Chapter 11
Kai and the guard rushed an unconscious Azula upstairs to the patient care room. It was spacious enough for six small beds to fit inside, each with their own dividers for privacy. The room was painted white, but the walls were adorned with paintings and decorative scrolls, giving it a cheerful atmosphere for recovering patients.
The doctor was for once grateful that he hadn't finished all of his work during the day. Kai had opted to spend the night in his office, in order to get a few more things done before morning.
The men lay Azula down atop the furthest bed on the left hand side. Her snoozy guard looked around nervously, probably thinking of how this could have been avoided if he'd simply stayed awake and watched for signs of escalation within her cell. His eyes darted around the room and suddenly met the doctor's.
"I have this handled, you may leave," Kai growled at him and the man sped off into the hallway. I'll decide what to do about him later.
A healer hastened to Azula's bed and began her assessment of the damage. She was shocked to find a few residual sparks bouncing off of the princess's leg every now and then.
"What happened to her?" She rolled up her sleeves, revealing dark skinned arms, and began to gently massage the flesh of Azula's left leg, trying to see if there was any serious internal damage.
"Lightning. She managed to generate lightning…" Saying the words out loud, Kai was in disbelief. How had she done such a thing?
The healer sucked in a breath, "Well, it seems like she wasn't struck directly and that's a very good thing. Most likely, the bolt struck the wall or floor, traveling through the metal. She was unlucky enough to still be touching the surface when it hit."
Kai watched the healer, Maya? Ma..? Mi… Minah, gesture to Azula's left foot. Several jagged, angry red marks had twisted their way from her toes to just above the knee where her shift fell.
He shook his head, half in worry and half in amazement, "Will there be permanent damage? Nerve damage? Superficial damage?"
Minah tied her deep brown hair back quickly, shaking her bangs out of her eyes, and pulled a cart with various medical supplies closer to her. On it were a couple jars of thick ointments, a large roll of gauze, scissors, a painkiller she commonly used, and a vase of water.
"It's hard to say right now, I'll know better once I've started the healing process," she moved her hands smoothly in front of her, pulling the water from its vase. She coated Azula's entire leg in the liquid, concentrating as it glowed a dull blue color. "This will take some time, you may want to contact the Fire Lord."
Kai's stomach sank, "Of course, you're right. I'll be back shortly. If anything happens, send word to my office immediately." He looked at Azula's face, concerned. The young woman appeared so pained even in unconsciousness. Her brow and lips twitched occasionally.
"Please administer the painkiller once you've finished," with one more glance, he turned and headed down the hallway.
Reaching his office, he closed the door and settled at his desk, face in his hands. How on earth did this happen? Over the past few weeks, months even, in comparison to the first year or two of her stay here, Azula had shown stunning improvements. Though she still was not speaking candidly in their one-on-one sessions, her interactions with Ty Lee were no longer hostile, she was eating regularly, and looked quite healthy. Kai was genuinely happy to see Azula like that; he always felt great joy when his patients showed signs of recovery.
But now… What had changed so suddenly? Why would she do this? And how was she able to conjure lightning? He knew she was capable of it, of course. Who in the Fire Nation hadn't heard the tales of their fourteen year old prodigy princess wielding lightning during the war? He'd assumed, foolishly it seemed, that if she couldn't firebend, she couldn't bend lightning either. Kai was no bender, so his knowledge on how it actually worked was less thorough than others'. He would have to ask. The process for performing the two skills must differ somehow.
He rubbed his temples. The Fire Lord would not be pleased with this development. If the princess was notorious for her skills and unfortunately now, her instability, her brother was known for his hot temper. In recent years, he'd learned to control it, but Kai suspected the threshold was always lowered when it came to Azula.
The young Fire Lord had initially seemed caring, devoted to the mental well-being of his little sister. But after months, when she hadn't made a miraculous recovery, Kai suspected that Zuko became disheartened. Once he realized that her improvements were far outnumbered by setbacks, his visits diminished, along with his patience with Kai.
