Author's Note: I debated for a while how to end this chapter. I think I had three different endings typed up before I decided to go with this. And I actually wanted to make it longer, but then it would have been too long. There is more dialogue in this one, and we also get to see Zuko for the first time. I didn't want to focus on him too much though, instead I focused on plot progression (which also accounts for the small amount of TyZula, but next chapter will be more romantic). And there is a bit about Chinese characters in here, for those who know things about writing in eastern Asian languages I apologize for the slight fact altering. Anyway, enjoy! ^^
Azula looked up at the low lying mountain. The now dormant volcano was one of the symbols of Fire Nation aristocracy. The city was steeped in centuries of culture, and it was the place most of the Fire Nation's leaders had called home.
Despite being a princess, upon arriving at the docks she found that no one had been sent from the palace and that there were no servants to bear her to the Fire Lord. It was a smart move, one that made sense in Zuko's position. He couldn't be seen as openly welcoming the person who was the most visible symbol of the old Fire Nation.
She was accompanied by Ty Lee and Ning, and surrounded by guards. The distance to the Fire Nation palace was very long, and as Azula walked her feet became heavier. Every now and then she thought she could see forms dancing around her in the sunlight. It was as if figures made of dust were passing in between the guards, their shadowy forms catching the morning light.
No one else took notice, so Azula gritted her teeth, keeping her eyes forward in an effort to ignore what she was sure were hallucinations. Her life might very well depend on her wit and appearance when she was presented to Zuko, she needed to stay focused, she needed...
She saw a little girl, it was herself riding in a palanquin with Ty Lee and Mai, not caring that her caretakers had told her she couldn't have 'lowly people' ride with her. She could see herself tall and proud, being praised as she was carried alone through the streets, hailed for having recently won the Academy tourney. She could see herself, Ty Lee, Mai, and Zuko returning from Ember Island in silence. Mai and Zuko were riding together, holding hands, but Ty Lee was walking alone with her shoulders slightly hunched over. Azula appeared oddly diffident, completely silent as she was carried to the palace. Azula knew that she may have appeared aloof at the time, but in reality her thoughts had been a tangled mess, and she had had to restrain herself from looking at Ty Lee.
Suddenly the winter wind rose, blowing dust into the princess's eyes. She raised a hand to rub it away, and when she lowered it the vision was gone, the moment lost in the unstoppable current of time.
The group had stopped, and Ty Lee was frowning at her slightly. Azula realized that she was standing still and must have been for some time.
"It's been such a long time. Well, I suppose we mustn't keep Zuzu waiting too long." Azula said, pulling her lips into a smirk as she started walking again. How long had she been standing there stuck in her trance?
The party finally reached the entrance to the tunnel that led through the mountain and towards the palace. The sun was still low on the horizon, so the capital was still mostly shrouded in darkness, but when they emerged from the tunnel Azula was still able to make out the city before her. Somehow, this didn't feel like a homecoming at all.
Instead of entering through the main gate, the one with a Fire Nation insignia larger than most buildings, they passed through a small postern situated a good distance from the main gate.
As they approached the palace, the large red and golden building looming above them, Ning began to speak.
"It is unlikely that the Fire Nation Council is in session this early. Most likely we will have to wait until later in the day, when the council is convened. The Earth Kingdom representatives will be there as well. For the time being, you will be held in one of the antechambers."
Ning nodded to the guards, making sure they understood the situation. The hairless diplomat then looked at Azula.
"Don't try anything, this is your best chance at redemption."
"As if. With Zuko in charge there probably isn't anything fun to do anyway." Ning had seemed to acquire a more authoritative air when they entered the capital city, and it rubbed Azula the wrong way. The princess smiled at the woman's retreating back. Azula hoped whatever she was scheming failed.
Once they were secured in a large waiting room just off the main rooms of the palace, Azula turned to Ty Lee.
"If you know anything about this Ty Lee, you need to tell me." Her voice was commanding, but not spiteful or domineering like it was with Ning.
Ty Lee was in the process of sitting down on a cushion on the floor.
"I know as much as you Azula. I was gone for two years after the war, and when I returned I didn't spend much time in politics. Only enough to get you." She said, sitting cross legged, her head resting on her hands as she stared at Azula.
The princess sat down on a large cushioned bench.
