Despite all appearances, Azula didn't leave the midday rendezvous with her brother in a much better state than he did. While Zuko was busy making his decision, his sister was steeling herself for a completely different but similarly difficult task of her own: she had to impress her father.
Not that the Fire Princess hadn't ever done such a thing before. On the contrary, her ability to do so consistently was exactly why her brother envied her as he did, and exactly why the Firelord's ire fell unto him and not her. It wasn't that Azula lacked confidence in her ability - no, she was quite sure that this particular move would earn her praise and reverence as her forms always managed to do. She'd tell him that she'd 'just' worked it out as she always did when she showed him something new, even though as usual she'd been practicing it to perfection for quite some time. It's amazing how a little preparation can make words like 'prodigy' and 'dragonblood' flow like water.
No, it was what happened afterwards that gave Azula pause. If there was one thing that the great Firelord Ozai despised, it would be idle subordinates. Every increase in ability was met with a proportional increase in responsibility. No real reward or congratulations, no time to rest on her laurels. Instead, the stakes were raised. New tutors, new forms to memorize and master, another skipped grade level, another leave from the academy for 'practical combat education' on the front (Azula still cringed at the memory of her twelve year old self giving orders to grown men who hadn't yet decided whether to laugh or listen).
However showing off whatever she learned in a mighty display of power to the surprise of everyone around her provided a thrill, a rush. By the time she had showed off her now-famous azure flame that had made her the talk of the nation, Azula was hooked. Addicted. But after each rush, came a period of withdrawal. Each improvement was wrought with the fact that everyone around her would begin to expect more from the great fire prodigy. Her actions today (in combination with the fast-approaching reopening of the Fire Academy) would likely mean that she would be pushed even further.
She just hoped that one day, the great Azula would become perfect and she wouldn't have to improve any more. That every day father would look upon her with that very same expression of pride as he did on that fateful day with the blue flame.
Though for the moment, she'd just have to do her best to enjoy the fun - she already had a dramatic performance planned to keep the old man away from Zu-zu. It was far too late to back out now, anyway.
Knock knock
Her knuckles landed twice on the hard mahogany doors to the Firelord's office. Not too quiet as to be meek, but not too loud as to sound urgent or demanding, either. Not that she'd want to sound so even if it were appropriate - the longer this took the better.
"Come in." sounded an irritated voice from the other side, an invitation, to which Azula responded by opening the door to find her father sitting crooked on his chair behind an unsurprisingly tidy desk. When he had ascended to the throne, his advisors had desperately tried to maintain the usual mess of paperwork that had sat there since Azulon had become too old to fight. The newly-crowned Firelord Ozai had none of it, however, instead directing those who wanted to court his attention to the audience chamber. The slim number of papers that remained here for today represented the absolute limit of what couldn't be outsourced to others.
It had its benefits, she had to admit. The lords and ladies of the fire isles became much less liberal with their spurious suggestions and requests now that they couldn't simply send a messenger hawk to get them heard. Though as Azula grew older, she began to see the inefficiencies of directing so much to in-person audiences and underlings. The Fire Nation was a world-spanning empire now, and those who had genuine need to speak to their Firelord weren't always so nearby.
Her thoughts aside, Azula was appreciative of the fact that she caught him in his office, since he usually didn't spend much time in it. Outside of here or the throne room, Firelord Ozai could often be a hard man to find.
"Father" she bowed her head, waiting for permission to speak as was appropriate when standing behind the Firelord's desk, family or not.
"Azula." he smiled, genuinely happy to see her. "Just the girl to brighten a man's day. Everything go well with your studies this morning?"
"Yes, Father" she said levelly, neglecting to mention that she had sent Master Jiahao away to make room for Ty Lee's unplanned visit. Of course, he would report that she had attended her two-hour lesson at dawn as he always did.
The Firelord seemed pleased with her answer, obviously not having expected anything to the contrary. Azula was nothing if not studious - Ozai didn't have a single doubt in his mind that she could and would achieve everything she wanted to do, complete every task and defeat every enemy put before her. "And what brings you here to this dreary place, my Daughter? It couldn't be to see me could it?" he said with a slight grin.
