Of Fire
Chapter 6 - To Love
The sun shone brightly this morning, the golden rays casting down upon the most feared fire bender on the face of the planet. She breathed in the crisp morning air, feeling the sun ignite her very being, the power coursing through her veins like fire. Exhaling deeply the Fire Nation Princess looked over to the one year old child to her left. "Do you feel it today?" Azula asked.
The little girl's golden eyes looked up at her, locking on to them then casting down to the ground. 'No.' she said meekly, almost flinching when Azula sighed.
For a week now Azula had been teaching her daughter the basic steps to fire bending. The first day consisted of feeling the sun power the fire within. Detia, however, did not feel this empowerment and couldn't no matter how hard she tried. At least not from the sun. On the third day of their training a thunderstorm moved in and, much to the chagrin of her parents, Detia seemed to be everywhere at once. Ty Lee, because Azula was fine with letting the little monster do what she wanted no matter how potentially dangerous it could be, had to constantly stop Detia from trying to go outside in the rain and lightning. Though she hadn't told anyone, Azula assumed that stormy weather was the type of weather that fueled the fire within her little monster and though she still asked if Detia felt any form of change in her energy from the sun she didn't expect there to be one.
Besides the lack of change did not affect her little monster's ability to learn quickly and do the training exercises. Detia surprised both her parents on her second day of training, Ty Lee being there because for the first four days she wanted to 'watch' Azula train their daughter – make sure she didn't make her baby do anything beyond what a child could do – when Azula told her to do as many pushups as she could before collapsing and Azula counted to one hundred before she made the girl stop. When she stopped the pushups and stood her breathing was regular and not strained or labored. So, with Azula's permission, Ty Lee stepped in and showed Detia more advanced forms of pushups, using only three fingers instead of five. The little monster did a hundred of those before her breathing became slightly labored.
Azula took back over, telling Ty Lee that she could start the monster's training in the afternoon, which was when Ty Lee usually opted to train. Ty Lee easily agreed and moved back to her seat and status as a spectator. Since it was established that Detia had near perfect control of her breathing, the real training began. The basic fire bending techniques were easy for Detia to learn, have basically already taught herself. Azula only had to correct minor form errors and explain the way the energy flowed when using the forms.
"Alright then, let's get started." Azula replied, restraining her smile when Detia perked up and immediately got into the same exact stance as her mother.
They were half way through their lesson when the Fire Lord came into view. His stern displeased expression enough to make them stop practicing. "Azula," he called sternly, causing both to look over at him. "I would like to speak with you, in private."
Azula sighed, wondering what in the world he wanted to speak to her about. Detia tugged at the sleeve of her uniform, causing her to look down into worried golden eyes. She placed a hand on Detia's white hair and smiled slightly. "I'll be back, meditate while I'm gone."
Detia did as she was told and set in the grass, slowing her breathing and meditating. Azula watched for a second, to make sure she was doing it correctly, before turning to her brother and following him all the way back to his office in the palace. When he set she did as well. "What is the meaning of this Zuko? I was in the middle of something."
"I saw." He said the sternness of his tone making her lift an eyebrow. "Don't you think it's a bit early to start training her?"
"What relevance is that to you?" She countered.
"She's my niece, Azula." Zuko remarked
"And she's my daughter, Zuko." Azula said, her tone raised only slightly.
He sighed, changing his tactics. "Alright Azula, now I'm telling you. It is too early for her to start her training. I'm forbidding you to continue until she's older."
For a second she looked at him as if he had lost his mind. When his expression did not change to show that he was joking she stood and slammed her hands on the desk separating them. "You have no right to tell me how to raise my daughter."
"We had an agreement Azula. Are you going back on it?" He taunted.
She ground her teeth together, balling her hands into fist – Her sharp nails drawing blood – to stop herself from attacking him. "Fine." She said, her golden eyes alight with anger. "I'll stop training her." She stood. "You will regret this decision brother." Without another word she exited the office and stormed back to where Detia was still meditating. "Stand up." The princess growled. Detia did as she was told quickly and without question, the violent deep red color vibrating around her mother making her worry. "The lesson's over."
Detia nodded and followed her mother as the woman began to walk away. 'Maybe next time you could teach me a harder move, like the fire arch thingy.'
"There won't be a next time." Azula remarked coldly.
