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It was a warm summer the first time she picked up the biwa. The damned instrument had already been left in her quarters by the time she boarded the battleship, surely by her bothersome uncle. He had been nagging young Azula about the arts for as long as she could remember. She humored the idea of throwing it into the waters or burning it with her yet-orange fire, but the thought of his gentle reprimands were enough to dissuade her.

The first day it was easy to pretend that the amalgam of wood and string wasn't there, but there was not much to do until they reached the shores, so on her fifth night she decided to give it a try. She made sure there were no witnesses when she stroked the first dissonant chord, and the sounds of her unabashed fury at the mindless object were lost to the noise of the raging sea.

Truly, she was not made for music, just as she was not made for love. It evaded her even when she dared search for it.

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A year passed, and she found herself in the royal palace, witnessing Zuko’s newest form of embarrassment. The damned spawn couldn’t be satisfied with being the weakest firebender of the family; no, he had to go and follow Uncle Iroh’s worst advice. 

Her brother followed the servants as they rolled the giant hunk of wood to the east hall’s parlor and was quick to remove all the protective linens in an uncontrolled frenzy. Her mother was also there, looming over his shoulder like a watchtower, with those caring eyes she had reserved for him only. 

The ‘instrument’ was huge and black. Azula couldn’t even begin to fathom how one was supposed to play it until Zuko raised a lid and uncovered a large set of black and white keys. He pressed his little and frail fingers to them and began producing strange sounds. Mother cheered, and he looked proud at her in that shy manner of his.

Azula scoffed and stormed off the parlor, going straight to the training arenas. She kept perfecting her fire, an actually useful skill, but was still bothered by the foreign instrument. Music. What a pointless thing. 

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Azula started avoiding the east hall. It was often polluted by Zuko’s incessant playing, each note a jab to her head. Instead, she started roaming through the palace gardens. She wanted to be mad at her brother but found that the change didn’t really bother her that much.

“All day with his ‘music.’ Ugh, for Sozin’s comet, I can’t see the appeal, really. When will you realistically need to play an instrument? When will that ever win against a sharp blade? Now I can’t even enter the palace in peace.” Azula huffed the complaints as Ty Lee followed her around the trail. Her ally absently nodded as her gaze jumped from trees to flowers.

“Well, at least that means we can spend more time here. This place is so nice!” The ever optimistic girl kept smiling, even through Azula's stare.

Their strolling came to a stop once they reached the palace gates. A group of nobles were receiving a royal welcome. Loud trumpets and horns laid a magnificent and dignified melody whilst the guards stood tall and saluted with their spears. Even from afar, they could tell that the small-town novelty were intimidated by such a display. Their loyalty and fear were already guaranteed.

“Well then,” Ty Lee chirped, “music does have some uses.”

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“Here we have all sorts of goods from all sorts of lands! All crafted with the best quality materials and by the most skilled luthiers you could ever find.”

Azula strolled through the luxurious aisles. Never had she imagined herself browsing for music. But she would inevitably become the Fire Lord, and another source to display her prowess would be nice.

“What’s the most difficult instrument to master? The one that requires the most skill?” She requested sharply.

“Oh—well, that can be a very subjective matter, but… this over here,” the shop owner hurriedly walked to a different room and came back with a small object. “The violin! It’s an instrument that originated in the northern Earth Kingdom city of—”

“I’ll take it. Two, in case one gets incinerated.” Her servants were quick to pay for the instruments and accessories. She boarded her carriage impatiently, and soon the dragon moose began to walk. Azula could not wait to start playing. She would show Zuko what real music sounded like. She would impress everyone in the palace with her violin. How hard could it be, really?

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Zuko was playing with the turtleducks. That’s what he had been doing for the past hour. Playing with the turtleducks while mother and uncle shared tea on the veranda. How stupid. Azula was studying on the top floor, ergo her immaculate views of the palace’s grounds. Mai was seated next to her, also staring at Zuko. 

“Are we gonna get our work done? Or are we just gonna keep staring at your brother? Not that I’m complaining, he’s pretty cute”.

