I have decided to experiment with a different way of story telling. The chapters will not be in order but hopefully it will all make sense in the long run. I have made this M and you will see why in future chapters and may not be for the light of heart.
The glass of brandy is pushed in her direction.
"Drink."He urges with a kind smile.
Azula raises her eyebrow at the order.
"Please drink." He amends.
Picking up the heavy glass she swirls the dark liquid around staring at the vortex the motion creates. She could lose herself in the heady amber liquid.
"You will be of age in a few months." He says amicably as if they speak all the time.
They don't.
"Indeed." She replies dryly as she sips the liquid feeling the hot fire burn down her throat. It's a surprising sensation but one she thinks she could come to enjoy.
He casts a glance around the ballroom. The Fire Lord is entertaining and intent on showing off the wealth and power of the Fire Nation.
"I have made an offer to your father for your hand."
Azula chokes on her drink.
"What?" Her eyes are wide and she can feel a simmering burn inside her chest that has nothing to do with the brandy.
Zhao smiles at her. He knows she is repulsed by him, that she loathes him. "I am one of the few men in the Fire Nation that come close to your station, Princess."
Azula recovers, licking the stray drops from her lips. He's right. As an Admiral he is one of the few men that her father may actually consider wedding her to, even if he does look like a monkey.
She puts on her best diplomatic smile and says, "While I am flattered, Admiral, I am much too focused on the war effort to consider your proposal. Perhaps in a couple of years."
Zhao's lips curl in a rather unpleasant smile. "It is fortunate then, Princess, that it is not up to you."
Azula's eyes dart to her father sitting on his throne overseeing the festivities with the same iron fist he rules the nation. His golden eyes meet hers but give nothing away.
Her father would sell her into marriage to keep those he deems important close.
"We shall see then, Admiral." She won't argue with the man, not when her father is looking at her that way. She knows what that look means and it doesn't bode well for her at all.
Zhao bows and takes his leave, a little smirk playing on his face. Azula watches him fade into the crowd and polishes off the rest of the brandy. It would seem her life is already being decided for her. There is nothing comforting about it.
Zuko pushes the bottle into her hand.
"Drink." He orders.
She wants to glare at him. She really does, but the pain is too much right now, so she follows his orders and gulps it down.
It burns.
"How is that suppose to help?" She manages to say in a shaky voice.
Much to his credit he doesn't look away from the desperation in her eyes. "It's supposed to kill the pain."
Azula lays her head back on the rough ground and makes a strangled sound. She feels cold, too cold, and she begins to shiver.
Warm arms wrap around her pulling her close and she sinks into the warmth of his body. Zuko cradles her like a child and she lets him.
"You're going to get blood on your tunic." She whispers against him, the heat is lulling her to sleep.
"It's red. It'll be fine." He grits out as he brushes her hair away from her face. "Don't fall asleep."
"I'm not." Her words are becoming sluggish. "I'm just so tired."
Zuko lets out a soft curse.
"Stay awake, Azula." He orders, halfway shaking her.
"I am." She mumbles, under her head she can feel his heart pounding hard.
When he pulls the bandage away from her stomach, he curses again. She winces when he pushes his hand against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood.
Azula gasps and struggles against him weakly.
"Where are they?" She grits out against the fresh wave of pain.
"They're coming." He replies tightly.
"You're lying." Her breath is coming in short gasps now and she can feel the throbbing heartbeats in her hands and feet. Her heart is pounding at an unnatural rhythm. Somewhere in there a hazy feeling overcomes her. It's euphoric and she gives a sigh.
"Stay with me." Zuko's voice is low in her ear and she feels the desperation in his words. "I can't do this alone. I need you."
Her hand is cold against his warm skin as she reaches back to caress his cheek. She feels the edges of his scar graze her fingertips and she wonders why she never has touched it before.
"You will do fine. One day you will be Fire Lord and you will be great at it." She smiles at her own words, believing them to be as true now as when she first said them to him.
He makes a choking sob sound. "You would make a better Fire Lord than I would."
Feeling light headed from blood loss, she laughs. "You know what sort of Fire Lord I would be. You are the better choice, brother."
He doesn't reply but her fingertips suddenly feel wet with his tears. She pulls her hand back and looks at the glistening drop hanging from her nail.
She tsks at him. "What would father say?"
Zuko gives a watery laugh. "Something stupid I'm sure."
By the time they are found, Azula is limp in his arms and the Fire Prince's eyes blaze with anger and sorrow.
"Where were you?" He bites out harshly, glaring at the blue and gray eyes looking back at him.
Katara doesn't reply but the blue glow of healing water washes over the gaping wound in the princess's stomach.
In his arms, Azula draws a shuddering breath and mutters, "Thank you, Katara," before sleep claims her again.
A flute of champagne is set in front of her and the amber liquid bubbles in a playful way.
"Drink, Your Highness." He says with a familiar smile.
Casting eyes across the room, she sees that for the moment she isn't being watched.
