Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gaoling, 100 AG

The sea had never been her friend. Suki wrenched into a bucket near the bustling city's port. Despite the unsettled feeling in her stomach, she was beyond grateful for the feeling of the solid group beneath her feet. Suki had been in denial over her uselessness at sea for the longest time, doing her best to hide how green her face turns during long ocean voyages and making excuses for her frequent disappearances from the deck to throw up in private.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jorun, captain of the Taiho, pointedly turned away. He walked in the opposite direction to pretend he did not see her. Suki knew her actions never fooled her family’s loyal soldiers, but mercilessly they never commented, at least not to her face. Despite knowing they wouldn’t judge her, she was still embarrassed that the daughter of a family that prided itself on its merchant abilities succumbed so easily to the relentlessness waves.

With a sigh, Suki wiped her mouth and drank a few sips of water to remove the unpleasant taste from her mouth. As she walked back to her ship to grab her money and supplies, Suki acknowledged how well the Taiho, the most rundown merchant ship in the Zin Ha Islands fleet, blended in with the Earth Kingdom ships docked in the Goaling port. Her Grandfather, Shamuk, commissioned the Taiho in the wooden style of Earth Kingdom vessels shortly after the start of the war. As it was designed for more covert missions, with the ability to raise and lower the Fire Nation flag from the mast at will when passing the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom navy, few people know of the ship's affiliation with the Kozuku family. No one would ever expect a Fire Nation noble to step foot on a boat fit for commoners.

“Are you ready to head out, My Lady?” asked Eeso, the only earthbender in the crew.

He stood with a rigid posture by the ship's ramp next to his nonbender twin brother Dasain. They watched with vibrant green eyes as Suki emerged from her cabin with her sword strapped to her side and a merchant sack over her shoulder. The travel sword she had sheathed was a simple steel blade. It was nothing like the expertly crafted jian sword with the gold-plated dragon hawk pommel, a true symbol of Kozuku craftsmanship, that she had left in her room on the ship. Like Suki, both brothers were dressed in Earth Kingdom merchant attire of a green tunic and pants with a brown undershirt. Their fire-nation affiliation needed to be indistinguishable.

“I’m surprised you're still struggling with my name after all these years, Eeso. Here’s a lesson, say it with me S-U-K-I,” Suki quipped back.

The title My Lady makes her feel much older than her 15 years. She was annoyed by the twin’s refusal to call her by her name in any formal setting regardless of the fact that they grew up together and were only two years older than her. They mean no harm by it, it was a gesture of respect and loyalty, but Suki was still frustrated by how much the title separated them. She considered the twins to be her brothers ever since her father rescued them as children when the vessel they were on sank in a violent storm and killed their only family. Their position as servants in the Kozuku household had always been in name only. Although they would never have noble status in the eyes of outsiders. The brothers were barred from inheriting the family’s governance of their ancestral lands, the Zin Ha Islands, two small neighboring islands located to the south of the Fire Nation Capital. Yet, Eeso and Dasain received an education befitting a noble and always ate at the same table as Suki and her parents.

Eeso rolled his eyes but before he could reply with a sarcastic comment, Suki continued, “No one’s coming with me.”

“What?!” Eeso exclaimed angrily. Dasain touched Eeso's shoulder to calm his more outspoken brother.

Suki knew that the overprotective boys had assumed they would accompany her into Gaoling. Their brown hair and green eyes allowed them to blend in more easily in Earth-controlled cities than the rest of the crew who possessed more traditional fire nation features. The brothers may have Fire Nation mannerisms, but their upbringing did not erase the fact that they were the only ones present with Earth Kingdom heritage. Well, not really. Suki shook her head before she could linger on that thought.

“Our contact is already a little touchy. He won’t cooperate if I show up with a pair of bodyguards.”

“Who’s going to assume we’re bodyguards?! Your strong and handsome older brothers would never let you go into the market alone. Come on, what would mother say?” Eeso joked flexing his admittedly toned arm.

“I definitely inherited the brain,” Dasain groaned and stepped a little farther away from his twin like he couldn’t believe they were related. He ducked to avoid Eeso’s retaliatory punch and effortlessly righted himself with a dimpled smirk.

Suki stifled the fond smile threatening to break out, “We can’t take any chances, the information he has is too important.”

“Take them. They know how to stay out of sight, don’t you boys?” a rich voice interjected. A tall black-haired man, with sharp grey eyes, materialized out of nowhere and raised a questing eyebrow at the twins. He appeared almost timeless. Depending on the angle, the dark-haired spymaster looked anywhere from late 20s to 40s. At a glance, he did not possess any weapons, but a skilled observer would notice the knives and throwing stars concealed within his attire. He moved so quietly it was as if he stepped out of the shadows themselves.

Eeso let out an involuntary squeak in surprise at the sight of his master. Suki and Dasain barely moved, they had either heard Razi’s approach or were at least good enough at hiding their shock.

The spymaster acknowledged Dasain with a nod, but sent a disappointed frown in Eeso's direction, “At the very least, it will be good practice.”

Eeso hung his head at Razi’s words, stealth was innately challenging for earthbenders, although he would never admit it this was an area where his brother far exceeded him.

Without another word, Razi went to the bridge to busy himself with his maps. Guests would find nothing unusual, but Razi’s coded maps contained a lot more than geography. The maps cataloged the positions of all the generals, troops, and high-ranking officials in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom who had at least a marginal degree of loyalty to the Kozuku family's cause. Each listed member was ranked in order of trustworthiness from self-interested to die-hard loyalist. Razi’s official role as navigator, listed in the Taiho’s inspection logs, was only a smokescreen for his real duties.

“Alright, no time to waste,” Suki said accepting Razi’s wish. She quickly took off into the city without looking back to check if the brothers were following.

Dasain mimicking his teacher trailed Suki from the shadows finding comfort in the weight of his canceled knives and throwing stars. Eeso followed a little less gracefully.

As she headed toward the center marketplace, Suki admired the city nestled in the middle of a picturesque sprawling mountain range. Suki had spent her whole life in Fire Nation. She may be here for a mission, but the real highlight for her was getting to visit the Earth Kingdom. Unlike most fire nationals, Suki was well aware of the true nature of her nation’s actions. She held no illusions of grandeur. Without question, the Fire Nation had wreaked havoc on the world, committed genocide against the Air Nomads, conquered cities, and torn families apart in the name of Fire Lord Sozin’s greed, lust for power, and desire for resources. There was no defense. No justification that could right this horror.

Like any other Fire Nation citizen, Suki was spoon-fed government propaganda. Respect for authority, and reverence for the Fire Lord above all else was deeply engrained in the fabric of society. Portraits and statues of Fire Lord Ozai were visible in schools, buildings, and marketplace centers. Suki’s independent worldview has always been a credit to her father’s teachings. Starting when she was around six or seven years old, whenever Suki returned home on breaks from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, her father would sit her down ask her questions about what she learned, and gently correct the information.

When she would question him as a curious child and ask why he thought he knew more than her respected teachers, her father would smile, his bronze eyes sparkling, and crouch down to whisper to her even though there was no one around, “Everything that I taught you, is what your grandfather taught me when I was your age. You remember how I taught you that names have power, and our family name is special, just for us, not to be repeated to anyone? Well, this knowledge is a Kozuku family secret. Your teachers may be wise, but they aren’t Kozuku’s are they?”

Suki straightened with pride and listened intently as he pointed at the dragon hawk statue on top of their estate, gestured at the native dragon hawks that occupied the trees of the island, and continued, “Dragon hawks are elegant predators. As they soar above in the rays of Agni’s light, their sharp eyes remain watchful, unwavering, poised to attack whenever they catch their prey off guard. Our nation has forgotten about the true meaning of the dragon hawk. These great birds are often locked in cages, only released to serve as messengers. Their loyalty to their caregiver is abused when they are kept hidden behind bars. A bird that is treated with respect does not need to be caged, it will remain loyal until the end of its days. A hawk’s beauty is in their ability to sour freely, to become a haunting predator in the skies.” As if to prove his point, one of the bright red hawks took flight from the tree, soared over their heads, and out into the ocean in search of dinner.

Noticing he was losing Suki’s attention with his prose, her father concluded “Kozuku’s are like dragon hawks, Suki. We are meant to sour free, and we have been kept in a cage for far too long.”

“How do we get free?” Suki asked with wide eyes.

“That my dear child, is a story for another day,” her father answered. He reiterated the importance of keeping what they talked about within the family before sending her to bed.

As a child, she thought hawks were awesome and she loved having an important secret. She believed it was so cool that she had knowledge that was reserved only for her family. She learned to respect her father’s teachings of the importance of unity and balance. The need for the nations to live in harmony. She was more resistant to the academy’s propaganda teachings than most children and she learned to think critically about the information she received. Yet, she didn’t understand the full picture, nor did she accept all of her father’s teachings.

Despite her father’s wishes, for many years, she did hold a lot of respect for the Fire Lord. Most of that reverence was not for Ozai himself but was instead a byproduct of her admiration for a pint-sized female version of him with bright golden eyes and a mischievous smirk.

The older she got, the more she understood. Suki’s admiration for the Fire Lord which once surged in response to the golden-eyed princess, plummeted just as swiftly when she noticed a burn mark on the princess’s arm, courtesy of her own father.

Suki was so lost in thought that she only noticed she arrived at her destination by the loud sounds of business owners trying to attract customers to their stands with fresh produce, crafted goods, or clothing. The marketplace was bustling, and villagers were rushing around in every direction. Suki sidestepped to avoid being run over by a man pushing a cart overloaded with rice. “Sorry!” he shouted as he rushed past her barely slowing down. Suki shook her head in bewilderment, such chaos never happened in the markets of Caldera or any village she had seen in her nation. Even the stories her mother shared of her life growing up were much calmer than this. Although Suki was never a fan of crowds, but some part of her enjoyed the anonymity that Gaoling provided. She wanted to avoid drawing attention to herself here at all costs.

Suki walked towards the far edge of the market and stopped in front of the building with a symbol of a sword and hammer crossed together hanging over the door frame identifying it as a smithery. With a quick shift of her eyes to ensure no one around was paying attention to her movement, Suki crept through the bushes around the side of the building. By the time she arrived at the backdoor, her body was tense. She made a momentous effort to steel her nerves and knocked on the door. She heard feet paddling as someone approached the door. By their steps alone, Suki could tell they were not a trained warrior.

A raspy voice called from behind the closed door, “We’re closed. This is a private entrance.”

“I followed a hawk here,” Suki responded with practiced ease, ignoring the hostility.

“What path did it take?” His voice was noticeably less antagonistic.

“The one closest to Agni’s light.”

The door swung open. An elderly man was staring back at her. His hair had long since gone gray, and his skin was wrinkled, but his blue-green eyes still held a youthful spark to them. Despite his age, he appeared to have a muscular frame, maintained from years of work with a forge. The man held out his hand. Suki passed over the smooth red stone in response to the wordless request. To the casual observer, the stone would appear to simply be a polished lava rock. The rock may be regarded as a weird thing to collect as it holds little intrinsic value but, in most cases, it wouldn’t even receive a second glance.

The blacksmith quickly directed her inside and introduced himself. “I’m Lun. It’s an honor to meet a member of the Volcanic Sect.”

Suki responded in kind, hiding her wince at Lun’s careless use of honor. The Sect’s members located outside of the Fire Nation tended to throw the word around to engrain themselves with the Fire Nation founders. It often had the opposite of the intended effect for the sect’s firenationals. Her nation may have forsaken its honor, crushed it under its heels as they marched to the tune of war with carcasses left in its wake, but not all have forgotten the ancient teachings.

Suki had to stop herself from involuntarily touching her hair. While she made the sacrifice for her trek into the Earth Kingdom, she felt naked without her topknot. Per customs, only immediate family and lovers should see a fire nobleman with their hair down. To go out in public in such a state was unseemly.

Flashes of golden eyes and manicured fingernails running through her auburn hair flew through her mind before she could force the memory away. She missed her so much. It pulled at the fabric of her being. Now was not the time to let down her guard, no matter how much she wanted to get lost in that train of thought.

Her honor could take the hit, it had to, the fate of the world was at stake. She could almost feel the pleased smile of her Sei’Naka ancestors at that thought. In the family archives that Suki religiously studied as a child, the Sei’Naka clan emphasized that the good of others must come before personal honor.

Suki silently followed the blacksmith past his workstation and up the stairs into the living quarters above the shop. She eyed the pai sho board neatly set up on a table in the corner in her scan of the room but otherwise, she did not find anything noteworthy. She briefly considered Lun’s possible connections to the Order of the White Lotus. Double agents were common enough from what she gathered from Razi. The White Lotus’s passivity and inaction caused a group of their members to seek out the Vulcanic Sect in hopes of making real change. These double agents did pose a threat to the cause, as while secrecy was sworn it was almost inevitable that a Grand Lotus would catch onto them eventually. The desire for peace and unity across the nations may be the same in both organizations, but the White Lotus was unpredictable, and their plan for Fire Nation following the end of the war was concerningly vague. It would be extremely easy for the Order of the White Lotus to become an enemy if their version of peace involved wiping out the Royal Family. Suki made a mental note to tell Razi of her suspicions.

“What do you have for me?” Suki questioned Lun as soon as she sat down at the center table.

“Hold on, I need some assurance you are a Kozuku. Your hair color may be characteristic, but I am not naïve enough to believe that Clan Kozuku are the only ones with red coloring. My stipulations were very clear, I would only share what I know with a Kozuku directly.”

Suki had to hold in her annoyed sigh. The risks she took to get here should be evidence in itself. Nevertheless, although she hates to admit it, her eye color and shape are unusual even for a Kozuku. Her blue eyes with a soft bronze ring around the pupil practically screamed mixed heritage.

“You will have to take this for assurance. You understand I can’t risk bringing my passport into this part of the Earth Kingdom.” Suki pulled out her golden dragon hawk pendant from where it was tucked into her shirt.

Lun nodded satisfied, “First, I know the Sect is tracking the Avatar. He passed through Gaoling earlier today with his water tribe friends. They left with the Beifong’s daughter, a talented earthbender, known as the blind bandit. I am unsure of their exact course, but their bison was flying in the direction of the Si Wong Desert.”

Suki was displeased that Lun had shared an update on the Avatar. Since she learned of the Airbender’s return, Suki had been fighting an internal war. One part of her was thrilled, the return of the avatar was the greatest chance of the world returning to a state of balance. It signified that everything her family had been working towards was actually worthwhile. It showed that change was possible. It meant that the Airbenders weren’t completely wiped out. That Sozin’s genocide of the air nomads all for the purpose of removing his greatest threat failed to extinguish the avatar.

Suki should be jumping for joy and offering her services to the avatar. She wouldn’t hesitate if wasn’t for that other side of her. Images take over her mind of her friends alight with betrayal and her nation looking on with disgust. But what threatened to shatter her heart in two was imagining the look on her princess’s face when she learned Suki was aiding the avatar. That devastating look of heartbreak would flash through those eyes which always looked at her with warmth. Suki didn’t think she could handle it. It didn’t matter if her actions were truly a betrayal, she knew Azula would perceive them that way. The princess would take this as further evidence for her already deeply engrained belief that fear was more reliable than love.

Suki quickly tuned back into the conversation hoping she hadn't missed anything important.

“— the real reason I asked for a Kozuku to come here is this,” Without pause, Lun pulled out a scroll which he promptly slid over the table.

“My scout in Yu Dao intercepted these plans from a messenger hawk leaving the Northern Air Temple. Unfortunately, this is not the only copy. We know the Mechanist always sends two copies of his designs simultaneously in case one is intercepted. Fire Lord Ozai likely received this a few weeks ago. With the scale of the plans, we must assume this has already been underway for years.”

Suki briefly frowned as she wondered how the hawk was intercepted. She prayed the scout hadn’t mortally injured it. Upon opening the scroll, all thoughts evaporated. The scroll contained a letter to War Minister Qin and a detailed prototype drawing. The letter was brief, the Mechanist reported that he had found a minor flaw in his original plans. He attached a new copy of the designs corrected for the defect and reiterated that his invention would be able to break through the thick walls of Ba-Sing-Se. The plans enclosed for the massive hydraulic drill were truly terrifying. Suki didn’t think even the famous “impenetrable” city had a way to combat this kind of threat.

She needed to get this back to her father fast. This drill was the highest-level threat they have had to consider for as long as she can remember. Suki is no engineer, but she knows her crew would be able to find a weakness if one existed. Eeso for all his weaknesses in stealth had a surprisingly analytical mind.

Pocketing the plans, Suki looked over at the blacksmith. “Thank you Lun. I’ll get this to my family right away. This information could save the city, truly. If Ba-Sing-Se falls, the rest of the Earth Kingdom will soon follow. Your service won’t be forgotten.”

Lun looked down at the ground feeling unworthy of the praise, “I only hope it helps before it's too late.”

“Let me walk you out,” Lun continued and started to lead Suki back downstairs.

Before he could let her out the back door, Suki interrupted him. “One more thing Lun,” the man paused and looked back at her confused.

“Why did you request me specifically?” Suki enquired.

“Request you? I asked for any Kozuku, I had no idea who would come.” Lun tried to deny the question, but his nervous expression gave him away.

“Don’t take me for an idiot. It is well known that there are only five living members in my family. Of which, the only one who could disappear for a while without raising an alarm is me. I’ll ask you again, why did you request to speak with me?” Suki placed a hand on her sword as a warning. She may not have her princess’s cunning mind, but she was no fool and refused to let this threat slip through the cracks.

Lun gulped at her burning stare, “I mean disrespect with this, my lady. But I trust the intentions of my kin more than a random Fire Nobel, and your ancestry is well known. I hoped the chance of this information being acted on was higher if it went directly to your hands.”

Suki barely resisted the urge to lash out at Lun for his comment. After the vital information he just shared, she couldn’t punish him for an insult. But how dare he assume that her family wasn’t trustworthy, that her father wasn’t trustworthy, after all the sacrifices the Kozuku’s had made to form this movement. If the Fire Lord even caught a whiff of what was happening under his nose, Suki didn’t even want to imagine the torture they would undergo.

Yet, what Suki didn’t want to admit to herself was that her real anger stemmed not from the attacks on her family’s character, which while she disagreed were at least understandable given their nation of birth, but instead from the reference to her mixed blood, her “kinship” with Earth citizens. She could still hear the voices of Yin and Hali laughing and spuing slurs in her head. Her tormentors at the Royal Fire Academy preyed on the fact that her mother was born in the Earth Kingdom. “It would have been bad enough if she was from the colonies, but she’s full-blown dirt scum, isn’t that right half-breed?” they would mock. She has always loved her mother, but a large part of her still couldn’t accept the fact that she had blood ties to the Earth Kingdom. Suki wouldn’t accept that she was not a true Kozuku, she couldn’t let them win.

Before Lun could say anything that would make the situation worse, Suki nodded at him, promised that she was trustworthy, and rushed out the door.

Suki's pace quickly turned into a run as she left the smithery and headed towards the docks. She was so far locked into her mind that her warrior instincts left her. She was moving swiftly, oblivious to her surroundings.

Only when she reached the ramp of the Taiho, did she hear the concerned questions from the twins who flanked her on either side.

“What happened?” Dasain asked, quieting his brother’s endless stream of words.

“Too much,” Suki said as she handed over the plans she received from Lun. Eeso swore as he looked at the scroll in front of him. Dasain silently looked over his shoulder, his expression clouded.

Watching the brothers, Suki felt a wall of shame rush over her at her earlier thoughts. Eeso and Dasain had never forsaken their ties to the Earth Kingdom regardless of how at home they felt on Zin Ha. If Suki turned away from her Earth ancestry, she was not only forsaking her mother but her adoptive brothers as well.

Her resolve hardened. She had to find the avatar. The airbender’s companions were likely ignorant of Fire Nation customs and military procedures. She doubted they even had an accurate map. Maps of the Fire Nation were closely guarded. The rumors and bits of information Suki heard about the Avatar's journey so far suggested he was nearly captured by Prince Zuko and Commander Zhao far too many times for comfort. It was only a matter of time before total disaster struck and the Avatar fell into the Fire Lord's hands.

Darkness settled over the deck of the ship. Suki was startled to realize how late it was. A plan forming in her mind, Suki turned to take the scroll back from the brothers. “I need to get this to Razi, it's late, you can look at it in more detail in the morning.”

Eeso started to protest, but Dasain saw the exhaustion in Suki’s eyes. He wished Suki goodnight and dragged his twin below deck to their cabin.

Suki looked up with a soft smile as she heard the familiar screech of a dragon hawk rapidly coming towards her. Akino landed on her shoulder effortlessly and dropped the scroll he was carrying into her hand. The gorgeous red bird preened as she reached up to pet him, rubbing his head affectionately against her face. A light feeling took over her body as she relaxed in her loyal companion’s presence.

“You greedy bird,” Suki teased as Akino started to peck at her pocket where he knew his treats were hidden. Suki found Akino on Zin Ha with an injured wing a couple of years ago. Akino refused to leave his savior's side when he recovered from his rehabilitation. Suki has been lucky to have such a steadfast companion ever since.

“Here you go handsome, you deserve it,” She gave in easily, passing over the treats to her spoiled bird. Akino gobbled down the treats, and gave her a couple more affection nudges, before settling down in his nest near the ship's mast.

Suki pocketed the scroll with a seal that she would recognize anywhere and started to search for Razi.

“You’ll be leaving us soon, won’t you?” Razi’s rich voice enquired as he stepped out of the shadows. Even after all this time of knowing him, Suki still didn’t understand how he just seemed to materialize when you are looking for him like he could sense your wordless call.

“What do you mean?” Suki asked baffled.