Azula knew she was just trying to rile her up with the nonsensical concept of her brother and cute in the same sentence. Mai just did that sometimes. It was entertaining, so she never made her stop. She was the sarcastic one, Ty Lee was the bubbly one and she… 

She huffed, the summer heat pressing on her shoulders, and returned to her books. “Let’s finish this. I have practice later”.

“Yeah, me too”. She noticed Mai, however, kept staring. How stupid.

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Azula congratulated whoever had come up with the violin. Not for the sounds it produced, no. But, because that small thing was the clear work of a sadist. Even fighting with Father left her less sore. Her fingers, which had already been quite rough, were growing calluses by the minute. And holding her arm in such an awkward position for so long was killing her shoulders.

“Let’s try that scale one more time.” Her instructor’s strained smile faltered as she dropped her violin in a violent motion. 

She had been practicing eight hours a week, enough to quickly improve her skills but not too much as to interfere with her studies. She had been suffering those hours with the hope of quickly learning an impressive piece or two to perform. 

“Let’s move on to something else. It seems like scales is all I’ve been doing this week.” The lanky man swiftly shuffled through his sheet music. He had been one of the few instructors they were able to find on such short notice. A shame. He was awfully slow.

“Okay,” he coughed, “Chen’s fifth.”

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Zuko was playing the piano. Wasting time was all he did as of late, Azula thought. The sun had already set, and she was on her way to the kitchens, which meant she had to cross the parlor. Her step slowed down against her will as she heard a foreign melody. She didn’t recognize it but could tell it was from abroad. Earth Kingdom? Perhaps. A thought stopped her right in her tracks. Enemy music? In the midst of a war?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a passing silhouette. Father. 

Before the man could approach the hall, she rushed to the piano and ripped the notes from the stand. 

“What—? Give me those!”

“Reading still? Have you no memory, dear brother?” 

Azula relaxed once she saw her father out of the corner of her eye. He wasn’t furious. There wasn’t much of anything in his expression.

“I’ll have you know I was sight-reading. My tutor says it’s impressive that I'm already doing that.”

She eyed the notes. “Gee, two chords and a melody. Be careful, Mo Zart, don’t overextend yourself.” She chuckled dryly as he kept staring. 

“Come on, Azula. We can share it if you want it that badly.” Had he not realized what she was trying to tell him by naming the Earth National Composer? She shook her head. Better safe than sorry.

“Here you go.” The paper moved over to him but erupted in flames before he could grasp it.

“Azula! Why did you do that!” He tried to hold onto the burnt remains but only managed to stain his hands. “I hate you! Get out of here!” Her brother cried.

She forced herself to laugh and only stopped when she saw her father had already left. She kept smiling all the way to her room, and, once her door was locked, her expression dropped to a sulk. It stayed like that until she fell asleep. Hungry, but too tired to leave again.

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The next day, she accidentally came across Iroh. Ever since Lu Ten’s death, he'd been a persistent pest in her palace. She idly wondered how much longer Grandfather would entertain his excuse from the battlefield.

“Oh! My niece, how convenient. I was just looking for you.” He stated, despite showing no effort to look for anyone whatsoever. She approached the veranda where he was lazing out of social obligation.

“Greetings, Uncle, how may I be of service?”

“Right to the point as always, I see,” he chuckled while sipping tea, a beverage that simply happened to appear whenever he was around. “I heard you’ve taken a liking to music, is that right?”

“I have started playing an instrument, yes.” Her eyes narrowed. “The violin. I plan to master it soon.” Her uncle just laughed.

“Oh, Azula, one does not simply master an instrument. One learns to be one with the instrument. To make music like a bender makes fire.”

"Well, if that will be all," murmured Azula after an awkward beat of silence. Iroh, undisturbed, kept sipping his tea. She was pretty sure it was Jasmine. She had seen Zuko drink it quite often.

“Will I be able to hear you play soon? Music is a gift that must be shared.”

Why did he always have to speak like a walking oracle? “Maybe. My current instructor drags my progress like a battleship's anchor, so it might take a while”.

“Is that so?” And he smiled at her, in that way she knew he was brewing something other than tea. “Then I have a little proposal that might interest you.”