Of Fire

Chapter 17

Prior to that moment, all of her memories of the past days, or weeks, hell it could have even been years, had been blurred and contaminated, running in a long never ending loop. The same thing over and over but she barely recognized the repetition of her surroundings. Barely noticed anything that was going on. Sometimes she would remember talking to people, people she knew, like her brother, her once friends, and her mother. But that could have been an illusion, a trick played on her by the faulty electrical impulses of her brain. It was so hard to tell reality from illusion, and most of the time, she didn't bother trying to distinguish them.

Even at that moment, her vision was foggy and her surroundings barely recognizable. No doubt a haze brought on by the endless amount of drugs they gave her. Her wrist and ankles were bound, she knew that, the extra weight of the iron bands dragging her down, but it was something she had grown accustomed to. Though, when she was coherent enough, which wasn't often, she would complain about them and how much they hurt her. No one listened. Not that she expected them to. But that was another subject. A subject she never seemed to have time to think on.

With dull golden eyes she looked at her surroundings. She recognized the throne she knelt in front of, and the hard marble floor below her. When she looked up, she half expected to see the orange flames separating the Fire Lord Ozai from the rest of the world, herself included. But instead, there were no flames. No imposing, hidden figure who had been the focus of many of her delusions. Instead, she saw her brother, congratulating herself for actually recognizing him, sitting calmly on the throne that was her father's. He looked down at her, with the same judgmental eyes as everyone else, wanting something from her. Though, she didn't know what. She rarely ever knew. He was speaking to her, his tone slow and deliberate, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

She managed to sneer at him, for a moment remembering that she was angry with him, furious even, but it died down quickly. In her current state, she simply lacked the energy to stay angry, or feel anything. It was hard enough keeping her eyes open and focused, which she was very quickly failing at. From the corner of her eye, she saw him frown and couldn't stop herself from smirking. He motioned for someone to come to him and she half-heartedly followed the direction he was waving in.

What she saw there was the Avatar, looking weak and pathetic as he ever did. He had gotten taller she noticed, again congratulating herself for just a minor thing she remembered, but he was still just a boy, dressed in formal light tan Air Nomad clothing. She did sneer at him as he came towards her. The grim expression on his still youthful face was enough to make her smile. He was mere inches away from her when he said the word 'sorry' and moved his hands towards her. Before he could touch her, he was shoved away from her, falling to the ground. She would have laughed had she seen but her view was blocked by pink.

She recognized the voice that spoke desperately on her behalf, the figure in pink standing determinedly in front of her, protecting her. Again, she did not recognize the words, but she knew that voice. A voice she had heard every day prior to that moment. A voice that with only one word heard would drive all of the demons, all of the delusions, away, allowing her to rest, to be at peace. A voice that belonged to a body that would calm and comfort her when the things she saw were too much to bear alone and even sometimes when they weren't. A voice who still treated her like a person, a human being. Who would sit and talk to her, even when she didn't talk back. Who still came day after day, even though she constantly tried to push it away.

Because of that voice, that constant caring presence, she knew that she was getting better. Her delusions were less violent and her mind clearer than it had been in a long time. Her Ty Lee, that silly little airheaded acrobat. She could even remember the moment things turned from worse to better, the day Ty Lee had come to see her. She was somewhat coherent that day, so she remembered it better than most. Like normal, Ty Lee had smiled at her as if nothing had changed. As if she was still the calculating, cruel princess of the Fire Nation she had been and not chained to the ground like some animal. A gesture she had come to appreciate, even if she'd never say so out loud.

And like she used to do when they were younger, Ty Lee brushed her hair and told her how pretty it was and how tall she had gotten. She complimented her nearly endlessly until the princess couldn't take it anymore. She lashed out and slapped the brush from Ty Lee's hand. She shoved the girl to the ground, demanding to know why she was still there after everybody else had long since given up and what she wanted from her. Ty Lee had only smiled, after the short shock had worn off, and said, "I don't want anything from you. As long as you let me, I'll never leave you. I'll always be here." The three little words that followed those sentences were barely a whisper, not meant to be heard by anyone.

