Chapter Text
Azula felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs as her father's kick landed on her ribs, the sand and gravel that covered the courtyard's ground biting into her arm as she slid to a stop. Rolling onto her back, she gasped for breath, clutching the pained spot on her ribs where his blow had landed.
"Again!" her father commanded, his booming voice cutting through the ringing in her ears.
Biting back the pain in her ribs, she rolled onto her side, watching her father approach through blurred vision from the tears burning behind her eyes. As she tried to push herself back up onto her feet, she could see Ryuzo move from where he stood at the edge of the training yard toward her, but her father stopped him with a raised hand.
"No," her father ordered, "let her get up herself."
Ryuzo seemed to hesitate for a moment, grinding his jaw as he looked at her, his eyes going soft with concern, but she waved him off with a shake of her head, Ryuzo reluctantly backing away.
Taking a deep breath, she clutched the spot on her ribs where her father's blow had landed and tried to push herself back to her feet, but the pain was too much, and she collapsed back to the dirt.
"Puthedic," her father spat as he crouched down next to her. "And here I thought you were cut from stronger stone than your brother, a worthy heir to my throne," he said, watching her struggle to breathe for a moment before standing. "but perhaps I was wrong," he scoffed before turning away from her.
His words caused a surge of spite and anger to go through her. It had been over a month since she had been forced to send Ty Lee away, and in that time, she had gotten nothing from her father, having been excluded from the war council meetings she used to attend with him, instead forced to pick through the dozens of proposals for her hand that came in each day, with him bearly even seeming to spare a thought for her beyond the occasional disdainful frown he gave her whenever she happened to cross paths with him in the palace halls, and now after all that time he had decided to interrupt her and Ryuzo's sparring lesson to what? Test her? If he was, she was failing.
The image of the Agni Kai and Zuko's burning briefly flashed in her mind, her brother's scream echoing in her ears. 'No, I'm not like him. I can't be like him.' she told herself, pushing herself back up on one elbow. 'I need to be stronger.'
Zuko may have failed to capture the Avatar, but he had, at the very least, proven himself loyal and dedicated to their father, and all she had proven to be was a freak and an embarrassment, but she couldn't be weak as well.
Trying to stand, Ryuzo again rushed back to her side, grasping her arm to help her back up.
"I don't need your help!" she snapped at him as she pulled her arm away.
Ryuzo let go but stayed by her side until she was steady on her feet. Looking back to her father, she felt panic rise in her chest as she watched his servants place his crimson robe back on him and he prepared to leave.
"Get back here!" she demanded, but her father instead focused his attention on one of the courtiers who handed him a scroll, a strange expression crossing his face as he opened and read it.
"We're going again!" She pressed, trying again to earn his attention.
Her father glanced back at her for a moment but kept his back to her. "No," he said before turning his attention back to the scroll, "you're done. Lo and Li will-"
"I can do it!" she insisted before he could finish. "I can get it right, just one more round!" she pleaded as she tried to step forward, but another jolt of pain went through her ribs, causing her to let out a ragged cough as she stumbled, nearly bringing her back to her knees before Ryuzo caught her by the arm.
Her father watched her with a look of disgust before turning to Ryuzo. "Captin, it looks as though your position as the princess's personal guard is secure, as she seems thoroughly incapable of defending herself."
His words cut deep as she felt tears burn behind her eyes, though if they came from the pain of her wounds or her own failure, she could not tell.
"Get her cleaned up," her father ordered, giving her one last scornful look before looking back to Ryuzo. "Then see me in the war room."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Ryuzo replied through gritted teeth. Her father paused, glaring at Ryuzo as though he was looking for any signs of disrespect. Either finding none or deciding not to act on it, he turned and ascended the steps back inside the palace, his servants rushing to follow him inside.
As soon as the doors closed behind her father, Ryuzo knelt, hooking her arm over his shoulder.
"I already told you I don't need your help," she insisted, through a cough, but she didn't try to pull away from him.
"Yeah, you do, kid," he said as he guided her to the door.
