Chapter Two: Healing Session

The girl sauntered through the halls of the palace, trying to find his room. Finally, the girl discovered the ornate, giant door, and knocked. The door flew open, and on the other side was Mai.

"Oh, hey Katara. What's up?" Mai asked the girl kindly.

"Hey, Mai. Is Zuko around? I need to talk to him," The girl returned.

"Yea, sure, give me a second," Mai replied with a friendly tone as she closed the door. A few moments later, he came out of the door to greet the girl.

"Hey Katara! How did things go with Azula?" he asked with interest.

"Actually, things went pretty good. I feel like I'm connecting with her!" the girl said enthusiastically.

"Really? That's…wow that's surprising," he said, sounding shocked.

"Believe it or not, Azula isn't beyond help. I feel like I can really help her. I'd like to go back sometime if you don't mind," the girl returned.

"Go ahead. But, just be careful. You know how unpredictable and manipulative she is," he warned.

"Don't worry, Zuko, I can take care of myself," the girl said with a wink. The two hugged and parted ways, him returning to his room to Mai, and the girl leaving to find her other friends.

The girl had returned to her prison cell, ready for another attempt to help her. The same two guards from the last visit were blocking the girl's way.

"I'm here for the Fire Lord. Please tell Azula she has company," the girl said politely. One of the guards opened the door and yelled through the cell to her.

"Hey, you have a visitor!" the guard yelled.

"You can go in," the other guard said. The girl bowed to both of the guards and entered the cell, hearing the door close behind her. There she was, in the same condition as the last visit, but surprisingly more calm, and seemingly unsurprised by the visit of the girl. There was still something off about her, though, like she could break at any moment.

"Umm…hi. It's me again," the girl said awkwardly. She blew her hair out of her face and rolled her eyes.

"I hope you didn't come to insult my intelligence. I can clearly see it's you," she said smoothly and coldly.

There was an awkward silence for a time, with both of them just staring at each other, as though they were anticipating each other's moves like they were in battle.

"Well, this has certainly been fun, if not all together pointless, but if you only came here for a staring contest, well, you know where the exit is, right?" she said wickedly. The girl blinked for the first time in almost three minutes. In reality, the girl was very unsure of how to start off a conversation with her after the last visit's depressing confession. Taking a deep breath, the girl tried to continue.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I--" the girl said, who was then interrupted by her.

"Let me ask you a question," she insisted.

"Umm…okay," the girl said, bewildered.

"Why are you here?" she asked, breaking the ice.

"I want to help you," the girl answered, almost as though her answer was a question.

"And why is that? I'm pretty sure I've tried to kill you once or twice," she questioned.

The girl had to stop and think on the question for a moment. Why do I want to help her? The girl thought long and hard until she finally came upon an answer.

"The war is over. You can either stay in here the rest of your life, or you can change, adapt, and learn to live in this new world. And for a reason that I don't know myself, I don't want you to stay in here. Maybe it's out of pity for you about your jerk of a father or--" the girl answered until she was yet again interrupted.

"Save your pity. Get out," she said quickly and darkly.

"Well, Azula, maybe at this point my pity is all you deserve," the girl said sharply.

She mowed over the girl's quick retort, realizing its validity. The girl relaxed a little.

"I'm going to ask you a crazy question," the girl said with a tone of unwillingness.

"What could you're question possibly be?" She said sarcastically.

"Do you have any friends?" the girl asked sheepishly.

She took a breath, trying to find the courage to answer such a painful question.

"I did…once…"she said sadly.

"What happened to them?" the girl questioned, peaked with curiosity.

"Those fools, Ty Lee and Mai betrayed me!" she said, raising her voice just a little to cover the hurt.

"Azula, they had no choice! Mai betrayed you because you tried to kill the love of her life! And Ty Lee betrayed you to save Mai's life!" The girl said sternly.

"Yes they had a choice! They could have feared my wrath, and stayed by my side!" she exclaimed, holding back tears.

"I don't know about you, Azula, but I've never heard of friendship being based on fear," The girl explained, trying to help her realize her mistake.

She closed her eyes and let a few tears roll down her cheek. She sniffed a little, but the rest of her body stood still and unmoving.

"Well, fear is a powerful agent. Besides, I didn't need friends. I only used them for their worth in battle, that's all!" She said, turning her head from the girl.

"Azula, quit lying to yourself. Clearly you were hurt by their betrayal because, whether you want to admit it or not, they were your best friends. And guess what, Azula? You need your friends now," the girl returned.

She began crying, but her crying was normal today, not crazed and psychotic like before. The girl noticed this, too, and realized that maybe she was helping her.

"Even if you're right, it's not like they'd talk to me now!" she said over her tears.

"Why do you think that?" the girl asked.

"Well, it's like you said. I tried to kill the people they cared about most! They would never forgive me, ever! But it's not like I really care or anything!" she said in a vain attempt to convince herself.

"Yes you do, Azula," the girl said with authority.

She looked up at the girl, whose gaze was as unwavering as her own. She began to cry again, knowing that the girl was right.

The girl could tell she was not only in mental pain, but physical as well, probably a result of all her crying and the awkward position she was in. The girl walked up to the door where the guards stood on the other side.

"Excuse me, guards? Could you raise her bars for me?" the girl asked kindly.

"Are you sure that's wise, miss?" One of the guards questioned.

"Don't worry, I can handle Azula if she tries anything," the girl said convincingly.

"Well…all right, but be careful, miss," the guard replied.

Inside the room, the bars to her cell suddenly began to rise, along with the large pillar that her arms were tied around. Her body began to relax into a more comfortable position as the girl walked behind her. The girl, using her waterbending, summoned some of the water from her canteen and with a wave of her hand forced it to fall on her wrists, freezing them to the ground to she couldn't try to escape. The girl then bent down to sit behind her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a tone of fear in her voice.