Detia stopped in her tracks, watching her mother's back as the princess continued to walk away, the smile she had forced melting like wax under a hot flame. The little girl ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around one of Azula's. 'Why! Did I do something wrong?' Azula didn't answer. 'I'm sorry, whatever it was I won't do it again. Please, don't stop teaching me. Please.'
The princess exhaled deeply, a puff of blue fire emitting past her lips as she stopped walking. She looked down at the little girl clinging to her arm and into the golden eyes rimmed with unshed tears. "You did nothing wrong." Azula admitted. "In fact I was very pleased with your progress." She sighed again and stooped down to her daughter's level, placing her hands on the little girl's shoulders. "You were doing great. But your uncle believes you are too young to start your training and has forbidden me to continue until you are old enough."
The little girl's white eyebrows scrunched together in annoyance. 'Why are you listening to him? I'm your daughter, not his.'
Azula stood. "It's complicated, I'd rather not talk about it."
Detia nodded, seeing very briefly in her mother's memory, her mother, bound in chains and covered in filthy clothes, and uncle sitting in his office. What they were discussing she didn't know and didn't have the time to find out when Azula stopped thinking about it. 'How long do I have to wait?' Detia asked innocently.
"Probably until you're seven."
'Seven! That's seven years from now!' Detia complained.
Azula nodded in understanding. "I know. Take it up with your uncle. He's the only one who can change his mind. Now, why don't you go find your mommy."
Detia nodded and turned into the direction she knew Ty Lee was in while Azula went into a different direction to work out her anger. The little girl turned back to Azula and watched as the princess stormed past several guards who all but fainted just at the sight of her. She wanted to learn fire bending, just as much as she wanted to learn to bend her body the same way Ty Lee did. And while Azula would probably still teach her the art of strategy Detia wanted something more from her mother. Something else they could bond over. With determination, the one-year old walked – not running because it was improper for a royal to do – to her mother's study. Bound and determined to be allowed to learn bending again.
~x~
Zuko was still in his office an hour after Azula had walked out on their conversation. Maybe he had been to rash and should have gone about it different. He really hated pulling that card on his sister, but she wouldn't have listened to him had he not done so. He was, after all, only looking out for the safety of his only niece. Though, Azula's parting words made him wonder what she had meant. He believed (hoped) that Azula had too much to lose now to do something that he might regret. He also believed that Ty Lee would agree with his actions, so he didn't have to worry about her. The Fire Lord was sure that Ty Lee was unaware of Azula's training sessions with the one-year girl. In his mind he was doing a good thing and couldn't for the life of him imagine what kind of negative connotations this could bring.
Of course when the doors to his office burst in violently, he couldn't help but jump. Though once he saw the little form of his niece standing in the doorway glaring at him, he couldn't help but think of how cute she looked all stern like that. Without a word spoken she walked up to the chair and crawled up into it, standing so that she could see him, then handed him a note. With a lifted eyebrow he took the note, unrolled it, and read the choppy script. "Did you write this?" he inquired and Detia nodded. He sighed. "I'm sorry Detia. You are too young to be training, maybe when you're five, at the youngest but no sooner. This is for your own good. You'll understand when you're older."
Detia scowled, eyebrows furring together as she looked at him. He only chuckled. "I'm standing firm on this, Detia. Nothing anyone can say or do can make me change my mind."
With that said, Detia grabbed her note back and the brush he had been using, wrote three words, got off the chair, set the note back on his desk and left the office. He shook his head at how Azula-like she was acting as he took the note and read it. The words on the note made his heart sink, but he sighed and rationalized that she was too young to understand and with time she would forgive him. He hoped that she had some of Ty Lee in her and would forgive him soon, like tomorrow.
~x~
A week passed and Zuko didn't see Detia at all. Though he wasn't worried, he was unusually busy. So busy that, against his better judgment, he had to send Azula - with Sokka and Aang - to one of the colonies to quite a small rebellion. She would be coming back today with good news he hoped. He was walking down the halls of the palace conversing with Katara about the shaky treaty made with the water tribes when he noticed Ty Lee looking around worriedly. "Ty Lee," he called getting the acrobat's attention.
"Hey, guys." Ty Lee said as she walked over to the Fire Lord and Katara, looking around as she did.
"Are you looking for something?" Katara asked.
The acrobat nodded. "Yeah, have you seen my daughter?"
"Detia? No, why?" Zuko asked.
