Of Fire
Chapter 5
Ty Lee walked into her parent's house, exhausted. Sighing heavily, the young princess trudged through the house. She really hated going shopping with her sisters and wondered why she couldn't come up with a reason not to go. Detia didn't like to be around a lot of people and would cry loudly – though only Ty Lee could hear it – so she got to get out of it. She had even tried to say that Detia didn't like to be without her, which was true. But somehow, her sisters had managed to con her into going. And to make matters worse, she hadn't even packed any form of currency, aside from the money she would use to buy her and Detia's boat ticket, which her sisters didn't let her forget, once she told them.
As she headed towards the living room, she heard frantic steps rushing towards her. They were too heavy to be Detia's, not that the little girl made much noise when she ran, if she ran. Ty Lee couldn't remember one incident where the girl had ran. So with a grimace, she prepared herself to be confronted with either her mother or one of her sisters. She visibly sighed when neither approached her, and one of the servants rounded the corner. Though, by the frantic look in the young girl's eyes, Ty Lee's hackles went up in alarm. "Is everything alright?" the acrobat asked.
"No ma'am. I mean yes. The Princess Azula is here."
Ty Lee's grey eyes widened in alarm, "She is! When did she get here?"
"A couple of hours ago," the girl answered.
"Hours!" Ty Lee's voice rose uncharacteristically. "What has she been doing?"
The young servant flinched at Ty Lee's tone. "Nothing, she's just been staring at lady Detia. She just now asked for tea. Your parents have been keeping an eye on them."
"I'm sure they have," she almost scoffed, berating herself silently. It seemed Azula's attitude was rubbing off on her "Where are they, the Princess and my daughter?"
"In the library, my Lady," the young girl answered.
"Go get the tea, for three," Ty Lee replied with a warm smile.
The servant bowed and ran off into the kitchen. The halls were eerily quiet as Ty Lee walked down them towards the library. She couldn't see her parents anywhere, but that didn't mean they weren't there. With a heavy sigh, Ty Lee neared the open door to the library and stopped once she walked to the entrance. The view inside almost made her gasp, both her wife and daughter were sitting side by side looking through a book. Their conversation hadn't dulled in the least, though no one could hear it. It had simply run off into fire bending techniques and the proper way to do them. Detia had pointed to a book on the wall when what Azula was saying wasn't computing. Azula had stood and retrieved the book, the one they were looking at currently, sat next to her child and flipped the thing open. The princess opened her palm in demonstration and easily created a blue fire ball.
Ty Lee watched in rapt fascination as her daughter, who wasn't even a year old, opened her palms, put them together, and created a small ball of pure, white fire that crackled. Azula extinguished hers and examined the ball the child had created, coming to the startling realization that her little monster's ball of fire was not fire at all. "Detia," Ty Lee finally said, gaining the attention of the two in the room.
As a reaction, Detia closed one of her hands over the other, snuffing out the fire but not before it singed her hand. Azula heard the familiar sound and smelled the familiar smell of flesh burning and automatically looked from Ty Lee to her little monster. Detia's golden eyes looked back at her but showed no pain. Without even thinking, Azula grabbed the child's hands. Detia kept her palms closed rebelliously. "Open," Azula ordered and Detia hesitated. "Now," she demanded, leaving no room for objection. Detia looked at the ground as she opened her palms. Only her left palm had markings of being burned, but the burn itself looked as though it wouldn't even leave a blister. Azula sighed to herself, dropping the child's small hands. "Make sure to extinguish the fire before closing your hands." The little monster nodded, carefully placing her hands under the table as her mother turned to Ty Lee. "Ty Lee." Azula stood gracefully, approaching her wife whose eyes had yet to meet hers.
Ty Lee's grey eyes flicked up to Azula's then back at the ground when the princess stood mere inches from her. Azula took her mate's hands in her own, bringing them up between them. "Ty, look at me," the princess said gently, barely above a whisper, but the acrobat heard and did as she was asked, meeting her princess' honey eyes. Tears welled up in Ty Lee's eyes as she searched Azula's eyes and found an emotion the princess rarely ever showed, love and compassion. "Come home," Azula asked, keeping her tone light as a tear fell down her lover's cheek.
