Chapter Text
-Just a little more. Only a few steps before I can end this day and reach my safe haven.- I thought while I marched through the hallways of the palace to my quarters. Behind me, a maid carrying all my paperwork and folders, was doing her best to keep up the pace.
I could slow down for her sake… but since when does royalty have to lower to the peasants level? Besides, this servant should be thankful that I picked her to carry those documents for me. A privilege only few deserve.
Today has been an exhausting long, long day. I woke up with the sun -as I always do-
Met with the council an hour later. -on schedule, as always -
Zuko joined late -as he always does, the lazy bum-
And we worked all day till almost midnight. With only a few breaks now and then, for food or simply rest our eyes and minds.
So now, I’m in a desperate need of a glass or two of my best wine from my cabinet and sleep this dreadful day away.
“Yes, your highness.” came the response from the maid. Ah, right. I have been chatting with the help. Well, mostly I monologue and she just agreed with me. At one point I completely forgot this was supposed to be a ‘conversation’ and I can’t tell what she was agreeing with now.
Making small talk never was my forte nor my interest, but it was my therapist’s idea to work on my communication and social skills and, apparently, having inane conversations outside my work environment would help.
“I’m talking to you, am I not?” I tried to counter Ayame’s proposal.
“Talking to your therapist, while helpful, is not enough. You need to expand your social group and topics. Only talking to me and your coworkers-”
“People who works for me.” I corrected her.
“-can be counterproductive in the long term. Azula, you’re a really, really smart individual. I know you can see the importance of this exercise.” Ayame insisted.
“I still don’t see how this can help me.”
“Well, it was you who told me how excruciating and tiresome was holding a conversation during social gatherings.”
“That was an one time offhand comment I said a long time ago! Why do you always hold onto those things?!”
She just sweetly smiled at me. The insufferable bastard.
In any case, I was close to my room and done with this nonsense… Before I do that, it’s time to have some fun by ruining someone else's day.
“And don’t let me get started on how the Fire Lord is destroying our culture.”
“Yes, your highn- w-wait w-what?” Now that got her out of her mindless and meaningless responses.
I smirked. Even at a step behind me, I could tell she was trembling. “I mean, forbidding the Agni Kai? Something that was part of our culture for centuries? Terrible. Don’t you agree?”
“Uhm..”
“Trying to end classism? Preposterous.” I took a glance at her, and saw how almost tripped. Face pale as marble and eyes glued to the ground. We turned the corner that led to my room and decided to go for the kill.
“Admit it, everything would have been better if we had won the war with me as the Fire Lord.” I stopped in the middle of the intersection and turned on my hills. She almost collided with me. “Don't you think so?”
“Uhm... mh..I…” She stammered and started to sweat profusely.
I put her in a tough spot. If she agreed, it would sound like she is against the Fire Lord, which could be interpreted as treason. And if she didn’t, well, she would be disagreeing with her princess... which was currently in front of her.
The maid shifted her eyes, not wanting to look at me, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Before I could continue to relish in her dismay, something caught my attention at the corner of my eyes.
At the end of the hallway, where my chambers were, the guards stationed were in a stare-off contest with a group of royal guards. And I knew who those guards were. They were the Fire Lady’s designated guards.
Since dearest mother was no longer the Fire Lady - and insisted to not be regarded as one - it meant they belonged to the one person who was filling the role… ugh.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath through my nose and hold it for a couple of seconds before exhaling. Whatever the reason they were here, surely it won’t bode well for my relaxing night. I ran several scenarios in my mind of what they could want.
“I… Nnh.. I don’t… I..” The maid’s stammer reminded me of her presence. Without looking at her, I raised my hand to shut her up. This unexpected encounter spoiled my mood to have fun with her predicament. I snatched the documents from her hands and dismissed her.
“Thank you, your highness.” She said with a bow and started to scatter away.
…
…
Uuuuugggghhh… “Wait!” I said before the maid could disappear around the corner.
“One thing that can help you to be seen more approachable, is to be kind and thankful to those who work for you or help you and to anyone who isn’t royalty. The help, for example.” Ayame explained in our session. I asked her if she had any tips on how to improve my public image.
“Now you’re talking crazy. Everyone who serves royalty should be thankful for doing so. Have you ever seen Kings, Lords or the high classes thank servants for doing their job?” I refuted her advice while crossing my arms.
“Well, Fire Lord Zuko…”
“Is a spineless wimp that has no idea how society works. We’ve talked about this.”
“Sigh… yes, we still need to work on that. Just… give it a try, will you?” Hearing her tired and defeated tone for my lack of progress on how I regard my brother, didn’t sit well with me.
The maid hurriedly came back, eyes on the floor all the time. “Yes, your highness?”
I forced a smile and through clenched teeth I managed to say “...Thank you… for… your service.” and tried to broaden my smile.
