To Emily: I know, focusing on Mai and Iroke might be kind bad for the fic in general, but I just can't help it; Mai seems to the girl to have had her character change the most and I assumed that it changed during her years at the Fire Nation Royal Academy for girls. And so, with oodles of creativity and crack-pot possibilities, I formulated her story plot but I didn't realize that it would be the biggest—and in my opinion, most interesting and scandalous—of all three girls. For Azula, it seemed to me that her character changed a lot and there was a story behind it. I think that if bad things happen to her on account of her personality (but Azula wouldn't acknowledge that due to her vanity), she would be motivated for revenge and would sooner or later turn into the cold-blooded murderer we love to hate in the present series.
To the other reviewers commenting on Azula: Be patient. She'll have her revenge soon enough.
Lesson 4: An Academic Lady does not show fear or weakness in public, no matter how excruciating the situation
Thankfully, Mai had always been a fast learner and within time for the Fête de l'Autome, she didn't need to take private lessons with Iroke anymore.
The Fête was just a trip to the mainland to view the spectacles—those of Fireworks, mainland food, shows, and a handful of other activities that were celebrating the end of summer; the Fire season—and then it was back to the Kinjo island and back to their academic school work.
"I fear my Saturdays will be filled with boredom without you to teach." Iroke's parting words to her.
"Mine as well, except that there would be nowhere to go." Mai replied sans thinking for a moment.
When she felt his lips press onto her cheek, she realized what she had said and her face lit up bright red again; was she unintentionally leading him on and he was taking the so-called invitation? Quickly, she pulled away; stunned.
"Uh—." she began, but was at a loss for words. Iroke seemed a bit confused, and then realized why she was acting so incongruous.
"Do they not do parting kisses in your region of the Fire Nation?" He asked and explained in his question.
"No." Mai ran out of the ballroom and Iroke was sure she would have done so screaming had she not misplaced her voice.
"Mai and Iroke sitting in a tree; K-I-S-S—." Ty Lee sang.
"We are not a couple and I told you; he explained to me that where he came from, such a kiss was gesture of greeting or departing! And it was only on the cheek!" Mai interrupted her.
"But he still kissed you nonetheless." Ty Lee pointed out frankly. She was more or less the queen of say-no-cordial-listen-to-no-others, the title speaking for itself.
"Let's not talk about it anymore. What about you? You've been acting strange for quite a while." Mai changed the subject.
"Uh—I'm…betrothed." Ty Lee relented; watching Mai's eyes widened considerably.
It wasn't because she was shocked that Ty Lee was betrothed—to the contrary, Mai hoped that her future husband would give her a better life than the one her parents gave her at her 'home'—but it was just that Mai could not see Ty Lee actually marrying anyone and being a kept and idol woman; her only duty to fill the nursery, manage the household, and warm her husband's bed.
"Oh. Do you know who it is?" Mai asked; regarding her friend.
Ty Lee hesitated; not wanting to tell anyone else.
"My parents never told me; all they said in their letter is that he's…older than I am, he's in the army, and he comes from a very prosperous family." She admitted to her friend. Mai remained silent; she learned from her mother that if she did, her speaker would most continue.
"They're coming to see me and also requesting that he come along with them during Kurisumasu, but they said that he might have already come…" Ty Lee shivered as her old habit of fear returned.
Mai scooted over on the bed and put her arms around her friend. Poor Ty Lee; Mai's current life seemed like a blessing, even the part about having what she did not want and wanting what she did not have, compared to Ty Lee's right then.
"So…what costume are you going to wear to the Masquerade de Toussaint?" Mai asked; hoping this topic would not be as melancholy as the preceding one.
The days passed like a waterfall passing a cliff and Reikou-sensei had begun teaching the first years the method of borrowing in subtraction, Rimé-sensei was enforcing upon the girls more shamisen pieces, Kasuka-sensei was teaching them about the world war that had occurred when the Earth Kingdom had 'split in two', Molady-sensei had begun making them read tales from 'The Brothers Grimm' books and asking for the students to come up with their original fairy tale and turn it in before Kurisumasu, Iroke-sensei was getting the girls to dance with one another in preparation for the upcoming Fête des Toussaint, Katou-sensei was beginning to teach her class cartwheels, Nachizumu-sensei was performing her quarterly selection to signify who would move on to more advanced Firebending and who would stay behind, and Ijin-sensei was teaching the girls in her first year Weaponry class how to shoot arrows to far-distanced targets; just like the YuuYan archers.
