Chapter Text
Lu Ten awoke with a start.
It was strange, he was normally such a heavy sleeper. His mother told him that he took after his father in that regard. Although he vehemently denied that he snored just as heavily as him.
Tonight though, sleep had not come easily to him. And after a few hours of tossing and turning and restless sleep filled with strange dreams, he could not will himself to go back to bed.
So rather than stare at the ceiling, Lu Ten got out from his covers and made his way out of his chambers. He closed the door quietly behind him and waited for the head of Yuriko to poke out from the servant quarter’s directly across the hall from Lu Ten’s room.
Yuriko, Lu Ten’s personal servant, was a very nice man and Lu Ten got along with him well enough, but he was undeniably overly attentive. No matter how quietly Lu Ten would sneak out from his chambers and regardless or what time of day it was, Yuriko would poke his head out from his room or around the corner and immediately ask Lu Ten if he needed anything.
Tonight though, Yuriko was nowhere to be seen. Lu Ten gave a small frown to the still closed door and briefly considered knocking and seeing if Yuriko was alright before shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the thought. It was the middle of the night; he reasoned the man was probably just asleep.
Lu Ten walked through the lavish halls of the palace, dimly illuminated as only every third lantern was still lit. There was enough light for any servants running a late night errand, but any sleeping firebenders wouldn’t be kept up from the distraction that a live flame could provide.
Having no destination in mind, he kept himself to the wing of the palace that contained his and the rest of the royal family’s chambers. Lu Ten thought about knocking on his parents’ door, but he felt a little too old to go to his mom and dad just because he couldn’t sleep.
He had just passed the corridor leading to their chambers when he stopped in his tracks. Something was off, and he was finally able to put his finger on it. He hadn’t seen a single servant since he had left his bed.
Given his heavy sleeping, he didn’t exactly have a habit of wandering around late at night, but he certainly knew that after dark there was always at least a few servants wandering around accomplishing various tasks. The evidence was in the freshly cut flowers replaced in the vases across the palace, or the breakfast always awaiting him in his bedroom’s antechamber.
It felt especially odd tonight as his cousin Azula had just gotten Agni’s Blessing in a huge ceremony. Lu Ten remembered for Zuko’s ceremony that nobility from all across the Fire Nation had come to The Caldera to see his cousin for the first time. The palace’s guest rooms had to be packed.
Tonight though, the palace was eerily quiet. Lu Ten doubled back and went down the corridor to his parents’ room. He was sure it was just his lack of sleep was feeding this paranoia, but talking to his parents would help calm his mind so he could get back to sleep.
His parents’ chambers were on the far side of the corridor in what he heard some servants call the Dragon’s Nest. It was pretty evident as to why, the Fire Lord’s heir’s chambers had to be entered by passing through an enormous golden dragon head. The door to the chambers located where the dragon’s throat would be. His mother had said that it was terribly tacky, but Lu Ten kind of liked it. And when he thought his mother wasn’t listening, his father would agree with him with a coy smile.
“Only a fool awakes the sleeping dragon.” His father would say with a chuckle as his mother rolled her eyes at him.
Lu Ten tried the door handles, also shaped like golden dragons, but they were locked. He swallowed nervously. His parents never locked the room to their chambers.
When he was six he had a terrible streak of nightmares that kept him awake all night and day. Yuriko had brought him a calming drink that was supposed to help him sleep, but it just added nausea to his insomnia. His mother had brought him back to his parents’ room, and she and his father tucked him into their bed. They both promised to stay up and keep the nightmares at bay while he slept and that was the end of the nightmares. After that, they promised he would always have a space in their bed, no matter what.
Lu Ten gave a tentative knock on the door. “Mom, Dad?” He called out, his voice echoing in the silent hallways. “Are you in there?”
His ear was now pressed against the door, hoping to hear some of his father’s legendary snoring. All was quiet beyond the door though. He waited for a few more moments before moving on.
Paranoid thoughts were now flowing through his mind like a river, and he looked around the empty corridor, suspicious of every shadowed crevice.
He resolved to go see his Aunt Ursa. She was always kind to Lu Ten and he knew she would set his mind straight. At the very least, Lu Ten knew that she struggled with insomnia and would be good company if he couldn’t fall back asleep.
Seeing no servants on the way over did little to calm his nerves. He was now fully convinced that something was wrong.
He felt sweat on his forehead as he half walked and half ran to the corridor where Ozai and Ursa’s chambers were. No longer caring about waking anyone up accidentally, Lu Ten launched himself at Ursa’s door and gave three firm knocks to the door.
He might have had slight more hesitation if his aunt and uncle shared a room, but Ursa had requested her own chambers at the other end of the corridor from her husband due to her insomnia. She had said she didn’t want to keep Ozai up with her struggling to sleep. Lu Ten hoped his future wife wouldn’t have a similar problem, he couldn’t imagine not being able to sleep in the same bed as his wife.
Ursa wasn’t coming to the door no matter how hard Lu Ten knocked. He tried the door handle and was surprised that it opened. He ran through the antechamber and burst into the bedroom.
The window was open, the cool breeze chilling the room and blowing the curtains in a ghostly manner. The bed was unused, clearly still made from the previous day. Ursa was nowhere to be seen.
