I Don't own Avatar the last air bender.

chapter 47

The thing Toph hated the most about her attire was the shoes. The layers of clothes weighted her, the skin paint suffocated her, but the shoes? Oh, the shoes were just the worse. They were hard to walk with and made it very difficult for her to feel the ground below.

But some sacrifices had to be made, Toph supposed as she was led through the palace. The servant that guided her to her "tea party" with the princess were unexpectedly professional and forthcoming, she honestly expected a bit more bigotry and racism to the little blind earth kingdom girl. Then again, they worked in the fire lord's palace, so their actions reflected on him. She to would do her best if her direct boss was someone like Ozai.

Before long, she came to a room that was most likely the princess's private chamber. She senses two girls inside, one sat stoically and the other bunched in her sit. Form Zuko's description, she could already guess who is most likely Azula out of the two.

"Lady Beifong, here for the tea party." Her guide introduced her.

"Let her in." Called a calm voice from the room.

And so they did.

As the servants left her alone with the two other girls, Toph began her courtesy and bowed to the approximate directions of the princess. People will start asking questions if a blind girl seemingly knows where everything is located after all.

"Your highness, it's a great honor to be in your presence."

Azula thanked her and had her friend, Ty Lee, help Toph to her sit. From there, they had small talk. Azula asked Toph how the Beifongs were doing as new vessels and if the crown can help in any way, the princess also inquired about the quality of life and the culture of Gaoling. She really didn't act like Zuko painted her to be.

"You have been with Zuko for some time as he was away, correct?" Azula asked. "I hope he didn't cause too many problems, he was always… expressive."

No lies there, at least none that her bending could catch.

"Not at all." Toph answered. "He is a great company to be around. I owe him a lot for rescuing me in my time of need, you have a great brother."

"Indeed I do." Azula said and once again Toph felt no lies. She did, however, felt something… something that she couldn't get her fingers on.

"By the way." The princess started. "Pardon me if it's a bit rude, but what can you say about Zuko's companions? The female kind, to be precise."

Ah, the overprotective sister, Toph wondered when she will meet that stereotype. Well, no reason to lie here. She told them about Jasmine and Katara, as much as a blind girl can tell. Their hobbies, their behavior, and so on.

"And how… close are they to him?"

Okay, Toph was far from the most socially aware girl, but even she knew the tread lightly now.

"They… are considered good friends." Toph hesitantly said. "They think highly of the prince and he on them in return."

"I see…" Azula slowly nodded. "And are any of the interactions may be considered inappropriate?"

"Not that I know of." Toph said. "Neither them nor Suki."

"Who's Suki?" The princess asked sharply.

Crap, Toph's tongue slipped.

"She's the head of the Kyoshi warriors now, she and Zuko were seen spending time together."

Sorry Suki, but it's every girl for herself. Toph had no intention of coming to blows with an overprotective (and probably unstable) sister.

"So there is another one…" The princess muttered for herself and Toph came to a sudden realization.

She recognized now why the heartbeats of Azula felt familiar, they were similar to the heartbeats of Jasmine, Katara and Suki whenever they were close to Zuko. Oh spirits, don't tell her that Azula looked at her brother in the same way, that's… That's just messed up. A characteristic that she found summarizing the entire royal family.

That'll probably explain why Azula acted so mean to Zuko, she was… what was it called again, something like thunder?

Spirits, that family is messed up, no wonder they went for world domination. Was there anyone in that family that may be considered normal?


Across the entire world, not a single person sneezed.


"How is Zuko, by the way?" Toph desperately tried to change the subject. "Where is he anyway?"

"In the palace's dungeon, if I'm not mistaken." Azula answered. "Although I would advise against paying a visit. Every entry is reported to the fire lord, and he is in a… complicated mood as of late."

Noted.

At the same time, a knock on the door was heard. "Your highness, the trail should start soon!"

"I'll be right there." The princess said before turning to Toph. "I'm afraid that duty calls, so we'll have to cut this short. Ty Lee, please accompany miss Beifong back to her parents. Take your time."

"Sure thing, Azula!" The cheerful girl enthusiastically saluted. Strange, why did Toph sensed that the girl lied?

As Azula left, the other girl turned to Toph. "Alright, want to have a quick tour to see the palace?" Toph just blinked at her unimpressed, making the other noble girl cringe. "Right… my bad, sorry."

