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This was Azula’s tenth year as her brother’s prisoner. Though the early years had been as chaotic as ever, with many failed escape attempts by Azula and botched efforts at connection by Zuko, the siblings had managed to find some consistency.
For the past few years, Fire Lord Zuko forced himself to visit Azula thrice a year. Her birthday, his birthday, and the anniversary of their mother’s disappearance.
Azula despised that treacherous usurper with the fiercest of passion, but she always looked forward to his little visits. Getting to goad her brother into anger was one of the few pleasures life still afforded her. He had, admittedly, become less volatile in recent years, but she remembered what buttons to push.
The former conqueror had no power, no prestige, no prospects, no allies, and quite honestly, no life. She could barely conjure up a flame after spending so many years locked away in the dark. Winding up her brother was the only regard where she still had it.
This year, on Azula’s birthday, Zuko made a critical error that would go on to haunt him. For reasons Azula could not even begin to fathom, he brought his young daughter with him to meet her aunt. Crown Princess Izumi of the Fire Nation was a friendly, sweet young girl of four, who had been eager to meet her only aunt. Azula wanted nothing to do with the brat. She made that abundantly clear, but strangely enough, the girl was immediately and utterly fascinated by her disgraced aunt.
This interest reached a fever pitch when the siblings got into a shouting match, which ended with both of them bending flames in anger. Izumi had been surrounded by firebenders since birth, but the discovery that Azula could summon blue flames was enough to set her tiny little mind ablaze with excitement. There was a fire-proof screen separating them, so it wasn’t as if Azula posed any threat, but still, firebending was strictly forbidden among prisoners and met with swift disciplinary action. She was immediately chi-blocked by the gaggle of Kyoshi Warriors overseeing her, who then dragged her paralyzed body back to her cell. Izumi cried and cried as she watched the aunt she had just met be hauled away, begging her father to make them stop.
While it hadn't been one of Azula’s better birthdays, it was nowhere near her worst, either.
Azula figured that the girl had just inherited her father’s soft heart; she never expected to deal with Izumi again. That came as a relief to her, and was one of the few small mercies Azula was granted during her imprisonment.
The very next day, however, tragedy struck. Azula had been dragged again to the prison’s visiting room and forced to interact with her niece. Then, she began visiting every day her father allowed her – which was most days. Zuko was extremely soft with her, somehow even more lenient than Ursa had been with him. He even put in special instructions to the warden that she was allowed to firebend within reason during her visits.
Within reason meant she could do silly little tricks in front of the screen while Izumi clapped and two Kyoshi Warriors stood within arm’s reach of her, ready to pounce if she stepped out of line. If she refused to perform like a well-behaved circus animal, she’d lose the only bit of leverage she had as a prisoner, which was being the Crown Princess’s favourite novelty.
Azula had known nothing but humiliation since her capture, but that might have been her most degrading chapter yet. If Zuko had any mercy, he would’ve killed her years ago.
But instead, she was alive and forced to endure a fate worse than death. Izumi was so persistent, and her father so spineless, that Azula was now being paraded around the palace grounds once a week for supervised visits.
After years of being her brother’s prisoner, the disgraced princess was granted permission to occasionally wander the palace and firebend under supervision. Or rather, Izumi wandered the palace and demanded to be entertained, while Azula had to follow and submit herself to the whims of a four-year-old.
These weekly visits were the first time she had seen the sun in a decade, and it was not because Azula had found some dignity and was finally taking back all that was rightfully hers.
No, it was because Zuko didn’t know how to say no to his darling little girl. Azula had been also her father’s favourite and the apple of his eye, but she could only imagine the hellfire that would’ve rained down on her if she had made such an outrageous request at Izumi’s age.
For all of the heedless ambition and youthful misbehavior of Azula’s past life, she had always known her place was under the Fire Lord. She had been his most loyal servant, his most useful tool, and had the good sense to fear him. That was the natural order of things – the way it ought to be if your family was going to rule the nation.
Izumi, meanwhile, didn’t fear her father in the least. She was going to be useless to him if that kept up, but Azula didn’t concern herself with the wrong way Zuko was raising his heir.
She was not her child, after all. Thank the spirits for that.
At least she got to firebend this way, however limited the scope. She desperately needed the practice if she was ever going to reclaim the throne. She had to make the most of this opportunity, before the Crown Princess grew bored of her and moved onto the next thing. At which point, Azula would be thrown back into the dungeon and stripped of whatever measly privileges Izumi’s short-lived favour had granted her.
