Sorry about the long wait. The job is good but time consuming, and the children are time consuming. Anyway, thanks for waiting.

Just read the search part 2. My favorite was when they were talking to the older hermit water tribe siblings about taking care of each other. Well, that's exactly what Zuko has been doing for Azula the past few years. He's been the medical power of attorney and thus orchestrating her care, (with paid and bison help) for someone with schizophrenia. That is no easy task. At least in this story, that's the case. Not sure how the Search is going to turn out. We may be going off cannon here, not like I think this story is going to end up being anywhere close to cannon (eye roll).

This chapter just has some more wacky romance and some other schizophrenia related things. More psychobabble in the next chapter, but I promise it will have meaning.

"I knew she was off her meds!" Aang exclaimed after reading the letter that Jezobel had tied to her horn.

Jezobel snorted at the Avatar before rushing over to nuzzle Appa in the landing yard outside the palace.

Zuko arrived a moment behind Aang and snagged the letter from him. A cursory glance revealed all he needed to know. "I am presently ill…. going to the Earth Kingdom…." He looked up at Aang, his eyes wide. "You don't really think she's off her meds, you do Aang?! I mean the last time this happened…. " Zuko trailed off and slammed his face against his palm. He rested it there. "I can't relive the last time this happened…" His voice was muffled against his hand.

THE LAST TIME Azula came off of her antipsychotics, the dragons carved into the mahogany palace walls apparently laughed at her, snaked out of the wood, and then tried to strangle her. So Azula did what any good psychotic firebender do and reduced them to ash, along with 50% of the west wing.

Aang scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Jezobel seems to think so, and at the Temple she did seem a little more off than usual. She was more confused about her boyfriend than anything." Aang smiled suddenly, a big goofy smile, and he pointed an accusatory finger at Zuko. "You never told me she had a boyfriend, Zuko!"

"That's because I'm having trouble believing it myself!" the Firelord defended.

"So who is he?"

Zuko froze. He was glad his face was turned from Aang. He searched the creative side of his brain for an idea, but when none came, he turned to his friend.

The Airbender was smiling expectantly at Zuko. He was waiting for an answer.

The Firelord swallowed around the lump in his throat, forcing words through it. "It doesn't matter who he is. If she's off her meds again, she could kill him."

# # # # #

Kuei was overjoyed to see Azula. He had thought of this moment for quite some time now, repeated it in his mind over and over.

It was beautiful and poetic, just as it had been in his dreams. Despite how happy he was to see her Kuei couldn't help but feel that something was off about it. Kuei never expected her to openly admit her feelings; he doubted she could even interpret them for herself given her delicate state of mind, but he saw what she felt for him in her eyes…if he looked REALLY, REALLY hard that is.

And today she looked at him the way she always did, with the fine strands of love hidden in their depths, but her eyes kept darting this way and that, as though reacting to an outside stimulus.

Over the past few months, Kuei had spent some time reading up on schizophrenia. Dr. Ping had been kind enough to lend him some of his professional references. Kuei found it fascinating. Surprisingly, his newfound knowledge about Azula's difficult disease did little to deter him. On the contrary, it made him all the more drawn to her. It also helped to explain her nastiness, or it at least helped him concoct more excuses for her nastiness.

It also inspired him to look at her a little more studiously, pull her into him a little more closely as they walked. He loved her, but this was no ordinary woman. She required extra care and he was eager to provide it. His arm was fully around her, and his other held her by the hand, and he was watching every move and expression she made.

Azula didn't fight him, though he saw the color rise in her cheeks at his touch. When they passed a hallway full of mirrors she stiffened noticeably and he heard her breath draw inside of her.

He sped up a little to get past the mirrors and led her to a stately garden still abloom with dogwood trees and a wide, stately wooden porch with a comfortable patio set.

Dominatia, Rampage and Bosco were waiting for them inside of the courtyard. He took up a place behind a chair and saw her go for the one across him.

Dominatia was slurping a pan full of sake, despite earlier promises to Azula that she'd cut out the booze completely (they couldn't be sure yet if she were pregnant or not) and the other bison were happily chewing their hey. "You'll go easy on that, Dominatia!" Azula warned. "In fact, tonight is the last night you drink. You could be pregnant, remember!"

The bison let her tongue loll out momentarily, then flipped onto her back when half of the sake was gone; Rampage and Bosco shared the rest. Well, Azula figured, at least she's cutting back.

"Oh I meant to congratulate you, Dearest, on breeding the bison!" Kuei pulled out the chair beside him and she obediently sat down in the chair at his request. "It will be wonderful to have little fluff balls flying around again!"

"Yes, I'll teach them all to fetch my slippers and assassinate slimy politicians. It will really be quite something," Azula commented with nonchalance.

The King laughed. "Dearest, I've missed you so much! You and your sadistic sense of humor! No one else in the world has i!." He grabbed her hand and passionately kissed the back of it, leaving Azula stunned that it was possible for so much slobber to gather there. "I missed you so much that I had my garden renovated," He gestured to the dozens of dogwood trees blooming pink and white in his courtyard. "They're not cherry blossoms. We don't have the climate for them here, but the dogwoods are lovely, don't' you think?" He gestured to the lush garden just outside the potico where they were seated.