"Where is the privy?" Toph asked.


"The subject of this accusation is none other than Mi-Dved, the only known son of the bandit lord Mi-Sha." The royal accused started the hearing. "He is accused of theft from fire nation citizens, thuggery, participation in illegal fights and working against the nation under his father. And that's even before he met the prince."

"The list of charges then grows to disregards of a superior's order, assault on numerous loyal soldiers, impersonating as fire nation officer, property damage and threatening officers while knowingly protecting an air bender." The royal accuser listed the earth bender's supposed crimes. "Quite frankly, with his family tree it's very damning. Just look at him, this is a thug if I ever saw one!"

The earth bender scowled as he didn't appreciate the old man's words, unfortunately only strengthening the accusations against him.

"Please let's keep things civil and professional, accuser." Iroh said. "This is not a place for such personal attacks."

"Be it as it may." Ozai spoke from his throne. "The accusations do ring loudly and doesn't draw a good picture. What does the defense have to say?"

"Plenty." Iroh said. "For starters, all those theft accusations, thuggery and illegal fights are from his time growing in the streets of Amora. A missed meal would mean the death of both him and his little sister, both children at the time. Besides, considering the very same nature of Amora that the offence rallies on, any fire nation citizen that may have suffered theft by Mi-Dved is to be involved the illegal nature of the city and therefore lacks the right to act as a victim. All things considered, he had done nothing against the nation"

"Once more, it seems that the offence had taken a stance to amplify and mislead with the accusations. Mi-Dved, as a person under the direct employ of the prince, is outside the chain of command. What's more, he was lent to the military as an advisor and an expert in combat in that environment. His very duty was to clash with the high command when it was needed."

"Also, part of his duties were to train the soldiery in tactics against sand benders, a duty which meant sparing harshly with said soldiers as well. And my I remind the jury that the air bending abilities of his little sister, the only family he knew and grew up with, were a recent development that even caught him by surprise. We cannot fault any brother for caring for their siblings. Besides, the fact that both stand before us when they could have easily escaped speaks greatly for their loyalty."

"To conclude, Mi-Dved is a hero of the nation. He was the one who broke the gates of Amora, he was the first person to step a foot inside. He protected the men and women next to him with vigor while risking his life. And most importantly, he was the one who landed the killing blow to Mi-Sha."

"I don't know about you, but for me there is no bigger proof for Mi-Dved's innocence then the single fact that he went up against his own father for the nation, nearly dying in the process. He's a young man who saved countless lives in the short time he was in service of Zuko."

Ozai mulled at the words, and Iroh knew that his brother was less then pleased. His little brother had no way to condemn Mi-Dved without doing the same to a very big portion of the army, not even counting the fact of how Ozai would look if he punishes a war hero with the chargers broken so thoroughly.

As much as Ozai would like to think otherwise, Iroh knew that his little brother cared a lot about what people think of him. And the one thing Ozai doesn't want to he known for (besides weak) is a hypocrite. As much as the fire lord hates it, he has no other choice but to null the accusations.

"In light of the defense, I judge the accused innocent of all charges." Ozai said in a barely contained contempt, he obviously hoped to get more out of this case. "Next!"


A wail of an animal was heard as Azula shot her azure flame at the demented creature.

She was at the valley finally, after hours of following directions she got from Nabon. She wasn't even ten minutes inside this spirits damned valley when she was attacked by the local fauna, and what fauna it was.

The beasts here had cursed faces plastered at random parts on their bodies. It was hideous, like if a child with mediocre drawing skills at best let his imagination loose. Even some of the rock plants seemed to have faces and come to life!

Zuko had said nothing about monster infestation, when she's back, she's going to give him a piece of her mind! In any case, those things were just as vunrable to her bending as regular beasts, if a bit more intelligent and coordinated. At least she got some enjoyment watching them fall.

No one will stand in her way, no one.

As she shot a lightning at a demented wolf thing, she wondered where should she go to reach the pool that this "mother of faces" was supposed to hunt. As if the spirits were answering her, something that she was beginning to thing was more than likely here, a loud explosion was heard from a certain part of the forest. With nothing better to do, she followed it.

The first thing she noticed was the various corpses laying around, each of them suffered deep trauma. Some had deep claw marks, some had broken necks, some were gutted and some looked like they burnt. All in all, it was a very brutal display of carnage.

