Ash and Petals by electric gurrl (Avatar last airbender)

*AzulaxTy Lee* *Rated M*

Summary: One year after her victory during Sozin's Comet, a violent betrayal reduces broken and unstable Fire Lord Azula to ashes. But like the phoenix she rises, and with her rekindled romance and a powerful group of unlikely allies, she will take what is hers with blood and fire.

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10687653/1/

Word count:185k+(COMPLETED)

Chapters:36

Chapter One: An Unexpected Visitor

"Is she ready?" demands Fire Lord Azula.

Her predatory gaze rests on the locked metal door in front of her.

In the humid summer swelter, the walls of the Boiling Rock cast shadows over the trembling Fire Lord, her rigid posse, the sweating young warden, and the cursing guard trying to find the right key. The tension is at an intolerable height and it makes Azula's chest even tighter than usual, if such a thing is possible. Being Fire Lord in a time that has more to do with wars than taxes is taxing on her body and warring with her sanity.

"She is," says the warden, a youth around twenty named Kazou. He was the son of one of Azula's fathers advisors, and a man who still advises her, though she finds it unwelcome. Fire Lord Azula operates alone; she does not play nicely with others. The executions and banishments are a testament to that.

"And the other?" Azula stands in front of the door. She feels her fingers start to tremble and silences them with a few controlled breaths.

"She's there for you on your way out, your highness." Kazou bows melodramatically as he opens the door. Azula purses her lips and walks inside. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lights, but she sees the girl she was waiting for. Her heart speeds up, but with a few meditative breaths, her pulse slows.

"Happy birthday," Azula says in a silken purr. The prisoner blinks several times, her protuberant eyes sparkling in the dim light from the hallway. "It is your birthday, isn't it, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee sits in an uncomfortable, bloodstained chair. Her wrists are shackled to it so tightly that her circulation is cut off; she attacked too many guards over the past year to not get that treatment. The bindings on her ankles make sure that her body is forced into an awkward position by the chains. And to further the embarrassment she feels under Azula's scrutinizing gaze, her pretty pink clothes are replaced by red rags.

"Thank you, princess," Ty Lee replies, her tone a small, chiming squeak. It is her birthday, her fifteenth birthday to be exact.

"It's not princess anymore." Azula is cold. Ty Lee squirms slightly.

"Congratulations," Ty Lee offers as Azula lights the wick of a dingy candle. Her eyes glitter more clearly now in the lamplight, and Ty Lee can see her old friend more closely. "Youngest Fire Lord in history, right? And only the third woman."

"You paid more attention in school than I thought," Azula purrs with a small shrug. "I'm sure you're anxiously wondering why I'm here."

Ty Lee nods. "I'm glad to see─"

"Don't lie to me." Azula walks over to a table meant to hold instruments of torture. Crude and barbaric when a little azure flame can go much further. She fondly recalls Mai's propensity for knives, but she does not plan on ever seeing the face of the traitor again. Well... after today, of course.

Ty Lee's heart races, gut fluttering. She half expects Azula to return with a hammer and start crushing bones, but all she has is a glass of water.

"Would you like this?" Azula offers icily, holding it out. Ty Lee is incapable of movement but she hesitantly shakes her head. Azula frowns. Wrong answer. Azula turns to the soldiers and Kazou. "Leave us."

They instantly obey. Azula sips the water and finds it unpleasant, but she does not reveal her distaste.

"It's been a long time. You look nice," Ty Lee says nervously, examining Azula. Her armor caresses her form, but she looks too thin. The new crown is elegant, yet a few strands of hair hang loose, which she would have never allowed to happen before. But Ty Lee supposes running a nation is stressful, particularly with General Iroh and his forces in the Earth Kingdom. The war is just beginning for the fifteen year old Fire Lord.

"Are we really going to exchange pleasantries?" Azula demands scathingly. There is something about her eyes that Ty Lee does not like. They glitter like a tiger-monkey trapped in a cage, watching its captor, pacing around waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "I need your help."

