Chapter 1

It was late winter and the trees were in full autumnal bloom, their branches filled to bursting with reddening leaves. In no particular order, and often with the encouragement of the wind, the trees shed their leafy companions, sending them earthward in lazy spirals until they joined the carpet of other seasonal colors on the forest floor. They crinkled underfoot as Azula ran, a wide smile on her face as a cool breeze rustled her hair and carried the sweet scent of the forest into her nose. How wonderful it was to run and be away, away from duties, from class work and lessons, from that dreary place called the palace. The sounds of her family followed behind her, their voices relaxed and happy, but they were a distance off. For all she cared, she was alone; just her and the forest. She was free.

Azula turned into the trees, their tall trunks rising around her and shading her from the low winter sun. It wasn't particularly hot, the sky being crowded with soft clouds, but she appreciated the small change of temperature all the same. On she ran, over leaves and moss and gnarled roots, further and further until she could no longer hear the voices. She stopped, listening. At first she heard only a vacuous silence, her ears deafened by the rush of the wind as she ran, but then, slowly, the noise of the forest crept into her ears. She heard the coarse song of the sparrow raven, its loud squawks ugly and piping; the elegant music of the thrush skylark; the steady string thrum of the grass cricket; the happy gurgle of a nearby stream. The sounds pooled and separated at will, but always was the chorus alive and constant.

She turned to a tree, a large oak with thick branches that stretched toward the sun, and threw her arms around it. The bark was slippery beneath her silk slippers but she leaned her weight into her stance and with a few grunts made her way up the trunk until she reached the nearest branch. Her hands wrapped around it and she pulled herself up higher, scurrying from branch to branch until they became too thin to support her weight. Through a break in the canopy she saw the sun eclipse the thin veil of a cloud and felt its energy as its rays washed over the forest around her. Life was so vibrant here; she could feel it pulsating like the steady rhythm of a steam engine from deep within the ground to high up in the treetops where she stood. She smiled.

A cry rose in the distance. Had someone called her name? Azula tore herself away from the view, worried that her pursuers had closed in. She descended from the canopy rapidly, her footing quickly chosen but nonetheless sure. Reaching the lowest branch, she spied a pile of leaves clustered not far from the base of the trunk. She scrunched her nose in thought, running the calculations in her head. She jumped. The ground came at her more quickly than she had anticipated and for a few brief moments she feared that she had misjudged. But with a satisfying crunch the pile of decaying orange and yellow leaves gave her a soft landing and embraced her, its leafy edges tickling her in welcome. She was overcome by a childish desire to roll around, and so she did.

She laughed and the leaves laughed with her, crackling as she rolled. She felt the warmth of the sun as it fell on her face and against her back. She heard the gentle whispering of the wind and her mother's happy laugh that it carried. They were close now, but she didn't care. She could have rolled on the ground forever. She was content.

The rough skin of a hand touched her face and calmed her movement. She looked up. Her father stood over her, his robes flowing in the breeze like a river caught in the light of dusk. He was smiling. It wasn't a toothy grin but it was a smile, a warm smile, all the same. She nuzzled into his strong hand, feeling the lines and calluses with her cheek. He smelled of lotion and perfumes and sweat, a musky scent like pine needles and ancient wood, and she drank it in. This was him, herfather. How she adored him.

The feeling of the hand shifted suddenly.

"Father…" Azula murmured.

"Yes," came her father's response.

Except her father's voice sounded strange. Azula opened her eyes. She was in her bed, in her bedchamber. The room was dark save the weak glow of a single lamp. She almost wished the lamp would go out, the sweet pull of dreamy sleep overwhelming, but her father looked down at her. He was sitting on the side of her bed as he held the lamp.

"Father?"

The man turned slightly, his face dipping into the lamp light, and she saw clearly that his cheekbones were shallow, his jaw rounded, and his nose slightly crooked: this was not her father.

"No, Your Highness," the man said, "but your father sent me. He is waiting in a carriage near the gates."

Azula had always been a bold child, loud and brash when it had suited her, quick to claim what was hers and then some. Fear was not something she often felt, if ever. One day, when she had been very young, younger than she was now, she had stumbled into a den of wolf vipers. The venom of a single wolf viper was said to be enough to kill at least a hundred men, the merest amount capable of paralyzing anyone unfortunate to come into contact with it. Azula had stared at them, the snakes hissing and coiling around each other in response to her intrusion. One of them had reared up toward her, lunging for her neck. Azula had caught the snake by the head and twisted her fingers until she had felt its neck snap. None of the other snakes had bothered her after that.

