Just another piece
Of a matching set, I was
Until I met you
The princess who made me her
Personal contortionist
-Ty Lee
"And that's how I ended up here. It's probably hard to believe, I know." Ty Lee had just finished reciting the story of her misadventure and how she ended up in her current location. Kori merely stared back in amazement as she took in every detail. How could such a terrible fate happen to a noble, and the crown princess' girlfriend no less? The two girls were currently in Kori's room. Mayor Morishita had been more than willing to let Ty Lee stay at their house for a few days. After the girls had a brief lunch consisting of Fire Nation cuisine mixed with local Earth Kingdom fare that Ty Lee had never seen before, they went back out to the city, where Kori showed the acrobat all of the interesting sites, and they eventually found a bulletin board to offer Ty Lee's talents to any prospective circus. Ty Lee wrote a resume that emphasized her talents, ability to Chi Block, her noble status, and her friendship with Azula (although she omitted the fact that they were a couple). Afterwards, they returned to the Morishita residence and retired to Kori's room, where the contortionist had spent the last few hours telling the Earthbender how she ended up in her current predicament.
"It's a miracle that you were able to escape from such a terrible fate, Lady Ty Lee. But I wonder why the Princess couldn't have done anything."
"Well, they were waiting for me in my room. It made me realize why Azula tried to make me move into the palace. I really should've just agreed with her, or just let her keep me in her room the night before it happened. I just hope she finds and punishes those guys eventually and comes after me. Even though it's only been a little more than a week since I've last seen her, I already miss her." Ty Lee looked down in sadness as she said this. "We've been together for more than two years and now I can't go back. I hope she hasn't found a new girl to replace me. She hates abandonment more than anything so she'll probably treat her next girlfriend like an actual pleasure slave to make sure she doesn't escape. And if that's the case, I don't know what I'd do! Azula's mine and mine alone!"
Kori looked on sympathetically. "If it's appropriate, could you tell me the story of how you two ended up together?"
"Of course. It still isn't too late so we have plenty of time."
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Azula and I were always quite close. I first met her when my mom visited the palace and tried to make some business deals with Princess Ursa at the time. I was a clueless little girl back then—well even now I still sort of am according to Azula—and anyways, although I don't remember the specifics, my mom says I grabbed Azula's hand and dragged her around everywhere. In retrospect it wasn't a good idea but for some reason she took a liking to me and I was allowed to visit the palace and play with Azula whenever I wanted to. I remember the times I'd perform acrobatics in the palace gardens, join Azula in exploring secret chambers in the palace, and have sleepovers with her and our friend Mai from the Royal Fire Academy For Girls. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if Azula had a hand in getting me accepted in that school, since I was never really a smart girl to begin with and none of my sisters were accepted even though some of them are far more qualified than I am and we're a noble family with vast wealth and powerful connections. Anyways, I still remember the day I saw a change in Azula. You see, some members of my family have the ability to see people's auras. That means we can see certain colors emanating from a person and detect their moods. I never really took things seriously in my life but there were three exceptions: acrobatics, chi blocking, and auras. Azula always had a radiant aura that was quite colorful when she was happy, bright red when she was asserting her dominance, and started to darken when she was depressed. Mai had an aura that was always gray—sometimes of a lighter shade, sometimes of a darker shade—but always gray, unless she saw Zuko. I remember this because a few days before everything changed for the worse with Azula, Mai and I were visiting the palace and while I was doing acrobatics in the garden, Mai was sitting next to a tree and being her usual bored self….until we saw Zuko walking by and her aura all of a sudden turned bright red—the color of lust or desire—and she was blushing. Azula noticed this and had me help her play a prank on the two of them. They ended up on top of each other in a fountain and Mai was really embarrassed. Of course, I had to go home soon after that since Azula's uncle Iroh had sent her and Zuko a letter from the front, while he was attempting a siege on Ba Sing Se. Azula never really liked him for some reason even though from what I remember he always seemed like a funny guy with a great taste in tea and Pai Sho. She said that Iroh only favored Zuko in the same way her mom favored him and that she could tell because he had sent Zuko a knife taken from an Earth Kingdom general while he sent her a stupid doll taken from a civilian instead of an actual war trophy.