Azula couldn't help but smile back at her father. "I have something I want to show you." she said, doing her best to keep her voice steady between the anticipation and the childish fear that he might somehow detect her ulterior motive for picking this day and time. Somehow though, her father's prideful look at seeing her succeed never failed to turn her insides to jelly - and so near the end her tone fluctuated and her smile grew wider betraying her expectation.
"How delightfully enigmatic" Ozai replied simply, pushing some papers he hadn't really been looking at aside. "To the arena?" he asked, his face revealing his own emotions: his daughter may have yet turned a day of boredom into one of excitement.
The Fire Princess shook her head. "No." she answered. The wide open spaces of the Agni Kai Arena were optimal for many kinds of demonstrations. Whips and lashes of flame, bolts of lightning even - but not this kind. "I was hoping you would take me to the throne room instead" she explained.
"Ah I see, showing the old man how you'll look in his chair, hmm?" he mused, getting up and out from behind the desk, secretly wondering what it was Azula wanted to show him in the empty throne room and audience chamber. "Very well." Ozai finished, trying his best to sound exasperated even though truthfully he had little to look forward to today aside from perhaps catching up with Delan over drinks, if somehow he could get out of another painful family dinner (doubtful).
Azula kept quiet as she followed her father to the very heart of the palace, working simply to keep her breaths even. If anything else, she'd need it for what she was about to attempt. This particular effort, while one she had been practicing for a very long time, required great concentration and control even by her own standards. She didn't even turn to look at the portraits of Firelord's past as they walked through the gallery, instead focusing on the steady rhythm of their footfalls, using them to time each inhale and exhale.
With a dramatic waving of his arms, Ozai spread the thick curtains that obscured the entrance to the chamber, allowing the two of them to pass without walking through fabric.
The throne room, which likely hadn't even been entered today became almost pitch black upon the curtains closing behind them. Only her father and the faint glint of the dragon throne were clearly visible, everything else being smears of black and grey. Azula maintained her breathing.
"So, what is it you want to show me in here?" the Firelord asked, turning to her expectantly. Ozai was perplexed, he had to admit. Part of him thought he might be the victim of some kind of joke and Azula wanted to have a little fun rather than demonstrate Firebending forms. He could scarcely imagine what his daughter would need in here that couldn't be found elsewhere.
"Can you give us some light, Father?" Azula asked, as rehearsed.
Ozai clenched his fists and without delay the torches on each pillar flickered to life, finally allowing them to see eachother clearly again.
"And the burners."
Again, with a clench of his fist the oil and wood hidden below the raised dais of the throne ignited, and the wall of dancing flames that separated royalty from those below them began to burn. Even as a prince who had spent his share of time on the other side of the wall, Ozai always had an appreciation for the new throne. It had a way of adding a little spring to everyone's step.
Azula however wasn't paying much attention to the light, or on father's perplexed look. Her focus was on the flame. While it wasn't necessary to close her eyes - she did anyway, for this wasn't something she was willing to fail.
She could feel the heat around her. The twelve torches lining the pillars. The wall of fire that stood before the unoccupied throne. And quieter, she could feel her father's inner fire right next to her own, raging with curiosity and anticipation.
One by one the Fire Prodigy reached out to those flames, making them hers. She could feel the wild, uncontrolled flames which burned without regard for anything bend to her will. One by one they became colder, their rhythm slowing to match her own. One by one they turned blue. They became Azula's.
She opened her eyes to find her father's looking back, occasionally turning to steal glances of the transformed flame. The astonishment in his golden gaze was clear, clear enough to make her heart flutter with pride to the point where she almost lost control and let the room go back to its natural orange-and-yellow hue. She continued her breathing.
"Azula-" Ozai practically stuttered. He had seen the azure flame before. Agni, the whole damned nation had heard about it by now, but this was new. Before her flames had always fallen back to normal once they had left her body. She couldn't maintain their superior heat for long, let alone other flame that wasn't her own. But now she could. "You never cease to amaze me." he said in total awe, taking a few steps on the well polished floor and taking in the azure room, reflections of the flame everywhere making the throne room seem positively electric.