He ran back out of the chambers and for a split second considered going to Ozai’s chambers to check if his uncle was in. An image of his Uncle Ozai looking rather displeased holding a crying Azula at the ceremony came to mind though, and he thought better than to test how his uncle’s anger would be if woken in the middle of the night. Especially if Lu Ten really was just being paranoid.
Lu Ten was now sprinting down the hall, and was just about to pass the corridor leading to his cousins’ rooms when he came to a screeching halt. Light was pouring out from the slightly open door leading to Zuko’s room.
Filled with apprehension, he crept towards the room and pushed the door fully open. The rooms meant to house royal children when they were toddlers were relatively simple, no antechambers or sitting rooms. Just a room with the child’s crib and some playthings were all that was inside typically. And usually, a royal toddler was typically in that crib.
Tonight though, the crib was empty. The window was open here as well, the full moon casting an eerie glow over the all too quiet room.
Lu Ten felt his chest constrict as he doubled over, struggling for air as his breath came out in short gasps. There was no denying it now, something was definitely wrong.
He closed the door behind him, prepared to run out of the corridor and wake up his grandfather Azulon himself if he had to in order to get some answers. A small cry coming from the door opposite Zuko’s stopped him before he started.
“Azula!” He gasped, relief flooding through Lu Ten as he finally heard another soul in the building.
Not caring if someone was already tending to her, Lu Ten burst through the door and found Azula in her crib. She broke down into a full tantrum as her tear-filled eyes locked onto him.
Lu Ten looked back into the corridor in a panic, praying that someone else was on their way to help with the situation. He had held Zuko and Azula plenty in their short lives, but he was also quick to pass them off to the nearest adult whenever they started crying. He felt truly helpless in the face of a crying baby.
Tonight though, no adults were coming. Lu Ten blew out a long breath. His father had always told him that he was training to deal with difficult situations, Lu Ten just assumed that those situations would involve battle strategy or leading the Fire Nation, not having to calm down his crying cousin.
“Hey, Azula.” He said with a little awkward wave, feeling ridiculous at the gesture the second he made it. Lu Ten unlocked the latch to the crib and picked up Azula, holding her at arm’s length as she continued to sob. “Good… baby.” His voice came out in unsure whisper, feeling completely out of his element.
Thinking of all the times he had seen Ursa or his parents quiet his cousins, Lu Ten took a page from their book and brought her close to his chest and began rocking her back and forth. This only seemed to upset Azula more as she let out an ear-splitting scream.
He grit his teeth, resisting the instinct that told him to put the crying baby back where he found it and just pretend this whole night hadn’t happened.
Instead, he carefully lowered himself and Azula down to the ground, him using the crib as a backrest as he held Azula a little more tightly.
“I’m sorry, Azula. I don’t know what to do.” He said truthfully. His mother had told him if all else fails, he should try the truth.
The truth had little effect on Azula, who continued her assault on his ears with reckless abandon.
Lu Ten leaned his back against the crib and closed his eyes in visible frustration. He allowed a small flame to escape his lips, attempting to quell some of the anxiety he still felt in the pit of his stomach.
He stayed like that for a few seconds, before his eyes shot open as he realized Azula had stopped crying. He brought his gaze downward, terrified he had accidentally warmed his hands when he used his breath of fire.
Azula had ceased crying, but not from any pain. She was actually staring up at Lu Ten, her mouth slightly open in what looked like a small smile. It almost looked like she was staring at his mouth.
Lu Ten gave her a curious look. “It can’t be…” He trailed off, figuring it couldn’t be that simple.
Azula’s lip began to quiver and Lu Ten wasted no more time before pulling one hand off of her and lighting a small flame in that palm. The effect was immediate.
She reached her tiny hands out to the flame and Lu Ten had to adjust her slightly so she couldn’t reach it. His cousin had surprising strength despite being just a baby still.
“You like the fire, then?” He asked her with a smile as he moved the flames to his finger and bounced it between his pointer and middle fingers. That earned quite a bit of happy cooing from Azula.
Lu Ten performed a few more simple tricks he knew, and each seemed to excite Azula more than the last. Satisfied that she had calmed down, Lu Ten stood up and placed her back into the crib and re-latched it.
Still craving answers on this mysterious night, Lu Ten made for the door again. He only made it a few steps before Azula started crying again.
Lu Ten scooped her up quickly and was on the floor showing her more of his bending in seconds.
They went through this routine several times before Lu Ten realized just how pointless it was trying to leave her be. Rather than get frustrated at her, Lu Ten tried to see things from Azula’s perspective, his parents’ advice creeping out from the back of his mind.
Azula was probably just as scared as he was. Prior to tonight, any time she cried she probably had a whole army of servants come rushing to her aid to help soothe her.
Tonight though, she had only Lu Ten.
“It’s ok, ‘Zula.” Lu Ten said as smiled at her. “I’ll stay with you tonight.”
This seemed to give her great relief as she smiled brightly back at him.
He cautiously brought a small flame closer to her, allowing her to see the dancing fire up close.
“I’ll always be with you, ‘Zula.”