Zuko didn't know why they had all been called to see his grandfather, but he knew it couldn't be good; his father liked to show off Azula's bending to them, but Fire Lord Azulon himself didn't really care much for seeing them. He was a bitter, snarky old man, and seemed rather indifferent to the progress the Prince and his younger sister were making with both their bending and education as heirs of their nation. Of course, Zuko was fourth in line to the throne, and given that his cousin was probably going to get married sooner or later, once he returned from the front, he would be pushed further down the line of succession; he did not expect to become Fire Lord, unless somehow everyone else in the line of succession died, the thought of which disturbed him.

Prince Zuko was only eleven years old, and only wanted to serve his country; he didn't want anyone in his family to suffer, especially his uncle or cousin- they were actually nice to him, unlike Azula, who was indifferent to his existence, and his father, who went out his way to mock his son's efforts. He tried his hardest, and he knew that Ozai loved him, even if he was a harsh father; he only wanted the best for him, that was what he always told himself, but even then, he wasn't that dumb. He knew Uncle Iroh was a far better father to Lu Ten than his father was to him, and was actually a little jealous of that fact, though he'd never dare to say it out loud.

He followed after his father, who remained silent as they approached the doors of the throne room; his sister walked alongside him, with an intrigued look on her face. Because she wasn't smugly gloating, he could only deduce she didn't know what was going on; even with all the sneaking around she did, even Princess Azula did not know what they were about to walk into. His father's mood was rather neutral, which suggested one of two things; he wasn't either happy or angry about what was going on, or just like his sister, didn't know what they were doing walking to the throne room.

When the doors were opened by the Imperial Firebenders, Prince Zuko saw his grandfather's silhouette, sitting there amongst the flames of the throne; it had always scared him, even if he wasn't afraid of his grandfather- he hadn't chided or mocked the young Prince like his father had, so he really had no reason to be afraid of him personally. His father on the other hand, did seem to fear Fire Lord Azulon, enough so that his posture straightened and his usually imposing form became noticeably more timid. Perhaps it was only natural to fear one's father; Lu Ten couldn't have feared his uncle, though, no matter how good a firebender he was. He was only to be feared by the enemies of the Fire Nation like any good prince ought to be.

They slowly approached the throne, but quickly enough, the three royals were kneeling before their Fire Lord, whose gaze made Zuko's eyes dart down; he took back his thought that he wasn't afraid of his grandfather- he might have feared him, but it was more because of how imposing he was, not because he had given the young Prince a reason to cower.

"Father, why have you called upon us?" he asked him, the Fire Lord sitting there, silently for a few moments.

"I bear great news for our nation." Azulon spoke with an expression that did not suggest what his words said; great news could be interpreted as news that was important, though not necessarily good, "Ba Sing Se is ours. The Earth King's palace is rubble, and our nation now rules supreme over the impenetrable city." he smirked slightly, which suggested that it must have been good news; the Earth Kingdom was beat, which meant the war was over- Zuko even let out a small smile upon hearing this, knowing that his uncle and cousin would be returning home.

"That is good to hear father. The enemies of our nation have finally been vanquished." Ozai spoke with a pleased voice; of course, his father wanted them to win the war- everyone wanted the war to be over, sooner or later.

"Do not be so quick to smile, Prince Ozai." he chided his son with an annoyed voice, "I did not tell you all of what I have learned from the front." he clarified, the Prince's shoulders slumping slightly, knowing that he ought to not anger his father, "Your nephew, Prince Lu Ten, did not survive the battle." he spoke up, remaining silent for a few moments.

Zuko grit his teeth, trying to hold back the emotions he felt; Lu Ten was dead- he was dead, and he wasn't coming back. He wanted to cry, but he knew that his father would beat him if he dared to do that in front of the Fire Lord; he held his head down, listening to the awkward silence that followed his grandfather's words.

Turning up to face him, the young Prince noted that Azulon's expression grew more angry, "Do you have no words for the death of your nephew? Or are you going to sit there and gloat?!" he shouted at his son, who leaned back, clearly afraid of his father's words.

