When she's finished recollecting the memory for him, Chey pulls a wrapped package from his pocket.
"I bought this at the market for you. Thought it might cheer you up." He smiles and hands it to her.
Azula wants to throw it across the room in disgust.
What am I to you?! A child?! A stupid child that can be placated with trinkets and treats?
But, she forces a smile and murmurs what she hopes sounds like a grateful "Thank you", and unwraps the treat.
"Now, did you find anything out when you had your day off?" She asks, to get back to business and bury the confusing memories.
"Yes, I did." A look of uncertainty crosses his face.
"I don't think I need to remind you that if I get out of this place, you'll be greatly rewarded. I can make you a general, and give you a mansion for you and your family. If you would like to own a colony, I can make that happen as well." She keeps her tone soft enough to be conversational, but hard enough not to leave any room for disobedience.
"I found this group called the New Ozai Society. They wish to see your Father back on the throne. They support you completely as the Crown Princess, but are uncertain that you are ready for command after your lost Agni Kai."
She opens her mouth to say something harsh, but Chey interrupts.
"Before you get too angry with them, I would say it may be best to go along with this for now. They are the only way you're getting out of here, and they know it. They also know they cannot install Ozai back on the throne without you. They are a well organized group with many connections in the Palace. It would be unwise to move against them. They swore me to secrecy and I'm at their command until this is over. I would say that it's a fair trade. You could have your place back under your father. Then, you could probably convince them you're ready in a few years and incite a rebellion. Your father goes back to prison, you get the throne. And in the meantime, you have nearly all the power in the world."
"Your theory seems sound and all, Chey. But understand, that your first allegiance is to me. I intend to take the throne. My father will serve under me. You are bound to this group, so if you choose not to work with me now, and Father winds up on the throne, they have your daughter until their mission is complete. But understand that if you help me, I offer you the third place in power. You could be Fire Lord, should anything befall me. And your daughter? Wouldn't it be nice to see her in good schools, good clothes, and fourth in line to the throne?" She smiles sweetly.
She can just see the horror and conflict in Chey's face. The man undoubtedly realizes that he's been led into a trap. The victory sings throughout her very being.
"I understand, Princess. Of course, I will serve your interests first in this endeavor." He bows to her. His tone is tight and formal.
No more of this "friendship" nonsense! She thinks to herself.
"Daughter, what have you done?" Mother's frantic voice calls out when Chey has left the room, stiffly slamming the door behind him.
"Go away, Mother. You've made me miserable these last few weeks. Let me have this one moment of victory." Azula snaps.
"Azula, there is a better way." Mother's hand brushes her shoulder and Azula whirls to strike at her. The fire blast goes right through Mother's chest. She doesn't disappear and reappear, unaffected, as she had before.
Now, although the fire continues to pass through her and leave no trace of it's path, her face contorts in pain, and she remains where she is.
"Why must you ruin every good moment of my life!" Azula roars.
Mother simply stares at her, tears rolling down her face.
Azula turns her back and is surprised when Mother doesn't reappear in front of her or off to the side of her field of vision.
Azula knows she isn't gone though. She can feel her presence like a suffocating thick blanket on a summer night.
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
A fresh breeze blew in from her bedroom window as she drifted awake. She glanced out at the Sun going down and realized that she was running late.
Mother was going to leave Zuko's room soon, and part of the fun of leaving was not getting caught.
Mother knew she couldn't stop her from leaving, but it was still fun to get out unseen. And technically, it counted towards her training.
Zuko had just gotten a Firebending tutor. Any extra points on training would be very useful.
Jumping out of bed, she grabbed her black bag containing her outfit, her list for the evening, and handcuffs.
She quietly closed the door behind her and crept along the wall to a small doorway.
She hid as Mother walked quietly by, relishing the rush of adrenaline at the thought of being caught.
This wasn't her first night out by a long shot, and would certainly not be her last, but the excitement of it never grew old.
As soon as Mother was down the hall, she hurried to a secret passage just big enough for her to get into. It deposited her in one of the main gardens near the center of the Palace. From there it's only a literal hop, skip, and jump from where she needed to be to get the best start for her night.