Déjà vu. Ty Lee recalls Azula coming to the circus after a year they spent apart. It is very much like today, but also very different. And neither of them can figure out exactly what changed.

"What do you need?" Ty Lee asks quietly. She does not like where this is going.

"I want you to join me on one last mission." Shock in Ty Lee's eyes. Azula finishes the water and drops the glass on the floor. It shatters and she grinds the broken glass into the damp stone with her shoe. "The Avatar killed my father, and then ran away like a coward. I'm going to find him. And I'm going to get revenge."

"What do I get out of this?" Ty Lee asks, hoping Azula will not be angry. But the Fire Lord laughs.

"As selfish as ever. You get your freedom. If you help me with this mission, when it's over, we can part ways. You'll have my forgiveness and you can make a life for yourself. I assure you that it's preferable to this place," Azula says smoothly and Ty Lee swallows. She wishes she had accepted the water..

"I will." Ty Lee squeezes her eyes shut.

One Year Ago

Katara fights against the guards until one jabs a dart into her neck. She takes a deep breath as she feels sedation wash over her. Her eyes are still open, but she cannot move her limbs. They forcibly removed her wet clothes, and she is half naked as she is dragged to the Broiling Rock. As they approach the water, she fights to move it, to free herself, but the drugs are too powerful.

Aang is okay. She heard them talking about how he disappeared and Ozai was defeated. Of course, now the Fire Lord is a lunatic who killed her own brother with a bolt of lightning, right in front of Katara's eyes, but Aang is okay, and Katara believes he can save the world. Sokka, Suki and Toph succeeded as well. But she has no idea what became of them, and that terrifies her. She has heard no news on Ba Sing Se.

Only she was defeated. Only she moved for a strike with too much force and was taken down. The pain of the burn has faded with the sedation, but it covers most of her abdomen. She crumbled from the pain, and Azula took her chance and used it. But why she did not kill Katara is baffling. She had her chance, but instead, she summoned soldiers and moved to Zuko. Whispered something to him as Katara was dragged away, grabbing water from plants and trying to use it, but being jabbed in the neck by something that stole her voice and her bending. This is her fourth dose.

She is tossed in a cell, and can feel her ribs bruising as the stone floor sears her burn. Her eyes flutter closed, and the last image behind her eyes is of Zuko's act of sacrifice.

In the morning, Mai wakes up with a sore back.

"We could both fit in that bed," she mutters, but Ty Lee is not listening. She is still sleeping like a baby moose-lion. Mai envies her momentarily, but slowly stands up and stretches.

The door suddenly opens. Mai moves into a fighting stance.

"Assembly of prisoners," barks the guard. He reaches for Mai's arm and she shrugs him off. She and Ty Lee are ushered into the yard, glancing at prisoners. As Mai passes one of the cells, she sees that it is still closed.

Ty Lee, not caring about her life remotely, peers through the window.

"Look, Mai, look; it's the water peasant girl." Bad sign. Very, very bad sign.

Mai sits in the back of the yard, Ty Lee at her side. The Kyoshi warriors Ty Lee have already befriended sit beside them. Mai does not like them, but she tolerates their presence. All she can think is that, if the waterbender is imprisoned here, Zuko... The comet... She presses her lips together and tries not to think about it.

And so the warden Kazou makes a melodramatic speech. He can't be much older than Mai but he is much harsher than her uncle. He thinks too highly of himself and Mai would like to knock him down a few notches. Ty Lee is chewing on her fingernails as he explains that the Avatar and Fire Lord Ozai both disappeared, presumably dead, and Mai bats her hand away, muttering, "nasty habit," as she waits for news of Zuko.

"And Prince Zuko the traitor was killed when he tried to steal the throne from Fire Lord Azula."

Mai nearly throws up. This was all worth nothing. She didn't want to imagine a world without Zuko in it, and now she is forced to. Ty Lee grabs her by the hair and presses their bodies together in a tight hug. Mai does not even scold her; she almost needs to be held.

