Chapter 22: Bitter Truth

XXX

Everything had quieted down in the Royal Palace - no more meetings or planning, no more parties or nobles. After their little fun, during the day, Azula was ready to go to sleep, but a knock on her door, prevented that.

"Hello?" asked Azula, opening her door and looking around the hallway - nothing. Then she spoted a scroll lying near the door, picking it up and starting to read it. "You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. What demise?"

Azula was curious about this sudden statement, as far as she knew, Fire Lord Sozin died in his sleep - a very, very old man. Unless there was something more, something more sinister or changing. Only one way to find out, and Azula wasn't known to shy away from any hidden truths or secrets.

She quickly changed into her Royal robes, hiding the scroll in her robe and starting to quietly make her way towards Zhan' room, down below.

XXX

Arriving at the underground facility, Azula was fortunate due to there wasn't any guards stationed there, during the night. Unlocking the door with a fireblast, as the door slid open.

"Zhan...wake up..." whispered Azula, to his sleeping form, near a makeshift bed near his desk.

"Uh...oh...what? Azula? What are you doing here?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"This. Read it!" she said, illuminating the room with a small blue flame, as he shook of the tiredness, and started to read.

"Well..." he said, finishing the scroll. "This is interesting and...disturbing."

"What do you remember about Fire Lord Sozin' history? Anything I don't know?" she asked.

"Not much, as much as I know, that has been told in school. Overall in the end, he died a very old man," he said, thinking through the history lesdons. "No mentions of assassinations or other illnesses."

"But how did he die? If this is something to go on, something else happened," she said, illuminating it further. Soon enough, another inscription, started to appear from under it.

"The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragonbone Catacombs," he read out, suprising both of them.

"I suggest we head there immediately," she said, as Zhan rolled-up the scroll.

XXX

The temple was a little difficult to get into, otherwise it wouldn't house the secret documents there. Sneaking in took some effort, but they mostly succeeded - the Fire Sages weren't expecting anybody of their own people, to break-in here. But Azula had her reason for wanting access here, with the information given.

"Okay...we're almost there..." whispered Azula, as they saw a Fire Sage exit from an underground stairway - close it, then leave.

"Follow me...and watch for any Sages," she said, going to the hidden stairway - doing the same firemove, she saw the Fire Sage do and to their luck, the pathway down opened. "Let's go!"

Trekking through the Dragonbone Catacombs, they soon found the secret history department, along what they were looking for - the final testimony of Fire Lord Sozin.

"Lets start, shall we? We gotta a lot to read through," he said, opening the scroll, as he and Azula started to read it.

XXX

"That's it?" asked Azula, as they finished reading through the scroll - most of the knowledge was well-known everywhere. Sozin' history, colonies, the air nomads, yet small pieces that Azula found out: Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin had known eachother, even been friends for a time.

"Did we miss something?" asked Zhan, looking through the scroll, for any hints or secret messages.

"I don't think so," she said. "Well...this was a waste of time. Luring us down here, to read something we already knew!"

"Pretty much. But who sent this?" he asked, rolling-up the scroll and putting it back on its place.

"I got an idea - about who might've sent this and he is sitting in a nearby jail," she said.

XXX

Out of the people, who could've send Azula this letter and knew about the Dragonbone Catacombs were a few. Only the Royal family, and a few high-ranking Fire Sages and nobles. In retrospect, that only one person - General Iroh.

"You sent this, didn't you...uncle?" said Azula, having made her way from the Royal Palace to her Uncle Iroh' jail, her fianceé alongside her. Intenting to get some answers to this mindless chase, over her Uncle's sudden idiocy, in messing with her. "I found your so-called secret history about Sozin, which by the way most people already know. So what was the idea? Trying to get me caught, and drawn into a scandal? What's your game, about me and this secret, about this so-called great-grandfather' demise? Who was, might I add still alive, after it all?"

"No, he wasn't," spoke Iroh, looking Azula face-to-face for the first time in ages.

"What are you talking about?" asked Azula. "What aren't you telling me?!"

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Azula. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku," said Iroh, calmer than ever.

"What! Impossible!" exclaimed Azula, suddenly shocked and confused.

"Believe it or not, my niece..." said Iroh, calling Azula niece - the other time was when she was a child, years ago. "...it is true."

"Why are you telling me this?! Why?!" asked Azula, angrier than ever.

"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand yourself. There is still good inside you Azula - you can still be saved," spoke Iroh.

"Why would I do that?! Betray Fi-"

"I know...what Ozai did to you, when you were a child," said Iroh, bringing up an ancient memory from her mind.

"Don't! You! Dare! Go there!" she yelled, practically inches away from his face.

"I know - you trained until you passed out, you cried until your eyes were red, your body aching until you couldn't move. And...nobody could help you..." spoke Iroh, his face ashamed and sad. "...not me, your mother or your brother - who only saw you as some emotionless being..."

"Why? WHY?!" asked Azula, her face in tears and the cell-bars smoking.

"Your mother tried, but she deduced Zuko was more weaker and vunerable, and anything Ozai would've have done...well he couldn't have handled it. I see know, that you were vunerable too, maybe even more than Zuko...and I was farther away then, too late to realize, too late to fix it. When I had returned, and saw you...I thought you were already gone..." spoke Iroh, each word hitting Azula like a sharp dagger, until Zhan had to practically hold her up. "...yet someone saw beyond you...someone who saw, what you truly are inside..."

Azula at that moment, wanted nothing more than to burn his uncle, right then and there. Seeing Azula at her most vunerable, which he caused...and what all were true. She had given up, trying to stand on her own - her fianceé was holding her up, holding Azula close to his chest, while she silently sobbed.

"You don't have to do anything...Azula...I just wanted you to know, the last words of a propably rambling old man. Whatever you choose, I hope you can forgive this old fool...for what he hadn't done in the past," finished Iroh, as he soon slouched back to a nearby corner. Zhan had hoisted Azula onto his back, she wasn't looking at anything, only her face buried in his shoulder. Soon exiting the jail, carrying Azula on her back. "Congratulations on your engagement, my niece..."

XXX