Azula walked past a what used to be a wolf, it's limbs were broken beyond repair as its gut had a face that was locked in pure agony until the worms are done their job. Whoever is responsible, is an inhuman psychopath.

Hiding behind a bush, she looked at the clearing in front of her. She recognized the pool, finally, but it was a side view for the real show. Another demented animal, a winged lion hybrid of some kind, that had a few faces plastered on different spots on its body fought a very familiar creature.

"What is Zuko's accursed lapdog is doing here?!" She whispered to herself as she watched the fight.

The lion roared and Azula had to cover her ears, it seemed to be a sonic attack of some kind. She noticed Xing folding its ears back in pain as well but went on to shoot an explosion to the lion's legs, stopping the roar. A big cloud of dirt and dust formed around the hybrid.

From that cloud, the lion flew upward with its majestic wings, but the hound was ready. Xing jumped up to the other animal and bit the right wing, hard. The lion cried in rage as it was prepared to strake at Xing with its claws, but Xing clawed one of the faces in the eyes and tore them off. Making the lion cry in pain and fall.

They fell with a thud into the now even larger dust cloud, Azula noticed that Xing made sure to be on top when the two beasts fell. From there, the cloud hid the fight from Azula's sight, but not her ears. The violent sounds of the creatures was heard loud and clear as they wailed for dominance, the sound of flesh being turn apart was very much clear.

Suddenly, silence.

As the dust cleared, Azula saw that Xing stood victorious atop of the bloody mess that used to be the lion. Oh well, at least she knew now what butchered all those animals. Xing than bent its head upward and released an impressive jet of flames, roaring all the while.

A clear sign of dominance, if Azula ever saw one.

Just as Azula was about to decide if she should move out of her bush or not, the entire scene grew ire. The surrounding started to darken as the pool shone in a glowing spiritual light, and an ancient feminine voice was heard.

"Invader!" Azula had never heard something like this before, it was as if her soul was frozen at the presence of whatever it is. "Defiler! Abomination!"

A figure started to rise from the pool. It was even more weird than the abominations Azula had the displeasure of seeing. A head bigger than her entire body started to rise from the pool, an aberration of multiple faces stuck side by side with branch like horns made it what it was. The thing was without any features on any of the faces beside a mouth, yet Azula was sure that it could sense everything just fine.

"You will pay for what you've done, virus!"

The being just continued to rise on and on. Azula had never felt something so powerful in her life. Even her father, the strongest person Azula knew, with all the power up he got from the stone, couldn't hold a candle to this spirit.

When Zuko told her about the Mother Of Faces, he severely undersell just how powerful it was!

As the spirit was manifesting, however, Xing sniffed the air suspiciously. Then, without an explanation, it quickly stepped to the side and sent a blast to the direction it came from. It made no sense until Azula saw the blast hit something and sending it to a tree nearby.

To her amazement, a grey-blue wolf became visible (and very pissed). No doubt it was another spirit of some kind, it had this same otherworldly feeling as the manifesting giant if a lot weaker. The two canines immediately proceeded to maul each other.

"Kill it, my wolf!" The ever growing spirit shouted.

The wolf, Azula had to say, fought much better than the other animal she saw and actually managed to give Xing a hard time despite being about twice smaller. The wolf spit up… moth of all things, what?

The moth things flew to Xing attempting to do who knows what, but Xing let out a roar so strong that it turned the insects to dust. There was probably some spiritual bull Azula wasn't aware of, because insects aren't supposed to so fragile.

It did, however, made the wolf pause for a moment, and it was a moment too much. Xing pounced at the smaller animal, and the wolf had no time to react. The battle continued, but much to the favor of the black furred dog.

It was then, when Xing sent the wolf flying against a tree again and made it limp as it got up, that the Mother Of Faces intervened.

"No!"

A gigantic hand made of what seemingly was wood crushed to the ground were Xing was like a man spluttering a mosquito. When it rose up again, Xing was nowhere to be seen. As in not even the flattened remains.

"Are you hurt?" The mother asked in concern the limping wolf, who just let out a small pitiful wail in response.

"Come here." The feminine spirit said in a soothing tone as she raised her hand to the wolf direction. "It's all better now."

The wolf suddenly began to glow, and its injuries seemed to vanish. It happily barked once the process is finished.

"Now then" The mother turned her gaze (or at least the main face, to Azula's direction "What is a human doing all the way here?"

