AN: The prompt of this round was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the extra prompts I used was laughter, the song "Somewhere I Belong" by Lincoln Park, and the quote "I don't know who I'll wake up as in the mornings."
Word count: 807
More to Come Later
When this began, I had nothing to say
The halls of the institution were normally never completely silent. Whether it was nervous mutterings by one inmate, or the steps and scratchings of another, one could hear something through the slate grey halls.
Until she showed up.
Now, the only sound that reverberated through the inner workings of the asylum was the deranged laughter of a fallen princess. Deep, loud, cackling laughter, that effectively silenced any other noise that dared to compete with it.
And I get lost in the nothingness inside my mind
Being groomed to be the perfect princess, the perfect daughter, all Azula knew was gone. Reduced to nothing but ash, consumed by the flames of the insanity that raged through her mind.
And I let it all out to find
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind
Zuko was the only one who ever came to visit her during those long days. Even her nurses felt too much fear in her presence. But not Zuko. But then again, Zuko was always weak, weak because of his love.
Just stuck, hollow and alone
And the fault is all my own
If she had been a better daughter, if she had been a better leader, if she had been a better fighter; it would be Zuko stuck in this cell instead of her. Or he'd be better off, dead and burned to a crisp. Even Azula would admit to death being better than the everyday torture she endured.
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
But, as her goody-goody brother continued to visit, she began to wonder. Why did he keep coming? Was it just his guilty conscious? Or, maybe, it was something more...
She didn't think of it again until she took off on her own again, the unfamiliar face of the woman she had once called 'mother' only confirming her worst fears. Who even was she anymore? The first Fire Lord to ever be toppled from her reign. It was dream, and it was over before it had even really begun.
"I don't know who I'll wake up as in the mornings," she had admitted to Zirin, though she contributed it to her weary state as she slipped into unconsciousness. Zirin never responded, and perhaps she had drifted off to sleep before the princess's words left her cracked and dry lips. But, it did hold some truth. She had to find a new destiny, a new plan for her own life.
I will never be anything until I break away from me
She thought about Zuko, about how he kept coming back to visit. And then it struck her.
If she couldn't achieve her own dream, she would mold Zuko into who she was supposed to be.
After all, he should be proud of her. She wasn't one to be very helpful. She had said it before, the divine right to rule was something you were born with. Just like her, her brother was born to be a leader. He just needed a push to realize it. And, since it wasn't pain that made him think, then she would use that bleeding heart of his to force him into action.
Their plan worked seamlessly for a while, but she was the one who slipped up. She allowed herself to use lightning against Zuko, revealing herself. She couldn't believe she had made such a rookie mistake. But, another part of her, a part buried deep down inside, wondered if maybe she had done it on purpose. Perhaps she wanted her brother to figure out her plan, fool her game.
Just like when they were kids.
When things were so simple. When she and Zuko would sit and play on Ember Island with mom and cousin Lu Ten. Even dad would sometimes join them. When they received gifts from the battlefront instead of scars and broken bones. When the courtyard was filled with laughter and the joyful noise of playing children.
Before mom left.
Before dad became Fire Lord.
Before Zuko was banished.
Before the Avatar revealed himself.
Before she was sent out to capture both the Avatar and her brother and her fuddy-duddy uncle.
Before she conquered Ba Sing Se.
Before Zuko ran away.
Before Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her.
Before she lost herself inside her mind.
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
Erase all the pain till it's gone
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm
somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm
somewhere I belong
Somewhere I belong