"I apologise, Father." he bowed down, "It is truly tragic for Lu Ten to have passed at a time like this. My brother must be devastated." he acknowledged, his words not sounding very sincere, even if he tried to make them sound so.

"Prince Zuko." the Fire Lord addressed him, making the young Prince look up toward his grandfather, "With your cousin's passing, you will now become the Fire Lord, after your uncle and your father." he simply told him the fact of the matter, which didn't improve the Prince's mood in the slightest; becoming the Fire Lord was the furthest thing from his mind.

"Y-yes, Grandfather." he acknowledged him, bowing his head back down; Ozai slapped him on the shoulder, the pain of the strike nigh irrelevant as it drove fear right to the forefront of his mind.

"Refer to the Fire Lord with some respect!" he snarled at him, "It's your majesty." he clarified what he ought to have said; he sat there, looking back at his father with fear, unsure what to say, and though he was about to correct himself, Azulon decided to speak before he got the chance.

"No, you will shut your mouth, Prince Ozai." the Fire Lord snarled at him, "Your son is mourning the death of his beloved cousin. Do you think formalities are greater than the bond they held?" he asked his son, which surprised Zuko; his grandfather was standing up for him, even if it was really just being used as an opportunity to chide his son.

"Your majesty, can I ask a question?" Azula spoke up, her voice more timid than usual, addressing the Fire Lord, whose gaze turned down to her.

"What is it that you want?" he asked her, the Princess trying to keep a straight face, though he could see the wetness on her cheeks- tears that she must have already wiped away; Zuko realised that she must have been taking it rather badly, even if she was trying her best to hold back the grief she felt.

"How- how did Cousin die?" she dared to ask him, the Fire Lord turning his gaze upward, away from her; he looked out into the distance for a few moments, before he responded.

"The Dai Li. They killed him, along with a number of other soldiers who valiantly moved to take the palace." he clarified, the Fire Lord looking back down her way, with what Zuko would say was a tinge of sympathy, "My beloved son will deal with them swiftly, now that the city is ours."

Azula pursed her lips ever so slightly, and bowed her head back down; the Fire Lord turned his gaze back toward his son, "Now, that you are second in line to the throne, Ozai, I expect that you will take on the duties expected of a Crown Prince. You will be so, soon enough."

"Father, you are of great health. I wish for your prosperous reign to continue, and for you to continue the victories we have made against the lesser nations." he assured his father, who raised his chin, disgusted by his words.

"Do not act like you do not want this throne." he snarled, Ozai's head dropping down, which intimidated Zuko; his grandfather was willing to bluntly address the matter at hand, it seemed, "You will have it one day, but I expect you will be wiser and better prepared for the role by then."

"That is all I can hope for, Father." he bowed his head down, "I will not fail you."

There was a few moments of silence, before Azulon raised his hand back up toward the doors of throne room, "Leave now, I have other matters to attend to." he snarled, the Prince rising to his feet, eyeing his children; he was obviously angry at how his father had treated him, but he wasn't going to say anything.

The two royal children followed after their father, not daring to look back at their grandfather, who was probably glaring down their father as he walked away from the throne. The young Prince eyed his sister, who was grimacing slightly, though she immediately straightened her face as she realised Zuko was looking her way.

"Stop looking at me, Zuzu." she snarled, quietly enough that their father probably didn't hear her; he heeded her words, and looked ahead, toward their father's back.

He didn't want to fight, not when all he could think about was his cousin; he was dead, and he had had no chance to say goodbye. He wondered if Iroh had been given the chance to say goodbye to his son, or he had just seen his body, after the Dai Li killed him. He turned his eyes down, and held back his tears; his Uncle Iroh didn't deserve it, and neither did his cousin. They were good; he considered that they probably the best people he knew, and despite that, Lu Ten was dead.

"Cousin didn't deserve that." he mumbled under his breath, his father's eyes darting back to meet his own, making the young Prince tense up.