"Well I suppose you aren't perfect. Like I am." The princess smiled openly at the other girl. It didn't feel malicious, or unnatural. They were alone, just the two of them, and she was making what could be considered a joke at her own expense.
Ty Lee blinked several times, her face blank, as if making sure she hadn't read Azula's intentions wrong. But when Azula actually seemed to be enjoying the former acrobat's confusion, Ty Lee's face lit up and she smiled back at the princess.
"No. I'm not." She said simply.
Several hours passed, the only way to tell time being the changing of guards outside the room. Azula spent most of the time sitting and thinking, but Ty Lee napped for a while, and then began doing stretches after she woke up.
Finally, Azula heard voices outside, followed by a knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal Ning flanked by two more diplomats in red. Both of them were women.
"They're ready, follow me."
The diplomats and a handful of guards led the two of them down a dimly lit passageway towards the throne room. Ning nodded to the guards at the entrance and they pushed open the ornate doors, revealing the pillared room behind them.
There were two rows of people seated on either side of the large room. One side was made up of Fire Nation diplomats and soldiers, half of which appeared to be women. An equal number of them were clad in armor and in robes. So what Ning had said was true, the military was no longer a male only institution.
The other side of the conference however was made up entirely of men. Most were clad in some combination of green and yellow, there were a few aristocrats among them, but most were military men.
"Ah, the culprit. Now we can finally begin this inquiry in earnest." Said a bearded man in green.
But Azula wasn't listening. Her attention was focused solely on the person that was directly in front of her, seated at the end of the room. Her brother.
He was dressed in simple red robes, his hair was in a topknot, held in place by the royal headpiece. Zuko wasn't seated on the throne, but in front of it, on the same level as the council. His hand covered his mouth and he was silent, returning Azula's intense examination with one of his own.
"No, you stand here." Ning whispered, stopping Azula before she walked any further into the room. After making sure that Azula's guards and Ty Lee knew to do the same, Ning made her way towards the council and sat down among her fellow diplomats.
"Azula," Zuko said. All other voices in the room fell silent. "Do you know why you are here?"
"No, your majestic highness. Though Ning was a gracious host she failed to inform me of anything other than the fact that you are still as dull as ever." Azula replied, smiling politely at her brother.
"Princess, this will be much easier for you if you cooperate." Said a Fire Nation man. He was slightly older and had deep grey hair.
"You are here," Zuko said, straightening himself, "Because during reconstruction a soldier discovered a hidden base that you apparently operated deep within the Earth Kingdom. It seems that before father sent you to hunt down uncle and I, you had... other plans."
"Really? Well then perhaps you can tell me what those were, since I can't seem to remember."
Zuko sighed and looked over at an Earth Kingdom representative sitting beside him.
"We found an underground fortress." He was an older man, and his voice was rough. "Inside were plans and information about your hunt for the Phoenix Spirit." He looked up from a scroll he had been examining and raised his eyebrows at Azula.
"You can't be serious Zuzu?" Azula said looking back at her brother. "Searching for a spirit in the physical realm? Do I look like the Avatar?"
"Detailed notes, locations, even information about the spirit itself. It's very powerful supposedly." It was the rough voiced Earth Kingdom man again. She wanted to cram the scrolls down his throat.
"You think if I would have known about a powerful fire spirit I wouldn't have used it to my advantage? I would have burned your country to the ground if I could have, but unfortunately I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped at the old man.
She hadn't been this angry in months, and she was struggling to play the role of a submissive prisoner. Ty Lee had a worried expression on her face and Ning was simply staring at Azula, her eyebrows reaching a considerable distance back onto her hairless head.
"Azula, if you don't cooperate I will have no choice but to hold you in the palace until you do." Zuko said.
"In prison, until she learns some manners." A middle aged Earth Kingdom man said.
"No, she's not going‒" Zuko started, but Azula interrupted him.
"What?! You cannot imprison me for something I didn't do!"
"Well, we can always bring up the old war crime charges."
Zuko stood up, acting every inch the Fire Lord.
"Enough! We have dealt with that already ambassador. I am not going to try someone for the same crime twice."
But Azula couldn't hear him. She remembered prison. It felt oddly like the walls of this throne room. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. She was seething, and she unconsciously channeled energy throughout her body, readying herself to fight and flee if need be.
The walls of her prison, her brother's summons, the demands of the diplomats, they all felt the same to her.