It was destiny, it had to be. The spirits had granted him Azula as an act of providence. In a way he had been right earlier - though it wasn't an act of selfishness on Azula's part, it was Agni's will that had brought the two of them together today. The audience chamber was destined to look like this after his passing - it was just as the Fire Sages had said. '-a bloodline of great power, one that would ensure a dynasty that lasted centuries.'
"It's time something changed." Ozai announced suddenly, causing flickers of yellow to appear briefly in the corners of the wall of flame.
Azula swallowed.
"You are the heir of power the great prophecy predicted. Your brother is weak, it's time you took his place." he declared. "You are to be my Crown Princess, Azula. You'll be my right hand and rule over the Fire Nation after I am gone." Ozai finished, finally breaking his gaze from the blue flame to look back at Azula, who looked overcome with surprise.
The flames again flickered yellow. Inhale. Exhale.
"I'm honored, Father." she said with her head bowed as was appropriate. Though even as Azula said the words she wasn't sure she meant them entirely. Father was proud of her, and that meant more than anything... but-
This was exactly what I was afraid of. Only worse. When Zuko made a mistake, he never heard the end of it - for he was the firstborn, the Crown Prince. He had big shoes to fill, which made it all the more disappointing when he inevitably failed to meet the expectations set before him. Azula, on the other hand was the spare. A second-born daughter destined for tea ceremony, silk dresses, and a coming of age swiftly followed by a marriage that benefited the crown.
As such, even while father's expectations of her would always be great, society's were decidedly not. Well, until father formalized his substitution. Then she'd not only need to prove herself as a worthy heir to the throne, but also deserving of being given what was her brother's by birthright.
She also had to explain this to...
"Azula?" the voice of the Firelord broke her from her thoughts, the man clearly taken aback by her lack of celebration.
"Apologies Father, I was merely lost in the moment." she said honestly, smiling at Ozai.. "It's what I've always wanted." she assured, again speaking without a hint of dishonesty. Father was right, zu-zu was weak and didn't deserve to command a patrol ship, let alone rule a nation.
"I know." he replied. "Ever since you were a little girl, you wanted to be more than a princess. A ruler, a warrior. That's what you were destined for." he proclaimed, setting his hands upon her shoulders. "And now you're going to get to be one" he said, letting the word now roll off his tongue even though he'd been wanting to do this for some time. He just needed an excuse, something that even the obstinate Fire Sages couldn't ignore. Something like this.
With one triumphant breath Azula cast out her thoughts and feelings, her fears, anxieties, and insecurities. She was going to enjoy the moment - she had hours to unpack it all later if she so wished. How father's latest decision would effect her life isn't important right now. What is important is that he believes her fit to rule his nation, to replace him after he's gone. Certain enough to make her his heir even though she was thirteen. And that was something to be proud of.
"Follow me, my daughter." Ozai said smoothly, surprising Azula with a sudden move for the exit.
"Where are we going, Father?" she asked, extinguishing the flames as she walked through the curtains.
Ozai smiled deeply at that. "To tell the Fire Sages I've finally come to my senses!" he explained, walking briskly, imagining the old hag's objections to his demand that they endorse his rite of substitution. The shocked look on their faces as they saw a little girl, free from their ancient mystics perform an act they could only dream of achieving. "That you're an heir of prophecy, an act of providence straight from Agni himself, blessed with your unique power over fire that nobody in history has managed to attain."
So soon? Azula thought to herself, saying nothing of it as this would prove a bigger distraction than she had possibly hoped for. "Of course. What do I need to do, father?" she asked, as was customary.
"Show them what you showed me." he said simply. "The old fools say that to understand flame is to control it. Yet even with all their years of dedication they can't make fire dance like you can. They lack the power, the blood of dragons!" he exclaimed. "Your actions will speak for themselves. True power needs no explanation."
Azula resisted a blush at Ozai's comment, his absolute confidence in her. Somehow, she doubted the Fire Sages would be content in seeing her power over flame without a game of twenty questions afterwards (as they had done when she had shown the blue flame in the first place), but it was the fact that father thought it unnecessary that was important. He believed in her.