"She's been running off again and coming back burned." Ty Lee explained. "I thought it was because Azula's not here to train her but it started before Azula left. I just don't know what's going on. Neither would tell me anything." The acrobat whined.
Zuko was taken back for a second, "You knew about Azula training Detia."
"Yes." Ty Lee answered simply.
"And you approved of it?" He inquired.
"Well, not a first. But that's what Detia wanted and Azula keeps her safe and unharmed. So, yes I approve." The acrobat informed, getting suspicious at the color of his aura. "Zuko, what is this all about? What do you know?"
The Fire Lord looked around worriedly, rubbing the back of his neck, before meeting his sister-in-law's grey eyes. "Well, I kind of told Azula not to train her anymore because she's so young."
"You did what!" Ty Lee yelled, taking both Katara and Zuko by surprise. "How dare you! Just, how dare you!" She was so angry that was the only sentence she could think to say.
The acrobat was unaccustomed to feeling so angry and wasn't quite sure how to handle it sans violence. So she threw all logical thought out the window and went with her instincts. Before Zuko could register what was going on Ty Lee was in his face, her usually pleasant pink aura a deep angry red. She jabbed him in the chest, causing him back up a little. "How dare you! What gave you the right…. What made you even think that telling her to stop would be okay?" She jabbed him again, the action causing Katara to flinch – she knew first hand what those deceivingly dainty hands could do.
"Ty Lee, calm down." Zuko tried.
"No!" Ty Lee denied. "I will not calm down. I don't tell you how to raise your son and you shouldn't tell me how to raise my daughter. When Azula gets back you better take back what you said. You shouldn't have interfered anyway."
Zuko frowned. "Ty Lee, I am sorry but that is one thing I can not do." The acrobat leveled a glare at her bother-in-law that made him think that she had been spending too much time with Azula. "She's only a baby, Ty Lee. Fire bending is a dangerous art…"
"So you agree. Without the right training Fire bending can hurt you or someone else. Detia's been training herself, Zuko, with no supervision. If you don't take this order back and she gets seriously injured…"
A shrill scream echoed through the halls of the palace, interrupting Ty Lee's train of thought. "What was that?" Katara asked.
"Detia." Ty Lee whispered, and then took off running in the direction she had seen her daughter wondering around in. "Detia!" She called out loudly.
Both Zuko and Katara followed.
~x~
Azula set in the palanquin, her hand propping up her head. The 'task' Zuko had sent her on was one of the stupidest, most boring things she had ever done in her life. After a few correctly worded promises, that really meant nothing at all, she had quieted the 'rebellion' and their politicians. Honestly, the airship ride home took longer than the resolution. And she was glad to be back in the capital and almost home. Already she had the rest of her day planned out. First she would inform her brother on what happened, which she hoped would take less than ten minutes, then spend a good six hours with her wife. Following that she would find her daughter and teach her a thing or two about strategy. That was her plan and she had every intention of going through with it until a scream rang through her mind. One she knew all to well and made her jump to attention. For a second Azula opened the curtain to look at the palace, judging its distance.
It wasn't that far away but riding the palanquin would still take her half an hour. She didn't have that time; her little monster could be seriously hurt. So, with little worry about how it made her look to her people, Azula ordered the Palanquin bearers to stop and put her down. They followed orders without question and once her feet touched the ground and she was in the proper stance (which took less than 30 seconds) she was off. A constant burst of blue flame from her feet and fist propelled her to the palace like a rocket at a speed no normal human could manage. She didn't even wait for the palace doors to open, simply shooting herself up over them, landing on the other side in a roll and took off again, this time without the fire.
Almost immediately she found her wife in her arms, tears streaming down her face. "What happened?" Azula demanded.
Ty Lee shook her head, her arms tightening around Azula's waist. "We can't find her. We've searched for hours."
"That scream just a second ago, was it…?" Azula questioned.
Ty Lee nodded and through her tears she said. "It was. I've been calling and calling for her and she answers but we can't find her."
"Who is 'we'?" Azula asked.
"All of us." Zuko said from behind his sister, causing her to turn.
She turned to see Mai, Zuko, Katara, Lu Ten, Katara's only child whose name she didn't know and Sokka's oldest son, who she assumed was named Atreyu – since she had just spent four days with that idiot, Sokka, and all he seemed to talk about was his kids and wife. "And none of you have been able to find her?" Azula asked, her tone incredulous, but she really wasn't surprised at their lack of skill.