That was due to happen any day, now. Azula knew very little about children and would’ve liked to know even less, but she was aware four-year-olds were fickle creatures.
***
The princesses were in the palace courtyard this week, practicing firebending. Rather, Azula was practicing, while Izumi was watching, cheering, and flailing around the grass in what Azula could only guess was an attempt to mimic her moves.
Izumi would provide innate commentary when she was trying to focus, which was annoying, but still ultimately worth it. This was the price Azula had to pay for being able to firebend at all.
The girl was still too young to grasp that she was supposed to hate Azula, and far too young to understand the reasons why. She would fall in line soon enough, but in the meantime, she looked at her aunt with stars in her eyes.
Much to the chagrin of Zuko, Mai, and everybody close to the Crown Princess, Azula was her idol. The arrangement would always be dehumanizing for Azula, but she did revel in how upset it made Izumi’s parents.
“Auntie! Did you know your fire is blue?” Izumi asked sweetly, laying on her stomach atop the freshly trimmed grass. She looked up to Azula with her palms cupping her chin, intensely curious.
She was right to be in awe. Though Azula was out of practice, she was surely a far more impressive firebender than whatever master Izumi would be saddled with when she began training.
It was nice that Izumi recognized her mastery of the element, even in her diminished state. Her niece was a smart girl, in that way, and no others.
Azula paused to gasp for air, winded after a few dozen fire fists. She used to be able to fight platoons of enemy soldiers without breaking a sweat. She kept scanning the perimeter to see if anyone of import was watching her, but it was only Izumi. The armed guards assigned to Azula had to be loitering around as well, somewhere, but were staying out of sight. Zuko didn’t want to frighten Izumi with their presence.
If Azula’s audience included anyone other than a dumb, easily amused four-year-old, she would’ve been too embarrassed to continue.
“I’m aware,” she huffed before beginning another round of punches. Unfortunately, Izumi was becoming chattier as her faculties for language improved.
“So why blue?”
Azula glared at her. She wasn’t authorized to use violence or threats of violence, which meant she could not shut this girl up.
Mai had always been sullen, but Zuko had been talkative at this age as well. That was before their dad set him straight. It was a shame that Izumi would never learn the same lessons he did during his boyhood. She might have actually built some character that way, which of course, the usurper would never allow.
“They’re hotter than orange,” Azula replied in between punches. In her periphery, she could see Izumi open her mouth in amazement. “Now stop talking. I’m busy.”
As usual, Izumi ignored her command. If you asked Azula, her niece was overindulged and underdisciplined. Though no one ever did ask Azula for her opinions on anything these days.
Izumi leaned forward, memorized. “But why hotter?”
A few more punches, in which time Azula decided she wasn’t going to try explaining thermodynamics to a four-year-old.
“Because I’m the best firebender alive,” she said, her voice steadfast while she lied through her teeth.
Izumi looked at her with shimmering eyes, as if she hung the moon.
Azula glared at her once more. “What is it, Spawn?”
“But… but… if you’re the best, but what about daddy and uncle?” Izumi said.
Truthfully, she was no match for either Zuko or her fat, elderly uncle right now. But she would be again. She had to. If she remained inferior to them for much longer, she would have to find a way to end her life altogether.
It was a cowardly thing to do, and Azula had always despised cowardice. But it was warranted; such a pathetic existence deserved to be snuffed out. How did Zuko deal with this sort of inferiority for so long? It was an intolerable way to live.
But Izumi didn’t know any of that. She was too ignorant and too trusting to question anything her favorite relative told her. Granted, she was very young, but Azula doubted that she had ever been so gullible.
Azula placed a hand on her hip. “Are their flames blue?”
Izumi knitted her eyebrows, considering the question, then shook her head.
“Well, there’s your answer,” Azula said with a smirk.
But Izumi had already lost interest in that topic and had another question to bother Azula with. “Can you do a big jump?”
Azula was emboldened by the challenge, determined to show her niece she could in fact do the biggest jump. “Watch closely, Spawn.”
Azula ran forward a few paces before springing off the balls of her feet and launching herself into the air. While airborne, she delivered a fiery ball of blue fire to the sky and twirled into a pirouette upon landing.
Her motion was elegant and her flame acceptable, but it was so far from perfect. How profoundly far it was from perfection made her want to scream at the sky until her lungs went raw.
But she couldn’t scream, because there was a little snotmonster clapping and running towards her on stumpy little legs. Azula watched the horde of one approach her in slow-motion.
