Bad Blood

1. Azula

(you're around six yo in this part)

It was my first day at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, and I couldn't wait. My best friend, Mai, was going to attend with me, so I wasn't that nervous. However, the idea of going to a school full of high-class Fire Nation people was terrifying, especially since I wasn't present during the formal class introduction. My mother decided to take us to visit the South Pole and see my cousins and Grandma.

No one in the Fire Nation knows where we went, and no one at the South Pole knows where we live, so we are safe. Today, I woke up at 6 to have time to get ready and make a good first impression. I ate some fish and packed my lunch since I'm not really a fan of the ones they have in the cafeteria. I put my hair into a low bubble braid and put on the uniform.

I left the dormitory at 7:15 to have time to walk slowly. My parents paid a lot for me to live alone in the room. When I got to school it was already around 7:45, which was perfect because classes start at 8. I sat down at the desk almost all the way in the back and saved a seat for Mai and two other girls she had met at the introduction. I was really excited to meet them.

I sat there for a few minutes alone, before a really bubbly girl entered the classroom. She ran up to me and introduced herself. "Hi! I'm Ty Lee! What's your name? Isn't this exciting to be going to this school? I was so nervous before entering but now I'm just so happy! How about you? Isn't this crazy? I am so excited to go here!"

The girl went on and on not giving me a chance to interrupt, when she finally stopped I was able to introduce myself. "I'm Y/N. It's really nice meeting you, Ty Lee." Even though the girl was such a volcano of energy and an opposite of Mai, I took a liking to her and decided to become friends.

When I looked towards the entrance I saw a familiar face walking in accompanied by a presence of a terrifying-looking girl; her aura was so off that it almost made me feel dizzy. Mai and the girl came up to us and she introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Azula."

Azula? As in the princess Azula? That made me even more terrified but the way she spoke with confidence made me take a liking to her. "Y/N, pleasure meeting you, Azula." I gave her a little bow, then I turned to Mai. "I saved you a seat." The gloomy girl looked at my desk and then back at me. "Thanks." Azula also looked at the table and smiled a devious smirk.

"I want to sit here, Mai sit with Ty Lee." I was stunned. Why would she want to sit with me? It doesn't matter. By being friends with her, I can be protected from unnecessary accusations. Mai looked at me with a questioning look, and I just gave her a little nod. It's not like she could do anything anyway.

When the class started, I noticed that Azula was really focused on the lecture, writing everything down and answering all the questions. I gotta say I was impressed. It's not that I didn't know the answers; it's just that she knew them immediately. I don't know why, but it surprised me. I think that I expected her to be this spoiled, whiny princess. Although sitting next to her gave me chills, it also gave me motivation to study and perform my best in school.

At the end of the class, our professor assigned us into groups of four for the project and for the rest of the semester. Luckily, he was dividing by desks, so I was in the group with Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee.

Azula turned to us and spoke, "We can start our project today; we can go to my house after school is over." Everyone nodded in approval, except for Mai. "I can't today," she said. "My mother wants to visit my room to see how I organized it." I kind of expected Azula to just move the date to tomorrow, but instead she said, "Whatever, it's your choice; we will just start without you."

Well, that was cold. I gave Mai an apologetic look, and she responded by blinking "run" in Morse code (.-./..-/-.). I chuckled and went back to my work. At lunch, we sat together at the table which Azula got by scaring some girls. We ate in silence, filled by Ty Lee's voice. At some point, the princess snapped, "Can you just shut up?! I don't need to hear about your sisters. If I want to know something, then I'll just ask. I don't want you to speak in my presence unless I let you." Ty Lee's eyes became watery, but she just smiled and nodded. I shared a terrified look with Mai, and we made a silent promise to never get on Azula's bad side. To ease the atmosphere, I decided to carefully start a conversation. "About the project," I started slowly. Azula looked up at me, but she didn't look angry, and she didn't stop me, so I continued. "What will our presentation be about?" She looked at me like I was a child and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Sozin." Great, I just love talking about a crazy king who started the war that divided me and my family. I happily nodded as if it was my biggest dream and went back to my seaweeds.

After the bell rang for the last time today, we collected our stuff and left to do the project. I thought we were going to be doing it on campus, but Azula led us outside of the school grounds. We decided not to question it. We walked for a few minutes before I realized that we were going to the palace. I got more and more nervous with each step.

We got to the front door and walked in. We were walking down a labyrinth of corridors with the most beautiful decorations, expensive vases, large paintings, statues of the royals, and guards everywhere. We got to large doors, and Azula opened them to show her gigantic room. 'Make yourself at home,' she said.

I carefully walked in, and Ty Lee followed. I decided to comment on the bedroom so I didn't seem rude. 'It's gorgeous. I've never seen a bedroom as beautiful as this one.' It was the truth, but it was also my first time in a different bedroom than mine and my cousin's, so technically not the best compliment. However, she doesn't know this, so she looks up at me and smiles, not devilishly this time but with genuine happiness.

After working for some time, there was a knock at the door, and a stunning woman walked in. She smiled at us and spoke, 'Azula, maybe you and your friends would like to join us in the garden? We are having tea with your brother.' As she said that, a cute boy walked in. He was holding onto his mother's dress and looking around the room.

Azula looked annoyed, and I wasn't sure if it was because of his presence or her mother interrupting our work, but she spoke calmly. 'Sure, mother, we will join you in a short time. You can start without us.' Her mother smiled and left the room with her son.

As soon as the door was locked, Azula started screaming and firebending. Ty Lee and I jumped out of her way to protect ourselves. 'How could she bring him here?! She doesn't let me go into his room! And she just led him to mine?! How could she? She doesn't respect me! She doesn't love me!' After the last sentence, she broke down in tears. Ty Lee was too stunned to do anything, so I decided to try calming her down.

I ran up to her as she was crying and hugged her tightly. She didn't move away, which was a good sign, but after a second, she fell down sobbing uncontrollably, screaming, and going mental. She then exploded with her bending, pushing me onto the wall and burning my shoulder. I screamed in pain, and then I saw a terrified look on their faces.

I looked down and saw the scar on the upper side of my arm. I started crying, and Azula tried to calm me down. She ran to the servants to order them to help me. Then I passed out.

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1448 words