"Father…use me. I am your humble servant, here to serve you."

"You dare suggest that I betray Iroh, my first born? Directly after the demise of his only beloved son?!"

The flames around the throne room started to burn brighter and hotter as Azulon's rage grew.

"I think that Iroh has suffered enough. But you? Your punishment has scarcely begun!" Azulon shouted.

The flames grew even larger, to the point where it looked like it would engulf the entire throne room. Zuko got up and left, most likely afraid. Azula smirked, her brother was such a coward.

"Since you seem to think that losing a child is nothing, perhaps you can learn from the same thing happening to you."

Azula blinked. Wait, what? Surely grandfather didn't mean that. Right?

"I order you to kill Azula, the child that you love the most. Maybe then you'll understand what Iroh is going through!" Azulon demanded.

Azula slowly began to back away. This couldn't be happening. Father wouldn't go through with that, right? He couldn't possibly….!

Ozai bowed, "As you command, my lord."

She had never been so scared before in her life. At that moment, Azula did the only thing that she could think of.

She ran.

She could feel her heart pounding as she ran into her room and closed the door behind her. Father was going to kill her. Her, the prodigy. The one that father had found useful, unlike Zuko. It wasn't fair. Why would father agree to something like this? Hadn't he told her that he loved her, and that he was the only one who would ever love her in their family? It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair…..

"I- I don't want to die!" Azula said tearfully, sinking down to her knees and crying.

What could she do though? It's not as if she was strong enough to defend herself against her father.

Azula considered telling Zuko, but decided that he wouldn't be much help. Not to mention that he would most likely assume that she was lying. And mother…..

She shook her head. There was no point in telling that woman anything. It was clear that she only loved Zuko and didn't care about Azula at all.

Father was going to kill her, Zuko wouldn't be of much help, and mother probably wouldn't care…..

Was there even a point in trying anymore?

Azula shook her head. For now, she had to get out of the palace and to somewhere safe. Everything else could come later.

If there even was a later for her.

Ozai made his way down the hall, heading towards his daughter's room. He didn't really want to do this to his own child, especially not when she was a prodigy. But the Firelord had ordered it, which meant that his hands were tied. And if this was what it took to get him closer to the throne, then so be it.

He walked into Azula's room and quietly closed the door. Hopefully the girl was asleep. It would make things that much easier for him if she were. Ozai slowly crept up to the bed and pulled back the covers…..

Only to find that Azula wasn't in her bed.

Ozai cursed. He should have known this wouldn't be that easy. He knew his daughter. She most likely listened in on the whole conversation between him and Azulon. And since he hadn't been confronted by Ursa on his way here, that meant one thing: Azula hadn't told anyone what she had overheard, and fled.

He supposed that he could work with this, however. While it wouldn't exactly comply with what his father demanded of him, it was the only way. He would make it appear as if assassins had infiltrated the palace, intent on killing Azulon, and Azula has the misfortune of running into them. His wife and son would grieve for a time, but they would get over it eventually. It's not like they were fond of Azula anyway, especially Ursa.

His next course of action decided, Ozai got to work.

Azula had never been more grateful than she was in that moment for her interest in exploring the palace. Without it, she wouldn't have known about all of the secret passageways, which has been crucial in her escape. She ran as far away as she could from the palace until she couldn't run anymore. Catching her breath, she looked at her surroundings and realized that she had run all the way to the docks. Finding a small space in between some crates, Azula hid in between them and cried herself to sleep.