Chapter 3: Probably an Avatar thing
"Aang, can I ask you a question?"
"What happened between you and Azula?
Aang was startled by the question.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to reveal what they talked about with anyone just yet. Even if he managed to reach Azula, to the point she seemed somewhat calmer around him, he still felt like he was walking a delicate line.
He had to be careful.
"I guess I just wanted to know why she risked her life like she did back there…"
Zuko sighed. "She's always been like that… She only tries to make everybody's lives as difficult as she can…"
Aang noticed the way he shook his head in resignation. It seemed like Zuko has been dealing with his own stuff even after all this time.
It makes sense. He couldn't imagine growing up with someone like Ozai for a father… But what about their mother?
What led Azula to resent her so much?
"Hey, Zuko?" He needed to find out.
"What was your mother like?"
He didn't look up at him, but he could tell he was taken aback by the question by how his body tensed slightly.
"She was incredibly kind…" His voice carried sadness and regret. "She was loving and caring, not just to us, but for everyone in the palace. The servants loved her, the soldiers did too… And so did my cousin, Lu Ten. She was great friends with my uncle, too."
"And what about Azula? What was she like?"
Zuko finally raised his head at the question. "Why do you want to know?"
"It might help me understand her better, that's it."
Zuko remained skeptical but relented. "Well, just like I said, she's always made an effort to make my life miserable. Playing pranks, lying to get her way and get me in trouble with our father… No matter what our mother said to her she never stopped…" His gaze had dropped once more.
"Didn't you say she was loving and caring for you guys?" He was getting close, just a little more.
"She was!" He raised his voice but backed down right away. "Sorry… It's just that Azula never seemed to care for it… She just kept causing trouble…"
Could that be true? Could the Azula he saw break down by that river truly not care for it?
He felt bad for forcing Zuko through his painful memories, but he had to push through.
"Do you think that… she might've been jealous somehow?"
"Jealous? She had everything. She was stronger, smarter, and our dad loved her… She had everything I wanted while all I had was our mother…"
Everything huh…
He had a picture of it now. But he couldn't jump to conclusions.
He had to talk to Azula before that.
But first he had to apologize to Zuko.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you relive all of that…" He bowed his head. "I guess our encounter with the spirit still had me shaken up…"
"No, it's okay… I'm the one who decided to talk about it."
He turned to look at Azula as she was huddled up against a tree, muttering something to herself in her sleep. It seems she can't even escape her mother inside her dreams…
"I just wish I knew how to help her, Aang… I'm supposed to be her older brother…" Zuko said as he moved to put a blanket over her.
"Yeah, I know."
But sometimes you need to take care of yourself first before you do others.
He guesses that being Fire Lord hasn't been easy even after solving the Yu Dao mess.
Just like being the Avatar hasn't.
In the end, they were all children put into impossible situations and had to make the best out of them. And not just their friends, but their enemies too it seems.
He decides to head back to Appa to get some sleep. After all, his shift to watch Azula was the one after Suki's, who was now sleeping by one of Appa's feet.
As he settled down on Appa's head, he saw what looked like Zuko reading a note…
Wonder what that's about…
He'll have to ask him about it tomorrow.
Watching over Azula turned out to be a relatively peaceful task.
The night was quiet, with the only sound being that of the insects that lived in the forest. And the stars contrasted with the darkness of the sky so imposingly that he couldn't stop the feeling of being swallowed by them.
But, of course, he couldn't ignore Azula, who even after so many hours of sleep passing by, still looked distressed.
He could still hear her mutter words every once in a while. Although most of them were unintelligible, he was still worried about whatever could they mean.
He shook his head. As much as he wanted to ask, he knew she needed all the sleep she could get… Especially after what they went through the previous day.
"…N-No…"
Oh?
"…The throne… my destiny… isn't it?"
These were the first words he understood.
He stood up and walked over to her.
"…I have proof!" She woke up with a scream.
"Woah-!" He fell back, as she suddenly grabbed his arm forcefully.
"Azula! It's okay!" He met her strained eyes with his own. "It was just a nightmare." He said gently, as to ease her back to reality.
He saw the way her eyes slowly relaxed at the sight of him.
Before they widened once more.
"Release me!" She shouted as she threw his arm to the ground.
Looking around, it was a miracle nobody woke up at the noise.