"Azula!" Her mother's voice froze her in her tracks. "What are you doing out of bed, young lady?!"
Feeling a slight stab of guilt, she turned to face her mother. She shoved the feeling down. It wasn't as if Mother could do anything to her anyway.
"Is it really your business?" Her eight year old voice challenged loudly. With authority.
"I'm your mother! Everything about you is my business!"
She stepped aside to avoid Mother's reach for her. Mother recovered with an astounding level of grace.
Azula had really been hoping she'd fall flat on her face. It would have been hilarious.
"Not really. Zuzu is your business. I'm under Father's tutelage. And I'm on an assignment that you don't have the clearance to know about." She packed as much disdain into that sentence as she could muster.
"I'm responsible for a portion of your education as well. Your Father doesn't teach just you. He has your brother sit in on several meetings a week, and has hired several tutors for him. We both teach you. You belong to both of us. We both love you." She reached again for Azula.
Laughing to cover up the bitter feeling in her stomach over Mother's obvious lie, Azula shot a tiny flame at her, just enough to singe the tips of her fingers. A warning shot. A reminder.
"Azula! Come inside at once!" Mother scolded, cradling her injured hand.
"Who's going to make me? Father?" She sneered, letting every sweet wisp of anger ooze into the expression.
"If you think that I'm going to just let you walk out of here, you're very much mistaken." Mother used her warning voice, the one she would use to command Zuko when he misbehaved or didn't follow her directions.
Azula simply walked right past Mother, intending to find the secret passage that went up an otherwise purely decorative tower. Mother held no authority over her, and she was seriously beginning to wonder if Mother would ever figure that out.
Mother reached out and pinned her arms to her sides, lifted her off the ground, and started to march her back inside, being careful to avoid contact with her hands.
"Mother dearest," Azula said, in the sweetest voice she could possibly use, "you forgot one thing."
She relished how her mother's eyes widened in fear.
"I can use my feet to Bend." She whispered in Mother's ear.
She flung her feet back and forth, swung her right leg in a circular motion off to the side, then aimed them downwards and stiffened her arms, summoning all her energy towards the ground.
A blaze of fire propelled her from Mother's arms and she landed lightly in front of where Mother had been standing. The force of her sudden movement had knocked Mother to the ground.
She sneered at the tearful lump on the ground, daring it to move.
It stared back at her with sadness. Not fear. Not anymore.
It infuriated her! But, she'd done her job, she was free. Any further burning would undoubtedly disappoint Father with it's lack of forethought.
"What have I done to make you hate me so, Daughter?" Mother's voice was strong and steady, despite the tears on her face. But it was heavily weighted, as though speaking the words would crush her soul.
Azula smiled at her.
"You're pathetic. And so is Zuzu. Between the two of you, that is shame enough for this family."
Confusion contorted Mother's features.
Azula didn't stop to further explain. She found her passage, and escaped into the night.
((page break)) (page break) ((page break))
Hours later, she stood in front of Father in his study. The sun was just beginning to light the horizon.
"Did you fill your quota?" He asked, gazing out the door at the garden, rather than her.
"I doubled it, Father. Soon, there won't be a criminal left in the Capital City." She puffed up proudly.
"Good. Because I now have something else in mind for you. Tomorrow evening, instead of going out to hunt criminals, I want you to practice blending in with your environment. How you do this is up to you. Use your imagination. I want full reports on everyone you come across. Their likes, dislikes, family situation, fears and dreams. I want a minimum of two people to start with."
"Yes Father."
"And another thing: If you find you need to stay out for a few days at a time, you're welcome to do so.
As long as nobody finds out who you really are."
"Yes Father."
She found the idea of being out for days among strangers exhilarating. The fact that they were not to know who she was made it all the more fun!
She could do so much with this!
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
"Are you awake?" A voice calls her out of the fog. She hadn't really been asleep. Her eyes are still open.
She's just been very far away in her thoughts.