But she heard them. And felt that soft kiss against her forehead that told her everything would be all right. Even now, that voice that whispered such sweet honest words to her was defending her. When Ty Lee had nothing to gain and even more to lose, that silly acrobat still defended her, stood her ground against the Fire Lord. She tried to focus on what was being said, tried to clear her mind of the drug induced fog. It worked for only a short time before it became too much for her. As much as she hated to, she would have to rely on her Ty Lee to do what was best for her.

An explosion of fire and rock temporarily cleared her mind, enough for her to realize that they were surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers. Well, people dressed in Fire Nation armor. One of the soldiers, obviously the leader, shouted something along the line of long live…someone or something. She didn't quite get that last part. Not that she would have been listening even if she was coherent. The only thing that caught her attention was the body that held her protectively as the enemy started attacking. She felt Ty Lee's grip tighten as the acrobat's body tensed then loosened. She watched helplessly as Ty Lee slipped to the floor, a thick red liquid pooling around her.

In that moment, as she registered what had happened to Ty Lee – her Ty Lee – her mind cleared. As if it had cut through whatever fog had surrounded it, creating a clear-cut pathway to sanity. And suddenly, her wrist and ankles were free from their bindings. Later, she would wonder what happened to the thick metal bands, but at the moment, her only thought was of Ty Lee. With all the commotion no one noticed her as she pulled Ty Lee into her lap, biting her lip as the tears that she didn't know she was crying rolled down her cheeks. For once, Ty Lee was silent, her eyes closed and her breathing nearly non-existent.

The wounds didn't appear particularly life threatening, a few projectiles had found a place in Ty Lee's back. Had this been any other moment, Azula would have known that Ty Lee needed to see a doctor and get bandaged quickly. She would have assessed the battle going on before her, noticing that all of the doors seemed to have been locked or barricaded, considering the loud banging coming from the other side. That left her with 0 escape routes and no other choice but to fight her way through. A choice that would have made her smile any other day of the year, regardless of her sanity.

But instead, she only looked at the one person who still believed in her, the one and only person who had really loved her, and watched as that person was taken from her before she could ever really have her. And it enraged her. Through her bangs, she saw the men dressed as Fire Nation soldiers fighting. This was their fault. Her Ty Lee had gotten hurt because of them. Deep in her throat she growled before letting out a primal scream. Blue fire shot up around her, erupting from the ground and scorching the tops of the ceiling that lay at least 20 feet above her. She stood, carefully placing Ty Lee on her side, as everyone in the room stopped and looked at her. Her golden eyes had not yet left Ty Lee, but when they did, they were filled with such hate and loathing it made everyone in the room cower. "You did this," she hissed.

Zuko feared the worst as he looked his little sister over. Somehow, she seemed worse than she had been during their Agni Kai. Gone were the insanity, the paranoia, and the delusions. Instead, there was rage: pure, unadulterated rage. Before his reign, the children of the Fire Nation were taught that anger was the key to fire bending, and though he knew that not to be true, he feared what this pure amount of rage would do to Azula's already amazing ability. He feared for his life and that of his friends that stood fighting with him, wishing that Aang had had the chance to take her fire bending before Ty Lee interfered. He gulped when she took a slight stance. Not a strong one like he was used to seeing her use or the sloppy one she had used during their Agni Kai, just a very slight, steady stance.

With a flick of her head, her unbound charcoal hair twisting slightly with the force, the soldier that was approaching her from behind was engulfed in blue fire, incinerated within seconds. Her eyes locked onto the two false soldiers closest to her. Without even nodding her head, they were engulfed as well. Aang ran to Katara, to try to protect her from Azula's rage, pulling her into a corner. But the princess was not interested in them. Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only. Stopping the people who were trying to take what was hers. After the tenth soldier fell, the enemy started to run to a door to escape. Zuko stayed exactly where he was, barely breathing. Azula stopped about five feet from him, directly parallel. She continued to incinerate the fake soldiers one by one until the doors opened and what remained of the group was captured by the Fire Nation Royal Guard.

She sighed, a puff of smoke emitting from her lips. Zuko flinched as his sister turned around, trying to prepare himself for whatever attack she was going to use on him. If he was going to die, at least he would die fighting. But nothing happened, no attack came. Azula merely ignored him and walked back to where Ty Lee was laying. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the water peasant the Avatar usually spent his time with, cowering between the Avatar and a wall. If her memory was correct, the peasant was a water bender and water benders healed. "You," she demanded pointing to Katara.