"Hey! You're the one who grabbed me!"
But she ignored him, as she muttered something about her mother before reaching down into her boot.
"It's not here!" She said while she looked around where she was asleep just a few seconds ago.
She then turned to him and lit her palm on fire.
"Where is Zuko?!"
Zuko? Could it be…
"Wait, is it the note? Is that what you're looking for?"
Her eyes widened, as her fire faltered.
"H-How do you know about it?!"
She strode towards him and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic.
"Did she tell you to take it from me?! I thought you were on my side!"
He was. Wait, does that mean…
"I am on your side! I just saw Zuko reading a note before I went to sleep, that's how I know!"
What could be written in it for Azula to react like this?
"Well, where is he?!" She tightened her grip on him.
"He's sleeping, right there!" He pointed at Zuko who was sleeping right by Appa's tail.
She pushed him away before making her way towards her brother.
"Wait, Azula!" He grabbed her by the arm, to which she responded by lighting another fire in her hand.
He really needed to stop doing that.
But to his surprise, she extinguished it quickly after, before leveling him with a sharp glare.
"What?!"
"What was in that letter?" He asked, as he tried to calm down his racing heart.
She stared at him for so long, he almost thought she was trying to kill him with her eyes. But she eventually answered.
"It was a letter, from my mother to some guy from Hira'a."
He released a breath he didn't know he was holding. It seems she's actually beginning to trust him, even if just a bit.
"And it's my only proof I have of my mother's treachery…"
Treachery?
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means that with it, I can finally take my rightful place as the Fire Lord!" Her voice still held an edge, but it was weirdly calm. At least for her. "But it doesn't matter anymore. If my brother found the letter like you said, then he must've already burned it." She then looked at the ground dejectedly.
"You don't know that! He might've fallen asleep while reading it!" He tried to joke, but it only earned him another glare.
"Was that your idea of a joke?"
"Sorry…" He sulked. He only wanted to cheer her up.
"But I suppose you're right. If my hunch is correct, then Zuko might've kept the letter intact…"
"Your hunch?"
She smiled at him. It was reminiscent of their time during the war.
"Oh, curious are we… Well, if you let go of my arm, we could go search him ourselves."
Well… he was curious…
But he told himself he would ask him the next morning.
"We can just wait until he wakes up and ask him about it."
She scowled. "And why would I do that?"
"Because that way we can… um…"
He had to think of something, before she reconsiders the whole burning him thing.
"We can… see how he reacts! Yeah! See how he feels about the note, and then you can confirm your hunch! Whatever that may be…" He laughed nervously.
That was bad.
She raised an eyebrow at him, making him squirm for what felt like an eternity.
But after a few seconds, she broke into a smile. "Hm… Or we could search him now and then proceed to burn him to a crisp!"
What?! That's terrible! How could she… Wait.
"Was THAT your idea of a joke?" It was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
Her smiled shifted ever so slightly. It lost some of its usual edge and seemed more… genuine?
"You catch on quick, Avatar… But fine, we'll ask him tomorrow."
He sighed in relief. He couldn't believe that worked.
She then glared once more at him before ripping her arm from his grip. "But if we find out he burnt it, I'm killing YOU first!"
He considered her words for a moment.
And then he laughed. "Whatever you say, princess."
"I wasn't joking." She huffed as she made her way back to her tree.
But seeing the slight upturn of her lips, Aang figured that he had guessed right.
What neither of them noticed was that one person laying down by Appa's feet had listened to their entire conversation.
"All right! Fess up Zuzu!" Azula kicked her brother awake as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon.
"Where's the letter?!"
"Hey! What's your problem?!" He jumped out of his slumber looking pretty pissed.
"The letter!" She screamed. "Where is it?!"
"Letter?" His eyes widened. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't play dumb. The Avatar saw you reading it last night!" She pointed directly at him.
Oh boy.
"What?!" Zuko turned to him. "And you told her?!"
"Hey, you should be thanking me! She wanted to search you while you were asleep!" Not to mention her little joke.
"Yes, that's right, but I didn't! So now you'll tell me where it is!" She threatened him with fire, to which Zuko jumped back and lit his own.
"I-I… I don't have it!" He stammered, making Azula give him an unamused look.