She's been spotted.


"Toph? Toph, where are you? It's not funny, you hear? Toph?"

Ty Lee was in deep trouble. She let the little girl pet out of her sight for exactly one minute so the girl could have her privacy and Toph disappeared. For Agni's sake, Ty Lee was a master chi blocker with experience of chasing down her annoyingly identical sisters. How does a little blind girl got the edge on her?

What's worse is that if something happens to the little miss Beifong, it may cause an international incident. That by itself was bad, but if someone digs deeper, they might find out the little switcheroo she, Mai, and Azula did. And that will get them in really big trouble, especially with how Azula's dad handles his midlife crisis.

"Hi!" Ty Lee got the attention of a nearby maid. "Did you see a little blind girl wearing green, this height? No? Thanks anyway, sorry to bother you."

Damn it, how does a blind girl move that fast?! How is she going to find Toph now… Wait, there is one group of people who always know what happens in any part of the palace!

"Hi!" She yelled at the ceiling. "Secret service guys!"

Nobody answered her, rude. She knew they were there, she could sense their aura.

"I know you're there!" She yelled. "Don't ignore me!"

Still silence, although she could detect a small shift of amusement in their aura. Oh, so they want to play this game? Fine! Time to bring the ballista.

"If you don't tell me where she went, I'll tell Azula that I saw you peeping on us in the bathroom!" Ty Lee threatened. "Let's see how her father reacts when she tells him!"

Now that caused a spike of fear. Ty Lee was of course bluffing, and there was no peeping to begin with, but since when proving guilt had stopped Ozai from burning people in recent months? A quick tapping in a random direction was heard, the path to Toph.

"Thank you!" Ty Lee said as she ran along.

Azula would be proud of her.


"How did it happen?" One of the guards in front of Toph asked as she ended up playing cards (with small bumps on them so they would be blind friendly) with the two guards on duty. It was honestly a good question.

It started something like this…

.

.

.

Toph went down to the cells where the princess said that Zuko was being kept, with her skills it was extremely easy to figure out where these cells are. Toph also had an easy time avoiding people that would have asked her questions, also she didn't have much against the people who were inside the ceiling and walls. But they didn't bother her, so she was fine.

It was only when she got to the cells themselves that she had no choice but reveal herself. There were two guards there, and there was no way to sneak past them.

"Halt!" One of them said as he saw her. "What are you doing here?!"

"S-sorry, I -I got l-lost…" Toph pit on the meek blind girl mask. "I w-went to the b-bathroom a-and then…"

"Relax, Chi, she's just a lost kid" The other guard put a hand on his partner's shoulder before turning his attention to Toph. "How did you end up here?"

"I was at a tea party with the princess, but she had to go to this trail thing. After that I needed to go to the bathroom, so lady Ty Lee accompanied me. I remembered that My parents told me to take my time, they didn't want me to be in the trail."

"They say that I shouldn't be there even if I can't see anything. I know that something bad happens there, but no one tells me exactly why. So I took the long route and now I lost. Sorry for the trouble…"

"No, no, it's fine!" The second man said in a calming tone as he held his hands. More out of reflex, as he knew that she was blind. "You can stay here until someone will come to fetch you."

"So… how was the palace so far in your eyes?" The first man said, to which Toph gave a very unimpressed gaze.

"Idiot." The second man hit the first one in the head before turning back to Toph. "Please forgive Chi here, my lady, he fell on his head two too many times when he was an infant."

"Hi"

From there, they had some small talk in which each told about himself a little. Somewhere in the middle of this, Toph introduced a pack of cards made especially for the blind which caught the men's interest. One thing led to another, and they were teaching her how to play various games that she was sure her parents wouldn't approve.

.

.

.

"Do you have any six?" Guard number one asked.

"Go fish." Toph said as the man grumbled.

"Can't believe I'm loosing a card game to a blind girl… how is it even physically possible?"

"A story to tell the family." Guard number two nodded.

"Please no." The first one said un dismay. "My pa will never let me live it down."

"Your fault that you suck." The second guard said as a matter of fact.

"Toph?! Are you here?" Ty Lee's voice was heard. Oh well, fun's over.

"Over here!" Toph called

It was a few seconds later that the acrobatic girl came barging down and tightly hugged Toph.

"Where were you?! You know how much stress I was under?" Ty Lee said as she hugged Toph even tighter. "Who knows what could have happened. What was I supposed to say to Azula and your parents then?"

