Chapter Text
“Azula, dear, would you like to share some tea with me?” Ursa said to her nine-year-old daughter. Ursa felt a great sadness in her chest at the thought of what she was going to have to do. But it was for her daughter’s own good.
Azula, who was meditating in her room, opened her eyes. Her face lit up at the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Yes! Can we invite Zuko too?” Azula asked her mother.
Ursa had a sad smile on her face.
“No, my love. Not this time.”
“But why not?” Azula questioned.
Ursa searched for an answer but struggled to find one.
“Mother? Why not?” Azula repeated her question. “We always share tea with Zuko.”
“I… I want to spend some time with my daughter.” Ursa said with a cheerful smile.
“Alright…” Azula said suspiciously but followed Ursa into her chambers. Torches lit the way through the twisting hall of the palace. The pair passed the royal gallery, paintings of past Fire Lords gazing upon them.
When they arrived at Ursa’s chambers, there was already a steaming pot of tea ready for them. Ursa sat down on a cushion and poured two cups of hot tea. She handed one cup to Azula and took the other one for herself. The cups were part of a tea set from Ursa’s home village, one of the only things she got to keep when she married Ozai.
Azula slowly took a sip. The two got to talking about their days. Azula didn’t notice that Ursa hadn’t drank any of her tea.
“Mom… I’m tired.” Azula said with a yawn.
Ursa came over and cradled the girl in her arms.
“Go to sleep, my love. I’ll see you in the morning. And remember, family sticks together.” Ursa said while stroking her hair.
The last thing Azula saw before falling into a deep slumber was a tear running down her mother’s face.
-
Azula woke to the sound of metal creaking and ocean waves. Wait, ocean?!
Azula shot up from her bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and took in her surroundings.
The room was simple, two beds, a small table and a fire nation banner hanging from the wall. She turned around and saw her mother sitting on a cushion at the end of her bed, reading some kind of book.
(Probably about plays.)
“Mother…?”
Ursa looked up from where she was reading and smiled at Azula.
“Hello, Azula. Did you sleep well?”
“Where are we?” Azula said, ignoring her mother’s question.
“We are on a ship, my dear. We’re going on an adventure!” Ursa said with a forced smile.
Azula had always been perceptive, noticing the little details of people’s faces and their body language.
She always knew when punishment was coming. It was the twitch of her father’s eye and the curl of his lip that filled her with dread for what was to come.
She has also always been a great liar. It was the one thing she excelled at over Zuko. Her brother couldn’t lie to save his life. Surprisingly, it was something that made her father proud. He was brutally honest and would say what was on his mind constantly. It was only if he dared disrespect his father that he got punished. Azula is not stupid. She noticed the burns littering her brother’s arms. Just like the ones on hers, and her mother’s.
Azula noticed the sadness in her mother’s eyes despite her cheerful tone of voice.
“Where’s Zuko?”
Ursa just looked down.
“Mother! Where is he!?” Azula shouted, desperately.
“He’s… not coming with us.”
“What?” Azula growled.
Azula felt like she was drowning in sorrow and pain. She couldn’t believe this.
“I’m sorry Azula, but we can’t stay at the palace,” Ursa spoke quietly.
“But family sticks together! You said it yourself!” Azula screamed at her. She couldn’t breathe.
“We can’t let anyone know we’re alive right now, dear. It’s for your own safety. Zuko will be safer in the palace where he belongs.”
Azula felt anger rise in her chest, replacing the sadness.
“I’M NOT GOING WITH YOU!! I’M GOING BACK. I WON’T LEAVE HIM THERE!” Azula shrieked.
“We’ll go back for him! You will meet again one day. I promise.”
Azula just sobbed in her mother’s arms.
//
“Hey, dad? Have you seen Azula and Mom?” Eleven-year-old Zuko came swinging around the door and into his father’s office. Ozai didn’t look up from his paperwork while he spoke with no emotion in his voice.
“They’re dead. So is your grandfather and your uncle is a traitor.”
Zuko took a step back. “Wh-what? No! They can’t be!”
“Yes, they are. Your mother and sister’s ashes were delivered to the palace last night. Earth Kingdom assassins. Our intelligence tells us the Iroh had let them in and he has now fled the palace. Your grandfather died in his sleep last night.”
Zuko collapsed to his knees, unable to stand with the weight of grief pushing down on him. The little prince trembled as he cried and sobbed. The world was caving in on him, blackness taking over. Spiders crawled under his skin and he shivered as more tears flooded from his eyes.
Then, he heard it. A small whisper in the back of his mind. A shadow in the corner, speaking to him, calling him.
Zuko was about to reach out and touch it when he felt his father’s hands on his face, bringing him back to reality. His father turned the prince’s head to face him and wiped the tears from his cheeks. Zuko shook in his father’s arms and he latched onto his robes.
“Please tell me you're lying…” Zuko whispered desperately.
“We are the last members of the royal family. I’m all you have now. And we will burn whoever defies us. It’s only us.” Ozai whispered in his ear, not acknowledging Zuko’s words.
“Only us.” Zuko repeated. He glared at the shadow in the corner.
“And we will burn the world.”