(Theme Forty-Four) That Time Azula Skipped School
(As Prompted By) RollerYogaDisco
Azula, Mai and Ty Lee stand in the hallway of the Ladies Academy.
The early morning is bright as summer longing is on the wind. Girls are shuffling to their classes and wishing they were in the nice weather instead of this grim grey and red building, stuffed into uncomfortable uniforms.
And Azula and Ty Lee have just expressed quite the proposition to Mai.
"I'm not doing this," Mai says instantly and her stony voice and stoic expression reveal she will not budge. "You guys can build your own pyres."
"Well, then Azula and I will," Ty Lee declares shrilly, and Azula does not mind Ty Lee being authoritative while Azula likes control. She is planning to use the excuse of skipping school to get closer to Ty Lee, and staying on her good side is the proper course of action in the strategy of romance. Mai being out of the way will work well for Azula.
"Go ahead. My parents will kill me," Mai says, sighing before walking away. Ty Lee opens her mouth to plead for Mai to come as well, but she leaves them behind.
"Her loss," Azula says sharply, grabbing Ty Lee by the wrist and walking out of the back door of the Ladies Academy before anyone notices them.
Azula already feels the tingling sensation of success. And the nauseating sensation of attempting a romantic endeavor with no experience or training. She has put a good deal of thought into strategy for today, but hypotheses and detailed plans may not fully apply to baiting a potential mate. Ty Lee has grabbed her hand, her fingers shaking, looking wildly in the moment and excited, yet pale and terrified.
"Why are you so scared?" Azula asks mockingly, although she is horrified. Her stomach feels like it is filled with flutter bats. "Come on. Let's change."
Azula slips into the ceremonial temple that is abandoned for most of the year save for important holidays. It is dark, dim and deserted; the perfect place to change your clothes and skip school for the day. It is purely exhilarating.
Zuko gets to travel the world searching for the Avatar; Azula can skip school with her crush.
"I'm so excited!" Ty Lee squeals, hopping out of her school leggings. Azula pulls her clothes out of her bag; the most ordinary ones she could find amongst her wardrobe.
She pauses, squinting at the portraits upon the altar to the royal family. With two motions of her hands, she turns all the faces to the wall and then slips her shirt over her head.
"Don't look," Azula orders regally and Ty Lee agrees, nodding for far too long.
Azula slides her way out of the black skirt and dark red leggings. There are runs in this pair that would get her a detention if she were not the Fire Lord's daughter.
"You're looking," Azula says, her eyes on the shining golden backs of the pictures of her grandfathers and father she turned around. Ty Lee makes a squeaking sound and her cheeks turn pink.
"I didn't, uh, mean to, princess." Ty Lee rubs her neck and Azula turns to face her.
Neither of them are wearing clothes and there is a momentarily glance, a brief appreciation, then a sudden panic that hits them almost simultaneously and they pull on their street clothes. So far, so good, Azula decides as she stuffs her uniform into her bag, turns back around the portraits as if she were never here, and they creep out of the back door.
"Where are we going?" Ty Lee asks, grabbing onto Azula again. She tries to forget the image burned in her retinas of the princess stripping her clothes off. It does not go away easily.
She's going through puberty, okay? Okay?
"I was thinking we could sneak to the Memorial Meadow and, well, we have no obligations. For a whole day, no one will tell us what we have to do," Azula says as they make it to the street and start walking. But Azula stops. "I have no idea where we are."
"Don't worry. I know how to get to the Meadow from here," Ty Lee says, realizing that Azula probably does not take much care in directions when she is carried everywhere.
They walk together, narrowly avoiding being noticed. The streets are busy, but also filled with soldiers and police officers, who would possibly take an interest in two twelve year old girls sneaking around Caldera. But, finally, they make it to Sozin Memorial Meadow, the wide park with statues, fire-lilies in bloom this month, and what feels like infinite freedom.
The two of them sit in the park together as the sun reaches its apex. They laugh, even Azula, living in this moment alone without regret. And Azula looks at Ty Lee, studying her delicate features and knowing if she is going to make a move right now. Ty Lee is trying to catch an elusive dragonfly-moth. Azula decides to be strong, like her ancestors.
