Two months later - Azula Pov .
I stalked through the castle as the hustle and bustle began to take hold. My stride paused for half a second as I grimaced before continuing on. When I reached the room where all the noise was coming from, I finally understood why. Zuko had invited his merry band of misfits over.
"You! Why are you free!" The first to scream was the peasant girl with the water quirk. I rolled my eyes internally.
"We need to talk Zuzu." I said ignoring the entire group. I looked around and saw that almost everyone was there. The peasant girl, her brother, the monk, Beifong, Ty Lee, Mai, the warrior Kyoshi and Zuko. Great, it was a party where everyone practically hated me. It would be interesting.
I walked back across the room like I owned it. I ignored the merry band and met Ty Lee's gaze, smiling widely at her. She flinched, paling and looking down as she backed away slightly. Mai who was standing next to her stepped forward to cover her and glared at me. I simply ignored her. In fact, I ignored everyone and focused on Zuko.
"Don't ignore me!" the peasant woman growled, one hand placed on the waterskin on her hip. The water threatened to spill out of its container.
BURN THEM.
"I don't know who you are. Now, where were we, Zuzu, we need to talk." I ignored the girl and looked at Zuko.
"Hey! Don't ignore me! You know who I am! I'm Katara!" the girl exclaimed, I just rolled my eyes.
"I really don't know you, and have some manners, you're in front of royalty," I told her dryly, I could see her grit her teeth.
"You know who I am!" Katara growled, I shrugged.
"I assure you I don't," I said simply.
"Yes you do! I'm the girl who defeated you!" she exclaimed loudly. I looked her up and down.
"Do you know how many peasants I see in my day to day life? Do you think I remember them all? You're not special peasant, so I'll say it again, I don't know you, I don't know who you are and I don't care" I said boredly, I could see the vein on his forehead grow. This was so funny.
"Fine, if you want to play like this it's okay, I beat you once, and I can do it again. You'll go back to the prison where you belong." She growled, raising an eyebrow in Zuko's direction.
"These are supposed to be your guests Zuzu?" I asked mockingly, Zuko made a face, he was about to open his mouth when the peasant girl's brother stepped forward.
"Hey, Katara, surely there's a perfectly reasonable reason for her to be out of where she was locked, Zuko seems calm, so let's calm down and listen to Zuko." The peasant's brother said, I smiled.
"Ah, it's nice to see you again, Sokka, the tactician, Zuko talks a lot about you." I said softly to the man, Sokka looked surprised for a few seconds before preening himself while puffing out his chest.
"Oh yeah? Zuko talking about me? I'm talking to you like my strategies were the ones that led us to victory?" Sokka asked arrogantly, idiotically, but I smiled and nodded anyway.
"Of course, Zuko has nothing but good things to say about you. But… could you tell this peasant girl, who I don't know who she is, to have some manners?" I asked with a pleading face, Sokka gave a disappointed look to Katara, who returned a glare. Sokka paled slightly before clearing his throat.
"I'm sure you remember my sister, Katara, Zuko must have mentioned her too. She has a really strong water quirk!" Sokka said quickly, I put on a thoughtful expression while humming lightly.
"No, I don't know that, Zuzu didn't mention her at all, I don't know who she is." I shrugged.
"Alright! Enough! Fight me already!" Katara exclaimed, finally losing her patience. I stood still with my hands behind my back, waiting for her to move. To my disappointment, Zuko stepped in between us.
"Alright Katara, please calm down, I'll explain everything in a few moments." Zuko said looking at the peasant girl before looking at me with a disappointed look, I raised an eyebrow very unimpressed. He sighed "Azula, would you stop antagonizing Katara?" he pleaded.
"Enemies take a lot of effort Zuzu, a lot for someone I don't know." I said simply, Katara gritted her teeth tightly. She almost sensed that she was going to ignore Zuko and attack me. Once again, she regrettably held back and took a step back.
"I hope there's a good reason for her to be free," she growled loudly. I shrugged.
KILL THEM.
"It's a shame you'll never know, after all, I hate people meddling in my business." I said simply and looked at Zuko in warning. He seemed to be struggling for a few seconds before he sighed and nodded.
"You're not fooling anyone, princess. I may not know when you're lying, but I can feel you laughing internally." Beifong intervened. I glanced at her lazily and smiled sarcastically.
"Beifong, of course I'm laughing, it's funny to see peasants lose their minds," I said amusedly. Beifong snorted.
"And I already told you, you're not fooling anyone." I shrugged at his words.
"Believe what you want Beifong, but, shouldn't you be busier than coming to visit the royal palace? I'm sure your parents are looking for a good husband for you." I said with a sadistic smile, which grew even more when Beifong stopped stiffly and paled considerably.
