Chapter-69

Everything had been ruined, and there was nothing left that could remedy this.

With every step, Azula felt her heart pounding like a drum, as if it might burst from her chest at any moment. Only an hour ago, she had just returned home, and she was immediately summoned to an audience with her father.

The journey to the Fire Lord's throne had never felt as long and daunting as it did now. When she finally arrived, she had the misfortune of finding someone standing by the door.

"I heard about your failure."

The mere tone of the voice fueled an irrational rage within the princess.

"I don't see why you should care... Auntie," Azula greeted the woman before her with dryness. This woman in her mid-twenties shared her piercing golden eyes and dark hair, dressed in one of the commander's armors that hugged her slender yet strong figure.

"It's a pity. Of Ursa's children, you were my favorite," Aunt Siu spoke with apparent affection, but her smile held mockery and malice. "But where are my manners? How is my niece, Aunt Siu's favorite?" She extended her right hand, seemingly wanting to caress Azula's hair.

Azula recoiled, avoiding her touch. Her wrist was caught in the air, and golden flames danced on the tips of the firebender's fingers. Aunt Siu brought the flames closer with a joyful smile, nearly singeing her niece's eyes.

"You still have a long way to go. It seems the talent of another generation, like your mother, isn't as special as everyone thinks."

Azula's eyes widened with anger, her hands igniting with blue flames, only to have them vanish when the armored woman squeezed her wrist, almost to the point of breaking it.

"Although I like your look," her aunt enjoyed the fierce hatred in Azula's eyes, a look full of anger and resentment just at the mention of her mother. "It's nice to see that even after all these years, you haven't forgotten her, even though you were the one who made her leave."

"Do you think I care?"

"I don't know, tell me."

"..."

"Come on, Azula, you have to go inside. You don't want to keep the Fire Lord waiting, do you?" Her aunt squeezed the girl's shoulder, urging her towards the grand doors. The doors closed slowly behind Azula, giving her a last glimpse of her aunt, who never stopped smiling.

With the doors now closed behind her, Azula began to walk towards her father's throne, adorned with flames that flickered with every step she took. Once she reached the throne, she dropped to her knees, bowing her head before the dark silhouette of her father.

"Do you know why you are here?" It wasn't even a question; it was a statement of disappointment from Ozai, his gaze fixed on his daughter.

"Yes, Father."

"He is the Lord of Fire..." The flames of his throne nearly scorched the princess, who didn't move a single muscle.

"Yes... Lord of Fire." With a determined expression, the girl raised her gaze to meet her father's.

"You have failed, and you have no excuse."

"No."

"You know, Azula, I'm not angry about your failure to kill that boy," Azula barely managed to hide her confusion in her eyes. Her father rose from his throne and descended slowly. "What angers me is that you spent two days with him in a cave, and you don't have a single scratch. It makes me wonder, what happened in there? Did you even fight him? Did you at least try?"

Azula's gaze froze as she felt her cheek burn. In shock, she looked at her father's raised right hand, his eyes burning with a mixture of rage and disappointment.

"Just give me another chance, Father, and I won't let you down!" The girl pounded her head against the ground, begging her father for one more opportunity. "I've served you my whole life! I've been the most loyal soldier in your ranks, and I've never failed you! Please, Father! Show me mercy!"

Her throat ached from screaming so fervently, pleading for the chance to earn her father's approval. It was the only thing that had ever truly mattered to her in her entire life. She had given her all for it, and now, she needed this chance. She wouldn't fail.

She wouldn't hesitate to deal with Uzumaki Naruto, and if necessary, she would bring his head to her father to prove her loyalty.

She vowed it.

Lifting her head, her golden eyes sought some hint of mercy in her father's gaze.

But there was none.

"You will never call me 'Father' again." Ozai gripped the shoulder pad of his daughter's armor with his right hand, lifting her off the ground until she stood before him.

In the shadowy throne room of the Fire Lord, only the creaking of armor filled the silence. Azula was in shock as her father removed one of the shoulder pads from her armor.

"You're no longer worthy of calling me 'Father'." The next to be torn away was her hair crown.

"No, Father, please!" Azula tried in vain to stop her father, to reason with him, but she screamed in agony as her hair crown was ripped away, taking several strands of her hair with it.

"You're not worthy of your title!" The Fire Lord showed no mercy.

Each piece of her armor was shattered.

And every emblem that had once filled her with pride was stripped from her.

In the end, she knelt on the floor, her armor in ruins, her hair wild and tangled, concealing her eyes, tears struggling to be contained. She dared not look at her father, head bowed low.

"I, Ozai, son of Azulon, Fire Lord, banish you... so that you may never return. You have lost your honor, your family's name, and you've stained our family's legacy with your deeds, just as your brother did."

"..." She bit her lower lip until it bled, hoping the pain would numb the deep ache in her chest, but it didn't.

"You have two hours to leave, or you will be executed."

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