"Be quiet. I will not have you snivelling." Ozai growled at his son, speaking quietly enough that the Imperial Guards they were approaching could not hear, "People die, Prince Zuko. I thought you already understood that." he simply stated the fact of the matter, the Prince looked down, trying to remember his mother's face; it was all a blur, and all he could remember was that she was there, and that she wasn't like his father.

He narrowed his eyes, thinking that if everyone died, he couldn't think of a reason why his mother, or his cousin, would deserve to, when people like his father and grandfather were as mean-spirited and unkind as they were. The kind seemed to die, and the callous and uncaring seemed to live; all he could do was look at his sister, remembering that her life had only come about through the death of the parent who might have really loved and cared for him, and snarl, with hate in his eyes. If destiny was a real, manipulable thing, he wanted to find it and torch it until it was ashes, and then burn the ashes into nothingness.

"This isn't fair."


"I'm here to see my Uncle."

The Imperial Firebender stood there, looking at Zuko like he was some kind of idiot; that did not improve his mood, and he sighed, waiting for a response, whenever it was to come.

He cleared his throat, before gesturing down the hall, "The Fire Lord is not in his office, Prince Zuko." he clarified, "His majesty is in his quarters, packing for a trip."

"A trip?" he raised a brow, "What kind of trip?"

"I apologise, your highness, but he did not give any details." he admitted, the young Prince sighing, frustrated by the suggestion.

If his uncle was leaving the capital, perhaps he would be safer from his father's machinations, but Zuko could not sure of anything when it came Ozai's plotting; he did not know how wide-reaching and complex his plans really were, only truly having comprehension of the end result, that being the immolation of the Earth Kingdom for the sake of peace.

"Fine." he sighed, glaring at the guard for a few moments before he continued on down the hallway.

He didn't know who was working for his father in the palace, and that might have explained why the Imperial Firebender didn't know what Iroh was doing; his uncle was no moron, and he obviously knew that he had to take precautions, especially given his father's aspirations for the throne. He made his way down the hallway, eyeing the doors which led to his uncle's bedroom, which had been his grandfather's until a few months prior; there was two guards standing in front of the doors, who obviously noted him approaching. One of them raised a hand to warn him.

"Your highness, the Fire Lord is currently attending to matters."

"He's packing his bags for something, not having a meeting." he retorted, gesturing to the door, "At least tell him I've come by. I want to see him." he explained, the Imperial Firebenders looking at him with rather surprised expressions, before one of them pushed the door ajar.

"Your majesty, your nephew is here." he explained, the Prince hearing a bit of shuffling behind them door, before his uncle appeared, wearing more simple robes than he was expecting; obviously he wasn't planning to go out and deal with anyone official, so he wasn't wearing his Fire Lord robes.

"Oh, Prince Zuko, it's good to see you. I apologise, I was just packing for my trip." he explained, the Prince raising a brow.

"Sorry, your trip?" he asked, still having no idea what was going on; the Fire Lord eyed the two guards at the door, before he gestured for his nephew to approach.

"Just come inside." he simply requested, the Prince heeding his words, stepping through the doorway, which Iroh shut behind him; he hadn't actually been in the Fire Lord's bedroom before, and he was rather impressed.

The bed was massive, and he had an ornate desk and a balcony to accompany it; allowing him to look out over the palace. He turned his attention to his uncle, and the bags he looked to be packing, which included some armour; wherever his uncle was going, it was going to be dangerous, it seemed.

"Uncle, where are you going? How come I haven't heard anything about it?" he asked, Iroh grimacing slightly.

"I apologise for keeping you in the dark, Prince Zuko, I just wanted to keep my plans between myself and the people I'll be taking with me." he explained, before gesturing to his desk, "I have received a message from the King of Omashu; he wants to organise a peace treaty."

"A treaty?" he raised a brow, confused by what his uncle was saying, "But we're about to win the siege."