"We've localized her location to somewhere close to the main conference room." Zuko informed.
Azula scowled. 'Detia.' She called the girl mentally.
'Yes.' The little voice whimpered.
'Are you injured?' Azula questioned.
'Yes.' Came the same reply.
'Is it bad?'
'Yes.' Detia answered, causing Azula's scowl to deepen and Ty Lee to start crying again.
'Where are you?'
'Where I train." Detia answered.
'The same place I saw you training in before you left?' Azula asked, her expression lightening slightly, showing what she remembered of the training area to her daughter.
'Yes, that's it.' Detia confirmed.
Azula nodded and let go of her wife. "I know where she is. She's injured." The princess informed, not waiting for anyone as she stormed off into the direction of the main conference room.
It took her five minutes to basically run – seeing as she was walking so fast – to the hidden door where she first caught her daughter fire bending. Like she had the last time she stood in front of what appeared to be a wall and pushed on it. It didn't budge. "Azula, that's a wall." Katara pointed out.
Azula huffed in irritation as she glared back at Katara. She hit the wall with her fist, the sound echoing in the silent hall. 'Detia are you in there?' the princess required.
'I can hear you.' The little monster confirmed.
"What's wrong with the door?" Azula said aloud.
'I don't know I can't see it.' Detia answered.
"Can you move to see it?" Azula asked.
There was a pause then a loud whimper – which only Ty Lee and Azula heard. 'No, I can't move. I'm far enough away, just break it down.'
"Alright then, cover your head." Azula announced as she moved away from the wall. "You might want to step back." Everyone did as she said and stepped away from her.
With a large blast of hot blue flame the hidden door was ash in seconds. When the doorway was revealed Katara immediately used her water to extinguish the fire. Though, Ty Lee and Azula had already rushed in, disregarding the blue flames that ate at the wood – a few minor burns were the least of their worries. Her parents found Detia sitting in chard grass in the middle of an area that had much more charring than Azula remembered. The little girl looked up at them in embarrassment, her golden eyes red and puffy from the tears that left trails down her cheeks – cutting through the blood that smeared her pale face.
'I think I broke my leg.' The little voice admitted, causing both Azula and Ty Lee – who had been focused on the blood on the girl's face – to look down at her legs.
Ty Lee gasped when she saw the blood that pooled around Detia's right leg. The little girl's once pale hands were coated in red as they applied pressure to the wound they covered. The acrobat turned away, unable to see anymore as Azula knelt to her daughter. "Move you hands." Azula ordered softly, noticing the scraps of fabric that had been torn from Detia's pants lying discarded beside her.
Tentatively Detia removed her hand, revealing the wound. A hole, about one and half inches in circumference, lay a little higher than half way down her shin. "This looks more like someone stabbed you than you broke your leg." Azula mumbled as she placed her larger hand over the wound, "Damn it Katara, what the hell is taking you so long to get over here!"
"Well excuse me." Katara answered back sarcastically as she ran over to Azula. "But the door was on fire."
"That didn't stop us." Azula countered crossly.
Katara only huffed then gapped at all the blood. "What happened?" she asked as she knelt, readying her water skin.
"She thinks she broke her leg." Ty Lee answered as she gained up her courage and knelt beside her child.
"Show me." Katara demanded. Azula removed her hand from the wound, allowing Katara to inspect it. "The bone's been reset." She stated with amazement, then turned to Azula. "Did you do it?"
The princess shook her head in the negative. 'I did it.' Detia answered. 'You guys were taking so long.'
"Oh baby." Ty Lee cried, hugging her daughter as tightly as she could without hurting her. "I'm sorry it took so long. We tried our best."
"She reset her leg." Azula repeated what Detia said to Katara. "Now stop looking at it and heal it already."
Katara scowled at the princess as she took the cap off her water skin, drawing the water from it and incasing her hands. The instant she placed her hand on Detia's leg a low electric shock hit her body, dulled only slightly by the water. "Ouch." She called out pulling away from the girl.
"What happened?" Ty Lee asked.
"Nothing." Katara answered and went to touch the wound again, resulting in her getting shocked again.
It didn't hurt as much the second time and she didn't call out because she was half-way expecting it. But she persevered and went to heal the wound via water again.
This time Detia grabbing the water bender's hand and cried out 'Don't' as she sent a stronger current of electricity at Katara – forcing her to move away from her. "Detia! Why did you do that?" Ty Lee scolded lightly, more annoyed with Azula's chucking than her daughter's behavior.
