"Princess?"
Azula did not answer. She stood, lips pressed together in a thin line, stewing in her thoughts, in her anger. She turned around to finally face Eri, her handmaid, who looked upon her cautiously. Fearfully. The news she'd just shared with her had not pleased her, not one bit, and Eri knew it.
Finally, she spoke. "When is the wedding?"
"As soon as possible. Within the month." Eri said softly. She laid a hand on her still-flat abdomen, and smiled, and the gesture filled Azula with rage. Understanding.
"Tell me, what exactly do you get paid for?" She spoke levelly, enunciating every syllable, speaking in the same manner as she spoke to the soldiers. Not at all like she'd ever spoken to Eri, the closest thing she had to a friend here in the palace over the past six months.
"To take care of you, of course. Dress you and wash you and walk you to your meetings."
"Funny, that's what I thought, too." Azula feigned naivety. "But clearly, they pay you to sleep with the generals?"
Eri blushed. Her gaze fell to the floor. Her voice was small, and Azula took a sort of sick pleasure in seeing her writhe before her. It's nothing in comparison to how she's hurt me, she thought. She could not believe she'd betray her like this, that she'd choose someone else over her, that she'd leave her behind - just like everyone else in her life.
"We're in love."
"Please ." Azula scoffed. "He's twice your age. You're not the first woman to get a job here in hopes of trapping a rich and powerful husband. I'm almost impressed. Really ."
"It's not like that-" Eri protested feebly, and Azula didn't believe her in the slightest.
"I don't care what your reasons are. Take your things and go."
Eri did not move, frozen in shock, and stared at Azula with those wide, sad eyes of hers. She gave her an awkward smile, "But princess, I can still work for a few months more, until the little one-"
"I said, " Azula was having a hard time keeping her voice steady. She turned around, not wanting to look at Eri any longer. "Take your things and go. Now. "
"Then, just for a few more days, until you find a replacement-"
"I said go! " She shrieked, "Get out! Leave!"
Azula turned on her heel and chucked the nearest thing - a history book - at Eri's head. The woman ducked, though even if she hadn't, still the book would have missed. If she'd meant to hit her, she would have. It tumbled gracelessly onto the floor, falling open on its pages.
Eri didn't hesitate another second, and Azula watched her scurry out of her bedroom and into the handmaid's connecting quarters, breathing heavily. The door shut. She could hear the muffled opening and closing of drawers: Eri packing her things.
Good, Azula tried to convince herself, I don't need her.
But the dragon bubbled up within her stomach, and constricted even tighter around her throat, and she couldn't stop herself. She prided herself in always remaining cool and collected, in being the master of her own emotions, and so this bout of weakness embarrassed her. She could not possibly let anyone else see her like this. It was bad enough she'd acted this emotionally in private, in front of her handmaid. Ex-handmaid, that is. The loneliness in that word filled her with grief. Not knowing what else she could possibly do, Azula collapsed onto her bed and cried.