The servant slowly raised her head, eyes darting between my smile and my eyes. “Th-thank you, your highness. I don’t deserve your gratitude.” - of course you don’t- “It’s an honor to serve you.” - it’s your duty , to serve - it took me a lot of effort to hold my tongue and not say what was in my mind. After that, I dismissed her again, letting her briskly walk away.
This ordeal gave me shivers. Well, now that’s out of the way, time to find out why the royal guards are pestering MY guards.
I walked to them and stood in front of the group of guards. One of my two stationeries guards noticed me, straightened his back and bowed to me. The other, Yang, a guard that I’ve known since my childhood - and the only one whom I entrust my life to… maybe I should put in practice Ayame’s advice with him . Should be easier .- was still in a silent confrontation with the royal guard whose name I don’t know nor I care to learn. The other three royal guards also noticed me and bowed as well.
“Can anyone elaborate what’s going on here?” I asked while holding my documents on my chest with one hand, and the other on my hip.
Yang was the first to break the stare-off, causing the royal guard to smile in victory. “Ah, your highness. I’m so sorry but it seems we have… an unexpected guest, and our comrades” he addressed the other guards throwing a quick glare towards them “insist that we should let them into your chambers and leave.”
I nodded to him and set my eyes on the royal guard “And why is that?”
The guard at least had the decency to bow before answering me. “Your highness, the Fire Lady wanted to visit you. She is currently inside your chambers and it is our duty to be at her side or the very least, guard the entrance. Your guards are not necessary and their presence would only interfere."
Ah, so this is much, much worse than I imagined. I expected this to be a raid to search my room for whatever Mai’s paranoia is telling her I’m hiding, or maybe they were sent to deliver a message… anything BUT Mai invading my room.
“Again, my deepest apologies, your Highness. But I couldn’t refuse the Fire Lady” Yang explained. “However, we will not let anyone else enter without your permission or abandon our post without your authorization.”
It’s good to know that at least two guards are willing to confront the royal guards for my sake. It’s understandable that they can’t deny anything to the Fire Lady, unless it’s a direct order from the Fire Lord, so I can’t blame them for letting her in.
“Of course, Yang, it’s your duty to serve and obey the royal family.” I smiled at him and turned to scowl at the royal guard “and not take orders from anyone else.”
The royal guard started to fidget in place. “But, your Highness, the Fire Lady…”
“She said that she didn’t need to be babysat and to, pardon my language, ‘fuck off’” my other guard interfered. “Sorry to butt-in, your Highness.”
Michi would be thrilled to know that her daughter took those years of training to be a proper lady and threw them out of the window. “Well, would you look at that? If I get this correctly, you’re disregarding your Fire Lady’s order?” I asked the royal pain in the ass.
“Uh, no, no I…”
“And not only that, you’re also trying to enter my chambers without my authorization. Which means that you’re invading your Princess' privacy and refusing to understand reason from her guards.”
“But -”
“Ignoring your Fire Lady’s request, imposing on your Princess, threatening guards… truly, this is treason. Wouldn’t you agree, Yang?” The contrast between the royal asshole’s horrified face and Yang’s bright smile were remarkable. I grabbed his beard and pulled so he could be on my eye’s level. “I could get you executed and your whole family banished for tonight’s transgression… unless.”
“U-unless?” He asked
“Unless you grab your friends here and leave my sight immediately.” I sweetly told him. “And don’t worry, our benevolent Fire Lady has nothing to fear. I assure you no harm will come to my old friend.” - unless she starts throwing knives at me .-
“Your Highness, please, you need to understand that-”
I started to burn his beard before he could continue. “No, you need to understand that this is not open for debate. Leave now, or regret it in the afterlife.” I released him and he quickly put off the small fire on his beard. After some hesitation, he nodded to the rest of his group and all bowed before begrudgingly leaving.
“I wouldn’t have left your side, not even under those threats.” Yang said while supervising the group’s retreat.
“Of course you wouldn’t… thanks for that.” I meant it and I believed him. Good help was hard to find. Well… now or never. “And, uhm, thanks for your service… and everything since I was a child.”
He gave me a small smile before deeply bowing. “Of course, your Highness. I live to serve.”
I turned and saw my other guard watching us. I patted his head. “And your performance was… acceptable.” His smile could have rivaled the sun. My disgust was clearly evident and, as fast as his smile came, it was gone. He murmured some thanks while bowing deeply.
“Well… let's get this over with.” I cracked my neck before starting to open the door.
“Good luck.” Wish me Yang. I don’t need luck, I need a drink.
Once inside, I was met with the image of none other than the Fire Lady, in all her glory resting on my divan. Book in one hand, glass of wine in the other.
Mai, my once friend turned ally, turned enemy, turned sister-in-law, turned neutral acquaintance that may or may not poison me, languidly nursed her drink while reading, ignoring my presence like I wasn’t even there.