She wanted so much to say yes, to throw her arms around her wife and be carried away back to the palace. But her eyes fell to her daughter. The child's golden gaze looked at them both, an expression close to hope on her youthful face. She couldn't help but remember how cold Azula had been to their child. That wasn't the kind of environment a child should grow up in, hated by one of her parents. Ty Lee looked down to the ground then back up at Azula and the almost pleading look in her eyes. "Azula," she said through the tears that leaked freely from her eyes. "I can't…I…." The wounded expression on her wife's face made her stop talking for a second and try to calm down, again turning her gaze to the ground.
'She's worried about me,' Detia informed Azula, before she could jump to the wrong conclusion. 'She doesn't want me to grow up where I won't be loved.'
Azula smiled warmly, thanking her daughter in her mind before lifting Ty Lee's chin so their eye met. Gently she pressed her lips against her mate's. "Things will be different," Azula assured. "I promise. That little monster won't be unloved," she said. The affection in that tone was not lost on Ty Lee.
The acrobat searched her love's eyes, swallowing hard when only the truth shown through them. Without hesitating, and with a more than slight bounce in her step, Ty Lee threw her arms around Azula's neck and hugged her hard. Azula smiled smugly as she hugged her woman back, grateful for the feel of that slim body pressed against her own. In a swift, unexpected motion, Azula lifted Ty Lee in her arms, bridal style. Ty Lee squeaked in protest at the sudden movement but otherwise didn't let Azula go, only leaned into her further, smiling up at her princess. Azula smiled back as she ventured towards the exit of the room. Stopping at the door, she turned slightly to the child. "Why are you still sitting there? Come on."
Ty Lee smiled against Azula's neck at the parenting tone Azula used, knowing full well the reaction it would cause in the princess. The smile only widened as a slight shiver Azula could never seem to suppress ran down her spine. 'What about our stuff?' Detia asked as she stepped to the side of her parents.
"Leave it here. You don't need it," Azula answered out loud.
"Leave what here?" Ty Lee asked.
Azula glared at the little girl walking beside her, reminding her mentally that she shouldn't lie to her mommy. 'She was talking to me,' Detia replied almost shyly, her voice clearly heard in both of her parent's minds.
Ty Lee looked down at her daughter in astonishment. "You can speak?" the acrobat exclaimed, excitedly.
Detia smiled shyly and nodded. 'Not verbally,' The little girl replied.
The acrobat turned to look sternly at her princess. "You knew?"
"Well…"
"You did! You knew. Why didn't you tell me?" Ty Lee demanded forcing the stern expression on her face, which failed utterly.
"I thought you knew," Azula defended and sighed inwardly when Ty Lee's eyes sparkled with understanding and pride. She smiled when her acrobat kissed her. "She can write, too. It's choppy but we'll work on that."
"She can write!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily, suppressing the urge to bounce in excitement at her daughter's intelligence.
"Of course, how do you think I found you?"
"She wrote you a letter and made the messenger hawk go to you! Such a smart, resourceful little girl."
Azula smiled smugly, "Well, I wouldn't expect anything less, Ty Lee," she explained. "She is my daughter." Though she said the words, she wasn't sure she quite believed them, but she did enjoy hearing people praise a child she claimed.
Ty Lee was thrilled at the near-lie and to show it squealed in delight and hugged her wife tightly, nearly making the princess fall backwards with the sudden movement. The acrobat turned to her daughter, once the princess stabilized, as best she could from her position, still firmly hugging her wife, and replied, "When I'm set down, you will be adequately praised."
Detia nodded slightly and smiled warmly up at her parents as Ty Lee snuggled into Azula's warm embrace. The acrobat gasped suddenly, causing Azula and Detia to stop and look up at her. "What?" Azula asked worriedly.
"What about my parents? We should at least say goodbye," Ty Lee answered.
"Why?" Azula and Detia chorused, an action that caused Ty Lee to smile despite herself.
Ty Lee sighed, "They are my parents."
'In title only,' Detia countered crossly though her expression never changed.