___
Azula's grip tightened along the edge of the examination table where she sat in the Royal physician's office, letting out a hiss of pain as Doctor Azu tightly wrapped a bandage around her abdomen.
"Apologies, your Highness," he said as he finished securing the bandage.
"How long will it take for this to heal," she asked impatiently as she lowered her tunic back over her abdomen.
"Six weeks at most," Azu said with a shrug as he turned to repack his supplies.
"Six weeks?" she repeated in disbelief. "Isn't there anything you can give me to make it heal faster?"
"I'm afraid there isn't much that can be done for a broken rib," Doctor Azu explained. "These bangies should keep the bone in place, but other than that, I'd recommend placing ice on it daily and plenty of rest."
"I'll make sure to cut back on the sparring sessions for the next few weeks," Ryuzo said from where he leaned against one of the walls.
"And what else am I supposed to do in here exactly?" she questioned. Her father had kept her on a tight leash for the past month, keeping her confined to the palace and under constant watch, with her training lessons being the one activity that let her release any of her stress.
"I'm afraid that's up to you, Your Highness," Azu shrugged, "but I'd recommend nothing too strenuous."
"You're useless!" she snapped at Azu. "Get out!"
Azu seemed to take little offense at her outburst, simply bowing before following her order. As he opened the door, she could hear the sound of two sets of shuffling feet approaching from outside the hall, signaling the approach of her two new constant shadows.
"Princess," Lo and Li greeted in unison with a bow as they stepped inside.
Azula had to repress the urge to let out a groan of frustration at the arrival of her babysitters. She remembered the twins from her childhood, her father having briefly assigned them as temporary caretakers for her after her mother had run out on them, leaving her side once she had begun to attend the Fire Nation academy. But ever since her misstep, her father had called them back to court and assigned the two intrusive old bats to follow her around everywhere. They made an eerie set with the way they'd finish one another's sentences as if they were one person, which wasn't helped by their identical pale painted-on makeup that covered the wrinkles and cracks that cut through their faces, constantly hunched and wearing long dark robes that always seemed to hold letters from new suitors that they spent every free moment badgering her to read. This time seemed to be no exception, with Lo unfolding her arms to reveal a rolled-up letter from her sleeves.
"General Lao has written to the palace expressing his interest in the prospect of your hand in marriage," Lo said, holding the letter out to her.
Azula glanced at the letter disdainfully before returning her gaze to Lo's.
"He comes from a prestigious line," Lo commented, placing the letter on her bedside table when she refused to take it.
"...and is highly favored by the Fire Lord," Li added.
"He's also twice my age," she pointed out, remembering the few times that she had seen the man in her father's war council meetings, having found his unkept wirey beard disgusting and his loud, abrasive nature annoying.
"An older tree will bear sweeter fruit than a sapling," Li said, beginning one of the twin's incessant analogies.
"...and its roots are dug twice as deep," Li finished.
Before she could spit out yet another refusal, Ryuzo stepped in. "We might let the princess rest before pressing this topic."
Lo and Li seemed to narrow their eyes at Ryuzo, or at least as much as they could through their wrinkles.
"His royal majesty is insisting that the princess make a selection by the end of the fortnight."
"He has also requested your presence in the war room, Captin." Lo reminded him.
Ryuzo seemed to understand their dismissal but still lingered for a moment as he often did, still seeming to feel some guilt for not being there when her father had confronted her, but he left, if hesitantly, all the same when she dismissed him with a nod at the door. Twin sets of eyes followed him as he departed before settling back on her once Ryuzo closed the door behind him.
"If you do not accept one of the betrothals that have been laid out before you in the time your father has allotted to you, one will be made for you without your input," Lo said as if she were scolding a child.
Azula had to bite her tongue to stop any sort of retort. She hated their condescending attitude, acting as though her father letting her pick a man she didn't want was some divine gift to be eternally grateful for. But she knew that any outburst or refusal would reach her father and only sink her into more trouble. So she stayed quiet, picking up General Lao's disregarded letter as though she meant to read it. That seemed to be enough for the twins, one even seeming to smile slightly.