Somehow, this girl charging at her was more terrifying than a thousand soldiers. The latter hadn’t troubled Azula in the slightest back in her prime – on the contrary, her blood ran hot and she lived for the thrill of a good fight. She would have given anything to be back in the fray again.
Yet, she always froze up when her niece was toddling towards her like this. It would be the easiest thing in the world for Azula to burn her to a crisp right now, but Izumi was smiling and laughing like she didn’t have the faintest concern. The girl was always so open. Always under the impression that Azula would never, ever hurt her.
She had never known trust like that. It made her a bit sick, to be honest.
“I wanna, I wanna, I wanna! Show me how to firebend, Auntie,” the girl was pleading, having attached herself to Azula’s leg like a barnacle. “Please, please, please!”
“Absolutely not. Get off of me,” she commanded, lightly kicking her leg to slide the little hog monkey off. It would objectively be very funny to drop-kick her niece into the turtleduck pond, but she doubted Zuko and Mai would see the humour.
“I’ll be good, I promise. Please, please, please! I wanna be just like you,” Izumi begged, looking up to her with huge, glittering eyes. “I wanna be the best with you.”
Unfortunately for her, that wasn’t going to work on Azula the way it worked on her brother.
“It’s the best, not a best. There can only be one.”
“But I wanna be the best with you,” she repeated in a whiny voice that was so utterly Zuko. She was sniveling now, just as her brother used to when faced with his own inadequacies.
Azula sighed. All she needed was a servant to pass by and relay to the Fire Lord that his evil, crazy sister was making his darling little girl bawl in the courtyard.
Azula crouched down, forcibly removing the clinging child and depositing her on the ground, several feet in front of her.
“Everybody wants the same things; who cares? It doesn’t matter what you want. It matters who you are, and what you do. You don’t get to be the best by crying.”
Izumi sniffled, wiping snot away with her sleeve. “But blue is pretty. I want blue fire. Not ugly orange.”
“As you should,” Azula smirked, pleased that her niece was developing such excellent taste. “You’ll never catch up to me. But perhaps after you start bending, I’ll give you a few pointers. I’m sure you’ll need them.”
Izumi’s eyes widened with excitement, nodding her little head eagerly. The sight unnerved Azula. She had to curb this brat’s enthusiasm before she burdened Azula with unrealistic expectations.
“But you have the misfortune of being Zuko’s child, and he was a very late bloomer,” Azula cautioned, as if her niece was capable of understanding. “Our dad – that would be your grandfather – feared that his heir wasn’t a firebender. You can imagine how distressing such a prospect would be for a Fire Lord. He was going to dispose of him for being such a shameful failure. That was the first of many instances where your father proved himself unworthy of the throne that he now presides over.”
Izumi was still nodding her head, her mouth agape, hanging on every word the older princess said.
“Then much later, your father had to further dilute the gene pool by procreating with your mother, who hails from a long line of non-benders,” she went on to explain. “Given your parents, I very much doubt that you’ll be a competent firebender before you reach adulthood. That is, if you’re not assassinated before then. Sorry to say, but I’m not optimistic about your chances, Spawn.”
Izumi was earnest in her attempt to understand Azula, but she was only four. This was all going way over her head. “Whoa.”
“Yes, whoa,” Azula agreed, folding her arms. “If your own father was half the man my father was, you would already be training from dawn until dusk, which would expediate the process. But, as it stands now, you probably won’t be firebending for many years. When you do eventually start, I can provide you with a list–”
Before she could finish qualifying her commitment, Izumi had flung herself at Azula and squeezed as tightly as she could. “You’ll teach me! Sifu Azula! I’m gonna make blue fire. You’re the best!”
“Yes, yes. Now, get off.”
Izumi didn’t listen, so Azula could only stand there stiffly, her arms still folded to her chest. She hated this, but was learning to endure the discomfort to appease her young master. If she did something to upset the Crown Princess, she feared she’d never see the light of day again. After all, Izumi was the only reason her brother allowed her to roam the palace grounds and practice firebending.
“Izumi! Don’t touch her! Come here, right now!”
Both the princesses looked up to identify the source of the shouting. Izumi beamed when she saw Mai furiously making her way towards them, while Azula rolled her eyes. The Fire Lady was such an empty husk of a person, but sure enough, she could get herself riled up for Azula and only Azula.
Izumi jumped into Mai’s arms, who sighed and quickly surveyed her daughter, checking for damages. As if Azula would be stupid enough to burn her meal ticket.