"We can send them a letter." Azula offered.
"But we're here now. We should just get it over with and not have to worry about it," the acrobat reasoned.
"I wasn't going to worry about it," Azula remarked, and Detia nodded her agreement.
'I was going to try and forget all about it,' Detia continued lightly only allowing Azula to hear her, which made Azula smirk.
"Come on, please," Ty Lee whimpered pathetically.
Grinding her teeth together, she reluctantly set her wife down. "Fine. Make it quick."
The acrobat's smile widened as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her wife. "I promise. Now come on." Ty Lee tugged Azula's sleeve as she nearly dragged her lover to where her parents were.
Azula rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as Ty Lee dragged her. She did, however, glare at her little monster when the girl made the sound of a whip cracking. Their golden eyes met for a second and Azula scoffed at the ridiculously innocent look in the baby's eyes. 'Watch your mouth, little girl,' she warned as her eyes narrowed. 'You shouldn't be speaking of things you know nothing about.'
Detia ran so that she was beside her mommy, taking her hand, and then looked back at Azula. 'I didn't say anything,' the young voice mocked.
Azula had to physically will herself not to attack the little monster. 'You can't hide behind her forever,' Azula thought dangerously.
Detia didn't respond, but Azula noticed with satisfaction how the girl's shoulders tensed and smirked.
Luckily, saying goodbye to Ty Lee's parents didn't take very long. But that didn't stop it from being annoying. Aside from the mandatory pleasantries, neither of the acrobat's parents said a word to Azula, which the princess was grateful for. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a conversation with people like them. Detia wasn't so lucky, which only amused Azula. The princess even smirked when Ty Lee's father knelt down to the little girl and pinched her cheeks. She promptly smacked the hands away from her face and ran behind Azula, knowing that, if nothing else, Ty Lee's parents wouldn't follow her there. 'Revenge,' Azula chuckled lightly, knowing the girl could hear her. Ty Lee's father only chuckled as he hugged his daughter, whispering not to let what her mother and sisters had said affect her, that she had a wonderful little girl and loving wife – even if Azula never showed it.
Just to get on her nerves, Detia repeated what he said to Azula, who scowled and thumped the child on the head. Detia rubbed her head but didn't whine about it and hid behind the princess once more as Ty Lee's mother came towards her. The older woman knelt, "Come now, Detia, give grandma a hug goodbye."
When the little monster made no move to actually move towards the woman, Azula moved out of the way, placing a hand on the girl's back and giving her a gentle shove in the older woman's direction. The little monster's golden eyes glared at her when Ty Lee's mother embraced her tightly. Azula only smirked at the scowl on Detia's young face. The older woman released Detia and stood, addressing her daughter-in-law. "You take care of my daughter and grand-daughter."
Azula only scoffed and turned to leave, Detia right on her heels. "Come on Ty. Let's go home," she called over her shoulder.
Ty Lee said goodbye to her parents one more time before skipping a little to catch up to her lover. The acrobat linked her arm with Azula's as they walked through the halls to the front door. "My family's not so bad. I don't know why you hate them so much."
Azula lifted a charcoal eyebrow. "You mean besides the fact that they're a bunch of backstabbing brownnosers?"
"Well, besides that. Almost everyone in the noble houses is like that and you don't hate all of them." Azula only looked at Ty Lee. "Okay, so maybe you do. But this is my family."
"How can you defend them? After everything they said about you," Azula countered as they reached the palanquin.
Ty Lee stopped. "What did they say about me?"
Azula gracefully sat in the palanquin, Detia in front of her, as she extending her hand to her wife. Ty Lee took the offered hand and ascended into their transportation. "Like them implying that you cheated on me."
"They were only teasing. They are my sisters and they do love to tease me. You know that." Ty Lee defended. "They didn't mean it. In fact, the same sister that said that to me comforted me last night when I couldn't go to sleep."
"Okay. What about their claim that you shouldn't have spent so much time with me after the war and gotten married to some man like a good little girl?"
It was Ty Lee's turn to look confused. "They never said that to me. Who told you that?"