"How do you know?" she asked through gritted teeth. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"How? I think it's pretty obvious. You're such good friends with Zuzu that I took it upon myself to talk to your parents about your marriage prospects. I'm sure there are some good options, after all, I personally took care of selecting them for you."
"Bastard! That was all your fault?! Do you know how many smug idiots I had to put up with because of you!" Beifong growled as she pointed her finger at me, I was shaking with fury, my smile was from ear to ear.
"My apologies if I overstepped Beifong, I only wanted the best for you as a good friend of my brother." I said simply, mockery dripping from my words and she could hear it. Beifong was considerably angry and stepped forward only for the monk to place a hand on her shoulder and get in the way.
"Toph, calm down, she just wants to make you angry." The monk said calmly.
"Yeah? Great! I did it! Get ready princess because I'm going to kick your ass!" Beifong growled, I laughed amusedly.
BURN THEM ALL.
"Now, Beifong, there's no need to be violent. I'm completely reformed. I don't like pointless fights. I swear on Zuko's honor," I said playfully as I made a cross on my chest. I could hear Zuko slap his face with his palm.
"Yeah right, and I have two functional eyes!" Beifong snorted.
"Toph…" Aang tried to appease once more, Beifong stood still for a few seconds before growling and backing away.
"You're lucky I like you Twinkletoes " Beifong growled, the monk sighed in relief.
"Ah! It's a pleasure to see you, monk Aang" I said with a soft smile, everyone turned to me .
"Yes?!" Aang squealed confused, I nodded.
"Of course, your contributions to helping stop the war by defeating the Fire Lord are well worth it. I'll have the chefs prepare a feast in your honor. I know you had one a few years ago, but it's always an honor to have you in the Fire Nation." I said simply, everyone seemed to visibly get upset and looked at me like I was crazy. "That being said, I know you're a vegetarian, it's unfortunately customary for the feast to contain meat and other animal products." I said with a pitying smile. Aang looked completely surprised before he shook off his stupor and smiled.
"No need Azula, thank you for the welcome, and about the feast, there's no need to change it, the monks teach us that all living things are precious, but we would never force our customs on other people. If they want to join us and become vegetarians, we will welcome them with open arms." Aang said with a huge smile. I nodded and smiled.
"Perfect, I'll tell the chefs to start preparing everything, interestingly we have bison meat saved for such occasions, the chefs are also experimenting with lemur meat so it's possible they'll include that as well." My smile was huge as I watched Aang begin to pale and look at me with an expression of horror and betrayal. My smile only grew even more. Everyone else looked just as horrified as if they were looking at a-
MONSTER.
"AZULA!!" Zuko yelled at me loudly, I looked at him lazily and saw that he was completely angry with me.
"I'm kidding Zuzu" I said while rolling my eyes "cooks don't know how to prepare bison or lemurs" I said simply.
"Azula!" Zuko exclaimed once more, I rolled my eyes again.
"Just kidding Zuzu, you have such a poor sense of humor." I said simply. Zuko sighed annoyed. "Bringing bison was too expensive."
"Azula!!!" I smiled widely at Zuko's shout once more, I could see the vein on his forehead throbbing hard. Everyone was still looking at me with wariness and almost bordering on hatred in some cases.
"Azula, stop disturbing our guests." I gritted my teeth and suppressed all reaction from my body to keep from flinching at the sound of Ursa's voice as she approached.
"Is that an order Lady Ursa?" I asked with a dead look at Ursa, she shuddered slightly.
YOU ARE A MONSTER
"W-what?" she stammered, I took a step forward and she stepped back at the same time. My eyes never left hers.
"Is that an order? As a former Fire Lord, and mother of the current Fire Lord, you are above me in the hierarchy, a former Princess without any real power. So, is that an order you just gave, Lady Ursa?" I asked again, Ursa looked surprised and paled slightly.
"What? No! I'm talking to you as a mother" she said quickly, I snorted.
"I thought I made it clear, you're not my mother, you're nothing to me, just an egg donor as far as I'm concerned." I said emotionlessly, as if I was talking about the weather. Ursa visibly flinched. Zuko, the spoiled son as always, was about to step forward to defend his mother. Typical.
"Azula!" Kiyi entered the room, interrupting us all in the room. Much to everyone's surprise but mine. Kiyi ran straight to me and hugged my legs. The shocked and incredulous looks on Ursa and Zuko's faces were worth the effort of creating a relationship with Kiyi while I was free.
"Kiyi, you are a princess of the Fire Nation, we are in front of other people, act as such." I said simply. Kiyi quickly separated from me.