She had not felt fear then and she wondered why now, here in her dark bedroom with a strange man at her bedside, something close to fear, perhaps the lightest shade of concern, had begun to collect in the back of her mind. She was not powerless; her firebending training was progressing quickly, with her masters even saying they might soon begin to teach her some of the intermediate forms. But the man beside her bed was four times her size and her skills with fire were not yet so great that she felt assured a first strike should the man attempt to restrain her.

"My father sent you? Seems an odd hour to wake me."

"I simply did as I was bidden, princess."

His voice was soft and had a gentle quality to it. She banished the growing sense of unease, quieting her heart, and studied the man for a moment. His face was plain save the crook in his nose, his skin unmarked and unblemished by sun. His shoulders were broad and built, but his posture was withdrawn and formal. As to what color his eyes were, she could not tell for he looked constantly downward, even when he spoke. He's afraid of me, she realized. The thought hurt more than she thought it would, but it erased the lingering suspicion from her mind.

Azula nodded and then yawned. "Yes, but must he wake me now?"

The man hesitated, but then said, "Your Lord Father surely knows best, princess." Azula nodded again.

"Very well. Wait for me outside."

The man rose from the bed and bowed deeply before turning and retreating to the hall.

Azula lit some lamps and dressed quickly in their flickering light, donning her usual burnt coral breeches with matching tunic, and choosing a red overtunic with a high collar to pull over her head. She slid her gold-cuffed bracers over her sleeves and smoothed them until they fitted tightly around her forearms. The bracers had been a gift from her father, and she tended them meticulously, always mindful to store them carefully each night after a day's use. She felt like they enhanced her power, focusing her energy as it ran through her arms and into her fingers. She was loath to go out without them.

After pulling on her bull oxen leather boots, the ones that clicked against stone as she walked, she extinguished the lamps and joined the man still waiting in the hall. He did not turn to face her as she emerged but immediately began to walk without so much as a word. Azula followed obediently. She knew the palace fairly well by now but at night, the corridors and many alcoves deserted save the shadow creatures spawned from the swaying lamp, it was rather spooky and she appreciated the company, and the light.

They moved briskly through the eastern wing of the palace, her family's dwelling. It was smaller than the Firelord's but no less ornate with its gilded pillars, statues, and tapestries. The clack of her heels against the floor was carried high up into the vaulted ceiling. She smiled inwardly; how she loved that sound. Passing through a tall iron door, the corridor merged with the main entrance hallway and after a little while more, they came to an even taller door. The man pushed against it with his shoulder and with the groan of creaking metal, it opened, and they emerged into the cool predawn air.

Grass crickets chirped but no birds sang. A flight of stone steps brought them down to the inner wall and they passed through its gate to come to the outer courtyard. The carriage was there as the man had said, a team of komodo rhinos hitched and standing impatiently, their noisy grunts throwing streams of vapor from their nostrils. The man stopped at the gate, his lamp fading in the early morning gloom as she approached the carriage. Goodbye.

A group of Imperial Firebenders stood sentry around the carriage, their horned helmets illuminated devilishly by the hazy glow of the carriage lanterns. Azula wanted to steer clear of their towering figures but there was no other way around. The nearest heard her approach and turned, bowing when they recognized her. The door to the carriage cabin was opened and she stepped up and entered.

Her father was sitting against the back wall on the far bench, groomed and posed as always with his flowing robes and immaculately brushed raven hair. He continued to stare out the window and did not regard her as she stood in the doorway. She hesitated, unsure of where to sit. She felt inclined to sit opposite her father but space remained beside him on the bench and she felt the pull of her duty to sit there instead. She did, and the door closed behind her. With a lurch, the carriage began to move and they were underway.

For a long while the carriage compartment was silent and Azula stared out into the inky blackness as the cart bounced and bobbed over the road. The occasional torch or lamp marked their progress but even then it was hard to tell how much time had passed, if any had at all. The first pale rays of sun began to inch over the horizon, and still there was silence. Only the squeak of the carriage wheels and the grunting of the rhinos assured her that she had not gone deaf. The sun rose steadily and revealed a world shrouded in early morning mist. As they went, the light ate away at the haze and finally she could see what had previously been obscured.

A landscape of trees and orchards, rolling hills and farms lay beside the carriage. It was green and lush, and already farmers and their workers were tending to their fields. They were far from the palace, far from the capital, and still her father kept his silent vigil. The farmers' business reminded her of the hour and she felt a yawn coming on, the tendrils of drowsiness spreading down her body. Her eyelids felt heavy and they started to fall, the bobbing of the carriage pulling her downward. How nice it would feel to lean against her father, to close her eyes for a moment, just to rest…

"What is this?"

