Chapter 6: Just You

Azula watched Ezani's hands and the water spinning gently around them. She'd never heard of bending like this. Still moving, Ezani swayed about as if she was dancing to an unheard tune. Drifting and pivoting about the space, pushed by an invisible wave. The water pierced the dough weaving in and out. Azula had never seen someone turn strands of water into needles but Ezani was always a bit different from everyone else.

As time went on, Azula found herself watching Ezani while she worked. Azula did enjoy making bread- but there was something... different, magical almost in watching Ezani. Maybe it was the soft little tune she hummed, an inconsistent beat somehow coming across as lovely and warm. Maybe it was the focused expression on her face despite her face being lax. The confidence in her movement? The cheeky smile she'd send at Azula when she ate one of berries she was meant to be adding to the bowl.

Azula began wrapping bread quickly and efficiently while smoothing out the plaster wrap. She warmed her palms a little to seal it and placed it in a box. It was easy monotonous work and it was second nature to pack them correctly. This left her to think about everything that had happened so fast. And as usual, her thoughts were consumed by Ursa- she'd been acting very cagey when Azula last saw her. Her mother still looked on at her with dark and wary eyes, circling around wide to avoid directly crossing paths with her. Zuko said he'd heard her arguing with their father and caught her crying a few times. Azula didn't care very much but a pang of concern tugged at her heart. As much as she didn't like her, Ursa was still Zuko's mother at least.

She wondered again why Ursa didn't like her. Sure she'd been mean when she was younger but Ezani had met her when she was mean and Ezani didn't seem to care. She just told her that what she did was wrong. Azula slowed down in her packaging. Now that she was thinking about it, why hadn't her mother done that for her? Why had some random bread stall runner been the one to explain why Azula shouldn't burn her brother? Why didn't her mother walk her through caring for a pet? Why hadn't her mother held her the first time thunder had crashed and scared her? Why hadn't her mother reassured her that no night monsters would come after her like she did to Zuko?

"Zulie?" she heard and she looked up to the concerned face of Ezani. The woman walked closer and opened her arms a little. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Azula asked.

"You're crying," Ezani said, the corners of her lips tugging down with worry twinkling in her eyes. "What's wrong Fire Lily?"

Azula blinked and ran her fingers over the tears rolling down her face. The minute she acknowledged it, her legs gave out and she collapsed into Ezani's arms. She tried to suppress it, but heartbroken sobs clawed their way out as Ezani tried to comfort her.

"Azula what-"

"Why doesn't mom love me?" Azula interrupted her. "Zuko doesn't try nearly as hard as I do for her. What do I have to do? I'm good at fighting, I've been nicer, I'm responsible, I try to help her and the servants and…"

She buried her face in Ezani's neck tears dripping into the woman's skin.

"...what do I do to earn it?"

"...nothing."

Azula looked up at her in confusion.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm so sorry I've never made this clear to you Azula so I'll say it now. You can't earn love because you don't need to earn it. You deserve to have love just because you're you. Your mother making you believe you have to 'earn' love is a flaw of her own personality. So Zulie, I want you to know that you don't need to earn my love. You get love for being Azula. Not Zuko's little sister, not the Fire Lord's daughter and not Ty Lee's friend. I love you because you're the funky little firebender with funny stories and needs someone to listen to her. I love Zulie, because you're Azula and that's how love works."

By this point Azula was entirely in her lap, crying even harder as Ezani started rocking her. She hummed a soft little song and Azula smiled through her tears nuzzling the base of her neck. Ezani ran her fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead adoringly. "I love you, okay?"

"Love you too mom."

Ezani didn't make more bread that day. She just held her little girl in her lap, Azula's face in her neck, hands clutching her shirt like a lifeline. Ezani made a mental note to punch Ursa if she ever met her in person.

For now, she just rocked her Fire Lily until she drifted to sleep.

For the record, there is a reason Ursa is acting the way she is here; Ezani is just rolling with the facts that she has