"Yes, sister." Kiyi replied as she stood up straight, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay, now, why were you looking for me?" I asked in her direction. Kiyi seemed to vibrate with excitement, but she stood her ground, just as I taught her.
"You said you would teach me how to use my quirk! You never did!" she said quickly, I frowned slightly and nodded.
"You are right. My apologies, I'm afraid our… guests delayed my schedule. Let's get to training." I said simply. Kiyi nodded. I looked up and stared directly at Ursa, who still looked in shock and looked as if she couldn't understand what was happening. Still, I smiled widely at her, just like father used to do, which made her pale considerably. I then took a step forward, standing behind Kiyi and placing my hands on her shoulders. "Come on, Kiyi, I'll make sure to teach you everything I know." I said slowly, never taking my gaze off Ursa who looked like she was about to faint.
I wasn't really doing anything weird with Kiyi, I was just teaching her how to use her quirk properly. She had been very insistent and I found that it actually calmed me down to teach Kiyi how to use her fire. It reminded me of training with father. Nothing more, nothing less. I certainly wasn't 'poisoning' her mind like everyone seemed to fear now. But if I could piss off Ursa, I would use whatever I could.
"Z-Zuko" Ursa murmured so weakly, as is she, her voice pleading with her son, her hand was gripping his arm so tightly that it wouldn't be strange if Zuko got a bruise, pathetic.
"I'll go with you!" Zuko said forcefully as he took a step forward. Kiyi stopped and looked at Zuko excitedly.
"Really?!" Kiyi said vibrating with excitement, she turned to me and looked at me pleadingly, I nodded.
"Of course Zuzu, you can join us, I have nothing to hide." I said with a huge smile.
"We'll go too!" said the peasant woman, butting in where she wasn't wanted, as usual. I simply shrugged my shoulders.
"As long as they don't interfere, do whatever you want." I said simply, before looking at Ursa, who had one expression on her face, and one filled with worry.
YOU ARE A MONSTER, ( I LOVE YOU) LIKE YOUR FATHER.
I ignored the voices in my head, just as I had learned they were becoming more and more annoying, ever since I had left the stupid prison they called a mental asylum the voices kept coming back stronger. But I was no longer a weak and stupid girl. I knew how to ignore them, I had learned. They would not break me again. Much less Ursa's voice. She was nothing to me. Not anymore, never was and never will be.
I started walking once again.
"Come on, Kiyi, we have a lot to cover today." I told my sister, she nodded and started walking at a brisk pace. I took long strides to match her quick steps.
-------------------
"No, one more time," I said dispassionately as I looked at Kiyi, "you're dragging your leg, lift it up.
"b-but, Zuzu does it like that," Kiyi tried to retort and I glared at her.
"And Zuko does it wrong, once again, from the start, don't drag your leg, lift your hips, move faster." I said firmly, Kiyi looked at Zuko who grimaced.
"Azula's right Kiyi, she knows what she's doing" he said sufferingly, I rolled my eyes, if he practiced more and listened to the advice I give him he wouldn't be so bad at it. The only one that the idiot listened to was our idiot uncle, I couldn't deny that whatever I had taught him had worked, and although I didn't like to admit it, to the point of equaling me.
Even if I had been in the midst of an emotional crisis, it would have been annoying that Zuko had matched me or even momentarily surpassed me. But still, what Zuko did wasn't perfect. There was plenty of room for improvement.
"You heard the Fire Lord, now once again, from the beginning, I won't repeat myself." I said in Kiyi's direction, Kiyi became serious and nodded.
" Yes , sister!" she said firmly and got into position. She was completely sweaty, breathing raggedly and her arms were shaking slightly. Still, I stared at her mercilessly, waiting for her to move.
"Do you have to be so... abrupt? Kiyi is just a child." Ursa tried to plead. I rolled my eyes, she had been saying that for half an hour.
"Her quirk is dangerous, a danger to her and a danger to others, Ursa, either she learns to control it or she will fear it for the rest of her life. We don't want to repeat the mistakes of the monk and Zuko, who burned their allies by mistake." I said mockingly, Ursa gritted her teeth and looked down, but Zuko and the monk shuddered.
"How do you know?" Zuko asked mortified, I smiled mockingly at him.
"I know a lot of things Zuzu. There's nothing you can hide from me." I simply said with a huge smile before turning back to Kiyi "start Kiyi" I said, my sister nodded and began her kata once again. I watched carefully each movement she made. They were all full of mistakes, but she would learn with time, with repetition. They were full of mistakes, even though I had been teaching her almost daily for weeks. I had surpassed that level in less time and being younger than her.