Azula didn't say anything, but she smiled at him. It was just a little one. Her right hand darted instinctively to her neck. It had become a nervous habit for her, checking her neck to make sure that the precious bauble was there. The action also helped to ground her, remove her from the hallucinations that kept popping up while she was in Kuei's company.

As it was, Sozin and the Kyoshi version of herself had mocked her from the mirrored hall. And the waitress in the corner, with her green frock, simple servant's headdress, and ruby red lips, was too similar to this version of herself. She was fearful that the woman's image would shift at any moment and she would be forced to ignore it. She wasn't sure she was capable of such a thing at this point. She was too rattled from her week of inner turmoil. Azula pried her eyes away from her, and looked back at the King as she fingered his gift.

"This…," Azula cleared her throat and pointed at her necklace…"What does this mean exactly?"

"It was a gift, Azula. A token of my affection for you."

The princess' eyes fell. The King thought she looked disappointed. "Everyone seems to think it means….something else."

"What do you want it to mean?" Kuei challenged. He was no stranger to Water Tribe engagement customs and knew what she was getting at, but didn't want to pressure her one way or the other.

Azula frowned at him. "What do you want it to mean?!" she snarled.

Kuei laughed and took her hand in his. He kissed it again with equal passion. "You are so beautiful when you're angry!"

"You should see me when I'm homicidal."

"Yes!" Kuei purred enthusiastically. "Then I'll bet you're absolutely stunning!" He kissed her hand again.

Azula couldn't help but blush. It was an odd feeling because she rarely if ever did. She kept her eyes on him as the servants set the feast down before them. She hoped the sight of him would distract her from the manifestations of her disease that popped up in her peripheral vision.

The Bison Lord was glad when Kuei ordered his servants to leave them and they were left alone with the four bison and Bosco in the courtyard.

Her attention did not go unnoticed by Kuei. He mistook her staring for pure love and pulled her into his lap. "As beautiful as you are, Dearest, you are very thin, and I think I know the reason. I wasn't around to help feed you."

Azula had heard about the King's rumored eccentrics, but thought those were just rumors. She wasn't counting on him to physically raise the slice of mango to her lips and actually feed her. Some of her wanted to scoff, but before she could she saw him again, and he made a slicing gesture across his throat just before ducking behind the dogwoods.

A moment later Sozin was gone, and the mango had made it past her lips. Her eyes darted back to the king who was love-struck and grinning idiotically again.

Azula swallowed awkwardly at him and did her best to return his grin. Oh well, she thought, the mango is exceptionally good. It also did wonders for one's ego to have a king waiting on you, no matter how odd, or gushingly romantic it was. Her grin broadened. "It's not that," Azula disagreed once the mango slid down her throat. "I recently started a weight loss program."

"Weight loss program?" The last thing on Earth that Kuei thought she needed.

"Of course, but not for me. It was for Dominatia. She wanted to look good for mating season and she needed someone to do it with her, so I said…"

"You're a terrible liar, Azula," the Earth King cut her off, though he wasn't the least bit angry with her fib. To prove it he smacked her playfully on her thigh.

Dominatia grumbled in agreement.

The princess pouted back at him, her mouth gaping with indignation though she made no effort to leave his arms. She pointed her finger at his nose. "l'll have you know I am a fantastic liar!"

"Were, were a fantastic liar. You're not anymore. What's going on? You can tell me."

Azula looked down. "I… I've been a little bit sick."

Dominatia growled adamantly behind her.

"Ok, A lot," Azula corrected as she shot a frown at her bison. "A LOT sick!" Azula corrected. "There, are you happy you detail obsessed ball of fur?!"

Dominatia snorted that she was and then stretched out languorously, unconcerned with her mistress' temper.

Kuei looked at Azula through his glasses. Something was very wrong with her. True, she was thin, and she was pale, but that was nothing a good few meals and some TLC wouldn't fix. There was something else about her, a wildness in her eyes, a nervousness that Kuei couldn't quite pinpoint. Her voice was off, so was her laugh. His Azula was normally calm, calculating, funny, and confident. Today, she was still funny, but her demeanor was significantly less confident and calculating. Kuei could tell she was trying her best to put up a front, she was doing a very poor job of it. He tried to be as gentle as possible with his next words. "What kind of sick, Azula?"

The Princess froze and looked back at him. The wildness deepened; in fact it seemed to be spreading. Her tiny body had taken on a tremor. She looked back at him for several moments; at times it seemed she was looking through him as she fidgeted with her hands.

The reason for her unrest had just come in to pour tea; unfortunately to Azula she wasn't holding a tea pot but a gleaming metal fan in one hand and a Katana in the other. Her fourteen year old face smiled sadistically at her as she approached the two of them.

Azula buried her face in Kuei's neck and shut her eyes tightly. It wasn't real. It couldn't be, not after what had happened at June's.

Kuei's eyes softened. His arms tightened around her, and he tilted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "What kind of sick?" he repeated.

Despite his efforts to get her to focus on him, she buried her face in his neck again. She couldn't face him. She was usually open with people about her illness, but for some reason she didn't want to admit to Kuei how out of control it was. For some reason she felt…shame. When Azula spoke at last, it was just above a whisper: "The kind that makes you doubt everything you've ever seen and everything you've ever felt. The kind that makes me believe it can kill me, and even worse it can kill you."