Azula woke up. It was dark in the room. She sat up in the bed. After rubbing her eyes, she noticed her sleeve wasn't white. It was in fact royal red with yellow flame outlines. In fact, she was wearing her night robe. She then became more awake to find that she was in her old room at the Fire Nation Royal Palace. Everything was exactly how she last remembered it before setting off with her dum-dum brother and his miscreant friends to find Ursa. But how did she get here? Did Zuko find her in the forrest and sedate her? But if so, how did he get the drop on her and why is she only waking up now?

As she got out of bed to look around the room more, she heard giggling. Specifically, a woman's giggle. It was faint, so it must be in another room close by. She opened the door and saw all but one door open. A light was coming from the room. Azula slowly walked towards the room and then it hit her: that's was Zuko's bedroom.

"That is funny, isn't it Zuko?" came a woman's voice, one Azula froze to once hearing it as it had been taunting her in the asylum for a year.

"Mother." Azula said under her breath with rage. And she was talking to Zuko. Then, Azula worked it out; that old lady drugged her soup because she knew it was her favourite because Ursa had told her that because they and Zuko and everyone were conspiring to destroy her. Azula quickly but softly walked on her toes so Ursa and Zuko wouldn't hear her and stopped at the side. She slowly moved her head to see in.

Inside was her mother in bed with a young boy, but Zuko was nowhere in the room. Ursa had a book with the title "The Ugly turtle-Duckling" and both of them were laughing. "The way they stick their bottom's up to go underwater is funny." Ursa said to the boy, who was smiling at the book while leaning his head on her left shoulder.

Azula then realised that was a memory. She was eight years old and was awoken from sleep because of her mother's laugh. She saw how she and her ten year old brother were happy together reading a baby book and it hit her at that young age her mother had stopped reading stories to her. In fact, her mother no longer came into her room to say goodnight. It was strange as Azula did remember telling her mother she didn't want stories and was a big girl who could tuck herself in bed, but seeing this hurt.

Azula recalled what happened next and fell in sync with the memory. She looked away from her mother and brother and slowly sat down as her mother finished the story.

"And the flock of birds said to the ugly turtle duckling "You were never a turtle duckling, but in fact an eel swan... and a rather beautiful one as well." And so the ugly turtle duckling was ugly no more. The End." Azula then heard a kiss sound. From Zuko or Ursa, she did not know. Tears began to flow down her face. She looked in again as Ursa got out of bed and tucked Zuko in. Again, this was what you did for a baby and not a ten year old. It was embarrassing. Yet it still hurt the princess to see her mother show all this love to her weak brother and show none to her.

"Sweet dreams Zuko." Ursa said while caressing his cheek and giving a warm motherly smile.

"Night night Mom." Zuko yawned as he drifted into sleep with a smile.

Azula scrunched her eyes at hearing how childish her older brother was. She got up and went back to her room and shut the door. She then sunk to her knees and placed her hands on her eyes and sobbed quietly. She had forgot about that memory and seeing it again had reopened all the pain she felt that night. It was the night she confirmed what she believed for a while but dare not say aloud.

Until Now.

"Mom doesn't love me." Azula said bringing her hands away and saw that they had shrunk. She stood up but still felt she were still on her knees. She touched her face and head and it felt smaller. "I'm eight again" she thought and then a knock on the door jogged her memory. Ursa had heard Azula and knocked on the door to see if she were awake. Azula followed the memory and did what she did 9 years ago: got back into bed, hid her face with arm in case her mother came into the room to check she was indeed asleep. But all her mother did was open the door, say her daughter's name once from the door and then leave.

The door opened. Her voice was soft and distant as it said one word "Azula?" Azula didn't respond and thought about what she was thinking in that moment as a young girl. If her mother didn't love her, then fine! She didn't need her because unlike Zuko, she wasn't weak or dependent or an embarrassment to the family.

She began to close her eyes hoping that she would wake up when heard "Azula?" again. Her eyes widened. That wasn't how the memory went. She was supposed to hear the door close.

"Azula?" her mother's voice came a third time. Now Azula looked up, but no one was at the door. she began to settle back into bed when...