Katara gulped and pushed away from Aang as much as he would let her. "W…what?" The water bending master tried to sound unafraid and cursed to herself when she failed.

Azula ignored the water bender's tone and pointed a blunted finger to Ty Lee. "She needs your help. Go. Now."

Still keeping a watchful eye on the princess, Katara walked with a little speed to her steps over to where Ty Lee lay. She gasped when she saw the wounds and quickly started healing the acrobat. "Azula," Zuko called, grabbing his sister's attention and stopping her momentarily from going to what was hers.

"What is it Zuzu?" she demanded with a mocking grin.

Zuko almost sighed, this was the sister he knew, the cold, calculating monster of a person. He never was quite able to deal with her in the past. But he was Fire Lord now. He had grown up, and he was capable of facing her. So with renewed courage, he looked straight into Azula's hard golden eyes, determined not to show her any weakness. She said nothing as she glanced back towards Ty Lee, who had groaned. She had more important things to worry about than his wounded ego. "Azula," he said calmly with an air of superiority that she instantly didn't like. "How are you feeling?"

A charcoal eyebrow lifted at his question. Of all the things he could have asked, could have said, that was it? Seriously? She rolled her eyes, "Well, despite all of your so called 'help'," she sneered, "I suppose I'm alright."

The princess crossed her arms over the tattered dull red of her outfit and smirked when his eyes hardened. "Do you know why you were summoned to me today?"

"Now how would I know that, Zuzu? Those drugs you ordered them to give kept me barely conscious."

He tensed, and again, she knew she had gotten to him. He was so easy to read. "You were crazy," he defended. "You could have hurt someone."

"And I suppose locking me in a cell I could barely fit in, away from any other form of human contact, made me all better, didn't it?"

She couldn't remember much about her time in that cell. Only that it was cold and dark, and she couldn't stand without hitting her head on the metal bars. Not that the chains she was bound by allowed her such actions. Most of those days were crowded with delusions. The times she could remember were only when Ty Lee visited, even those were scarce memories. She only knew that she had gotten a little better after she was moved out of that cell and into a bigger more elaborate one in the sanitarium. But that didn't mean she wouldn't use it to her advantage.

"Regardless…" the Fire Lord intoned.

"Of course," Azula interrupted, her smirk hidden behind a mask of disgust. "Do you think mother would be proud of the way you've treated me, your own little sister?" She knew the comment would hit a large nerve in her brother, and he tensed visibly. "After all you locked me up for Agni only knows how long and never once did you send a doctor to help me. All I had was Ty Lee and, regardless for the reason I was brought here, she was hurt because of your incompetence and lack of skill. I was the one who had to save her and the whole lot of you. I, who only a few moments ago was so messed up on drugs I couldn't even focus on who was in the room, had to save your life!" The princess' tone raised a slight octave in anger. "You owe me. Now if you don't mind. I have more important things to do than stand around here talking about your shortcomings."

With that she turned her back to her brother and calmly walked over to where Ty Lee was stirring. The Avatar walked up to his friend and patted him on the back slightly as they both watched Azula kneel beside Ty Lee. "What do you want to do now?" Aang asked.

"She's still too dangerous," Zuko answered. "You saw what she did."

Aang nodded. "Yeah, but she stopped once the doors opened, and for whatever reason, she seems to be back to normal. You should talk to her first. Maybe there's another way and the two of you can come to some kind of compromise."

Zuko looked at his friend in disbelief for a moment. "You're afraid to take her bending away," he noted.

The Avatar blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Well now that she's sane…I don't know if my will is stronger than hers. And did you see what she did to those people? It was like poof and they were gone. I don't even know what happened to the chains she was in. Have you ever seen another firebender do something like that? Or even heard of someone doing it in legends or fairytales or something?" Zuko was silent, not about to admit that he had heard a legend about a Firebender who could incinerate a person just by looking at them. "She's probably protected by the gods or something." Zuko tensed when Aang finished that last sentence.

"Why would Agni protect her?" Zuko wondered under his breath, frowning because Aang had guessed right. "I just don't get it."

"Don't get what?" Aang asked.

"Why she's so lucky," Zuko answered as Katara walked up to them.

"Maybe she has a greater purpose," Aang offered, though it didn't make Zuko feel any better.

"You know she can hear every word you guys are saying, right?" Katara deadpanned, pointing over to Azula with her thumb.

