Zuko looked down at his nails, then up at the bottle of solution. He very much wanted there to be a way around it, but there was not - the pretty rose color had to come off, or his secret would be out. He could skip dinner, but that wouldn't guarantee Mother wouldn't drop by and ask him what was wrong.

Ty Lee's instructions were simple but effective. The solution on some cotton made the color wipe off with only a little bit of pressure, leaving his nails back the way they had been when the day began. Once the box was hidden away in his dresser drawer as she had suggested, Zuko was more than relieved, if a bit disappointed. Every moment he had been imagining someone walking in and asking him what he was doing with his hands. It was frightening, to say the least, reminiscent of the very justified fear he had felt the day before. Nevertheless, another part of him almost wanted someone else to see. Once Ty Lee had gone, he had almost tried to find Azula - only to scold himself for thinking of the idea. Any number of people could be witness to his walks around the palace. What if one of them wondered why his hands were in his pockets, or curled into fists? He would have no way to explain.

Once he was sure all the evidence was hidden away, Zuko made his way to the private dining room where his parents would most likely already be congregating. While normally dinners weren't the most pleasant of experiences, Zuko was looking forward to catching Azula after it was over to thank her for setting everything up with Ty Lee. For once, an offer of hers that turned out to be just that - an offer of help.

Zuko opened the final door. "Look, I told you, she said she was tired."

"I heard you the first time, woman! What I want to know is why you went to speak with her in the first place." Ozai fumed, obviously mad about something. Zuko did his best not to think about it too much as he took his seat and looked over what was being served tonight, obviously not yet moving to grab that fish fillet he was eying without being told he could start.

"She's my daughter. I can talk to her whenever I want."

The Firelord scoffed. "Oh, she's your daughter, is she?" he mocked. "Then I must have just missed you at her last evaluation, or last year's awards ceremony, or when she hurt herself trying to conquer lightning. Because as her mother you surely must have attended these important-"

"Oh you stop." She waved her hand dismissively. "I don't go where I'm not wanted." Ursa shot back, opening her mouth to say more before finally noticing Zuko waiting at the table. "Zuko!" she exclaimed, turning away from Ozai (who had clearly stopped listening the moment she opened her mouth anyway.) "How was your day? I haven't seen you." she asked, finally sitting down hoping that her husband's plans would be abandoned now that his golden child was absent.

"It was good." Zuko answered both vaguely and honestly, looking to his mother's right, weary of the Firelord's predatory gaze but nevertheless happy to see Ursa. Of course, 'good' was usually how he described his days, but this time Zuko supposed he meant it. "...where's Azula?"

Ursa smiled at what seemed to be a genuine contentment. "Well, she's-"

"Azula's exhausted." Ozai interrupted, himself quite happy to take the situation and run with it. "She had a big day today." he explained enigmatically as he finally sat down and began serving himself some food, swiping the plate of fish fillet.

She did?, Zuko thought to himself, not hearing his mother's grand sigh. "...what do you mean?"

"Well," he began, shoveling various other foods onto his plate. "while you were busy playing, your sister made history." the Firelord explained with a devilish grin, more than happy to slowly let little Zuko realize his grievous error. "Your mother tells me that it took quite a lot out of her." he added, causing Zuko to pause filling his own stomach and look back at Ursa, who's head was resting on her hand.

"What do you mean she made history?" Zuko asked, his food all of the sudden not seeming so appealing as his mind churned about, wondering exactly what his sister had done. Had she told him what he did? Was that what this was about?

As if to violate the laws of reality, Ozai's smile grew even bigger. "Why, she's become the youngest princess in history to ever be named heir by substitution" he said slowly, enunciating every word as if to make sure Zuko could understand him.

Though Zuko didn't even need to hear most of the words to know what they meant. Heir by substitution. That was complicated speak for he was being replaced, just like Iroh was before him. Zuko didn't even need to ask why, he knew. His sister had gone behind his back and-

"You see, Zuko" he continued, not knowing or caring about his son's thought process. "Your sister showed me something today - something that hasn't been seen since the era of dragons. The Fire Sages agreed that her abilities are nothing short of divine!" he exclaimed, leaving out the concessions he had to make to get that particular proclamation in writing.

The boy looked up from his plate, surprised that his father hadn't said the words that he was expecting. Divine abilities? Era of dragons? Zuko was confused - he had been almost certain that he was going to bring up what he had done yesterday.

