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She doesn't know what it will accomplish. Practically nothing, realistically. It wouldn't be any more gratifying than gloating in front of a defeated enemy before delivering the final blow. Of course, Azula had always found that extremely gratifying - seeing them look down and squirm uncomfortably. But the dragon of the west had never been known to squirm.
She wasn't as used to sneaking out of the palace as Zuko was (of course she knew about all the times he crept out as silently as possible when he was sure everyone was asleep - he had always been loud) but she easily made her way outside and through the Fire Nation Capital without any servants or nobles noticing. Firelord Ozai had been careful selecting the prison his traitorous brother had been sent to. A small one on the outskirts of the city, entirely missable and not even particularly high security. She found her father's choice hilarious - despite his high status, Iroh wasn't even worthy of excessive guards or protection. The prison where he would die was worthy of her uncle, Azula supposed. He would go as he had lived - pathetic and without fanfare.
Approaching the building, she noticed a few darkly dressed guards encircling the building. She was ready to intimidate them into leaving alone but when they noticed her they seemed to hurriedly turn in the other direction. Just as she thought - Zuko's already scared them into not interrupting. And they probably think she's him, thanks to her robes. She made her way to Iroh's cell without any pointless disruption and paused as she neared the door.
She was again faced with the irritating thought that she doesn't actually know what she's doing there. It was easy to imagine smiling above her feeble, old uncle when she was back in her palace chambers but now, stood in front of the large metal door, she feels like a child. No, that's not right, she would never think something so infantile just because she's about to confront her uncle. No, she feels... like Zuko, she supposes. Acting on some silly impulse like wanting to talk to your uncle does seem like something Zuko would do rather than Azula. That must be why she's hesitating - she's spent her whole life proving that she is not her brother, that she is better and stronger more worthy than he could ever be. He probably came to see his uncle all those times to cry pathetically and beg for forgiveness. Azula was here to do the opposite - to show her uncle what a true heir looks like. She opens the door.
She sees exactly what she expected - the dragon of the west hunched up next to the wall, his back turned to her. He looks so, so small, even from where she's standing. She thinks back to when he was in his prime, the crown Prince of the Fire Nation, golden topknot shining above a patriotic smile. The man who made jokes about slaughtering peasantry and wrote home with gifts. She knew she didn't like him when he sent her dolls, for spirits sake. He looked down on her, she knew it. Well, she hopes he remembers how he used to think of her when he sees her now.
She used to repeat everything she heard about him from the officials around the palace, to her mother's chagrin- that after his son died, he lost it completely. That he was a ghost of his former self. A liability. Her father seemed happy with her when she said those things, so she kept saying them. And look how right she'd been! She knows he's noticed her entering, and probably knows she's not Zuko or a guard either. She might as well start talking.
"I've come to visit, uncle. I wanted to see how your new lodgings are treating you." Mockery drips off her voice and she lets it. Her uncle says nothing in return, as she'd expected. She'd overheard Zuko's complaints to Mai about his silent treatment and she'd figured she'd receive no different. Still, this silence implied that she was waiting for something, and the crown princess waited for no one.
"There was a war meeting today." She places her right hand on her hip and begins examining the nails on her left - a calculated gesture she's begun to do even before thinking whenever she wants to communicate her disinterest. "Zuko kicked up a fuss about receiving an invitation or not but ended up attending. I was curious to see whether he could keep his mouth shut this time."
Still no response. She's surprised - she would have expected her doting uncle to at least show some semblance of interest when it concerns his beloved nephew. Perhaps Zuko's betrayal really had hardened the softest member of the royal family. "He did, surprisingly. Even when I suggested burning the entire earth kingdom to the ground during Sozin's Comet. An idea that father instantly took a liking to."
Still no response. This was becoming rather frustrating. She didn't like noticing how much she wanted him to turn around and react to her goading. What would she even want him to say? Call her a monster? Beg for forgiveness? Praise her for her idea, just as her father had? No, she doesn't need him to say anything. She's here- she's here because she is the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation and she can do as she pleases, and tonight she pleases to go to filthy traitorous relatives and make them talk to her.
"Really, uncle, I don't see how sulking like a child is going to get you anywhere. Look at you. You're just- you're just pathetic. I don't even know why I came here. Perhaps I just wanted to see how far a treacherous fool could fall." She wants to leave then, leave before her father could find out she was there and think her weak or emotional. But something bubbles up inside her, a question she asks before she can consider just how childlike it makes her seem.
"I wonder.. if you had shown me the same love you've shown Zuko, how things would have turned out differently."
Pathetic.
He turns then, looking into her with the same golden eyes she herself as well as her whole family has, but the look isn't as hard as her father or as tense as her brother. The look in his eyes was sad - not pitiful, but sad. She feels triumphant when he turns, and hates how she's given him the power to make her feel like that. She rectifies it then - she does not care what her uncle does. She does not care what her uncle thinks of her. She is Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and all she cares about it herself.
When he speaks, his voice seems weighted - thick and heavy. She doesn't know whether it's because of what she said or if prison means he doesn't need to talk very much. Probably the latter.
"Azula..." He pauses for a while as he stares into her eyes. She feels tempted to look away, but holds his gaze, as strong and proud as possible. "When I looked at Zuko, I saw... a troubled boy. He was confused by what his father and country were telling him, and his own heart. That only increased after the Agni Kai." A slight pause. "He seems to be less confused now.
"But you. You never seemed confused. Zuko trembled under Ozai's gaze. You thrived. You wanted nothing more than to be what he wanted you to be. And so, I made my decision. I followed your brother because I thought he needed me. I didn't think you did." He stands then, still looking at her. "I might have been wrong."
Azula only feels rage at his response. How dare he act like she could possibly need him? How dare he look at her with that pitying expression? This isn't right - she should be the one smirking above him but instead, he's making her feel small and young. She feels anger at him for not recognising her clear superiority to her brother, her innate greatness from birth that had earned her everything she had today. She was angry that this sorry mess of a man could even hope to say anything that could touch her heart.
And... and...
She was angry at him for looking at her when she was young and only seeing what she wanted him to see. What she wanted everyone to see.
That doesn't matter now. She's the monster everyone thought she was. She's fine with it. No, she LIKES it. Iroh was right about one thing - she's thriving.
She doesn't like the hot, prickly feeling she's getting on her face so she turns around with a scoff and marches towards the door. It's better to return to the palace before anyone recognises she's gone and notifies her father. She will return to the palace, she will go to sleep, and she will never think about this night ever again.
She doesn't need her uncle. She doesn't need her uncle. Princess Azula doesn't need anyone.