"You need a healing session," the girl returned.

Remembering how the girl had healed him, she relaxed, inviting the girl's healing abilities. Her body was very sore, and her she had a piercing headache from her crying.

The girl bent the water to lay over her two temples, and the water began to glow bright as the girl's healing abilities charged through the water to her body.

She suddenly felt a chill fall down her back, and all her muscles began to tinge, as though they were being massaged. He bones stopped aching, everything that needed to be cracked was, and her headache was steadily disappearing in gentle, icy pulses. The experience was incredibly relaxing and invigorating, and she could also feel her mind starting to clear. She could feel the energy in her body flowing like a cold, Tundra River, and she closed her eyes, embracing the healing fully. Suddenly, she could feel the girl's water leave her temples, but her body felt like the pillar of health and perfection. For once in a very long time, she felt like herself.

"Feel better?" the girl asked, smiling slightly.

"Yes, actually," she returned, stretching her back.

"I'm going to do this again, but this time, I want you to think. I want you to think about your future. What do you want from it?" The girl insisted, as she manipulated the water back onto her temples.

As the girl's healing powers began to activate once more, she thought like the girl had requested. What did she want from the future? Her thoughts were deep and true, trying to find the answer within herself.

What do I want from the future? Well, I certainly don't want to be stuck in this awful prison the rest of my life. But things can never be the same. The war is over! Zuko is Fire Lord! The two things that drove my life, being in the war and becoming Fire Lord, are suddenly unattainable! All my skills, my cunning, my manipulation, my war knowledge, are all completely useless in this era of peace Zuko and the Avatar have created. So, where will my place be now? What direction is my life supposed to go now?

The water once again left her temples, and she was brought back to earth.

"I'm going to leave now," the girl said as she stood up and unfroze her hands.

"But I'll be back next week," the girl finished with a smile.

"As if I care," she returned and rolled her eyes, hoping she convinced the girl of her impartialness.

The girl walked out the door, and as she did, one of the guards came back in.

"Hold your arms up behind you, miss," the guard ordered. She sighed at the guard's demand, but obeyed him non-the less, and from the ceiling of her cell, the bars and the pillar came back to into their proper places. The guard left and locked the door, leaving her in her relative solitude. She adjusted her position to something more comfortable, and tried to sleep.

An hour later, she was still wide-awake, haunted by the question the girl had asked. What do I want from the future? She knew that it would take more than one day to answer the question, and tried to push the thought to the back of her mind. But she knew avoiding the question wasn't going to help her. After all, the future could be tomorrow if she would let it.

"You're food's here," informed one of her prison guards. The metal pillar around which her arms were tied was raised up, freeing her from her uncomfortable position. She fell to the floor immediately, half-awake from her slumber following the girl's visit. The bars in her cell also rose up. The two guards came towards her, one holding food, one holding a key. The guard with the key unlocked her chains, which bound her hands behind her, as the other guard dropped the plate in front of her. They walked away, not bothering with a double take for her. They then left her alone to eat, securing her prison cell door behind them.

Still lying on the floor, her long hair gone astray in every which direction over her face, she slowly lifted her hand to her cheek. Moving her hair behind her ear, she lifted herself up and winced. Her arms were weak from a lack of use and her tiredness. She sat up cross-legged, still remembering her royal upbringing, mannerisms and etiquette. She looked down at her food in disgust. The meal comprised of corn, poorly spiced chicken, and cabbage. Her glass of water was now half-full, the rest of the water spilled on the floor from when the prison guard rudely dropped her meal in front of her.

What slop is this? Surely it is unfit for royalty. I remember when I would eat the finest foods in the Fire Nation, an endless banquet of the most exquisite dishes imaginable. And I should still be eating like royalty! I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation! Or…at least I was. I guess I really don't know who I am, now.

She hesitantly picked up the chicken and placed it in her mouth. As she chewed, she grimaced. It was cold, plain, and rubbery. She swallowed it quickly, hoping to end the experience of eating the terrible poultry as quickly as possible. Looking around her cell, a thought occurred to her. Her hands were free; the bars weren't in her way. It was quite possible for her to escape at that moment. With firebending skills, the task would be child's play. She tried to stand up, but her legs quaked incessantly. Her legs, too, were weak from a lack of use, and she realized that she was too weak to even attempt a jailbreak in a prison so heavily guarded. Frustrated, she sat back down immediately and sighed. At that moment, she had a rather depressing revelation.

Even if she escaped, where would she go? What would she do? Who could she turn to? She knew she had nowhere to go, and all her allies had recently turned on her. And, most disturbing of all, she had nothing to do. She had been a woman of action all her life, an ambitious goal-setter. But her life had suddenly lacked direction. For the first time in her young life, she felt truly lost. She ceased her eating, having lost her appetite. She could feel the tears coming once again to plague her with submission, but before they could come, her feelings of being lost were replaced but feelings of rage.

What am I doing? I'm still Princess Azula of the Fire Nation! I don't just surrender to feelings of despair and weakness. I make OTHERS feel despair, and exploit THEIR weakness!

She once again attempted to stand up, and even though her legs shook with weakness, she still rose to her feet. Standing up slightly hunched, she felt her feelings of angst disappear. In its place, she could feel warmth of energy, like her inner fire had once again been lit. One of the guards turned around to gaze into the barred window in the heavy metal door and gasped. There was the prisoner, gazing at him with her piercing golden eyes with a fierce stubbornness. He could feel a bead of sweat roll down his neck and a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew his prisoner was up to something, and based on her nature, he also knew that was too unpredictable for him to even guess what she was planning. She simply smiled.

"I'm done with my meal," she said, still grinning wickedly.