Her heart approaches tachycardia; she cannot hear the rest of the information, something about the Earth Kingdom uniting and building a military stronghold in Ba Sing Se. But all she can think about is losing Zuko. It's... unfathomable. Her face does not move, but inside she is screaming and thrashing.

"I know one thing I care about. You." The beach. Zuko. Love.

As Mai stands up, half dragged by Ty Lee, she is suddenly seized by two guards. They handle her roughly.

"Don't fuck with me," she snarls viciously, but they do not listen.

"Your lodgings have been reassigned. Executive order from the Fire Lord," one of the guards says, his face partially obscured by his helmet. He and his companion drag her to the room where Ty Lee pointed out the Water Tribe girl. Mai is thrown inside, landing on her knees. The door shuts and locks loudly behind her.

Mai examines her closely. She sees herself throwing knives in Omashu as the Water Tribe girl saved herself with a quick slice of the wood. She sees herself pursuing her all night and fighting her in the Earth Kingdom woods. And now she sees her slowly opening her big cobalt eyes.

"Who put you here?" she asks, clearly uninformed by Zuko and her brother. Or maybe just too drugged up to remember.

"The Fire Lord," Mai says dryly, standing up. She sits on the bed opposite the Water Tribe girl. "What's your name?"

Katara frowns. She knew all three of their names: Ty Lee, Mai and Azula. Katara's heart thumps at the thought of Princess Azula, now presumably promoted.

"Katara. But you should know it by now."

"I never associated with peasants," Mai replies, a certain bitterness in her tone. "So, why did they relocate me here?"

Silence. Katara seems to contemplate it. Her lips are slightly parted and eyes slightly dazed from whatever flows through her veins. It clearly strips her of her waterbending and dulls her thoughts. But Mai sits patiently; she has nothing else better to do.

"I'm sorry about Zuko. It's my fault. The lightning was coming at me," Katara says and Mai clenches her jaw. "We fought and... I lost and I couldn't get to him in time. I'm sorry. I'm... sorry."

She crumbles slightly. Her big cobalt eyes blossom with tears and Mai swallows, unsure what to say.

"It's not your fault," Mai says, though she is mentally throttling the water peasant. They sit in absolute silence after that.

In the Fire Nation Capitol, Azula sits on the throne, back straight, stiff upper lip. She must look strong to lead her Nation. But the advisors and generals are discussing the presumed death of her father. She feels weak. The instability has not ceased as she still wakes screaming from nightmares and trembles and can only think about the past month and how it is hollowed her out inside.

At least she won. They all lost but her. Azula stands victorious. But without anyone or anything she ever cared about. All she has is an empty crown.

"Where's the body?" Azula demands, the azure flames growing. The Admiral of the Sixth Fleet is blinded momentarily by blue. He finds it abnormal to be serving a girl he last saw as a child. She is fourteen, almost fifteen, and she has more force and more cruelty than her father.

No one is yet used to the eerie blue glow of the throne room.

"We're searching, your highness," the Admiral of the Sixth Fleet says, bowing his head. "We went to the last known location and searched the crashed airships, we have soldiers moving through what parts of the Earth Kingdom General Iroh will allow, and there's no trace of the Avatar of Former Fire Lord Ozai."

"I need a moment." The flames die out. "When I get back, I best have some answers, or I'll be forced to make an example of someone. Enjoy your recess."

Azula walks out of the throne room, leaving shocked generals behind. She wraps her arms around herself and walks towards the courtyard. It is close to the throne room, and she finds herself alone. The entire palace is to herself now, and when she thought she was lonely with her father, she could not have predicted what it feels like to be entirely by herself.

Lightning. She plays with it on her fingertips, clearing her thoughts. Everything goes away as she dances through the forms, guiding the surging electricity through her body. Finally, she feels collected, like she will not break down crying in front of her subordinates.

She drops her arms and stands for a moment, breathing in the tendrils of sunlight. She is the most powerful firebender who ever lived. That is something she has always known, but only now understands. Because she is the last one left.

"Do you really believe that we'll win this war?" Ty Lee says, sitting up and crawling close to Azula.