"So, I just dealt him one and kicked him out; screaming rape. He had a lot of explaining to do." Hinagata said with an arrogant chortle.
Amaeru and Kiza followed; laughing at such a story.
"Is it true that he had a small one?" Kiza asked with a giggle.
"Kiza, how unladylike of you to ask about a man's part!" Amaeru said in pseudo-outrage.
As quietly as she could, while the other girls were engrossed in such a conversation, Azula tried to sneak past them.
Without warning, Hinagata threw one of her heavy textbooks over her shoulder; hitting their younger 'roommate' square in the back. Azula cried out in pain at the unexpected blow and the three older girls turned around.
"Well, just the girl we wanted to see." Kiza said with what sounded like a purr; standing up and walking slowly over to the princess.
Azula grit her teeth; knowing better than to fire back at their tittering. If she remains aloof, they would get bored sooner and go back to their own business; if she retorted, then they would take it as a challenge and set out to make her stay in the dormitory for more miserable Agni-knows-what 'fun' activities.
Amaeru noticed Azula's guarded expression and laughed; pulling out a box.
"We just wanted to give you this; for the Fête de Toussaint." She replied; holding it out like a 'peace offering'. Azula took the box; her suspicious eyes on the girls as she did so.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Hinagata asked innocently.
Her nails raking at the box out of anger, Azula undid the ribbon and pried the top part of the box off of the bottom part.
The 'dress' looked innocent enough; something made of black silk with bits of gothic-like spider web designs for the neck, hem, and sleeve ends which were also black. There was a hat and shoes with a slight chunk heel; both items also black.
"Thank you." Azula said; nearly biting her tongue to the point of bleeding when she said such words.
"It's nothing." Kiza replied and, with a wave of her hand, left the room with Amaeru and Hinagata.
So, first they were bullying her, and now they give her this costume? Something was wrong; Azula could smell the foulness reeking from those girls.
Everyone knows that the one thing scarier than your worst enemy—or enemies for the matter—becoming even more brutalizing is that if she or he or they suddenly begin acting nice AND give you a 'present'.
It was near sunset when the carriages began to arrive.
Pulled by Komodo Rhinos, the carriages held up to 10 of the male students in the Royal Academy for Boys.
Determining which academy the fêtes were to be held in was simply by alternating it every year; this year, the Fête was to be held at the Girls' Academy, next year it would be held at the Boys', and then the cycle would repeat itself.
The three first years had gathered in Mai's dormitory along with her other roommates to watch the boys' headmaster be welcomed by their (the girls') rather large-chested headmistress.
"So who do you all think is cute?" Jinai asked as she waved to a student who seemed to be a few years older than she was from the window.
"But all of the boys that came seem to be older than fourteen." Ty Lee put in; noticing the telltale signs of their face.
"Yes, and that's what sad about it; the only time those younger boys agree to come is when Iroke has to go to the Boys Academy and practically drag them by the ankles back." Kokoro concurred.
The five girls turned to stare at her; how did she know such a fact?
"What? He asked me to go with him once." She explained quickly.
In the Fire Nation, the age where a boy was awkward around a girl began when he was about 11 or so; it varied because there were many factors in determining why and when a boy would feel awkward around members of the opposite sex. For example, if a boy's voice was undergoing its deepening, that was usually a sign that his awkward stage had begun. Other factors were hormones, exposure to the 'adult—mainly about sex—ways', growth spurts, if he began to grow facial hair, et cetera, et cetera.
"So what is your costume, Ty Lee?" Mai asked; trying to change the subject.
"I have an old costume Katou-sensei; it's a traditional one female belly-dancers wear. What about you?" Ty Lee replied.
"Uh…I don't have one." Mai told her.
"But how can you not have one? The academy even paid a voyage for us to sail to the mainland and shop there." Aneue demanded.
"I didn't get to go; my parents didn't pay for it." The younger student told her.
"I'll loan you one of mine." Jinai put in; going over to her chest and extracting one of her old costumes.
