Author's note: Oh, fuck guys. This is back.
There are like, a million mistakes in the previous chapters (and probably a million more in this), but I'm a lame hypocrite so I'm probs not going to fix them. But I've been in this "OMG MUST WRITE MOAR FAN FICTION" faze ever since the second half of Pretty Little Liars started up, and I didn't want to neglect my Avatar work. Plus, like, this story is full of so much win that it's almost a crack!fic.
"Oh, and what's this?" Zuko asked, almost gleefully.
"I, uh..." Azula spluttered, trying to find the right words in order to string together a coherent sentence.
"The princess? Being waited on by another girl?"
"Scandalous!"
"Oh, will you crotchety old women shut up!" Azula shouted, blue sparks emitting from her clenched fists.
The noblemen wives gasped, each of them bringing a hand to their mouths. Mai took the sudden change in conversation to ascend the stairs once more and slip away from the gossiping wives. While she would have very much liked to listen and watch the scene unfold, what with Azula's face an embarrassing shade of scarlet and Ty Lee standing on top of the stairwell half naked, but her stomach disagreed with her likelihood (not to mention, being away from the wives meant that she may no longer be the topic of their discussion).
Zuko looked up to see Mai sneak past Ty Lee and then centered his gaze back on his sister. "Azula," he said, "why is Ty Lee standing with her clothing partly removed?"
"Yes, I would like to know that, too!" Said the woman with the crimson robes that looked too big for her.
Next to her, a woman draped in orange piped up. "I would also like to know why you are taking too long, and why that is so important."
Azula cleared her throat, turning away from the gossiping old women and towards the acrobat. "Ty Lee," her voice was at its usual icy standard. "I told you to wait in my chamber until I came upstairs."
Ty Lee removed her hands from her hips and instead crossed her arms. Her stomach, arms, and a majority of her legs were bare. "You also said that you would be quick."
"When a princess gives you an order, you follow it!" Azula snapped.
The biddy noblemen wives began murmuring amongst themselves, occasionally pointing between Ty Lee and Azula. Zuko grinned broadly, clearly enjoying himself.
"Since when have I followed all of your orders?"
The wives gasped. "She just talked back to the princess!"
"Scandalous!"
Zuko, too, even gasped. He was utterly shocked at the behavior of Ty Lee. The usually bubbly acrobat had always been very sweet and compliant of anything Azula did or said. Never in the years that he has known her had Ty Lee responded to his sister with such edge and dominance. The prince then shuddered. He didn't want to think about Ty Lee being dominant with his sister.
"Could someone please inform us as to what exactly is going on?" A woman wearing blood red next to the woman in orange was flailing her arms in the air.
"Oh, shush, May Ling!" The short woman with the crimson robes that were too large for hissed, nudging her friend in the side with her elbow.
Prince Zuko took this opportunity to further embarrass his sister, much like she had done to him just moments ago. "It seems that my dear sister has been keeping a secret from us. A secret about her...romantic liaisons. Isn't that right, Azula?
Azula's face grew a darker shade of red. "Ty Lee. My chamber. Now!" She growled, threatening the usually pink girl with a hidden blue flame.
Ty Lee's eyes grew wide at the sight of the flame. With a huff, she stomped off to Azula's room, ignoring the mutters from the old women at the end of the stairs. Azula then turned on her heel to face the gossiping women. She let the flame in her hand become more visible, fueling it with her temper.
May Ling and the women surrounding her all gasped for the umpteenth time that night. One of them fainted and fell to the lavishly carpeted floor with a resounding thud. Mai's mother, who was still there, was the only one who cared about the woman passed out on the ground. She pulled a red fan out of her sleeve and blew air on her while the other women ignored the scene.
"Oh, you're fire doesn't scare us! We're noblemen wives!" May Ling said, waving her hand around carelessly.
"And what does that have to do with anything?" It was Zuko who asked this question and not Azula. The princess merely blew out her fire and looked inquisitively at her brother and then at the gossiping group.
"Yes," Azula said. "I would like to know that as well. You are wives of seemingly high-powered governmental men. Why is that so important?"
"We've seen it all!" Said the woman in orange, throwing her hands up.
"You two have been gallivanting around the world, doing Agni-knows-what, and now you're cooped up in the palace with no one but servants to converse with." The small woman with the large robes added in. "You have no idea the scandals that have been going on here in the homeland!"
The woman who had fainted suddenly shot up from the ground. "Quit changing the subject, ladies! I still want to know about Lady Mai's pregnancy."
Mai's mother ceased her fanning and swallowed hard. From the end of the stairwell, Prince Zuko and Princess Azula exchanged glances full of relief, embarrassment, and complete awkwardness.
Author's note: It's been awhile. I think I'm starting to lose sight of this. Crack!fic, anyone? 'Cause like, with the noblemen wives, it's starting to turn into one... BUT I MEAN, IT'S STILL SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE LALALALA.