"Of course I do. I always win," Azula says softly, not sure where this night is going. She thinks of the kiss that should not have been. The dance of sexual craving and odd romance that permeates what once was platonic.

"Your confidence is inspiring. When you say it... I guess I believe too. Or maybe I believe that you believe. And... I guess that's good enough," Ty Lee says, and Azula does not see the fear in her eyes. "What if these are our last moments?"

"We've beat them time and time again. And we're going to burn it all to the ground anyway. That comet, I mean, these aren't our last days─"

Azula's monologue is cut off by Ty Lee kissing her.

Azula trembles slightly. The memory pains her.

She thinks of the repercussions she faced and how they screwed her. Of the ashes on the floor of her room replaced with fresh new items so her father could pretend he didn't lash out. So when he was done with her, leaving her naked on her bed with bruises on her neck, he could pretend he was the compassionate father of the future Fire Lord.

Everybody fucks Azula over. And now she has to run an entire Nation.

Strangely, she misses the two people who have scorned her most in her life.

The blue flames of the throne feel wrong without her father and Ty Lee.

She walks back inside, taking a deep breath, her posture straight, and the generals and advisors whispering to each other.

"We have a proposition."

"That's what I like to hear," Fire Lord Azula purrs.

The throne room illuminates in cerulean.

In Ba Sing Se, Suki runs through the barricades. She carries a letter to General Iroh and Sokka, the duo in charge of the Earth Kingdom's new army. The soldiers greet her, in surprisingly good moods despite the Fire Nation's erratic attempts to invade.

"Azula is a competent enemy," Iroh says to Suki, Sokka and Toph. "She will always be several steps ahead. I will not lie to you when I say that she is more deadly than my brother. But we will use every advantage to try to save the Earth Kingdom."

She now carries a letter from the Earth Kingdom cities to the East. Some of them still cling to life, though the Fire Nation is regaining lost ground. Almost everything Sokka, Suki and Toph did feels wasted, but Iroh and his friends are the only thing that kept the Fire Nation from victory.

Walking in, she sees Iroh, Sokka and Toph deep in discussion with a general. Suki hands them the letter, and tries to catch up on the conversation.

In the middle of a broiling lake, Mai and Katara exit their cell for the first time in days. They were confined there as others were allowed out around them. And they caught up; Katara explained Zuko's last few weeks. Mai did not cry, did not show emotion, but she felt broken inside.

And grateful to Katara for understanding. She thought Ty Lee was crazy for making friends in prison, but Mai thinks that, if Katara were not from the Water Tribe, she could have been friends with the Terrible Trio. A strong woman with ferocity and wit would have fit in just fine if she could take Azula's bullshit.

"Don't talk to me, Mai," Ty Lee says as they approach. She looks angry, but is smiling. "We're going to keep to ourselves." She gestures at the girls around her.

"What did I do?" Mai sighs, frustrated.

"You ruined my life," Ty Lee says, laughing mirthlessly. She looks about to snap in half from forced sweetness. "Nothing major."

"How did I ruin your life?" Mai says, supporting the stumbling and drugged Katara. She watched the guards sedate Katara repeatedly, and it made Mai queasy. But she did not make a move to stop them. It did not feel worth it.

"Zuko is dead. You saved his life and screwed us both," Ty Lee says and Mai is stunned speechless. She thought that Ty Lee supported her. Why else would she betray Azula? It wasn't a fickle thing but of course the circus freak treated it like it was nothing. Not the life of a human being at stake.

"She was going to kill me." Mai suddenly has vehemence in her words. Katara had not seen Mai have so much emotion in the several months she has known her, both as a victim for some time, and as a friend for a few days. "You seriously regret saving my life?"

Ty Lee frowns faintly. It looks strange on her face; she is usually smiling. "I don't regret saving your life. But I think it was reckless and stupid. I was okay with it when Zuko was alive and he was going to end the war. But now I'm stuck here for my whole life because you had a crush that went too far."

Mai clenches her fists. The guards watching the prisoners tense, prepared to intervene.

