The announcement was not completely surprising for Zuko and Mai, if they were being honest. Even as a child, Azula had always had ulterior motives for everything she did. If she cried because she fell, it would be to obtain information on the servants while they were tending her and then use that information as blackmail. Even things that seemed like accidents were calculated with the princess.
The birth of a non-full-blooded Fire Nation boy was not something they had expected. Azula, of all people, had laid with someone who she undoubtedly considered inferior. It made no sense whatsoever. That is, until the announcement of the father arrived. Because of course Azula would choose Sokka to be the father of her child. It was the smartest, most strategical way to have a political advantage.
The Fire Nation citizens would love their princess because she devoted years upon years of her young adult life to personally taking care of her countrymen. She was a symbol of power, of the old regime, but also a symbol of what a true leader should be. Azula had suffered for her actions, but instead of seeking revenge, she used her sorrow to treat and benefit the lives of Fire Nation citizens. She was not only the old crazy princess, but she was also now the savior of the people.
With this new announcement, it was clear that Azula had other motives for going through all that suffering. She had a child out of wedlock to make her seem more relatable for the people, but now the child was also symbolizing something. Zuko always preached unity of the nations, to make amends with the rest and try to make relations with them. He did this by paying the other nations with taxpayers' money. He didn't make any sacrifices. But Azula did.
Lee Ten, her son, was a symbol of unity between the nations. He was the son of the Princess of the Fire Nation and the son of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. It was a unity at power positions, leadership positions. Azula wasn't like Zuko. What he preached was what she did. His words were her actions. And it is clear that people care more about actions than about words.
It all made sense. As much as Azula had loved Ty Lee, her love for the crown and power was always unparalleled. Ty Lee was just an unfortunate victim in her grand scheme. She was just a girl in love with someone uncapable of forming and maintaining true human connections. She was cursed from birth to love someone who would never put her as a priority. Azula was a monster, who would even have a child to achieve her goal: the crown.
For her part, Katara was extremely mad. Her first instinct was to bend the liquids in the table and make a sharp blade with it. With a swift movement of hands, the Water Tribe woman put the sharp blade next to Azula's neck.
"KATARA!" Sokka yelled, grabbing his sister's forearm.
"You bitch, I should kill you." Katara growled, inching the blade even closer to the princess' neck.
Azula looked straight at the waterbender's eyes. "Do it then. Kill me right in front of your nephew. Slit my throat in front of all these people, on this day commemorating peace."
"Katara put it down." Hakoda said sternly, getting up just like his son.
"Sweetie, let's take a moment and compose ourselves." Aang tried to reach to his wife, but the waterbender inched the blade even closer to the princess' neck, opening it up a little, leaving room for some blood to drip out.
Azula did not break eye contact with the Water Tribe woman. She felt the warm blood dripping down her neck, but her will power was stronger than the pain. She would not let Katara of all people get to her.
"Tell me you're lying," Katara said in between her teeth, her eyes filled with fury.
The princess smirked. "I never admitted anything. It was your dear brother who did it."
If possible, the waterbender turned even angrier. Her face turned crimson red, but her eyes were devoid of emotion. In a quick second, she began to do a swiping movement looking to end the life of the princess, but she was stopped before she could do it.
Under any other circumstance, a shoe flying through the air in the middle of dinner would've been a funny occurrence. This was not the case. Everyone was flabbergasted when a shoe hit Katara on the head, making the watebender lose control of all of the liquids.
A furious Lady Ursa now stood protectively close to her daughter. "How dare you threaten the life of my daughter, and Princess of the Fire Nation, inside of Palace walls!"
"Mom!" Zuko approached his mother and too her arm, trying to move her from her spot. The woman, however, stood her ground just like a tree.
"You're not going to move me Zuko."
"You threw a shoe at a foreign delegation mom!" The Fire Lord yelled
Ursa shook her arm away from her son's grip. "I did what I had to do to protect my daughter, something I should've done long ago."
"But she doesn't deserve it!" Zuko yelled, making many of the people present widen their eyes.
Azula was the next to stand up, facing her brother with a cold stare. "What do you mean I don't deserve it?"
For his part, Zuko had a furious look in his face. His hands turned into fists to try to control his temper, although that did little, if anything at all.
"Don't think I'm stupid Azula. This is all part of your plan to get the crown. You gain the sympathy of the Fire Nation citizens, and you have a personal relation with the other nations, which is all you need to commit a coup. Don't think I haven't noticed the way this all clicks together."