"Yes. What is it?" She sneers at Chey. He maintains an unreadable blank facade.
"I have news from the New Qzai Society. They want to know if you would be willing to command their coup."
"Really?" Azula raises an eyebrow and lets the sarcasm run through her voice. "I thought that they believed that I was incompetent after I failed an Agni Kai during the passing of my great grandfather's Comet. What made them change their minds?"
"They were concerned about your ability to lead a Nation. Not your ability to take one over. Your coup in Ba Sing Se was "extraordinarily effective", to quote their local leader directly." He rolls his eyes.
"Of course it was! I can do anything I want when I put my mind to it! Including leading a Nation. Tell them this: I will gladly help them retake the Palace, under two conditions. The first is that I will be Fire Lord when this is over. My Father will serve under me until I see fit to dispose of him otherwise. I'd be more than happy to negotiate something where he is declared Fire Lord, but I hold the power with the backing of their Society. The second condition is that I do what I want with my brother and Uncle. They will be my prisoners. No one shall interfere with anything I have planned." She walks over to him, fire coursing through her being. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." He replies, coldly.
"Yes? Yes, what?" She asks, in a voice dripping poisoned sugar.
"Yes, Princess." He spits.
He turns to leave.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
He turns back, bows to her in the traditional way, glaring.
"Better. But you'll need to make me believe it, if you want your family to remain safe. And I'm very difficult to convince."
He slams the door as hard as humanly possible on his way out.
Azula sits back against the wall, taking a deep breathe and beginning to think of all the fun ways of disposing of Uncle and Zuzu. Mother hovers nearby, but says nothing.
"Finally figure out how useless you are?" Azula taunts her.
"No. I'm just waiting for you to realize how pointless this plotting of yours is." Mother replies evenly. Patiently.
"Useless? In what way?" Azula stands and gets in Mother's face. She can almost feel her breathe. Almost, but not quite.
"Your brother is allied with the Avatar. Do you really think it wise to unbalance the world once more? You won't be able to kill him again, Daughter. Not the way he is now. He was able to beat your father. And your brother only wants the best for you. Isn't it silly to want him dead now?" Mother reasons with her in a soothing, quiet voice. Like the one she used to use when separating childish squabbles between Mai and Ty Lee when they came over to visit.
I miss that particular entertainment.
"Daughter, what you did to your friends was quite unecessary. You need to let the past go. Let yourself go to find the real you. Don't be so afraid anymore. Don't be so angry. You couldn't help what Father did to you." Mother's hand ghosts over her shoulder.
"I'm a monster. Even you thought I was a monster. Father said so! You never said a single kind word to me in my whole life!" Azula threw a flame at Mother.
Mother shows no reaction, whatsoever. No disappear and reappear act. No wince or cry of pain. Nothing.
Azula grits her teeth.
"Am I never going to be rid of you?!" She shrieks.
"Only when the time is right. Only when you no longer need me." Mother steps forward as though embrace her.
Azula hurriedly steps back.
"I don't need you! I don't need anyone! Go away, and bother someone else!" She shouts.
"Did you need something, Princess? I heard shouting." Chey pokes his head in. His tone is no warmer than it had been earlier.
"Go away, or so help me, I will burn you to ash!" Azula yells. She lights her palm and launches a fireball at him.
Chey ducks and closes the door.
"Daughter, I'm begging you!" Mother says. Azula interrupts whatever she is about to say next.
"And begging is only one of your many mistakes, Mother!" She spits. She launches a barrage of fire at her.
Mother doesn't flinch. Azula screams and sends wave after wave of flames at her mother. And Mother doesn't flinch!
Azula suddenly finds herself face to face with a mirror on the wall. Looking into it, she sees her own face. It morphs into Mother's.
"No! NO! I'm not like you! I'm not weak! I'm not you!" She screams, trying to smash the mirror. But her hands go right through and it disappears.
The only logical explanation is that it was never there.
I've never heard of ghost mirrors before.
It's her last thought before a needle jabs harshly into her neck and her world goes dark.
A/N Sorry for the long update time. I had to think for a while on this one.