"You have no idea what it's like to be in love with─"

"Don't you dare." And Ty Lee stands up. "I gave up the person I loved to save the one you loved! So don't look at me and act like I just don't understand! I lost her way before you lost Zuko!"

Mai is silenced. She knows that Ty Lee has a point, but she also knows that she is being a bitch about it.

"You could've decided to let her kill me. It was your choice that got you here. So don't play the victim," Mai says as Katara slips in her arms. She lets Katara fall to the floor as she walks towards Ty Lee. "Or are you just sad that you're not Fire Lady right now?"

Ty Lee jumps at her best friend with a force she did not know she had. Mai tackles her to the floor as Ty Lee digs her fingers into Mai's shoulder. Mai falls back, limp. Ty Lee stands up as she is grabbed by two muscular guards. She does not resist them as they pull her away, taking her to be punished.

One of the Kyoshi Warriors helps Mai to her feet, the other grabbing Katara.

"What was that about?" Katara asks as they return to their cell an hour later. Mai has only just regained most of her feeling; Ty Lee made her completely numb.

"She was right." Mai shrugs. "I've never seen her angry like that."

"Who was she talking about?" Katara has heard the story of Mai saving Zuko and sacrificing herself. But there was nothing about Ty Lee losing somebody too. Especially not a she, given how she came on so strong to Sokka.

"Azula." Stunned silence on Katara's part. "Yeah, fucked up, huh? They got together formally a couple of days before the Broiling Rock. It didn't work out so well for them."

Katara has no words.

Days pass like years.

Azula controls forces to fight her Uncle, who is aided by Sokka, Toph and Suki. He has gathered armies and Ba Sing Se is his fortress. They fight tooth and nail against the Fire Nation, and due to the plan at Sozin's Comet failing, the Fire Nation is in the thick of a war again, instead of the victor of it. Fire Lord Azula is on the verge of snapping every day.

Ty Lee is left in solitary confinement for her outburst. She attacks the guards and gets lashes and doesn't care. Mai and Katara bond in an unlikely friendship. They sometimes plot escape to find Aang, but they never go through with it.

Days pass like years.

It seems to be forever.

"Take her to the airship and shackle her to something. I have one last visit to make," Azula says, one year after Sozin's Comet. Ty Lee allows herself to be removed from the chair, and taken in chains by Azula's procession. She walks with Kazou into the depths of the prison.

"We followed your order."

"I don't need to be told that," Azula replies airily, walking to the cell. She opens the door and Kazou draws his weapon. She thought he was a firebender; he breathes like one.

"Azula," comes a low, emotionless, gravelly voice. Azula smirks at her. The waterbender is unconscious on one bed, while Mai sits on the other, her eyes boring into her old friend.

"How have you been?" Azula asks, shutting the door behind her. Kazou opens his mouth to protest, but he is silenced by the door in his face. "It's been a while." Her eyes gleam with a wicked sadism. Mai does not show the anger and resentment inside of her. "Is she dead?"

"She's drugged. I'm assuming you had us put together so I would hear the story of Zuko's death," Mai says and Azula smiles.

"You always were clever. I would've loved for you to be my grand advisor as promised," Azula says, smiling faintly. "But you chose your own demise."

"Why are you here?" Mai demands and Azula chews on the inside of her cheek. "Why?"

"I had to pick up something of mine," Azula says, a half truth. "I should have gotten it earlier, but I wasn't a fan of coming back here after what you did to me. I just thought I'd stop by before I left."

"You realize that if something were to happen to you, no one would be left to lead the Fire Nation? Unless, maybe they go to Ba Sing Se, knock on the door and ask your uncle very nicely," Mai says scathingly. Azula only looks amused.

"You're not going to hurt me." She is right. "I have to say, though, Mai, did you really think dear ZuZu would make it through the war?"

Pause. "Yes. Yes I did," Mai replies, though she knows Azula is only baiting her.

"I guess you miscalculated."

"Been saving that for a while?" is Mai's reply.