Azula glared at her brother. "So, you're saying that I deserve to die because you think I am planning to overthrow you. That sounds an awful lot like tyranny, which is the exact thing we were trying to avoid."
"You had a child with the sole purpose to overthrow me. You are a fucking demon."
A loud slap was heard throughout the room, and a red handprint was imprinted on the unscarred cheek of the Fire Lord.
"How dare you say I only had a child to overthrow you. I had a child because I love him, and I would not give him up over anything. Just because our father created us as a bid for the throne does not mean that I also had a child for that reason. I would've been so happy living in Ido for the rest of my life, with only my son to keep me company, but you had to come and screw everything up. And now, even after I help you out with the political problems you've had with your incompetency, you accuse me of having to overthrow you. Fuck you Zuko. I'm not here for you to be suspicious of me 24/7. Come on, Lee Ten. We're leaving." Azula stood up and began to walk towards the exit.
"But mom, maybe-." Lee Ten said
Azula turned towards her son with a stern face. "Did I ask for your opinion? Do I look like I want to hear you whine about wanting to stay longer? Do you think I want you fraternizing with people who think so lowly of you? Huh? Answer me!"
"No, but-"
"Do not interrupt me! I did not raise you to be so disrespectful. Get up now and leave this room immediately."
The brown-haired boy quietly stood up from his seat and left the room. The eyes of the dinner guests followed the quiet teenager and the angry princess. The silence in the dinner table was evident, and the tension on the table could be cut with a thin paper.
"…you cheated on me with Azula." Suki broke the silence, stating her words as she looked directly at the younger Water Tribesman.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm a horrible person for cheating on you Suki, and there really is nothing to say in my defense. I just fell in love with her."
Everyone present, with the exception of Toph, turned their heads to stare directly at Sokka. It was one thing having a one-night stand, it was one thing to cheat on your significant other with a princess, it was a completely different story when it appeared that Sokka had fallen in love with Azula.
"You-you fell in love with her?" Ty Lee asked, feeling numb on the inside. If what Sokka said was true, then perhaps her chances with Azula were null now. They were Azula and Ty Lee, best friends since childhood. They were made for each other. But this was Sokka. Not only a good-looking man, but also someone who had already given her a child. If they were together, they could make more babies. There was nothing she could provide Azula that Sokka couldn't. Would she really be so selfish as to be with Azula only for her own happiness?
The Water Tribesman nodded his head and threw a solemn look to Ty Lee. "Yes, I fell in love with her years ago."
"How could you Sokka? She's Azula! She killed Aang, and she's an imperialist bitch who is even named after the Fire Lord responsible for mom's death! She represents the Fire Nation that killed mom." Katara yelled
Sokka brought his fingers to his tear ducts and pressed to relieve stress. "Tui and La Katara shut the fuck up about mom's death! Azula had nothing to do with that! You also don't need to bring up such a dark topic in every discussion we have."
"Of course you would say that, you don't even remember her face."
"Katara that is enough!" Hakoda yelled, making his children stop their bickering. "Sit down and let's talk about this like civilized people."
The waterbender huffed but complied to her father's orders. Her arms were crossed right at chest level, and her body language showed reservedness. Sokka also sat down, still looking warily at his sister. Soon enough, almost everyone around the table was sitting in their respective seats, but the atmosphere was nothing short of tense.
"How could you fall for her plan Sokka?" Zuko asked
Sokka scoffed. "What plan Zuko? You're the only one who thinks that Azula had an ulterior motive for having a child with me."
"Well yes! Why else would she lay with you?!"
"I am not a bad looking dude, let's start with that. We were also both really drunk, and not in our best place in our respective relationships. It just happened." Sokka said, raising his hands.
"When I'm drunk, I start fight. I don't cheat on my wife with my best friend's sister!"
Sokka raised his eyebrows. "So that's what this is. You're mad that I had sex with Azula without telling you first?"
"That's not the problem!" Zuko yelled
"Then what is it?"
"She used you and you're not even batting an eye! You're even on her side!"
"Oh trust me Zuko, she used me just as much as I used her."
The Fire Lord growled and threw a fireball at the non-bender. Sokka successfully dodged the fire but was not as successful dodging the Fire Lord who had launched himself his way. Zuko sat on top of the Water Tribesman and began to punch him in the face.
"Zuko!" Mai yelled
"Take it back you asshole!" Zuko growled as he punched his friend.
