So... yeah here's chapter 3 of this bright and happy story. Once again I don't own anything, so don't sue me. Thank you.
If you like it, then please review it :)
She came during the night, followed by another.
Ty-Lee appeared bearing more gifts, her shoulders held a little straighter ever since Suki told her that Azula didn't try to attack her. They came in silence, almost respectfully but Mai kept her hand wrapped around the knife hidden up her sleeve just in case. Ty-Lee crossed the room and delicately placed a red flower tinged with dark pink on the edges next to Azula, who was huddled on the floor again, dark shadows underneath her puffy eyes as she rested her head on her arms. She didn't dare sleep; lest the nightmares plague her rest without relent, like they have every single night.
"I thought this might brighten up this dreary room Azula," Ty-Lee softly says and beckons Mai forward, who is standing warily near the door. Azula lifts her head up tiredly for a second, gazing at the flower and blinks her eyes as if seeing something beautiful for the first time, ever since her mother left. Ty-Lee drops a silken pillow on the bed, replacing it for the rough, woolen pillow, since Azula never seemed to be asleep anyways. Mai sighed and sat on the floor a few feet away from Azula and spoke in a quiet voice. "You know Azula… Ty-Lee convinced me to come. I first didn't want to but…" Mai paused, and looked down at her lap. "I wanted to say that I forgive you. I forgive you Azula, and now that I'm with Zuko-"
Azula made a strangled noise at the back of her throat and her fingers twitched suddenly, gripping the hem of her dress desperately. She opened her mouth but closed it moments later, shaking her head repeatedly. Mai shifted uncomfortably with Ty-Lee watching them intently, and briefly, laid a warm hand on Azula's trembling arm. Azula exhaled sharply, her fingers digging into her skin beneath her dress, trying to fight the darkness she knew would chase her friends away. 'Friends…' she thought. 'How strange of a word…'
Azula's eyes filled with tears and she felt her face grow hot. Trembling violently she turned her face away from Mai, letting a tear fall to the ground, mixing with shadows rising up from the ground, and soon Azula was back in her empty cell.
"Please father, forgive me! I-I tried my hardest, but I-"
"SILENCE!"
Fire Lord Ozai's darkened silhouette leaned forward from his gold, ornate throne and the wall of flame surrounding him shot upwards, creating a burning inferno that engulfed the paintings and banners decorating the Great Hall. Azula was on her knees with her head bowed in front of the flames, beads of sweat running down her face with eyes clenched tightly shut.
Ozai stood up, the dancing flames running up and down his body, but his clothes remained unscathed. Lifting a hand towards his daughter menacingly, his face twisted into a hateful scowl, the glow from the fire casting dark shadows across his eyes.
"I give you a simple task. Destroy your traitor brother, and bring me the Avatar," he said in a dangerous voice, spitting out the word like it was poison on his tongue.
Azula bowed her head even lower, fear gripping her heart and panicked. "I-I did my best father, but Zuko-"
"ZUKO WHAT?" Ozai thundered. "The boy is an absolute failure and an embarrassment to everything I've built up. He disgraces the Fire Nation and his fire-bending is a humiliation." His voice quieted slightly, and the wall of fire sank slowly towards the ground, now a deep red instead of dark orange and yellow. "That boy was lucky to be born, and the Avatar is nothing but a twelve-year old with a stick! I sent you to prove your worth, your honor, but it seems like you are just like your mother and brother!"
Azula trembled, lifting her head as much as she dared. "Zuko has been taught by U-Uncle Iroh, father, and the Avatar has those ridiculous friends with him! If I could just get him alone, then maybe-"
Ozai walked to the top of the rising stairs, cutting her off with a wave of his hand. "Azula, you have been trained by ME, ever since you could make your first flame," he snapped. "I will tolerate NO EXCUSES. Now…" he opened his clenched fists and his hands were instantly ablaze with pure white flames licking his bare arms and Azula gasped, scrambling to her feet.
"F-Father, please! I will try harder! I will defeat Z-Zuko and Iroh, I will bring back the Avatar, I swear upon my honor!" she gasped.
Ozai smiled cruelly, an evil shadow crossing his face. "Oh no, daughter," he spat, and his figure enlarged, swelling in height and so did the fire; soon Azula was completely surrounded by surges of crackling electricity that surged through the towering flames.
"You need to be taught a lesson Azula. And pain shall be your teacher."