"You shouldn't be speaking to me, Admiral." Her voice is soft as if her words could give her away over the noise of the crowd.
"I will take my chances, Azula." He sits at the table across from her.
She pushes the glass away. "I am not permitted."
Zhao nods grimly and drinks the beverage himself. "Are you well?" His eyes flicker to the high collar dress she wears. He knows what she hides underneath it. All the top military leaders know.
Azula refuses to fidget under his penetrating gaze. "Of course but I may not be if you don't leave." Her words are edged with warning.
If she is spotted speaking to another man, even one of his own admirals, then it will not bode well for her.
"Indeed," Zhao says with a strange inflection in his words. It almost sounds empathetic. "I only wanted to let you know that you are not alone, Azula."
She blinks at him as her heart stutters in her chest. You are not alone. Those four small words have come to mean so much to her. They have come to mean hope. Her eyes furtively seek his out and her heart sinks at the stormy look.
"Thank you, Admiral." She whispers."Please leave now."
Zhao nods in understanding as he stands to bow to her. "I apologize for keeping you, Your Highness."
She watches him walk away and she remembers a time she hated him. A time when he threatened to take away her freedom. Now he may be the one that can help her reclaim it.
A hand settles on her shoulder and she tenses.
"What was that about?" The voice is low and menacing.
"Admiral Zhao just wanted to say hello. He's an old family friend." Azula strives to sound nonchalant.
The hand tightens digging into her shoulder. "I told you to not speak to anyone."
She swallows her fear. "He spoke to me. I could hardly be rude."
The hand slides across the back of her neck toying with the hairs there. "Since when do you care about not being rude?"
Azula breathes deep, willing herself to remain calm. "A great deal has changed about me. Maybe more than you know."
She will pay dearly for that. He won't let something like that slide. She feels it in the way his fingers dig into her shoulders and hears it in his voice.
"Go to our chambers. I will be there shortly."
Rising in her chair at the dismissal, her eyes catch Zhao's from across the room.
The look in his eyes is apologetic so she gives him a small smile. His words gave her hope and it will be that hope that will see her through the ordeal she is about to face.
Azula leaves the room feeling lighter than she has for some time, leaving the man in her wake to wonder just what about her has changed.
Toph all but throws the corked bottle her direction.
"Drink up, Princess." She orders with a smile.
Uncorking it she frowns at the sting in her eyes. "What is it?"
"Don't worry; it only hurts going down and coming back up." Sokka laughs as he lies back against Suki.
Azula frowns but drinks anyway, coughing and sputtering at the foul burn. "Ugh, what is in this?" She says even as she takes another drink.
They laugh and soon she's laughing so hard tears are running down her face. She couldn't care less how undignified and how unroyal it looks. Father would reprimand her harshly for it. May even beat her but the Fire Lord is far from their thoughts as they sit around the fire telling jokes and stories.
Azula has that warm fuzzy feeling as she looks around the campfire. They have been travelling, fighting, and finding adventures. She never thought she would so enjoy camping out doors, bathing in ponds, or eating whatever they manage to scrounge up but she does. Not that she is one to admit to a simpler life though.
A warm body leans against her and soft lips brush her ear. She smiles at the whispered invitation and leans into him as his arm comes around her waist. A gentle kiss is pressed to her neck eliciting a sigh.
Until they are interrupted that is.
"Hey, none of that!" Sokka blurts out. "No oogies!"
Glaring at the Water Tribe peasant, she raises an eyebrow at how he is in the lap of the Kyoshi warrior. "As if you are one to talk!"
Sokka's face turns an indignant shade of red. "Well, that's different."
Aang raises his head from her neck. "How is it any different?"
Suki giggles into Sokka's shoulder from behind him.
"It just is." Sokka states with that definitive voice of his. "And as the leader of this group what I say goes."
They all burst out laughing at this, even Momo.
"If anyone should be protesting it," Zuko waves a hand in the direction of his sister and Aang, "Then it should be me. I am after all her brother."
Sokka narrows his eyes at the prince. "Speaking of little sisters…." His voice trails off with the implied threat.
Zuko's golden eyes glare while Katara turns away with a blush on her face.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Sokka says with a sense of triumph.
"Well as the odd man out here, I should be the one protesting all of you. I can barely sleep at night with all the activity. Do you know what it's like to feel exactly what is going on with each and every one of you?"
Toph has a way of effectively drawing things to a standstill.
Aang is the first to speak up. "I might have an idea." He says with a shrug.
The Earth Bender huffs, blowing her long bangs out of her eyes."Yeah right, Twinkletoes. You're the worst of them all."
The tension is broken as they all descend into laughter again around the campfire, little realizing just how fleeting such times will be.
AN: This one has four different time frames in it. The first is when Azula is still in the Fire Nation in Ozai's good graces. The second is when she has left the Fire Nation, found Zuko and been injured in battle, the third is set for after Sozin's comet and when the Gaang lost the war, and the fourth is when she is with the Gaang and times are happy.