It was sad, really. Zuko losing heart probably hurt Azula more than either of them knew. Not that the young woman was without fault; she never exactly tried to mend her relationship with her brother. Kai had learned quickly that the rift dividing the royal family was far deeper than he'd expected.
He often probed Azula about her father, but never getting any worthwhile answers, he did not push for information. It nagged at him though, a feeling that somehow that brutal man was responsible for why Azula and her brother were how they were. After all, the young Fire Lord wore proof of that brutality on his face.
Kai's head snapped up out of his hands, suddenly remembering what Azula had mumbled before she fainted. Daddy.
Was it because she was in pain? Oftentimes people call for their mothers in such circumstances. But no, it didn't seem like a cry of physical pain. Kai remembered her eyes, unfocused, blinking back tears, looking at something only she could see. It dawned on him.
A hallucination.
She must have had a vision of her father before the lightning strike. It was possible that she had tried to attack him, especially if he'd said something she considered offensive.
Although, Azula was well aware of her hallucinations. The last time she attacked one was with Ursa months ago. The guards normally reported hushed conversations or her usual biting remarks, but she reacted less and less frequently with violence.
With Azula's prowess in battle, Kai also knew she would have been aware of her surroundings. And he doubted she would attempt to conjure lightning in an entirely metal room. He doubted the thought of using lightning in that room had ever crossed her mind.
That meant… Could "Ozai" have attacked her? It could explain the pure hurt he saw in her eyes. Another act of betrayal. He would have to ask Azula about this once she woke up.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms, resting them behind his head. If only she would talk to me. We could get to the root of these problematic relationships and I could help her devise a way to confront the hallucinations before they turn so combative. I want to help her.
Kai was then struck by another thought. Only he, one guard, and Minah knew what happened tonight. Most things concerning Azula were already kept quite confidential, as per the Fire Lord's orders. The doctor had quarreled with Zuko on a few occasions regarding his ideas about the princess. Kai was sure Zuko never wanted any true harm to come upon his sister, but he was also not so sure Zuko wanted Azula thriving. They never spoke about what would become of her if she recovered enough to leave this place. And shouldn't that be the end goal? After all, this was not a prison, but it did increasingly feel like Azula was being imprisoned here.
Since Kai was a doctor, the well-being of his patients was what he cared about the most. Would it be treasonous to not inform the Fire Lord of what happened here tonight? He was afraid telling Zuko would cause the man to tighten the already stifling restrictions on his sister. He didn't want to cause her anymore unnecessary punishment for things she could not help.
The doctor inhaled deeply and took out a slip of paper and a brush. He quickly wrote a letter, sealed it, and without another thought walked up a few flights of stairs to the roof with its tiny aviary. Kai roused the quickest capital-bound hawk they had. Its yellow eyes blinked sleepily at him, but once they focused on the scroll in his hand, the bird trotted to the edge of the enclosure and waited to be fit with a leather carrying pouch. He quickly tucked the letter inside and attached it to the bird's feathered back. Holding out his arm, the hawk latched on loosely with its talons and he walked it outside of the enclosure. With a little shake, the bird took off into the night.
He secured the aviary and returned downstairs to check on Minah's progress with Azula. The princess was still unconscious and quite pale, but the healer had wrapped her leg in gauze and was just injecting the painkiller. She looked up as Kai approached her.
"I've done what I can. She'll be alright. The blast spread through her whole body, but it seems her leg took the most of the damage. The ointment and gauze will keep the wound free of infection. It will be tender for quite some time, she must be careful or it will scar badly."
Kai smiled weakly, "Thank you, as always your skills here are greatly valued."
Minah returned the smile and walked away, "I'll check on her in the afternoon tomorrow. Goodnight, doctor."
"Yes, goodnight," Kai watched her leave, still mulling over the night's unexpected events. He soon returned to his office to grab the unfinished case files that he wanted to review and then went back to the patient care room. The doctor remained there all night, perusing his work and checking in on Azula every so often, hoping he wouldn't regret what he'd done.