Azula pursed her lips to apply her red lipstick with easy strokes until she was sure it was perfect. Taking a different brush she applied dark eyeliner and checked her hair in her new, full length mirror. There was one hair out of place, but she paid it no mind, instead choosing to release her topknot completely, allowing the lengthy tresses to fall over and around her shoulders. Placing her pendant in her bosom, she stood from her vanity to exit her room.

"Princess," the Kyoshi Warrior, formerly known as her best friend Ty Lee, called to her upon her emergence into the red halls.

Azula looked to the warrior without greeting as was their "friendship", nowadays.

"Your dress, um," began Ty Lee, wringing her hands.

Patience was fleeting for the woman who conquered Ba Sing Se. Waving a hand, her eyes turned fiery as she demanded to know, "What about it?"

"It's not zipped fully, Princess," said the warrior.

Azula rolled her eyes, without a response, she walked away from the woman and her scowling, new friend who still hated her like the war hadn't ended ages ago.

And I thought I could hold a grudge. She thought as she increased the distance from them hastily. She made her way down the corridor illuminated by soft, glowing flames towards the nursery. The hour of Izumi's coronation was close and she determined to make her niece's big event nothing less than perfect. World dignitaries, celebrities and plenty of Who's Who nobles from all the intact nations were due to arrive and witness the event, so Aunt Azula made sure Daddy Zuko spared no expense.

As Azula continued down the hall, she thought on best tax increase policies to subtly levy on the citizens and countries receiving their exported goods in order to replenish the budget by the end of the fiscal year. A glow from the war room made her halt several feet away. An untrained eye would have paid little mind to the dancing shadow that flickered from the doorway, but Azula was no fool. Though her brother enjoyed the spotlight as the face of their nation's reformed values of peace and kindness, Azula played a different role in the background, choosing to keep an eye on the underbelly of their world.

Not everyone shared the optimistic values the traitor ruler and the avatar represented, which was why she had her shadow warriors policing the city by night. Her sisterhood was thought to have been banished from the capital after the Kemurikage rebellions. Instead, under an agreement between their captain and the fire lord, the shadowed women kept the peace by any means necessary in every corner of the capital, unlike the Kyoshi Warriors whose sole duty was to protect Zuko and the royal family.

Azula had the Dai Li to thank for the idea and presented it to Zuko shortly after stirring chaos to force her brother's ruthless side and rid him of his would-be assassins, The New Ozai Society, for good. Upon agreement to protect the city in exchange for her continued freedom, Azula trained her sisters, all former nuthouse alumni, along with several former soldiers until they were as skilled in stealth and combat than the infamous earth bending agents of the Impenetrable City. Not to mention her small army was completely loyal to their princess and their nation.

As Azula tiptoed towards the war room, she surveyed her surroundings. Zirin had warned her about possible traitors disguised as Imperial guardsmen and in answer, the princess made sure to give the men assignments surrounding the perimeter of the temple, far enough away from Izumi's ceremony, but close enough to not rouse suspicion.

Entering the room, she stifled a gasp and leaned in the corner, the shadows toning down her elaborate red dress as she waited for the suspicious character to notice her presence. Arms crossed, she decided to call attention to herself for the sake of time. Besides, she was curious about this little development.

"Hello, Mother," she greeted, making the woman gasp loudly, nearly dropping whatever was in her hand.

The woman turned to face her daughter, guilt written all over her unmasked face.

"Azula! Hello, Dear, shouldn't you be in the ballroom?" she asked, nervously.

"What are you holding?" Azula asked, pointing to the empty vial Ursa had trapped between her fingers. "Before you lie, just know that the punishment won't be banishment, this time".

Ursa hung her head, dropping the vial on the carpet, a drop of its contents escaped to create a tiny, dark spot on the red carpet.

"She…she asked me to," Ursa said, barely above a whisper. "I begged her to reconsider, but-"

Azula's eyes narrowed. "Who?" She hissed, leaving the shadows to reveal herself completely. Ursa's head rose, a trembling smile on her lips. Tears destroyed her mascara, though Azula was unmoved.

"Who did you murder this time, Mother?" She growled, so close that their noses were nearly touching, now.

Ursa took sallow breaths, Azula could almost feel her guilt. Too bad she didn't have Ty Lee's aura reading gift, her mother's had to be a sight to behold at the moment.

Who needs aura reading when you're an open book. Such a weak woman! Azula thought to herself.

"Not murder, she was dying. She wouldn't have made it through the night. I tried to reason with her, but she…" The words were strained. "You don't understand. That's what I told her. I said that I-I couldn't do this to Zuko. Not after everything".

The woman brought her hands to her face, sobbing uncontrollably. Azula stood stone still above her. Realization was a bitch that she never could put in its place. Several blinks kept her misting eyes from releasing a tear. Swallowing hard, she stared at the disheveled Ursa, unsure of how to feel or what to say.

"M-Maybe there's still time," she offered. "The avatar can heal, I'm sure he-"

A soft hand touched the lip Azula had not realized was quivering. Ursa gave a shake of her head.

"It's done, Azula. She has a few hours at the most".