Well, if this is how she wants to play… I cleared my throat and decided to be the big girl in the room. “Good evening, Fire Lady. To what do I owe the honor of your presence” I said bowing. We might hate each other but it doesn’t mean I will drop the royal decorum.
She barely spared me a glance before getting back to her book. It’s so nice to see the bitch who caused my downfall disrespect me in my own room.
“I don’t think Mai caused your downfall, Azula. In fact, she might have saved you from a path you wouldn’t have been able to return and regret for the rest of your life.” It would be nice if Ayame stopped siding with my past friends instead of me.
“Yes, yes, I know. We discussed this over and over again. Killing my brother and my friends would have been the worst thing that could have happened in my life, bla bla bla.”
“I’m proud to see that you realize that. After all, it’s obvious that your father was responsible for setting you on the path of self destruction and led to your downfall… and you, of course.”
“Yes, ye- wait, what?! Me?! WHAT IN AGNI’S NAME ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!”
That session lasted a couple of hours and I’m still not fully convinced of her ‘reasoning’
My eyes twitched at her rude behavior, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me lashing out if she is trying to get a rise out of me. “May I have permission to enter my room and take a seat, Fire Lady?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Drop the act Azula, I'm not in the mood to deal with you.”
Nor am I, yet here we are. Exhaling, I made a beeline towards my couch, and plopped down. Since Mai was playing the role of a rude guest, then I had the right to be a rude host. I slouched on my couch and glared at her.
Again, I was met with no reaction from the cadaver Zuzu married. The only sound that filled the room was the sound of turning pages. Minutes that felt like hours went by. I was tired, I was thirsty, and slowly I was becoming more and more agitated.
Maybe her plan was to break me with her indifference. Of course, she will fail. -But If I have another mental breakdown, now you know who to blame.- Maybe she is asserting dominance over the fact she is now the Fire Lady… well, I won’t let her walk all over me. Not in my room. Not on my divan. Not. With. My. Wine.
“So… what are you doing in my room at this unholy hour of the night?”
For a moment I thought she would ignore me again, but after a minute she finally answered “I ran out of wine.”
Ok, I wasn’t expecting that. “And you decided to steal mine?”
There was a beat of silence before she looked at me head on, directly in the eyes and said “It’s funny, you know? My personal cabinet and stash has been depleted in the last couple of months and I have not had a single drop of wine in a long time.”
Oh… well… fuck. “... interesting.”
“Indeed.” Silence. We both glared at each other. No one blinked. It was clear that we were set to not back down. The tension was so thick we could cut it with a knife… with her knives. “This is my wine, Azula. I’m taking what is mine.”
Ha! That’s not happening. “As the princess of the Fire Nation, it is in my right to grab whatever I like from whoever I want.”
“As the Fire Lady I call that bullshit.” She said while putting her book and glass down on the table and quickly standing up.
“I’m making a decree that all wine in the palace belongs to me! And it’s official starting tonight!”
“Return my Wine!” She yelled while pulling the knives that were hiding in her sleeves.
“Make me!” I lighted a blue flame with my hands.
What followed was half an hour of knives and fire flying around the room. We agreed on some rules of course, we’re both adults after all. “Not the face!” “Watch out! That painting is invaluable!” “Not the couch.” “Not the divan” were some of them. There was a momentary pause when Yang and the other guard entered the room after hearing the commotion, only to be met with two death stares to which they apologized and retreated, slowly closing the doors.
Our quarrel ended and no one was harmed - because I was careful and thoughtful enough, and not because I’m concerningly out of shape and Mai is more nimble than I remember - only a few paintings, bookshelves and walls suffer some damage, but nothing that can’t be replaced or fixed.
We both unceremoniously dropped on our previous seats and stared at the ceiling with labored breaths. Silence reigned again.
Yang knocked at the door and asked from outside. “Everything alright, your Highnesses?”
Huffing, I tried to answer the best I could without sounding fatigued “Yes, Yang… nothing to be concerned about. The Fire Lady is fine if you’re wondering, and so am I.” I finished before puffing.
“Understood. If you need anything, we’re here to serve.” And that was that.
To me, this was the fight that should have happened years ago at the Boiling Rock, except that this time there were no murderous intentions nor the stakes were the same. - Obviously my wine has more importance than Zuzu’s life. Duh.- and it is clear as day that this is a glimpse of the future that awaits us. A dispute then a fight, for the most inane topics and situations.
Our relationship has been dead for a long time, and fixing it is nothing but a fool’s errand. Our dubious childhood friendship ended that nefarious day. Mind you, I never meant to mend it, but I never expected to confirm its finality.
And so, there is nothing else to say or do to fix this. Nothing else to say tonight except ‘ goodbye and good riddance ’ and move on with our li-
“I hate your mother.”
Never mind, we’re best friends.