It was a gold-and-white off-the-shoulder dress with a gold bodice partially covering the white lacy material underneath, a full length white petticoat partially covered with the skirt part of the gold gown, with knee-length white socks and shiny black low-heeled boots, similar to horseback riding boots, to go with it. There was also a miniature white cape held with a gold chain to complete the outfit, but the occasion was probably too warm for such an accessory.
Besides the fact that it was made of lace and frills—Mai didn't really like lace of frills very much on account of her mother adoring to dress her up in such things when she was younger—and that the skirt and petticoat were cut to just above her knees, but it just looked a bit too expensive for her to wear.
"I couldn't—." Mai began, but Jinai shook her head.
"It's a costume that won't fit me anyway and you look perfect for it; at least try it on." She suggested.
Mai, not wanting to refuse someone who had done so much for her, took the costume and went behind the changing screen set up in the last corner of the room. She didn't need the bodice; her waist was already small enough—as expected of a girl-child—and she had no breasts to hold or push up and flaunt. Mai tied up the mask, which had again a white-and-gold theme, and pinned up her hair.
As she looked at herself in the mirror, she wondered how anyone would be able to recognize her; she looked so different.
Just as Ty Lee and Azula were slipping into their costumes, the bell-runner came down their halls; signifying that the fête had begun.
"Let's go." Kokoro said; opening the door while she slipped on her glittery semi gold semi silver mask.
The girls had to enter in a two-by-two manner with the elder students going before the younger ones, which meant that it was nearly forever before Azula, Mai and Ty Lee entered the room. Being buddies, Mai let Ty Lee drag her away and they were laughing at how some of the younger boys were dressed up so frivolously, it was too hilarious for words.
The time passed and, with the exception of having to endure a few dances with this-or-that boy, Mai and Ty Lee remained together.
Most of the older girls had to suffer the attentions of the older, and strangely less mature, boy students who came to more or less try and cop a feel on the more buxom girls at the fête.
"Those poor girls." Mai commented; glad for her flat chest.
"True." Ty Lee replied; instinctively crossing her arms in front of her chest.
She had felt minor lumps in her chest a year ago and, after she had gotten over the initial shock, tried to bind them as tightly as she could so they wouldn't get any bigger, but her tries were all in vain; from what she saw, she had more of a chest than even a few third years!
"May I have this dance?" a voice asked abruptly from behind them.
Turning, Mai and Ty Lee saw a very tall and intimidating, at least to them, man who wore a costume of all black; even a dark mask that showed only his eyes and mouth. Mai gave Ty Lee a light push from behind her; it was obvious to them both that he had asked Ty Lee to dance with him. Swallowing what was left of the moisture in her throat, Ty Lee extended her hand to meet his.
"Yes, I would love to dance." She said in an almost mechanical way; letting him enclose his much larger hand around hers and lead her away to the dancing area.
Mai bit her lip; she had become a keen observer of detail, and she had seen a strange gleam in his eye when he approached Ty Lee. Whatever the man's motive for asking Ty Lee to dance, she hoped for her friend's sake that it wasn't a perverse one.
"Are you regretting that you dropped out of dance, little one?" Iroke asked; having to once again kneel down.
Azula lifted her chin and made a small moue with her mouth; pride above all.
"Like I already said, I do not need to know how to dance. I am going to become a master Firebender, not a courtesan." She purposely used 'Courtesan' to try and see if Iroke would take her words into heart.
"But did you know that Firebending is believed to have been originally a form of dancing entertainment?" Iroke pointed out.
It was half-true; the movement one made with Fire was similar to the ancient ritual-dances that were, until recently, performed at intervals which varied from every hour to every four years.
"History scrolls do not state that." Azula replied coarsely.
"History scrolls often lie." Iroke only replied; a distant look in his eyes.
He rose up and walked away; leaving the sulky and only girl not dancing in the room to look even stupider.
'Why did he leave?' Mai wondered as she began walking towards the door.
Someone, most likely a male judging by the body's figure, had sneaked out one of the minor doors of the ballroom and, through the window, Mai could just see a dark figure gliding across to one of the theme gardens on the other side of the academy.
Making sure that no one else saw her, Mai quickly went after the person; her interest already piqued.
Besides a few young boys, no one else had asked her to dance—maybe the news, though it was more like gossip, of her lessons with Iroke had also spread to the Boys academy as well?—and Ty Lee and Azula were wrapped up in their own things so the 'party' was more or less as dull as it could have been for her.