Azula cried out; this time her father spoke in voices that were not his own. The harsh lisp of the airbender she so despised, that powerful lilt of the waterbender that quenched her flames, a voice as steady and low as the earth, and worst of all, the desperate yell from a male, one that sounded like he was screaming in pain. This was mixed with a thousand other voices that she feared. The voices of those she killed when the Fire Nation attacked the Four Nations, and the whole world was covered by a sheet of flame. The screams and pleads which she had ignored, sending the building and forests ablaze with a flick of her wrist mingled with her own cries of mercy, and her father's never-ending laugh. Ozai reached towards her, and a jet of bright blue flames that seemed oddly familiar, was sent coursing right towards her heart.
"NOOOOOOO!"
Azula woke up with a start, her mouth wide open as she screamed, staring straight into the familiar darkness and her voice soon died down to a raspy cry. Tears streaming down her face, Azula sobbed into her blanket scrunched up in her fists that were shaking uncontrollably. Occasionally she would let out a piercing wail, hoping someone would hear her and open the door to make sure she was okay. Someone like Zuko, or Ty-Lee, or even Mai. Her screams ended as she fell against her pillow and cried herself to sleep until the waking hours of dawn. No one had come during the night.
Someone came many nights later.
Waiting outside the jail cell with her arms folded across her chest, a young, black-haired girl stood with a scowl on her face. She felt Azula crouching on the ground, laughing madly at the blank wall in front of her. Giggles erupted inside her shaking body and she rocked back and forth on the balls of her bare feet, shoulders heaving as she screamed derisively. Tops shifted her foot a bit, the sound of deranged laughter reaching her sensitive ears and winced. Her feet felt the vibrations coursing through Azula as she shook with hysterics. Placing two fingers on each side of the metal slab, she swiftly pulled the sides towards the frame, the metal bending like it was water beneath her hands. Forming a small hold, she crawled through and stopped a few feet away from Azula, still wary. Ever since Katara assured her she wouldn't attack, since her flame died inside of her the moment she was imprisoned, Toph had a fierce debate inside of her whether to visit or not. On one hand, Azula had never been her favorite person in the world; she had always seemed fragile to Toph. Sure, she was an extremely good liar, but it was her mindset that scared the earthbender. Toph shook her head, her blank eyes settling on Azula and cleared her throat.
"What's up?"
The laughter died down and her head jerked up, frowning at the sight of a small girl with white eyes, arms again folded in a stubborn manner.
"Excuse me?"
Toph cursed silently. What's up? That's the best you could come up with? She tilted her head slightly. "So, what's so funny?"
A smile crept onto her face and pointed at the wall. "Mother." She whispered, sending shivers through the ground. "She claims that I use fear to control people. We've had many conversations like this, you know," her eyes shone brightly, and lowered her finger to curl it tightly into a fist.
Toph frowned. Zuko had said good-bye to his friends two weeks ago, off to search for his banished mother. No matter how many warnings Katara and Suki gently gave him, the Fire Lord was stubborn and set off as soon as he could, desperate for the long-awaited reunion. So why was Azula talking to a blank wall like it was real? Unless she could see something that wasn't there…
Toph took a step back and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Stay cool.
Azula kept smiling, as if teaching a young, ignorant child that fire was very hot. "Yes, my dear mother visits often. Usually she intrudes my sleep, but it's okay." She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. "I'm a monster, did you know that?"
"I-I didn't know that-"
"Oh yes, I am. Sometimes I can feel myself going mad. Maybe mother is right, I use fear to control those around me. I love it." She relished the word, and the temperature dropped violently, and a shiver ran through Toph. But it wasn't from the cold.
"That's… nice…" she ventured, gripping her meteorite bracelet in her hand like it was a lifeline.
Azula giggled, covering her red mouth with a hand and stared at the wall, listening intently. "What's that mother?" she lightly said. "Oh, no of course you're wrong. If I had done what you said, do you really think you would have stayed? Trust me, this was all for the better." She paused, her face darkening. "Really now, and they say I'm the mental one."
A burst of laughter rushed out of Azula once again, throwing her head back at the ceiling. And with that Toph ran out of the cell, slamming a fist against the door and the hole closed sending ripples of metal weaving through the bolts. She leaned against the wall, hands on her knees and breathed heavily, her eyes wide with fear at what she couldn't see.