"Oh Zuzu, you know you're a terrible liar!" She said as she broke into her bright laugh, which wasn't as unnerving as before for some reason. "So just tell me!"
Zuko looked his way as if asking him to save him. But he just shrugged while shaking his head, making him groan in defeat.
"Fine!" He finally said as he pulled out the paper from inside his robes. "It's here! You happy now?!"
Azula's smiled widely at the sight. "I knew it! I was right!"
She then caught him off guard by looking his way and giving him a smirk.
But Zuko still looked angry at them. "What are you talking about?! Aang, what aren't you telling me?!"
"Hey, you're the one that hid it, not me. I don't even know what the letter says!" He tried to sound as neutral as possible.
But he really wanted to know now.
"So… what does it say?"
Zuko narrowed his eyes, staring him down for a good while. But he eventually gave a resigned sigh. "Fine, here you go…" He threw the letter at him.
Nice!
He opened it as soon as he caught it and started reading it.
But the contents threw him into a loop.
How was this possible? It just… didn't make any sense.
"Is this true?" He had to know what they thought about it.
"Well, Zuzu… What do you think?" Azula drew out the question, clearly confident about something.
Zuko stared at the ground for a while. "I think it makes sense. It explains why he banished me without a second thought. Why he gave me this…" He reached to touch his scar.
"But why wouldn't he just kill you instead?"
"He was about to! My grandfather commanded him to do it and he was going to without arguing." Zuko didn't look angry, or resentful. He looked surprisingly calm.
"But he didn't! You're still here!"
"My mom must have stopped him somehow…" He now looked… hopeful.
"I don't know, Zuko. It just doesn't sound possible…"
It just wasn't.
He didn't have the heart to tell him, but the way his voice and face were changing was proof enough.
"Oh, don't bother, Avatar! His feelings are clear on his face!" Azula said with a laugh. "He wants it to be true! Isn't that right, Zuzu?"
Zuko's face shifted into something unreadable, before he turned around with a scoff. "Enough. We need to get to mother and we're just wasting time like this."
"What's going on?" Suki finally made her way towards them.
"It's nothing, Suki. Just something between Azula and me." He brushed past her to get up on Appa.
Suki didn't look convinced but didn't press him, as she followed after him.
Aang looked at Azula, whose face was now glowing with her usual confidence.
It was a pretty refreshing sight all things considered.
But he had to focus. They would get all the answers they wanted once they found Ursa.
They were right by Hira'a after all.
"Hey, Azula?"
"What?"
"Can I ask you something?"
There was something Aang wanted to figure out ever since their conversation last night.
Thankfully, Zuko was now on the reins by Appa's head, while Suki was back asleep for some reason…
That was odd. Did she not get enough sleep last night? He'll have to ask her about it.
Azula responded with silence, so he decided to take that as a 'yes'.
"What did you mean when you said that you thought I was on your side?"
She gave him a sideways smirk, as if preparing to tease him about something.
"Oh, Avatar. I thought you of all people would understand. I'm disappointed." And tease him she did.
"But if you must know. I simply decided that someone as unbearably kind as you would never conspire with my mother like everybody else who ruined my life." She maintained her confident air, but he noticed some strain on her eyes. "I'm just taking you by your word. You said you'll help me, so I expect you to do so."
"So don't let it get to your head!" She finished with a huff and an upturn of her chin.
He really doubted her idea of help was the same as his, but he would drop it for now. He was too happy that he actually managed to make some progress with her to care.
This didn't look as impossible as it once did.
Azula was feeling as light as the air they were flying through.
Zuko didn't want the throne, and she would soon get to finish off her mother.
And the most surprising part, it seemed like the Avatar was now wrapped around her finger.
She honestly didn't know how to feel when she first heard he was going to come with them on their trip, but now she considered herself lucky.
She had said she believed in him because of his kindness, but that was a lie. Kindness was a weakness after all.
The real reason was something she thought to be impossible.
She spent too long in that forsaken institution thinking she would never escape it. But she did, and it was thanks to him.
She will never admit it to him, but the way her mother's voice seemed to quiet down at his touch could only mean that she was never able to manipulate him into going along with her schemes.
He was her secret weapon against her, and she'll take full advantage of him no matter what.
And the way her mind and her heart always seemed to slow down when he looked at her didn't hurt either…
She wonders why that is…
Probably some Avatar thing.