“I know you, child. Don’t worry I won’t interfere. I’ll direct Jorun to take us back to Zin Ha at dawn. Eeso and Dasain won’t know anything until you are long gone. And I can handle our grumpy captain and your father,” Razi continued ignoring Suki’s surprised look, she should have known that even her subconscious thoughts weren’t hidden from him.

“Before you go, you have something for me,” Razi held his hand out expectantly. Suki handed over the information she had on the drill and reiterated her conversation with Lun including his suspicions of her family and the possible White Lotus connection. Razi took all the information in and promised to handle it.

The spymaster offered his next piece of advice, “Go to the outermost edge of the city, I have secured a mount for you and all the supplies you need to make it through the desert. This won’t be easy, the course the avatar has taken is treacherous. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“No, but it's what I have to do,” Suki responded hoping her voice sounded more confident than she felt.

“I’m proud and I know your father will be too once he gets over the fear. Until we meet again,” Razi said mercifully ignoring the slight waver in Suki’s voice. He disappeared leaving Suki alone on the deck.

Suki’s head pounded. All she wanted to do was crawl up in bed, but she didn’t have that luxury. She needed to leave now under the cover of darkness before the Avatar got too far ahead.

Suki sighed feeling the scroll she stashed burning a hole in her pocket. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill set from her cabin, promised herself she would reply to the letter as soon as possible, and set off in the direction Razi pointed her in.

Chapter Text

Suki felt like she was going to choke on the heat. Her throat was raw and burning after several days in the desert. The compounding effects of sleep deprivation and water conservation only intensified her discomfort. Suki grew up in the Fire Nation where the temperature was typically scorching so she should be doing a lot better than this. But the desert was a different kind of animal. She was almost embarrassed to admit how much she was suffering considering she was not that far into the Si Wong territory.

Suki pulled up on Tori’s reigns and glanced at her maps, based on her current pace she estimated she would reach the Misty Palms Oasis within the next couple of hours. She gave Tori a few affectionate pats in gratitude. Without her giant rhinoceros beetle mount that Razi had acquired, she wouldn’t have made it this far.

Last night when she settled by the fire in her makeshift camp, she finally summoned the courage to open the scroll from her favorite golden-eyed girl. Suki had cracked a smile as she could practically feel the frustration that poured off the page.

As you know, Father sent me after Zuzu and my leech of an uncle. Father’s instructions were vague enough that I could succeed in this mission by only delivering his tea-loving-kookiness. But, of course, Zuko is a dum-dum who can’t see the bigger picture. His misplaced sentimentality caused him to reject my most generous offer. He thinks I never do anything for him. We could have taken down the Avatar together, but after escaping with Uncle, he forced my hand. Now, I must hunt that soft-hearted idiot along with the child avatar. What choice do I have? Wish me luck. I don’t know how I’m going to get Zuzu out of this one.

I know you’re on a merchant expedition for your father. I remember how much you were looking forward to seeing the Earth Kingdom. I’m sure you’ve noticed their peasant huts quaint villages, don’t hold a candle to Caldera.

It would be less awful if you were here, firefly. Write back soon.

“I miss you too,” Suki had whispered out into the silent night. She opened her parchment to reply, struggling to come up with words adequate enough to explain her tumultuous emotional state. How she could possibly convey that Azula held her heart in her hands, but her conscience was dragging her toward the Avatar?

Finally managing to get something down she was at least marginally satisfied with, Suki sent Akino off into the wind. Her loyal hawk who had been tracking her this whole journey, seemed uneasy about leaving her but eventually took off with some encouragement.

Lost in her thoughts, the trek to the Misty Palms Oasis felt much quicker than anticipated. As the outpost came into view, Suki unconsciously reached for the sword sheathed at her side. She frowned a little to herself as she registered the sword’s weight. She had decided to leave her jian blade, Featherfall, in her cabin on the Taiho. No sword would ever compare to the one she crafted herself, but Featherfall was an ornate blade and its dragon hawk pommel would give her away as nobility if not outwrite label her as a Kozuku. Just as she had done with her topknot, she would have to make do with this simple steel blade for a lot longer than she had anticipated. The scrapes on her dignity seemed to grow each day.

Suki was startled by an unidentifiable sound in the distance. She looked up as a huge blurb belonging to a sky bison flew overhead. The bison landed at the outpost entrance just ahead of her. The Avatar and his friends made a ruckus as they dismounted and headed to the trading post. Suki was stunned by her good fortune. The Avatar was here! She expected to have to trail him for weeks to catch up given how much a head start he and his companions had leaving Gaoling.

Suki tied Tori to a post at the opposite end of the entrance from the flying bison. The bison had started to growl when the giant beetle got close, so she decided it was best to put as much distance as possible between them. Suki took a moment to admire the fluffy white beast. It is truly a magnificent creature. She had to resist the temptation to give him pets. She doubted Fluffy would take kindly to a stranger's touch. The mood darkened again when Suki remembered that just like the avatar, this gorgeous bison was likely the last of its kind thanks to the Fire Nation.

With a sigh, Suki placed some food down for Tori, took her bag out of the saddle, and headed for the trading post’s entrance. Out of the corner of her eye, Suki noticed several sandbenders seizing her up. She knew they were trying to determine whether she would be worth robbing. Suki pointedly glared at each sandbender, letting them know she was not to be trifled with. She maintained eye contact until they backed down. Satisfied they wouldn’t try anything for the time being, she entered the seedy cantina.

Inside the rundown building, Suki clocked multiple traders sleeping or resting on the tavern's chairs. She was not naïve enough to believe they were fully asleep. Merchants always slept with one eye open. The Avatar and his friends were currently huddled over a map near the bar talking to an animated explorer. Suki ordered a drink from the bartender while discreetly listening in on the conversation.

“You’ve spent years walking through the desert to find some guy’s library?” the blind earthbender scuffed.

“This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge. And knowledge is priceless!” The explorer passionately exclaimed.

At the earthbender’s disbelief, the explorer doubled down in defense of his expedition.

“Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?” the water tribe boy responded.

The female waterbender exasperatedly shoved her brother. “I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka.”

Suki couldn’t stop the snort that escaped her at Sokka’s stupid comment, immediately drawing the group's attention to her.

“Why hello there!” the water tribe boy called out.

“Hi,” Suki turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised unimpressed. Sokka quieted a little stunned having a gorgeous girl pay attention to him. Since Yue, he had been too depressed to notice anyone, but something about the redhead pulled him in.

Katara was tempted to slap her brother again when she noticed his dumbstruck expression but decided verbally assaulting him was a better course of action, “Please excuse my idiot brother, his brain is still developing. I’m Katara. It’s nice to meet another traveler. It doesn't seem like this is a popular place.” She eyed her surroundings with slight distaste.

“Hey!” Sokka yelled out in offense. He was ignored.

“Suki, and yes it’s certainly an interesting place. It at least serves as a nice rest stop before a long trek into the desert.”

“The desert is a wasteland why would want to go out there? Oh and I’m Aang by the way. The Avatar. Nice to meet you!” the Airbender cheerfully introduced himself.

“The Avatar, eh?” Suki said trying to contain the fact that she already knew that.

Aang puffed up his chest in pride, “Yup!”

“I’ll have you know that the desert contains several priceless artifacts. Most notably is Won Shi’s Library which you know if you were paying attention. Wan-Chi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world and put them on display for mankind to read so we might better ourselves.” Professor Zei sent a look of displeasure towards Aang before happily introducing himself.

Suki smiled at the anthropologist before addressing the Avatar’s question, “Well my father is a merchant and he sent me out to Gaoling to pick up some merchandise. It was my first solo expedition and things got a little out of hand, I ended up here, separated from my crew. I’m trying to figure out my plan. I was considering heading towards Ba-Sing-Se, I have family near there.”

“You should come with us to the library! If this place has books from all over the world, we might be able to get information on the fire nation. Right, Professor?” at the man’s nod, Sokka continued “We could help you figure out your plan. We do have a flying bison, after all, no better method of transportation than Appa!”

Katara nodded in agreement “No one should travel alone, especially not in the desert.”

Aang backed Katara’s statement with a smile although he didn’t appreciate Sokka volunteering Appa’s services.

“I–“ Suki stuttered out surprised. She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t expect joining the Avatar’s group to be so easy. “Alright. That sounds nice,” she finally managed to get out.

“Yes, this is going to be the best vacation! Lead the way good sir,” Sokka cheered throwing his arm around Professor Zei’s shoulders as he directed him outside.

Toph frowned as she analyzed Suki, nothing she shared was false, but she could tell that the redhead had chosen her words carefully. There was something off about her that she vowed to monitor.

“I’m Toph. World’s greatest earthbender!” Toph introduced as she followed Suki out of the trading post.

“I like your confidence,” Suki chuckled.

“It’s not confidence. It’s fact,” Toph smirked.

As they reached where Appa and Tori were waiting, Suki stopped in her tracks realizing she didn’t have a plan for the giant beetle.

“Ew what is this thing?!” Sokka cried out as he stared at Tori. The rhinoceros beetle took offense to Sokka and was about to run him through with her cephalic horn.

“Whoa,” Suki shouted jumping in between Sokka and Tori calming the beetle’s rampage. Tori kept her small beady eyes locked on the water tribe boy displeasure still extant.

“This is Tori. She was my ride here. If I’m coming with you, I got to find a way to get her back to Gaoling. I don’t trust the locals here to treat her right,” Suki said as she tried to come up with a plan.

“I’m going to take a measure of everyone inside and see if I can identify the least dangerous person who is willing to take her.” Suki headed back inside. She was so overwhelmed by finding the Avatar that she had forgotten one of Razi’s parting words. There was a member of the Volcanic Sect that hung around this trading post. Although she was hesitant to part with Tori, she trusted a member of her Sect at least a lot better than the sandbenders.

When Suki re-entered the building, she spotted one of the merchants she had previously seen “sleeping” now up and alert. He locked eyes with her, spinning a lava rock in his hand.

Suki sat down in front of him, “I have a giant rhinoceros beetle that I am willing to part with. Unfortunately, no hawks for trade today. Interested?”

“Hmm. The desert is scorching, and Agni’s rays are merciless. A beetle could be useful in moving my merchandise,” The Sect member made sure to answer with the proper keywords.

Suki pretended to haggle over money with the merchant for a while, before shaking hands to seal the deal. As their hands touched briefly, Suki felt the merchant slip a piece of parchment into her palm. Discretely pocketing the note, Suki stood up and led him back to where the group was waiting.

“I found a buyer,” Suki said to her new acquaintances. She handed Tori’s reins over to the Sect member with a warning to take good care of her.

She walked over to Appa and stared at the bison figuring out the best way to get on his back without hurting him.

“Like this, he’ll barely feel it,” Sokka noticed her struggle and demonstrated how to climb up. Suki copied his movements and effortlessly settled into the saddle.

“Look at that you’re a natural,” Sokka complimented before reaching down to assist Toph and the anthropologist.

Suki raised an eyebrow for the second time today, at this rate, her eyebrows were going to get stuck to her head.

Stumbling back in alarm, she watched as a lemur flew towards her head.

“That’s just Momo. He’s very friendly.” Aang said with a laugh. Momo happily settled into Suki's lap and pawed at her pocket.

“Spied those did you,” Suki fondly smiled at the lemur and gave him a handle of the treats.

Hours into their search, the group was starting to get antsy. Even Toph had gotten tired of poking fun at “twinkletoes” and his earthbending abilities.

“Does this place even exist?” Toph moaned flopping down in the saddle in frustration. Professor Zei’s response didn’t help anyone’s mood.

The heat was stifling, everyone was feeling it, Sokka had even elected to strip off his tunic. Suki was tempted to do the same as her Earth Kingdom attire was not equipped for these temperatures. Sweat made her shirt stick uncomfortably to her back. But she didn’t want to give the more conservative members of the group a heart attack. Cursing society’s double standards, Suki resigned herself to suffering in silence.

For most of the trip, Sokka neglected his task of searching for the library and instead focused on chatting Suki’s ear off. He spent the last hour recounting how he found Aang and all the chaos that happened since then. If Suki was being honest, she only retained about a third of what he shared.

“And then we accidentally stole a child and ran into a psycho princess and her friends—”

“Wait what?!” Suki had interrupted, shocked.

Happy about her interest, Sokka narrated the story of Azula chasing them nonstop for several days in her armored tank. Suki internally winced not liking what she was hearing.

As Suki's attention started to wane again, Sokka decided to change the subject, “Nice sword. Are you any good?”

“Am I any good?” Suki repeated with a chuckle.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sure you're good. You’re no match for my boomerang of course. But don’t worry, no one can handle these guns.” Sokka spun his boomerang around in his hand flexing his arm.

“Oh really? We’ll have to see about that,” Suki let him boast for a while finding it amusing.

Katara watched her brother flirt with their newest addition to the group with a sigh, she hoped she was wrong, but she had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

“It’s nice to have another nonbender around, benders can be a lot,” Sokka continued.

“Hey!” came the simultaneous shouts from Aang, Katara, and Toph.

“Hmm. I can be a lot too,” Suki smirked.

Sokka lightly punched her shoulder in retaliation. Shaking his head, Sokka gave in to Katara’s complaints that she was the only one searching for the library and grabbed the second telescope.

Suki took a moment to study Sokka trying to make sense of his compliments. She was definitely getting the vibe that he was flirting with her. If he were, her time with the avatar would become increasingly awkward. Not that there was anything to dislike about the water tribe boy from what she had seen so far. Suki had eyes. She could acknowledge he was handsome and pretty funny too. He could be a little over the top, but Suki was used to it. She was friends with Ty Lee after all.

Still, Suki wasn’t interested. She’s loyal and her heart was captured a long time ago. Even now, surrounded by this lively group she was starting to really like, her mind was constantly flickering with memories of warm blue flames and soft smiles. Smiles so rare that her heart raced every time she caught a glimpse of one.

“What’s that?!” Sokka’s voice pulled her out of her musings.

Appa headed down towards a spiral that was sticking up out of a sand dune. He flopped on the group when they landed, panting in exhaustion. Suki took a moment to pet the tired bison, thanking him for taking them this far. Appa nudged her joyfully before putting his head back down on the sand.

Professor Zei and Sokka excitingly lead the group into the buried library, following the spirit foxes’ path. Toph elected to remain with Appa and Suki decided to keep the earthbender company despite her protests that she didn’t need a babysitter.

Regardless of the bravo she displayed, Suki knew that Toph was uncomfortable in the sand, almost as much as she was on Appa’s back. The SI Wong desert was the beetle-headed merchant's territory, and Suki didn’t trust those sandbenders as far as she could throw them. During the trek here, Suki managed to read the brief note from her volcanic sect contact when her companions weren’t paying attention. The warning she received was loud and clear, the sandbenders were planning something, and the Avatar’s bison was likely a prime target.

Suki and Toph settled near Appa on the sand.

“So, what’s your deal tightlips?” Toph broke the silence as she played with a handful of sand.

“Tightlips?” Suki was flabbergasted.

“Don’t avoid the question, you know what I mean. You’ve been suspiciously quiet since you joined the group.”

“Well —” Suki’s mind scrambled for a way out of this one. She knew she had to be more honest than she’d been. Skirting the truth was the same as lying. And like it or not, if she wanted to become a true member of the group, to commit to helping the Avatar, then she must put herself at risk. Sure, it’s not a good idea to explain the volcanic sect right now as the only way they have survived this long is through extreme secrecy. But she can at least share her ties to the Fire Nation.

“I’m half-fire nation. My father is a Fire National. My mother is an Earth Kingdom Native, born on Kyoshi Island,” Suki’s eyes widened surprised at what she spewed out. She had never used the word “half” to describe her heritage out loud. Even now, far away from the influence of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, some part of her broke at her admission. The part of her that still believed the bullies were right. That she was fake nobility, a bastard, underserving scum, a failure of a person. No matter how many times she beat the words down, they came right back to slap her in the face. You can only hear something so many times before it starts to make a home in your soul.

Toph for her part seemed completely unbothered by the admission. She shoved Suki’s shoulder causing her to tip over. Suki was barely able to prevent herself from faceplanting.

“Welcome to the misfit nobility club, party of two!” Toph exclaimed.

“Nobility, I never —” Suki started to say, with a glare directed at Toph in response to the shove. Azula would call the glare weak, Suki admitted to herself, as she could practically feel the smile threatening to break out. She was relieved at how well the earthbender was taking this revelation.

“Oh Sparkles, I’m a Beifong, I would recognize that high-strung attitude anywhere. I’m blind, not clueless. Not that my family knew the difference. To them blind equals helpless,” Toph scuffed but her sadness shone through.

Suki recognizing the Beifong name as one of the richest and most influential families in the Earth Kingdom, simply chuckled, “Fair enough.”

The rest of Toph’s words sunk in, “I think you’re awesome,” Suki said empathically.

“As you should,” Toph deadpanned, yet Suki could see her spirit lighten.

“You really don’t care that I’m part of the Fire Nation?” Suki couldn’t resist asking again.

“Nah, you’re cool. If you start trying to kill twinkletoes though, then we’ll have a problem.”

“I’m here to help the avatar, not hurt him, the crimes of my nation have gone on long enough.”

“I can typically sense when people are lying to me, my senses may be a little fuzzy on this stupid sand, but I get the feeling you’re not. Plus, it will be nice to have another sensible woman around here. Sugar Queen can be such a buzzkill.” Toph smirked.

Suki laughed again. She was becoming incredibly attached to the fierce earthbender. Before Suki could respond, Appa let out a loud growl and stood up drawing the girls’ attention.

“The library is sinking!” Toph shouted, taking a defensive earthbending stance and shoving her fists into the structure, straining under the weight.

Suki’s mind started racing as she tried to figure out a way to help the struggling earthbender. Out of the corner of her eye, sandbenders appeared from every direction, surrounding Appa and throwing ropes over his body. Not today, Suki growled to herself.

Unsheathing her sword, Suki lunged at the first sandbender. She closed the distance between them in seconds, her blade slicing through the air. A few precise moves later, the bender fell to the ground knocked out. Unfortunately, her actions drew the attention of two other sandbenders, and they tag-teamed her with their bending. Suki soon found herself buried waist-deep in the sand.

“What’s going on?!” Toph cried out in concern.

“Don’t worry about it, I've got it under control,” Suki replied although she certainly did not. It was never a good idea to fight sandbenders in their element.

Thankfully, Appa used her distraction to free himself from his constraints. The loyal bison flung his tail in the direction of the two benders closest to Suki, knocking them back with the force of his air currents.

Freed from the sand’s tight grip, Suki sprung back into action. She couldn’t risk getting caught in a sandbender’s death grip again. Her elite swordsmanship would not be enough to save her here. Suki’s next strike was pure fire. The young sandbender yelped in fear as he lost his footing and fell back into the sand.

Momentarily dropping her blade, Suki pressed her advantage. Thrusting her fist forward, fire erupted in a searing arc. The sandbender hastily raised a sand shield, but it was no use. As he blocked the initial attack, Suki was already shifting into the next kata. Burning flames shot out from her spinning kick, striking the inexperienced bender's arm, and forcing him back down to the ground.

Suki knocked him out with a punch, not letting herself feel bad for her young enemy. She quickly dealt the same fate to the two sandbenders who managed to rise from the spot that Appa had thrown them.

As Appa let out a growl, Suki spun around in place. The poor bison was currently fending off four sandbenders that were still attempting to restrain him.

“Appa, fly, go!” Suki shouted, urging him to heed her warning. Appa didn’t want to leave her, but he was exhausted, so he flew up into the sky.

The next moments were a blur of sand and fire. Suki praised her family's disciplined firebending instruction as she maintained the battle advantage while enclosed on all sides.

“Yeah, Kick their ass!” Toph encouraged as she slowed the library’s descent.

Toph’s words sparked something in Suki. She could feel the dam that caged her Earth Kingdom side weaken. As she bonded with Toph, she felt herself become proud of her heritage.

The Earth Kingdom was not weak, it was resilient. Just look at Toph, at how the earthbender surpassed even her family's expectations. She had learned to channel her blindness into strength. The earth was her family just think of mother, Eeso, and Dasain.

Suki fanned the flames around herself, sending the three remaining sandbenders scrambling back. To have Earth Kingdom ancestry was not a disgrace, it was an honor. Suki was honored. The next flame that emerged from her first responded, flickering from orange to a pure blinding white, then—

Green.

It was as if the earth itself had risen into her hands, and merged with her flame, her chi. The flicker grew stronger until she was surrounded by a sea of green. She could almost feel the earth’s heartbeat, beating in sync with her inner fire.

All the outside noise faded away as she became one with the emerald flames. Her vision started to turn foggy. She didn’t notice the sandbender that escaped her destruction fleeing on his sand-sail. Suki fell to her knees, one breath turned into two, and then all that remained was blackness.

A squawking cry could be heard over the horizon, as a faithful dragon hawk dove down to his fallen companion.

Chapter Text

Caldera, 93 AG

Suki gulped as she stared at the large, ornately crafted doors of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Her already small body appeared dwarfed in the shadow of the building which only added to her nerves.

She released the hand she was gripping tightly as she heard laughter and whispers scattered around her.

“Look it’s the Kozuku girl,” one whispered.

“Since when did we admit half-breeds,” another laughed.

“Can you believe she allowed her mother to walk her here? How embarrassing,” a third voice added to the fire.

Suki was frozen in place as her future classmates passed her. She did not move until all the voices had left, and she was alone with just her mother and the imposing gateway.

Faya crouched down next to her 8-year-old daughter, “Suki, sweetheart, I know it’s a lot. You carry such a weight on your shoulders. It’s not your fault. It never was. I wish there was more I could do to protect you from the judgments of the outside world, the stares, and the whispers. Your father and I kept you on Zin Ha for as long as we could, even pushed back your admission to the academy by two years. I fear it would only be worse if we tried to hold off the other nobles for much longer. You’re a Kozuku and your attendance is expected.”

