Azula, Flames Of Change

chapters 42: admission

Later that evening, Zuko stood outside Azula’s chambers, the cold, silent hallways of the palace around him amplifying the tension he felt within. The door before him, tall and ominous, felt more like a barrier between him and the sister he once knew, a sister who had changed so drastically that the question now weighed heavy on his chest: Why had she taken Iroh’s life but spared their mother?

Taking a deep breath, Zuko raised his hand and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” came Azula’s sharp, emotionless voice.

He stepped into the dimly lit room, and there she was—Azula, sitting by the window, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow around her figure. She stared out into the night, her posture as rigid and composed as ever. But there was something different. A stillness. A distance.

“What is it, Zuko?” she asked without turning to face him, her voice cold, indifferent.

Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat. “I need to talk to you.”

Azula didn’t move, her gaze still fixed on the capital below. “Talk, then.”

Zuko’s hands clenched at his sides. He could feel the storm of emotions swirling within him—anger, sorrow, confusion. But most of all, he needed answers.

“Why did you kill Uncle?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly. “Why did you take Iroh’s life, but gave me back our mother?”

Azula finally turned her head, just enough for him to see her golden eyes glint in the low light. There was no warmth there, no regret, only the cold calculation that had defined her for so long.

“Iroh?” she repeated, almost as if the name meant nothing to her. “He was a traitor. He deserved what he got.”

Zuko’s fists tightened, but he forced himself to keep calm. “He was family, Azula. He loved you. You didn’t have to—”

“Family,” Azula spat the word, finally standing and turning to face him fully. “Iroh was never my family. He chose you over me, over the Fire Nation. He betrayed everything we stood for.”

Her voice was rising now, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Zuko could see the fire in her eyes, the anger that had always been there, simmering beneath the surface.

“And what about our mother?” Zuko pressed, his voice cracking with emotion. “Why did you bring her back if you hate us so much? If you wanted to sever all ties with your family, why not let her stay where she was?”

Azula’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Severing ties, Zuko? That’s exactly what I wanted. To cut myself off from all of you. From everything.”

She stepped closer to him, her eyes burning with intensity. “You think I brought Mother back because I cared? No. I brought her back because I wanted you to see. I wanted you to see the truth. That none of you mattered to me anymore.”

Zuko recoiled slightly, the weight of her words hitting him like a physical blow. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Azula hissed, her voice dripping with venom, “that if things had gone on as they were, I would have killed her. I would have ended Ursa right in front of you if the opportunity presented itself. It would have been easy. She was just another weakness. One that needed to be purged.”

Zuko’s heart twisted, his breath catching in his throat. He had always known Azula was capable of cruelty, but to hear her speak of their mother with such cold disdain—it was almost too much to bear.

“You don’t mean that,” Zuko said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You can’t.”

Azula’s gaze never wavered, her expression unchanging. “I do. Family is nothing but a chain that binds you to the past. I broke that chain. I’m free.”