"Your Highness," they both said as they bowed before departing, but as soon as Lo and Li left the room, she lit a fire in her hand that swallowed the letter in a blue flame.
___
Azula elected to skip dinner that night, not wishing to risk the possibility that her father would join her and attempt to push the topic of her marriage and Lao's letter. Instead, she secluded herself in her room, dismissing her servants and wincing as she laid down in her bed. Staring up at the canopy of her bed, her mind wandered to Ty Lee as it so often did, her hand reaching out to the opposite side of her bed, the mattress still carrying a slight indent from where she had used to sleep. She had briefly been able to keep tabs on the movements of the circus in the first few days, but it had eventually become too dangerous to keep up with. If her father had any suspicion of her having a part in Ty Lee's disappearance, he never made it known, seeming content to let her vanish along with any of the shame their relationship had threatened to bring. Taking one of the pillows from the opposite side of the bed, she hugged it to her chest, closing her eyes and pretending for a moment that she was holding her instead.
When sleep finally took her, she dreamed that she was a child again running through the halls of the palace, Ty Lee racing ahead of her, her shimmering auburn braid bouncing between her shoulder blades as a laugh bubbling up in her throat. Sprinted around one of the turns in the hall, she was halted by the sight of her pet snake, Fang, slithering along the floor. She tried to reach down to pick the black-scaled serpent up only to rush headlong into a crowd of noblemen, generals, and their wives, who packed the hall, all dressed in armor and gowns, their backs turned to her Fang disappearing as he slithered between their feet. Taking a few steps back to see over their heads, she could see her father's throne sitting high above them, empty. A part of her was called to it. She wanted to ascend its steps, sit atop it above them all, and feel that power.
"Come on," she said, taking Ty Lee's hand and trying to push her way through the crowd, but Ty Lee didn't move.
"I don't want to," Ty Lee said, looking slightly scared. "Zula, come on, I want to go play in the garden," She begged, trying to tug her back into the hall.
"I just wanna sit on it for a minute," she insisted, moving forward into the crowd until she felt Ty Lee's hand slip out from hers.
"Azula," she heard Ty Lee call out, watching her disappear behind the crowd as she slipped between the legs of the taller adults around her.
A part of her wanted to go back to her, but looking up, she could see the throne through the shoulders of the people calling to her. Finally making it to the end of the crowd, she stumbled slightly as she stepped out from the wall of people, her fear suddenly spiking as she realized that she wasn't standing in front of the throne but Zuko, the muscles of his back trembling with a sob as his shaky voice filled the Agni Kai arena.
"Please, Father!" he begged, his voice cracking. "I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"
Following his gaze to the other end of the arena, she could see her father's silhouette approaching, each footstep echoing against the walls and shaking the ground beneath her.
Towering over the both of them, he spoke, "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" his booming voice demanded.
Futilely, she hoped against hope that this time would be different, that this time her brother would fight as their father demanded so he would not have to leave, but he did not stand. Instead, he stayed nealing and trembled, his tear-soaked face turning up to speak, but when he did, it was not her brother's voice that came out but her own.
"I won't fight you!" she heard herself cry out, feeling tears she did not remember shedding fall down her cheeks. Looking down with blurred eyes, she saw that she was now nealing in Zuko's place.
"You will learn respect..." she heard her father say above her, letting out a cry of pain as she felt him grasp her by her hair, yanking her head back "...and suffering will be your teacher," he said, his flaming hand creeping ever closer to her face. Franticly, she struggled in his grasp, her heartbeat echoing in her ears as she tried to escape the approaching heat, but he did not let go. Feeling the flames begin to lick at her face, she tried to hold in her pain, but she could not do it for long.
She awoke screaming and flailing as she franticly kicked off the blankets that wrapped around her. The door to her room opened, the light from the hall casting a silhouette of someone in the doorway. For a brief moment, she was convinced that she was still in her dream and that it was her father, causing her to let out another terrified scream as she scrambled back in her bed until she was halted by the bed's backrest.
"Azula!" she heard Ryuzo's voice say as he stepped closer, her mind waking up enough to realize that it was him. "It's just me, kid; you're safe," he reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just take a deep breath and try to calm down," he said, walking over to the table where a challis of water sat and pouring her a cup.
