Azula: Redemption

Chapter 6

I awoke with a strange feeling in my head, a slight buzzing, warm and cold all at once, beautiful yet terrifying. My eyes began adjusting to my surroundings, taking in the metal roof, metal walls, everything bathed in a sliver metallic wash. Not all that different from where I had come from in my former cell.

I swung my sore legs across my small twin bed pushed against the furthest wall in the room, adjacent from the door, no doubt locked.

The sounds of waves hitting the ship sent a shudder through my bones, I have never liked water, water had the power to extinguish my flame and to be surrounded by it... was unsettling.

The door crept open, revealing a plain servant dressed in the traditional fire nation sailors uniform. He didn't cross the threshold of the door, looking at me in a strange way. His look did not contain fear or anxiety, it contained excitement and a little smugness. It infuriated me.

"Kidon requires your presence in the cockpit... Azula" the man said, his eyes shining and his voice low. It took me a moment to understand his mistakes, he was commanding me, but worst of all, he said my name.

"How dare you not respect my title!?" I screamed "How dare a man of my own nation not respect me and dare to deem yourself my equal!?" I was stomping towards him now, not caring what the Avatar supposedly had done to my powers. What a load of nonsense. I was Azula, Princess of the Fire nation. I had enough fire in my heart to put him in his place.

I reached him, grabbed his collar and brought his face close to mine. Bringing my right hand up beside our faces to bring about to ignite my flame, ready to burn the man as father had done Zuko.

No flame appeared, nothing. Not and ember nor a spark. I still felt it though, the power was burning in my chest, beating and slamming against my heart to be released, but nothing moved. My flame would not come out. It would not be realized or formed. I backed up, stumbling and grabbed hold of the wall to steady myself.

The man didn't give me a chance to process and understand what was happening, what had happened, he just reached and took my arm in a deathly tight grip and yanked me out of my room, forcing me to walk beside him down the metal hallway.

I didn't see the walls passing by or the sailors jamming their way past me, as though they weren't afraid. It hit me then that they knew, knew I couldn't fight back. Something had happened while I was unconscious and I was in shock, I couldn't put the pieces together.

We reached another door, a wide door, thicker than mine. The man knocked three time and a familiar voice beckoned him to come in.

Stepping down the one stair into the cockpit I looked around, not seeing the many people in the room. Not caring.

"Princess, do you know where you are?" Asked that same familiar voice. Slowly turning my head to see the water tribe boy standing against a large window overlooking the sea.

"I'm on a ship, going towards the southern water tribe" I said, putting as much bravo into my voice as I could, still snapping back into reality.

"Yes you are, do you remember what happened after your meeting with your father?" He said again, speaking low but not weakly.

I didn't answer. As much because I had no idea as much as I didn't want to admit it to my enemies.

I heard a sigh and snapped my head around to an elderly man standing in the back of the room. He was a tall man, or would have been in his prime. The slight hunch in his shoulders drew his height down and inward. His light grey hair touched his lower back, and the top of his hair was pulled back into an elegant bun.

"Kidon, she doesn't remember. She's blocked it out" he said softly looking towards the water tribe boy. So that was his name.

I stared at the elderly man longer than I should have, putting as much venom in my voice as I felt in my heart. "What do I not remember?" I asked growing.

They didn't answer me as they continued talking amongst themselves, the elderly man talking to Kidon. I heard him explaining that I was in a fragile state after my "treatment with Aang" and that they should handle me carefully.

"What do I not remember!?" I screamed at no one in particular, not used to being ignored and on the verge of panicking.

Kidon looked at me, not kindness in his eyes but solid, icy, steel. "Princess, Aang has temporary taken away your bending."  He said, staring me down.

I bolted, needing air, needing to breathe. I shoved past the guard who had foolishly loosened his grip on my arm, running around the guards at the door and just kept running.

I blocked out the yelling behind me, running around corner after corner, heading to the top of this metal machine. Slamming into people, my hands shaking and sweat dripping down my spine.

I slammed into the door at the top, knowing it would lead me to the deck. After years on warships, I learned my way and layout of each one.

The fresh air was a welcome reprieve on my face, my neck. I just stood there however, taking it in and gulping down air. My legs shaking I collapsed on my knees, my face straining towards the sky.

The footsteps finally caught up with my, arms looping threw my own. I began thrashing, and biting, and screaming. Screaming so loud my own eardrums hurt and my throat ached.

"Enough. Let her be" I heard a man say, I heard Kidon say. It felt as though his voice came through a tunnel into my own mind, not part of my own reality.

My knees dropped back onto the deck with a painful thump that brought me back, that was trying to bring me back at least, I couldn't stop screaming.

Knees dropped in front of me grabbing my head, forcing me to look into the blue eyes of Kidon. "Wake up Azula. Wake up. You are here, you can stay outside. We are not forcing you back in. Breathe." He said, not letting go of my head.

I started to calm down, to breathe, to realize they weren't taking me back inside. My breathing started to level out as I stared into his eyes and only focused on the sea beneath them.

Once I realized who I was allowing to touch me, I recoiled and pushed back. Still not getting to my feet. Only staring pass Kidon to the ocean in front of the ship.

And so I was left there, Kidon watching me from afar, wether from worry or caution I didn't know nor did not concern myself. I stayed on my knees watching till the sun dipped below the water. Fire extinguished by water. And the stars were born.