The walk to the fire temple was a long one, the fire sage's sanctuary being on the far edge of the caldera to the north of the palace. Their strategic placement there both made the position defensible and allowed the creation of deep catacombs into the caldera's edge that weren't plagued by instability and lavaflow. Azula sometimes wondered if it was a mistake for the palace to be built in the very center, which made it a easily encircled and far more vulnerable to siege weapons.
Of course it was incredibly unlikely that the caldera would ever be put under siege, what with the state of their enemies, but the overconfidence of the placement did bother Azula. The Fire Nation's history was littered with far sturdier fortresses being overcome by foreign barbarians.
One thing was certain in all of this however, the sages were not overjoyed with their Firelord's arrival. As they passed through the gates of the temple she could see men and women scurrying about, some preparing to receive them, others making themselves disappear so they couldn't accrue any of the Firelord's ire.
This pleased Azula (and father too, based on the look on his face) - it was high time that the Fire Sages showed deference to the crown. Far too many times had their support or stubborn lack thereof participated succession crises and civil wars as the Firelords did what they could not. Grandfather, while not having been the greatest conqueror, sure knew how to get a house in order.
Finally, however, an older man came out to greet them. Head Sage Guanyu was a man Azula was quite familiar with. She had been questioned (interrogated, more accurately) by him many many times, as early as she could remember. Questions she couldn't quite understand when she was younger, questions about her fire and passion.
She hated him. That look he gave her whenever she gave an answer he didn't approve of. For a man who was purportedly dedicated to spirituality and open-mindedness, the sage was awfully dedicated to personal dogmas regarding the source of a firebender's power. When she was younger, he'd tell her the way she thought was wrong, that a true firebender should let their flame be driven by their anger and desire, and that suppressing those things led to weakness.
Of course, she would perform well and give the right answers even though father said it was unnecessary. It would make this process far easier, even though the man's views had weakened somewhat in light of her continued success.
Guanyu led the two of them deeper inside the temple, saying nothing as Ozai explained the reason for his impromptu visit. Once they had reached one of the inner courtyards, the sage left for a moment only to return with a number of other sages, many of which Azula had seen before but was otherwise entirely unfamiliar with.
Azula returned to her breathing. Failure in front of father was one thing, failing publicly for all to see was something else entirely. There were mistakes that Ozai could forgive in private, but in front of others Azula had to be the perfect Princess.
She closed her eyes and let the bewildered undersages light the torches around the courtyard despite the full daylight shining down upon them. She tried not to listen to the sage's mumbling or Ozai's conversation with Guanyu. Instead, Azula focused on the flames and their rhythm once again, repeating the very same feat she performed in the throne room.
Though her actions were the same her audience was not. The sages reacted with surprise greater than her father's, resulting in gasps and expressions of astonishment. It didn't take them long for them to declare her ability something of prophecy. To be honest Azula rather suspected that they just did so because the old hags wanted something to do, but of course she kept such things to herself and did whatever was asked for her, answering every question (even the ones from Guanyu). Though things didn't really get interesting until Ozai demanded that they endorse her claim to the dragon throne.
Prophecy or not, the sages were less than amused with father's request, Guanyu insisting that more time should pass before a Firelord substituted one child for another.
There was much shouting and argument, though Azula didn't stick around to see it. She wanted some time alone and she doubted either Ozai or the sages would notice her missing amidst their verbal war, so Azula left the sage's temple the same way she had come without any announcement. Her walk to the palace was as uneventful as it was boring, there wasn't much to think about nor did she have anyone to talk to.
There was little point in staying. She knew what the outcome would be anyway - the sages independence was a mere shell of what it once was, Azulon having replaced much of the order with loyalists to the throne. Their resistance was a token and would surely give way once Ozai agreed to some minor concession elsewhere.
Instead of speculating as to such a dull play-by-play, Azula withdrew further into her mind as she waited by the fountain, sitting cross legged in her battledress in the grass counting all the changes her Father's latest decision would make to her life. In fact, all dramatics aside, it was probably more productive to count the things that would stay the same.
Mother would still hate her. This would just be the latest in a long line of reasons.
Mai would still be dull and dreary (and present, for that matter. Her parents would surely still support her regular play-dates to the palace: a marriage with a Fire Prince would do wonders for their family, heir or not).
But her teachers, what little trust she did have with her brother, Uncle, the war council, everyone at the academy... Ty Lee.