Azula started, the silence broken and her sleepiness gone. She looked up at her father, scared that he had witnessed her near lapse of consciousness, but he continued to stare ahead. She followed his gaze to the window, to the land passing by. She wanted to say, What do you mean, 'what is this?' but she knew her father would not appreciate such insolence. Still the general nature of the question irked her. This is a silly question, that is certain…

"Do you mean the fields, father?"

He nodded slightly, "And what else?"

"The hills?" He nodded again. "The grass, the forests, the orchards?"

"Yes, and what is all of that?"

I don't know, father, why don't you tell me, she thought, irritated, unable to see the point of the lesson. "Land?"

Her father shook his head. "It's more than that, Azula. Have you no idea?" He turned to her then, his fiery eyes falling on her and she felt the sudden urge to squirm away from their gaze. Azula dropped her head, resisting the urge to pull at her bracers. "I'm not sure, father…" Her father grunted and turned back toward the window. "This is our birthright," he said. "Do you know what that means?"

Azula had a vague idea but wasn't completely sure so she shook her head. "It is our bloodright," he repeated, "by our birth, it belongs to us, to our family. It is your grandfather's now, but in time it will pass to another."

"To Uncle Iroh?" she piped.

The corner of her father's mouth twitched slightly but he chapped his mouth to smooth it. "As the laws of succession would dictate, yes, your uncle would inherit it. But it belongs to us as well and, perhaps someday, to us completely." Azula didn't fully understand what her father meant by that but accepted it with a meek nod. The carriage plodded along.

"I've been watching you train," her father said.

Azula turned, surprised. She hadn't known; she hadn't seen him. Father was…watching me? She felt heat seep into her cheeks, and quickly turned away, embarrassed for the blush. From her earliest memories, she remembered that her father had been kind enough: an approving nod, a firm hand on her shoulder, a fleeting smile; these had been the extent of his affection. As she had grown, and she was seven years of age now, these instances had dwindled and Azula had craved those small smiles all the more. She felt starved without them, and was driven to obtain them. Her efforts had met only dust and ash, but she continued on, hopeful and persistent that things might change, that things would change. My patience has been rewarded…

"Your raw power is…exceptional," Azula's heart leapt at the compliment, "and your progress has been impressive. Your masters have confided that they think you are ready to advance to the intermediate skill set, and I agree. But," he paused and Azula's spirit wavered as the word hung in the air, "I'm going to take personal charge of your training from now on. It would be an utter shame to squander your potential, and I will not see it done. I have…a very specific vision for the future, our future." Her father turned to her then, his eyes burning orange. "Would you like that?"

Azula's eyes shimmered with joy and her heart beat out of her chest. She wanted to scream, to jump up and hug her father, but she held back, not wanting to upset him, particularly now, of all times. She swallowed a grin and bowed her head. "I would be deeply honored, father."

Her father's lips curled upward into a grin of flashing white teeth. "Good."

He turned back to the window and the smile withered into a glower. "These people," he said as he looked out at the farmers and groups of merchants that had joined them on the road, "these...peasants, must be guided with a firm hand. There is...weakness in their blood, weakness that cannot go unaddressed. By the divine right of providence, we have been ordained to rule, to command this nation and its people. And we must do so unflinchingly, else we be corrupted ourselves."

Weakness? Corruption? Azula's brow furrowed. "But mother says that it is with humility that we must accept our duty, that the people are ours to protect, and that though we are different, we are the same in spirit, and we must endeavor to treat all our subjects with basic respect."

An empty smile sprang to her father's lips. "Your mother has a kind heart, but her compassion has always been her weakness." His eyes shifted back toward the passing travelers. "Our enemies seek to destroy us – you and I, your mother, your brother; our entire family – and would do so eagerly if given the chance. We must never give them quarter, or they would use it against us. Your grandfather knew this, as did your great-grandfather. Your uncle…" He paused and his face hardened. "I fear your uncle does not share the same view. I worry he may be tainted by such weakness."

"But mother-"

"Enough, Azula."

Azula bowed her head, the censure biting deep, even softly spoken as it had been. You fool, what have you done? Like a range of mountains the silence rose between them and the distance, though mere inches, stretched an incalculable length. You've ruined it.

But her father spoke. "You need not concern yourself with such matters. You will focus on your training, and I will assist you to that end."

Relief reignited the smoldering embers in her heart, its flames jumping throughout her chest, and she couldn't hold back from smiling, but turned away to conceal it. When she had mastered herself, she said, "Thank you, father."

If he had heard her, he made no sign, instead opening the carriage window and snapping his fingers. The carriage turned abruptly, its wheels groaning as it did, and began its journey back the way it had come. There was no more talk, but Azula was content to sit in silence, brooding over what her father had said, her confusion and doubt only a flickering ghost in the light of the rising sun.