"I know that, but this will allow us to have a smoother transition to peace, which is what everyone wants. I cannot stand idly by while my countrymen suffer." he assured him, the Fire Lord placing his hands together, "I will not be here for a few weeks while I sail to Omashu to sign this treaty."

"And what of the rest of the affairs here? You're still the Fire Lord, Uncle. Are you saying you've going to give up your duties?" he asked him, Iroh grimacing slightly.

"I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was necessary, Prince Zuko." he stressed, "You father will make sure nothing goes astray while I'm away."

"Does he know?"

"No." he clarified, "I told Ozai that I needed to take a trip to Ember Island- a vacation."

"Good." the Prince smiled, before realising by saying that, he had revealed that he knew something.

"Nephew, is there something you need to tell me?" he asked him, the Prince stepping forward.

He couldn't lie to his uncle, after all he'd done for him; he'd been there for Zuko, and he couldn't forget that so quickly, no matter how much he wanted to be Crown Prince, and how much he wanted to be the Fire Lord.

"Uncle, Father's plotting something." he admitted, "I know you know, that's why you're lying to him."

"Yes, I do." he nodded, "What have you learned?"

"That he wants to do... horrible things to the Earth Kingdom, once he's the Fire Lord."

"Well, we're lucky he's not. While I'm away, I've given him express orders to only follow with what I've set out. There's only a few operations that need to be done, to ensure that our military isn't overextended. Withdrawing from the islands formerly inhabited by the Air Nomads is one of them." he acknowledged, "I will make sure your father cannot do anything terrible, Prince Zuko. The Fire Lord has to serve his country, and do his duty to his subjects. The Earth Kingdom are my subjects, and once he is Fire Lord, they will be his too."

"You... you aren't going to stop him?" he asked him, the Fire Lord raising a brow at him, obviously a little confused.

"Stop him? I don't need to stop him. I'm the Fire Lord. My brother is a great firebender, but that's about it- I don't mean to offend you, Prince Zuko, but your father is no ruler. As long as I breathe, he will not rule our nation, even if I go on a trip from time to time."

"He won't change, Uncle." he simply stated the fact of the matter, "Father's never been kind. He's not going to agree with what you're doing... I know it for a fact; he said it."

"He can say what he likes... but if your father commits treason, then he'll go to jail. And if there's an Agni Kai, I know how to win." he acknowledged the cause and effect; if Ozai tried anything, then Iroh could simply have him arrested, and if he tried to fight him in an Agni Kai, the Fire Lord would win, without a doubt- at least that's what his uncle was portraying to him.

"Are you sure you could win that duel, Uncle?"

"Oh, your father is unimaginative when it comes to firebending. I have mastered it in more ways than he could dream to. I am ready to face him, if he dares to try."

Zuko trembled at what he was hearing; his uncle sounded like he was completely tolerant of the scenario where he'd have to kill his own brother, which was a disturbing thing enough, no matter how mean-spirited his father was.

"U-Uncle..." he mumbled, before looking down, "Why is our family like this?"

The Fire Lord looked at him with a poignant face, before turning away, almost ashamed, "I was not as good a brother as I could have been, Prince Zuko. My father was not a good father, even if he had been kind enough to me." he acknowledged, "I don't want you and Azula to go the same way as Ozai and I have gone."

"But Azula... I can't trust her. She's just like him." he narrowed his eyes, not thinking what his uncle was saying was a reasonable outcome; he and his sister despised each other, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon- he had never liked her, and he knew that she wanted to take his rightful place, "I'm meant to be father's heir, but she wants to take it away from me... like all of my efforts mean nothing. I've tried, Uncle, I've tried hard to be a good son."

"I know you have, Nephew." he placed a hand on his shoulder, his grasp comforting when Ozai never would be; he knew that, even if he wanted his father to approve of him, to praise his strengths, he would never find the care that his uncle gave him.

"I wish he could treat me like you treated Lu Ten. You were a great father, Uncle." he told him, the Fire Lord's eyes watering as he leaned in and hugged his nephew.

