when they know the price of displeasing me. Fear is reliable and it will brighten my mood.
Soldiers snapped to attention and bowed down to her as she passed, but she never glanced in their direction. Her attention was focused on any Water Tribe peasant she happened to see.
This attack had been done in order to secure the next Avatar and destroy the rest of the world's hope. She had said as much to her father during his war councils as she had advocated for this attack. Azula had been gleeful and excited at the prospect. It had been the time to show the world what she was really capable of. It had met her expectations for the first few minutes.
It had been easy to promote this attack from the comfort of a throne room. It had been easy to attack from high up on an airship, where her victims resembled insects more than people.
It was much harder to see the aftermath. She was not getting the improved mood that she had been looking for. Every peasant she saw now was indeed terrified of her, but it was dwarfed by a stronger emotion that could not have been more clear.
Hatred. The men, women, and children. They all hate me more than they fear me. They are devastated, but it is not absolute. They will not fully submit. The assumption that they can eventually be forced into a subordinate territory of our nation is folly. It may take years, a decade, a generation, but one day they will grow stronger and try to cast us out.
Well screw them all. Let them try and I will put them in their place once again. A part of her thought. As long as they fear me that is all that is necessary. One day I will be Fire Lord. Then they and the whole world will submit to me regardless if they are content.
They are peasants. Ozai's voice whispered in her mind. Savages. Unkempt curs. Their opinions are worthless. Their lives are disposable. You are wasting time fretting over the welfare of those that do not deserve the empathy of a princess. Of my heir.
It was a test of her resolve. Yes, that was it. A test she needed to pass to secure her future. Azula had never failed a test before. She could not weaken herself. The heir to the Fire Nation needed to be able to carry out warfare without hesitation.
I've seen how Zuko is despised by father. How my brother's weakness has ruined his future. He begged my father for mercy like a coward and paid the price for it. He will wear the shame of his weakness on his face forever. The same failure will not happen to me. These brief, uneasy reflections will be a distant memory when I take up my throne and I enforce my right to rule over the world.
This crisis in her mind was only a minor setback. One she would remedy before anyone found out. All she had to do was return to the status quo. Use her cunning and fearful reputation to get what she wanted. It had always worked in the past.
I am looking forward to returning home. Seeing Mai and Ty-Lee again will be nice, and toying with Zuko never ceases to amuse me. There I can manipulate and intimidate my father's subordinates. I will still be feared. I will be in control again.
"Princess Azula." A young soldier interrupted her thoughts. He moved into her path and bowed to her. The man wore the armor of an officer, for him to be so young he was likely the son of someone influential.
"Get out of my way." She snapped at the young man harshly and stepped around him.
"I beg your pardon Princess. I have a message from the Fire Lord. He desires your presence."
He desires? You are mixing honey in your words. My father does not make requests, he issues commands.
Internally Azula seethed in frustration. She was not in the mood to talk with her father, yet he was the only man in the world that she could not refuse a request from.
"Very well." As she turned around to double back to Ozai's temporary residence, the young man followed her.
"I have been commanded to escort you to the Fire Lord, he…"
Azula cut him off. The boy was an inconsequential messenger, but her frustration was boiling over.
"I don't care what you were told. That's not my concern." She looked the young man over and recognized him. He had occasionally been present at the capital.
"I remember you. You are Qin, the Minister of War's son." The young man reacted positively to the recognition despite Azula's tone. "I am honored that you recall..."
"I recall that your father is the fool whose drill failed to penetrate the walls of Ba Sing Se. I had to conquer the city without his support. I also recall that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Never presume to get in my way again. Your famous father does not matter, I would see your career cut short."
There it was. Azula smiled internally as she finally got the look of fear and submission that she had been looking for all morning. She had intentionally kept it vague to let the boy wonder if she meant ending his military career, or ending his life. His face lost all color and he immediately stopped tailing her. Leaving the fearful boy behind, she made her way to return to her father's side.
Ozai was with several of his generals and lackeys in one of the large rooms of the former palace, but he immediately dismissed everyone around him when he saw her arrive. She saw that the minister of war held a look of confusion and disappointment before he left.