'It hurts.' Detia cried out. 'Don't let her use water.'
Azula hid her smirk as she turned to Katara, who was still getting over the minor shock. "Detia does not want you to use water. You'll have to do it the old fashioned way."
Katara frowned but ultimately relented. After Zuko informed a servant of what he wanted it took only a minute before that servant returned with the items. He handed them to Katara who promptly used the needle and thread to close up the wound, Detia's head completely engulfed in Ty Lee's chest as the needle entered her flesh – tensing each time it did – and with the okay from the girl's parents used the wash cloth to clean the blood around the wound. Then she used the bandages and splint to wrap the leg and keep Detia from moving it. "All done." Katara said with a smile as she patted the girl's foot. "Now try not to walk on it for at least a week and remember to clean it every day so it doesn't get infected."
Detia bowed in thanks as best she could as Ty Lee picked her up. Azula stood as well, following beside her wife. Ty Lee glared at Zuko as she passed him. "I warned you." Azula said simply, only stopping for a second before catching back up to Ty Lee.
"You really messed up, Zuko." Katara stated. "Where did the kids go?" she asked.
"I told them to go play since we found her. You don't have to tell me I messed up, Katara. I didn't know this would happen though."
Katara nodded, cleaning her hands with a clean wash cloth. "From the scorch marks I'm guessing she comes here a lot. Next time, you should probably get all the facts before deciding to raise someone else' child."
"I think you owe Azula an apology, as much as it pains me to say it." Mai intoned, silently agreeing with Katara.
Zuko huffed and crossed his arms in displeasure before following Katara and Mai out of the hidden area.
Later that evening the Fire Lord found himself at the door to Detia's room, where the little girl had fallen asleep in Ty Lee's arms. Azula was only watching, running her hand through Ty Lee's soft brown hair that she unbound once the acrobat had drifted to sleep. "Azula." He called lightly, just loud enough to catch Azula's attention and whip the soft smile from her lips.
He gestured with his head toward the door, indicating that he wanted to speak with her in private. Very carefully Azula moved away from her wife and daughter, so not to wake them, and made her way to her brother. He led the way out of the room where he stopped and Azula gently closed the door behind herself, promptly crossing her arms. "What do you want?"
He frowned at her attitude towards him, like he always seemed to be doing with her around. "Two things." He stated, forming the two with his fingers. "First, good job with the politicians in the colonies. I got the low down from Aang and Sokka. So, good job. Not that I expected anything less from you."
Azula only stood there, looking annoyed - like she had better things to do, which she did. "And second?"
The Fire Lord sighed, "And second, I'm sorry." He said through clenched teeth.
Azula's eyebrow's shot up in surprise. "What was that?" she asked, just to make sure she wasn't hearing things.
"I said I was sorry." He repeated. "For the situation with Detia. She's your daughter and I guess you know what's best for her. So, you have my permission to continue training her, once her leg gets better."
Azula rolled her eyes, "Good to have your permission. Are we finished?"
Zuko only nodded and watched as Azula turned around and went back into her daughter's room, gently closing the door behind her. He sighed; at least it went better than he thought it would. He was sure Azula would throw his apology back in his face. With a slight smile he turned and left his sister's family to her.
"Azula." Ty Lee called her lover, as the princess entered the hallway from the training room.
Azula turned her attention to the acrobat's worried tone and expression. "Ty Lee?" She said back. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I guess. Well maybe not. It could be nothing." Ty Lee said lightly, temporally losing her train of thought as she eyed the woman in front her, the sweat from her workout glistening on her pale skin in the bright orange and red rays of the setting sun like small diamonds and causing the simple red tunic and baggy pants to cling to her every curve.
Azula chuckled when she noticed what had her mate so enraptured, enjoying the power it gave her. "Ty Lee." The Princess said sternly, grabbing the acrobat's attention. "Why did you come here?"
"Oh! Oh." The acrobat giggled. "Sorry, I got distracted."
"I noticed." Azula replied with a smile, placing her hands on her hips, drawing Ty Lee's gaze to her hips. "You're purpose?"
Ty Lee slapped her wife's arm. "You did that on purpose." Azula only chuckled – how she loved this power. "I came because YOUR daughter refuses to take a bath."
"Oh, so she's only my daughter now." The princess teased.