"I wasn't, Prince Zuko." he told him, making Zuko's eyes widen; that wasn't just his uncle being modest, the tone of his voice told him he really believed that, "Your father, despite his flaws, is no fool. My ignorance and arrogance led to my son's death. If I had half the wit Ozai did, maybe my son would still be alive. Maybe all those soldiers who died in Ba Sing Se would still be alive."

"Uncle, you're not a fool. You're a great man. You're the Fire Lord." he assured him, his words the truth as he saw it, "You have inspired so many... not just me. Everyone looks up to you, maybe not Father, but pretty much everyone else."

"I am not as deserving of that praise as some might think, Prince Zuko." he acknowledged, before making a small smile, "I will try and earn it. I want to do right by the Fire Nation, and by the world."

"The war's nearly over, Uncle." he acknowledged, "You have all the time to make your mark."

"I know." he nodded, before grimacing slightly, "My brother may be the Fire Lord after me, but I hope that by then, even he will see a better world, and a better way for our nation."

"I hope that too, Uncle." he smiled at him, knowing that even if it was a pointless aspiration, he would hold it nonetheless; Prince Ozai was not the Fire Lord yet- he had yet to do the horrible things he claimed he wanted to do, and with that, there was still hope that he mightn't try them.

"And if he doesn't," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at his nephew, "then you will be my heir."

"I don't think Father will approve of that." he acknowledged with a quiet voice, even if internally he was ecstatic at the suggestion.

"I know he won't, but if you're to be my heir, you and Azula have to come to terms with each other. I understand the tension between you two, but you must understand, she is not too far gone yet. She can do great things, just as you can; all you have to do is believe the best in her."

He turned away, feeling ashamed by his thoughts, but he had to express them, "I- I don't know if I can do that, Uncle."

"Try, Prince Zuko." he reached out to him, not with his hand, but with his heart, "Please, just try to see the best of her. I try to, and she... well, she doesn't seem to despise me."

"Nobody could despise you, Uncle." he assured him, even if they had just been talking about the one person who certainly did; his father's opinion of Iroh made no sense, and Zuko just hoped that he could see that his brother was a good Fire Lord, and that his way of seeing the world wasn't wrong.

"I have to pack my things." he simply acknowledged, "But if you wanted to see off, that would be kind of you."

"I'd be glad to, Uncle." he turned his way with a smile, which faltered as he remembered what he was obliged to do that afternoon, "I just don't know if I should be missing my firebending presentation with Father."

"Oh... well, you can always come down after that. You do know how to get around quickly, Nephew." he suggested; the Prince turned away, remembering how he'd come to learn what he had told his uncle.

"I do, Uncle."


Bending the flames away from her body, Azula grit her teeth, feeling the heat lap up on her extremities; even if she was more than capable of bending the flames of the Imperial Firebenders, every bit of harm they could do to her was nothing in comparison to what the Avatar might be capable of doing. She took a deep breath as she held her stance, staring them down; she did not cockily smirk at them, but simply glared them down, waiting for the next volley of fireballs that was bound to come her way.

"Again!" she demanded, and her men heeded her; she reached forward to the fireballs that were coming her way, feeling them like she would her own fire.

Given she was in tune with her element, she doubted she'd even need to be able to see to block their attack, but her eyes were a weapon in and of themselves; her glare made her men hesitate, unsure how she would respond, or where she would direct her ferocious attack. She raised a hand up, bending a wall of flames between her and the Imperial Firebenders, small enough that she should dedicate energy into a jet of flames by the sole of her right foot; once the fireballs had all been subsumed into her wall of flames, she let go of it, and sent out a stream of flames, twisting her body around to use her right leg as if were her arm, dropping her left hand down toward the deck to steady her balance.

Once she'd done enough with that attack, keeping the Imperial Firebenders at bay, even if only for a moment, she reached both of her hands to the deck, feeling her weight shift to them, before she was able to launch herself back up, without any assistance from her firebending. Momentarily airborne, she eyed her men while she was upside down, before firing two jets from the soles of her feet, creating a fire stream which knocked two of the men down. She smirked, thinking herself more than capable of taking down the rest, weaving out of the way of a fire stream sent by one of them; she then sent out a low kick, weakening his stance before she blocked another fireball, this time with her hand, nullifying the flame itself.