And so Azula leans forward to kiss Ty Lee, for her first kiss. Her heart races as her lips aim for Ty Lee's lips, but collide with her nose. Azula pulls back, her cheeks the color of the Fire Nation flag. Ty Lee, stunned and ecstatic, moves to correct the kiss, but they both scream as they are seized by soldiers.
Azula skipped school and her father sent half of the military looking for her.
She thought she was embarrassed when she missed on her first kiss, but nothing can be this mortifying. Nothing.
"I'm taking it you weren't kidnapped, princess," says the voice of the man holding her elbow.
"I'm taking it you have better things to do than stopping kids from skipping school, Lieutenant General Jiang," Azula replies coldly as Ty Lee dodges handcuffs. "It must pain you to not be helping lead regiments in the Earth Kingdom. Or you, Master Sergeant Chan."
"Princess," Lieutenant General Jiang says, "the kidnapping of the sole heir to the Fire Nation is an important job that requires the best of the military accessible in the Fire Nation to address. Evidently, however, you have not been kidnapped."
Ty Lee dodges handcuffs again.
"Stop doing that to her," Azula snarls at the foot soldier and he drops the handcuffs to the grass and Master Sergeant Chan rubs his temples with a sigh of frustration.
"I'm sure your... friend's parents are worried about her as well. I'll have her escorted home," Jiang continues and Azula grits her teeth to keep from making this worse.
People in the park have gathered to stare at the scene and Azula would rather accidentally kiss Ty Lee's nose a thousand times than have to deal with being slowly walked back to the palace with Lieutenant General Jang holding her elbow.
And the first thing father says is, "I sent everyone stationed in the Fire Nation looking for you. Do you know how much that costs me?"
"I was gone for four hours, father, with all due respect," Azula says as the officials escorting her bow and leave Azula in the throne room.
"You are a very smart girl. You didn't think people would notice that you had simply vanished from school? I had people combing everywhere a kidnapper could have taken you," Fire Lord Ozai says, dropping the flames around the throne low. "But I hear from your gloomy friend that your 'kidnapper' was your girlfriend."
"I am going to kill her," Azula says, mostly to herself as her fingertips smoke.
"Who is this girlfriend of yours?" Ozai inquires slowly, but in a tone that makes Azula break out in goosebumps.
"She's not my girlfriend, father. I took her with me to try to impress her so she would go out with me," Azula says, realizing how ridiculous it was more and more with each word.
"Hm. Yes," is all she gets from Ozai. "I think you will be understanding when I tell you that you are not to leave the palace under pain of exile for the next... six weeks."
"You can't banish me. I'm your only heir," Azula says before touching her mouth with her fingernails. But her father allows it, as Azula kneels in hopes that will dull the blow of her out of line remark.
"I don't intend to banish you, as long as you obey me."
Azula's head shakes slightly, her rosy lips parted, at the sheer absurdity of her father's overreaction to her skipping school. But she bows and says, "I accept your punishment, father."
Hours later, Princess Azula is lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She has never been punished for anything since her mother left. People like Mai get grounded, not people like Azula.
Something hits her window and she gets up to burn alive whoever or whatever did it.
"Let me in," hisses a girl precariously perched on the windowsill.
"I am grounded, Ty Lee."
"Yeah, me too," Ty Lee replies with a careless laugh. "Please let me in."
Azula sighs, realizes her father cannot act upon his threat unless he has discovered the secret of immortality, and steps back to allow Ty Lee inside.
"I am too pretty to piss off my father," Azula breathes, examining her face in her reflection on the window as she closes it. She touches the area around her eye and frowns.
"I'll leave, princess. Don't worry," Ty Lee whispers, sitting down on Azula's bed. "Although this is kind of fun. You never break any rules."
"Because I am Crown Princess of the Fire Nation and if I broke rules I would not only shame myself, I would shame my entire Nation," Azula says coldly but Ty Lee does not seem to be listening.
"I just wanted to finish this," Ty Lee chirps before sitting up on her knees and pressing her lips against Azula's.
The kiss is worth it. Definitely worth it.