Azula instantly glared at the little monster who was looking at the red velvet she was sitting on. "Did you lie to me?" Azula asked dangerously.
Detia met the princess' deadly golden eyes with her own. 'They may not have said it but they sure thought it,' she defended herself. 'And with so many people around I can't concentrate on what's being said and what's being thought.'
"You can hear other people's thoughts too?" Ty Lee said excitedly. Detia only nodded once before Ty Lee jumped on the small child, embracing her tightly. "You're such a smart child. I love you so much," she exclaimed then pulled away slightly, placing a hand on her daughter's head while still embracing her. "I'm sure my sisters thought some really horrible things about me. But you shouldn't take any of it to heart. That's what siblings do. Just ask your mom. She's never stopped giving her brother a hard time." Azula scoffed and turned her gaze to the curtain, which caused Detia to giggle. Then a thought occurred to Ty Lee. "Can you talk to other people too?"
Detia shook her head. 'No, just you two right now.'
"Right now?" Ty Lee asked excitedly.
"Naturally," Azula explained. "As she gets older, the ability will grow as well."
The acrobat nodded that she understood and hugged her daughter once more then shyly crawled over to her wife. Without a word, Azula opened her crossed arms and allowed the woman she loved into her embrace, smiling slightly when Ty Lee nuzzled in close. There was silence for a second then Detia yawned, placing a hand over her mouth as she did. "What time is it?" Ty Lee asked absently.
"Around four, I suppose." Azula answered, "Why?"
"It's time for Detia's nap," Ty Lee offered as she stretched out her arms, silently telling the girl to come to her.
"She still takes naps?" the Fire Nation Princess questioned.
Ty Lee laughed. "She's still only a baby, Azula."
Azula nodded as she watched the little monster curl up against her mommy and asked, "Are you sure? Is there something wrong with her? She's really…thin for her age."
The acrobat chuckled lightly, though she was glad that her lover was showing interest in their daughter. "I know. I was worried about that as well and called the doctor to come look at her. He said that she was fine and everything seemed to be working right. Only that her muscles seem to be toning quickly, getting rid of all the baby fat, which is why she appears thin." As an afterthought she added, "She even has only four teeth. Sometimes she complains about them because they hurt her gums but it's cute and normal."
"I'm sure," Azula conceded as she tentatively placed a hand on her little monster's white hair. "And her hair?"
Ty Lee shrugged lightly. "He said that she was albino, but she scoffed at him when he said it."
Again Azula nodded, silently watching as the little monster slept. It was the first time she had ever seen the child sleep. She looked so innocent and peaceful. The princess was surprised at how much it calmed her, just watching the child, how much at peace she was. It was hard for her to believe that the little girl lying against Ty Lee was a goddess, the balance of the gods, the one creature who could stop all wars. She was so small and fragile, in appearances anyway. She surprised herself again when she realized how eager she was to get to know the child that was claimed as her own. "How long does she usually nap?"
"About twenty to thirty minutes. She should be awake by the time we get to the palace. Why?"
"No reason." Azula smiled to herself and pulled her wife closer to her, kissing her forehead. "The Avatar will probably want to meet her."
Ty Lee nodded. "Is he the reason you changed your mind about her?" Ty Lee asked hopefully, that way she'd have someone to thank.
Azula shook her head slightly, "No. I had already decided before that. What he told me did help fuel my decision, though."
"What did he tell you?" Ty Lee asked nearly bouncing in her excitement.
With her hand placed firmly on her wife's shoulders Azula kept the excited woman calm. "Don't wake her," Azula almost whispered. Ty Lee calmed instantly as she looked down to her daughter. When she was truly calm and settled back into Azula's arms, the princess continued. "I'll tell you everything later."
"You promise?" Ty Lee whimpered lightly.
"Of course," Azula promised sealing the deal with a light kiss. "I'll tell you everything." The acrobat smiled warmly and snuggled into the woman she loved, pulling her daughter close. "She doesn't have to be changed does she?" Azula asked as an afterthought, causing Ty Lee to giggle and shake her head in the negative.
"The instant she learned how to walk she insisted that I teach her how. It was so cute." The acrobat sighed and looked up at her lover, "You've missed out on so much, Azula."