"You really ought to try harder than that." she chided him, before flipping herself over once more, her feet sending out fireballs toward another guard, who probably thought himself able to abuse the momentary distraction she had experienced.

He grunted as he stumbled back, before the Princess charged a bolt of flames in her right hand; she leapt forward, grasping him by the left arm, before she fired the bolt right at his head, knocking him straight to the ground, and unconscious. The other Imperial Firebenders seemed rather unnerved by her move, but continued to attack her with their firebending; though it was rather impressive in terms of strength, their forms were simple and predictable. Azula spun her hands around, dispersing the flames as they came her way, though they licked up her arms and legs; she grit her teeth from the heat, but tried her best to keep a straight face. Ducking under a fire stream, she kicked her left leg out toward the Imperial Firebender who made it, sending her own fire stream out which hit him square in the gut and threw him over. She then weaved around another fireball that was aimed right at her head, before sending a volley of bolts toward the remaining guards, keeping them on their toes.

"Too slow." she mocked them, before making a low sweeping kick as two of them sent fire streams toward her; though their flames were impressive, they were left completely open once they were tripped over by the arc of flames she had sent out from her foot.

The Princess then jumped up, charging bolts of fire on each of her finger tips, spinning her hands around to create fire whips, which she was able to strike the last two remaining guards; they ripped themselves free by using their own firebending to break the whips, but were too slow to stop her from reaching them. She jabbed one in the gut, making him lurch over before she grasped the hand of the other, holding off the fireball he had charged in his hand; he tried to shoot it at her head, but ended up hitting the deck beside her, before she uppercut him with her fist covered in flames. He stumbled back, and almost looked like he was about to fight back, before he fell right down onto his backside, which made her almost want to laugh.

"That was a good spar." she commended their efforts; they were good firebenders, but they weren't fast enough to hit her.

The Princess glanced back up along the deck, looking at all the other guards, some of whom were only just recovering from the beating she'd given them; she nodded, thinking that they handled her well, given they had actually been able to defend themselves. She cracked her knuckles, and stretched her hands and arms out, momentarily feeling the bliss of having worked out to the point where she was almost tired, but not too much so. Azula wasn't so lazy that she'd just train herself to exhaustion and laze about for the rest of the day; she had a mission to complete, even if she was yet to find evidence of the Avatar's presence at the Air Temples she had visited.

She still had some scrolls to read, especially those she'd ended up procuring from the Northern Air Temple; the colonists there had been holding the secrets of the Air Nomads, even if they didn't understand them. She could, because unlike them, she was already well aware of what had happened at the Air Temples and why; the Avatar was hiding from the world, and even if she didn't fully understand why, she was sure she could understand him before she even encountered the last airbender.

Striding along over the deck, she approached the staircase in the centre, and walked on down, momentarily glancing back to her guards, who were still recovering from the beating she'd given them, "You're dismissed." she clarified an order that she ought to give; they shouldn't just lie on the deck for the rest of the afternoon because she didn't explicitly tell them to leave.

Turning her attention back down the stairs, she continued along, walking past a few servants, who were even more cautious in her presence; after she interrogated Ning, word must have gotten around, so they were even more afraid of inconveniencing her. They didn't dare to speak, simply looking away as she strode past; she cocked a smirk, proud of the fear she could incite into them, though she realised it wasn't really going to help her much. She still wanted the servants to do their jobs, after all, and she couldn't have the people tending to her every need thinking she was going to go around and kill them on the spot for making a mistake. Perhaps she might throw them off her ship, at the next port, at the very worst, but she had no intention of getting the blood of a foolish servant on her hands.