Azula shrugs casually and walks towards the door. She very deliberately sets her hand on it, as if to signal Kazou, but she turns around.

"Oh, and, while the peasant is unconscious, Zuko is alive. Thought you'd like to know."

Fire Lord Azula bangs on the door.

And she is gone.

Ty Lee sits, chained on the airship. The wind billows through her tangled hair, the tie from her braid having migrated towards her forehead. She looks and feels terrible, and her body is pained from all of the trouble she has given the guards. She waits for Azula, heart racing.

She knows she should have said no. While her freedom is tempting, she thinks this may be her chance to save Azula. And by saving Azula, save the world. Not to mention she... she sees this as a second chance to do things right. To fix her plethora of useful mistakes and to free Azula from the shadows and just kiss her one more time. Just one more time.

"Let's go. I hate the way this place smells." Azula walks onto the airship and Ty Lee can almost feel the temperature raise a few degrees. She does not know if that is a biochemical reaction on her part, or if Azula is giving off radiation.

Fire Lord Azula holds onto a rope, not bothering to sit down, and faces Ty Lee. She studies her closely as they take off, the subservient crew looking terrified of the Fire Lord. Ty Lee is not dumb enough to say anything. Yet, she is dumb enough to follow Azula blindly.

She remembers when Azula was distracted by the Avatar. It was her vanity project and Mai complained the entire time. They should have just taken Zuko and gone home, but Azula had to overachieve. Almost was never good enough. And Ty Lee believed in Azula to the point that she thought it would work out in the end.

It didn't.

Slowly, Azula walks towards Ty Lee. The prisoner tenses, but Azula takes her by the hair and removes the ribbon ferociously. Ty Lee whimpers, her eyes watering.

"This is driving me crazy," the Fire Lord murmurs as she starts running her fingers through Ty Lee's soft brown hair.

She rips through the tangles and Ty Lee's face contorts with pain, but once her soft brown locks are smooth, the motions of the Fire Lord's sharp nails and slender fingers feels nice. She separates Ty Lee's hair into three sections and begins to braid it. She steps back when they are a quarter of the way home, and Ty Lee's braid is fixed.

She still is covered in dirt and sweat, but the hair is an improvement. Azula does not know if she did it as a gesture of kindness or for her own aesthetic pleasure.

"So, are you sure you want to leave the Fire Nation in the middle of the war?" Ty Lee asks, knowing she is screwing herself.

"I've put a year of thought into this. I need to do this. I've sent countless assassins and endless soldiers after him. But some things, you simply have to do yourself. I'll leave at the last minute possible, put brief martial law in place on the home front, take the Avatar out, and return home," Azula explains, sounding more detached than usual. Ty Lee feels a twisting sensation of worry inside of her. "I killed him once before, didn't I?"

"And when would we leave?" Ty Lee asks, feeling nervous. Azula pauses.

"I'm not ready yet. I want it all to be laid out in front of me for the taking before I go after it. I worked hard enough for the Fire Nation; I'm not giving it up so easily," Azula says, picking at her skin. Ty Lee recalls watching her pick at her skin until it bled the last time they were in one of these airships together. They were on the way to the Boiling Rock.

"You love me: yes or no?" Ty Lee asks as the wind billows through her hair.

And Azula replies, "No."

Ty Lee thinks she is telling the truth. Too often, she hopes Azula is lying.

"Then why are you getting me so early?" Ty Lee asks and Azula looks as if she will not answer. The acrobat's heart speeds up as she realizes that she must have angered Azula. She spent most of her life simply telling Princess Azula what she wanted to hear, and it worked out for the best for the both of them.

"Maybe I'm lonely. Now shut up." Typical diversion tactics from Azula. Ty Lee is used to them, and Azula is certain Ty Lee is too unintelligent and trusting to notice.

Back in the prison, Mai is reeling from the news about Zuko. On one hand, Azula has a lying habit. On the other, Azula also would love to keep her brother as a prisoner and brutally torture him. It could so easily go either way.