As she rounded the corner, she nearly ran into the mysterious man—except that he was joined by a woman.
"You came." He said huskily.
"What do you want?" a brisk female's tone demanded. There was something familiar about the woman's voice, but Mai just couldn't put her finger on it…
The cloaked man moved closer to his 'partner' and Mai, scurrying into the bushes for cover, watched as he raised one of his hands to touch her face but was thwarted by the woman slapping it away.
"My patience is wearing thin." The woman snapped.
"I came to talk of marriage." The man said; removing his cloak to reveal to Mai that he was in his early twenties and quite good looking.
The woman laughed and turned away from him.
"Marriage? Did you not say that, at the beginning of our affair, that you did not want anything of the sort; only sexual relations?" the woman snapped coarsely.
"That's changed now; I've changed." He said to which the woman laughed again.
"And to how many others have you said that to?" she snapped; turning to go.
"I know you're only scared." The man suddenly said.
"You were left a widow and, instead of letting your parents marry you off again, chose to join the military. You are only scared of emotional commitment." He elaborated.
"My husband was a great man. I loved only him, and will love only him. Your proposal is an insult to me; but I should have expected as much from you." She spat; turning to go.
"Aiisek, listen to me!" the man shouted; a plead clearly in his tone. He pulled off the woman's mask and Mai wondered why she hadn't heard it before.
"Ijin-sensei?" she whispered.
"You are very graceful." He commented.
"Thank you." Ty Lee replied to her dance partner.
In reality, her body was shaking uncontrollably and it would have surprised Ty Lee if she had had an epilepsy attack right then.
"Whoever it is that you will marry, you will make that man a very happy one." The black-clad man said and, without another word, let go of her and seemed to disappear before her own eyes.
Because of the initial shock, Ty Lee fell over; both relieved and shaken. How did…that person, whoever he was, know (or maybe he just hinted at it because it was a compliment he paid to every one of his dance partners) that she was going to be married? A few seconds later, she found herself being pulled up by Iroke.
"Are you alright?" he questioned; lightly placing his fingertips onto her forehead to check for a fever. She seemed to have become paler and weaker, judging by the way she fell without the man's support, throughout the duration of the few minutes that the music lasted, and it seemed as if something was wrong with her.
"I—I'm fine, really." Ty Lee replied; brushing his hand away.
"Are there speakers for this occasion?" she asked; pointing to where three girls were about to get onto the raised platform.
Everyone was staring at her; why?
Azula's eyes darted around; seeing more eyes on her. Was it her costume or something? She really shouldn't have put on the costume her roommates had given to her, but she had no other choice. It was either that or ask—or more likely beg—the academy for some kind of spare costume.
"Attention, everyone." Kiza's loud and gravelly voice rang out from the platform.
"On behalf of Kyonyuu-Sama, I hope that everyone is having a good time for this year's Masquerade." Kiza then launched into some ill-prepared speech about the history of both academies, how good they have both been doing, and a bunch of other things that Azula paid no attention to.
"And, as part of the tradition of our Masquerade, we must find the witch and force her out!" Kiza shouted exuberantly.
'Witch?' Azula mentally asked; her thoughts zooming directly to her costume.
"It seems that we have found her! Now, let the chase begin!" Kiza shouted.
A ball of mashed potatoes hit her in the face and she wiped it off in time to see many others grabbing some food and aiming.
She really should have expected it; why else would those girls have been so nice?
For moments, Mai didn't dare breathe.
Ijin-sensei, or Aiisek; as the man called her, had yelled and once even cuffed her 'paramour' and kept at it until he ran off like a scalded cat.
Ijin-sensei brushed a few strands of her dark hair out of her face and spat onto the ground.
"Baka." She murmured to herself; then turning her attention to the bushes that Mai was hiding behind. Her head tilted a bit, to try and get a better angle on who—or what—was behind those bushes, and heard a soft rustle of a breath against some leaves.
"You can come out now, Mai." Ijin-sensei told her. Tentatively, Mai stood up and stepped out of the bushes.
"That man..." she began.
"What about him?" the older woman asked.
"Why did you refuse marriage? I thought all women would have wanted to be married to a man who loved them." Mai said.
Ijin chuffed at that comment.