Suki nodded as she looked into her mother’s warm blue eyes. She resolved to make her proud. She would show her classmates and the academy that she was worthy. That she deserved the Kozuku name.

“Be brave, my darling. You’re not alone. I am with you. I love you. You can do this.” Faya encouraged, as she gently directed Suki through the entranceway.

Suki walked forward quickly, forcing herself not to look back, not to cry.

Two months into her time at the Royal Academy, Suki's experience was far from pleasant. The stares had grown more intense, the whispers grew louder, and the laughter continued to ring in her ears every night.

Pranks appeared. A shove here and a trip there. Before she knew it, she had racked up multiple visits to the headmistress’s office. Nothing was her fault, but that didn’t matter. Did it? She might as well be in an echo chamber—her voice was useless.

Suki almost fought back so many times. But what would that get her besides another stamp on her family's name? Be brave you are not alone, she repeated to herself. Maybe if she said it enough times, she would start to believe it.

“The Sei’Naka family, formally Clan Sei’Naka, tragically died out after a series of unfortunate accidents. Esteemed Fire Lord Sozin was deeply saddened that such a noble family was unable to lend their skillset to the Fire Nation as we bring peace and prosperity to the world—” her History Teacher droned on.

Suki stared down at her desk to cover her frown. It's true that the Sei’Naka name, which once bolstered notable members such as Hei’Ran the academy’s former headmaster, and Rangi, Avatar Kyoshi’s firebending Sifu, had died out. Yet, their ancestry lived on in Suki and the other Kozuku’s.

Suki idolized Rangi. Rangi was an elite firebender and an extremely talented swordsman. The Avatar’s Sifu showed her that it was alright to have a fascination for non-bending forms of combat. That you didn’t have to pick and choose. That you weren’t less of a firebender if you dared to pick up a sword.

Some of Suki’s favorite memories were of the times she spent with her father reading about Rangi’s adventures with Avatar Kyoshi. She remembers the disbelief and thrill that swept over her upon learning she was related to Rangi, however distantly. Suki's great-great-grandmother was a Sei’Naka who married into the Kozuku clan.

Perhaps most of all, she was overwhelmed to learn that her family possessed more than dusty old relics. The Sei’Naka home island still existed as part of the Zin Ha Islands which her family governed.

For the rest of the lesson Suki tried to wash away the feeling of unease that overtook her at the mention of her ancestors, but it clung to her like a shadow. She couldn’t shake it loose.

The second class was dismissed, Suki was out the door. Her body was walking yet her mind was running.

She found herself on the training ground, breezing through kata after kata, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time.

“Not bad,” a smooth voice interrupted.

Suki whipped around with wide eyes as she recognized who was standing in front of her.

“Princess,” She bowed.

Suki did her best to keep a straight face but didn’t think she succeeded. No matter how harsh her princess's words would be, Suki couldn’t let her see how it affected her. She attempted to put a shield up to protect her heart even though she knew it was impossible.

The Princess's stare was cutting. The silence made Suki fidget against her wish. Her young body had not learned how to contain the weight of her nerves.

Azula let the silence linger for a moment longer before her expression lifted into a satisfied smirk.

“Come on, you’re going to make us late for lunch. Mai and Ty Lee are waiting. It’s unseemly for a princess to be tardy,” Azula turned around and left like this was a perfectly normal conversation.

Suki’s body started to move to follow her before she could process what had just happened. A call from her princess could not be ignored.

The academy’s dining area was as prestigious as the rest of the building. Finely crafted candle holders were neatly positioned on the long tables that make up the room. Heads turned as Azula entered, and expressions shifted into disbelief as Azula and Suki took a seat at the centermost table. Suki joining the ranks of Mai and Ty Lee sent a message that was unfathomable to most of the onlookers. They couldn’t understand how someone they viewed as less than now held the most coveted position in the school, a place by Azula’s side.

Mai looked like she would rather be anywhere else, but Ty Lee appeared beyond pleased and immediately pulled Suki into a long-winded conversation. Suki was only half listening to Ty Lee’s comments. Her mind was still trying to determine how she ended up here. Suki glanced at Azula out of the corner of her eye. The princess was focused on her meal but that stupid smirk remained. She knew she was being watched.

Suki was assumed to be part of the group from that moment on. The whispers about her never stopped, but they became less pointed. No one dared to bad mouth her in front of Azula.

It took another week of operating in a sort of daze before Suki got any kind of clarity. Clarity came in the blunt form of Mai, “Azula sees something in you. She doesn’t like people who fall at her feet. Stick around and she’ll make you great.”

Those words would ring around in Suki’s head for years to come for Azula didn’t see a half-breed. She saw someone who could become worthy.

Royal Palace, 97 AG

A lone figure was standing a few feet away from the turtleduck pond. Close enough to be in view of the water, but far enough away to not be perceived as longing.

“Azula,” Suki called out softly as she approached.

“Leave,” Azula snarled as she turned around, her posture tense. It was supposed to sound vicious, but all Suki heard was a plea for someone to care.

Suki ignored the warning and edged closer. While Azula glared at the turtleducks, she did not refute Suki’s movements allowing her to approach. A long time passed in silence the two girls standing shoulder to shoulder.

Suki took a risk and reached out to touch the princess’s arm. She was instantly distraught when Azula yanked her arm back with hints of pain in those golden eyes.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Suki’s voice was small.

Azula remained silent, her expression returning to its typical steel mask. She knew the price of weakness. It was written all over Zuzu’s face.

“Can I see?” Suki couldn’t help but ask.

Azula responded by shooting a flume of blue fire in Suki’s direction. She had to keep her away. Her mask may start to crumble if she gets too close.

Suki deflected the blast quite easily. She could tell there wasn’t any heart behind it.

Moments later, Suki moved closer again.

Azula’s shoulders shook with the force of her emotions, but there were no tears today. There never was.

Suki’s arms enclosed around her princess carefully avoiding her left arm. Azula remained still for a moment before all the tension was released from her body. She sank into Suki’s embrace, resting her head on her shoulder. “I’m here,” Suki whispered in her ear.

“I was weak, suffering was my punishment,” Azula spits out. Images of her father clamping his burning hand down on her skin flashed through her mind. I deserved it, went unsaid.

“No, dragons are never weak. They’re intelligent and brave. Someday they’ll rise above it all,” Suki replied quoting one of her father's many sayings as she tried to act older than her years.

The youngest Kozuku had seen that wince on Azula's face before, many times. Zuko may have been the more frequent target by a large margin, but Ozai’s idea of discipline was not so narrowly focused.

The embrace only lasted for what felt like seconds, before Azula shoved Suki off.

Suki just smiled. The fact that Azula even allowed the hug said a lot.

Si Wong Desert, 100 AG

“What happened?!” Aang broke the silence that settled over the group. They had carried a passed-out Suki onto Appa and fled the scene in a hurry.

“I didn’t see” Toph answered with a frown.

“Haha, but seriously tell us,” Sokka rolled his eyes.

“I mean it. The sand was really shifty. It was hard to sense anything. I was focused on making sure you idiots didn’t get buried. You’re welcome by the way,” Toph sent a pointed look at the group before continuing, “All I know is at least six sandbenders were attempting to take Appa and Suki managed to fight them off.”

“How? Not that I’m not grateful, but just how?” Katara asked as she stared at Suki with a new sense of admiration.

While attending to an unconscious Suki, Katara had instructed Sokka to retrieve one of their bedrolls, which he placed gently under Suki’s head. After a thorough examination using her waterbending, Katara found no injuries requiring healing. Suki’s chi level was very weak which was what caused her to lose consciousness. Although Katara was confused by Suki's current state, truthfully all she needed was time to rest and recharge.

Sokka gave up trying to coax Hawky from his lookout point on Appa’s saddle, it was clear the messenger hawk was not interested in leaving his post. His beady eyes were locked onto the injured warrior. The gang didn’t know where Hawky came from but given how frantically the bird hovered around her they knew that he belonged to Suki.

“Doesn’t matter. We are safe, Appa is safe. I don’t know what I would have done if they had taken Appa away. I owe you and Suki a great debt,” Aang said gratefully to Toph as he petted Appa’s head with his hand that was not holding the reins. The sky bison let out a pleased roar as he continued to gain altitude.

“Yeah whatever,” Toph replied but everyone could tell she appreciated the praise.

Katara chimed in, “And we know a weakness against the Fire Nation. The solar eclipse is coming. This is the biggest advantage we have had all war.”

Sokka nodded in agreement and showed Aang the map, “We need to get to Ba-Sing-Se and warn the Earth King. I think heading through here is the most direct route.”

Aang altered Appa’s course to follow Sokka’s directions, “Ba-Sing-Se here we come!”

Suki’s eyes started to flutter open. She let out a painful noise as she struggled to adjust to the sunlight.

Sitting up, Suki took note of her surroundings as her vision became less blurry. She shifted uneasily in Appa’s saddle as she noticed the billing smoke in the distance. Did she miss a Fire Nation attack? Are her friends okay?

“Whoa, take it easy!” Sokka called out from the other side of the saddle. He passed Suki the water skin with a look of concern.

The water tribe warrior had an unreadable look in his eye as he turned his attention back to the smoke show with his boomerang gripped tightly in his hand.

“I’m fine. Go,” Suki encouraged.

“I want to make sure you're okay—” Sokka stuttered, “Aang, Toph, and Katara are out there checking out what caused all this smoke.”

“Go,” She repeated, shooing Sokka off Appa and watching as he disappeared.

A chirp drew her attention to the nervous dragon hawk perched on the saddle behind her. “Hey buddy, I’m alright,” Suki tried to soothe as she petted the bird with spots still dancing in her vision.

When she finally regained her bearings, Suki grabbed her sword and hopped down to the ground. She forced Akino to stay behind and murmured a few comforting words to Appa who gave her an enthusiastic lick of gratitude, before taking off after Sokka.

The scene was chaotic.

Metal shrapnel was scattered all around the ground. Smoke billowed from multiple small fires.

Surveying the thin mountain range directly ahead, Suki’s apprehension deepened as she pinpointed her location. During the war, the Serpent’s Pass had become an assembly area for the Fire Lord’s larger-scale war projects.

Her eyes widened as she noticed the centerpiece in the scene. A massive metal contraption completely torn to shreds. The cylindrical shape left no doubt—this was the dreaded drill she had been warned about in Gaoling. It must have been under construction here in the Serpent’s Pass before it planned to head to Ba-Sing-Se. It was clear this destruction was not the work of the Avatar, yet the scorched earth indicated a recent sabotage. The perpetrators, probably members of the Volcanic Sect, likely lingered nearby.

Aang and Katara had certainly got straight to work minimizing the spread as most of the extinguished fires in the area bore the signature of waterbenders.

Angry shouts in the distance and sounds of combat drew her attention to the woods behind the drill’s remains. Suki moved quickly in the direction of the noise recognizing the loudest voice as Sokka’s.

Suki took care to keep to the cover of the tree line. She needed to keep her tactical advantage. To her disbelief, the clearing ahead unveiled the standoff she had fervently hoped to avoid.

With their backs facing her, Aang, Toph, and the water tribe siblings stood in defense stances. They were trading blows with their opponents at the far end of the clearing. Knives were flying in every direction. The scene was alight with water, earth, air, and —

Blue fire.

Shockwaves coursed through Suki’s body as she recognized her princess, flanked on either side by Mai and Ty Lee. Suki’s focus shifted back and forth as she tried to determine who to aid. Yet, one glance at Azula held her captive — a magnetic force she couldn’t resist.

The princess looked so good. Her black armor was lithe and form-fitting. Her hair was neatly styled in a topknot finished with her royal hairpin. Her eyes were burning with anger and determination. Azula was putting Suki under her spell, and she wouldn’t have any other way. She missed her far more than she could ever put into words.

Suki would have remained at a standstill for moments longer if wasn’t for a slight pause in Azula’s stance that she would have recognized anywhere.

Suki tracked her princess’s line of sight to the Avatar and lunged forward without hesitation. Diving in front of Aang with her right arm outstretched, the full force of the bolt slammed into her. Through sheer force of will, Suki managed to redirect the energy coursing through her out of her other arm before she collapsed face-first into the dirt.

The cry of pain she involuntarily let out as lightning still crackled around her showed her effort was far from perfect. Practice makes perfect, right? Suki laughed to herself in between bursts of pain. The only response she got was searing white agony. Even her body thought that joke was weak.

Gargled voices echoed all around her. The loudest was a scream. A scream of her name full of such deep despair that it could only have come from one source. Suki tried to open her mouth — to reassure the princess who was now frantically reaching for her. But nothing came out. Her vision was blurred and her mind faltered. Not again, Suki thought before she disappeared under another wave of darkness.

Chapter Text

Her first memory was fire. She remembered being wrapped in the warm embrace of her inner fire. Fire was life. Fire was safety. Fire was an ever-present companion. Fire would still be here, even when everything else was long gone.

Her second memory was kindness. Her brother’s warm eyes as he helped sneak her extra dessert on her birthday. His willingness to always give her the best parts when he roped her into reenacting his stupid theater plays. His reluctance to hurt her regardless of how cruel she was to him. He would always run away and cry before daring to retaliate. He cared enough to give her a nickname, even if it was distasteful.

Her third memory was comfort. Her mother’s warm hugs. Her laugh. Her hands running through Azula’s hair as she formed a neat topknot. The gentle tone she used when talking to her children and the turtleducks in her garden. Azula was never sure if she loved those pesky ducklings more. But it never mattered. Azula clung to the beam of light her mother provided for several years.

Azula was happy.

Until the harsh realities sept in. Until all she remembered was fear, pain, and ambition. Until long after any semblance of kindness or comfort had been stripped of her vocabulary and associated with weakness and failure. Until her flames burned bright at the tender age of four and Father decided she was worth his attention.

The path to Father’s praise was simple. Perfection was the carrot that dangled in front of Azula’s eyes. She reshaped herself in his image. Practiced her firebending katas day and night until she was years ahead of her peers. Shoved her useless emotions deep down and put on an unflinching mask. She would never admit how many cracks existed in that mask, despite her father’s attempts to patch them.

No matter how much those cracks in her façade craved the light, Azula would never give in. She knew she had become a monster—a cruel being. Even Mother thought so. But what other choice did she have? Crying like Zuzu was worthless. It was survival of the fittest after all.

Her darkest secret was that some part of her craved the idea of becoming weak, like Zuzu. For all her ambition, she envied the hugs her brother would still receive from her mother long after Ursa had shunned her.

At least her brother’s attention remained easy to get, a tease here a shove there, and he’d focus only on her. Sure, his attention was always in the form of angry shouting, but all that mattered to Azula was the acknowledgment she received.

She missed him.

Even all these years later, Zuko claimed she was lucky. That she had everything. Every time she heard the word “lucky”, Azula would laugh bitterly to herself. Having Father’s attention was not luck, it was a burden. A set of expectations she ought to fulfill but could never truly reach. Father’s “love” was not a blessing, it was a weapon. Always loaded and ready to be aimed at Azula’s head.

She still craved it.

Azula’s not naïve. She knows she deserved it. Monsters have to be put in their place. They must be corrected. It's why she never flinched and never sought treatment whenever her father would reward her with a burn for her failures.

During the Agni Kai, she did not dishonor her brother by looking away like her uncle. No, instead she stared straight ahead with a smile forced on her face. She should have known Father would catch even the slightest grimace.

It’s why every kata was drilled in her room, long after the palace fell asleep until every flaw was purged, and her feet bled from her efforts. It’s why virtually every interaction she had was met with fear.

Fear was the only way she could move forward. Wasn’t it?

When Azula was six, she befriended Mai and Ty Lee. The process was quite easy. She observed the two of them lingering in the background while their classmates at the Royal Academy fought for her attention. Over several weeks, she laid several tests and traps for them which they passed without issue. To gain their loyalty, Azula demonstrated her prowess and the opportunities she could provide them. She threw in a few threats for security’s sake and watched as they fell right into the palm of her hand.

At six and a half, she learned to generate blue fire. Mother frowned when she showed her. Azula could see the jealousy pouring out of him, but at least Zuzu still told her he was proud. Sure, she insulted him in return, but it was the thought that counted.

When Azula was seven, she met Suki. The young Kozuku was an enigma. She was an outsider like Azula, but for all the wrong reasons. She appeared quiet and meek at first glance—never standing up to her adversaries. Yet, she excelled in firebending practice. Suki would never hold a candle to Azula, but the precision in her movements was clear. She alternated between katas and basic martial arts moves as easy as breathing. Azula appreciated the other bender’s skill. She decided Suki was an adequate weapon and her inactivity in the face of criticism could be corrected. Pushing a smirk onto her face to not give away her eagerness, Azula welcomed Suki into her group. It would be years before the princess learned that she had mistakenly correlated Suki’s anxiety with weakness. It would be even longer before she accepted that she never controlled Suki with fear. It was Suki who ruled over her.

At age eight, Azula glanced at Zuko’s gift from her uncle with envy. Why did Zuzu deserve such a finely crafted knife? Why did Zuko always get love while all she got was mockery? Azula stared at the ashes of the doll with disdain. It could provide no answers.

Days after the event, Azula returned to her room to find a package waiting for her. She cautiously opened it. Nestled within the box lay an exquisite dagger, its fine craftsmanship evident even at first glance. The pitch-black sheath bore intricate gold etching that seemed to shine in the light. As she took in the blade, her eyes lit up with glee.

The knife was no ordinary weapon. It had been foraged from one of the world’s rarest materials, black steel. Black iron ore could only be found in the volcanic rocks near Mount Kiyito, a dormant volcano native to the larger of the Zin Ha islands. The blade’s pommel was shaped like a blue dragon. The sculpted dragon was not overpowering in size, but its ferocity was clear in every small detail. Like Zuko’s gift, the knife contained lettering, but the Fire Nation's words on this blade were far superior.

“A dragon’s child,” the blade read.

Azula’s chest puffed up with pride. If she was weaker, she might have cried. The significance of the gift was unparalleled by anything she had received before. In the time of the clans, before Sozin took the mantel of Fire Lord, dragons were revered. To call someone “a dragon’s child” was to say that their skills were so legendary they surpassed even their most esteemed ancestors.

The bearer of this gift was teetering on the edge of treason simply to call her the greatest person they knew. At that moment, Azula forgot all her jealousy over Uncle’s gift. She sheathed the blade and strapped it to her shin. The princess would never leave her room without it again.

Azula confronted Suki later that evening and admired the redhead as she stumbled through her useless denials. Suki finally caved and admitted she made the knife. However, the hours she spent at the forage with her father slaving over every detail were decidedly not mentioned.

“Why?” Azula asked, unable to fathom why she had been offered such a gift.

“Because I care. I see you,” Suki had responded as she tentatively reached forward to enclose her princess in a hug.

Azula sagged in Suki’s arms. It had been years since she was last hugged. She had almost forgotten the feeling. Her mind was in shambles. What was this emotion she was experiencing? She would never outwardly challenge her father, but she did wonder if fear was truly worth more than this.

Suki would envelop her princess in her arms many more times over the years. Each time, Azula’s distrustful nature shattered a little bit more. Suki burned brightly like a firefly, her light pulled her in.

When the princess turned fourteen, she ran her hands through Suki’s hair, it felt like coming home.

Serpent’s Pass, 100 AG

Terrified shouts reverberated across the clearing, a haunting chorus that seemed to linger in the air.

Azula was crouched beside Suki before anyone else had processed what happened. She placed her hand on Suki’s heart wincing as she absorbed some of the lightning aftershocks into herself. The pain barely registered. It was only a fraction of what she deserved.

“I didn’t—” Azula panicked her words coming out in a mumbled frenzy, “I’m sorry, you’ll be okay, you’ll be fine firefly.”

Azula growled as she was thrown backward into a tree and frozen in place by a furious waterbender.

Katara covered her hands in water as she checked the extent of the damage. Suki’s heartbeat was extremely weak, and the shocks were still coursing through her organs. She quickly abandoned the water she was using for the spirit water canister. Suki’s prognosis did not look good without it. Katara would have to work here as Suki was in a far too precarious of a state to be moved.

The fighting had stopped. Aang was overwhelmed but was doing his best to assist Katara with the healing process. Mai and Ty Lee hovered at a distance, watching Suki with fearful eyes.

After enacting a protective earth tent around Suki and her healers, Toph restrained Sokka in earth shackles. The earthbender had to prevent the water tribe warrior from either interfering with Katara’s healing operation or attempting to kill the fire princess or any of her companions whom he continued to glare and shout at. Neither Mai nor Ty Lee paid him any attention.

It did not take long for Azula to burn her way out of her ice prison. She immediately tried to return to Suki’s side only to be held back by her friends. “Let me go,” Azula hissed blue flames flicking on and off in her hands reflecting her inner turmoil.

“We can’t Azula. They’re healing her,” Ty Lee said empathically, mindful of the flames that edged closer to her. The princess’s aura was like a black hole. Ty Lee had never seen it so dark. She worried about what Azula would be like if Suki didn’t make it. Her expression clouded with pain at the idea of losing her friend.

“If you interfere and distract the waterbender, your girlfriend could die. You don’t want that.” Mai bluntly stated, hiding her concern behind sharp words.

Ty Lee sent a disapproving glance in Mai’s direction. Mai’s inflammatory words did not help the situation.

Azula calmed down enough to dose her unruly flames and shake off Mai and Ty Lee’s hold. She would have been more shocked at Mai’s phrasing if it had been any other time. After all, Suki wasn’t her girlfriend. She doesn’t know what they are, but it doesn’t matter.

Azula grabbed the front of Mai’s tunic, glaring at her, “Shut the fuck up.”

Why did Suki jump in front of the Avatar? Why didn’t she stop her —

Suki can’t die. She can’t be responsible for the death of the best person she knew—the most important person in her life.

