Chapter Two: Tea
It had been two years after Ursa took Zuko. Without Zuko to take some of the attention away from her, Azula's knees were buckling under the pressure Ozai had placed on her shoulders. No mistakes, no accidents, no nonsense. Ozai accepted nothing but perfection from the, newly titled, crown princess. Although she already excelled at most of her duties, Ozai kept asking for more. He kept pushing her further.
"Again!"
Azula ran through her forms for the tenth time that afternoon. Her body was shaking with exhaustion as Ozai drilled her. She stepped with the last move for her kata. Her strike landed higher than it should have.
"Almost perfect, Azula." Ozai nodded and stared down at her. She stood straight, not daring to move. "Almost isn't good enough. Again!"
Sweat dripped down her...everywhere as she began her forms again.
"Fire Lord Ozai!" Her father's bumbling advisor, Sheng, came in. "We've received word back from the new colonies." Ozai's lip curled in annoyance at the interruption. Noticing this, Sheng was quick to continue. "The soldiers are facing a lot of opposition from the peasants, your highness, the council is requesting a meeting to discuss solutions." Understandably, the poor man was shaking; no one wants to be at the receiving end of Ozai's temper.
"Very well." Ozai frowned and turned to the exhausted child in the middle of the room. "Azula! You are dismissed. We will continue our training tomorrow after you meet with your tutors."
"Thank you, Father." Azula obediently bowed to her father before leaving.
"Princess Azula," Iroh smiled as she passed him in the hall, "how would you like to join me for a nice relaxing cup of ginseng tea? Perhaps we could play a calming game of Pai Sho."
"I do not have time for you cryptic lessons, Uncle. I need to train." Azula rolled her eyes at him. She was frustrated. She didn't have time for tea! She needed to train and study; she needed to be the perfect example of a crown princess! She absolutely could not take time away from her lessons just to play board games with her old, fuddy-duddy uncle. Her face screwed up; just the thought of it was absurd.
"Everyone needs time to rest, Azula." He was very patient with her. Matching her intensity would only cause conflict. "Even the earth can crumble with too much weathering."
"Then I suppose it is a good thing that I am, quite obviously, not an earthbender." Azula's arms were crossed defensively.
"You excel in the physical aspect of firebending, Azula, but you lack spirituality. Without spirit, fire lacks life." How dare he criticize her fire! She could practically feel smoke coming out of her ears. "If you are so eager to become stronger, I suggest following me." Without waiting for a response, Iroh turned and left.
Dumbfounded, Azula simply stood there. Did he seriously think she was going to follow him? The old fool was crazier than previously imagined. Even though Iroh had spoken nonsense, Azula was the one left staring dumbly at the ground. A princess should never be taken by surprise! This absolutely could not happen again. She needed to find out more about the former General Iroh's ways; how he could so easily stupefy her. The only way to do that was to follow him. She looked at her reflection on the marble floor and let her face twist in disgust once more before trailing after the Dragon of the West.
Iroh sat at the turtleduck pond and Azula sat across from him. He was calm, patient, and relaxed. Azula, on the other hand, was restless. Why were they just sitting there doing absolutely nothing? Sensing her feelings, Iroh spoke up. "I am going to teach you how to breathe, Azula."
What.
Iroh could have sworn that he saw actual steam coming out of her ears.
"I already know how to breathe!" Azula stood up and clenched her fists at her sides. She felt absolutely insulted. Did he honestly think so... so lowly of her? She was trying to be civil, but this man, this crazy old geezer, had a way of just burning away her patience.
Sensing this, Iroh put up his hands innocently. "I didn't mean to insult you, Azula." He chuckled lightly. The princess's temper was quite amusing to him. It reminded him of his own late son during his young teenage years. "Please sit down so I can explain."
She crossed her arms and sat down with a huff. This had better be worth all the time and humiliation. "Please, Uncle, explain how to breathe. It is not as if I am already doing it or anything." She tried to bite back that quip. Honestly, she did.
"Fire comes from the breath, Azula. You may know how to breathe for survival, but breathing to firebend is much different."
"And? What am I supposed to do? Breathe more?"
"No," Iroh laughed. "Well, yes, actually. In a sense. I am going to teach you how to breathe more efficiently. We are going to meditate."
"So we are going to sit and do nothing."
"No, not 'nothing'." He shook his head. "Meditating."
All this got was a skeptical eye roll from his niece and for a moment he wondered if this was really worth the trouble.
"Meditation can help you become a more powerful firebender as well as a stronger person. You are still young, but you are a very smart girl."
Azula nodded, pleased with the praise from her uncle.
"I want to help you find who you are and I want you to reach your full potential."
She watched him skeptically. The only person that ever cared for her was her father. What could her uncle offer that Ozai couldn't? After hundreds of thoughts ran through her head, she conceded. "Fine."
Iroh nodded pleasantly. "Very good," he smiled. "Now, close your eyes."
Azula obeyed.
"Take in a deep breath. You want to completely fill your lungs. Feel that air fuel your inner fire."
Iroh's gaze was soft on his niece. Ozai's influence already weighed heavily on her shoulders. It would be very difficult to get through with her but this interaction provided him with a renewed hope. Her breathing was slow, her thoughts were slowing down, and for the first time since her mother left... She felt at peace.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please review and provide any feedback positive or negative!