Sokka laughed, his mouth filled with his own blood. "Just five minutes ago, you did not bat an eye when Katara was going to kill Azula, and now you're beating me up for something that happened fifteen years ago. I don't understand you Zuko."
"You won't need to understand me if you're dead." Zuko said, continuing punching the non-bender.
The Fire Lord was grabbed from behind and separated from the Water Tribesman. He tried to kick his way out but was ultimately unable to. As soon as Zuko was grabbed, Katara made her way to Sokka and began to heal his bruises.
"Well, I must say that this was a very good way to celebrate the unity between nations." Toph said from her seat, eating a roasted chicken leg.
Ty Lee for her part was unsure on what to do next. The logical part of her brain was screaming at her to stay seated down and see how everything played out. It was not every day that both influential people from the Fire Nation and Water Tribe had a child. It was also not every day that this union was announced to the world in such a manner. Instead of it being a private and personal manner, both Azula and Sokka had decided to announce Lee Ten's parentage in this dinner. And this had led to not only Azula storming out, but also Sokka getting beaten up.
As much as she didn't want to, Ty Lee's brain was fixated by Zuko's words. Objectively, having a child with familial ties to the Southern Water Tribe Chief was a strong political tool. Not only that, but her story of living in Ido was bound to gain her some sympathy points from the rural areas of the Fire Nation. But Ty Lee also knew Azula. Really knew her.
She had seen how the people respected her back in that small town, even without knowing her true identity. She had seen how Azula truly wanted what was best for the Fire Nation; she was not only focused on the crown.
And a part of her truly believed that Azula had not cheated on her as part of a plan. The Azula she knew would never purposely harm her. Even if they hadn't been at the best place in their relationship, the Princess of the Fire Nation would never cheat on her on purpose…or would she?
Azula had always been a wild card. Nobody knew what was going through her mind. The acrobat may have thought that Azula had loved her, but what if it was all just a simple work for her image? What if Azula had used her to convince everyone she had really changed? But that wouldn't make any sense. Azula had truly loved Ty Lee, that was the only thing she never doubted.
How can someone cheat on a person they love?
Azula had loved her. Azula had cheated on her. Azula had created a small family in which she was not a part of. And despite their past, Sokka now proclaimed to love Azula. Sokka, the man with whom Azula had cheated her with. Sokka, the man responsible for Azula's newfound family.
Her body seemed to move by its own volition, as next thing she knew, the acrobat found herself in front of a room. She had apparently left the dinner table with all of its guests, her feet making their way to the chambers.
The acrobat sighed before knocking on the big door. There was silence for a few seconds, but soon enough, some shuffling from the other side of the door could be heard. A couple of second after, the giant door opened, revealing a teenage boy with brown hair. His eyes were red from what seemed to be tears, and his usual jovial self-seemed to be depressed.
"Oh, it's you." Lee Ten said with a hint of disappointment.
Ty Lee had no idea why she had gone to his room. If she was being honest, she would've expected her feet to drag her to Azula's room. She wanted to talk to Azula. She wanted to clear everything up. She wanted to have an explanation for everything that had happened. She didn't want to talk to the boy that reminded her of the Princess' infidelity.
"It's me." Ty Lee replied, not really knowing what else to say.
Lee Ten opened the door wider. "Do you want to come in?"
Against her better judgement, Ty Lee nodded her head and made her way inside the room. The room could only be described as a tidy mess. At first glance, it looked very messy, but upon actually looking at what was in the room, there seemed to be a sense of organization.
"So, why are you here?" Lee Ten asked the acrobat, sitting on his bed.
Ty Lee stood in the middle of the room, still taking everything in. It had been so obvious all this time. The boy was a clear hybrid between Sokka and Azula. From his physical atributes to his actual self, everything was just as if the Water Tribesman and the Princess had mended their bodies together and coexisted.
"How long have you known?" Ty Lee asked.
"Couple of weeks. It's been hard not to tell everyone about it."
The contortionist nodded her head. "I bet."
"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"
She didn't know what to say. It hadn't been her conscious self who had brought her to the room, so she didn't really know why she was there. All she wanted was to ask Azula why, beg for an explanation. No, not beg. She deserved an explanation. She wanted to demand one.
"To be honest, I don't know. I wanted to talk to Azula. Do you know where she is?"
"Yes, I do know. But I won't tell you."
Ty Lee blinked. "…you won't tell me?"