Azula nodded slightly and kissed the top of Ty Lee's hair, "I know."
The rest of the ride back to the palace was in a comfortable silence. This was only because Azula started to caress Ty Lee's head and neck, something the princess knew would make the acrobat fall asleep. It had always worked before and didn't fail her now. She smirked triumphantly when Ty Lee's eyes closed and her breathing became shallower. For the rest of the ride, Azula watched as her wife and her monster slept, their breathing timed in unison. The peace she felt at that moment vanished the instant the palanquin came to a jerking stop. The sudden motion caused Detia to jump up from her sleep, her feet tangled in the red silk on the floor, causing her to fall almost as soon as she stood. This action caused Azula to laugh, which woke up her wife who was leaning against her. "What happened?" Ty Lee's groggy sleep tainted tone asked, placing a hand to her mouth as she yawned.
'I fell,' Detia admitted easily as she sat up.
"Are you alright?" the acrobat asked only slightly worried, elbowing her wife who was still chuckling.
Detia nodded and moved to the opaque curtain covering the entrance and exit of their transportation. 'We're home,' she stated, the slightest hint of excitement seeping into her tone as she moved the curtain out of her view.
Impatiently, Detia pushed the curtains out her way and, even though she would have had to jump to touch the ground, made way to get out of the palanquin. Azula grabbed the back of the red belt wrapped around the child's waist just as she was about to jump, pulling her back into the covered area. "Hold it, you little monster. Patience is a virtue. As royalty, we wait for the servants to open the curtains."
Detia nodded but couldn't stop the pout from appearing on her face. She was ready to get inside and harass her cousin and uncle. So once the curtain was moved and tied to the side, Detia was up again and out of Azula's reach before Azula could stop her. The princess frowned as she exited the palanquin, again offering her hand to Ty Lee, though her attention was on the child who was waiting semi-patiently for her parents. "She's just a baby," Ty Lee whispered with a giggle. "Don't be so hard on her. You can't expect her to know proper etiquette. We can teach her all of that later, when she's older."
Azula only scoffed, crossing her arms in the long sleeves of her robes and continued to look displeased. Her frown deepened when she caught the smirk on Detia's face as they approached the waiting child. "I don't know why you're smirking, child," Azula remarked. "You're training starts tomorrow."
"Azula!" Ty Lee interjected pulling her daughter to her as they walked to the palace doors. "She's too young start training. You were at least five when you started."
Azula sighed. "Ty Lee, she is not me," The princess argued. "She's perfectly capable of starting her training now."
"Azula," Ty Lee whined, "you can't start her training tomorrow. She's too young and we just got home."
"You make it sound like you were gone for months; it was only two days. Her training starts tomorrow," Azula said finally.
"No, it does not," Ty Lee argued, stopping in the middle of the hall of the palace.
The princess stopped as well, a scowl painted on her perfect face, a look Ty Lee nearly managed to mimic. Detia watched silently at the little argument her parents were having. They forgot so easily that she could think these things through and come to her own conclusions. "No daughter of mine will be sitting around wasting her time when there are productive things that can be done, things she can learn!" Azula took a step closer.
"A week ago you couldn't have cared less about what she learned!" Ty Lee countered, also taking a step toward her wife.
Detia sighed heavily as she watched her parents inch towards each other. They were already close to begin with, so with one step, they were breathing the other's air, mere centimeters away. Though, Azula was a good head taller than her wife. In the child's mind, one of two things could happen. One, they would attack each other, a fight Ty Lee would win because they were so close, and she was a close range fighter. Or two, they would kiss and start doing things in the middle of the hall. Neither of which the child wanted to see. So, before either scenario could take place, the little monster replied, 'You know you could always ask me.'
Before Azula or Ty Lee could even turn to look at their child, another voice interrupted them. "Not even back for three seconds and you're already fighting."
"Mai," they said in unison, Azula's tone much sharper than her spouse's.
The Fire Lady walked up to her sister-in-law, niece, and best friend as if she had all the time in the world. Mai patted Detia on the head lightly before hugging Ty Lee. "Welcome home."