"There are several flaws in that theory of yours. First of all, you heard my story; I refuse to remarry after I was left a widow from...well, we don't need to get into that, but anyways I promised myself that I would never remarry." Ijin-sensei began.
"But—." Mai cut in.
"Sex is not solely a part of marriage for a female." Ijin-sensei replied to Mai's silent question.
"Anyways, when a woman gets married, she almost always loses all purpose in her life. All that is expected of her after she is wed is that she warm her spouse's bed, get pregnant, have a child, and then do it all over again. And she is expected to be continuously monogamous while her husband philanders on a legion scale with ninnies. Women are the ones who are the sufferers and the underappreciated ones, in my opinion. I say that women need men like deserts need rain; it would only ruin them." Ijin-sensei concluded; regarding her pupil.
"And also, a relationship with a pretty-boy close to your age or younger than you are isn't all it's cracked up to be. Try for a much older and mature man; though you'll probably outlive him, he will be better for you on a tenfold scale." Ijin-sensei added.
With those pearls of wisdom, Ijin-sensei whisked Mai back into the ballroom where she nearly collided with a food-covered and very pissed off Azula who aggressively pushed her out of the way before continuing to stomp down the deserted hall.
"Where did you go?" Ty Lee asked Mai.
"The room felt too stuffy, so I went outside for some air." Mai replied; a telltale coloring on her cheeks speaking for itself.
"How was your…dance?" Mai counter-questioned.
"It—it ended abruptly." Ty Lee said truthfully.
Just then, her stomach gave a violent lurch and she had to lean against Mai for a bit of support.
"Hey, are you okay?" She seemed a lot paler and fatigued than Mai had ever seen her and her eyes looked glazed over.
"Y-Yeah; just a bit dizzy. I guess I should have eaten and drunk more." Ty Lee replied; trying to steady her strangely fuzzy-feeling legs and focusing her gaze on something else in the room.
As she turned her head, she thought she saw him again, except that he had removed his mask and was talking to…
The images in front of her blurred and her knees gave out as she dropped to the floor in a dead faint.
After the Masquerade
"You wished to see me, Ouritsu-chan?" Kyonyuu-Sama asked the student coolly; glad that the little girl had cleaned up before she entered her office.
Ever since that 'incident' where Azula purposefully snubbed Kyonyuu-Sama on her first day here, there had been a growing futility between them; particularly after Azula proved herself to have done so poorly in the school's academic system and therefore giving the school more than a few dark spots on its, up to then, immaculate reputation.
Azula was once again struck and irked by the pushiness and cold formality, though this formality involved 'insulting' Azula, of her headmaster—back at court, she had always been addressed as Azula-Hime or Azula-Sama or even Hime-Sama; never with the use of her last name and 'Chan' a suffix which was used by older people to address familiar younger female acquaintances who were of a lower class—but forced the bristling surge of anger in her back to calm down, sit up straight on the backless chair that was offered to her and take it out by balling up her hands into fists.
"Yes. I have come to request that three girls be expelled from the academy for misconduct." Azula said. 'Keep the goal in mind.' She mentally coached herself.
"By those three girls, you mean…?" Kyonyuu-Sama really wasn't stupid, despite the semi-lewd remarks about how 'the bigger the breasts of a woman, the more flaky she was' she had often had to hear and endure when she was growing up and maturing in the pubescent way; she knew for a fact that Azula was being bullied and provoked by her roommates and how they had turned nearly the entire school against her.
"My roommates." Azula wouldn't give those three girls the honor letting their putrid names spill from her lips.
Kyonyuu-Sama stared at the smaller girl critically; she could see that Azula had much potential, but because she was letting so many distractions get the better of her, they were blocking her from achieving what she truly could.
"Ah, yes; those three girls." Kyonyuu-Sama said; her tone obviously feigning interest.
Azula glared at Kyonyuu-Sama with the best imitation of her grandfather's critical and intimidating eye she could; but considering that it was coming from a seven-year-old girl, it wasn't as effective.
"I believe that they have violated a number of academic rules and with that many demerits, such the case should call for expulsion." Azula said tartly; no point in beating around the bush.
Kyonyuu-Sama leaned back; staring at Azula with unemotional eyes.
