Izumi's Adventures

(12) betrayal

Today's chapter's tune: Shake It Out - Florence + the Machine

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"Do you- uh, do you mind repeating that?" I barely whispered as i stared at Azula with shock written all over my face.

"I think you heard me." Azula furrowed her eyebrows, then sighed out of defeat. "I used to own the Rebellion a long time ago, back when i still desperately wanted to be Fire Lord."

"You... wait, what? How? Am i the only one completey out of the loop here?" Dad stuttered, eyes trailing back and forth between Azula and i.

"Azula, are you trying to say that you're responsible for Izumi's assassination attempt?" Mom gasped, causing Mai and Suki to follow her lead as Kanchi just stood still with his fringe covering his left eye.

"No! There's a lot to explain, but i promise i've never tried to hurt my niece." Azula reassured, making dad hold his chin in the palm of his hand as if we were deep in thought. "Gray and Ganzo were the first to join, thinking it was an opportunity to take me out, along with the rest of my family. I left, then two of them became the new leaders."

"Are you serious right now?" I exploded, squirming around in mom's grip as she still refused to let go. "You've been lying to me this whole time! Why would you even do it in the first place? You could've taken them down when you had the chance! Whether you intended for it or not, i was put into harm's way!"

"All of this... is true?" Dad turned his head towards his sister's direction, staring into her dull eyes. "I've accepted you back into the nation with happiness and excitement, thinking we could finally return to being a normal family, just so you could traumatize my daughter and make her feel like she was losing her mind?"

"I didn't mean for any of that to happen! I just- i would've told the truth when i first reunited with Izumi in Republic City, but i was afraid she'd never forgive me and understand why i stayed quiet." Azula defended, fighting back the need to cry as Mai let out a scoff of fury.

"I can't believe this. Whenever you're around, there's always drama." She spat, then made eye contact with me. "However, this doesn't excuse the fact that you harassed my son over nothing."

"Look, i-."

"What's going on here?" Three palace guards came storming into the scene, then stopped as they noticed the hard tension throughout the air. "Uh, are we needed here?"

"Not this time, it's a family matter." Dad dismissed them, causing them to bow in return and breeze away.

"So, you were the original owner of the rebellion? Except, it's turned into something completely different than you intended?" I read over, refusing to make eye contact with Azula as she stared at the carpet in front of her.

"Yes, that's what i'm trying to explain. Gray and Ganzo are both petty towards me, and it's no doubt they tried to fill you in on false information." Azula remained defensive, then jumped back as Suki pulled out one of her fans.

"Hold on!" The redhead spoke up for the first time. "So, if hurting Izumi was never your intention, that means you've built the rebellion to get rid of Zuko, not her."

"I didn't even realize that!" Mom's jaw almost reached the floor as she relaxed her arms and released me from her grip. "You just admitted that you were after my husband to begin with, which doesn't help your case!"

"It- it was a long time ago! I didn't want to kill Zuko even though we had bad blood, i just wanted him off the throne! I don't even feel that way anymore!" Azula tried to convince everyone, but it didn't seem like she was getting out of this without some trouble. "I just saved Kanchi from being wrongfully accused, doesn't that count for something?"