Ty Lee smiled and hugged Mai back. "It's good to be back."
Mai gave just the barest hint of a smile before parting with her friend and turning to her sister-in-law. "I would have thought that you bringing her back would mean that you worked out your differences."
Before Azula could reply with a snappy comment, another sharp voice interrupted her, causing her to huff in annoyance. "Azula," Zuko sounded displeased, but she couldn't bring herself to care. However, his tone changed the instant he caught sight of Detia and Ty Lee. "Ty Lee! Detia!" his pace quickened as he approached, picking up his niece and hugging her tightly. She groaned in annoyance, which caused Azula to smile. "You brought them back?" he asked his sister as he put Detia down.
Azula sighed, "Of course, Zuko. Where did you think I was going?"
He shrugged, not saying that he thought she just wanted to get away from the Avatar because she didn't like him. And his purpose for coming to her was to scold her for abruptly leaving in the middle of his explanation. And because Detia didn't exactly like his train of thought, Azula heard every word he thought. Her little monster's abilities amused her more than her brother's thoughts annoyed her. It also helped her mood when Detia stood beside her and took her hand. The monster assured Azula that she was only doing it to throw her uncle and not because she was trying to show affection, something Azula could understand.
Zuko was caught off guard for a moment when he saw the slightest affectionate smile on his sister's face when she looked down at her daughter. "Well, I guess all's well that ends well," the Fire Lord remarked happily as he knelt in front of his niece, placing a hand on her head. "I have someone who wants to meet you."
Detia frowned; she didn't really want to meet anyone else this week. Her mommy's family was enough. But when Zuko and Mai started to walk off, Azula and Ty Lee followed, and since Detia was still holding Azula's hand, she had to follow. "We'll discuss this little argument later," Azula assured.
"You bet," Ty Lee agreed.
'No,' Detia argued, pulling her hand violently from Azula's. Both of her parents turned to look at her. 'This is my choice. I want to start my training. I want to learn to fire bend. I want to learn new things. Please Mommy. Please,' Detia pleaded, coming up to her mommy and tugging on her robe. 'Please.'
"I won't go hard on her; it'll only be the most basics of the art. 'Unless she looks like she can handle more.' And it'll only be for an hour or two 'or three'." Azula interjected, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders, the closest to pleading she'd ever come. "Besides she's already trying to teach herself. At least with me she won't get burned nearly as much."
Ty Lee sighed and smiled. "Alright, if that's what you really want, then you can start your training with me tomorrow as well. Is that okay with you, Azula?"
Azula nodded slightly. "I'm okay with it. What about you, little monster?" Detia smiled widely, jumping up and down in excitement. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Well, now that that's settled, let's go meet our guest. I'm assuming it's Aang and Katara," Ty Lee inquired, taking one of her daughter's small hands while Azula took the other.
Azula only nodded as they followed Zuko and Mai's path to where the Avatar and his woman waited. They entered the well lit room and everyone inside stopped talking and turned to them. Katara gasped lightly at the sight of the child standing between Ty Lee and Azula, her white hair attracting the light of the orange fire. The water bender was the first to go to the child and kneel in front of her with a warm smile. "Hi, there," Katara said with an outstretched hand. "I'm Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Do you know where that is?" Detia nodded once, letting go of Azula's hand to take Katara's. "You do! Wow."
"She's smarter than she looks." Azula commented dully.
Katara ignored the Fire Nation Princess, not even bothering to look at her. "What's your name?"
Detia remained quiet. "She's mute," Zuko offered. "She can't speak."
'Only to you guys,' Detia thought, making both her parents smile.
"I see." Katara replied, glancing at her friend. "Would you like me to see if I can heal that?"
Detia looked up at Azula, who shrugged. "The last waterbender who tried to heal her said that he couldn't. That the damage was too great," Ty Lee replied. "It doesn't bother her though and it's not inconvenient to us, so there's no reason for you waste the ability."
"But don't you think she would be happier if she could speak like everyone else?" Zuko inquired, knowing that he would like it if he could talk to his niece and she could talk back.
"No,' Azula, Ty Lee, and Detia replied in unison.