Mai ignored Azula’s grip and remained unmoving, “We both know it's not me you’re mad at.”

Azula started to laugh to herself. If she wasn’t convinced she was a monster before, she was now. Her wretchedness was undeniable. We both know it’s not me you're mad at. Isn’t that the truth? Suki always deserved a lot more than her. The princess who rewarded kindness with death. Anyone who got too close to her with their soft emotions soon found themselves bleeding. Azula shoved Mai away. Then she laughed louder self-loathing pouring in.

Mai and Ty Lee were at a loss for what to do to aid the hysterical princess.

Wings beat overhead. A bright red hawk came in for a landing on the princess's shoulder. The weight of the bird had a sobering effect on Azula’s body. Her muscles relaxed and her laughter faded as she reached up to greet the preening bird. Akino was a living, breathing connection to Suki.

Sokka stared, mouth wide open as he watched Hawky rub his feathers on the crazed princess. How dare that traitorous bird give affection to the ashmaker who might have just killed Suki?!! He was at a loss for words, completely out of breath from shouting at Toph to release him.

With Aang and Katara busy healing Suki, and Sokka too fanatical to think rationally, it was up to Toph to be the group’s sole defense. She frowned to herself and tuned out Sokka’s pleas as she picked up on the conversation the trio was having across the way.

The princess was Sparkles’ girlfriend? Look at that! Toph would have commented on Suki’s good taste if it wasn’t for the fact that said fiery princess just shot lightning into her. Sparkles better wake up soon, so Toph could hit her over the head with a rock for daring to keep this from her.

Toph was pulled from her thoughts as she detected tremors all around them, closing in on their position.

“Shut it and focus Snoozles, we have company,” The blind bandit suddenly released a frazzled Sokka from his earth shackles causing him to stumble to regain his balance.

“Hey Twinkletoes, you better get out here,” Toph called out to Aang. The Airbender burst out of the earth tent and floated down to his feet. He eyed Azula and her companions with utter contempt, but when they made no move to attack, he turned his questioning gaze to Toph.

Aang questions were answered as figures stepped out of the cover of the trees on all sides. In seconds, they were surrounded by at least a hundred Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka gripped his boomerang tightly. The odds weren’t looking good.

Azula watched the captain and two of his men step forward. The captain stood tall in his black and red officer’s armor complete with a red sash that denoted his rank. Ty Lee and Mai shifted into defensive positions around Azula as the captain removed his helmet. This was no ordinary Fire Nation garrison.

“Captain Seejo, such an unexpected honor,” Azula bit out, none of the nerves she felt seeping into her voice at the appearance of the 34th garrison.

“Princess, forgive the intrusion, but we must do our due diligence to ensure the sight is secure. You should be pleased to hear the fires in the area have all been put out.” The redheaded captain bowed to the princess a little flimsier than expected when addressing royalty before he turned to the Avatar with a smirk, “It seems we have unexpected company.”

Azula scowled and rolled her eyes at the insolent man, “Your heroism shall be noted, Captain.”

“Where’s your medic?” Azula followed up the question before he could respond.

“A medic? Private Kuzon can do emergency first aid, but not much more than that. Why, are you injured—” Seejo asked shocked at the question.

“Enough, I’m sure you’ve noticed the arrow tattoos. Do I need to hold up a sign? Stop standing there and capture the Avatar!” Azula interrupted her fury returning.

The Avatar got her into this nightmare after all. If the Avatar just stayed dead as he had for the past hundred years they wouldn’t be here. Suki would still be—

Who are you trying to fool? You’re despicable, a disgusting stain on the world, her mind hissed back.

Seejo paused his bronze eyes scanning the surroundings as if he were searching for something. The captain’s gaze landed on the earth tent in the corner. His expression turned apologetic, “I’m afraid I can’t do that princess.”

Aang remained frozen in place his eyes following the conversation like an airball match.

Meanwhile, Toph and Sokka assessed their best plan of attack, not swayed by the captain’s confusing words.

The blind bandit's caution was necessary as an earthbender dressed in Fire Nation colors attempted to tear down the earth tent protecting Suki. Toph threw up an earth shield and the attack ricocheted off the barrier harmlessly. Yet, it provided enough of a distraction for a second soldier to rush towards the tent and peek in the doorway.

While Aang airbent the soldier into a tree before he could linger near Suki, Sokka launched his boomerang at the earthbending traitor fighting Toph.

The earthbender scum managed to dodge the attack, but Toph continued to maintain the battle advantage. Unfortunately, the odds soon returned to the enemy earthbender’s favor when his fellow Fire Nation soldiers came to his aid. They overwhelmed Toph with sheer numbers. Even with the Avatar’s help, the soldiers that poured into the clearing seemed never-ending.

Azula stayed out of the way as the chaos unfolded. Instead, she made her way around the backside of the clearing to try to approach the tent from another angle. She needed to watch over Suki. Her firefly's heartbeat had faltered when Azula put her hands on her chest. Was she even still breathing?

Akino flew off Azula and perched on the top of the earth tent.

Katara was incredibly worried about the commotion outside, but each second was precious, so she refused to remove her focus from Suki.

“It’s Suki. Suki’s hurt!” The other soldier cried out to his captain as he rose from his slumped position against the tree.

Seejo face went white with pure fear before launching a large ring of fire around him to attract attention, “Truce! Please, we don’t want to fight. I’m no threat to the Avatar. Just let me help Suki.”

Aang, Toph, and Sokka stared at him in disbelief as the fighting slowed to a halt.

Seejo noticed the twins' reluctance to stop, their dual glares fixed on the Airbender they deemed responsible for their sister’s current state, “Eeso, Dasain that’s enough.”

Eeso didn’t relinquish his glare, but he and his brother stood down.

“You’re a fool if you think we are letting you anywhere near Suki,” Sokka spit out protectively, his posture stiff as he blocked the captain’s path. He was ready to launch at a moment’s notice. How did they know her name?!

Toph cracked her knuckles emphasizing her displeasure. Aang looked uncertain.

“I’m no kinslayer,” Seejo scuffed his protective eyes fixed on the pseudo medical tent which contained Suki's fallen form.

“What?!!” Sokka screamed.

Seejo leveled a look at the water tribe warrior, “Suki’s my baby cousin, I would die before I hurt her. I can’t say the same for everyone here.”

The monster on Azula’s shoulder cackled in her ear after Seejo’s words.

You hear that you should have died. You shot enough energy into your little firefly to kill a fully grown saber-tooth moose lion, and you dare to walk around as if nothing happened. Guess you don’t care about her after all. If you did, you would see how it felt. All it takes is one big spark to the chest. But you’re a monster, aren’t you? So weak you allow a waterbender to “heal” her. While you flounder, she’s choking on water. Look at you, a cruel unfeeling being who would let her suffer alone with lightning tearing through her organs until she finally succumbs to an agonizing end.

Azula froze in place as her mind went to war with her.

What would mother say? The monster continued gleefully, but at least Father would be proud. That’s what you sacrificed everything for, even poor Zuzu’s face, isn’t that right? Imagine Father’s expression when he hears you electrocuted your dearest “friend”.

Are you happy now?

Azula grabbed her head with her hand, unable to listen to the voice any longer. The truth hurts, but never as much as she deserves. Her body moved effortlessly into the lightning kata, sparks forming in her hands. Azula had never attempted to bend lightning at herself but that had certainly not stopped her before. She refused to be a failure even in this.

“Azula,” Ty Lee shouted fearfully. The sparks in the princess’s hand spelled doom when combined with her flickering aura. It dangerously shifted between black and blood-red.

Azula acted as if she couldn't hear the acrobat’s call. She had completely tuned out the world around her.

“It wasn’t us, your psycho princess hit her with lightning!” Sokka defended his friends from the captain’s insinuations as he struggled to wrap his mind around Suki being Fire Nation. Suki was the enemy, but she saved Aang.

All eyes turned to the princess as she collapsed, her muscles failing her. Ty Lee and Mai hovered above her. Chi-blocking Azula never ended well, and Ty Lee wished there was another way, but this situation required drastic intervention. Azula’s eyes promised pain, yet Ty Lee remained firm. The princess’s current cycle of grief and self-loathing did not lead to sound decisions.

Seejo didn’t know how to react. His mind was overloaded with the amount of information he had to process. He had always been protective of Suki. His younger cousin, more like a little sister, had clung to his pants leg when he left to fight in the conquest of Ba-Sing-Se all those years ago. He still remembered her expression when he returned, and his father didn’t. He remembered showing her his best firebending moves— teaching her that fire can be fun too with a fire hawk dancing in his flame. He remembered chasing Suki and the twins around the courtyard with wooden swords. He remembered when Suki came home from school talking about Azula with a soft look in her eyes.

Most of all, he recalled the first time he saw them interact. There was always something about them that was unique and larger than life. He had approved. He was rooting for them even if their friendship threatened to push Suki away from the Kozuku cause. But now, how can he fathom this? What was he supposed to do if it was true, and the princess’s lightning almost stopped Suki’s heart?

Eeso was not so contemplative. He glared at the princess, “You’re the reason my little sister is fighting for her life?” He meant for it to be framed as a question, although all that was heard was an accusation.

With Azula incapacitated, Mai stepped in, “She aimed the bolt at the Avatar. Suki jumped in the way. We didn’t even know she was her or why she would risk her life for the airbender.”

Mai stared at the Avatar, trying to figure out how this happened. Suki was never the most nationalistic and she may have even sympathized with the young Avatar. Still catching Azula’s lightning strike took her empathetic nature to another level. There was something else going on here—something traitorous.

Eeso passed back and forth. Some part of him wanted to bend a rock into Azula’s brain for daring to harm his sister, for possibly permanently damaging her if she even managed to survive. Given the way Dasain was flicking the knife around in his hand, Eeso knew he agreed. Nonetheless, the larger part of his brain, the more rational part knew that if he killed Azula and Suki lived to find out, his life span would be drastically shortened.

So right now, all he could do was pace and beg to see Suki, “You need to let us see her. You can’t keep Suki from her family.”

Eeso was immediately backed by Dasain and Seejo. The soldiers of the 34th division continued to linger in the background, unsure how to proceed without orders from their captain.

Sokka began shouting and waving his arms wildly, “Hold up before anyone goes anywhere you need to start providing some answers! Who are all of you? How are you related to Suki? What do you want with the Avatar?! I’m sure you’re not here to help him with his conquest of your dipshit of a Fire Lord. And someone better deal with crazy blue before she gets a boomerang to the face.”

Mai spun a knife in her hand and glowered at the water tribe warrior. She and Azula may have their differences, but that didn’t mean she would let this boy get anywhere close to her.

Seejo glanced at the wayward twins and decided it was best he speak up, “I’m Captain Seejo of the 34th garrison, descendant of Clans Kozuku and Sei’Naka,” He gestured to Eeso and Dasain introducing them and the rest of his crew before continuing, “My family believes in balance, the Avatar’s existence is crucial to maintaining true peace. Suki’s idol, our ancestor Rangi, was Avatar Kyoshi’s firebending teacher. Our Clans have always been loyal to the Avatar, and we are here to continue that tradition. Since Sozin, the Fire Lords have strayed from Angi’s light. We want to help create a better future.”

Several flabbergasted eyes fell on the captain. Sokka, Eeso, and Seejo erupted into a loud argument, all talking over each other. Even Mai let out a few snide remarks which only further fanned the flames.

While the arguments unfolded, Toph sensed the slight shift in Suki’s breathing. She’s still alive, what a relief. Toph took charge and sent a rattled Aang to check on Suki and Katara.

“Listen up dunderheads,” Toph shouted bending several rock walls in between the different groups forcing everyone to stop, “While you squabble like idiots, Suki is busy struggling to open her eyes.”

An unspoken truce was established as everyone converged around the Earth tent waiting for word on Suki.

Almost everyone. One remained, gasping on the ground, long after the feeling had returned to her limbs. A small spark of joy formed in her chest upon hearing that Suki was alive. But it only lingered for a second before she was swept back into the prison of her own mind.

What right do you have to feel happy that she survived? What do you think she thinks of you? She’s the happy one because she survived you. Didn’t you hear her cousin, she hates you, always has, and always will. She loves the avatar more than you. She trusts the avatar more than you. She was always going to abandon you.

Look at you just lying there, so numb, so useless.

Did you think she’d stay, fool? Why would she? No one does. You offer nothing, even Father wouldn’t take back such a failure.

(What is wrong with that child, the image of Mother echoed).

So do everyone a favor and —

“Azula,” a voice echoed in the distance.

“Princess,” the voice called out louder, pulling Azula back to reality. It might have been minutes or hours later she didn’t know anymore. Her fuzzy gaze focused on Ty Lee leaning over her with an uneasy look.

“What?” Azula hissed, daring the acrobat to ask why she still was on the ground.

“Suki’s asking for you,” Ty Lee gently informed, pointedly ignoring the princess’s unorderly state.

Azula swung to her feet, her inner chi wavering. It’s her fault. She knows she’s selfless, yet she can’t help but cling to the warmth Suki that asking for her invoked within her treacherous soul. Her body moved towards the tent. She steeled her heart behind cages, even if she realized it was futile. Suki wouldn’t even have to try to tear them down.

Azula knew she walked to her execution—she didn’t fight it.

Was the end peaceful?

Chapter Text

Suki exhaled as pain coursed through her body. The fact that she was still able to move was impressive. She owed her life to Katara and the spirit water she used to heal her. Suki leaned against the makeshift pillow on the back of the earth bed set up in the tent. It was a struggle to lift her head, but she was committed to it regardless of Katara’s warnings.

Suki never claimed to be a good patient.

The last hour was a lot. A total sensory overload. She awoke to Katara's hands on her chest. As much as she liked Katara, that was a bit too close for comfort. She settled down when she remembered what happened.

After getting an update on her condition and the chaos that occurred in Wan Shi's library, her first thoughts were for her golden-eyed princess. Was she alright? Agni, they better not have hurt her.

Before Suki could enquire about Azula, she was bombarded with the sudden appearance of Aang.

Aang gulped as he entered, “Glad to see you’re awake Suki, yeah I’m gonna wait outside.” The Airbender was out the door as quickly as he arrived.

Suki looks down at her torso only covered by a chest rap and chuckled, instantly regretting the accompanying pain, the Avatar was likely not expecting such a sight. The red scar over her heart was not as funny, but Suki was lucky it wasn’t worse. While it helped that she was able to redirect some of the lightning away from her vital organs, Katara’s waterbending skill truly worked wonders.

“Here,” Katara said with a slight frown as she held out a clean shirt from her bag that Aang had brought over from Appa.

“Thanks,” Suki took the shirt fumbling with it while trying to figure out how to put it on when she could barely lift her arms.

“Sorry,” Katara mumbled with reddened ears as she helped Suki get it over her head.

Sokka’s jaw dropped as he entered the tent. Suki smirked as she followed the water tribe boy’s line of sight down to her abs as she finished pulling down her shirt. She couldn’t help but have a little fun with him. It served as a good distraction from her aching body.

“For La’s sake, don’t just barge in here,” Katara smacked Sokka's shoulder much to his disapproval.

Suki barely had a chance to speak to Sokka before she was overwhelmed by even more visitors. Seejo and the twins were here? She knew her cousin was stationed in the area, but it hadn’t registered until now that he could have been responsible for the destruction of the drill.

As thrilled as Suki was to see her family, she was not mentally prepared to handle all the attention.

“Everyone out now,” Katara spoke confidently, forcing everyone to comply. Katara followed them out to give the group a stern talking-to.

Katara sighed as she returned minutes later, “They’re all impatient, but they mean well and are worried about you. We agreed you should see only one person today. Your injuries are severe, you need your rest. So, who do you want—”

“Azula,” Suki didn’t even let Katara finish before she vehemently stated her decision.

Katara was taken aback. Suki wants to see who now?! The princess who practically killed her?!

“Absolutely not! I just pulled you back from the brink of death because she shot you with lightning! Remember that?!”

“It wasn’t a question. I need to see her,” Suki asserted.

While Katara continued to furiously yell out denials, Suki called Ty Lee into the tent. “Bring me Azula, please.” Ty Lee nodded, her eyes soft with understanding, before she disappeared to retrieve the wayward princess.

Azula looked distressed. The first sign was her eyes — a tumultuous mix of fear, grief, happiness, anger, and regret swirled in those golden eyes. The second was her hair — typically meticulously maintained, now seemed wild and unmanaged. The third was her posture — her back rigid yet her shoulders were slightly slouched. The fourth and most heart-wrenching — she refused to look directly at Suki for too long with her eyes constantly shifting between her and the floor.

“Azula,” Suki’s voice trembled with emotion. Her chest felt tight. Azula’s presence alone unlocked all the feelings trapped within Suki since she first stepped foot on the Taiho.

Agni, where does she even begin? Words seem too little to capture the depth of her emotions. There were so many things Suki could have done differently. She’s a mess. She’s at fault. She knows. She doesn’t blame her princess. She doesn't feel any anger for the bolt that hit her heart. How could she when she is what led them here? How could she when she met Azula’s questions with silence — never revealing her true intentions? How could she when she jumped in front of that bolt knowing full well the result?

Or maybe, she knew the effect on her. But what about Azula? How dare she put herself in a position where Azula was destined to hurt her. How dare she not consider the effect this would have on her princess. Her dear princess was already so convinced she was unlovable. Suki would rather run herself through with her sword than add to Azula’s burdens. She wasn’t worthy of Azula’s affection, she never was, and it had never been more apparent.

Suki needed to fix this immediately, regardless of the outcome of their relationship, she refused to let Azula believe she was a cruel and unfeeling person. Not when Azula’s soul is warm and gushing, just begging for love.

Azula was silent as her eyes flickered over to the waterbender who remained in the corner glaring at her. Suki sighed she had almost forgotten about Katara's presence. Azula would never speak openly to her with an adversary in the room.

“Can you give us a minute? I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but you deserve a break and I need to talk to Azula alone. I’ll be okay, I promise,” Suki pleaded with Katara.

Katara huffed still outraged but she gave in to Suki’s choice after a moment and left the tent with a few threatening words for the princess. She promised the lightning-wielder endless suffering if anything happened to Suki in her absence.

Suki called Dasain into the tent next before the conversation even began. She needed him to get the others away for a while. Suki couldn’t have everyone eavesdropping on a vulnerable discussion.

Dasain hesitated but eventually nodded and left to fulfill her wishes.

Suki was shocked as she focused back on Azula. The crown princess knelt next to her with her head bowed. In the Fire Nation, kneeling before anyone other than the Fire Lord was seldom done. The act was considered as egregious as a severed top knot. A symbol of true humility. A way of holding up your honor for judgment. A plea for forgiveness.

Suki sharply inhaled. She couldn’t bear the sight before her, “Please get up, you needn’t — I don’t blame you, my princess,” Suki reached down ignoring her body’s protests, and lifted Azula’s chin with her fingers, “I know you weren’t aiming for me. I jumped. I don’t blame you. This is all my fault and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Despite Suki’s plea, Azula remained kneeling confusion shining through those golden eyes, “You need not lie. A monster deserves no apologies.”

The pain in Suki’s chest expanded, “I’m not lying. Listen to me, Azula. I know you. You are not a monster. You never were. Whatever thoughts the Fire Lord put into your head aren’t true, okay? You don’t need to be corrected, you’re wonderful just the way you are. You’re beautiful, brave, smart, and reliant. He never deserved you.”

Suki still couldn’t move much but she was able to coax Azula to sit on the earth slab next to her hip. The two young firebenders sat there in silence for a while. It was clear that Azula was having difficulty processing the last several hours. Even though she was close to Suki, Azula’s posture remained tense.

“It wasn’t Father,” Azula spoke like the words physically pained her.

“Oh,” Suki breathed out as the realization dawned. She gently pulled on the lapel of the princess’s armor tugging her within reach. Suki’s right arm wrapped around her waist while her left reached up to rub the nap of her neck.

“It’s not true. She didn’t deserve you either,” Suki whispered in Azula’s ear. Suki continued to rub the princess’s neck as Azula’s whole body shuttered in her embrace.

They could have remained entwined for hours or days Suki didn’t care, but eventually the pressure of the princess’s armor digging into her side became too much to bear.

Azula pulled back immediately and rose to her feet at Suki’s pained groan, “I’ll get the waterbender,” her expression was alight with panic as she moved towards the tent’s exit.

“No, I’m okay, wait,” Suki begged before the princess left, “Maybe just take off the armor, yeah?”

Azula looked down at her armor with surprise like she forgot she was wearing it. The armor met the floor seconds later. “I’m—I didn’t—” the princess uncharacteristically stumbled over her words.

Suki unconsciously smiled at the awkward attempt at an apology, “It’s fine, really. No harm done. Well, there will be if you don’t get back here.”

“No, I could have—” Pure guilt crossed Azula’s face before she looked away shutting her eyes.

Suki glanced down at herself and frowned when she noticed her shirt had shifted to reveal the red scar over her heart. She quickly fixed it before addressing her princess, “If anyone needs to beg for forgiveness, it’s me. I can’t even put into words how sorry I am for all I did to lead us here. It’s alright to be angry with me.”

Azula eyes flashed open, fury dancing within her pupils, “Be angry with you?!! How can you say that? How can you even bear to look at me when my lightning is responsible for the permanent scar on your chest? How can you smile at me like that when I caused your heartbeat to stop? I felt your heart falter. Without the waterbender, you wouldn’t still be here. I would have killed you. I would have —” become the monster after all.

Suki couldn’t help but try to get from her rock bed, her hands reached out for her princess, but she was too far away. Azula’s negative self-talk was too much for her fragile heart to handle.

Azula was shaken out of her rant by Suki’s actions. Suki soon found herself lying back down with Azula’s toned arm locking her body in place. Suki’s smile turned soft again as she didn’t fight the intense grip. Her golden-eyed girl just brought it out of her.