But Kiyi wasn't me, and she wasn't Zuko. So I didn't push her any further than I knew she could accomplish and then some. Slowly she began to hone her moves, fewer and fewer mistakes, more and more precise. She was slower than me certainly, but she didn't lack the determination to keep pushing herself further than she should have. Even when I was being as spartan as ever, she kept coming back.
She finally finished her katas, she was practically on the verge of falling from exhaustion, even so, she turned to me, stood at attention slightly trembling and looked at me expectantly.
"Much better, well done Kiyi, I knew you could do it, congratulations, you're better than Zuzu was at her age" although it wasn't too hard to be. Still, I was generous with my words and praise, and it had the desired effect on Kiyi, she smiled widely.
"Thanks sister!!" Kiyi smiled widely, I nodded.
"You can rest." I said simply, Kiyi sighed in relief and let herself fall back. Throwing herself to the ground with her arms outstretched. I rolled my eyes as I walked over and placed a bottle of water next to her. Kiyi smiled at me in thanks and I just nodded.
"You didn't know I'd been teaching Kiyi about firebending." Zuko said loudly once I got close to them, I snorted loudly, subtle brother, subtle.
"Do I need to list all my activities for you?" I asked dryly. "I'm sure part of being out of that prison was that I could do whatever I wanted, that's called freedom Zuzu. Or do I need to tell you everything I do as a good prisoner?" I said mockingly, Zuko grimaced.
"No! Of course not! I'm… I'm just surprised! I didn't think you'd get along with Kiyi, given… uh- her last encounter with you." Zuko said awkwardly, I rolled my eyes. "You- you're good with her." He added later with a conflicted expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"She's more tolerable than you." I said dryly, Zuko grimaced. "If that's all, I'm leaving, I have more important things to do, we train Monday, Wednesday and Friday, this time every week. Send all the escorts you want Ursa." I looked Ursa straight in the eyes, "because obviously I can't be trusted with your precious daughter." I slurred, Ursa flinched and her expression looked torn, she looked like she was about to apologize, but she just bit her lip and stayed silent. Typical.
"And one last thing." I looked at Zuko. "We still have things to go over. Meet me in the library. If you're late, I'll come back to get you." I said simply before turning around and starting to walk. I looked at the rest of the group that had followed us. They had all been watching my movements like hawks, as if my presence alone was capable of corrupting Kiyi.
The peasant girl's gaze was especially piercing, as if she was trying to kill me every time I used my fire. It wasn't like I cared so I ignored it and kept walking.
( I LOVE YOU), YOU ARE A MONSTER ( I LOVE YOU).
-------------------
I sighed tiredly once Zuko had left the office.
Most of the time, I had spent catching up on all the news of the nation. As a princess of the Fire Nation, it was my duty to know about it. And while I was going through the papers, I had found something really annoying.
Zuko was a good Fire Lord.
I resented that fact, it would have been easier to take the throne from him if he had been an incompetent idiot, but no, it turns out he's good at it. There were several mistakes he made, mistakes I wouldn't have made, but there weren't many. Still, I took it upon myself to fix them for him, non-violently as I was required to, unfortunately. So I had to draw up paperwork and more paperwork to fix them and attend meetings with people who thought they had the right to dispute any of my decisions. Once that was done I left all the documents on Zuko's desk without saying a word.
It was good to know that he implemented all of them. I'm sure he went through them with the finest comb he could find before making my fully detailed plans. Too paranoid not to. But little by little everything was sorted out.
The only problem? China was still holding him by the balls to make full compliance with the 'restitutions' and there was nothing we could do. That damn Liu Zhigang was still hanging over our heads and China was taking advantage of it.
And I came to the inevitable conclusion that this is unsustainable. Within a few years we will be completely dependent on China, and then we will be absorbed once again, losing our independence.
No. I couldn't let that happen.
I may have hated Zuko, and Ursa, and their merry band of idiots, and just about everyone else. But I loved the Fire Nation more. And if I had to do something stupid to save that independence, I would.
I already had a plan in mind. I needed to become stronger. More dangerous. I would do that while I was in Japan, away from prying eyes. Then I would take the throne from Zuko. I would start the war against China once again and then, all it would take was a few war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Oh, it would be a death sentence, but I needed the other countries to intervene before Liu Zhigang came for my head. When that happened, the other nations would remain neutral and Zuko could be restored to power so he could negotiate properly.
China will not be able to play dirty while other countries look at the papers over their shoulders.
All that was needed was for me to be portrayed as the mad princess, my name would be tarnished for the rest of the history of the Fire Nation. The mad princess thirsty for blood. My name will be cursed, dragged through the mud. But it didn't matter.
The only thing that would be necessary would be to give my life.
And I would do it gladly. All for the Fire Nation.
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