"Why does she have to be like everyone else?" Azula inquired. "If what he said is true, then there's probably a reason Detia can't speak verbally," she said, making sure to emphasize the word 'verbally'.
"She's right Katara." Aang replied, stepping up to his wife and placing a hand on her shoulder before she could say anything to counter the Princess.
'She really hates you,' Detia noted, looking up at her mother. 'I mean she REALLY hates you.'
Azula smiled smugly. 'I know.'
"So your name is Detia?" Aang asked, taking Katara's place in front of the girl.
Detia nodded once to affirm, watching the man in front of her carefully. He looked so familiar to her. She just couldn't place it, but she knew she had seen him before. Like his wife, the Avatar outstretched his hand to the girl. She was hesitant to take it. The instant their hands touched she realized where she knew him from. Images of a past life, of blood pooling like a river at her feet and smoke billowing from a once great and powerful city, a city reduced to ruin in what seemed like seconds, her city. The smell of burning flesh assaulted her like she was there so many years ago. The sounds of people screaming, moaning in pain, of children crying echoed in her mind. Then there he was, him but not him, standing upon the rubble of the great city, laughing in triumph, covered in the blood of the fallen warriors, her fallen warriors, her people.
The child's breathing became labored as she wrenched her hand free from this man, stepping back. Vaguely she was aware of her parents calling her, asking her what was wrong. She could feel her mommy's hand on her shoulders. But all she could see was the nightmare that kept her up at night, the genocide of a great and powerful, but few and peaceful, people at the hands of the man who was, but wasn't, standing before her. On some level she knew that the current Avatar had nothing to do with her dream, that it was a past life of his. However, that level was buried deeply in her mind. All she could think about was that she was not yet powerful enough to face him and live. She had to run.
And she did, backing up to the still open door and giving a whole new meaning to bolting as she rushed to her room, a safe place, leaving dark marks on the floor from where her bending scorched the marble as she ran. The instant Detia started running, Ty Lee chased after her, not only seeing the physical fear manifest in her child's body language but flaring violently in her aura. Azula stood with her brother, sister-in-law, and their guests. "Please tell me I'm not the only who just saw her move at the speed of light down the hall?" Katara remarked.
"I saw it too." Azula confirmed, amazed at her little monster's ability to use bending like that. She couldn't even move that took her years to control her bending in that manner.
"Azula," Zuko finally said, gaining his sister's attention. "What was that all about?"
Azula shrugged. "I have no idea," was her response, still too caught up in her child's ability to form a snappy retort. "Do you have any idea, Avatar?"
Aang shook his head in the negative, stunned at the child's reaction to him. "I don't know."
Azula lifted an eyebrow. "You don't know much do you?"
"Azula!" Zuko scolded, a tone she loathed.
"What!" she countered, turning to her brother. "He doesn't. Think about it, Zuzu. The Balance of the Gods, my daughter, disappeared from the face of the Earth not to be seen for thousands maybe even millions of years. But that was before the Avatar's time, so he doesn't know why or what happened. Who's to say that his very first life didn't do something to make her go away? And her departure created such a rift in the balance that the one who caused it was forced into her role."
"I would remember if that were the case," Aang defended.
"Would you?" Azula remarked, turning to him. "Would you remember your very first life and the things he did?" The Avatar was silent, knowing that he wouldn't remember unless he was actively looking. "Regardless, for some reason my child reacted negatively towards you. Whatever you did in this life or the last scared her so much she ran out of the room, which is saying something since she's MY daughter." The group conceded that to be the truth, Azula wasn't known for running away. "As such, I don't want you around her, ever."
With that said, Azula turned and walked in the direction both Ty Lee and Detia had run in. Aang sighed dejectedly. He'd never been banned from seeing a person before, especially a child. In fact, usually the opposite happened. A woman had even offered her son for him to raise as his own. He declined of course, but still, it had happened. His wife pulled him into a light hug that he returned. "It'll be okay," the water bender cooed.
"No, it won't. I have to figure out why she acted like that. One of my past lives has to know something," the Avatar said with conviction, turning from his friends. "I'm going to meditate."