Azula was breathing heavily above her with remnants of anger, fear, and pain still illuminating her features. She appeared put off by Suki’s grin and opened her mouth to speak.

Suki silenced the fearsome princess with a gentle hand placed on her cheek. Fire met fire and the whole world seemed to shrink. Suki hypothesized by swirling pools of gold, closed the gap between them quickly, and pulled Azula into a gentle kiss.

Suki pulled back almost as quickly as she began, “Is this okay?” she asked tenderly.

Azula stared into those affectionate bluish-bronze eyes and answered with an increasingly passionate kiss. Suki’s touch was warm and comforting. She happily surrendered herself. Suki’s caress was the only one she had not come to fear. The only one where the warmth lingered and was not replaced by pain. The only one that stayed after all these years.

“You want to know why I don’t hate you? The simple answer is I love you. I love Azula. Truth is, I have for a long time. I don’t need anything in response. If you never say those three words, it won’t change how I feel. I love you, I do,” Suki’s voice contained all the love that had been caged within for far too long.

Suki placed her hand over Azula’s guiding it to rest over her heart, “Feel that? It beats for you.”

Suki knew this conversation hadn’t solved everything, not even close, but it made her feel more at peace than she had in months.

Azula gulped, feeling the words get stuck in her throat. Her heart was on fire, and she didn’t know what to do. When she looked back at Suki, she noticed her firefly was starting to nod off. Azula adjusted Suki’s position so she would be more comfortable. She tucked one of the bed rolls lying in the corner under her sun before softly saying, “Goodnight, Firefly.”

Suki fell asleep smiling.

Dusk settling over the horizon was not a comfortable feeling for any firebender in hostile territory. Azula was sitting on a log in front of the portable tents Mai and Ty Lee had retrieved from their tank.

The princess chewed a bit of the Komodo rhino meat, but her appetite was practically nonexistent. She sighed as she stared into the fire pit in front of her. The push and pull of the flames did not provide the level of comfort she usually received.

Her mind wouldn’t let her stay with Suki while she slept, but it wouldn't let her leave either. The further Azula stepped away from the Earth tent, the tighter her demons latched on. Euphoria never stayed around for long.

You were going to do everyone a favor and disappear, but you're still here? Why? Her mind mocked.

Azula fought back against the tempting force. Because I want to live, I’m not ready, and Suki —

She pities you, the voice screamed. Do you think yourself worthy of love? Of trust? Your little firefly is delirious from her injuries but soon she will recognize you for what you are — the monster that destroys everything that dares to care for you. You know she’ll leave you eventually. But you’re too busy holding onto hope to realize she already has. She has betrayed the Fire Nation and chosen the Avatar over you, yet you still beg for scraps of affection. Pathetic.

Trust is for fools.

The approach of loud footsteps from the right shut off the screaming voice in her head. Azula rolled her eyes as she recognized the water tribe peasant's approach. His utter lack of stealth was laughable. She had kept an eye on the Avatar’s group in the northeastern part of the clearing and the 34th garrison’s camp in the southwest. She knew they were watching her. Even her own destructive mind couldn’t counter years of training. Father used to let assassins sneak into her quarters for a reason.

“Can I help you, peasant?” Her voice naturally shifted into a tone of superiority.

“I don’t know how you coned your way into visiting Suki. I shouldn’t expect anything less from fire scum.” Sokka scowled and pointed his boomerang at the crown princess, “I’m warning you, murderer, if you ever get near Suki again, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

“Um, right. Last I checked a murderer has to actually kill someone. Your precious little Airbender certainly fits the title more than I do. All those poor families mourning their loved ones drowned in the North Pole, killed by the so-called bringer of peace,” Azula dryly laughed, “And Suki? We’ve been close since we were children. She invited me to visit. She wanted to see me. Of course, I wouldn’t expect a water peasant to be up to date on the bonds between Fire Nobles.”

(Azula always lies)

Sokka's whole body shook with rage at the shot at Aang, “Aang’s no murderer. The Fire Nation soldiers were coming to annihilate the Northern Water Tribe! You have been hunting us nonstop for months. You tried to kill Aang today!”

He tightened his grip on his boomerang, Suki asked for Azula? They were friends?! Confusion and outrage clouded his vision. Was Suki a spy? It makes no sense, why would she save Aang?

No, he resolved, Suki’s a good person who finally decided to get some better friends. She must have met with Azula to cut all ties. Good, they would treat her much better than Crazy Blue.

“You don’t deserve Suki! She’s found better friends now, ones that don’t shoot lightning bolts at them!” Sokka shouted.

Azula breathed out puffs of blue fire. The firebender was stunned by the small feeble flames she produced. Her fire was weak, had even Agni abandoned her?

Thankfully, the water peasant was too caught up in his posturing to notice her failure. After one last threat, he slunk his way back to his companions.

Despite his bravo, Sokka was too tired to fight Azula one-on-one, even at his best princess crazy was an elite threat.

Azula’s mind whirled as she walked into the woods behind her. She opened her palm and called to her inner flame. It sputtered weakly with hints of blue appearing in her hand before fizzling out.

She was all alone again.

Chapter Text

Five days had passed at an extremely slow pace as Suki was kept on bed rest. Fortunately, the 34th was able to find the supplies to set up an actual bed for her rather than the slab of rock Toph had created. The bed was the biggest advantage she had in days. The rest was pretty miserable. Her aching body, constant distressing news updates, and no contact with her princess did not promote happiness.

On the second day of her seclusion, Suki was pelted with questions. Seejo and the twins showed up at first light eager to catch up with the youngest member of the family. All three of them tackled her in hugs and fretted over her injury for almost an hour. After expressing their concern, Eeso and Dasain began to curse her out for leaving them behind with no warning to chase after the Avatar.

Once they calmed down enough, Suki gathered that the twins had left the Taiho at a nearby port to the Serpent’s Pass to send directions on how to dismantle the drill onto Seejo and the 34th. For such a high-stakes mission, Razi had determined they couldn’t rely on messenger hawks. In between all the chaos, Seejo managed to update her on crucial intelligence including the current positions of Volcanic Sect troops and members near Ba-Sing-Se.

Through it all, Suki vehemently defended Azula from her family’s anger. The swiftness with which her relatives passed judgment left a bitter taste. “It was my decision, and the consequences are mine to bear. Not Azula’s!” She had asserted.

Her cousin had just sighed, “Suki, I know you have always been close to the Princess, but Azula intended to kill the Avatar. If her bolt had killed him our greatest chance for peace for balance would gone. The future of our cause would be bleak. Don’t let your blind spot affect your judgment.”

Seejo had a point and Suki hated it. The intensity of the situation and her feelings for her princess had made her lose sight of the bigger picture and forget why she had risked her life to save the Avatar in the first place. Attempting to counter the Fire Nation propaganda engrained in Azula had always been a tall order, yet it didn’t mean she should stop trying.

It’s more than propaganda she’s dealing with, her mind echoed.

When he saw his words had made an impression, her cousin continued to share the bad news, “The 34th needs to leave the area and report back to our commander. We have already stayed for too long and any longer will risk attracting attention. Reveling ourselves in front of the Princess was a major risk. It would be easy for her to declare the 34th traitors and deal a large blow to the Volcanic Sect. If for some reason Azula does not report us to the Fire Lord, we need to continue to operate undercover.”

The screams of her family dying filled her ears as Suki imagined the consequences. Her presence alone near the Avatar put the entire Kozuku line at risk. Add in Seejo and the 34th’s mutiny and they are all guaranteed a painful interrogation and an even more gruesome death at the hands of the Fire Lord.

Seejo tried to calm Suki’s frantic ramblings, but it didn’t have the intended effect.

When Suki settled down enough to speak, she promised she would do everything she could to prevent a report from reaching the Fire Lord. She also warned of the upcoming Solar Eclipse and the Avatar’s plans to inform the Earth King. Her cousin nodded and reassured her that he would have the Sect on high alert and ready to help with any invasion.

With a great deal of force, Suki sent the twins with Seejo as he departed that evening. The 34th would need the boys' skills to survive as potentially full-blown traitors.

Through the terror, a spec of joy appeared when Dasain returned Featherfall. Her dragon hawk blade provided a sense of security unmatched by any other weapon.

Day three was no less tense.

The entire gang entered at once despite Katara’s protests. Sokka was frustrated that their visit was postponed this long and refused to wait any longer to see Suki.

“If I have to look at her smug face for one more moment, she’s gonna get a boomerang to the face. Why is psycho even still here? It’s not like the little murder-happy trio has made any moves to attack Aang since the princess blasted Suki instead.” Sokka groaned as he entered the tent. He had barely gotten any sleep the last couple of nights while he kept watch on the princess’s encampment. It was incredibly distressing that she did nothing but play with a small, blue-hilted knife all day. If crazy blue was trying to use this uneasy truce as an opportunity for surveillance she was doing a shit job at it.

Suki wasn’t pleased with Sokka’s attitude towards Azula but decided against instigating for now.

“Maybe she regrets what she did and wants to be friends? She seems to like Suki,” Aang said with a smile. His words were met with immediate denials from the Water Tribe siblings.

Suki blushed at the Avatar’s comment even if it wasn’t the meaning he intended.

Toph smirked as she noticed Suki’s heart rate spike. Aang and Sokka may be oblivious but she's not, “Nice to see you in one piece Sparkles.”

Suki laughed. The youngest Kozuku barely had time to breathe before she was affectionately attacked by the rest of the gang. They had paused their bickering to smother her.

“Why’d you jump in front of me?” Aang asked, moments later, his expression turning serious as guilt poured through.

Suki sighed “I think it's best if I start from the beginning,” she proceeded to give a detailed summary of her family heritage, early life, friendship with Azula, and ties to the Volcanic Sect. Explaining the Volcanic Sect alone was complicated especially to those without a deep understanding of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation politics. Suki purposively avoided sharing the depth of her connection to the Fire Princess. Her relationship with Azula was incredibly personal and fragile. Still, calling Azula her friend felt inadequate.

While comments on her connection to Azula ranged from approving to downright antagonistic, the existence of a secret organization fighting the Fire Nation was well received. Suki did feel like she was unfairly put on a pedestal by the group for being a citizen of the Fire Nation with morals. Considering that most of their interactions with firebenders involved violence, she couldn’t blame them too much. Suki was grateful they didn’t shun her for her nationality.

Or maybe they felt her Earth Kingdom ties outweighed the so-called evilness of her Fire Nation blood. Which reminds her they still don’t know she’s a firebender. Yeah, she’s going to wait till she’s back on her feet before bringing that one up.

Still, this disastrous group brought a smile to her face with their antics, and she was happy to be included.

“You should be able to start walking around in a couple of days, which is great because we need to reach the Earth King as soon as possible,” Katara said as she checked her wound and performed another healing session.

“So close to freedom,” Suki joked as she thanked the waterbender.

As everyone left the tent, Suki held her breath hoping for a certain golden-eyed visitor.

She never came.

Days four and five were more of the same. Suki was grateful Ty Lee had offered to do her topknot while she was recovering. She wanted to look her best and felt naked enough without it.

Suki would get so excited by the prospect of her princess visiting only to be let down as a different visitor entered. Did she do something wrong?

“Are you stupid?” a familiar voice drawled.

“Nice to see you too Mai,” Suki raised an eyebrow.

Mai stood near Suki’s bed flipping a knife causally in her hand, “Do you even have a plan? Or did you decide to betray the Fire Nation without a care for the consequences? You know how traitors are treated.”

“The war is not right, what our nation is doing is not right. The plan is to help the Avatar restore peace. Yes, I care about the consequences, I’m terrified of them. Of what happens to my family if Ozai finds out, what I will do if Azula is the one who reports us, or if I ever have to fight someone I’m close to. I’m terrified this will cause an irreversible rift between Azula and me. But I can’t stop in the face of fear,” Suki winced as she realized she let out way more than she intended.

“Am I supposed to clap?” Mai deadpanned.

“Don’t give me that look. I know when we were kids you considered betraying the Fire Nation at least once a week out of sheer boredom,” Suki snipped.

“Still do,” Mai responded.

Suki chuckled grateful for the lightened mood. Eventually, her laughter turned somber, “What are you going to do? One report to the Fire Lord on what you witnessed this past week, and you will be hailed a hero for uncovering rebel plots."

“Ceremonies are dreadfully boring,” Mai's expression remained blank.

At that moment, Suki knew everything would be alright. She would have hugged Mai if she wasn’t so far away.

“Thanks Mai,” Suki replied with a slight grin.

Before the gloomy knife thrower left, she offered one more piece of advice, “Ty Lee and I won’t say anything, but we can’t speak for Azula.”

The princess was the wildcard as always. It was not a good sign that she still wouldn’t visit her.

Suki was running through some basic martial arts moves and sword-fighting forms to get used to moving her body again. Or she would be if she didn’t have to deal with a needy bird refusing to leave her shoulder. She loved him but he had become increasingly clingy and overprotective since she left the tent.

“Akino, off,” she whined. Said hawk left her shoulder and flew in a short circle around her head before returning to his landing place.

Suki practiced for a while longer before the dragon hawk’s presence became unmanageable, and she needed to try a different tactic. The young firebender scoured the ground for a couple of minutes trying to find something satisfactory. Zeroing in on a unique orangish yellow rock that looked like a sunset, she picked it up.

“Akino, Deliver to Azula,” Suki commanded as she held out the rock. Akino tilted his head at her, probably wondering if she lost her mind, before picking up the rock with his talons and flying it across the clearing.

Suki watched him fly over to her princess. She had seen Azula staring at her from a log bench in the distance the entire time she had been training. Knowing patience paid off when it came to her princess, Suki had elected to wait and let Azula make the first move. She played herself because she got impatient minutes into the charade. Sending Akino over served as a good excuse to get the attention she so desperately desired.

Suki's expression turned fond as she watched her princess study the rock with a bewildered look. Azula cradled the rock for a moment before pocketing it. Their eyes met, but the stubborn princess still refused to come over. Azula adjusted the position of the pesty bird who was now trying to groom her hair.

Suki resumed her katas trying to act like she didn’t care.

A certain water tribe warrior gapped at the sight before him. He was in awe of Suki’s swordsmanship. While Sokka had briefly learned non-bending combat from the Kyoshi warriors, he had so much he still wanted to learn. Being surrounded by benders all day could really drag on his self-esteem. Yet, it inspired him to see another nonbender wielding a sword with such finesse.

As footsteps approached her exposed back, Suki whipped around and pointed her sword at her attacker's exposed throat.

“Whoa! I come in peace,” Sokka yelped with his hands raised.

“Don’t speak up on me like that,” Suki huffed lowering her blade.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re really good! I would be honored if you would teach me,” Sokka humbly requested.

“Do you think you are worthy of learning the way of the sword?”

“I know one thing for sure, I have a lot to learn. Truth is, I don’t know if I am worthy,” Sokka bowed his head.

“Hmm alright let’s see what you got. But you are not using featherfall, so retrieve my other steel blade. Practice swords would be better, but we’ll have to make do. Oh, and also bring ink and parchment it's important.”

Sokka eagerly nodded and ran off to track down the sword and supplies.

“Great, you won’t be needing this,” Suki declared as she plucked the sword out of his hands and swung the sheath around her back. She placed the parchment on the ground within reach.

“What?! But you said you would train me!”

“And I will, but Master Piandao would rip me a new one if he ever found out I let a pupil skip straight to the sword. Piandao is the greatest swordsman alive, and I hope you get to learn from him someday. For now, I can honor his teachings and show you the basics," Suki sent a pointed glare at Sokka, "First, you must listen.”

“Sorry, I’ll listen,” Sokka promised.

“The first thing you must learn is that your weapon is an extension of yourself…” Suki channeled her old master as she demonstrated the core principle of sword fighting.

Sokka's eyes were wide as he took in the information Suki shared.

Aang, Katara, and Toph couldn’t help but be assumed as Suki put Sokka through the paces for the rest of the afternoon. The hilarity ranged from Sokka getting ink all over his face, to attempting to paint while blindfolded, to getting his ass kicked by the young Fire Nobel.

“Ouch that’s got to hurt Snoozles,” Toph cackled as Sokka faceplanted into the dirt. He shook himself off and sent a glare at his unwelcome audience.

In the distance, sharp golden irises had been following the training session closely. An odd sensation was building in the princess's chest as she watched the water peasant tackle Suki in a celebratory hug after he properly executed a move. Azula didn’t know what the sensation was but didn’t like it. She stalked across the cleaning motivated to stop it.

“Princess, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Suki smirked as she registered Azula’s presence behind her. She was honestly starting to think her princess wouldn’t approach her today.

“Can we talk?” Azula said not rising to the bait. She eyed the group, lingering on Sokka, before continuing, “in private.”

“As you wish,” Suki jokingly bowed, pleased that Azula was fighting back a smile.

“You can't go with her! Did you forget she almost killed you?” Sokka shouted as Suki sheathed her sword and started to follow the ashmaker.

“As much as I appreciate the concern,” Suki stepped into Sokka’s personal space forcing him to back down, “I don’t answer to you, any of you, understood?”

Suki’s words stopped the impending outburst of words from the water tribe siblings. Aang nodded at Suki as if to say go on while he placed a calming hand on Katara's shoulder.

The cocky smile Azula sent in Sokka's direction while Suki’s back was turned didn’t help at all.

The darkened clouds on the horizon created a chilled ambiance as the two firebenders stood in the secluded woods.

Suki took one look at Azula’s expression before embracing her in a tight hug. Azula’s attempts to hide her emotions never worked on her. “I’m here,” she soothed.

Azula forced herself out of Suki’s grip before spinning around so her back was facing her firefly.

It hurt to watch her princess pull away from her, but Suki prevailed, “Azula, talk to me,” she begged.

Azula ground her teeth but did not respond.

(Just let her in, she’s trying to help you, Mother’s voice sighed disapprovingly).

Weak, her mind argued back.

(No, Azula you're strong, you’ve always been so strong, asking for help is not a weakness).

What do you know you weren’t here?!

(I know I failed you and I’m sorry, but Suki’s here don’t give in to your fears).

“I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.” Azula cried slamming her fist into the tree in front of her, not even registering the blood that dripped from her knuckles.

“You're the bravest person I know, but it's alright to be scared,” Suki tried everything she could to remain calm. She was freaking out inside, but she needed to be strong for the love of her life. Her princess needed a lot more help than she could provide. All she could do right now was try her best to be there for her.

Azula sagged down into the dirt in front of the tree. Suki slowly approached and sat down beside her. “Can I see?” Suki whispered, her mind flashing back to the day of Zuko’s Agni Kai when she uttered those same words.

This time though, Azula did not protest as Suki examined her injury. Thankfully, the cuts were not deep. Suki cut off part of her sleeve to wrap around Azula’s knuckles. With her thumb, she ran some gentle circles on the back of her princess’s hand as she finished the wrap.

Azula bitterly laughed as she struggled against her desire to relax in Suki’s embrace. She didn’t deserve it. She was always more trouble than she was worth — now she had nothing to give. Nothing to trade — not for Suki’s love or her father’s goodwill. Worthlessness was Agni’s punishment for all her failures.

Questions whirled through Suki’s mind as Azula held out her uninjured hand like it answered everything. Small blue flames appeared on the surface of Azula's skin before turning orange and disappearing. Suki was stunned. The display was nothing like what the princess’ flames typically looked like—strong and unyielding. Oh no, Azula. She knew this would be beyond devastating.

Suki had so much she wanted to say but imagining the response she would receive kept the words caged in. It’s okay (It wasn’t). It doesn’t matter (It does). I love you regardless (What a cruel joke).

At the lack of reply, Azula screwed her eyes shut and curled into herself. What did you expect? her mind hissed. The cool air breezing past caused her to shiver and acted as further proof of Agni’s abandonment. Firebenders don’t get cold.

Pain ricocheted through her heart as Azula shivered. Given the circumstances, Suki did not want to employ this particular tactic. But with no supplies other than her sword and the clothes off her back, she had little choice. Pulling Azula closer, Suki ratcheted her internal body temperature until she became a personal heater.

Azula moaned in relief as warmth coursed through her freezing body.

Suki was shaken by the glorious sound but worked to keep her composure. At the end of the day, all she could say was, “I love you.”

“Show me,” Azula suddenly demanded grabbing one of Suki’s hands.

“Hmm,” Suki questioned.

“Your flame,” Azula clarified.

Suki gulped she hadn’t used her flame since she fought the sandbenders. Her recall of that event was a little blurry but by the hazes of green that she could still recall she knew something very unusual happened.

If this is what her princess wanted, she would deliver. One breath, two, and then fire lit up in her palm strong and steady. Her flame burned a deep orange with whisps of green blended within.

Azula was mesmerized. Suki’s flame was as inviting as ever but the emerald tint suggested a new level of power. There were records in the history books of a few firebenders capable of producing white bursts when they were enraged. Yet, she had never heard of anyone other than herself who could sustain a different-colored flame.

Suki formed a shape in her fire. An emerald dragon danced within the orange sea.

“I’ve seen better,” Azula murmured yet her tone conveyed pride.

“No one better than you,” Suki promised closing her fist to extinguish the flames.

Azula's shoulders stood taller at the praise, but she quickly changed the topic of conversation refusing to revel in it, “How long have you been hiding this?”

“After I found the Avatar in the desert, sandbenders tried to steal his air bison for their animal smuggling operation. As I fought them off with my bending, I finally accepted that I have Earth Kingdom heritage, that it’s a part of me. The last thing I saw before I passed out was a sea of green surrounding me. I blocked it all out until just now. Clearly, my flame has been irreplaceably transformed,” Suki explained.

“Why have you betrayed the greatest Nation in the world? Why would you help traitorous scum like the Avatar who seeks the Fire Nation’s ruin?” Azula growled pulling away from Suki. After days of fear and regret, her anger was back.

