Azula's Recovery - Avatar: TLA

6.2 - Azula

After dinner, she had walked alone back to her room, mulling over the day. Her meeting with her mother had certainly helped and although she wasn't entirely ready to just move on, she felt much more comfortable about trying.

She arrived at her room and went inside to change for bed. As she dressed, she thought back to her memories of her mother, and how different Ursa was to what she remembered. Before, whenever Azula imagined her mother, she could only see her annoyed face and hear her reprimanding tone. Azula had always remembered her mother remarking 'What is wrong with that child?' It had stung then, and still hurt now. Then, Ursa had left, leaving Azula and Zuko at their father's mercy–or lack thereof.

Azula let her hair out of her usual topknot and set about brushing it out. She admired herself in the mirror, happy to see that she had regained a healthy weight. She had also been surprised to notice the more pronounced curves that she'd never really had as a girl or while starving out in the forest. Satisfied with her hair, Azula tied it back again and left the bathroom.

As she re-entered her room, her eye caught on the little table and chairs in the corner, and the mess that had been left. She was almost sure it hadn't been like that in the morning, but she had been really busy lately.

Azula sighed and headed over to tidy it up. Zuko had given her a bunch of scrolls on the progress that had been made in the last few years, to help her catch up on the things that had changed. He'd also given her scrolls on the other nations, their histories and customs, especially because he wanted people to be more tolerant and understanding. She also suspected it was because of a few too many 'Dirty water peasant' comments. 

A small neatly wrapped package sat there too, tied with a green ribbon–Azula assumed it was from Suki, and opened it to reveal more sanitary items as well as a pair of little blue-stoned earrings with a note in Suki's scrawl: I thought you might like these!

Azula felt herself smiling, and set the package aside. She had a small schedule filled with her training times, meetings with Kaya and exercise. She'd also been studying a new map of the world, after Zuko informed her that much had changed after the end of the war. Now, there were many new colonies and places in which people from the different nations lived together. It had been a shock to her, but she saw how happy Zuko was about it, and thought she should at least give it a chance. 

A few other items were strewn about over the chairs and floor and she organised them methodically too: a crown that she hadn't yet worn – though she couldn't figure out why, some slippers, a ribbon, and a brush and inkpot for writing.

Finally satisfied, she climbed into bed and bent the fire in the lamps to die down to a very faint glow as she dozed off thinking about fiery dragons.

***

Azula awoke with a start feeling something on her face.

A hand clamped over her mouth and Azula screamed as hands grabbed her arms and legs, yanking from beneath her bedsheets. She couldn't see a thing and realised that she was blindfolded. She bit down on her assailants hand but was pulled roughly to the side and thrown to the floor.

Barely registering the pain, she tried desperately to fight her rising terror and regain control. Get up and fight, her mind screamed, you have to get up and–

Gloved hands bound her hands and feet and she recognised the binding pattern – it was used to stop benders from bending. No. No, no, no, no...

They hadn't chi blocked her, so she assumed–no she hoped that they weren't Kyoshi warriors.

Her assailants gagged her and fastened a bag tightly over her head. Then, she was hauled up and they began to carry her away. She used the slight bobbing in their steps to measure how far they had walked and tried to formulate a plan. There–they'd just passed through her door and had turned right – away from the rest of the palace.