Okay, this was getting really annoying. But… Toph did ditched her, so maybe it was fair.

"Sorry, I lost my way…" She had an act to keep after all.

"Oh, no problem." The older girl finally let her go. "The most important thing is that nothing happened."

Ty Lee then looked at the guards. "Thank you for keeping an eye on her, and sorry for the trouble."

"It was no problem." The second guard said.

"Hey, what were you playing?" The girl asked in interest as she saw the cards. After a brief explanation, she looked as if she pondered on something.

"You know what?" She finally said. "I need to go back to Azula, moral support and all of that, but I can come by your parents and tell them that you'll be staying at the palace during the trail. Something tells me that they wouldn't be too against it, if it's not a trouble of course."

"None by us." The first guard said.

"It's fine by me too." Toph decided. She could use the time to discreetly make some escape routes for Zuko with her earth bending.

"Great!" Ty Lee exclaimed.


"What are you doing here, human?" The ancient spirit asked her as Azula schooled her face.

"I have come seeking answers about a person who disappeared without a trace." She said. "My mother is lost for years, and her last whereabouts were somewhere around this place."

"My condolences, child." The spirit said. "But I see not how can I help, my set of skills is lacking for such a task."

"I believe that you have met my mother about six years ago, perhaps with a man that already asked your favor?"

The spirit took a good look at her, it was honestly quite unnerving. Azula, however, didn't break her expression, she had to put a strong front or else who knows what the spirit will do to her.

"Yes… I do see the resemblance." The Mother said. "You have a face just as pretty as your mother."

"Do you truly wish to know?" The spirit asked. "The answers are not something a daughter would like to hear."

"I have the right to know what happened to my mother!"

That seemed to hit something in that otherworldly specter, the spirit's face grew more… humane? Azula didn't have the right words. Understanding maybe?

It was then that the wolf spirit, sniffed the air around Azula suspiciously and let a low growl after a few seconds. Just like that, the atmosphere became intense as the spirit's expression became cold.

"My companion says that you have the smell of that hellhound on you, and nowt from just meeting it through a track. Explain, now." There was no room for compromise in the spirit's tone, it may very well kill Azula if she didn't give the right answer, and quickly.

"It's my brother's pet." Azula admitted. "He got it around two years or so ago. I only met it a few days ago when I was sent to bring him back home. And even then, that disgusting furball was in a cage all that time!"

"That thing isn't some pet!" The Mother spat. "It's a disease, a scourge! A legacy as vile as this species master. A mare mortal cannot hope to tame such agent of chaos."

"Never mind, the truth will come out soon enough." The spirit said as it slowly raised its hand. "Now stand still."

A branch like hand sot and suffocated Azula's head faster than the princess could blink.

"Don't resist."

Resist? Resist how?!

Then she felt as if something invaded her head. She was Remembering memories from her life without thinking about them, it was like she was a scroll that someone opened at a random page. She remembered her mother, she remembered her interactions with her brother when they were younger. She remembered the day she met Mai and Ty Lee, and more, and more.

The spirit, for who else could it be, gave little thought to most of those memories. The only ones she didn't disregard immediately were the ones where mom was present. All the times she favored Zuko, all the times she called Azula a monster.

She was right, Azula knew, but it still hurt.

Then came the more recent memories. The burning and banishment, the rumors about Zuko, the mission to put her brother in chains… The spirit dwelled in those, scanning Zuko extremely well. Only after that did the spirit left Azula's mind with a tusk.

"So the Oni did return." The sheer disgust in that tone… Just who was this 'Oni'? "And it found a most troublesome puppet…"

The spirit then looked directly at her, and Azula had to forcefully stop from gulping.

"Human…" The Mother started. "By all rights, I should end your existence here and now. However, there my be a way that agrees to both of our… interests."

Azula kept quiet, she didn't dare to make a sound that may insult the wrathful spirit.

"You, soul of tar, want to know what happened to your mother. I can show you everything, from start to finish, all I ask from you is one single thing." The spirit said as it leant towards Azula, they looked at each other eye to eye as much it was possible. "Kill your brother."

… "What?"

"Don't play coy with me, soul of tar. I know that you desire to rid yourself of his existence." It said as if stating a fact.

"But…" The spirit said almost playfully, in a cold way. "Perhaps avenging your father would be a strong enough motivation?"