Despite her beliefs, fear never left. Beyond her flaming words laid the true question. Why are you abandoning me?

“I—” Suki stumbled, “I’m half Earth Kingdom ‘Zula. I can’t sit back as my mother’s culture and family are destroyed. What our nation preaches isn’t right, we are not spreading glory. We are spreading pain, separating families, and ransacking villages.”

Even as Azula stood up turning her back to her, Suki softly continued, “Listen, my questioning of the Fire Nation has nothing to do with how I feel about you, okay? I love you always.”

“Nothing to do with me?! I am the Crown Princess! I am the Fire Nation. I don’t have the luxury of fleets of morality. The actions of my Father, of the military reflect on me. You think if we just decided to stop the war, there would be peace?” Azula sniffed as she whipped back around, “Every Nation wants our heads and would do anything to get it. It’s my duty to fight, to serve, I would rather burn to the ground than fail my country.”

Azula snarled at her frozen firefly, “Your love means nothing.”

(Azula always lies).

The crown princess left heartbreak in her wake.

Chapter Text

The howling wind served as a security blanket from her friend’s inquisitions. Not even the combined force of Toph, Katara, and Sokka could overcome the deafening sound. In a way, Suki was grateful she didn’t have to speak. She wouldn’t even know what to say if she could. She could almost envision Ozai giving the order that would tear her family to pieces. There was no way her princess would remain silent now.

Suki slumped back in Appa’s saddle lost in thought. Tears welled up in her eyes despite how hard she fought them away. The ground was yanked up from beneath her feet and her world had come crumbling down.

How could she deal with her love being thrown in the dirt? With being cast aside by the most important person in her life? It’s not that she doesn’t understand where her princess was coming from. She grew up in Fire Nation and knew the expectations placed on members of the royal family. She had a front-row seat to how Fire Lord Ozai treated his children. Ozai was the only parental figure Azula had for the longest time with both Ursa and Iroh favoring Zuko, so it was no wonder she worked so hard to please him. Suki knew Azula’s fear of abandonment caused her to surround herself with protective thrones. Yet, rationality had no place here. Nothing could strip the pain from her chest.

“Azula’s not well. There’s a darkness to her aura,” Ty Lee’s voice echoed in her ear. The acrobat had given her a stark warning back when she did her topknot in the earth tent.

Suki frowned but remained silent as Ty Lee continued, “The hour after you got hit while you were lying there on the ground was brutal. Azula was not herself. Her aura was really scary. She had started to bend lightning with her hands facing inward. I chi-blocked her. I didn’t know what she would do but it didn’t seem like anything good. I just need you to know.”

Now those words repeated in her brain. Azula’s not well. Azula’s not herself. Your love means nothing. It was an endless cycle she couldn’t escape.

“There it is,” Aang shouted as the large outer walls of Ba-Sing-Se came into view.

The city was magnificent, truly the greatest architectural marvel of any city Suki has witnessed. As Appa came in for a landing between the walls, Suki forced her mind back into action mode.

“Hmph, more walls and rules, great,” Toph groaned not buying into everyone’s excitement.

“Uh, Guys?” Sokka said as he stared at the earthbenders glaring down at them from the top of the wall.

Toph was unbothered by the threat of the earth battalion, but the others did not have the same carefree attitude.

“State your business,” the battalion commander shouted from above as his soldiers readied themselves in battle formations.

“I’m the Avatar! And these are my friends. We have urgent news for the Earth King!” Aang gave an awkward wave.

The commander's demure changed as he waved to his men to open the gates, “It is an honor to have the Avatar in our great city. We must however insist that your bison remain outside of the inner walls. Our streets are not able to accommodate an animal of that size.”

Sensing Aang was going to protest, Katara took charge, “Thank you for your hospitality, we will make sure Appa does not enter the city.”

“Hello, my name is Joo Dee. I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar Ba-Sing-Se, and you must be Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Suki, shall we begin the tour?” A female voice welcomed them as they walked through the wall into the lower ring.

Suki was immediately skeptical as Joo Dee brushed off Sokka’s demand to see the Earth Kingdom and discussed assimilating to life in the city. Something wasn’t right here.

The next couple of days passed in a blur as they tried to figure out a way to get an audience with the Earth King. Suki was grateful she was able to at least convince the gang that something was off about the city. Her friends were on high alert but they acted carefree to alleviate suspicion. The Dai Li were lurking around every corner and keeping tabs on their every move.

Based on Joo Dee's mannerisms, it was quite clear that the city was trying to prevent any information about the war from reaching the public. Any dissent was met with extreme reaction from the city’s “police” force. Suki has witnessed multiple citizens being swept away by the Dai Li. The few that returned behaved differently almost like they were in a daze.

Suki left to survey Ba-Sing-Se and try to subtly collect information. She prayed that Aang would not get into too much trouble in her absence.

Dismayed by the fruitless search, Suki prepared to return to her friends when someone captured her attention. She froze outside the window of the Jasmine Dragon. A tea server with Fire Nation features looked back at her. His scar was unmistakable. There was no denying that this was Prince Zuko. What was the prince doing in a teashop?! Did he know the Avatar was in the city?

Recent events had cast both the prince and his uncle as traitors. Azula’s letter, received at the start of Suki’s journey, expressed concern for her brother’s safety. As thoughts of the princess resurfaced, Suki winced but it was unavoidable. Images of Azula ran around in her head at all hours of the day.

After watching Zuko serve tea for hours, Suki grew fed up with subtilty. She had determined that the prince and General Iroh were both working in the shop, but she found nothing else that raised suspicion.

Entering the building, Suki sat down at one of the empty tables.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon—” Zuko stumbled, his eyes wide with shock. He did not know what to make of the appearance of his sister’s closest friend. Was Azula in the city? Was this a trap? If she wanted to, Suki could out him and Uncle to the Dai Li agent who was lurking in the corner of the shop.

“It’s been a long time, Lee,” Suki said watching Zuko’s panicked expression closely.

“Mushi, we have an important guest,” Zuko called to his uncle. If Suki knew his fake name, she certainly already knew Iroh was here.

“What is it, Nephew?” Iroh asked kindly as he came out of the back, “Ah a surprise visitor!”

“Unfortunately, we are going to have to close the shop early today,” Iroh continued as he gently escorted patrons out of the shop taking special note of the Dai Li agent who lingered and was the last to leave.

“Why are you here Suki? I want no part in Azula’s schemes,” Zuko growled.

“Azula isn’t here. I’m surprised you are,” Suki replied not rising to his tone.

Before Zuko could retort, Iroh stepped in, “We are humble refuges, following our passions and making an honest living in our tea shop.”

“Very well, I’ll leave you to it then,” Suki hummed before turning to leave the tea shop.

“Wait! You’re not leaving until you tell us why you’re here!” Zuko demanded.

“I’m not? But we are all just humble refugees after all,” Suki quirked an eyebrow before continuing to the door. She had gotten the impression that the prince was not aware of Aang’s presence in the city and she would like to keep it that way. While she was never close to Zuko, she didn’t wish to cause him harm.

Perhaps she had been too optimistic. Suki tensed as the door was violently kicked open. Dai Li agents flooded into the building, closing in on them.

Royal Palace, 100 AG

The crown princess knelt before the throne in the center of the room. The Fire Lord’s presence felt more imposing than ever. The weight of her failures was catching up to her.

“Father, I’m here,” Azula spoke doing her best to keep her voice from wavering in front of her father. Her iron composure was cracking. The Fire Lord’s demand that she return to the Fire Nation at once should not have come as a surprise. No, it served as proof. Father wanted her. Father needed her. And she would deliver. Love is too fragile it breaks on the backs of monsters. Father taught her well. Fear is reliable. Fear is constant.

“Did you bring an explanation of your failures in the hope of leniency?” Ozai’s voice cut across the room.

“Failures, Father? I would never fail you,” Azula was caught off guard.

Did he know about her bending? No, he couldn’t. Father was the only one she hadn’t failed. All those hours watching him, mimicking him, and training until she couldn’t breathe to ensure she could never fail him. That she couldn’t be cast aside as worthless — like Zuzu. Father thought she was worthy. He had to.

“No? Then explain to me why Ba-Sing-Se is still standing after I tasked you with its destruction. I gave you an honor, Azula. One benefiting a crown princess and you have squandered it. Perhaps my faith in your abilities is misplaced,” The Fire Lord questioned as he coldly stared at his daughter.

Azula opened her mouth to describe the treasonous actions of the Kozuku family and the 34th division but what came out was, “Father, the drill was destroyed by Earth Kingdom savages. I put an end to their resistance. I will—”

“Enough! I am disappointed. It appears I am cursed with children who relish in weakness. You can’t even control your friends. Have I taught you nothing,” Ozai scuffed as he took in Azula’s expression, “Did you think I didn’t know that the Kozuku’s pitiful excuse for a daughter has joined the Avatar? You failed to put down the traitor that formed under your watch.”

Azula flinched.

Father was disappointed. He saw her as a curse. A failure. A stain on his honor like her dum-dum of a brother. He saw Suki as a weakness. She was — wasn’t she? Her firefly still has such a hold over her. She can’t even kick the petname out of her mind. Such a disgrace. Father was right. She hadn’t learned. For all his lessons on fear, she still clung to traces of love like a child. Maybe she was more like her foolish brother than she thought.

Except, she would have disappeared like Mother if she hadn’t learned. She learned to be best at firebending. She learned to poke at Zuko’s insecurities until they bled, and she came out on top. She learned how to keep the tears at bay. She learned how to talk and how to put on makeup so Father’s generals would take her seriously. She learned to stay silent when Father's burning hand came too close. She learned. She swears. She’s smart, manipulative, and capable. Isn’t she?

Ozai didn’t wait for a response, “Clearly you need to be reminded of what it means to be the crown princess. Meet me in the training ground at first light. Don’t be late.”

Azula repressed her gulp at the promise of pain. Her inner chi flickered as she reached for a flame that wasn’t there.

Run, Mother’s voice screamed.

She didn’t.

(She wasn’t afraid).

Ba-Sing-Se, 100 AG

“You think we don’t know who you are? Should we bow before the esteemed Suki Kozuku? The only reason you got into our great city was through your connection to the Avatar. But we won’t let ashmakers remain unattended for long. You might start to think you own the place,” The Dai Li agent cackled as he observed Suki’s chained form.

Suki remained silent — words won’t get her out of this. Her head was shackled tightly in place. She could barely see anything in the dark prison cell.

“We should thank you for correcting a refugee oversight. The capture of Dragon of the West, and Prince Zuko would not have been possible without your assistance. Long Feng will be so pleased to see the once proud General Iroh brought down to his rightful place,” the agent paused before smiling maliciously, “How unfortunate you won’t remember it. We can’t afford the Avatar getting suspicious.”

Searing agony and green lights — there is no war in Ba-Sing-Se.

“Hey, Suki! Good your back, what did you find out?” Katara asked as the last member of their group returned to the house. She noticed Suki looked a little tired but did not linger on the thought. They had more pressing matters to deal with.

“Find out?” Suki questioned confused.

The water tribe warrior looked at Suki confused before brushing it off.

“We came up with a plan to meet with the Earth King. The peaceful method isn’t working, sorry Aang,” Sokka cast an apologetic look at the Avatar who shrugged, “If we take Appa and fight our way into the palace, the Earth King won’t be able to ignore us, Dai Li or not! We will convince him to join the attack on the Fire Nation on the day of the Eclipse.”

“Finally some action, the sooner we leave this crazy city the better,” Toph agreed.

“There is no war here, Ba-Sing-Se is a peaceful city. The Earth King is a busy man who won’t appreciate the disturbance,” Suki didn’t want to be a part of this treasonous conversation.

“Now’s not the time for jokes,” Katara tried to get the meeting back on track.

“I’m not joking. I’m an upstanding citizen who would never speak such lies,” Suki continued.

“She’s not lying,” Toph frowned.

“What?! You can’t be serious,” Sokka yelled as he stared at Suki in disbelief. He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her as if he was trying to wake her up, “Suki, You’re Fire Nation! There’s no way you don’t know about the war, you grew up learning about it!”

“Are you okay?” Aang asked concerned and much gentler than Sokka. He was ignored.

“I’m not Fire Nation,” Suki denied.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Katara asked.

“I don’t know,” Suki looked disoriented.

“Wait, Suki doesn’t think she’s Fire Nation. She claims there’s no war. Toph says she’s not lying because she thinks she’s telling the truth. Suki’s been brainwashed! She must have been captured while out searching for information on the Dai Li,” Sokka reasoned.

Suki panicked and tried to flee the house only to be pushed back in by Aang’s wind barrier. The gang managed to calm Suki down enough to get more answers.

Toph urged Suki to delve into her past, searching for a trigger that might unlock her memories. As Suki closed her eyes, vivid images flooded her mind — Azula flinching, concealing a burn inflicted by her own father

“I was searching for information on the Dai Li and came across a Tea Shop that housed some familiar faces, Prince Zuko and General Iroh. I was investigating, working to find out if they were still looking for Aang when Dai Li agents ambushed the three of us and took us to an underwater bunker. All I remember after that is a bunch of flashing green lights before I ended up here,” Suki explained, “I have to rescue Zuko and Iroh, it’s my fault they are there in the first place.”

“Rescue the Fire Prince after he tried to kill Aang multiple times? This is as bad of an idea as you going off alone with the princess,” Katara grimaced.

“Yeah we’re not doing that,” Sokka agreed.

The debate lasted several more minutes before Aang came up with a compromise, “We will speak to the Earth King, convince him of the war and the Dai Li’s coverup, and convince him to release the brainwashed prisoners in the underwater bunker.”

“Hold up, You’re a firebender?!!” Sokka yelled as he threw his boomerang at another Earth Kingdom soldier.

Suki answered Sokka’s question by launching another fireball, breaking the rock aimed for the water tribe warrior’s head.

“The betrayal! You were my non-bending buddy. We’re talking about this later,” Sokka sounded significantly more sad than truly angry.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Suki chuckled as she knocked out two soldiers with the blunt end of her sword.

“Your grace, you can’t listen to these traitors over your most trusted advisor. I would never commit such heinous crimes,” Long Feng argued.

“I must trust my advisor, if the Fire Nation is so bad why have you brought a firebender with you?” King Kuei said dismissing the Avatar’s claims as he glanced at Suki.

“Suki’s the exception. She’s our friend. She chose to side with us against the Fire Nation,” Aang defended as they were dragged away. Suki didn’t like being referred to as the exception, but she appreciated the defense.

“Wait, Your Majesty. May another speak on their behalf?” a new voice asked. The inquirer was dressed in an Earth Kingdom general’s attitude.

“Very well, General Duanmu,” The Earth King waved his hand.

Duanmu walked forward and handed the king several documents. “Long Feng has been controlling the information given to you about the state of the world for your entire reign. The council voted 4-1 that we follow along with Long Feng’s plan to keep the peace. I am an outlier, but my voice has been silenced your grace. With the Dai Li distracted by the Avatar's presence, I investigated Long Feng’s office and found these files. These are just a few of the many secret files the Dai Li keep on everyone in the city.”

King Kuei adjusted his spectacles and looked at the documents, ignoring Long Feng’s assertions that it was all lies and part of an insurgency effort determined to oust him from the throne.

His eyes narrowed as read through document after document pleading with Ba-Sing-Se for aid in the war against the Fire Nation. There were reports from the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe repeatedly asking for more wood and supplies for his ships after they suffered damage from a Fire Nation Fleet. There were reports of the Fire Nation taking the city of Omashu and renaming it New Ozai, rampaging through small Earth Kingdom towns, and otherwise wracking havoc on the Earth Kingdom people.

During his lessons, Kuei had studied the seals of all nations. He knew that Chief Hakoda’s seal was no forgery. How could his most trusted advisor do this? How could he fail his people in this way? He was the most foolish ruler ever.

“Dai Li arrest Long Feng for treason,” the King declared.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty, but may I suggest some of my soldiers instead? The Dai Li have always been fiercely loyal to Long Feng above all else,” The general inquired.

At Kuei’s acceptance, Long Feng was dragged away, and his rant about liars, fire princes, and dragons was lost in the wind. Or his words would have been if it hadn’t been for one key line directed at Suki, “The Earth King invites you to Lake Laogai”.

“I am honored to accept his invitation,” Suki’s eyes turned pitch back as she launched a green-tinted fire stream at the Earth Soldier to the right of Long Feng forcing him to release the prisoner and raise a shield.

“Suki, what are you doing?” Katara as she stepped between the out-of-control firebender and the Earth Kingdom soldiers, forcing Suki to defend against her waterbending.

“It’s Aang, I don’t want to hurt you!” The Avatar jumped in to assist Katara.

Sweat was pouring down Suki’s face, but she didn’t stop going in for the kill.

Long Feng used the distraction to try to flee with the two Dai Li agents in the room. Toph swiftly put an end to that plan. She defeated the agents and knocked the escapee out with a blow to the head.

Moments later, Katara managed to get through to Suki and stop her rampage. The firebender was still disoriented but had otherwise returned to herself. One long glance at Long Feng was met with a surge of hatred for all he put her through.

“Are you all right?” Sokka asked as he reached forward to comfort Suki. Hopefully, that was the only trigger and they had not just touched the surface of the extent of the Dai Li’s brainwashing initiative.

“Yeah, I snapped out of it,” Suki responded attempting to hide how much losing control of herself terrified her. Can she even trust her own mind?

A new larger group of soldiers entered and dragged away Long Feng and his agents’ unconscious bodies. At the King’s directive, more soldiers were dispatched with orders to imprison all members of the Dai Li.

The Earth King swore he would investigate all projects of the Dai Li including the underwater facility at Lake Laogai. The existence of the extensive brainwashing network was supported by Suki’s behavior. The King also promised Ba-Sing-Se’s full military support in the attack on the day of the black sun.

“I believe these will be of interest,” Kuei handed Toph and the water siblings a scroll each. While Toph didn’t know what to do with the news about her parents, Sokka and Katara were thrilled to learn about the sighting of their father.

Suki was stopped on the steps of the palace as the group departed.

“Your Prince and the Dragon of the West were imprisoned in the catacombs below the palace. To my knowledge they have yet to be harmed, Long Feng did not have time to enact his plans,” Duanmu flashed a lava rock at Suki, “May the sun light your path and the hawk find your message.”

The general disappeared back into the palace without another word.

Knowing that the rest of the group would oppose the mission after the day she had, Suki approached only Toph to help her break the wayward fire prince and his uncle out of their prison.

Toph enjoyed destroying the catacomb walls, but most of all she was pleased to see the old man who gave her tea. Iroh was just as enthusiastic to see his long-lost friend. However, Toph was confused that Suki kept calling Uncle Iroh "general" despite his insistence that there was no need for such formalities and "he was a different man now."

Zuko, though, felt less than enthusiastic about being indebted to Suki and a friend of the Avatar. The blind earthbender's presence guaranteed that the Airbender was in the city, but Zuko was honor-bound not to attack. Uncle would just go on and on about how it was bad form to assault a rescuer.

Iroh repeated his thanks and disappeared with his nephew insisting it was not safe to remain in the city. He knew Zuko was not yet ready to take the step to join the Avatar, yet he prayed the time was soon.

“So does this mean you’ll be my firebending teacher?”

“Uh—"

Chapter Text

Caldera, 100 AG

Suki gasped as her chi revolted within her and weakness seized control of her body. The eclipse was beginning.

She stood before the imposing doors of the Royal Palace, flanked by the rest of the gang — excluding Katara, who tended to her wounded father. The palace was encircled by Water Tribe Warriors, Swampbenders, and Earth Kingdom Soldiers. Ba-Sing-Se’s generals and fleet of ships were currently locked in combat with Caldera’s defenses. Fortunately, the Fire Nation had lost a large portion of its fleet during the battle in the North Pole, with the rest of their ships engaged in skirmishes across the Earth Kingdom. These gaps in the typically formidable capital defenses could now be exploited by the Earth Kingdom fleet.

The months since Ba-Sing-Se have passed like a whirlwind. Katara and Sokka had a well-deserved reunion with their father, and the joy of that reunion left Suki yearning for her own family. Convincing the generals outside Duanmu of the merits of their plan proved frustrating, but they persevered, devising several contingencies with the help of the gang’s connection to the Mechanist. Sokka and the Mechanist collaborated on designing the submarines used to breach into the harbor.

Despite her initial resistance, Suki eventually yielded to the group’s persuasion and agreed to teach Aang the basics of firebending. Progress was slow, as Aang grappled with the mounting pressures of the impending invasion.

Nonetheless, all that planning and training felt meaningless as she stood before the imposing gates. All she had been working towards was now coming to a head. They didn’t know what they were walking into. Intel coming out of the Fire Nation had been stagnant at best and rumor-filled at worst. The palace had been on lockdown for months and no one knew why.

She was scared that Aang wasn’t ready, even with the solar eclipse. She was scared she wasn’t ready.

How could she be?

When she still couldn’t trust that she was in control of her mind.

How could she be?

With the traitorous glares she received from Fire Nation soldiers as they broke through the outer defenses. It cut at her soul to fight against her country. To fight soldiers who had no choice but to serve.

How could she be?

When her thoughts were consumed with a pair of golden eyes. The image wouldn’t go away. Those eyes would watch her all night.

How could she be?

When she heard the news that her princess had returned to the Fire Nation on orders from the Fire Lord — the same princess whose flame was flickering and unresponsive was returning to the father who expressed his displeasure by burning his son’s face off.

Aang burst through the door and rushed in. Suki moved to follow him.

“Oh no!” Aang cried gripping his head in frustration as they came to an empty throne room.

“How did he know we were coming?” Sokka asked.