"Here," he said, walking back to her and handing her the cup.
"Thank you," she said, her voice horse from screaming.
"Do you want to tell me what that was about?" he asked as she took a sip, the water soothing her throat.
"It was a bad dream, nothing more," she deflected with a scoff. "Don't blow it out of proportion, Ryuzo."
"It's been a while since you've had one that bad," he pointed out.
She decided not to burden him with the knowledge that they had been happening more frequently the past week, each progressively getting worse.
"What did my father want of you?" she asked, deciding to change the subject.
Ryuzo narrowed his eyes at her as though he meant to push the issue, but he just shook his head with a sigh.
"That's what I came here to tell you," he said, leaning against one of her bed posts. "Ozai has asked for you in the war room."
She had been barred from any war room meetings for the past month, and a part of her wanted to feel some relief at the prospect of returning, but she knew better. She had done little to prove herself worthy of that privilege again, and besides that, it made little sense why he would summon her in the middle of the night.
"What does he want?" she questioned.
"I'm not sure," he sighed. "He made me wait outside the war room for a couple of hours before calling me in, and I was only in the war room for a moment, but it was busy, especially for this late. I even saw a few of the senior staff in there."
It must be an emergency meeting, she reasoned, possibly to do with Zhao's offensive or maybe even the siege of Ba Sing Se, but she couldn't know for sure, and it wouldn't explain why her father wanted her there.
"Did you see anything else?" she questioned, needing more information.
"I'm afraid not," Ryuzo said with a shake of his head. "I wasn't able to get that far in before I was rushed out again...but there was one more thing." He paused for a moment, breaking eye contact with her as he stared across the room, a worried look on his face when he looked back to her. "He ordered me to oversee preparations for your ship to set sale."
___
Azula stood alone in front of the curtain to the war room, looking over her uniform for any imperfections her servants may have missed while she had rushed them to dress her. Ryuzo had wanted to accompany her, insisting that her ship could wait, but she hadn't wanted to rely on him for a second time today, though a part of her wondered if it was a mistake to not let him join her.
As she fidgeted with the wrist of her uniform, she saw that her hand was trembling, and for a brief moment, she felt the fear that she had been pushing down finally bubble up, a thousand paranoid thoughts suddenly racing through her head, that they had tracked down Ty Lee and found out that she helped her escape. Or that Zuko had finally succeeded in capturing the Avatar and her father no longer had any need for her and intended to burn her like he had in her dream.
She cut the stream of thoughts off by clenching her other hand around her trembling wrist. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths until she was able to quiet her mind. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that her hand was still.
Taking one last deep breath, she pulled back the curtain to the war room. Inside, she saw that it was packed with her father's various generals and advisers, just as Ryuzo had said, all of them seeming to be in a slight panic.
"...none of these make sense," She overheard one of her father's distressed advisers murmur to another as they rushed out of the room, too caught up in the papers he flicked through to take any note of her.
On the opposite end of the room, she could see a small crowd had formed around her father, his attention still on the scroll he had received in the training yard as his advisers spoke to him.
Crossing the room, she nealed before him, his back to her. "Your Majesty," she greeted.
Her father seemed to take no note of her, not pausing in whatever he was saying to his advisers before dismissing them. She kept her head bowed as his generals and advisers walked past her. Once they were gone, her father dropped the scroll at her feet.
"Read it," he commanded before turning away to glare at the war map in the center of the room.
Picking up the scroll and standing, she did as he bid. Looking over the paper, she saw that it was a military report on Zhao's invasion of the North Pole.
...initial reports from our northern outpost have documented that less than half of the original armada have returned from the north, with several ships having endured serious damage.
Reports of events of the battle are confused and mixed. Several strange reports of the sea coming to life and destroying the fleet have been noted from several different ships. What is clear is that whatever battle was fought, our forces failed to accomplish their objectives.