Azula smirked from her position on the floor, holding a sleeping Ty Lee in her arms, as her brother and the Avatar gawked at her. As the throne room was built to do, (what with its high ceilings, strategically curved walls, and pretty much large open floor) voices carried very well, just like the theater on Ember Island. Being Fire Lord, he should have known that, but Azula wasn't surprised that he didn't and only rolled her eyes at his stupidity. She looked down at Ty Lee's placid face, brushing some of the dust that had managed to float over to her off her cheek. Azula knew as well as Zuko, probably even better than Zuko, the legends of the greatest Fire bender ever. The only one capable of doing what she had done only seconds before, take a human life by fire with only a look. The God of Fire, Agni.

She wasn't so narcissistic and conceited to think that she was some sort of reincarnation of the god. And why the god of fire wanted to aid her now, she didn't know. But if a God was willing to protect her, she wasn't going to complain. Though, she would definitely use that information against her brother; especially if he planned to take her bending. "Zuko, what happened?" Mai's monotone voice cut through her thought process like a hot knife through butter and Azula looked up at her sister-in-law. She guessed based on the robes the assassin wore.

The Fire Nation princess pulled Ty Lee to her as a group of real guards made a loose circle around her. Zuko intervened, telling his wife that he would tell her everything that happened later, as he walked over to the circle. Azula glared at him, but he ignored it. He was used to that. "We need to discuss where to go from here." She only nodded.

Back then, after her 'talk' with her brother, she hadn't thought she was so lucky. She was 'allowed' to keep her bending under the pretense of a sort of reward for saving the Fire Lord's life. The real reason for her keeping her bending being that the Avatar had all but outright refused to do it, not wanting to anger the god that protected her – a fact that made her smile. But it was made very clear that if she tried anything to take the throne, that was rightfully hers in her mind, the reward would be quickly taken back. Zuko had then banished her to their vacation home on Ember Island to continue to 'recover'. Well, she considered it banishment at the time, a way to get her away from the Fire Lord just in case she tried anything. Guards were placed around the perimeter at all times, and she knew a few of them followed her whenever she went out, constantly watching. Then there were the doctors who would come by every other day to check her mental status. She did everything she could think of to get on their nerves, to break them. It took three doctors before they finally realized she was saying the things she was to give them a hard time. At least, she assumed that was the case, seeing as her fourth doctor stayed with her through the rest of her 'recovery'.

She had to admit that her time there hadn't been so bad. She did get to go through all of Mai's things and take what she wanted, which infuriated the Fire Lady to no end. And she couldn't do anything about it since Zuko had stupidly told Azula that she could have anything in the house. And of course once Ty Lee had woken from the skirmish – what Azula had called the battle – and found out what was going on, she insisted on going with Azula. Zuko had tried to persuade the acrobat not to, to stay in the capital until Azula returned. But Ty Lee would hear none of that and basically told him that she was going and there was nothing he could say, short of ordering her, to make her stay. That helped make her banishment much better. Since she was sane and thinking clearly without all those drugs, which she concluded had been burned out of her system when Agni aided her in the skirmish, she could process what she was feeling for that silly little girl. That private beach on the estate would always hold fantastic memories.

Now, looking out over the garden from the balcony of her room, she realized that she really was lucky. She still lived in the palace, was still the princess of the Fire Nation, still had her bending, was mentally healthy, was married to a wonderful, hapless romantic of a woman, and, most surprising of all, had a daughter who surpassed all of her expectations. Aside from being Fire Lord, there was nothing more she could ask for. But she knew becoming Fire Lord would never happen and had long since given up on it.

She did have to wonder why Agni only helped her that one time and never again or before. Azula knew what her higher purpose was now. It was her daughter. But she probably would have dated or at least done something with Ty Lee had she lost her bending. So there really was no reason for Agni to interfere in that skirmish. The Avatar and his peasant and her brother would have eventually defeated those poor excuses for assassins. At the least held them at bay till the guards broke down the door. Besides, according to what she understood of her daughter's former life, which still wasn't much since the girl didn't have many memories of that time, none of the gods knew she was being reborn. So Agni shouldn't have known her 'greater purpose' anyways.