A pin could have dropped and shattered the silence of the room seconds before Azula's mouth dropped. Thankfully, Ursa's motherly arms broke their silent pact as the princess bellowed her heart's ache into her shoulder. The older woman held her close, stroking her fingers through her daughter's beautiful hair. She placed a kiss on her cheek as she had done years ago as Azula shook in her arms.

"She was my friend," Azula sobbed. "Izumi's…"

Ursa held her tighter, sniffling. With a whisper, she said, "You can't tell Zuko. This…this is a happy day, Azula. Please don't hurt your brother".

The young woman's shoulders stopped quaking immediately and Ursa could sense her daughter's sudden anger in that moment. With a strong push, the women flew apart from each other, both catching their footing with ease.

"It's ALWAYS about Zuko!" Growled Azula, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She knew her make-up looked worse than Ursa's, but she did not care. "Did you ever think about me? I hurt too, Mother. I may be a monster, b-but I was there! Y-You didn't even stop to think about me, once, did you?"

The former princess wrung her hands with a solemn look. "You're not talking about Mai, are you?" she asked, softly.

Azula sniffed turning her back to the woman. With a swipe of her hand, she brushed her hair over one shoulder to reveal the angry, red burn mark between her shoulder blades. The woman heard Ursa gasp.

"Zuko's not the only one who had to live with the scars. One of us is just better at hiding them".

Without waiting for a response, she left only to be seized by her wrist by a strong hand upon entering the hall.

"Unhand me, now, Uncle!" She hissed to the man.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked, anger in his golden eyes before shoving the princess through the curtain into the adjacent throne room.

"Your mother, Asshole!" Snapped Azula, wrenching her arm free, and retreating backwards until her back met a column.

"You disrespectful, little-"

"Iroh!"

The man's face flushed, dropping. Slowly, he peered over his shoulder. He had not expected to see the fire lord's mother.

"Did she hurt you, Ursa?" At Azula's sarcastic 'Ha!' He gave her a glare. "I knew you hadn't changed". He said low enough for only the princess to hear.

"You're right. Maybe you should ask Mother what she was up to hmm? We can play who's the better monster".

Iroh looked back to his former sister-in-law, whose eyes were on the floor. "What is she talking about, Ursa?"

The woman gave a small voice answer, "I-I'm going to join Zuko," with that, she left as if terrified.

"That's right! Run away!" Azula called after her.

Iroh was startled to hear the ripple in her voice. This was not Azula's normal way. This was a very hurt Azula that he had never witnessed before, especially since he lacked daughters of his own. He reached out to comfort her, but was rejected when Azula instead paced the room in front of the unlit throne.

"You know, this works out, it really does. Zuko's a big baby anyway, he needs her, of course-" The words were tumbling from her lips as she rubbed her chin and continued pacing.

Iroh was not fooled, however. "Azula, it's ok to be angry," he said in a much softer tone. "You should let it go. It is time to".

Azula sucked her teeth with an overexaggerated laugh. "That's a waste of energy, Uncle. Save the lengthy anecdotes for Zuzu later. Perhaps, I should just skip town and rid everyone of the monster for good. Yes, yes…then all will be well".

Though Azula's tone had returned to normal, as she continued her rambling, Iroh caught her puffy eyes. His chest burned. Realization burned.

"I…I wish, there was something…I wish I could help-"

Azula stopped her pacing, eyes sharp as she neared him, pointing a finger. "Do. Nothing, Uncle, as you always do". With a sharp nail, she punctuated her next words with jabs to his chest. "Do. Absolutely. Nothing".

Iroh bit his lip.

"I'm not nine years old anymore, Uncle. I'm not whining about 'oh, I miss Mommy' like your precious Zuko did".

She gave a twirl and mad laugh. "I didn't need her then, nor now. She wasn't there to teach me how to apply make-up or fix my hair, but I learned didn't I?" She asked, pointing a nail towards her face.

Iroh gave a nod in response.

"Now, I do it perfectly, every time!" She exclaimed, counting off with her fingers, "I learned how to flirt without her, had my first kiss, made it through my first cycle without her. I went into the history books without her. I was fourteen, Uncle and I was THE. PERFECT. MONSTER!"

The girl bellowed her last words, at which Iroh felt his own eyes misting as she looked to the doorway Ursa was no longer standing in.

"Azula," called Iroh, hoping to calm the woman down.

"No, Uncle, it's ok, really. I-I'm going to be fine without her, this time. I will be better than her. I will be the best aunt, and…and I'll marry one day and when I have children, I will never leave them. Nothing on Agni's forsaken earth would be worth leaving them".

Iroh waited as Azula caught her breath. Before the girl could run, the old general wrapped her into a fatherly hug and refused to let go even as she screamed her tears into his neck.

After several moments of quiet sobbing, he heard the princess whisper, "What's wrong with me, Uncle?"

The general held her tighter. His hand patting the angry scar on her back as he felt the dragon egg in his pocket shake in tandem with Azula's shoulders.

Just thought I would add that the final scenes were inspired by an old episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Hope you enjoyed! QTZ