Azula let herself back fall unto the grass, uncrossing her legs and laying flat. She berated herself for having second thoughts. This was her moment of triumph - her hard work had finally paid off! She had proven herself worthy in front of her father, worthy enough that he wanted her to oversee his domain after he was gone. It was what she had always wanted, wasn't it? To rule over the Fire Nation like her brother never could. Now that she was his heir, father would surely spend more time with her, preparing her to rule. He'd give her more of his love.
It was true, all of it. And yet something rang hollow. She imagined herself, sitting upon the dragon throne with a white and blue wall of flame in front of her, just like the one she had made today. Giving orders and granting audiences. Firelord Azula, all on her own.
For some reason the image of her triumph scared her.
"What's wrong, 'Zula?" said the pink girl from above, smiling her usual smile to which Azula couldn't help but return.
"Nothing, Ty Lee" she said instinctively, realizing in the moment that she was lying. Azula sat up, endeavoring to to change the subject to something she was more adequately prepared to discuss. "I take it everything went well with zu-zu?" she asked, more curious than she was probably willing to admit. This particular anomaly in Zuko's behavior was more puzzling than the rest combined.
Ty Lee knelt so the two were at eye-level, taking the opportunity to examine the Princess's aura more closely. "Yep! Things went great, even though he didn't really get to do much dressing up." she said with a giggle. "Though that was kind of my fault."
"How so?"
"Wellll I kindof sortof painted his nails." she explained, hoping Zuko wouldn't mind that she was telling his sister. "He really liked them!" Ty Lee defended herself. "But I probably should have showed him that last."
Azula suppressed a laugh. "Indeed." she said simply, remembering many times in which she had been furious at her nail's inability to quickly dry, before father had forbidden her from painting them altogether. "I suppose he must have been pretty disappointed."
"No, he really enjoyed it! In fact he wants to do it again." Ty Lee exclaimed. "And... I do too" she admitted, having rather enjoyed the opportunity to be Zuko's teacher in the art of color, fashion, and dress-up.
Azula sighed, suddenly feeling the urge to lay back on the grass again "That can be arranged." she said. With the inevitable announcement of her appointment of Crown Princess, Zuko was likely to be ignored all together. Little opportunity for him to be caught dressed in something he shouldn't be. "Tell me, did you find out why Zuko wanted to dress up?"
Ty Lee suppressed a giggle at Azula's question. She asked like Ty Lee were her spy, an undercover agent with orders to extract information. "Oh, I thought you knew!" she replied honestly. "You're the one who set us up, of course."
Azula sighed, remembering that particular deception. As much as she trusted her, Ty Lee didn't need know the real reason she set up their meeting, for as loyal as the girl was she wasn't the best at keeping secrets. "It was just a hunch." she lied through her teeth, again.
"Well..." Ty Lee remembered the color in Zuko's aura.
"You know something?"
"Kind-of" Ty Lee answered. "There was one thing. But I'm not sure what it means." she took a deep breath. "His aura was rose."
Azula crossed her arms, struggling to remember which color rose stood for but coming up with nothing. "Refresh my memory. What does that mean?" she asked, knowing better than to question Ty Lee's system of assigning colors to emotions.
"I don't know." Ty Lee admitted to Azula, just as she admitted to Zuko only thirty minutes earlier.
"You don't know?" the Fire Princess hadn't ever heard that response before.
Ty Lee sighed a rare sigh, suddenly looking anxious, glancing to her left and right before speaking "Well, I've seen it once before." she admitted, quietly "In you."
Golden eyes opened wide. "In me!?" Azula almost blurted out. "When?"
"Can we go inside Azula?" Ty Lee asked, smiling an innocent smile. "I'm cold."
The Fire Princess didn't need the capability to perceive auras to know that her question had made Ty Lee nervous. She doubted that Ty Lee was truly cold, in any real sense. But like with most things involving Ty Lee, Azula had learned not to ask too many questions and trust that whatever it was she was doing had a purpose. Tentatively, she wrapped an arm around the pink girl's waist and warmed it with her inner fire. "Of course" she affirmed, awkwardly standing and leading her to her suite. It was for the best anyway, for the gardens were probably not the best place to break this particular piece of news, least of all to Ty Lee.
