honey [azula]

misty

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

the world is so dull without you

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AZULA was bored. Criminally, chronically, might-go-conquer-and-terrorize-the-world bored.

And normally when Azula was bored, or at least before her idiotic brother had decided to get himself banished and she had sent Airi away with him, her handmaiden had always known exactly what she needed. Whether it was to sparr, to pull a practical joke on one of their friends, or lay on a blanket and watch the clouds go by with some ginseng tea by their side, Airi was always there for Azula.

"Princess Azula, the Fire Lord wishes to speak with you." A servant's voice stirred Azula from her thoughts. 

You could end him for interrupting your peace. Just one blast of fire and he would be dead.

Azula gritted her teeth against the intrusive thoughts, as though that would help her. She would either kill the servant, or she would walk away to see why her father was requesting her. She had long since convinced herself that being indifferent to other people's lives would make the thoughts go away, and whether it helped or not, it was too late. The only person who could stop her from doing something stupid was Airi, and her best friend was not by her side.

The guilt she felt about allowing herself to send Airi away transmitted to the servant, and she opted to ignore him rather than to strike him down, at least for the moment. Silently, she scowled at him before stalking away, assuming her father was in the throne room. As usual, she was right.

She kneeled before her father and bowed. "What is it you summoned me for, father?" she asked, ever the perfect child.

"I have received news from Commander Zhao," the Fire Lord said. Azula fought back her scoff- anyone with a head between their shoulders hated the commander. Still, she couldn't argue that he was an effective commander for the Fire Nation. "It's about the Avatar."

"The avatar?" Azula asked, curious now. Surely he had to come into contact with Zuko's (and by Zuko, she meant Airi) ship if he had an encounter with the avatar.

"He came into contact with your brother, who has found information on the avatar without sharing it with the Fire Nation," the Fire Lord continued, his tone even.

"Unsurprising," Azula noted, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips, her father watching the move silently. 

"I promoted Zhao to admiral," the Fire Lord continued, "and he is to find and capture the Avatar."

"I don't mean to be presumptuous, father," Azula began, choosing her words carefully, as she always did, "but why are you telling me this?"

"You are going to rule this nation one day, so long as your brother continues to be a failure and a disappointment," he said. Azula's lips twitched upwards slightly. The idea of being in power, of being able to do whatever she wanted, with no one to tell her what to do, was incredibly pleasing to her. "Speaking of your brother, I can't help but assume that he is going to try and get in Admiral Zhao's way."

Azula was intelligent, usually more so than was good for her. It didn't take long for her to figure out what her father wanted. "You want me to tell my handmaiden to tighten Zuko's leash?" Azula asked, a coy smile spreading across her face, impressed with her ability to discern what others wanted from her. 

"If that's how you want to phrase it," the Fire Lord replied, probably disturbed by the mental picture Azula's words had given him. "That boy needs to learn a lesson about respect. I thought the scar on his face would have been enough to teach it, but he is far too like his mother. Too bull-headed. If he ever wants to return home, he needs to step aside and let someone more competent do the job."

Azula reveled in the harsh words towards her brother. She had always taken pleasure in beating her brother, though he had never been to much competition. There was something so satisfying in seeing his face when she had him throughly beat. Perhaps it was because he was a boy and she was a girl, or maybe it was just her nature to be overly competitve. Either way, Azula had no sympathy that she was a better child than her brother. 

"I'll send word to Airi," Azula bowed once more to her father. "Perhaps when the avatar is in your hands, I can finally have my favorite servant back." The phrase was so off-handed and lofty at face value that it seemed non-chalant but only a layer beneath the careless nature of her tone was the deep sting of longing that she had repressed.

"Perhaps," he replied, clearly not caring. "That is all, daughter. Go study your firebending."

Azula bowed once more before turning on her heel and exiting, the entire meeting leaving her with more emotion than she had felt since she had to send Airi away- though nothing would top the day her father had told her what her handmaiden's fate was. Azula had cried twice in all her life, save for when she was a baby (though that was always more screaming than crying). She had cried, in secret, in the dead of night, when her mother had called her a monster, and when her father had told her that she would have to send Airi away.

Azula did not go straight to Li and Lo, her current firebending teachers, and in her opinion, royal annoyances,  instead making a beeline back to her chambers and starting a note to Airi.

She was going to get her best friend back, not matter what her father wanted. Azula knew how to get what she wanted from anyone and right now, she wanted Airi back.

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

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written: 9/19/21
edited:-
word count: 1016

an: hello friends! something different for a chapter today, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! I wanted to ease in some of Azula's perspective, since i think she's such an interesting charater, especially her motivations. also since it's going to be a few chapters (i might skip a couple that aren't relevant to this plot line and im pretty sure everyone reading this has seen atla enough times to know what happens in the ones i skip) before they are reuinted. 

also please let me know if you have any ideas about a ship name for them because im so bad at coming up with them lol

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