"Azula, come walk with me." Her father beckoned her forward as she approached. The corners of his mouth curved upwards in a subtle, but smug smile. As if he knew some great secret that no one else did.
He has achieved his heart's desire. He rules the entire world now, if that did not please him then nothing would.
"I see that you ignored your escort. That poor, insipid boy must be beside himself with disappointment."
"I have no need to indulge inconsequential lackeys." Azula responded curtly.
"Was his appearance not to your liking? I can arrange superior companionship." Ozai said with a smirk.
Father is teasing me, toying with me. After all I have done, he still sees me as a child. My flames burned just as fiercely as yours father. I will far surpass you. You will simply be a page in my history book, no more.
"He was plain, and his features are irrelevant. It only matters if I can use him, and it was clear he would be of no use to anyone."
She had passed this little test with ease.
"Well said. I expect nothing less. The minister insisted his son be sent as a messenger and escort. The fool must have thought the boy would appear chivalrous towards you." The Fire Lord stroked the end of his beard as if he were in deep thought. "The boy does possess adequate bending talent, no doubt his father seeks to arrange a marriage. His son would become the second most powerful person in the world one day. Quite the benefit for their family don't you think?"
Azula sneered in revulsion. "When he does ask, tell him I would rather marry a turtle-duck."
Ozai gave a sinister sounding chuckle of amusement. For a man who hardly smiled, much less laughed it sounded quite bizarre. "Do not fear Azula, I would never marry my daughter to such filth. I have higher standards for your future."
They continued to walk down long hallways. Any passersby quickly gave them a wide berth.
"I must admit, I am surprised. I did not anticipate such difficulty in summoning you. Are you well Azula? The familiar gleam in your eyes is noticeably absent, and you do not seem to be basking in our triumph here. At the celebrations you were nowhere to be seen."
Damn it. Smile and be his good little monster. He cannot know that anything is out of place. He is not a complicated man, he can be tricked and manipulated just like all the others.
"I have been enjoying our victory in my own way father. The purpose of this attack was to extinguish this world's hope. I wanted to see these commoners and confirm if our goal was achieved. I am pleased with the result. Our enemies are broken, beaten down, and they will grovel as they should."
The lie fooled him as she had hoped it would. "Excellent. You have earned my trust Azula. Carry on with your desires and whims as you see fit. You are due an appropriate reward."
Good, that is exactly the cover I need. I can slip that waterbender into a group and send her to the servants quarters. A far better fate than the death that had awaited her.
"Thank you father. I think I will take some of these peasants home as trophies. A reminder of our victory."
Ozai shrugged indifferently. "If that is your whim then do so. Take one, take ten, take a hundred if you desire and hold a tight leash over them."
Can you really be fooled so easily father? Or do you simply not care about anything that does not directly involve you?
There was a brief silence between them as they continued walking.
"So you have seen the savages." Ozai finally said as he changed the topic. "Tell me, what sort of man should be put in charge of these beasts?"
Another easy test. He simply enjoys the sound of his voice. He would have already made his decision, so what does he get out of asking me? He knows full well the answer he will get.
"An uncompromising governor with an iron fist. One who would utilize our strength and show our new subjects that any resistance to adopting a more civilized life will be punished."
Ozai gave his daughter a full smile. "Someone like yourself?"
Azula made sure that her voice dripped with the arrogance that her father enjoyed hearing so much.
"There is no one else like me. I have more important things to do than to supervise savages on a barren wasteland."
"Agreed, it is a servant's role, it is insufficient for your talents, and I have found the servant that I wish to test. It is as you said, it will take a forceful approach. Wish your brother well on his new task."
Zuko is being set up to fail. "Zuko? Zuko does not have a forceful bone in his entire body."
Ozai sneered. "Precisely. He will undergo a trial with the highest of stakes. He is useless to me in his current state. However, killing the Avatar has earned the boy a second chance. He will either prove to me that he can be of use, or he will fail and be forgotten."
