Chapter 8
The princess waited in her room for nearly an hour before the screech of the restraint chair made its way down the hall. The regular routine followed: Guards unlocked the bars, held Azula in place while the doctor locked the chair in place in the center of her cell, Azula was moved to the chair and strapped in while Kai sat across from her, using a chair from the guest portion of the room.
"Isn't Zuko paying you enough? Can't you afford a wheelchair? This thing is horrific," she gestured as best she could to the obnoxious chair beneath her.
Kai sighed. Half of this man's communication is sighs, he's as bad as Mai. He took out a little notepad and ink to write whatever he found interesting about their session.
"I think you know just as well as we do that this option is much more secure than something with wheels on it. You can't roll away from us," he smiled awkwardly as if he'd just told a funny joke and wondered why no one was laughing. Azula did not react. When he realized she wasn't going to say anything else, Kai continued.
"Well it seems Ty Lee left here in high spirits today. No provocations from you this time? What's the occasion?"
Azula sneered at the awful man and wondered vaguely what it would be like to set his white coat on fire. Thrilling, no doubt.
"I suppose I was in a state of numb shock after your delightful bit of cooling. Or rather, Zuko's bit of cooling."
Kai met her eyes but displayed no outward reaction, "Ah. So she told you about that. Well, are you surprised? You did try to strike him down numerous times, wouldn't you do the same?"
"Of course not. I would have had myself executed a long time ago, but my brother is much too soft for that kind of action. Long distance passive-aggressive punishment is more his style," she picked at one of her nails with her thumb. Kai noticed.
"Does it bother you that he, or anyone besides Ty Lee for that matter, hasn't been to see you in months?"
Oh good, full blown therapy mode today. He was probably hopeful that she'd loosen her tongue after playing nicely with Ty Lee. Fine, she could play with him a little today too.
Azula scoffed, "Of course not. They're all just staying away because they fear me. And that's exactly how Father told me it should be. Rule by fear in all aspects of life."
Kai scribbled some notes. Azula was still shocked at how any bit of realistic information was eaten up immediately by the doctor.
"What else did your father tell you? And if she's visiting you so often, that must mean Ty Lee doesn't fear you. Is that right?"
"He told me many great things," Azula answered elusively. He also told and did very terrible things to her, but there was no need to disclose any of that to anyone. She ignored the second question. She wasn't sure if Ty Lee was gripped by the same combination of admiration and fear towards Azula that she used to be. But Azula didn't want Kai to know that Ty Lee had probably been in love with her since they were thirteen. It was best to keep some things hidden.
The doctor seemed visibly disappointed that Azula hadn't elaborated, but he never pushed for answers he knew he wouldn't get and so he changed the subject to a recent favorite, "You've made some great strides these past few weeks. We haven't sedated you, you've taken regular meals, and the guards say your hallucinatory episodes are tame and infrequent. So why have you continued to burn yourself?"
This is boring. She wanted him to leave. Her eyes bore into the hideous mud brown ones across from her and she licked her lips seductively. Perhaps she'd steal a move from Ty Lee. Unpredictability usually shook Kai into giving up and she hadn't tried this sort of tactic before, "Because I like how it feels." She clenched her hands around the ends of the chair's arms and leaned as forward as she could in the restraints.
"I miss the heat. That feeling of control. Wielding something so raw and powerful is truly pleasurable," she purred in the voice that had conquered Ba Sing Se.
Azula had never spoken quite like this to Kai before, her usually vitriolic voice was dripping with honey. Sinfully, sweetly suggestive. She knew she was attractive, but she hadn't had much of a chance to wield it in this way before everything fell to pieces. But she was older now, so why not practice a different kind of warfare, a new way of toying with someone? Why not polish her skills on an already nervous little mouse of a doctor?
His reaction was not disappointing. He schooled his face into an unemotional mask, but she saw a slight chill shake his shoulders as she could only imagine what was running through his brain. Just from my voice? So easy.
He gave a miniscule jerk of his head to reawaken himself before asking, "Are you telling me you get sexual gratification from burning yourself?" The guards looked at each other through their helmets. Azula wished she could see their faces.
She cackled, "You're a doctor, haven't you heard of masochism?"
His eyebrows twitched and he wrote hastily in his little book. She could only imagine the notes. Princess Azula, insane, manipulative, masochistic. Let them spread rumors. What did it matter now that they all knew she was crazy anyways? A giant fracture had appeared in her previously flawless armor, now visible for all to see. It pained her to think on that too much. Her perfection was an unplanned casualty of the war.
"I see. Well, unless there's anything else you'd like to disclose this afternoon, I will return to my office."
He wasn't looking directly at her anymore and tucked his notes away as he stood to replace the guest chair. Azula was a little surprised that he didn't want to pry more into this information, but she wouldn't complain. Short meetings with this man were always welcome.
"Ty Lee will be returning tomorrow and she would like tea. You will have this ready shortly after she arrives."
The doctor's brow twitched, annoyed that she was ordering him around. He signaled to the guards and they undid the buckles of the chair, one guiding her to her bed while the other removed it and scraped it out of the room. Oh spirits, it can't be that heavy, just carry the damn thing!
"We can arrange that. You'll have to remain locked in here though, last night was something of an anomaly."
Azula sat on her bed while the guard locked her away, "I'm not going to attack her, you know. I would have done it this morning if that were the case."
Kai rubbed his nose, considering the options. This woman was as vindictive as they come; there was little chance she'd forgiven Ty Lee for the past so soon, if she ever would at all. And he knew to never trust her word. He warned the guards in contact with her to abide by the same rule. As he recalled, he'd even told Ty Lee that very thing on her first visit here. He was quite sure that her masochistic confession was a lie, a deflection for reasons yet unknown. But she had divulged a small fact about her father… What he thought was a fact anyways. Based on the defeated Fire Lord's reputation, it was reasonable to think he'd passed on the "rule by fear" rhetoric to his daughter. She certainly seemed to live her life by those words.
The doctor needed to follow his own advice, yet a large part of him felt badly for keeping this talented girl in here with no positive stimuli. Her remaining family never visited, she had no activities to keep her busy as per Zuko's orders, and she was kept in a cooler, also at the Fire Lord's request. A person with a mind such as hers needed activity. Perhaps some less restricted time with Ty Lee would help her. After all, Azula had come quite a ways since that first visit in early summer, probably due to Ty Lee's presence. But he had to be cautious to not let progress blind him...
In the end, he settled for a small compromise, "She can come into your quarters, but I'll have to have you in the jacket."
Azula was oddly comforted by the thought that at least someone still considered her dangerous, "Fair enough."
Her amusement faded quickly when the chair screeched against the metal floor all the way down the hall. She stuffed her head under her pillow. I swear I will destroy that thing.