Somehow though, Zuko didn't feel any less betrayed. The fact that Azula might have technically kept her promise was overshadowed by the fact that she had gone behind his back and dealt a critical blow anyway - one he surely couldn't object to for fear of everything coming out. Although on some level there was little he could of have done about it, Zuko felt like an idiot for even thinking his sister wasn't a treacherous snake.

Azula always lies

"Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Ozai prompted after a few moments. Zuko looked to his left, to his mother, only to find that her face had been buried deeper into her hand.

"N-Nothing" he managed barely, the food he had just eaten feeling like rocks in his stomach.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." he repeated, more steadfast this time. He didn't have it in him to have another teary-eyed 'discussion' with his father. All he wanted now was to go back to his room and curl up, and stay that way until the turmoil of the day was gone.

Ozai showed a brief smirk before his expression dropped into something more serious. "Boys who have nothing to say for their failures don't belong at my table. Get out!"

"Ozai."

"No, let your precious son leave. Maybe without your coddling he'll finally grow a pair and challenge his sister in the arena. Rather than hoping you'll protect his honor forever."

And leaving was exactly what Zuko did. He didn't stay and listen to his mother's desperate defenses and the inevitable screaming match that would follow - nor did he wander the grounds like last time he had been kicked out of a place in which he was not wanted. Instead, he walked straight to his room without delay. His father had taken the sweet taste from earlier and turned it bitter, and all Zuko wanted to do was spit it out. And he had little chance of that awake.

And Azula? She'd done exactly what she always did. He didn't have much right to be surprised, he supposed.

What was that saying? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?

Zuko put his weight against his own door. And what if his father was right? What if he ought to challenge his sister? It would be lying to say he hadn't thought of it before. On some level, the outcome was predetermined - the gap between them had been widening ever since they were little. But on another, perhaps his willingness to try in it of itself would impress Father? At least he wouldn't think him a coward.

Or maybe he just wants to see you get hurt, said a voice in his head that was rarely listened to.

Zuko turned away from his bedroom door, retracing his steps before changing direction altogether. On some level, he knew that if he thought too much about it his treasonous doubts would make him turn back. He'd question and question and find a way to talk himself out of it. So, Zuko did what he always did when he was making a potentially disastrous decision: he didn't think about it.

It was dark, but Zuko had very little trouble making his way to Azula's room - he could scarcely stop thinking about what had happened there yesterday.

He considered opening the door and letting himself in. After all, his sister had done the same to him more than enough times. Though something made him stop.

Knock knock.

In what seemed like an instant the door opened in front of him, revealing a sleepy-eyed Azula. "Hello, Zu-zu." she greeted him, as if it were mid-day and nothing had happened between them. Zuko had been expecting a smug face, a gloating smirk. Instead, nothing. "Here to talk?" she asked.

"No." he answered immediately. "I mean, yes! Kind of." he trailed off. "You lied to me." Zuko raised an accusatory finger.

Azula's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Probably." she admitted. She could hardly go a week without spinning some kind of lie to Zu-zu. He made it so easy.

Of course, on some level the Fire Princess knew what Zuko's visit was about, though his stern accusations were a far cry from the furious yelling she expected that the news would yield. Lying? Rather than jumping to defend herself, Azula decided to wait it out and see just exactly what she was being accused of.

"So you admit it! You told father all about me so you could get the throne. All you two needed was a lie you could tell everyone else." he said, his voice a hair shy from a shout.

"You're being ridiculous. Whatever father told you wasn't a cover story." she asserted, before sighing again. "He may have embellished a few details here and there, you know how he is. But while you were off dressing up with Ty Lee I was busy convincing the Fire Sages of my Agni-Given power." she said, doing a bit of embellishment of her own.

"And you expect me to believe that it was just some kind of coincidence? I'm not stupid, Azula. I know what you're up to."

Azula rolled her eyes. "No, dum-dum. It wasn't a coincidence." she explained, as if speaking to a child. "Someone had to distract father while you were..." she trailed off. "...experimenting. And it made sense for that person to be me. Father loves seeing me win."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, confused.

"Earth to Zu-zu! I was helping you."

"By taking away my birthright? You have a sick definition of help."

"Oh please, we all know you were never going to be Firelord." she said bluntly. "The only two people in this world who take you seriously are mom and fuddy-duddy uncle. Neither of them decide the line of succession."