The room darkened unexpectedly, and Azula's gaze was drawn to the throne situated behind Zuko. The traditional fires had been lit somehow and through the flames she could see a figure staring at her. It was her father. He was scowling at her in disdain. It took everything she had to stop herself from kneeling before him.
"Azula. Azula!" Zuko was standing almost directly in front of her. "The council needs to discuss this alone. I will have the guards show you to your temporary quarters. Please."
He had added the please when it seemed like she would refuse. Ty Lee made as if to follow the guards and Azula.
"Ty Lee, we may need to question you about recent events if you don't mind." Zuko said, gesturing to a place near the Fire Nation diplomats. Ty Lee looked at Azula before moving to comply, and the princess was led out of the throne room without further issue.
Azula paced impatiently in her new room. It wasn't anything like her old royal suite, but an arrangement she was quickly getting used to: no windows, sparse furnishings, and only one way in or out.
She had been in the room for hours and the guards had refused to open the doors or tell her anything. Finally she sat down, exhausted mentally more than physically. Being here was like someone slowly turning a knife in her back. The palace had been her home off and on for years, it held memories of Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, father, and of course, her mother. She thought she had been prepared for this, but after seeing her father in the throne room she couldn't keep the memories at bay anymore.
Azula was sitting on the edge of the bed, tense and staring at the wall opposite of her when the door to her room opened. Azula looked up to see Ty Lee and Ning entering the room.
"Ty Lee." Azula felt relieved, and she wasn't quite sure she was able to keep that out of her voice. She looked from one to the other quickly before speaking. "Well? Is someone going to tell me what is going on?"
Ning took a deep breath before speaking.
"The council is on break at the moment. We have finished hearing testimony and reviewing evidence. We will reconvene in a few moments to do final deliberations... though I doubt that will change anything. Well, I should probably get back." She said moving towards the door.
Azula was about to call after her and demand she give her more information, but she bit her tongue. She had been forced to admit in the past that she wasn't the best judge of character, but she had a feeling that whatever Ning was scheming... it might actually be in her favor.
She stared at the closed door for several minutes before going to sit at a low lying table in the middle of the room.
"It's an ingenious plan really. I suppose I couldn't be tried before, but now that I pose a threat again they conjure up some scheme to get me locked away again." Azula looked up at Ty Lee. The girl hadn't moved and she seemed to be avoiding Azula's gaze. Azula narrowed her eyes.
"Ty Lee, what are you hiding?" Instead of immediately answering like Azula expected, she sat down beside the princess, pulled a scroll from behind her sash and unrolled it in front of them on the table.
"They showed me some scrolls from the compound... it's your handwriting Azula." She finally looked at Azula. She had a pained expression on her face, like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was, or at least not in the position she was in now.
"What?! You‒ you would betray me again? Even now?"
Azula half stood up.
"Get out Ty Lee."
"No!" Ty Lee jerked Azula back down into a sitting position. "I know your handwriting better than anyone! And I wouldn't betray you, not now..." Shocked by Ty Lee's sudden outburst and the angry but determined expression on her face, Azula looked at the scroll on the table.
She skimmed over the characters, paying close attention to the stroke placement and curvature. On the side of the scroll there was a note written in the margins. The writing was rushed and so the personal qualities of the writing were amplified. It was definitely her handwriting.
"This ‒ I couldn't have done this." Azula looked up from the paper. "I am telling the truth Ty Lee. I never went to the Earth Kingdom to search for a spirit."
Ty Lee looked confused, like she was poised between disbelief and trusting Azula.
"You know, when I decided to return to the Fire Nation I told myself the only way this was going to work was if we both trusted each other." Ty Lee looked down at the scroll again.
"I am not lying!" Azula put as much weight in her words as she could.
"That's not what I meant... I know it might be hard for you to trust me, but I think the first step to making that happen... may be putting my trust in you first. Like I once did."
Ty Lee looked up from the paper on the table. She was smiling weakly at Azula.
"I believe you Azula. Whatever's happening, I believe you."
Azula blinked, she didn't know how to respond and so she ended up looking away from Ty Lee and clenching her jaw.
"Thank you Ty Lee." Azula was unable to keep her voice steady, and her reply came out forced and uneven. Azula heard Ty Lee move beside her, and she felt the acrobat put an arm around her. At first Azula just sat there stiffly, but eventually her muscles loosened and she relaxed into Ty Lee's embrace.
Trust. Was it truly for fools?