Zuko is going to get himself killed. He has no idea how to oversee an occupation, and that soft heart of his would be his undoing.
It's not my problem. She told herself. I cannot be around to babysit him. I laughed when I thought Grandfather would kill Zuko, why would this be any different?
So why was she feeling different now?
"Have you found some affection for your brother, Azula?"
"No, he is nothing to me, he never was."
"His mother made sure of that with her incessant coddling of him. Just like you, I felt nothing for my sibling even as a child. Despite his accolades as a general, I saw Iroh for the fool that he was."
The mention of her mother brought back memories of the voice in her head during the attack. Azula...Azula I love you.
She quickly looked to change the subject and banish those thoughts from her mind. "Where are we going, father? Do you wish to show me something?"
"The future, Azula. I am going to show you our future. Your future."
The interior of the palace had been silent during their walk, but now there was a noise in the distance that was getting louder and louder. As they approached Azula could finally pick out what it was.
So that is where he is gathering them.
They entered a room with over two hundred crying children.
This is my future? Surely he does not mean what I think he is implying.
"Noisy brats, aren't they. Yet one of them may hold extraordinary power." Ozai paced through rows of cribs with squalling infants. Azula looked at the children as they passed. They were all terrified of the foreign environment that they were placed in, and the multitude of nurses that were assigned to them could not pacify them.
"The world's hope. The world's future. It lays helpless before us. As pitiful as a weeping child. The Avatar lies in this room, and if not it will soon be delivered to me." The Fire Lord declared.
Azula could not get out of that room fast enough, the cries of the children sounded more and more like accusations with every passing moment. Finally, they departed and left the captive children behind. The hallway was vacant besides the two of them. Azula felt something she had never felt before.
She was uncomfortable in the presence of her father. She felt chills, as if daggers had been stabbed into her spine.
"Do you know why I married your mother Azula?"
The seemingly random question puzzled her. I never want to hear about her again. Damn it, stop bringing her up.
It was a question she had pondered before though. Her mother had no living relatives that Azula had ever been introduced to. Her mother had never spoken of her previous life, and there did not seem to be any political advantage to the marriage.
"It was arranged obviously, I can deduce that she must have been related to a powerful bender, because she was not born into wealth or power. She had no apparent usefulness to you otherwise."
"Correct as always. I mated with her in order to strengthen the royal blood. It was unfortunate to have to tolerate her presence, but I endured it for the greater good. Because I knew that she could give me someone extraordinary. Someone like you."
It could almost be mistaken for fatherly affection, but Azula knew full well the only one Ozai truly loved was himself.
Ozai placed a hand on Azula's shoulder and she fought off an instinct to slap it away. "The Fire Lord must be dominant. They must be the most powerful bender in the world and we have ensured that it has remained so over the last century. Iroh married a lesser woman for love and my father in a moment of weakness permitted it out of affection for his firstborn. Fortunately, your inadequate cousin died before he could pose a problem."
Azula hardly remembered her cousin Lu Ten. She had been groomed to think of him as a rival and adversary.
"Fire Lord Sozin was the most powerful firebender of his day. All his descendants share his gift. Ursa, while having no bending ability of her own, descends from Avatar Roku. It was for that reason that I married her and bestowed upon my children incredible potential. Zuko lacks the will to use it. But while he hesitated and rejected his gift, you have embraced it and flourished.
The blood of Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku flows in your veins. It has unlocked your nearly limitless potential. Once we have conditioned the new Avatar to obey and follow our will, we will bring them into the royal family. At least long enough to have children. The Fire Lord must always command great personal power, and your descendants will have the power to dominate the world, as I have. If the Avatar is male you will marry him. If female, you will find a suitable mate and your son will marry the Avatar instead."
Azula controlled herself, and covered her face in a mask of indifference. She calmed herself and gathered the proper words to respond. They held back the biting remarks she desperately wanted to unleash. Defying him openly and angering him would have no benefit.
My future. You presume to decide my future. No father, I will decide my own fate.
I will live my life how I wish.
I will rule this world how I wish.