"Aang wait, I'll come with you." He turned to look at her with a lifted eyebrow. "You know I always make you calmer," Katara argued as she followed her husband to one of the many gardens in the palace.
The royal couple only watched their friends go, not saying a word. "Well, on the bright side," Mai remarked, breaking the ice, "at least Azula accepts that Detia is her daughter."
Zuko smiled and nodded excitedly. "That's true. And she was acting all motherly, who would have guessed?"
~x~
Azula walked elegantly down the halls of the palace, ignoring what her brother and sister-in-law had said. Sometimes she wished the walls didn't echo like they did. She would hate to have to break her brother's heart by telling him that she wasn't sure she believed Detia was hers or not. Wait, that wasn't true, she would love nothing more than to break his soft, weak, bleeding heart. But then it would somehow get back to Ty Lee what she said and that was an argument she did not want to get into if she could avoid it. Besides she claimed the girl, whether they were biologically related or not. There were simply too many Pros than there were Cons to claim her. Hell, she had a goddess for a daughter. How many people could say that?
With a smirk the princess continued following the black marks that scarred the marble floor and considering their direction, figured she was heading towards the little monster's room. Sure enough, when she made it to the room, after she noticed the hand-shaped scorch marks on the door, Azula saw her wife on the floor holding the little monster, who, to her credit, was not crying. The little monster was shaking like a leaf, but she wasn't crying. Azula took a moment to admire the canopy bed that had replaced the crib, allowing the child to calm down before she addressed her. All in all she was pleased with the bed, though she thought it was a bit large for such a small girl. "Azula," Ty Lee called, causing the princess to turn her attention to her wife. "She won't tell me what frightened her. All she'll say is 'My Nightmare'."
Azula walked to her wife and child, who were sitting on the floor, and knelt, placing a hand on Detia's head. When the little girl's golden eyes met her own she asked, "Was the Avatar in your nightmare?"
Detia nodded. "Do you know what her nightmare is about, Azula?" the acrobat asked.
"No," Azula answered honestly as Detia buried her head in Ty Lee's chest, clinging to her mommy.
'You don't want to know, either,' Detia remarked, glancing at Azula from her rather comfortable position. 'Thanks for the bed, though. The crib was getting tedious to get out of.'
Azula and Ty Lee chuckled. "You're welcome," Azula said. "But one day you will have to tell us about this dream." Detia nodded slightly, her hands balling tightly in Ty Lee's shirt. "For now, the Avatar won't come near you. I've warned him."
Detia giggled at the memory of Azula warning Aang. "Poor guy," Ty Lee sympathized with a smile. "You probably scarred him for life."
"I wasn't that bad," Azula protested half-heartedly. "Besides, he deserved it."
Detia nodded that she agreed then blushed when her stomach growled. Azula stood elegantly, a slight smile on her lips. "Come on you little monster," Azula said as she pulled Detia from Ty Lee, who stood as well.
The little girl wrapped her arms around Azula's neck to prevent herself from falling. She had never been this close to her other mother and wasn't sure how to act. With Ty Lee she could hold on tight, cuddle, and kiss her cheeks and Ty Lee would smile and promote it. Detia doubted that would work with Azula. So she held on as loosely as she could without falling off as they walked towards the dining room. "When was the last time you ate?" Azula asked, very aware of the distance her little monster was keeping with her, not that she really minded. She had no idea what she was doing either.
She only picked the girl up because it seemed like the right thing to do. 'It's been a while. Since before you came to get us.'
"Well, I guess we should get you something to eat," Azula remarked with a half-smile as she glanced at the happy expression on her wife's face. 'At least it makes her happy.'
TBC
A/N: The next chapter may take a while to post (family issues I have to take care of). But in it I'll be jumping a few years. I know Lu Ten will be five or six, it's his birthday, haven't decided exactly how old yet. And you get to meet the Gaang and their children. Most of them anyways, some aren't born yet.
But in the meantime visit my deviant art page, if you haven't already. There's a folder for my story and spoilers for future chapters. It's: http:/ feifei08. deviantart. com/ (without the spaces of course)