"What are you talking about?!" Avenging her father, what nonsense was that? Avenging for what? And Zuko? He doesn't have the guts… does he?

"You have noticed a great change in your brother, have you not?" The spirit questioned. "What if I told you that he is under supernatural influence?"

"Continue…"

"The helmet your brother wears, it hides the Oni. An abomination whose sole purpose is to enslave everything to its vile will. It preys on the desperate, feeds them with false hope and gives them power, all the while it deafens them with all of their fears and mends them to its demands."

"So sweetly the Oni takes hold on the mind of its host. And by the looks of it, your brother is past the point of no return."

And Azula believed it. As crazy as it sounded, it made the most sense. There is no way that Zuzu could change like that without literally being possessed by a spirit.

"And how does my father comes into this?"

"You have noticed this 'stone of Agni' that the host gifted to your father, right?" The spirit explained. "If it really is what it is or something else as I suspect matters little, it corrupts your father to his worse all the same."

"What?!" Azula had her suspicions, but this outright fact spiting took even her by surprise.

"I recognize that type of artifact. Giving power while taking away self control, making the target act on base instincts. The Oni had made a table, and had your father jump on the plate with an apple in his mouth as a meal. A lamb to the slaughter."

That… Made so much sense! Whatever took over Zuko makes her father to loose credibility, preparing the stage for a usurpation. Oh, spirits, the trail is a trap to her father, not Zuko!

"What do I need to do?"

"Do we have a deal first?" The spirit asked. "There is no turning back."

"Yes." Azula agreed. "Give me answers, and I'll kill my brother."

"Excellent." The gigantic spirit then pulled a small pristine silver knife, as in small for human standard. On the spirit in looked almost comical as the Mother held it between two fingers. "This blade is made of celestial silver, drenched by her tears. It is maybe the only thing the Oni can't sense. You have its trust to get close, use it. Hide this blade behind your back, wait for the moment the host will have to put the helmet off, and than stab him."

"Make him pay for what he's done! A spirit never forgets, drive this blade between his lungs!"

The tone, the hate… There was obviously some history here, but Azula cared not about it. She took the blade and hid it.

"Very well, I agree. Now about my mother, tell me what happened."

"I can do better." It said. "I can show you."

The spirit lowered her branch like hands to Azula's head, and this time the princess didn't try to resist. Soon enough, her entire sight was obscured by the branches that grew around her. When her eyes opened up again, she relived a memory not her own.

"Ursa, will you marry me?"

Who was that guy? Why did she feel so happy? Wait… did he call her Ursa just now?!

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Azula said from her mouth, but the voice was unmistakably that of her mother.

Wait, now she remembered. Or actually Ursa remembered for her? Anyway, this guy was Ikem. A childhood friend that went with her as an actor in their theater. They often played the main male and female lead and she had a crush on him for years and they became lovers.

Wait what? No she didn't! Azula doesn't even like theaters!

But Ursa does, and she is Ursa. Who even is Azula?

This arrand thought was discarded in front of the sheer happiness she felt right now. Everything was perfect as she was in the arms of the one she loved.

Then the news came, she was to be wed to the prince, to Ozai, to dad. Dad, what? No, her father was right next to her trying to comfort her. With just a single piece of paper, her entire world crumbled around her.

The accursed carriage came, with the fire lord no less. As much as she wanted to die, she couldn't do it to her parents, nor to Ikem. Oh Ikem, she couldn't imagine how he'll react. He must be heartbroken.

She remembered Ikem trying to reach her, but was forced down by the guards. She managed to get him mercy for attacking the fire lord, but the look in his eyes was too much for her to bear.

She remembers her wedding. Instead of marrying her love, she married a monster. A handsome and beautiful monster, she will admit, but a monster all the same. She still remembered his words, how he ordered her to forget about her life before and how she belonged to him now.

The loveless marriage continued. She was in the most prestigious position a woman can ask for, surrounded by the best of anything and a princess to the most powerful nation in the world. She was never more miserable.

Then her first ray of light came, her first child. A son she named Zuko. She loved him dearly, more then anything, and she'll do her best to protect him.

No! She hated Zuzu!

What? What nonsense is it? Yes, he was the child of Ozai as well, but she wouldn't let her emotions wild on a baby, especially her baby. Zuzu, what a funny name. Sounds like something a little sister would call him.