No one, not even you, will get in my way. I see through your pathetic posturing. You are just another obstacle to me after all. An obstacle towards the betterment of our nation. I will show you I can play this game too. I will manipulate and dominate you as I have done to many others before you.
Her eyes had been opened to the consequences of her father's brutal nature. To actually see with her own eyes the devastation that he had done here was becoming too hard to tolerate. To see his teachings to her over the years applied without remorse on such a mass scale was disheartening.
I wanted this. I promoted this attack. The Avatar needed to be secured and casualties were inevitable. But the lengths taken... I was wrong, and if father is so callous towards the suffering of others, what is stopping him from tossing me aside when it suits him?
If I am not vigilant I will devolve into what he is now. A simple minded monster. I thought I was a monster, but I could still become one.
It is time I stop taking his advice and decide for myself what I will and will not tolerate.
Azula made her decision then and there.
I won't tolerate you father. Your ways will not keep our nation intact for very long. You are a liability. In order to maintain our control a new Fire Lord is needed. One who can rule with more nuance than a blunt instrument.
She looked her father in the eye and saw him, truly saw him for the first time. He was not someone who was worthy of her respect.
I am not your tool. You are mine. A stepping stone for my future greatness. I am your superior. I can rule and be adored as well as feared.
Caring about my future and the state of the Fire Nation after he is gone is clearly a lie. He wants me tied to the new Avatar so he can have an easier time controlling them. It is not for my benefit. If he thinks he can use me and cast me aside then he will suffer for it.
Azula visualized the aftermath of her duel with the waterbender during the comet. Instead of a helpless girl crumpled on the ice, it was her father at her mercy.
She put on a sweet, malicious smile on her face which her father mistook for her consent.
It's time to be honest with myself. I showed that girl mercy, and is that such a bad thing? She was no threat to me. But you father...you are not so helpless. I would not hesitate. I can run this nation better than you. I can crush my enemies while also helping potential allies back on their feet. I can mitigate the constant revolts that would occur across our new territories from your short-sighted rule. I am more clever than you. I am smarter. I am better.
This will rectify everything and put my mind at ease. Father always prided himself on his guile, what better way to prove to myself that all is well than to trick the most powerful man in the world? Pride comes before the fall father. No one will feel sorry for you. No one will mourn. You will feel safe and comfortable, but the world that you hold in your hands will turn to sand and slip through your fingers. And it will all be mine.
It was as if scales had been lifted from her eyes. The pounding in her head was gone.
Uncertainty morphed into resolve.
That night she found a secluded area outside to practice her bending. She smiled, as she knew before she began that all was well. Her first form produced the familiar blue flame that she had temporarily lost.
I doubted myself, but it was my father's teachings that was the source of that doubt. I can show mercy if I want to. Why not? Who is worthy to tell me differently? Blind cruelty in every situation will only breed enemies. All those children...I will keep the Avatar close for the time being, but I will return every last one to their homes. Because I wish to, and no one can stop me.
A few days later
Azula looked down onto the Northern Water Tribe one last time from her airship. The devastation was clear from the aerial view. It was time to return home and get a full accounting of the aftermath from the comet. There had been some smaller reports gathered from the nearby garrisons in the northern Earth Kingdom, but it would be easier once they were in the capital to connect to news from across the world. From the reports they had received, resistance throughout the Earth Kingdom had been overwhelmed as had been expected.
The fleet of airships carried back with them the potential Avatar candidates, as well as the waterbender and several other peasants to be placed into servitude.
Azula had not spoken to the girl since their duel, but she would ensure that the girl would not come to harm. She was a waterbender after all, likely one of the last. Azula would ensure that she would not lose track of the peasant.
It was a pleasant sight to see her homeland again as they descended into the capital. She wore her armor that had been used during the battle, and she ensured that she would look impressive to any dignitaries that happened to greet them on their triumphant return.
She was on the same airship as her father, and they disembarked together.
It was not the congratulatory reception she had expected her father to receive. Upon their arrival, Zuko should have been in attendance but he was noticeably absent. Furthermore, the high ranking officials encouraged an urgent private audience in the throne room.