"What's bothering you?" Katara demands as she wakes up. The waterbender stretches and tries to come to terms with her blurry vision. They gave her far too much this time.

"Azula was here," Mai says and Katara's eyes flash and then narrow. They both share a mutual resentment for the Fire Lord.

"What did she do?" Katara asks, leaning forward. Her hair grazes against her knees.

"She told me that Zuko is alive," Mai says quietly and Katara's eyes flicker. But quickly, Katara frowns.

"I saw him die, Mai," Katara says as Mai stands up, walks to the wall and punches it. It brings her no satisfaction so she smashes her fist into it so hard that she hears her knuckles pop. Still, it does not help her feel any better.

"You don't know. They dragged you away," Mai says bitterly and Katara purses her lips. "People survive lightning strikes. Lots of people do."

"Aang didn't─"

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't resurrect my boyfriend from the dead like Miss Water Peasant can," Mai snarls and Katara's heart flutters. She looks genuinely wounded. And Katara only wants to help her. "But you know what I can do?"

"What?" Katara breathes, unsure what is coming next. She has never seen Mai display any emotion other than apathetic, and this is frightening.

"Avenge him. You're going to waterbend us out of the Boiling Rock, and then we're going to end this war."

Meanwhile, Ty Lee finds herself in a familiar place she never thought she would see again. Her home city. Well, her mother was born in the colonies, and her father further to the west, in a small town, but they moved to the Capitol when he was promoted in the military, and they settled to have children and live in wealth and luxury.

Ty Lee wonders how many of them paid for her mistake.

She feels the shackles rub against her wrists as she is guided several steps behind the Fire Lord's palanquin. The form of Azula barely visible through curtains sends shivers through Ty Lee's body. Memories of both pleasure and pain, jubilation and regret. Their relationship is complicated in the worst manner of ways.

Her discomfort with her appearance is reflected in the faces of those who stare at the sole prisoner surrounded by guards. And they finally, after her walk of humiliation, arrive at the palace.

"Take her to her room. I have to make up for lost time," Azula calls without making eye contact with her old flame, and Ty Lee is seized by the arms. She could walk the palace on her own; she knows every nook and cranny. But they drag her to... Azula's room?

If this is going to turn into some kind of terrifying sex thing... Ty Lee might... be okay with that? She is feeling incredibly confused. The acrobat is not smart enough to handle this.

She finds a note on Azula's bed, which is tightly made and clearly long abandoned.

I've prepared the room for your stay ─ that is until we go after the Avatar. The wardrobe is stocked; the clothes all look tacky enough for you to like. Feel free to use whatever you want in the bathroom, but you may have noticed the bars on the windows and the locked doors.

You are a prisoner here.

Don't forget it.

And her signature; the signature of the Fire Lord. Ty Lee recalls that being the only part she would leave out of the tests she cheated on and the homework she copied. Azula is the only reason she made it through the Academy, and then subsequently, she abandoned Azula for the circus.

Wrong move.

In the Boiling Rock, she would sit in solitary confinement and think about how she should have never left. How much better things would be if she had not decided to pursue stardom and leave the crown princess behind. Or maybe it would just make the inevitable infinitely worse.

Ty Lee sets down the note, smoothing it out gently, and walks to the wardrobe. She opens it and finds a variety of ruby outfits, some slinkier, some intended for fighting; none of them are Azula's. The Fire Lord prepared lavishly for a prisoner she claims to hate. Something feels incredibly off and unnerving about Azula and it leaves Ty Lee feeling on edge.

She picks up a light red dress ─ the closest to pink she can find ─ and walks to the bathroom. She draws a bath, looking for matches to heat the water and finding a pretty gilded box of them. They used to be lacking in Azula's room, another mental note Ty Lee makes as she analyzes her quarters.

Humming an old song, she strips down while studying herself intently in the mirror.

"Where'd you get those scars?"

And Ty Lee screams. Behind her has appeared Fire Lord Azula, who is studying the moon white marks left from whip lashes on Ty Lee's back.

