6I had more spare time than I thought I would have had, so I finished this a day earlier than I expected I would.
Since he was a child, he had pictured her defeat. The look of shock and horror on her face as she fell to the ground. The realisation in her eyes, that, for all her talk, she was not perfect. He had imagined his own glee at her loss. He had imagined laughing at her as she struggled to stand up. He had imagined winning. After all, she would have done the same. She had done the same.
But, as his sister fell to her knees, the long-awaited joy did not arrive. Then, she had screamed, flame billowing from her body. It was nothing like what he had imagined. It was terrifying. They had both believed it. They had both believed what their father had taught them. Even in his rejection of his father, he had still believed it. That Azula was better than him, born lucky, perfect. That illusion had been shattered. Azula was broken. It was only now that they could truly see it.
Zuko shifted slightly in his chair behind the great oak desk that had served the Fire Lord since before Sozin. A gift from an Avatar. It was quiet. During such moments his mind was inevitably drawn to his sister. He did not know why. He didn't even like her. Any pity he felt for her was more out of morbid fascination than anything else. She had brought this on herself.
Mai had talked him into visiting Azula in the prison. She had still felt a sense of duty towards the former princess, though Zuko could not understand why. Mai had brought Ty Lee along with them for the visit. It was bad. Days later, and she was still screaming, though her flames grew weaker. There was no hope, and so, they left.
Upon leaving the prison, Ty Lee had burst into tears and ran off. Mai had followed her, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts. Two months later and none of them had been back. None of them knew what to do. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to do anything.
Zuko raised his head sharply as a loud knock came from the other side of the door across from the desk. Nobody was supposed to disturb him with anything less than a matter of life and death.
He cleared his throat. "Come in."
The doors opened and two guards rushed into the room. "My Lord, your sister has escaped!"
Zuko froze, unsure about what to do. This was unexpected. The reports had said that she was unable to firebend. His eyes narrowed. Another of her lies, it seemed.
The other guard spoke up. "We secured the grounds as soon as the alarm was raised, My Lord. In case she comes back."
Zuko nodded. "Leave. I want a search party organised as soon as possible. All firebenders, understand?"
"But, My Lord, we can't leave the palace unsecured. What about your safety?"
Zuko replied with a raised voice, "I am a master firebender. I can take care off myself. It's others that I'm worried about. Now, go."
The two guards bowed deeply and then hurried out the door towards the entrance to the palace. Zuko followed them out of the office, but turned right instead of left, heading towards the room were Mai was staying before their marriage was made official. Azula's former room.
He came to the thick double doors and placed his hands on them, pushing them inwards.
Mai started as Zuko came through the doors unannounced. Well, she couldn't say that it was unlike him. That's why she liked him, after all. She stared stoically at him. "Yes?"
"Azula has escaped."
Her heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she felt towards her former companion. She had been angry, but that had faded, leaving only a bad taste. "That's unexpected."
Zuko continued, "I've ordered that a search party be organised. We'll stay together, in case she comes to the palace. We should go to the main hall."
Mai nodded and stood up. She followed Zuko from the room into the hallway. She had visited Azula in prison. Any remaining anger towards the girl had fled from her at that moment. Azula had always been so composed, so in control, so perfect. But at that moment, she had doubted whether the shrieking girl even knew her own name. You couldn't be angry at something so pitiful. They didn't know what to do, so they had left.
Mai and Zuko turned a corner to take the shortest route towards the main hall, through an old wing of the palace. Ty Lee had broken down when they had left the prison, running away as tears streamed down her face. Ty Lee was unique. Ty Lee had liked Azula. Though she had been afraid of the princess, their companionship wasn't based on that, unlike Mai's. No, Ty Lee had actually liked Azula. Perhaps the only person who ever did.
Both Zuko and Mai whirled around as they heard a noise from down a corridor further up the hallway to their right. Glancing at each other they both edged towards the corridors mouth, muscles tensing as they moved.
Halfway down the corridor, double doors lay open. They moved down the corridor, stepping cautiously to avoid making any sound. As they reached the double doors they could see a figure kneeling in the centre of the room.
"Azula!" Zuko silently cursed himself as the words escaped his lips, but the figure did not move. They waited, but still no movement. Zuko nodded at Mai and they entered the room.
Mai walked two steps behind Zuko, wary of the kneeling girl.
Zuko breathed deeply, steeling himself for a possible fight.
When they reached Azula, she still hadn't moved. Zuko stood for a moment, wondering what exactly to do. A whisper caught his ear and he glanced at Mai, whose eyes were uncharacteristically wide.
"Look up."
Zuko looked. A large painting hung on the wall. A portrait of a regal fire nation woman. His mother. He was now at Azula's side. He looked at her sharply, his eyes widening as he noticed it for the first time. He fell to the ground, frantically snatching at the knife handle.
He recoiled. The handle protruding from his sister's chest was white hot. The knife had seared through flesh and bone, cauterising the wound as it plunged deeper into the teenage girl's chest. It had pierced her heart, the one place that no one had ever thought that she would be hurt.
I hope that this was interesting.