An hour had passed since Ty Lee had left and Azula was already steeling herself for what was shaping up to be a very conflict-filled family dinner. Father would surely want to rub his decision in his wife and son's faces, after all seeing those two suffer was a pastime of his (And her's, to some, more minor extent.)
That was, of course, until she heard the door to her chambers swing open and hurried footfalls approach her open bedroom door.
"You couldn't even wait, could you?!" sounded the voice of her mother. "You just had to get yourself declared future Firelord before your coming-of-age."
Azula put down a stick of kohl. "How nice of you to drop by, Mother." Azula remarked, her voice dripping of sarcasm. "How was your day?"
"Wonderful, until your father came barging in with the biggest grin on his face explaining how he finally found an excuse to knock your brother from the totem pole." she answered, not bothering to respond to Azula's mocking cry for decency or to hide the hot resentment from her voice. "Something you just had to show him, some stupid fire trick or whatever it was! And you just had to show those old sages too so that you could finally take the crown from Zuko."
The candles flared as Azula breathed. She hated dealing with mother, especially if it was a fight over something she hadn't even intended to happen. But of course, the witch just couldn't resist making it all about her precious Zu-zu and ignore completely her daughter's achievements. "I suppose you being proud of me would be too much to ask?" she asked, knowing full well the answer was yes.
Ursa almost laughed, stepping forward and pointing an accusatory finger. "Proud of you? For sabotaging your own family at every turn, doing everything but bedding your father to gain his favor - just so you could get the dragon throne after he finally dies?"
Azula sighed, resisting raising her voice to match her mother's (for she'd surely use any anger as ammunition against her) "Listen, mother." she addressed her. "Because I'm not in the mood to repeat myself. I may not be the model sibling. I'm certainly not the kind and compassionate and coddling sister you'd like me to be." she continued, wondering if Ursa would even notice if she did something nice for Zu-zu, which happened more often than she probably realized. "But I've never in any of my years sabotaged little zu-zu. He fell behind on his own accord. If you have a problem with his teachers, take it up with Father - I have no part in their appointment"
"Of course, it's just a coincidence that-"
"Is there a point to your visit, mother?" Azula asked, exasperated. She had heard it all before - she was about to explain how she and Father were involved in some kind of conspiracy to hold Zuko back.
A pause.
Ursa frowned. "I suppose not. Your father won't let me be the one to tell Zuko what you've stolen from him, apparently that's your job, right? All I can do is stand by and watch you two gloat like always."
Azula raised an eyebrow, dropping her exasperated tone as she turned to her mother. "He wants me to tell Zuko at dinner?" she asked, with genuine surprise. Not that she hated the idea of teasing her brother with his own inadequacies, quite the opposite. But Father obviously wanted a show. He wanted Zuko to be blindsided, a deercat in the firelight, as she revealed how the crown had been taken from him. Personally, Azula thought the act was enough - there was scarcely a need to rub salt in the wound when it was raw. The boy had enough to feel bad about as it was.
"Don't even try to act as if you aren't happy" she said, her eyes rolling at what she believed to be feigned ignorance.
The Crown Princess sighed, taking a step back and leaning on the vanity.
"Mother, I don't expect you to believe this" she began, absolutely loathing the idea of uttering anything remotely pleasant to the insufferable hag, part of her wanting to pretend as if it really was all her idea and to rub it in Ursa's face. "It wasn't my idea to show the sages. I won't lie to you and say I never coveted the position that's just been given to me. I deserve it far more than weak zu-zu does, no matter what you say." Azula said coldly. "But I wasn't trying to get it today. I didn't want it. I only..." she trailed off.
"I only wanted to show father something I was proud of." A half truth. "If I had known that this day would have ended as it did, I would have shown him something else" she finished with honesty.
Her mother only scoffed. "You expect me to believe that?"
"No, I expect you to tell father that my feats today have left me quite exhausted and feeling ill, and that I've decided to retire early." she said decisively. "Otherwise, get out before I change my mind" Azula added before Ursa had a chance to respond, not wanting to deal with another one of her accusations of an ulterior motive.