“Izumi, what were you doing?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah! We had the best day. Auntie’s so cool!”
“I told you to not roll around in the grass,” Mai chided, inspecting the green and brown stains that covered her daughter. “Look what you’ve done to your dress.”
“Your daughter’s a scamp, but you’re looking lovely as ever, Fire Lady,” Azula said, with a mocking bow. “Looking more and more like your mother everyday. Sounding more like her, too.”
Mai visibly strained to ignore Azula’s japes and stay focused on Izumi. “You’re the Crown Princess, Izumi. We blocked off the courtyard for you, but members of the court have been walking by all day. You know that.”
“Sorry,” Izumi muttered, sounding very unapologetic.
“And didn’t we talk about keeping a two-sword distance from your aunt at all times, and calling for the guards if she comes any closer?”
Azula scoffed. Usually, it was fun to get Mai going – Azula hated that bitch more than Zuko, most days – but this time, she was annoyed. For once, she hadn’t been doing anything wrong.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Izumi said cheerily. “I was just hugging her ‘cause she said she’ll teach me to firebend!”
“Did she?” Mai’s voice was filled with venom as she stared at Azula. She rose and stood behind Izumi, towering over the child with her tall frame and firmly placing her hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah! Dad doesn’t have to look for a master anymore,” Izumi prattled, blissfully unaware of the dynamics at play.
“For what it’s worth, I said nothing of the sort,” Azula interjected.
“Sure you didn’t,” Mai said, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She looked down at her daughter. “I know I always say respect your elders, but remember how I also told you to not believe any of the words that come out of Azula’s mouth?”
“Why? Auntie’s funny! I like her words.”
“Glad to know somebody here’s smart enough to appreciate my contributions,” Azula said wryly.
Mai ignored her completely, her attention fixed on Izumi. “Your father’s palanquin has just arrived. It’s time to get ready for dinner,” she said sternly.
“Okay!” Izumi clapped. “Do I get Komodo chicken again? I’ve been so good.”
“Maybe. Let’s get through washing up without any tantrums today, then we’ll talk,” she replied, beginning to steer her daughter out of the courtyard.
Izumi wrested free of Mai’s grip and looked at Azula. “Can Auntie come?”
Mai and Azula scoffed, perfectly synchronized.
“No,” they said in unison.
“Why?” Izumi’s gaze flicked between her mom and her aunt, searching for an answer.
“Believe me. You don’t want me at that table,” Azula said calmly. “Nor do I want to be there. Now, run along, Spawn. Listen to mother dearest.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your mother,” Mai said, in the vaguely irritated tone she took when she fought with Zuko. She began to forcibly walk Izumi back into the palace.
Izumi craned her head back to look at her aunt as her mother dragged her away. She waved back at her with her free hand.
“Bye, Azula! See you later. Love you!” she called, as if it were nothing.
Mai said something sharp and inaudible under her breath to Izumi, lengthening her stride. Izumi was undeterred and continued to wave back, grinning from ear-to-ear.
Azula stayed silent; she didn’t even wave. Instead, she conjured up a gigantic ball of fire in her palm and served it high in the air as if it were a volleyball. With big, exaggerated motions, she feigned as if she was going to hurl it at Mai’s back.
Izumi covered her mouth with her sleeve, trying to contain her giggles. She did a poor enough job that Mai looked back. Azula barely extinguished the fire in time and stood there as inconspicuously as she could manage as her former friend glared daggers into her.
Her shenanigans made Izumi titter all the more, uncontrollably so this time. Mai scoffed and hauled her daughter away, through the nearest corridor and into the palace. Azula could hear her niece’s laughter waft into the courtyard after she disappeared from view.
Azula smiled to herself for a moment, feeling genuinely proud for the first time in many years.
That moment passed all too quickly, with the pride extinguishing itself and leaving only shame in its wake. What a horribly pathetic life she had been reduced to; grinning like an idiot over the affections of some stupid, naïve child. Izumi was her blood, but so too was she the spawn of two weak-willed traitors. That little girl was nothing to Azula.
She looked around the courtyard, which was still abandoned. She judged she had about five, perhaps up to ten, minutes before the guards came to bring her back to her cell. Ever diligent, she got into her firebending stance and started running through a series of drills while she still could.
She had to come up with some demonstrations to show her niece next week, and they had to be absolutely perfect. She couldn’t wait to show the Crown Princess more of what real firebending looked like.