A knock on the glass pane of the balcony doors drew her attention from her thoughts. She turned and, as she expected, her daughter stood at the doors, silent as ever. The child's golden eyes looked up into hers and Azula smiled slightly. "You should be asleep," Azula chided, half expecting the ten-year-old to argue with her.

Instead, Detia shrugged. 'Can I join you?' the mental voice of the girl, which Azula had long since gotten used to, rang through her head.

Azula motioned for Detia to join her, and the girl did, leaning against the balcony looking out over the distance to the main city. The princess watched the girl for a while, her long white hair unbound, a bright contrast against her crimson silk pajamas, and twirling freely in the slight wind, the soft rays of the moon casting the crème highlights of her hair blue. She had just returned home with her cousins earlier that day from the Academy. There had been a banquet for their return for the winter solstice, and as was normal, many people had attended. Even though she was getting better with her mental abilities, staying around more than thirty people for more than an hour still hurt Detia, and she had left the party early, opting to go to the garden to meditate. Not that that surprised anyone, after ten years it was almost expected. But that was where Ty Lee and Azula had found her, and they had their little family bonding moment.

That's where Detia asked them if it was okay if she slept with them, because she missed them so much. Ty Lee agreed without hesitation, never once breaking her hug on the slim child. It was no secret that Detia hated the Fire Nation Academy for Girls; she had almost burned the building down her first year there. After five years of going, she still had made no friends. She had tried the first year but being unable to communicate with them stopped most of the other kids from trying. And the ones who did try were only trying because of her social status. It didn't help matters when she was forced to train with the teenage boys because her 'Firebending' techniques were so advanced. Not that anyone was surprised, considering who her mother was.

Because of all of this, her parents knew that school was rough for her. She was alienated and alone. Azula could sympathize, and as long as Detia kept up her grades, which she never fell behind on anyways, Azula was not opposed to allowing Detia to sleep with them the first week after she came home, to show her daughter that there were people who did love her, though Azula would never ever admit that out loud. And she always acted annoyed when Detia asked but told her it was okay. She didn't have to say it anyways; Detia could read minds after all.

Of course, the fact that they had almost lost the little girl not too long ago was still fresh in Azula and Ty Lee's minds. Ty Lee constantly worried about her daughter when she was at school, which is half the reason why the acrobat did not hesitate to allow her child to sleep with them. That was also part of Azula's reasoning, though she would only admit it to her wife.

"Is something bothering you?" Azula finally asked, placing a hand on the girl's far shoulder and pulling her closer.

Detia smiled at the rare show of affection and happily leaned into her mother. 'Not really,' The girl answered. 'You were just thinking so loud.' Azula frowned at her daughter's smug face and pinched her arm. Detia yelped then chuckled as she rubbed her arm but did not pull away from Azula. She'd take whatever affection Azula would allow her for as long as possible. 'You really were,' she whined, knowing that Azula hated it when she whined.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop that," Azula warned.

Detia smiled but nodded. 'You were wrong though,' Azula lifted an eyebrow. 'About Agni. She knew I had chosen you.'

"She?" Azula questioned.

Detia's nose crinkled, remembering that the Agni Azula had seen was male. 'It's not really a gender thing. The god's form is subjective. Right now, Agni is female, but in the past, she was male.'

"I see," the princess remarked. "That's interesting. So, I guess that means you have a male form." Azula laughed at the disgust on her daughter's face. "Forget I asked." There was a slight pause. "So how did he know, and how do you know that he did?"

Detia thought for a second. 'Not from my own memories. Agni was there when you made your promise to me. I recognized her in your memory. You didn't notice because she was standing behind you in the corner, and when you were a child, you were focused on me. That's who I was looking at in the dream, though it looked like I was looking at you."

Azula was silent as she let her little monster's words sink in. "Then why did he interfere during the skirmish? I would probably still be with Ty Lee if I didn't have my bending. And even if I wasn't, as long as you were my daughter what difference would it make who I was with?"

Detia sighed and shook her head. 'The world doesn't revolve around you, you know.'

"Like hell it doesn't," Azula quickly denied. "But just for argument's sake, why do you say that?"