Anyways, a few days after that day, Azula said her uncle had given up on his siege because his son died. Azula's dad had requested an audience with Firelord Azulon for some reason because of that. She never told me what exactly happened but that night the Firelord died, Princess Ursa went missing, and Zuko and Azula were never the same. The next day, Ozai was crowned the new Firelord, and when I saw Azula in the academy she was seemingly ecstatic and bragging to everyone how she was now an actual princess and how she intended to make Zuko lose his position as heir to the throne. But at the time, I saw that her aura was her usual radiant pattern, but underlined by streaks of black. These streaks seemed to grow whenever someone mentioned her mother. It was at that time that I knew something was wrong with her. As soon as Azula was alone I confronted her and asked her what had happened. She got mad at me and tried to make me leave with threats but I told her I knew there was something wrong because of her aura. I then asked if anything happened to her mother to test it out and as expected, her aura started to blacken. Azula screamed at me and told me that it was none of my business so I let it go for the time being. I didn't press the issue again, even when I visited the palace and saw that Zuko's aura was even darker.
A few years later though, I saw her aura turn black again. And once again she tried to hide it with a declaration of success and grandeur. But I could see right through it. I don't know all the details, but apparently Zuko had done something to disrespect Firelord Ozai. As a result he was forced into an Agni Kai with his own father. I refused to go watch but Mai went and I saw her genuinely cry for the first time afterwards. When I saw Azula at the palace after the Agni Kai, she had a look of triumph on her face and declared that she was now the crown princess and thus destined to become the Firelord and that Zuko was banished forever unless he could complete the impossible task of capturing the Avatar. However, I saw the streaks of black in her aura were even bigger than before. I asked her again if there was something bothering her and she once again got defensive and fiercely denied it, saying that she now has nearly everything she could ask for since her position as heir to the throne has been guaranteed. When I brought up the fact that I could tell from her aura that something was wrong with her, she proceeded to yell at me and told me my aura reading is useless and fake. I don't remember what happened next, except that I started to cry and ran out of the palace. I stayed home for a few days afterwards when my parents told me that Azula had come to visit. She told me to accompany her and took me to the palace and said I would be staying with her for a few days. I was still hurt by her yelling at me and told her I didn't want to stay with her. When I tried to leave she stopped me, and told me that she was sorry. And I could tell from her aura that she was being honest. She once again asked me if I would stay with her for a few days and I could see in her aura the familiar blackness as well as some traces of anxiety, sadness, regret, and even fear. I didn't want anything to happen to Azula so I agreed. And then those elements of her aura suddenly vanished.
She had me stay in her room and sleep in her bed. She was being surprisingly more frisky than usual. Even before this, I would always greet Azula with a tight hug and nuzzled her whenever I felt like it and also gave her massages quite frequently—I used my knowledge of chi pathways to make sure she always felt refreshed. But this time she was the one hugging me tightly, as if she was afraid I'd leave her.
The next day, she took me to one of the secret chambers within the palace that we used to explore. It was filled with artifacts and trophies from all four nations. Azula held me tightly and then said things I never expected to hear from her. She told me that I was right all along and that my aura reading was truly admirable. She said that her mother and brother leaving actually made her feel insecure but that she'd never reveal this to anyone else and that she was only telling me because she trusts me. She then pulled me in and said those five words I'd never forget: "Will you be my girlfriend?"
I didn't know how to react at first. Azula explained to me what I suspected all along: she was afraid of losing another person she loved and wanted to keep me around to make sure she won't lose me. She wanted me to be her eternal possession.
I agreed to be hers.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"And now look at me. I've broken my promise and abandoned her. Agni knows if she's hurt herself in response. If that were the case I'd never forgive myself." As Ty Lee finished her tale, she began to tear up. Kori quickly gave her a handkerchief to calm her down. "Lady Ty Lee, what happened wasn't your fault at all. I'm sure the princess will understand when she finds out." "But the question is will she find out? Those thugs said they'd leave a note to make it seem like I left on my own. I'll need to become successful so that way I can present myself with a proper apology gift. There's no way I can just go back to her like this!" "But my lady, can't you at least send her a message? The princess seems to be the forgiving type when it comes to you." "Maybe. But I don't know what I should do. I didn't have any plan at first when I arrived here in Yu Dao. I thought I could at least contact Mai and see if she'd be willing to help me but she's always busy because of her dad's political career and I don't even know what her address is."
As she finished her last sentence, they heard a knock on the door. Mayor Morishita came in. "Girls, I have good news. The colonial Grand Circus has sent me a messenger hawk declaring that they'd love to see Lady Ty Lee. They'd love to see your talents. They will be sending a representative to our house tomorrow at noon." As he walked away. Ty Lee had a massive grin on her face, her previous melancholy gone. She jumped up in joy. Kori was also happy.
"Congratulations, Lady Ty Lee. Now you'll be able to pursue your dream and work your way to success!" Ty Lee hugged Kori in response and lifted her up. "Yep. Just like Zuko can't go home until he captures the Avatar and restores his honor, I need to do that too, by joining this circus. That way I can make sure I'm worthy of being Azula's girlfriend again."