Lo and Li were the only people to earn her ire as of recent, and they had been quickly dispensed of; she would be immensely disappointed if they appeared at the palace once she returned- she did not want to see their faces again after what they had pulled on her. She did not spite her father for what he had done, but she would try and prevent any kind of stupid intervention he might have planned for her. She was to find the Avatar with her skill, wit and the knowledge she could gather, and if he wanted to stop her from doing that because of some stupendous argument about 'perverse knowledge', she would simply remind him by a short letter that it was technology and knowledge that had allowed the Fire Nation to surpass the other nations, and that their superiority lay in that knowledge, not in the power of their flames. Even if she trained herself everyday with the intention of becoming the greatest firebender in the world, she knew that firebending was not everything when it came to strength; strength of mind was something that she needed, and she knew that someone like her uncle, no matter how great a bender he happened to be, was only able to achieve his feats through wit and intelligence. She could not see how else one could command an army to conquer Ba Sing Se.

She got back to her room quickly enough, and opened the door, scanning across her desk, glad that the message had gotten out; the scrolls she had there hadn't been moved whatsoever, "Brilliant." she pursed her lips upward.

She then sat down beside the desk, letting out a sigh, knowing that she'd gotten quite the work-out; though she thought she could go for a spa session, she would dedicate some time to reading her scrolls first. She was only a few days at the very most from the Eastern Air Temple, and though they were set to drop in at a port for resupply soon enough, she was considering what she might need to know before she arrived there. The more she knew about the Air Nomads and their temples, the better a chance she'd have of finding the things she was looking for.

She pulled out a scroll she had retrieved, which was a scroll that described meditation exercises for airbenders, which she found to be rather interesting; there were a lot of parallels between how she herself meditated and how the Air Nomads were purported to. They spent time calming themselves down and detaching themselves from their worries and material desires; though she wasn't intending to be a monk, she understood the principle of non-attachment, and knew that it applied to her firebending. If she didn't become overly emotional when firebending, she would have better control over her element; thus, non-attachment was a tool she could use. The problem she faced was that it seemed very hard to achieve such a mindset.

Princess Azula understood what it was that she wanted, that being to become the best possible heir she could be; becoming capable of running her nation as she wanted to. Defeating and capturing the Avatar was something that was distinct from that, but it was on her path; she wanted to do that so she could prove her worth and earn the respect of not just her uncle and father, but that of her nation as a whole. It also provided her with the opportunity to learn; even if she did not believe that detaching herself from her wants and desires was a reasonable idea, she could use the idea and apply it when she was facing the Avatar, and perhaps, when she ruled as Fire Lord.

She could not use her strength with only her own desires in mind, but that of her nation; those desires ought to align, and thus make her needs that of the world. Even if that was the opposite of what the Air Nomads intended, she knew it was still an application of their philosophy; they were detached from the world, and in contrast, she sought to rule it- it only made sense to attach herself to the desires of her nation, over that of herself as an individual. She was not Fire Lord yet, but she was sure that when she inherited her rightful place, she would rule as a leader capable of taking into account what was best for her people. She might not have lived the life of a peasant in the outer islands, or a factory worker in the capital, but she had to rule for them, as much as she did for herself.

"But who does the Avatar think for?" she mumbled under her breath, knowing that even if the Air Nomads were detached, the Avatar could not be; they were the master of all four elements, the bridge between the human and spirit worlds.

She knew that the Avatar could not remain detached from the world, which was why they had to serve 'balance' as they understood it. Of course, this was in opposition to the great march of progress that Sozin had intended and she understood that the Avatar, wherever they were, would oppose it. She had no idea why they had not appeared and fought the Fire Nation; there had to be a reason they were hiding, even if she couldn not understand it yet. Perhaps they were conflicted, and did not want to be attached, and their Air Nomad philosophy had forced them to isolate themselves and ignore the world. The only question then, was where the Avatar would spend those one hundred years, detached and oblivious to the world's affairs. The most isolated mountains, islands or the frozen wilderness of the poles; she just hoped he was at one of the Air Temples, hiding from the world, and not somewhere she wouldn't even think to look.

"Where? Where did he go?"