'I was doing some research on my family tree a while ago. And according to my memory, every millionth-ish generation will have strong lightning-bender abilities. There's no question that you have these abilities. But so does mommy. She can't bend, obviously. But she can read people very well, see auras, has nearly perfect control of her body, and block chakras, all of which are abilities of my people. I needed two people with strong blood in order to be born. I need both you and mommy. And that day during the skirmish, mommy was injured. Had the fight continued without Agni lending you her abilities, mommy would have died before the water peasant could heal her. You would have lost your ability to bend fire. Not that it would have mattered because you would have ended up ending your life a week later.'

Azula watched her daughter, her expression grim and disbelieving. "Really? Ty Lee would have died." She couldn't imagine her life without her Ty Lee. She probably would have tried to end her life.

Detia shrugged, 'I don't know. It sounded good though.'

Promptly Azula smacked the back of her little monster's head. "You little monster. Don't tell me such a thing like that then tell me you made it all up." She pushed the little girl away slightly. "I can't believe you."

Detia chuckled lightly at her mother's reaction, making sure to not let the older woman hear her. 'That was my best guess,' the girl replied. 'Truth is, I don't know what prompts Agni to do anything. She could have interfered for any number of reasons, because she was bored, or doesn't like Uncle Zuko, or likes you more than Uncle Zuko, was tired of watching you be crazy, is against stripping someone of their bending without their permission. But because the world really does revolve around me, I figured that the reason I gave was the most logical.'

"Does it now?" Azula questioned with a lifted eyebrow, shaking her head slightly when the little monster looked at her innocently and nodded.

Azula really couldn't be angry since the little monster got most of her attitude from her. They were so much alike that it often made Azula – and Mai and Zuko – sigh. Ty Lee thought it was endearing.

'Besides,' Detia started again. 'With the wounds I saw in your memory, if Katara hadn't been there mommy would have died. One of those things was lodged in pretty deep, more than likely nicked a valve to her heart.'

"Well, good thing that didn't happen. I don't know what I'd do without your mommy," Azula replied, twining her fingers together as she leaned against the railing.

'Me neither,' Detia agreed, unconsciously mimicking her mother.

'Just don't tell her I said that," they chorused then smiled at how alike their minds were.

"Aw, you two are so cute." Both tensed at the voice coming from behind them.

'Why didn't you say anything?' Azula thought to her daughter.

Detia shook her head slightly, 'I didn't hear her.'

"What?" the Princess questioned. "How could not hear her? You hear everything."

"It's not that," Ty Lee offered, squeezing into the slight space between her two favorite girls. "She always hears me, like she always hears you," Ty Lee continued. "So if I keep my thoughts simple and she thinks I'm asleep, I can sneak up on her." The acrobat placed a slender arm around Detia's shoulders, the other snaking around Azula's waist. She kissed her child's forehead and Azula's cheek. "I can't do it very often, sometimes I get lucky," she finished with a smile. "So, what were we talking about?" The two were silent. "Alright then." Ty Lee said after a beat. "How was school?"

Detia sighed but smiled slightly. 'I may have made two friends,' the ten-year old thought to her parents, both of which gasped in surprise.

"You did!" Ty Lee squealed. "That's fantastic!"

"Why didn't you invite them to the banquet?" Azula asked.

'I did. They said they couldn't come. But made it clear that it wasn't because of me, they just had other things to do,' Detia answered as her mommy hugged her tightly.

"This is great news! Tell us about them." Ty Lee all but demanded.

A slight red tint crossed the girl's cheeks as she smiled. 'Well, they're exchange students from the new program Uncle Zuko initiated last week and…'

The loud hard crash of the door to the room being forced opened interrupted Detia as four heavily armed guards came into the room. "What is the meaning of this?" Azula demanded as they came back into the room.

"Princess Azula," one guard addressed. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Fire Lord Zuko. Please come without resistance."

"What? I did no such thing," Azula argued.

"Please come with us," the guard repeated.

"Azula," Ty Lee whimpered, tugging the sleeve of her wife's outfit.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the worried expression on her wife and the confused expression of her daughter. 'Go with them,' Detia's voice echoed. 'We'll figure this out. There's no reason to start a fight.'

Azula sighed, her hawk eyes glaring at the guards. "Fine," she said, raising her hands in surrender. "Take me away."

"Azula, no!" Ty Lee cried lightly, attempting to follow her wife only to be stopped by a few guards.

'Comfort your mother,' the princess thought to her daughter.

Detia nodded and pulled her mommy into a hug. 'This won't last long,' Detia promised as her mother was ushered out of the room.

TBC