"What?" Fire Lord Ozai snarled, his voice laced with venom. He had ascended the dais with Azula at his side but had not taken his seat. He stared down at the officials beneath him as a hawk would track its prey.
"My...my lord." One of the subordinates stuttered in his response, clearly he was intimidated. "We bare grave news, we made every effort to relay the vital messages as soon as we received them. There are three urgent matters that require your attention."
"Well spit them out, do not waste my time." Ozai hissed.
"The Avatar has returned. The invasion of the South Pole has failed."
Silence hung in the air. Seconds passed and Ozai simply stared at the unfortunate messenger.
"That's impossible! I saw him die!" Azula interjected. Could he really have survived my lightning strike. I saw the light leave his eyes. No...he was as dead as dead can be.
The messenger continued meekly. "The commanding officer confirmed the Avatar's appearance in his report that we received this morning. The Avatar killed Admiral Zusai and sank the majority of the fleet. A sky bison was present, and a waterbender as well."
Silence hung in the air again until Ozai spoke again sinisterly in little more than a whisper.
"Where is my son?"
He is going to kill him. I just got Zuko killed. I was just screwing with him when I gave him credit for killing the Avatar, I didn't want it to lead to this.
Realization dawned on her before the messenger confirmed it.
Zuko was not here to welcome us. He is not here at all. He ran. Good.
"Prince Zuko disappeared on the eve of the comet. A blimp has gone missing and we have been unable to locate him."
Ozai's eyes looked as if they were about to burst into flame. The air around them all became noticeably hotter as the Fire Lord's rage was unleashed.
"I know exactly where he would have gone! To crawl back to his accursed uncle!"
The messenger and those with him went to their knees in terror.
"So tell me then! What is the third thing!"
The man was shaking so terribly that it was a wonder to Azula that he was able to get the words out.
"The former General Iroh has broken out of the Boiling Rock prison. His whereabouts are unknown."
Ozai roared in anger. Fire shot out of his mouth and hands and enveloped the throne room. Azula thought for a second that her father had killed the group before the flames died out and she saw that they were terrified but unharmed.
"Be thankful that you are merely messengers. Those who are responsible for these failures will not be so fortunate. Get out of my sight." Ozai snarled. The subordinates wasted no time in escaping as they abandoned their dignity and scurried out of the throne room like rats.
Azula found herself alone with her enraged father as he released a string of vile curses before turning to her.
"You were so certain the Avatar was dead."
I am not afraid of you.
"He was dead. Lightning pierced his heart. Death would have been instantaneous. I saw the lifeless corpse."
Ozai scoffed before he grit his teeth. "Clearly you were mistaken. You should have incinerated the body when you had the chance. Damn Iroh for interfering. He will suffer a fate worse than death, I swear it."
Ozai began to pace back and forth across the dais while Azula watched silently. Ozai finally stopped in front of her after several minutes.
"Iroh. He is the true threat. I sought to break him when I should have eradicated him. I will not allow Iroh to train the Avatar in Firebending. So be it. We will hunt him to the very ends of the earth. I will not remain idle while he plots against me. I will kill him myself. Then we will deal with this meddlesome boy once and for all."
Azula could not bring herself to sleep that night. Her mind was racing too fast, shocked by this turn of events.
Zuko if you have half a brain between your ears you will run and never look back. But I know you, we will see you again. Wherever the Avatar goes, you follow. That will not change.
"The Avatar is alive." She whispered to herself. She started to chuckle quietly to herself. "Persistent boy isn't he? I have to admit, I'm impressed. Fighting off the entire southern invasion force is pretty remarkable. I should have known that an Avatar would not pass on so easily. Perhaps he can even be of use to me. I look forward to our next meeting Avatar Aang."
A/N
Thank you 'Jord Miller' for your review on the last chapter. It did give me a little extra motivation to carve out time to write this one. I enjoyed reading it and I am glad that you are enjoying the story.
A pretty big chapter for Azula so I hope it came off well. I must have rewritten her internal monologue at least a dozen times
Hope you all enjoyed and have a good day.