The teenage boy shook his head. "No, I won't. You probably want to go to my mom and demand an explanation because deep inside you doubt that what Zuko said was not too far from the truth. You want to talk to my mom to make yourself feel better, because you don't seem to trust my mom. If you go to her now, you will only make her even sadder, and she doesn't deserve that. You saw her how she was at the dinner table. She even yelled at me!"
"She won't yell at me."
Lee Ten smiled in awe and chuckled. The chuckles turned to hysterical laughter, and Ty Lee began to fear the spawn of Azula.
"You really are selfish! Right now, mom is going through a very hard time, I am too! And you come here demanding an explanation?!" Lee Ten stood from his bed and approached the acrobat. Ty Lee took a few steps back until her back was touching the wall.
"Let me make it clear to you. As long as I'm alive, you're not going to be with my mom unless you show me that you're not as selfish as you seem to be. One wrong step, and I will make my mom hate you for the rest of your fucking life. Even if you don't seem to know it by now, I will remind you. I am more important to my mom than you are, and my mom is more important to me than everything. I will do everything to protect her, even if it means making you unhappy for the rest of your life. Never forget that."
Ty Lee gulped. The boy's eyes were very similar to Azula's eyes were when she made a threat. The eyes that show that she wasn't messing around, and that she would make your life miserable without a second thought. It was like seeing the young Azula again, or at least a tall mix-race male version of her.
"Lee, are you in here?" a female voice asked. Ty Lee looked up and saw Kiyi looking at the scene with confusion."
The teenage boy sighed, not even turning around as he recognized the voice. "Yes Aunt Kiyi. What's up?"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." The Fire Nation woman said, approaching the pair. Her eyes switching from looking at the young boy to the woman. "I didn't know you were going to have company."
"I was just about to leave." Ty Lee said, pushing the teenager out of the way and walking towards the door.
"Think about what I told you Ty Lee. We wouldn't want your name to be tainted." Lee Ten said as the acrobat made her way out.
She stopped for a second, the words of the teenager settling in her mind. The boy really was like Azula, and she didn't know how to feel about that. She quickly picked herself up and continued her way out of the room, choosing to go to her own chamber.
Kiyi looked at her nephew and raised an eyebrow. "What did you tell her?"
The teenager shrugged his shoulders as he made his way to sit on the bed. "I just told her not to mess with mom."
"Talking about your mom, do you really think you guys will leave the palace tomorrow?" Kiyi asked, sitting beside Lee Ten.
The brown-haired boy shook his head. "No. She's furious, but she knows that this is the best place to be if we are to help the Fire Nation. She needs to have people who care about her and who trust her around, not people who will try to get a false truth out of her."
"Why aren't you with her then?"
"I don't think like I can lift her spirits if I'm also sad." Lee Ten leaned back, laying down on his bed. "I was supposed to gain a family today. People were supposed to respect me, both from the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe. But, as soon as people knew who my father was, my mom almost died. Is my existence really such a burden to everyone?"
Kiyi ignored the flashbacks she was getting to the recent fight, and grabbed the teenager by his shoulders, pulling him into a hug, which he wholeheartedly returned. His eyes began to tear up once again, and soon enough quiet violent sobs overcame him. His aunt simply shushed, patting his neck in a caring way.
"You are not a burden Lee."
"But mom's life would've been so much better if I had never been born. So would've dad's life. And everyone's!" Lee Ten cried
"That's not true. Believe me when I say that you make your mother the happiest, I have ever seen her. Same with your father. Even my life has changed for the better since I met you."
The teenager kept crying. And Kiyi, being a good aunt, kept patting his neck and back, trying to comfort him as best as she could. She could understand why Lee Ten was so upset. This had been the chance of obtaining a new family. This was the way he could be properly introduced to his Water Tribe side. But he was met with severe hostility. Kiyi then remembered what Lee Ten had told her about his life in Ido. How he was bullied and beat up for being half Water Tribe.
When Lee Ten's sobs became more far in between, Kiyi freed herself from the hug, keeping the teenager close to her. "Hey, do you want some ice cream?"
The teenager shook his head.
"What do you want then?"
"Can you get me mochi?" Lee Ten asked, drying his eyes with his sleeve.
Kiyi chuckled. "Fine, but only for today. I'm too old to be walking places to get you food."
"No you aren't. You're only 23 Aunt Kiyi."
"And 23 is old in this society."
The son of Azula nodded. "That is true. By the way, when are you going to have children? An old flower may no longer bear fruit if time catches up."
Kiyi playfully slapped her nephew's arm as they both laughed. The events of dinner momentarily forgotten, as just the familial love of an aunt and nephew reigned.