“I don’t know that he did. But it doesn’t mean Ozai wasn’t unprepared for an attack on the capital. There’s a secret bunker network that stretches from the palace to the inside of the volcano. I don’t know the way in but Toph —” Suki explained.

“On it!” Toph declared as the group rushed outside to find a way into the tunnel network.

The Fire Lord’s chamber was as ornate as any room in the palace. It would be hard to tell they were underground if it wasn’t for the lack of windows.

To Suki’s disbelief, on the throne at the far back wall sat not the Fire Lord but the crown princess herself. Azula lounged on the throne, posture exaggeratingly relaxed as if to dismiss the threat the Avatar posed. In her hands, she toyed with a familiar dragon-pommeled blade.

Yet, her princess’s composure did not hold up to scrutiny. Azula’s bangs were cut unevenly adding a haphazard look to her appearance. The wildness and pain in her eyes did not escape Suki’s attention. Given her disarray, it was amazing that Azula’s hair even remained in a top knot complete with a royal hairpiece. The hairpiece looked suspiciously like —

“Where is the Fire Lord?” Aang demanded.

Azula stood up amused, “Hmm you mean I’m not good enough for you? You’re hurting my feelings.”

Suki caught the double meaning there, Azula’s insecurities were on full display. But what froze the Fire Nobel in place was the finger-shaped burn marks that crept out from under the collar of her princess’s armor when she shifted positions.

Oh, no. No, please, no.

She knew what that meant.

“Stop wasting our time and give us the information. You’re powerless right now.” Sokka declared.

If only he knew how much that was true.

“You better stick to the truth, I’ll be able to tell if you're lying.” Toph raised a fist in emphasis.

“Are you sure? I’m a pretty good liar,” Azula taunted.

Suki had to stifle a laugh as her princess compared herself to a giant purple platypus bear. Even Toph admitted defeat, her lie-detecting senses failing her.

It was remarkable that Azula was still holding herself together so well. Her appearance may be in shambles, but her resolve was not.

“We’re not alone,” The fierce earthbender murmured as she noted several armed royal guards hidden in the shadows.

“Wait,” Suki called before the interaction could get out of hand. In one fluid motion, she untied her sword from her waist and dropped the sheathed blade to the floor. She took a few steps forward with her hands raised to not unnecessarily provoke Azula.

The royal guards moved into the open but did not attack.

Everyone behind her paused although they weren’t happy about it. Her princess hesitated as well — eyes locked on Suki’s form.

When Azula did not react to Suki's approach, she took several more slow steps forward until she was within two arm's length of the princess. Close enough to take in every detail but far enough that she was still torturously out of reach.

Suki’s heartbeat rapidly as she noted the additional burn mark that covered Azula’s left wrist. The royal hairpiece she previously observed was not the one traditionally given to the crown prince or princess or anyone else other than the Fire Lord themselves.

Ozai was dead? This is what the palace was hiding? The rumors were true, Azula is the Fire lord??!

This can’t be a trick, it was the highest offense for anyone other than the Fire Lord to even touch the headpiece never mind wearing it.

What happened?!

“You want the Fire Lord? Congratulations you found her,” Azula waved her hand as she mockingly bowed in the Avatar’s direction.

The young Royal ignored the group's angry and confused shouts as she returned her attention to the gentle redhead in front of her.

“Azula,” Suki whispered her eyes filling with tears. Her fearful heart prevented her from reaching out. She couldn’t handle another rejection.

“It meant everything,” Azula responded her voice wavering.

Suki was struck by the emotion that took over her entire body. She heard the hidden meaning — “It” was her love. Azula rarely apologized and this is the closest she has ever gotten in front of a large audience. Her princess was looking at her with those molten golden eyes.

Ah, fuck it.

Suki closed the tantalizing gap between them and wrapped one arm around Azula’s waist. The other found its way to her neck carefully avoiding the burning handprint.

This was the first statement Crazy Blue made that Toph could unequivocally register as the truth. The way her heart shuttered in Sparkles’s arms didn’t hurt either.

Azula’s hand gently pushed Suki back which caused their entire audience to stiffen. As quickly as she was pushed away, Suki was pulled into an adoring kiss. They clung together desperately as if the world was going to tear them apart.

“Mm sorry firefly,” Azula’s voice was muffled by Suki’s shoulder.

“I know. I know,” Suki softly replied. Was it okay? She didn’t know. But it was getting closer every day.

Toph whistled and started to clap. The earthbender found Sokka’s furious heartbeat especially hilarious.

The water tribe warrior’s mouth was gaping, and smoke was pouring out of his ears. He looked like a tea kettle about to explode.

“Um guys? If you could point us in Ozai’s direction,” Aang awkwardly interrupted.

“The royal cemetery is to the southwest of the palace. It’s quite hard to miss, there’s a temple and everything.” Azula relegated Aang with a glance but she still kept a tight grip on Suki. It felt as though she was afraid her treasured firefly would disappear if she let go.

“If this is some sort of sick joke to waste our time, I’m not buying it,” Sokka growled. No one would state their father’s death so nonchalantly, right? Not even the heartless Fire Princess. Didn’t Suki realize this was not the time to get all friendly with the enemy? They only had minutes left now to find and apprehend the Fire Lord.

“Ozai’s dead. Azula has the Fire Lord’s hairpiece,” Suki came to her defense.

Azula frowned as if she had forgotten what she was wearing. She started to move her hand as though she wanted to rip off the hairpiece but she forced her hand into a fist instead.

Toph nodded when the others turned to her with their questions. Suki was telling the truth or at least what she believed to be true.

“How?” Aang asked.

Father choking on blood. A dragon blade buried deep in his throat. The searing agony of Father’s burning hand on her neck. The death grip on her wrist. The murderous betrayal in his eyes as life faded away.

“He was tragically assassinated. The assassin of course has been tried and punished. Now, you wanted the Fire Lord how can I help you on such an auspicious occasion,” Azula smirked.

True, an assassin was tried, did it matter if it was the correct one? No one would dare challenge the Fire Lord’s word.

“You're surrounded by Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom soldiers on all sides. You’ve lost surrender or else.” Sokka commanded trying not to rise to the new Fire Lord’s bait. It was hard when she had still not released Suki. It was even more difficult since Suki seemed to relish in it.

“I did congratulate you after all,” Azula rolled her eyes.

The fool thought he was sharing something she didn’t already know. She knew Father had their forces stretched too thin with the war effort. The capital’s defenses this past year had always been a weak point for anyone brave enough to try.

These past months have been challenging. Traitors in every corner of the palace were looking to exploit her. Azula was not fit for an Agni Kai. It was laughable that the most prodigious Firebender of her generation could face no challengers. Announcing Father’s death would have been a weakness — a death sentence.

She had to give the Avatar credit for attacking during an eclipse. Alhough she suspected the child Airbender was not responsible for the plan.

Some part of her was still furious with Suki for joining the Avatar and helping plan this invasion, but the other larger part of her knew that if Suki wanted to, she could have told them that Azula was weak with or without the eclipse. She could have shared all her failures. It would be all too easy for the knife to lodge itself in her throat.

“What?” Aang was so confused. This was not how the day was supposed to go.

“Yes, yes bravo you win. You have the Fire Nation's capital backed into a corner. Now what’s your plan?” Azula crossed her arms hiding the weakness that struggled to escape her soul.

At the stunned silence, Azula scuffed. She always had to do everything herself. She stepped out of Suki’s embrace and headed for the door.

Before she got too far, Azula found herself encased in rock prison courtesy of a certain blind earthbender.

“Where do you think you're going?” Toph asserted.

“Doing your job. Ending the battle. Did you think the Fire Nation soldiers would stop fighting on their own? The eclipse doesn’t last forever,” Azula stated the obvious.

What other option did she have?

She couldn't fight, not when she was so backed into a corner with no place to turn. But she could do this. As Fire Lord, she could save the lives of her people. Azula could make sure the Fire Nation's citizens had a fighting leg to stand on as the world brought down the hammer. There would be more than ashes in the aftermath.

“Yeah, ending the war sounds good,” Aang released Azula from the rock prison.

“Idiots,” Azula mumbled as she led the way out of the tunnel network. She was accompanied by Suki’s laughter and Sokka’s death glare.

Pathetic, Father’s voice whispered in the back of her mind. He was ignored.

As the smoke settled, and the dust cleared, Suki stood on the dock looking out into the harbor. A pretty dragon hawk sat on her shoulder, nuzzling her chin with his head.

She bathed in the renewed sunlight, needing to recharge her warry soul. It was all she could do when there was a fortress separating her from her princess. To her displeasure, Suki was forced away from the scene as the battle ended and Azula was surrounded by the Avatar, outside soldiers, and the Fire Nation delegation. Peace was not the correct word for this aftermath.

Azula couldn’t be handling this well. How could she renew a sense of security in the Fire Nation citizens when the Avatar’s forces were on their doorstep? How could her nation handle the combined news of Ozai's death and their great defeat?

How will Azula maintain respect when she can’t bend? Why can’t she bend?! This was not the way it was supposed to happen.

And her burns, oh Agni, Suki knew what happened there and she couldn’t bear to picture it. Did she care that Ozai was dead? Fuck no. Did she care that Azula killed him? Yes, because it tore her apart to do so both physically and mentally.

Why did she let her princess leave? Why? When she knew how the prodigy’s firebending disarray would be viewed in Ozai’s eyes? The pain of Azula’s words was nothing compared to this.

Sokka and Katara tried to talk to her, but she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t hear anything over her racing heart. The dock in all its current state of destruction was calm, quiet, and without expectations.

Suki felt a shadowy force behind her, and she opened her mouth to speak without turning around, “You knew.”

“Of course,” the rich voice responded, not bothering to deny the accusation.

“Then why?! Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me come here without knowing that—” Suki whipped around to glare at those gray eyes. Akino squawked at the sudden movement and took flight.

“Alright, answer this one question. What would you have done if I told you? Would you have rushed here? Told the Avatar?” The spymaster replied.

“Yes! I would have come. I should have been here. I don’t know what I would have told Aang, but it doesn't matter. Don’t twist the blame onto me,” Suki snapped.

“It doesn’t matter? It matters if you would have told the Avatar. It matters even if you wouldn’t have. If you left the Avatar to come here what would have happened? Would you let the plans for the attack slip to Azula? Tell me what was the best course of action? Wait to attack on the eclipse or rush into the Fire Nation and risk everything?” Razi calmly asked.

“Yes, because keeping everyone ignorant saves the world,” Suki growled disapprovingly, “Do you even know what this has been like for Azula? Do you even care?”

She snarled, “The end always justifies the means, right?”

The spymaster sighed, “When the fate of the entire world is at stake, yes it does. I care, Suki. I’ve always cared, but Agni forgive me I wouldn’t change a thing.”

All Suki wanted to do was scream. Scream at Razi. Scream at herself. But her mind had sealed her mouth shut and all that was left was silence.

Not wanting to further antagonize the youngest Kozuku, Razi took his leave.

It was not long before another visitor appeared. The water tribe warrior watched her with tired eyes. The battle was draining on them all.

“Hi Sokka,” Suki greeted as she faced the young warrior.

“Suki,” He replied.

The two stood in silence for a while staring out into the water.

Sokka didn’t even know what to say. He didn’t understand Suki’s actions. What was going through her mind? Why did she kiss Azula? Why did she like someone who came inches from killing her? Who is part of the royal family she claimed to disapprove of?

He could ask so many whys. But the real question was why didn’t she like him? He thought they were getting along. He thought they were starting to have something. She laughs at his jokes and compliments his plans.

What was so great about Azula that she couldn’t escape?

“How is she?” Suki was the first to break the silence.

“She’s restricted to the Royal Gardens right now. We haven’t hurt her if that’s what you mean. Aang wouldn’t stand for it,” Sokka spat out bitterly, “Trust me, the new Fire Lord has made her displeasure known.”

Suki sighed this was going nowhere. She didn’t blame Sokka for his animosity towards Azula but she couldn’t deal with it now, “Forget I asked.”

“No, I need to know. It’s driving me crazy. Why do you care? Why are you so defensive? I know you were childhood friends or whatever. But can’t you see she’s not a good person? She tried to kill Aang, the Avatar! She shot a lightning bolt into your chest! You forgave her for that so easily. Then something happened between you too in the woods, and you refused to talk about it. And the first thing you do after you see her in the middle of the invasion, where remind you she is the enemy, you kiss her?!” Sokka paced around and waved his hands, “I don’t understand you Suki, I really don’t.”

Suki pursed her lips, “Do I like that Azula tried to kill Aang? No, that’s why I jumped in front of the bolt in the first place. But I do understand why she did it. Listen, you don’t know anything about Azula. About her life or her character. The propaganda in the Fire Nation is strong, outsiders couldn’t possibly grasp how much. Her Father was the Fire Lord. Ozai taught her everything and has been watching over her shoulder since she was a child. Do you really think defying him was even a possibility for her? Would you betray your father, your tribe?”

“My father was not a warlord! And my tribe hasn’t committed genocide. Don’t try to pin this on me!” Sokka shouted.

The irony was not lost on Suki that she held Sokka's position in her argument with Razi, “I’m not. I’m just trying to help you understand. This isn’t so black and white. Good and Evil don’t always fit so easily into boxes.”

Sokka placed a hand over his face, he just looked lost.

“You haven’t answered the question,” Sokka calmed down enough to speak.

“Which question?” Suki asked.

Sokka huffed, “You know which one.”

Suki's eyes turned soft, “You want to know why I kissed her? Why I forgive her? I love her. I love her passion, her strength, her commitment, her loyalty, her beautiful mind. I love the way her eyes sparkle in the sunlight. I love her because she saw my worth when everyone else had cast me aside. Even when I started to forsake the Fire Nation, Azula always felt like home.”

As Suki left her daze, she noticed Sokka had crossed the distance between them and was leaning forward as though he was going to kiss her.

“Whoa, what are you doing?!” Suki shoved the water tribe warrior back several feet. She was pissed. “How dare you after what I just shared!”

“I’m sorry. I—” Sokka’s eyes watered, “I thought we had something. I thought you liked me and that after the battle we could talk about it. But to find out you —”

“Oh,” Suki deflated, and her eyes turned apologetic, “I got the sense you were flirting with me when we first met, but then I saw you joking and acting all complimentary with everyone, and I thought it was just part of your normal personality. I didn’t know you —"

“Yeah,” Sokka whipped his hand across his face to dispel the tears.

Suki tried to reach out to comfort Sokka but he just brushed her off.

“It’s fine, I get it. Forgive me,” he breathed out before fleeing the scene.

Flames sprouted from Suki’s clenched fist. How does she handle this?

Azula tossed some pieces of bread into the pond and watched as the mindless turtleducks fought for the scraps. How could Mother and Zuzu be so attached to these pests? They had no redeeming qualities.

When she ran out of bread, her anxious body reached into her pocket searching for something else to hold. Azula's heart thumped in her chest as her hand grazed a familiar orangish-yellow stone.

The young royal's shoulders tensed as the Avatar appeared, “Go gloat somewhere else.”

“I’m not here to gloat,” Aang frowned, “I just want to talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about,” Azula hissed.

“Not even the future of you people?” Aang asked.

Azula spun around to face him with a glare. How dare the child Avatar rub it in her face. She forced herself to relax, her anger wouldn’t change the inevitable, “How long?”

“How long for what?” Aang just looked confused.

Azula rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb, I know you are already planning my execution. Planning to replace me with someone who is easily moldable. It’s what any conqueror does to the conquered. Good luck finding a replacement whom the people won’t revolt against,” Azula said matter-of-factly. She didn’t offer up the idea that her fuddy-duddy Uncle or long-lost brother would be potentially suitable replacements. She refused to make this any easier for him.

“Execution?! No, I'm not going to kill anyone!” Aang cried out in alarm.

“So, we’re just going sing songs of peace and dance around the campfire?” Azula bitterly chuckled, “The so-called diplomats that have invaded Caldera will call for my head soon if they haven’t already.”

Azula continued before Aang could say another word, “It’s not like you’ve had a problem with killing before. Families are still mourning their loved ones lost in the siege of the North.”

“I didn’t kill anyone! The ocean spirit took over —” Aang faltered. He shook his head and passionately stated, “I’m not going to kill you or remove you from the throne, and neither will anyone else. I hope we can work together to make this a peaceful transition. The Fire Nation has caused a lot of harm, but my friend Kuzon lived here when I was growing up. I know all the good the Fire Nation can accomplish.”

Azula simply stared at the airbender. He was too similar to her dum-dum brother — far too soft for this cruel world. Alas, he provided her with an opening she couldn’t refuse. Not if she still had an opportunity to be there for her people. To be close to Suki.

“Very well, Avatar. But don’t get this confused we aren’t friends,” Azula reluctantly agreed.

Aang placatively raised his hands and smiled. He left pleased to have gotten Azula’s acceptance to work together. He wasn’t giving up on his attempt to become friends though, he never would.

Suki took a deep breath as she approached the Royal Gardens. This day had already been a lot more than she could deal with. Still, Suki knew that as bad as her day had been Azula’s was likely ten times worse. She had to see her. She needed to show the new Fire Lord, that she was there for her and she always would be. That she cared about her. That she loved her and would support her through anything including ruling their unstable country.

Two Earth Kingdom soldiers stopped her when she tried to walk through the entrance, “No unauthorized entry.”

“I’m with the Avatar,” Suki replied.

The taller soldier began to say something when another voice cut him, “Let her in she’s with us. Give her as much time as she needs.”

Suki thanked Katara before she pushed past the guards. She really needed to talk to Aang about this pseudo-prison situation. She couldn’t stand for it. Beyond the fact that it was incredibly toxic for Azula’s fragile mental state, the Fire Nation wouldn’t let their leader remain locked up. The Fire Lord was considered to be a prophet of Agni. There would be riots in the streets if this lasted long enough for the people to find out. The Fire Lord’s word may be law, but that doesn’t mean that a nation that has been fighting a war to prove its superiority for a hundred years would go down quietly. The war could resume just as quickly as it stopped if Azula was not in a position to prevent it.

Suki observed the lush garden, saddened that her memories within these walls had been tainted. Her earliest memories here were bright and full of laughter. Playing hide and seek, or whatever game Azula had made up to tease Zuko. Azula wasn’t happy but she was happier then. Now all that was left for her princess in these gardens was pain. She was locked in a cage with only the torturous memories of her childhood to keep her company.

Azula was seated with her back against the expansive willow tree glaring at the turtleducks in the pond. Akino was perched on her head like it was his own personal bird's nest.

As Suki approached, she couldn’t help the affectionate chuckles that escaped her at the adorable sight she was witnessing. Azula tried to act like she hated everything, yet Suki always knew she had a soft spot for her dragon hawk. She used to let him steal food out of her hands when anyone else who attempted such an offense would have left terrified.

Azula's head whipped around to face Suki, her scowl deepening. Akino flew into the tree and stared at them with judgmental eyes.

“No need to be embarrassed, it’s cute that you spoil him,” Suki smiled as she sat down near Azula.

“He’s a little pest,” Azula denied.

“Hmm, sure,” Suki teased.

Suki shifted a little in place, “Are you alright?”

The second the words left her mouth she wanted to smack herself. Nice job with that question, Suki. It’s not like she recently killed her father and watched her country be invaded or anything.

“The Avatar offended two water tribe peasants when he refused to try their seal jerky. The two Earth Kingdom guards by the door are both fools who haven’t realized they are dating the same girl, it's only a matter of time before they come to blows and I can actually get some entertainment around here beyond these useless bottom-feeders,” Azula waved disparagingly at the turtleducks.

“Azula,” Suki sighed. She knew better than to engage with the tangent.

“I couldn’t get it off. I kept scrubbing but it wouldn’t leave. Mother was of course no help with her useless suggestions. I don’t understand her, why won’t she bother Zuzu? He’s the one who spent a year crying in his sleep for her. He’s her favorite. My dum-dum of a brother was the one she said goodbye to,” Azula returned to glaring at the pond, but her mind was elsewhere.

“Azula, Ursa’s not—” Suki immediately stopped herself, knowing that a discussion about Ursa would not help right now. She mentally tabled the possibility of hallucinations for later and focused on the most concerning statement, “What couldn’t you get off?”

“Father was everywhere,” Azula wrung her hands together and refused to look at Suki.

At first, Suki was confused and struggled to make sense of the words, but they soon sank in, and it was not a good feeling, “Ozai’s blood?”

“When I got back to the Fire Nation, Father was rightfully disappointed in my failure to take Ba-Sing-Se. He wanted to train in the morning so I could learn the consequences of my actions. I would have gone. I always went, but I couldn’t bend and Father would have —” Azula paused before steeling her expression, “I refused to be like Zuko. I’m no tragedy.”

“I killed him that night. I think some part of him was proud in the moment beneath the layer of betrayal. But now with the Fire Nation crumbling, he won’t leave me alone.” Azula clenched her fist. Blue flames would temporarily dance across it before they were snuffed out. It became like an endless loop. On and off. Over and over again.

The next time Azula’s flame flickered off, Suki gently grabbed her fist and pulled the stressed Fire Lord into her arms.

“I should have been here. I’m sorry I can’t take this burden away from you. Ozai was an abusive piece of shit, and I won’t mourn him for a second, but I do mourn that you had to be the one to kill him,” Suki choked the words out, “You did alright, my love. You did what you had to do.”

Azula tried to speak but all that came out was a sob as she buried her face in Suki’s chest.

“You’re not a monster,” Suki whispered in her ear followed by “I love you”. She repeated the words several times as Azula continued to cry. She would say it until her princess believed it. She would say it for the rest of her life.

It could have been minutes or hours later when Azula’s tears started to lessen. In one fluid motion, Azula stood up, gripped Suki’s tunic, and pressed her against the tree.

Suki said nothing only tilted her head in question as she tried to figure out was what going on behind those wild golden eyes.

