Chapter Text
“...and they lived happily ever after. The End.”
Azula closed the scroll with a sigh. She was the best reader of the group, but she hated being the designated narrator of Love Amongst the Dragons.
Ty Lee didn’t understand why it was a problem when the young princess routinely reenacted the play with her family and friends. Sometimes, Mai and Ty Lee were forced to be the side characters. If Mai felt a bit testy, they would squabble over who got to be the Dragon Empress. Ty Lee had a better reason than killing boredom: she liked speaking parts and being the center of attention. Azula would get the final say in who plays what. It depended on which one irked her the most that day. More often than not, Mai would have to resign herself to the narrator role, and did fantastically despite being so averse to emotion.
The best part of the show was when the dragons - love amongst them - embraced in union, wrapping a happy ending to their romantic tale. Whoever played the dragon king had to pull the dragon queen close, stare into her eyes, until the narrator called the curtains. There's an extended moment of silence before the conclusion is announced, and Ty Lee relished in the feeling of everyone waiting with bated breath for the king to hug her. With this one action, he declared that she deserved to be admired by the whole audience.
Meanwhile, the royal siblings had chosen their roles eons ago. Zuko is always the Dark Spirit in blue, and Azula, the Dragon Emperor in red.
“That was amazing, Princess!” Ty Lee clapped excitedly.
Azula didn’t care for her praise. She threw the book across the courtyard and crossed her legs in a butterfly stretch. “If Zuzu liked normal stories, I wouldn’t have to reread this for the thousandth time.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who forced you to pick it!” The embarrassed prince defended himself. “You just hate all the other fairytales ‘cause you think they’re dumb.”
“They are dumb!” Azula sighed, “What’s the point of a story if they all have happy endings? It’s unrealistic!”
“I think it’s romantic!” Ty Lee clasped her hands together. "Two people, losing each other and then falling in love all over again, isn’t that so sweet?”
Everybody ignored Ty Lee. Mai was completely unimpressed by the whole story, no matter how many times she heard it. “Yeah, if you call the Dragon Emperor being a loser romantic.”
“How’s he a loser?” Zuko asked. He was as defensive as Ty Lee, though he tried not to show it because he was too embarrassed about being the only boy in the group.
“He was so drunk on power that he had to be humbled in order to love his own wife. If it was true love,” Mai enunciated with thick sarcasm. “The Dragon Emperor should’ve loved her right the first time.”
Zuko’s head dropped slightly. It was his favorite story because his mother adored it so much. Mai noticed and fidgeted awkwardly, picking at the grass. She wasn’t as unreadable as she tried to be.
Azula cackled behind her hand. "Finally, someone else has common sense.”
Ty Lee wasn’t going to give up. “But Mai, don’t you get it? The Dragon Empress was blinded by love, too. Seeing the emperor as human made her realize that she truly loves him, not the idea of him.”
“You should put this much passion into your schooling, Ty Lee,” Azula raised a brow. “Seriously, what would you know about love? All you do outside of cartwheeling is cry and trip over your feet.”
Ty Lee’s fists tightened on her lap. She didn’t dare mention that the only reason she tripped was because Azula always pushed her down.
The princess noticed the shift in her demeanor, of course. She glanced down at her lap and a smile tugged on her young face. Already she was aware of how others struggled to maintain self-control but was forced to for fear of what she would do. It’s a thrill to see them hold themselves back – nearly choke on their own spit – under her whims.
But if Ty Lee wasn’t brave enough to defend herself, she could defend what she believed in. “I think love is, like, not something you know. It’s, like, in you.”
For a second, there was total silence. A bird chirped in the distance. Mai and Azula shared a look. They were suddenly capable of reading each other's minds when it came to dumb, silly Ty Lee.
Mai started, “That sounds…stupid.”
Zuko snickered. Ty Lee shot him a glare. He wilted at the unexpectant aggression and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not… that stupid.”
“Ugh, this negative energy is sooo bad for my aura!” She pouted. “You guys hate fun.”
Azula waved flippantly. They didn't have the masks for immersion and there was no audience to wow. Reading the playscript for a pastime was worthless. “Well, I’m bored. It’s hot out and if Ty Lee starts babbling about how love is an energy that flows around us again, I’ll die. Who’s up for another game of hide and explode?”
“I’m bored, too.” Mai rose from the grass. “I hate dragons.”
Zuko glanced between his sister and Ty Lee. He grumbled lamely, “Sure, whatever.”
Ty Lee was the last one to stand. The palace had hidden corridors that the royal siblings revealed during dozens of past play dates. There were secrets lying in the corners, waiting to be whispered and revealed. Running after Azula, shoes ghosting over the wooden floor, she knew there would be another secret to unravel today.
Nobody noticed when she glanced back at the discarded scroll to glean how the pages crumpled, forgotten.
𖥸
The blue-masked queen begged him to understand: “It is you, Noren! You have the power to free yourself, and that power is our love!”
However, the red-masked king did not believe her. He had done so wrong! He had only seen the truth unclouded when all was lost. “But I was cruel to you, my dear! How can you love me and I, be allowed to love you too, when our past casts a shadow longer than the dark side of the moon?”
She did not give up, she never would. The Dragon Empress had chased him through many realms and will not lose him now at their journey’s end. “The past is a scar that will heal. We shall look back with shame, but never allow it to burden our shoulders, for forgetting is the worst fate of all! You defeated the Blue Spirit and perhaps, now you have defeated the beast inside you as well!”
“Such kind words, I must not believe it lest I am dreaming! What foul monster had I been, to discard you until I was a humble man– my fire quenched,” The dragon king embraced his dearly beloved wife. “Though I was trapped in the body of a mortal, you willingly gave me your heart! I cannot help but give you mine in return!”
“Because of that mortality, your inner truth shines! Only with your glory hidden in false form could you finally recognize my devotion!” She returned the hug, staying under the golden arch.
The curtains dropped, and the crowd applauded vigorously.