"How did you get in here?" Ty Lee gasps, pressing her hands over her cleavage. As if Azula has not seen all of that as both friend and lover.

"It's my house, you know?" Azula crosses her arms. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"I got them from fighting with the guards so much," Ty Lee admits, letting her hands fall. Azula does not look away. Ty Lee is not sure if that is impolite or if she is allowed to after all they've done and been through together. "I spent most of the time after... just after, alone. I made friends originally, with the Kyoshi Warriors of all people. But I got... self destructive." Silence. "It's stupid. Really stupid. I'm just going to take a bath."

Ty Lee's face is bright pink. Azula is motionless, still like a statue, though her hands seem to perpetually shake. Ty Lee notices that they never did before, but now they constantly twitch and tremble and contort as if she is afraid or in pain. But her face is bitter, remorseless and cold. Her body hard and a variety of things Ty Lee does not want it to be for her.

"Well, enjoy your bath," Azula says airily, walking away and sitting on the bed. She tilts her head slightly to the side and Ty Lee does not know what she is supposed to do.

"Do you want to sleep with me or something?" Stupid, stupid, stupid. But Azula laughs.

"Not really, no. Were you hoping I would?" Derision. Ty Lee feels ridiculous. Naked and ridiculous. "We're having dinner together. I'll see you then."

And Azula is gone. She shuts and locks the door behind her and Ty Lee feels momentarily claustrophobic. She looks at the bars on the sealed shut windows, the locks on the only door and the strange way the room has been recently cleaned to the point of spotlessness.

She dips into the bath, feeling a year's worth of filth washing off of her. And she scrubs at herself, finding a glass bottle of shampoo that she hopes Azula will not be angry at her for using, and she washes her own hair, scratching her scalp with her ragged fingernails.

By the end, she feels... clean. The water is bubbly from soap and light brown from filth when Ty Lee gets out of it and dries herself with a blood red towel. When she looks in the mirror, she feels different. She feels like a traitor in her own skin for accepting Azula's offer instead of remaining in prison with Mai as she should.

"I was more shocked than her," is the first thing Mai says when she and Ty Lee are stripped down and forced into a cell. "I never imagined you would do that for me. I was dead for sure."

"You owe me one."

More than one.

Azula paces in the dining room. She awaits Ty Lee, who will be taken by guards in chains and that should be satisfying. But Azula feels strange and she does not like strange. There is nothing more she hates than surprises and the unpredictable.

Never again will she miscalculate.

She hesitates, wondering what she will even discuss at dinner. Hopefully she can merely taunt her prisoner and escape to father's bedroom. Her bedroom ─ she has to stop calling it that.

Azula sits at the dining room table. Two months have passed since she took the throne and her father presumably died.

The table is long and ornate, with grooves in the archaic wood. She sat alone here in this chair many times in her life, staring blankly forward as she was served by scurrying servants. But she never imagined eating alone as being permanent.

There is so much silence. Her father is gone and she lives her alone at night, sleeping in what once was his bedroom. There is so much silence.

"I'm so fucking tired of the quiet!" Azula screams and no one is around to hear it except the silent servant several rooms away who gave her the dinner she simply picks at and does not eat. "So... it's hot out today, isn't it, chair across the room?" Pause. "You think so too?" Pause. Azula enthusiastically nods. "Yes, the summer has been endless. Maybe I'll move to the South Pole with you." Pause. "Yes, just a girl and her chair in the South Pole with the water p─"

"Your high-highness...?" comes the voice of some petty servant. Caught. Azula's face is red.

"Banished."

Azula sits at her chair, looking forward at an empty seat. The same routine every night. She avoids eating except at dinner, save for maybe forcing herself something when she is about to pass out from training and trying to thwart her uncle. Deciding which little boys and girls die at war and trying to figure out when she is going to stop being a little girl and start being a real Fire Lord.

What is being the real Fire Lord like? These are the questions that never leave her, tugging at her like wet clothes dragging her to the bottom of the ocean.

There is no one to throw her a lifeline or help her reach the surface; Fire Lord Azula must sink or swim on her own.