Ty Lee huffed and crossed her arms. "Well she sure is acting as stubborn as you."
"Did she say why she refuses to take a bath?"
Ty Lee shrugged. "Something about how it's healing and that water hurts the wound."
A slim black eyebrow lifted, "What?"
"I don't know. I don't understand what she's talking about." Ty Lee sighed, defeated.
She looked up at her wife's golden eyes when a hand fell on her shoulder. "I'll deal with it. I need to wash up anyways."
The acrobat smiled, "Thank you Azula, you're the best wife and mother ever."
Azula smirked. "I know. And how do you plan to thank me? You know I don't accept simple thank yous."
A seductive glint sparkled in smoky eyes as they clouded over with lust. Ty Lee pulled her wife to her by the front of her tunic, making sure they were pressed together as she leaned up on the pads of her feet to kiss the woman she loved. It was just a light peck on the lips that almost made Azula scowl. "I'm sure I can think of something." The acrobat whispered, the heat from her breath casting over Azula's lips and sending a wave of pleasure down the princess' spine. She pulled away suddenly, "But after you take a bath."
Azula couldn't stop the whimper that escaped her lips then scowled. "You're a tease." She accused when Ty Lee stepped away from her and started to walk off.
The younger woman only turned, smiled widely and winked. "You know it."
Azula chuckled and shook her head. "What on Earth am I going to do with her?" She said to herself.
"Love me." Ty Lee answered anyway as she continued to walk away.
Again the princess shook her head, watching as Ty Lee purposely swayed her hips as she walked. "Tease." She said again, this time under her breathe.
Only when Ty Lee turned the corner did Azula start making her way to her daughter's room. She found the girl sitting up on the couch in her room, her injured leg propped up on a pillow with her back resting against the armrest as she fiddled with a puzzle cube one of the servants had given her. The little monster looked dirty. Her short white hair that barely reached past her ears was oily and un-kept, which was odd considering she had barely enough hair to cover her head. The clothes she wore were crinkled and looked stained. Even the bandages around her leg looked dirty. The girl's golden eyes looked up at Azula when the princess entered.
"You look filthy." Azula stated.
'I'm not taking a bath.' Detia said sternly.
Azula crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "I don't believe you have much of a choice. Unless you give me a good logical reason you're taking a bath."
Detia frowned fiercely then sighed when Azula didn't relent. 'It hurts.' Detia answered. 'The water hurts my leg.'
"Of course it hurts." Azula replied. "You heard what that water peasant said. It needs to be cleaned or it will get infected and then we'd have to cut it off. Do you want that?"
'No.' Detia answered.
"I didn't think so." Azula said as she walked over to her little monster and carefully picked her up. "So we're taking a bath."
'Together?' Detia asked, almost excitedly.
"Yes together. Will that be a problem?" Azula inquired, knowing full well that it wouldn't be simply from the smile on her daughter's face and the fact that Detia shook her head no rapidly as if she would never see a problem with it. "Good." With very little effort Azula carried the little monster to the bath in her room – seeing as it was bigger and set her down on a bench in the area where they changed. "You can take your clothes off by yourself, right?" Azula questioned, watching as her little monster just set there.
'Not really.' Detia admitted, her eyes cast to the ground. 'Mommy usually does it for me and I don't know how to undo the bandages."
Azula sighed, "Alright then"
With that the princess easily undressed her daughter, throwing the clothes in a nearby hamper and the bandages in the trash can – also nearby – then stripped of her training outfit. Again she lifted her daughter, who wrapped her thin arms around Azula's neck, and carried her to the large shallow pool of warm water. Before placing the little monster in the water Azula set Detia down on the edge. Carefully the older woman got into the water, letting the warmth sooth the sore muscles in her legs and lower stomach – seeing as it only came up to her waist – and moved so that she was facing Detia while still in the water. With surprisingly tender hands the most feared Fire bender in the world examined her little girl's wound. It was healing nicely but there seemed to be some red around the edges.
Azula concluded that it needed to be cleaned. Her hawk eyes met her little monster's and saw the worry and fear that the little girl tried desperately to hide. Though, she failed miserably at it. More than anything this confused Azula. "Why are you afraid? It shouldn't hurt that much."