A year later another baby came, a girl this time. The baby was named Azula, at Ozai's insistence to get his father's approval. It mattered little, she loved her little girl all the same. Just as strongly as she loved her son.

No you didn't! You never loved her like Zuko!

What?! Of course she did! She loved hem just the same! Argh, the fatigue of giving birth a second time is affecting her.

A year went by. Azula almost immediately shown signs of fire bending, Zuko didn't, she was worried. She didn't care if her children were benders or not, but Ozai certainly did. He made his displeasure known, even went as far as threatening to kill her son. Oh, how relieved she was when Zuko showed signs of bending as well.

She remembered the betrayal of the maid she even thought about calling a family, how it stung her. Almost as much as the terrible news when Ozai, that monster, told her with pride that Ikem was dead. She remembered their fight then, how he swore to treat Zuko as if he really wasn't Ozai's son.

She remembered the next years of misery. She tried to protect both her children from that monster's machinations, but she was far too powerless. She was in good terms with the crown prince and his son, but with the two away in war she was basically alone in the palace.

She was in somewhat natural terms with her father in law, the fire lord Azulon, after he explained the damned prophecy about a child of Roku's and Sozin's bloodline ending the war. He never showed regret, a fire lord can never do something like that, but he did express that he took no joy and would have avoided everything given tha chance.

He also explained his reasoning. It was either that, or wait another generation of global war for her children to mature and be wed off, and then another generation for their children to mature enough. Billions of dead, or the suffering of two. It wasn't even a question.

Oh, how she cursed grandpa Roku that day. Him, Sozin, and that damned prophecy.

She lived her years and saw her children grew. Zuko was becoming a fine young man with high morals, if a bit prudish and lacking in social skills. But Azula was the one who worried her.

Of course she did. She was a monster after all, didn't she?

What? No! Of course not! Azula was her sweet daughter!

But she had problems, even Ursa will admit it. Her daughter was a prodigy, plain and simple, and it was a blessing and a curse. Azula shared far too many traits with Ozai for Ursa's liking, especially the thrive for power and the need to dominate others.

Usually, such things were dealt with by parental education and the environment, but here Ozai nourished those aspects, and the environment encouraged her with praises. Ursa was doing her hardest to at least hold back such influence, but was failing hardly. If anything, Ursa's attempts were only pushing her precious daughter farther away.

Ursa wasn't perfect, she knew it. She could have done more, she could have done better. She had her fallings, like that time where she called her own daughter a monster. Ursa regretted it, deeply. Seeing how her daughter was acting so unlike a girl her age should, so like her father… Ursa couldn't help but imagine the doll Azula torn apart as a person when her daughter will grow up. It was the strew that broke the camelephant's back. Ursa was ashamed of herself in that moment.

As you should…

It continued like that for months, until the terrible news of her nephew in law's death came. She was devastated, Azulon was devastated even more. Her children were devastated, even Azula although she tried to hide it. A sign she took as her daughter not being beyond saving. Only one person wasn't hurt, quite the opposite actually.

Oh, Ozai paid his respects, but by his lips only. She knew him enough to know how giddy he was inside. Then, the fool did the one thing he shouldn't have done, he overreached. Seriously, what had he thought when he said the things he did to a grieving grandfather she had no idea, but she supposed that it showed how little that monster knew and cared about human emotions.

She only knew it because her son came crying, saying that his sister told him that Ozai was going to kill him. After comforting him, she went to her daughter. Ursa fully expect Azula to to make ut up just to bully her brother, but after talking to her daughter, the truth was much, much worse.

Ursa immediately went to confront her husband, demanding to know exactly what was going on. He told her everything, as well as his intentions to kill his son. If Ursa had the power, she would have killed this disgusting creature on the spot, but she didn't. She hadn't for a long time.

In a desperate move, she suggested a compromise to save her son's life. She will make a deadly untraceable poison and assassinate Azulon. The price, her banishment and abandonment of her children.

And she agreed, spirits damn her she agreed. She maybe could have bargained for better terms, she certainly could have tried harder, but she didn't. She could lie to herself and say that it was the only way to save her son, but she will always know it was just an excuse.

The recent years took a toll on her. The heartbreak, the stress, the abuse. Seeing how her children, especially her prescious daughter, were taken away from her and transforming into something terrible. She wanted an out, she had to get away, so she took it.