"Kyouji Kiza, Mesuini Hinagata, and Tsukegaru Amaeru have done nothing but good for this school, Ouritsu-chan; they will not be expelled. I believe that you are only bitter because they chose you to be the so-called victim at the Masquerade. It's a tradition; they even did this when I attended the academy." She replied to the little girl's request.
It was half true; back when Kyonyuu-Sama went to the Royal Academy, the students played a minor variation of what those three girls did. The person selected for the prank was someone who had to be at least in fourth year and the students would only try and throw soft foods such as cakes at them.
Azula jumped up from her seat; not caring about the rules of formality in the academy. Kyonyuu-Sama was being biased just because Azula was royalty! Did she also think that Azula was a spoiled, pampered brat as most of the other girls at this academy chose to believe? That wasn't fair!
"But you don't know what they are really like! They suck up to you because you are their headmistress!" she fired back.
At once, Kyonyuu-Sama stiffened; her posture becoming rigid.
"Are you questioning my authority in this school?" she asked; her tone hard and icy.
"No." Azula said quickly as she felt an unfamiliar sensation surge through her.
It was, to her surprise and dismay, panic; fear.
'Don't be afraid!' she mentally retaliated.
"They are staying, Dorei; that is my final word." Kyonyuu-Sama said; her tone concrete.
Once again, Azula's temper flared; indignant at the treatment she was receiving and the fact that Kyonyuu-Sama had addressed her as one would have addressed a servant.
"Who listens to your final word? You are a Headmistress by title only! I doubt you know any of your students anyway! What do you do while girls are bullying others? You don't take any action; you are just sitting on your ass all day and idly fantasizing about whoring yourself out!" The seven-year-old screamed in a fit of rage.
At once, Kyonyuu-Sama stood up and a powerful and highly concentrated Fire Whip came down on Azula's back; breaking and burning the skin there.
"Let us get one thing straight, your highness—." She said 'your highness' with a venomous and mocking tone. "—here at the academy, every student is treated as an equal and the titles bestowed on girls from birth do not matter. Here, you are no longer a princess and if you value your life, I suggest you tone down that ego of yours." Kyonyuu-Sama said calmly.
At that comment, Azula exploded.
"How dare you speak like this to your future Fire Lady!" she shrieked.
A second lash from the powerful fire whip was her reward.
"Your brother, the sole legitimate heir, though probably not by Ozai, is the heir to the throne; not you. Besides; a woman is not allowed to rule the Fire Nation independently; if you actually studied your history, then you would know that." Kyonyuu-Sama reasoned; the Fire Whip still in her hand and ready.
The pain in her back was near unbearable, but Azula dare not move a muscle; she felt that if she did, her entire body would explode.
Erecting herself once again, despite the pain coursing through her entire body, Azula raised her chin in defiance; trying to mask her face to be as if she felt no pain at all.
"Because of your behavior, I forbid you from attending any more celebrations until the end of Lent; now get out of my sight, you penurious little vermin." The venom in her tone was like none Azula had ever heard before, save for with her three 'roommates'.
Standing up, so abruptly and stiffly that she knocked over her chair, Azula bit back the urge to spit in that woman's face and spun on her heel to stomp out.
"Do not turn your back on your headmistress." Kyonyuu-Sama ordered sharply.
Her head throbbing out of frustration, Azula forced herself to turn back and slowly step backwards to exit the room.
When the door closed, she ran as fast as she could to the outskirts of the academy.
Inside a hollow tree, Azula took in a shaky breath.
With that breath, she swore; every word she knew and learned from those three bitches, and then some.
She screamed and punched at the tough wood; singing and burning it with every blow. She even thrashed her forehead against the tree from time to time; the sensation easing and distracting her from the pulsating throb of her headache due to her pent up fiery and destructive emotions and intentions.
She had never cried save for when she was born, and her 'father' had beat into her head not to; even if she would have to bite her lips until they were ribbon candy and she had to swallow her own blood, no matter what the cost, she simply could not cry in front of anyone.
She pressed her bloody back against the rough wood; needing a bit of pressure to ease the unrelenting hammering of her emotions and adrenaline rushing through her physical heart.
At that moment, she made a decision.
'I swear upon the ashes of MY grandfather, Fire Lord Sozun, that I will make those girls wish they had never crossed my path.'
Well, she's swearing revenge right now...