Azula did not know how long it had been since she last saw the sun.
After the Earth Kingdom Palace Guard had removed her from the Avatar's custody, she and her friends had been separated; she did not know where Mai or Ty Lee where, only that she had been thrown into a small, dark cell with only her thoughts for company and one meal a day.
With nothing else to do, she had retreated inside herself. To begin with she had fantasised about destroying the Avatar, and that Earthbender who had captured her. Admittedly, she had never seen her use Earthbending but she couldn't have been brought so low by a non-bender. That was unthinkable. However, there was only so many times she could play out blasting the Avatar with lightning or throwing that earthbender into an inferno, and eventually her thoughts turned away from the future and towards the past.
In her mind she was 5 years old again, playing in the gardens with her friends. Even then, she had been a precocious Firebender, and her father had adored her for it. On this particular occasion, Azula had set fire to an old tree, that had stood in the grounds of the palace for hundreds of years. Her mother had been horrified, but her father had just laughed, congratulated her for her power, and ordered a new tree to be planted in its place.
For as long as Azula could remember, she had gravitated more towards her father; her mother had been weak, and more interested in her brother anyway.
Then Azula was nine, listening to her mother read a letter from the front. Her uncle was away with her cousin, besieging the great city of Ba Sing Se; great as in big, for it could not compare in quality to the Fire Nation cities. He had sent gifts with his letter; Zuko got a knife with a fancy inscription on it, and Azula got a doll. A doll. For her! She was the Princess Azula, a firebending prodigy and Royalty, and all she got was a doll? Azula had set fire to its head, the appropriate course of action, and then left. As she did so, she heard her mother wonder out loud what was wrong with her.
Was there something wrong with her?
Of course, not long after that had come the news that cousin was dead, killed in battle, and that Uncle had abandoned the siege. Iroh always had been weak. Maybe not physically, Azula had learnt to respect his fighting abilities, but instead of punishing the Earthbenders who had killed his son he left. Father had found out and tried to make a pass at his brother's birthright, only for grandfather Azulon to order him to kill Zuko in response.
Azula wasnt sure what had motivated her to go to warn Zuko what was about to happen; perhaps some part of her had cared, or maybe she just wanted to see the look on his face. In the event, it had not been Zuko to die that night, but Grandfather, and her mother had mysteriously vanished the same night. She had not even bothered to wake Azula up before she left, and Azula had taken the departure harder than she thought she would.
The result of that night had been father's accession to the throne. Azula could not think of anyone better to rule. Father was ruthless, and a perfectionist, and these qualities should hopefully allow him to win the war. This was the justification Azula had used for her brother's mutilation and banishment; Zuko had been weak, and Ozai needed to root out any weakness, no matter how close to home.
As Azula stood next to Mai on the docks watching her brother's ship recede into the distance, to begin his banishment, that did not make her feel any better.
Sitting in her dark cell in the present day, Azula wondered where her brother was. She wondered whether he was getting on better than she was, then realized that wasn't going to be hard unless he was in prison too. Still, Azula would bide her time. There would have to be some way out of here. She was Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. A firebending prodigy, and the daughter of the Fire Lord. Somehow, she would get out of here.
Her work was far from over.