Author's Note: Is a salamander slug a thing? Oh well, it is now! Unfortunately there is very little TyZula this chapter, sorry. But there will be much more in upcoming chapters! And as a kind of preface to this chapter I would like to give a shout out to all the people who fight for women's rights in the world. The Avatar universe has done a lot to confront sexism, but if you spend any time in public situations anywhere you know sexism is still a very serious problem. So on that somber note, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Azula stared up at the night sky, watching the clouds as they blotted out stars in their passing. She was standing on the deck of a ship, much like the ones she herself had used during the war. It was the type of ship that was used to carry important people or information, the design and engines rumbling below her insured that it could travel distances both fastly and efficiently. The vessel was a feat of engineering, one of the many that had helped her nation dominate the world for decades.

Even though the ship provided a comfortable ride, cutting through the waves like butter, Azula had spent most of the journey above deck. The first night she had spent on the ship she had been assigned a small cabin somewhere below deck. It wasn't luxurious, but fitting for a person of lesser importance who the captain might want to keep contained.

The guards had closed and locked the door behind them, and Azula had assumed a meditation position on her bed, trying to concentrate on her breathing. But the room was oppressive, with its dark steel interior and deep red light that cast shadows on the walls… the shadows had slowly begun to morph into people, and her chest had tightened, disrupting her breathing exercise. She had gotten up, stumbling to the door as she tried to draw air into her lungs. When she had reached the door, she beat on it weakly telling the guards that she needed a different room. Of course they had scoffed at her, telling her that she wouldn't get the royal treatment this time. But she had continued to beat on the door, unable to form words anymore.

After some time the guards had finally opened the door, fully expecting the princess to set them on fire and flee, only to find her kneeling in a pool of her own vomit, clutching her chest and trying to maintain consciousness. The surprised guards had tried to haul Azula to her feet, repeatedly asking her what was wrong, but she had resisted, simply telling them to bring her Ty Lee. Finally they had complied and brought Ty Lee to Azula, who had been able to convince them (in a somewhat emotional display) to let Azula have free roam of the ship. It only made sense, Ty Lee had said, only an idiot would jump ship and try to escape in the middle of the churning Fire Nation seas… of course, both women had neglected to tell their captors that Azula had done just that many years ago when dealing with a band of local pirates. Azula had survived, but the pirates and their ship had not.

So here the princess was, standing proud and alone in the middle of the night. After the first day, the soldiers hadn't bothered to guard her anymore, and she spent her nights in the cold air with her undisturbed thoughts. Occasionally Ty Lee would stir herself from her bed to check on Azula, but she would only stay for a few minutes before returning to her room.

Azula was examining a particularly fluffy cloud above her in the night sky, trying to decide if it looked like a mermaid splashing in the sea, or a sinking battle ship with its crew drowning in the frothing waters, when she heard the definitive clack of boot heels as someone approached from the stern of the ship. Azula turned to see who it was, her sharp eyes making out the slim form of the hairless diplomat as she approached.

"Strange, I would have thought that you would drop dead from lack of sleep by now, even if what Ty Lee told me was true." she said, moving to stand beside Azula at the guardrail of the ship.

Biting back her curiosity, and her disgust at realizing she cared about what Ty Lee had said in the first place, she replied:

"Its not hard to stay awake for long periods of time when you have the ghosts of petty people like you haunting your dreams."

The older woman chuckled.

"You have all the bite of the famed princess, but you are somehow different… "

"What did you expect? A baby eating salamander slug?" Azula didn't know why the woman wanted to interrupt her relative peace and annoy her, but it was high time she was gone.

"Maybe." she said smiling.

Azula changed tactics, turning away from the woman and keeping silent in hopes that she would take the hint and leave her alone.

"My name is Ning, princess, in case you didn't remember, and the reason I came here tonight is because I think it's only fair that you show up at the royal palace… reasonably informed. As a former military leader I am sure you know the risks of diving headlong into a situation without any knowledge of your surroundings?"

This was different. After she had been moved to Ember Island and had begun to recover mentally, Ty Lee had refused to talk about the war or about her brother's rule of the kingdom. She had probably avoided them because of the pain it caused both of them, hoping not to reopen the wounds that had healed so miraculously.

Azula turned back to the diplomat and stared at her intently.

"So, just how much has my brother screwed up the Fire Nation?"

"Well, he has almost bankrupted the nation trying to make reparations for the wrongs committed by the Fire Nation's armies. He has been working with the Avatar to try and broker a treaty that would allow some of the Fire Nation settlers to keep their homes in foreign lands. And he has been struggling to replace all the people that were found guilty of war crimes. Though I must say, he isn't doing too bad actually. Thanks in no small part to us."

"Us?"

Ning looked over at Azula, scrunching her eyebrows at the princess. Azula wanted to throw her bodily into the sea, but she needed to play this game to get information.

"Surely you realized that you were the only woman of power in the military? It was a similar situation in the other areas of government. So naturally when Firelord Zuko convened the war crimes trials, most of those executed and imprisoned were males. It left a gaping hole in the bureaucracy, and the people that stepped up to rebuild the nation were predominantly women. I suppose it is something of a cultural movement, people in the Earth Kingdom call us the 'fire roses'."

Azula narrowed her eyes at the woman. She knew only too well what the military had been like. The only reasons she had been accepted as a commander had been her intellect and severity. Some had said her royal blood helped, but anyone who had known Ozai knew that he didn't tolerate incompetence, even among family.

"Well? Is that what this is all about? Am I to be put on trial so the world can slake their blood lust?"

"No, you are coming back for an entirely different reason. Not that they didn't want your head on a plate… literally. But the Firelord and Avatar were able to convince them otherwise. I would say there are three people you owe an unpayable debt to princess. Firelord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and… Ty Lee." Ning had put emphasis on the last name, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see what Azula's reaction might be.

"I am sure you don't remember, but I was the person that oversaw your hospitalization, among other things. I spent years calling upon the most revered doctors around the country, trying to find someway to help you, but it wasn't until Ty Lee returned from the Earth Kingdom that I was able to make a difference. She had been overseas for two years, working to help rebuild the world, but she decided she had been away from home too long. Almost immediately after returning she told your brother she wanted to see you, and she was sent to me. After seeing you in your… unstable state, she convinced me that she knew what you needed, and we set about convincing the Firelord to release you into her custody. You owe her more than you know."

Surprised at the sudden and very personal shift in the conversation, Azula struggled to reply.

"She doesn't care about what happens to me. Ty Lee always felt the need to fix things, I am just another broken toy she wants to play with." Her words were bitter, softened none whatsoever by the fact that Azula knew they simply weren't true.

"You really think that?" Ning said looking intensely at Azula. "...I don't think you do."

The sky had begun to brighten over the course of their conversation, the stars disappearing and the clouds on the horizon becoming a deep pink. Azula heard footsteps, glancing away from Ning's piercing gaze, she looked over the diplomat's shoulder to see that Ty Lee had come up to greet Azula just like she did every morning regardless of where they were.

"Well, regardless," Ning said, looking behind Azula and gesturing towards the front of the ship. "I think we are all going to find out quite a bit today."

Azula turned towards the front of the ship. On the horizon there were dim masses of land appearing, and right in front of them, the tall spires of the Fire Nation capital. Azula's stomach clenched, after so long she was finally coming home.