Initial casualties surpass 5,000 but may be difficult to account for fully. Members of fleet command still unaccounted for and presumed dead:
Admiral Zhao
Captain Daizo
Captain Kya
The list went on like that for most of the rest of the page, listing each member of the command by rank, but toward the bottom of the page, one of the names caught her eye and caused her breath to hitch.
Captain Akaron
For the briefest moment, she was almost convinced that she had misread the name, blinking several times as she reread the same name over and over again, a smile of disbelief crossing her face each time she did, and if she had been alone, she was sure she would have burst out laughing at how perfect it all was, but she remembered that she was not. Stoning her expression, she looked back to her father.
'Why was he showing this to her?' she wondered, slightly panicked. 'To test her? To see her reaction?'
"It seems the Northern Water Tribe was a greater threat than Zhao first anticipated." She eventually said, deciding to steer the conversation away from any mention of Ty Lee's betrothed.
"This was not the Water Tribe's doing," her father said, turning back to her. "There is only one person who could wield such immense power."
"The Avatar," she said in realization.
"Indeed," her father said, glancing back at the map of the North Pole. "We had received reports of his presence in the north. I had hoped that after Zuko's failure to capture the Avatar, Zhao would do what he could not, but your brother interfered against orders, and Iroh has revealed himself for the traitor he is," he said, practically spitting out the last words as he did whenever he spoke of his brother.
A part of her couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at both Zhao and Zuko's failures. At least she wasn't the only one who had disappointed her father.
"Which is why I will be leaving that task to you." her father continued, taking a few steps toward her.
"Me?" she questioned, surprised. "Why?"
"Do not discount your own ability, Azula," he scoffed. "You have remained on the sidelines for too long; this is your chance to make a name for yourself."
'I would have made a name for myself if you hadn't taken away my ships,' she thought bitterly but held her tongue. She had to wonder if his words were sincere or if he was only saying this now because he needed her. If he did, then it would not come freely.
"And what of my betrothal?" she questioned. "For as much faith as you have in my abilities, I doubt I shall be able to capture the Avatar and return home in two weeks," or at the very least, she would make sure of it.
"This matter takes precedent. Your marriage will have to wait."
"And..." she paused for a moment, her jaw flexing as she debated whether or not the request was worth it, but then she remembered the report she held in her hand. If Jin was really dead, then there could be no betrothal, no wedding. Ty Lee could be hers again; she could see her again, hold and kiss her again, and with this mission, she could finally make up for her mistakes and prove herself. Taking a deep breath, she pressed on with her question, "And what if I do not wish to marry?" she finally asked.
Her father's expression remained unreadable, and for a brief moment, she feared that he would strike her like before, but instead, he only nodded.
"Very well," he sighed. "Do as I command, and we may discuss the topic once you return," he promised.
Azula had to bite back a smile of disbelief at his answer before her father continued.
"First, you will see to capturing your brother and uncle. For this, I will grant you your ship and the Royal Procession. Lo and Li will accompany you as advisers."
She should have guessed it was too good to be true. In all likelihood, those old bats would report her every move back to her father, but she had already asked too much of him. She would simply have to see to getting rid of them later.
"What is to be done with Zuko and Iroh?" she questioned.
"They will be imprisoned as all traitors should be. Iroh, at the very least, will finally be put to death for his treason," he said, the idea seeming to bring a slight smile to his lips.
"And what of Zuko?" she questioned, unsure of what she wanted the answer to be.
"For as much of an embarrassment, as your brother has proven to be, he is still my son, and as you are clearly in no rush to secure any heirs of your own, I can not afford to lose what few I already do have."
Azula had to suppress the jealousy she felt twist in her stomach, cursing herself for her own misstep and wondering if he had only agreed to her terms so he could throw it back in her face.
"Once you have accomplished that," her father continued, "you will capture the Avatar and bring him back alive if possible."
That caused her to pause for a moment. Briefly, she worried that this had all been some veiled trick to exile her, but she looked back down at the letter, reminding herself of the real danger the Avatar posed.
'No, this is important,' she told herself. 'He needs me,' she thought, glancing down at the letter in her hand, her gaze locking back on Akaron's name'...and I need her.'