"Azula." Azula shock back up and away from Ursa, who was sat on the side of her bed near the pillows. This definitely didn't happen. Azula thought that anything could happen as she felt her face again. It was big again, so she must be her current age. Good. "What are you doing here?" Azula asked trying to wipe away the tears that had dried up in a line going down her cheeks.

"Azula, my daughter, you're so vulnerable and fragile right now. You don't see clearly." Ursa said. Azula saw the outfit she had on was not one of her nightgowns. It was in fact her royal attire. This was the Ursa who tormented her brain day in day out. Azula was fuming at the sight of her invading her dreams again.

"So you mentioned, what is so dangerous about an old lady? I could easily get away from her. In fact, I'm planning to tomorrow the first chance I get." Azula spoke the truth and wasn't ashamed. It was nice of an elderly stranger to give her food and a bed in a time of need, but the princess couldn't get too comfy and would leave maybe after breakfast. The woman was old, but she could still be conspiring with her mother or Zuko.

"NO!" came her mother's voice. Azula heard this voice whenever Ursa punished her as a child. She then reached out and grabbed Azula's shoulders and pulled her close, despite Azula's struggling against her mother's grip.

"Let go of me!" Azula said, but Ursa held on. Azula then shot a fireball at Ursa's arms, but the fire just went through as if she had missed. Azula then punched her fire everywhere and everything was caught on blue fire. The sheets, the bedpost, the curtains, walls, floor, everything but Ursa and herself were engulfed in her signature fire. Azula didn't understand how Ursa was doing this.

"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?! I DON'T HOW YOU'RE DOING IT, BUT I will put an end to this torment mother... BY ENDING YOU!"

But Ursa wasn't shook by her daughter's words. Instead, she said "Listen to me my daughter, the moment you wake up, leave that forrest! Find us! Come home! You have a destiny AND a beautiful one, but it is not the throne! You must leave that place as soon as you wake up!" Ursa said. Azula saw tears in her mother's eyes and her voice sounded desperate. but why? Why was she concerned? Unless...

"You want me to leave that old woman because she has something to help me end you." Azula said to her mother. The grip on her shoulders was gone. Ursa had released her. Now it made sense.

"The old woman is with you, but there's also something in her hut that can end your control over me." The Blue flames closed in around Ursa, who looked at them with fear.

"Yes, I'm right." Azula said with a smile as she stood up on the mattress, now towering over her mother. "And when I find it, I'll be free of you forever and I will return mother. I will return to you... and kill you. Right. In front. Of Zuzu."

The flames engulfed Ursa and began to burn away, but she didn't scream in pain, but instead rose and said to Azula "I'm not the one you need to be free from." The flames consumed her mother's body and then, the burnt flesh disintegrated into nothing.

Azula then looked around her room to see the walls were changing as the flames dies down. She was in a bedroom, but it wasn't her bedroom. It was instead a guest room with a king size bed. A loud knock came from the door and Azula then thought

"NO." was all she could get out as she recalled the memory she was in now and didn't want to face this one. She hid under the bed as the door opened and then...

A bright light blinded her briefly before she was no longer in the palace, but instead in the Fire Nation Capital. Only it was all burning with her blue fire. The buildings were reducing to ash, the grounds had fresh scorch marks and citizens were screaming and running. Then some began to make strange movements and scream even more. Then, blood came from their noses and Azula heard a cracking sound as their necks twisted and they dropped to the ground dead. She tried running but couldn't. Her legs refused to move. All she could do was look up to see the moon and hear a maniacal laughter come from a dark figure

"AH HA HA HA HA HEH HA HA HA! HA HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA!


"NO!" Azula screamed as she awoke. She gasped for air and quickly lit a fire ball in her palm and saw she was in the guest room in the old woman's hut. She relaxed once seeing she was only dreaming.

"I heard a scream." came a voice and Azula saw the elderly lady whose name she still did not know and didn't plan on knowing about to enter the room. She extinguished her flame before she entered. She was carrying a candle in one hand. She then asked "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Azula said looking down at her sheets as she settled back into bed "It was just a bad dream. I'll be fine now."

"Okay." the woman said before leaving.


the maniacal laughter is supposed to be Hama's laugh at the end of the puppetmaster episode fwi.