It was all to easily done. A single drop in his tea, hand delivered by her own hands, and the most powerful man in the entire world was crawling on the floor before her.

She would lie if she said that she didn't feel the tiniest bit of satisfaction. That man before her was the one who was responsible for all her suffering, he destroyed her life because of a few words from a withering old man. She could bring herself to care about his reasons.

And then she ran, left the palace that was her prison for the past few years like a thief in the night. She fleed all the way to the only place in the entire world that she knew will always care for her, only to find that her parents were dead and her old home in the possession of a strange named Nabon.

When that Nabon figure proclaimed himself to be her Ikem, she didn't believe him, but he said things to her that only Ikem would know. He then claimed to meet a spirit that could change a person's appearance, he suggested that Ursa would do the same. That way, they could start over and have their happy life back.

She agreed.

He took her to the place were he met said spirit, this Mother Of Faces, they waited months until it apeared. When the spirit came, and Ursa gave her wish, it tested her with a plainer face. A test Ursa passed. It then told her that she will forget everything from her old life.

Ursa knew it was a lie. Ikem remembered the past well enough, there was no reason she would be different. But the spirit looked inside of her, it knew that she wanted to forget. The guilt of abandoning her children was killing her. There was a small chance that Zuko may grow up fine, but Azula… the girl was lost. Ursa had cried herself to sleep every night because of it.

Then the spirit did her work, then Ursa knew no more as darkness closed in around her.

.

.

.

What just happened?! Were was she?!

"Oh… perhaps I overdone it." The Mother said as she watched the mortal. "I always forget how fragile mortals are."

"Oh well. In any case, I did my end of the bargain, now it's your turn." The spirit warned her. "You made a pact, you are bound to honor it."

It then turned to the wolf.

"Come, my wolf, we are done here." And the both of them disappeared.

The mortal remained there, still for a moment or two before having a mental breakdown. During the entire episode she had a single question she couldn't answer.

Who is she?

AN

And here is the chapter. Boy, I envy none of those characters right now.

Please tell me what you thought.

Now for the reviews:

orthodox1057 :

Thank you!

Iroh is a complicated character in a position no one envy, both here and in cannon. I Admit that with Ozai, I had to give the population a reason to hate him. As far as tyrants go, he wasn't that oppressive to his people, at least not from what I have seen in the show. During that time I got interested in the SOIAF franchise so one plus one equaled that.

Vaatu may be the "father" of Sai, or a "sperm donor" if you will, but Sai is an entity by itself. It has very much interest that Vaatu stays imprisoned as long as possible. Although I have a little twist that people my found... funny.

02cjd :

Thanks!

For now Zuko is fine with Sai, which can be considered an eldritch being in some aspects. Things are not yet die enough for divine intervention.

Zuko will gain powers from Sai, but not like that. I had something else in mind.

Engineer1869 :

Thank you.

Curses! you have found out Sai's evil plan!

As you can see, there will be a lot for Azula to deal with. She just came back from living almost a decade as her mother, about two third of Azula's entire life. She isn't sure if she's Azula or Ursa at this point, that's some deep psychological shite right there.

Don't worry for the crew, I'm not done with them yet.

deniswanheda :

Thanks.

I liked the wordplay. Ozai's murder will be a service to everyone, that's true. Glad you liked is, Sai will be sure to invest on this later on.

The whips are for Zuko, it is him who Ozai wants to break directly. Any other direction, in Ozai's mind, is stating that Zuko's resolve was too much for Ozai to handle, which is out of question.

I think that I mentioned it before, but the other nations didn't immediately united against the fire nation because it's what they are, nations. A nation isn't inherently good or bad, it just is. Nations aren't friends, they will always serve their own interest, as they should. Governments will always try to utilize things to their advantage, and screw the other party. During that time, the fire nation wasn't more of an enemy to the north pole than the earth kingdom was, and vice versa.

naedinefebruary2 :

Thank you, I tried my best. I'm happy that you liked it so much!

J4M35W1NZ :

Work in progress. There is no connection to the current events, so I'm not writing about it right now, but the people there working around the clock.

FF8cerberus :

Mai is a very talented girl, I agree.

This chapter started to answer about the direction I'll be going with Azula.

A guy can get to be delusional only for so long before having to face reality, and Zuko was delusional far enough. Harsher methods were needed.

Tank you, and I appreciate your review!