Detia didn't answer as she scooped the warm water into one of her hands and let it run down her injured leg. The instant the water hit the wound Azula jumped back at what she saw. Small sparks ignited where the water touched – soaring a couple of inches from the little monster's wound like small fireworks. The sizzling sound of water evaporating rapidly reached her ears a second later. It was as if someone had tossed an electrical machine into the water. But once the show was over Azula noticed that the redness around the wound where the water had touched lessened. She looked up at her daughter, seeing the tear that ran down her cheek and the pained expression on her youthful face. "I see." She sighed, "I'm sorry but we have to do this." Detia whimpered lightly. "You're wound is healing faster when the water touches it."
Reluctantly the little girl nodded, bracing herself for the pain that was sure to come when her mother lifted her from her seat on the edge. Azula watched her daughter's expression carefully, feeling something that she hadn't felt before grow inside her chest. She identified this foreign feeling as remorse, though this knowledge didn't make the feeling go away it only prevented her from dropping the girl into the water. "I'm sorry." The princess said again with all the honesty she could muster.
Detia, whose eyes were squeezed shut in preparation, opened her eyes at the honest tone she had never heard her mother use before and looked up. She smiled slightly. 'It's okay.' Detia confirmed. 'It has to be done.'
Azula sighed deeply and gently lower herself and her daughter into the warm water, sitting on the stone bench made into the bath. Detia tried her hardest not to scream at the shocks that rolled through her body starting from her wound, grabbing hold to Azula's shoulders as the tears leaked freely – her small but sharp nails digging into her mother's flesh. The princess detached herself from the pain of the nails that draw blood, it was nothing compared to the pain she felt by hearing the little monster in her arms scream.
After the longest ten minutes of her life Azula noticed that the wound was no longer sparking and Detia was only whimpering in pain. "It's alright." Azula cooed awkwardly, wholly unfamiliar with situations like this. "It's all over." She tried.
For a minute Azula only held the girl protectively, apologizing with her touch. Finally, Detia's hands loosened their grip from her mother's shoulders as the girl relaxed a little. Every so often she would flinch from the residual pain but still she only whimpered, calmed slightly as Azula ran her hand through her short hair, whispering that it was over now. After a few more minutes Azula took a wet cloth and gently whipped away the trails of tears from Detia's cheeks. Then proceeded to wash both herself and her child, surprised at how easy it was considering Detia didn't let Azula go or move away from her.
When the task was finished the princess exited the tub and entered the changing room, sitting her yawning daughter on the bench again. Quickly she dawned a red silk robe with golden dragons embroidered around it. Then turned back to her daughter, holding another much smaller red robe of the same design. With a little more difficulty than she would have liked – seeing as the child in her care was about to fall asleep – Azula dressed Detia in the robe, tying it loosely around her waist. The princess smiled triumphantly when she finished that simple task, since it was her first time doing it. Next she took the clean bandages and splint the servants had left and wrapped her daughter's leg, placing a salve Katara had given Ty Lee on the stitches beforehand. While Azula wrapped the appendage she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
She didn't move, since she immediately noticed that her little monster had fallen asleep and fell forward onto her shoulder. It surprised her how much it warmed her heart that her daughter trusted her enough to fall asleep like that. Just looking at the small child as she picked her up made her happy. It made her wonder how her parents could be so cold when all she wanted was to protect and love her daughter. Azula smiled, she liked saying that, her daughter.
Slowly she made her way to her bed, gently lying down – her daughter still resting against her chest. She wasn't sure how long she stayed in bed thinking about nothing and almost drifting to sleep. The bed being weighed down woke her from her almost slumber and she glanced over to see what had moved on the bed – coming face to face with her Ty Lee. "Ty Lee." She whispered lightly, not wanting to wake the girl in her arms.
The acrobat giggled. "I see you gave her a bath." She said, kissing her lover before kissing her daughter's cheek. "Did she give you any trouble?"
"No." Azula answered, her hand running down her daughter's small back in a soothing warm wave. "She was very good."
Ty Lee's smile widened. "I heard her scream and came running." She admitted as she lay down beside her wife and daughter, scooting closer to them until Azula's arm was wrapped around her waist. "Imagine how surprised I was to find you with her and that remorseful look on your face."
"What about it?" Azula scowled.
The younger woman giggled again. "Nothing, it just makes me happy to see that you love her so much now."
Azula froze at those words, wondering when her feelings for her little monster had changed. She couldn't remember any one time but she did know they had changed. The princess graced her wife with a true smile, kissing her on the nose. "You're right. I do love her."
TBC