The Monster's Hurt

The Fire Lord's Anger

Azula was formidable with and without her firebending. Thanks to her the Fire Nation had come out on top of the day again. They were that much closer to winning the war, it should have been smooth sailing from there on out, but when she and her father emerged from the tunnels Zuko did not. At first she thought her idiotic brother may have gotten lost, but the palanquin bearers lifted his empty carriage carrying it back to the palace empty. The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation had vanished without a trace.

She thought better of asking her father about it, he already seemed to be in a sour mood. He returned to the throne room and she returned to her bedroom. She was too anxious to eat, where had her brother gone? She ran over the possibilities in her mind. If Father had killed him for a misstep they wouldn't have left his body down there. Even a disgraced Prince is mourned. All the other possibilities seemed equally or more ludicrous.

He must have left, betrayed her and the Fire Nation. Ran off to do whatever traitors did. She didn't want to believe it, but it would explain her father's sour mood. She'd put so much on the line to give him this. She'd made sure that he would have the love of their father when he returned and gave up her position as Crown Princess so that he would be happy. She'd given him everything he could ask for and he tossed away.

Azula felt the urge to burn everything in her room to ash. Her chi warmed her entire body, her hands and feet burned with her rage. A knock on the door forced her to regain her composure. She forced her limbs to cool as she opened the door, to find a young servant girl standing there. "Forgive me for the intrusion Princess, but the Fire Lord has summoned you to the throne." The girl kept her head bowed.

"Thank you," Azula walked past her, shutting the door behind her. Father was simply going to send her on another quest to find her brother. This time she wouldn't offer him the option of coming home with his honor. She would come back and rot in prison like the lowly prisoner he was.

Azula held her head high as she walked down the halls of the palace, plenty of guards and servants avoided her gaze as they walked in the other direction. She realized when she arrived, the throne was empty when she arrived. Father had dismissed all of them from the throne room. Azula kept her composure, but this made her nervous. She'd rather not think about all the other times he'd made certain they were alone for a talk.

Azula kneeled before the throne, the flames were higher and stronger than normal. She couldn't even see his face beyond the tongues of flame. They stayed that way in silence for far too long. It allowed her mind to run wild. To remember older burns her father had given her.

Finally he spoke, "I am disappointed in you Azula," He began, his every word measured. The words struck her core, sending a shiver down her spine. "You failed to bring your brother and uncle as prisoners, you failed to recognize your brother's conflicting loyalties, and you failed to kill Avatar." He said coldly.

Azula felt her heart drop into her stomach, churning and making her feel sick. "Father--"

"Silence." Her father cut her off before she could finish, trying to say anything was a mistake. Her father grabbed her arms, his fingertips burning against her skin and she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. "You're a disgrace, I can't even call you my daughter."

An all consuming panic took over Azula unlike any other, "No!" Even as she began she knew she would regret it, the dangerous glare, and the way he released her in shock and disgust. "You can't treat me like this, you can't treat me like Zuko!" She shouted desperately.

Her father narrowed her eyes, "Desperation doesn't suit you Azula. Leave if you value your life, if you're found on Fire Nation lands again there will be hell to pay." He turned back to her, discarding her just like Zuko. As if all she had done for him was nothing.

"I conquered Ba Sing Se and--" She began, refusing to believe her father was doing this to her. He couldn't be, she'd done everything to please him. Everything she did was in his name.

"Azula." He refused to raise his voice, not even looking at her.

"I named it for you and--" She continued despite his quiet warnings. Her voice had begun to waver, it was a weakness. He would hate that.

"Azula." He repeated, this time a hint of anger finally creeped into his voice.

"I captured the o--" This time she was cut off by his hands on her throat.

His hands were hot, but not hot enough to burn. It seemed he just wanted to squeeze the life out of her with his bare hands, no firebending included. Azula clawed at her father's forearms, but his stone grip refused to loosen. "At least your brother had the decency to take his exile with pride." He said with disdain.

Darkness creeped in at the edges of her vision, her limbs were growing heavier by the second. She couldn't muster the strength to claw at her father's arms. Unconsciousness threatened to come over her like a crashing wave. She was going to die here at her father's hand. A failure, worse than her traitorous brother. She let her hands drop by her side as her vision faded into nothing.

In the blackness she heard a voice, "I love you, Azula. I do."

Azula desperately kicked out at her father, blue flames erupted from her feet as one connected with Ozai's stomach. She coughed, the world coming back into sharp focus. Her lungs stung from the strain of being empty for so long. Her mind screamed that she had to run, but her body was sluggish still gaining its strength. She forced herself to her feet stumbling against the wall and saw a flicker of light from the corner of her eye. She didn't even have time to react before his lightning stuck her.

Azula screamed as her muscles involuntarily coiled tightly and painfully. The power surged through her body for a few moments before her body fell limp to the ground.

Ozai looked grimly at the limp body of his daughter, shaking his head. He had high hopes for her, but he supposed her failure was inevitable. He called a servant to get rid of her.