Disgraced [Princess Azula]

⚡10⚡

𝕂𝕐𝔸ℕ ℍ𝔸𝔻 ℕ𝕆 𝕀𝔻𝔼𝔸 how long he stayed in the isolation room. It could have been a hundred years; it could have been two minutes. All he knew was that, after what felt like an eternity, he finally returned to a regular room with a window. He hadn't died in that dark room like he thought he would have; the nurses looked a little surprised, too, that he survived for however long he did. 

He wasn't sure if the room they brought him back to was the room that he had started in or not, but it was also facing his tree. Out of everything that had happened to him, a little bit of routine was good for him. Each day that he spent in this room was like the ones he spent alone before Azula came. Soon enough, his days started blurring together; there was no way he could keep track of the days because they all seemed to be one single entity. 

But, this time around, Kyan wasn't upset about why he was in there. He was resigned to the fact that he was going to spend the rest of his life here. Yet there was a silver lining to it. He had made some great memories with Azula that would keep him happy for years to come. And by then, he probably would have been dead, so why worry about happiness for the future when he wouldn't even see it come to fruition?

Kyan's glazed eyes stared out of the window at the dawning day. Streaks of color painted the sky a beautiful portrait; he didn't have the strength to care that the world around him was still all in one piece, though. The tree outside of his window swayed gently in the early morning breeze. The bright orange sun was slowly rising above the earth, meaning that it was almost time for breakfast. If he even got breakfast. This place was packed full of people, more so than when he was first here. He was surprised that he didn't have another roommate; they probably didn't want to put him with anyone because of what happened with his last roommate. 

The medicine that they gave him that night was rushing through his veins still. It seemed like they had upped the amount of what they were giving him to make him more sluggish and groggy and confused. It was working, though. Darkness had crept into the sides of his vision, and it had decided to stay since his time in the isolation room. He was slowly forgetting the person he had become when he was out of the mental institution. When he was with Azula.

Now, it was just him and his chair and that lonely tree outside of his window. That was the only thing he could focus on now. He didn't want to spend his time thinking about whether or not Azula got out or if she was stuck in this place, too. He didn't want to think about her any longer.

Suddenly, the door was shoved open. Kyan slowly looked to the side and saw a new nurse. This man had large arms, almost as big as the trunk of the tree outside of his window. The smell of smoke filtered into his room, making it seem like Azula was right behind this man. Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. Kyan didn't care.

A sour look settled on the nurse's face. He wasn't carrying a tray of their nasty food, either, which was strange. Kyan's stomach ached at the thought of food. They had only been giving him barely one meal a day since he got back from his little adventure. They were probably doing that to teach him a lesson. He probably deserved it.

"What's going on?" Kyan asked softly. He didn't think he needed to raise his voice above a whisper because that would just be a waste of energy.

"You're going home," the nurse said. His voice rang out in Kyan's mind, bouncing off the cell bars in his head. "You're one of the lucky ones."

Kyan blinked hard. Home? He didn't have a home. This had been his home for years, and it should have been the place where he died. But . . . home. Was someone there for him? Was it his father? Kyan quickly shook his head. Of course, it wouldn't be his father. But, it wouldn't be his mother, either. Nothing about this made sense to him.

Another person joined the nurse. This woman looked so very familiar. Her gray hair was about as long as Kyan's, and wrinkles had taken over much of her face from worry. Tears were streaming down her face at the sight of him. It was like she was stuck in place, staring at him. But this was still the same woman that raised Kyan. Somehow, his mother had found him and come to get him away from this wretched place. 

"Kyan? Are you okay, sweetheart?" She rushed to his side, wrapping her arms around his fragile body. He didn't react to her touch like he thought he would. Maybe he had been in this place too long. "I finally found you!"

"Hurry up," the nurse said gruffly. "We need to get someone else in here before the breakfast rush begins."

With her help, Kyan stood up. He had to loop his arm around her shoulders to stay up. The medicine running through his veins made his head very wobbly, and when it spun, the whole room spun. That was the only thing he felt, the room spin around him. Everything else was blank like there were no emotions left in his body. Not anymore.

His mother was silent as the two of them walked through the door of his room and into the hallway. Someone was sitting in a wheelchair with their back to Kyan and his mother. Dark hair spilled over the back of the wheelchair, all choppy and going in every direction. The scent of smoke wafted over to him when he walked next to the girl.

He fought the urge to look behind him. If that was Azula, he didn't want to see her stuck here while he was leaving. And if it wasn't her, he didn't want to feel bad for another person losing their life to this place. He would've been here forever if it hadn't been for his mother.

Fresh air forced its way into his lungs when they finally stepped outside. Kyan sighed in relief once he was out of that place and sagged against his mother.

"I have been looking for you since the day you left," his mother said to him as they rested against his tree. He rested against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. "But I could never find you until this random girl showed up at my house in the middle of the night. She told me where to find you."

Kyan's eyes flashed open. It wasn't a random girl, he just knew it. Azula had gotten out. She somehow found his mother and told her where Kyan was. She cared about him. But where was she now? Didn't she want to see him?

His mother pulled him along toward the journey ahead of him. Somehow, after he spent all that time in the mental institution, he had another chance at life. Most people didn't get that chance, even if they weren't stuck in some place like that. Most people were just stuck in their lives and didn't take chances that they should have to make their lives so much better.

With a glance behind him, Kyan saw the dark hair and fire eyes staring at him. Azula lifted her hand in a sort of wave to him, a small smirk playing on her lips. And just like that, the scent of smoke was so overwhelming him. She didn't want to see him outright; their relationship was more private than that. He knew that he would see her again. He just didn't know when. But when she did come back into his life, Kyan would be ready for her. 

THE END