Zuko took a deep breath, his stomach making knots for the third time that day. "Well, maybe it's time people started taking me seriously. Maybe it's time we had an Agni Kai."

The smile that had been developing on Azula's face was instantly wiped away. "You're not serious." she said, half-shocked and half-amused that he would even suggest such a thing seriously.

"Scared?"

"Yes, Zuko. Scared for you. Agni Kai don't usually end well for the losing party. Not this kind anyway" she remarked levelly. "Out here, I'm your sister. Our fights end with bruised egos and ruffled clothes. But in the arena, in front of Father, I'm his princess. He'll expect results, not mercy. And he certainly won't tolerate failure - you should know that better than anyone." Azula explained, her voice blunt like a hammer. "Whoever loses won't just have to deal with their wounds, but Father's wrath too. And I assure you, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that person isn't me."

Zuko stood his ground. "Or maybe he'll reward me for fighting for my honor."

Azula rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Father only rewards victory, dum-dum. Mom is the only one who coddles failures like you." she said, keeping her same blunt tone. "If you want some advice - and I suggest you take it: keep your head down, look like you're doing something and keep any challenges to yourself. Father's running out of reasons to keep you around, and mother is running out of excuses for you. You're walking on the edge of a volcano."

Zuko threw his arms down, pacing the room. "You'd like that wouldn't you. If he got rid of me." he said, unable to fully deny Azula's words but not accepting them either.

"Come on, Zuko. If I wanted to get rid of you I would have simply dragged you by the arm to father's office yesterday. You would have been gone by the end of the day." she said, annoyed at Zuko's continued insistence that everything she did was somehow a plot against him. "But I didn't, because for some strange reason I have it in me to help you. A thankless job, it seems."

"You're not helping." he said, quieter this time. "You're just making things worse. Maybe the reason I want a fight is because at least then I'll have a chance to protect my honor. This way it's taken from my piece by piece. You master form after form, get all Father's love. You take away my birthright, hold my secrets against me. You say you're on my side but then you leave me behind. If I wait any longer I'll just end up being one of those forgotten princes. The ones that are listed in our family tree but nobody remembers the names of." Zuko continued. "Maybe you're not getting rid of me. Maybe you really didn't tell Father about me. But you're still taking away everything from me and I don't know what else to do about it!" he exclaimed.

Azula nodded. "That makes sense."

"...it does?" he turned to his sister, surprised that she actually admitted something he said had any sense to it at all.

"I understand completely." she said simply. "Before today it was the same way for me. Tell me, Zuko: how many Fire Princesses can you remember off the top of your head?"

"Well, uh.." he scratched his head. "None, I guess."

"There are hundreds." Azula explained. "Most of them got married off to strengthen our family name, to secure a few since-forgotten alliances or simply favor in the court. A few of them fought in the various wars over the centuries. If you look hard enough, you can even find a footnote or two detailing their biggest achievement on the battlefield. The only event in their entire lives that our ancestors felt was worth recording." she said dramatically. "Similar things can be said about the Fire Ladies, who are remembered for kindness and charity, even though the kind and charitable things that they did are mostly lost to time. In fact, the only two women we can clearly remember in the near-millenia of our family's rule was Lady Nahesa who killed her own son to keep power, and of course the oh-so-great Firelord Hoshi who ascended to the dragon throne because the youngest of her three uncles was too busy getting drunk to stop her coronation after the former two had died."

Silence for a moment.

"So believe me, I can empathize with the fear of being forgotten. People like me usually are unless we're pushed to do something extraordinary."

Zuko stopped his pacing. "I suppose I never thought about it like that." he said.

"No, I don't suppose you did." she said plainly. "Now, is there anything else you want to say or do you want to have this duel of yours right now? It's a bit late but I'm sure Father hasn't gone to bed yet."

Zuko looked at the ground. "No." he said simply, before apologizing. "I'm sorry for bothering you." Azula said nothing as he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

It was a short walk back to his bedroom, but all the while he couldn't stop pondering her words, even after he was safely under the covers. Forgotten princesses, father...

Whoever loses won't just have to deal with their wounds, but Father's wrath too. And I assure you, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that person isn't me.

There was no way Father would do anything to Azula, even if she lost... would he?

It was getting more and more difficult to push that dream out of his head.