“You never feared me,” Azula said as she released Suki. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

“No,” Suki agreed, “I respected you. I still do.”

Taking in Azula’s confused expression, Suki continued, “Fear is born from anger and hatred while respect is formed out of love.”

Suki took a step forward and reached over to run her hands through Azula’s hair, “How could fear ever be better than this?”

Azula melted in her arms. Suki pressed a kiss on her forehead.

The world is falling apart, there are problems around every corner, and in every crook of her mind. But what could be better than this?

Chapter Text

A week of chaos passed in the blink of an eye. It took almost the entire week to enact but in partnership with Aang and several Volcanic Sect negotiators, Suki finally managed to get Azula released from lockdown in the Palace Gardens. The number of foreign soldiers in the country was also dramatically reduced with plans to continue to strike the number in half each month until all were dismissed. Suki hoped that once the phase-out ended the only non-Fire Nation visitors would be her friends or the occasional ambassador.

The public had been informed of Ozai’s passing shortly after Azula was freed. Surprisingly, the majority of Fire Nation citizens seemed more than alright with the change in leadership. Maybe it was because Azula was rumored to be a miniature version of the formal Fire Lord, but if Suki had to guess it was more likely that the nation was overjoyed that she ended the war. That they no longer had to send their sons and daughters off to die on foreign soil. Nationalism was a core philosophy, but death hit home for everyone.

The gang had roped her into various bending games to break up the monotony of the reparation negotiations. Suki lost to Toph’s terrifying seismic sense more times than she could count and Aang and Katara were worthy opponents in their own right.

Nonetheless, Suki was grateful that while at times it was tense she had not lost her friendship with Sokka. Between various political discussions, gang bonding sessions, and time spent with Azula, Suki would practice sword fighting with the water tribe warrior. Sokka was rapidly improving, and his skill would only continue to grow when he took her up on her recommendation to train with Piandao.

As great as Suki's relationship with her friends was, there was a chasm separating them from Azula. No matter how many times she tried to bridge that gap, something would go wrong usually involving an exchange of snarky comments between her princess and the water tribe duo. Since the instigator changed each time, Suki had resigned herself to the fact that a positive relationship would likely take months if not years to develop.

Azula leaned back on the throne. She adjusted the piece of hair that fell on her face. She was a disaster, but at least her hair was back in an acceptable state. Suki, who had always been obsessed with Azula’s hair, had insisted on fixing her bangs. The youngest Kozuku was the only one she would let come near her with scissors. Who knows what her royal handmaidens would do if they got too close? She dismissed them for a reason.

“My Lord. Prince Zuko and General Iroh are here,” A member of her royal guard announced.

Azula nodded and dismissed the guard.

One of her first acts as Fire Lord was to rescind the banishment order and traitor status for both her brother and uncle. Azula would have been fine to let her uncle rot on the run, but she knew Zuko was attached to him. Agni, she was becoming so sentimental.

At least Mother approved.

Zuzu burst into the throne room flanked by Iroh. He looked like an idiot standing there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

Uncle Fatso appeared more composed, but his expression was troubled. Well, not so fat anyone, Azula thought. Evidently, Uncle had been working out. All the rumors about the Fire Nation must have sparked some concern. Not that he ever cared much before.

“Close your mouth dum-dum, it's unbecoming for royalty,” Azula smirked.

“Azula,” Zuko scowled, “Where’s Father?”

“Haven’t you heard, dear brother? Father’s dead. I’m Fire Lord now.”

Zuko reeled back in surprise.

“The rumors are true. Ozai’s dead. The war is over,” Iroh said.

“How astute, Uncle. The foreign soldiers all over the city are hard to miss,” Azula rolled her eyes.

“What’s your plan for our nation, Niece?” Iroh demanded.

“Why?” Azula retorted, “Are you going to stop me if I don’t live up to your expectations?”

Iroh shifted into a firebending form, “I will do what I must. I won’t let you disturb our country entering an era of peace. I won’t you harm my nephew, he’s been enough!”

“I see. You thought the revoked banishment was a trap. It could have been,” Azula chuckled in acknowledgment, “You’re lucky I want Zuko back. I would have left you hobbling around on the run.”

“You wanted me back?” Zuko’s tone softened as he stared at her in disbelief.

Azula frowned, “Of course Zuzu, I need an heir after all.”

I never wanted you to leave, was a thought for her alone.

Zuko let out an irritated snort as he tried to understand what was happening.

His Father was dead? After fleeing the catacombs, with the help of his uncle, Zuko started to come to terms with Ozai’s abuse. He was still so angry inside. It was just his luck that he would never have closure. That he would never be able to confront his father. That he would never be able to curse him for the scar on his face he received when all he wanted was love and acknowledgment.

To think that his sister wanted him back was unfathomable. Azula spent their childhood tormenting him and shoving her superior firebending talent in his face. She has tricked him many times before for her benefit. She shoved him further down so that she could come out on top.

He’s so weak. He almost fell for her words again. Look at him constantly reaching out for scraps of affection that don’t exist.

She wants him back. What a joke. Azula always lies.

Before anyone could say another word, Suki entered the room. The auburn-haired firebender took one look at Iroh and Zuko before focusing on the golden-eyed royal lounging on the throne. The two of them communicated wordlessly for a few moments. Suki then returned her attention to the formerly traitor princes.

“General Iroh, can I have a word outside?” Suki asked.

Although he genuinely liked Suki, especially after the recuse in Ba-Sing-Se, Iroh appeared vehemently opposed to leaving Zuko alone with Azula.

The prince in question, however, wanted the opportunity to face Azula by himself, “It’s okay, Uncle. I need to talk to Azula.”

The two tragic siblings were left alone. With only the sorrow-filled ambience of the throne room to keep them company.

Suki didn’t immediately speak as she followed Iroh outside.

Iroh observed her trying to discern any tells that might reveal her motivation for calling him out here and separating him from his nephew.

“What was it about Zuko that made you give up everything for him?” Suki broke the silence.

Iroh appeared confused at the line of questioning but answered regardless, “I failed my son. My beautiful boy, Lu Ten. After the Agni Kai, I realized my failures were not so contained. When I went on my journey through the Spirt World, I left Zuko alone with Ozai’s abuse.”

“Regrets are like leaves on a tree. They fall silently, one by one, until the branches are left bare. But even in winter, new leaves will grow. I resolved to learn from my past but not let it weigh me down. I realized the best way to solve my problems was to help with somebody else’s. To help my nephew come to terms with his past and find a new path forward. A new destiny that was one of his own making,” Iroh continued.

Suki huffed, “I know Zuko has suffered beyond comprehension at the hands of Ozai. But that was not my question. Let me ask it this way. Why was it only your nephew that deserved your care and compassion? Where was that concern for your niece?”

“Azula was always too much like Ozai. She has a cruel streak, one that I could never contend with. She was never very welcoming to me and that only increased as she got older,” Iroh frowned, “Zuko has so much of his mother in him. I knew he would be a great man, a great Firelord if I could help him work through his feelings.”

Suki’s eyes flashed with fury, “You saved Zuko because he was nicer. Because he was easier. Because his scar was physically visible. Who cares about the other child that was now left alone under Ozai’s thumb, right? I’m sure she’s fine since she’s the favorite. Not that being the favorite ever mattered much in the eye of a monster. Do you know who was there for Azula? Me. Do you know who comforted her, who helped her after Ozai took out his anger on her? Me. There were no adults around to care! You should have done something! You could have taken her with you!”

“Azula’s not like Ozai. She never was. She followed him because he was the only one who praised her. From the rest of her family, all she got was scorn. She mimicked him because it was the only way to survive. You know what the worst part is?” Suki laughed bitterly, “Azula was always the most like you. Smart, resourceful, and ready to prove her worth to her father. To serve her Nation. Isn’t that why you led the siege of Ba-Sing-Se?”

Iroh was speechless. He tried to respond but all that came out were tears.

Suki didn’t say anything else. With a glare, she left him to stew in his destructive emotions.

“Why?” Zuko questioned once they were alone.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific,” Azula raised an eyebrow.

“Claiming you need an heir is just another one of your schemes. Tell me the truth. Why do you want me back?”

“There has to be some sinister motive? Come on now Zuzu, Father’s not here. What could I possibly have to lie about?” Azula crossed her arms.

Zuko's expression became even more clouded, “How did he die? The rumors allege a disgruntled Fire Nation assassin killed him. But Father was always too alert to be caught off guard. At least once a year, someone tried to kill him when we were kids.”

“Hmm, well the royal physician said he was poised and then stabbed with a knife. So, I guess you're wrong, brother.” Azula calmly stated but her eyes gave away her inner turmoil.

“What?! He had royal taste testers and was paranoid about everything he ate. He wouldn’t have eaten anything without a tester present unless it came from—”

“No,” Zuko said as the realization sunk in. Impossible. Azula was his favorite. She had everything already. She was the crown princess. The future Fire Lord. She would never consider betraying him.

Azula sighed but saw no qualms in denying it, “Indeed.”

They were alone and even in the extreme case that they were overheard she could simply execute the conspirator for treason. Even if Zuko dared to tell anyone, it wouldn’t be taken seriously. It would be viewed as a play for the throne. Still, enough suspicion could spell doom for any ruler.

“You killed—” Zuko started to speak.

“Don’t speak those words dum-dum unless you want me to end up in the same grave,” Azula mused, “Or perhaps that is your goal. That’s what you always wanted right? To beat me. To be better than me. It could be a dream come true. You could be the best when I’m gone.”

Zuko was distressed, “I never wanted you gone. I just wanted Father to love me, to appreciate me, as much as he did you.”

“Love?” Azula laughed, “Oh Zuzu you were always so naïve. Father never loved me. He didn’t love anything.”

“But—” Zuko stumbled, “Father would always praise you. He used to say how lucky you were, while I was lucky to be born.”

“Luck is an illusion. I worked on my katas until my feet bled and there was not a hair out of place. I had a natural talent, sure, but that only meant Father had higher expectations. Father praised me as one praises his favorite tool. That’s all I ever was, something he used to advance the power he craved. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t understand?! He burned half my face off,” Zuko seethed.

“I haven’t forgotten,” Azula's expression shifted as she remembered Zuko’s screams, “But you weren’t the only one who burned.”

Zuko was overwhelmed as his gaze latched on the burn mark that peaked out from under her armor. The prince edged closer and gently reached for her sleeve. He swore at the red and blistering sight.

Azula yanked her arm back, “At least someone loved you.”

Suki loves you, her mind whispered. She knew that she did. But a parent's love had always been irreplaceable.

Zuko looked at her with his stupid turtle-duckling eyes. Agni, he was still so innocent. Her brother had always been too kind for this cruel world. Too kind for her.

“I didn’t know Lala. If I knew that Father laid a hand on you, I would have—”

“What?” Azula interrupted, “Stay silent and watch like I did? Because that’s all you can do. At least, I didn’t dishonor you like uncle. I watched every second. I didn’t leave you alone.”

“You cared?” Zuko looked more confused than ever, “Uncle said you laughed.”

The part of Zuko’s heart that contained his love for his sister started to bubble to the surface. He loved Azula, he always did, she was his little sister. She just made it so difficult sometimes. He had forced that love deep down and protected himself with anger.

“Zhao laughed,” Azula snarled, “I smiled. I had to. Anything less would have been a weakness.”

Tears welled up in Zuko’s eyes as he reached out for his sister. He pulled her into a strong hug. “I love you, Zula,” he promised.

Azula froze.

One thing that always held true about the princess was that no matter how many times she knocked her brother down, she always wanted to pull him back up.

Azula returned the hug. She gripped him back in a way that meant, I love you too.

(Weak, Father’s ghost cursed but his target wasn’t paying attention).

At that moment, the bridge Ozai formed between them fractured. The two siblings were able to be close once more.

Azula remained slumped on the throne lost in the haze of her emotions for what felt like hours after Zuko left.

“Come on, I’m kidnapping you,” Suki declared as she entered the room with a mischievous smile.

“You know it’s not usually as effective when you announce it,” Azula smirked.

“Whatever smartass, are you coming or not?” Suki held out her hand.

Azula put on her best-tortured expression before she took Suki’s hand and followed her out the door.

“Where are you taking me?” Azula grumbled after they trekked through various alleyways on the outskirts of Caldera City before climbing up a nearby slope.

“Patience, grumpy,” Suki teased as she stared at Azula’s adorable pout.

“Would you have rather I invited the palanquin bearers? They know just how to create a romantic atmosphere,” Suki rolled her eyes.

“Romantic?” Azula asked as she turned to Suki in surprise.

“Yes, well—” Suki blushed. She quickly gestured to the scene in front of them to try to get the attention off her reddened face, “Here we are.”

They were at the cliff’s peak overlooking Queen’s Lake, a tranquil oasis nestled at the edge of the dormant volcanic crater that housed the city. Moss clung to the rocky edges, and a tapestry of flowers—Roses, Camellia, and Peonies—painted the landscape. While the lake and its surroundings contained a stunning variety of flora, there were notably no animals in sight.

Azula stared down at the view in surprise. She had been to Queen’s Lake before but never from a vantage point quite like this.

Suki dropped the picnic basket and satchel she was carrying on the ground before approaching her princess from behind. Their shoulders touched as they stared out into the lake.

“You always loved staring at the water, second only a molten flame. But I know the presence of turtleducks in the Royal Gardens causes you pain. So, I found this spot. Is it alright?” Suki softly spoke.

“It’s perfect,” Azula responded but she wasn’t looking at the water.

“Hungry?” Suki nervously gulped under that piercing golden gaze. She turned away and busied herself with laying out the blanket and the various foods she brought including mango, cherries, shrimp, fried squid, and fire flakes.

The two firebenders ate in comfortable silence for a way stealing glances at each other between bites.

Azula popped one of the pitiless cherries in her mouth before asking the question that had been bothering her for hours, “What’s in the bag?”

“Oh that,” Suki remembered the other reason she wanted to get Azula alone. She pulled out the rectangular object from the satchel before sitting back down.

Suki patted the area next to her, “Come here I’ll show you.”

Azula hesitated briefly before claiming the spot by Suki’s side and tucking herself under her arm. To her astonishment, in Suki’s lap lay a book that she hadn’t seen in years.

Ever since she was a child, Azula had been fascinated with dragons. Dragons were the original firebenders. Majestic, strong, and intelligent. Although she had never challenged Fire Nation history, Azula had always struggled to come to terms with the fact that her nation, under orders from her family, hunted the dragons to extinction for sport and a display of dominance.

Part of contempt for her uncle stemmed from his title, the Dragon of the West. Azula couldn’t respect a man who killed the last dragon. She would never admit, however, that most of her disdain arose from Iroh letting Zuko into that ill-fated war meeting.

The book Suki brought, The Natural History of Dragons: A Comprehensive Study of Species, Firebending, and Behavior, was Azula’s favorite. It was one of a kind as all books that revered dragons had been burned during the Fire Lord Azulon’s purges and replaced with “factually” approved texts. Azula was never supposed to find the book. Yet, she discovered it dusty and abandoned on a cabinet shelf in some far-off corner of the palace during one of her many explorative excursions.

Azula kept the book for months, reading it in her room with only her flame for light under the cover of night. She treasured it until her mother discovered she possessed it. She could still remember her mother’s scolding tone as she pried the novel from her tight grip. Azula never saw it again.

“How did you find it?” Azula breathed out.

“I didn’t, well not your copy, turns out the book is not one of a kind after all. I sent letters to everyone I could think of to see if I could find another copy. My grandfather responded and told me that we had one hidden under the floorboards in the family library. He never told anyone else, not even my Father. It must have been hidden there since Sozin first started to hunt dragons. I just picked the book up from a Kozuku massager last night,” Suki replied.

Azula quickly became entranced in the pages. She flipped through it until she landed on one that discussed firebending.

Fire is an unruly element. It devours everything in its path, relentless and insatiable. Firebending is innately the act of fighting against fire’s true uncontrollable nature — of taming the untamable.

Those intoxicated by fire’s power can soon find themselves overwhelmed. Power, when wielded recklessly, becomes a tyrant. Anger and destruction follow in its wake. But when fire is harnessed with precision, it transforms. Properly controlled fire is a source of wonder, of life, comfort, warmth, fuel, and creation. Fire cooks the meals you eat, keeps you warm on a cold night, fuels candles to light your path in the dark, and lights the forage used to produce tools and weapons.

To become a true firebender, you must respect fire's primal hunger, but guide it with wisdom. The Sun Warriors who dedicated their lives to the dragons have mastered this art. There are many secrets that the Sun Warriors have maintained in their isolation —

“I know you think your bending struggles are permanent, that some curse has been placed on you by Agni’s will. But I believe in the aftermath of the Serpent’s Pass you have lost the sense of the good that Fire can provide. Of the good inside of you.” Suki emphasized.

“My bolt striking you is in my dreams every night. I still don’t know how you can stand to be close to me. I —” Azula tensed and turned away from Suki.

“Shh,” Suki mumbled as she ran her fingers through Azula’s hair and pulled her closer, “You're beautiful, Azula. You care so much and beneath all your walls you are kind. So kind. So Good. I’ll prove it to you. You’ll believe me one day, I promise. But I’m never leaving you.”

“Okay, firefly” Azula whispered burying her head in Suki’s shoulder as she tentatively agreed with what felt like an elusive dream. To calm her warring mind, she traced her hand over Suki’s heart in small circular motions.

When Azula eventually lifted her head, Suki spoke again “How about a trip to the Sun Warrior ruins?”

“What use are old ruins?” Azula responded.

Suki chuckled, “Don’t play coy. I know you are dying to see the remnants of the ancient civilization. And who knows maybe we could use the trip as a way to work on getting your flame back.”

Suki continued when Azula didn’t immediately respond, “Hey if nothing else, it's more time together. What’s wrong with that?”

Azula shut her eyes to hide her longing, “We’ll never be able to go. The foreign leadership that is still here would throw a fit if the Fire Lord went off on a secret mission.”

“I’ll get Aang to come with us. It won’t be as private, but at least if the Avatar is present everyone would have a hard time arguing against our little vacation. We can leave Iroh in charge of managing the Fire Lord’s responsibilities for a few days,” Suki suggested.

The young Kozuku still disliked Iroh, however, what better punishment could she give him than having to deal with stuffy Fire Nation cabinet members and foreign dignitaries.

“I’m dragging Zuko with us. He can be on babysitting duty,” Azula grinned wickedly.

A bellowing laugh left Suki’s chest before she could help herself, “I think it's best if we don’t tell Aang you think he needs a babysitter.”

Azula’s grin simply widened as she felt the vibrations of Suki’s laughter against her back, “Zuzu was always good with children.”

As Suki settled down from her laughing fit, she blurted out, “Will you go out with me?”

Confused, Azula shifted in Suki’s arms as she looked over at her, “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

“No, I mean—” Suki blushed for the second time tonight, “Will you date me? Will you be my girlfriend?”

A slight frown crossed Azula’s face. She wanted to accept so badly. Suki was all she ever wanted. But she couldn’t do it, not when there was still so much that was unresolved between them.

“We still haven’t talked about it. Not really,” Azula said.

“Talk about what?” Suki was baffled by the rapid change in topic.

“That night in the Serpent’s Pass. What I said,” Azula hung her head. Her shame wouldn’t even allow her to glance in Suki’s direction. “I’m sorry,” she choked the words out. She said it once before but all the apologies in the world weren’t enough. They could never make up for all she put Suki through.

Suki was stunned as she looked over at her princess. She didn’t expect to ever talk about that day again. She had already put it behind her. Had she though? Her mind countered. She had packed her feelings about that night so far down after she learned about Ozai’s death that she didn’t know if she could find them all.

“Why did you tell me my love meant nothing?” Suki finally asked, “It hurt. Nothing has ever cut so deep.”

There it was. The truth had burst out of its hiding place. Yet, if Suki were truly honest with herself, she’d recognize that it was never truly hidden. She simply hadn’t wanted to admit it, to acknowledge the lingering pain within her. A part of her remained torn apart, wounded by the biting words spoken that fateful night.

“There is no defense. No excuse I could possibly make. But I knew that night—” Azula paused pain filling her expression, “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do what I felt needed to be done. I thought it was my duty to return to Father and continue to fight for my nation. Even then I knew you were my light, but you were drifting so far out of reach. The closer you went to the Avatar the farther you went away from me. So, I cut you out in the cruelest way I knew how.”

“By the time I acknowledged I didn’t mean it, that I had ruined everything beyond compare, Father had asked to train.” Azula winced at the memory, “It was far too late to turn back.”

Although she had heard it once before, it was still impossible for Suki to imagine Azula alone in the training room with Ozai, stripped of her bending. It took a moment for Suki to clear that horrible image from her head.

The glimpse into Azula’s mind did help Suki come to terms with what happened. All the thoughts that had occupied her during the journey on Appa to Ba Sing Se remained true. Azula was raised to always put her father first. She was convinced that her father’s will was what was right, that it was in the Fire Nation’s best interest. Even the part about Aang made sense. She knew Azula would view her actions as a form of betrayal no matter what she said.

Still, Suki wasn’t without fault. She hadn’t shared her true opinions on the war or her family’s cause with Azula. “I’m not blameless,” Suki spoke again catching Azula’s attention, “I never told you about the Volcanic Sect or my intentions to join the Avatar.”

“You made the correct decision,” Azula replied, “I wouldn’t have taken that news well.”

“It wasn’t right to keep you in the dark,” Suki countered but Azula brushed it off refusing to let her take the blame.

Suki didn’t want to let that point go. However, she decided not to push it. There was another question she knew she needed to ask. Throughout this whole discussion, there was one aspect that Suki remained fixated on — one part of Azula’s reasoning that she knew hadn’t been fully explained, “Did your bending challenges have anything to do with your reaction that night?”

“It made me feel worthless,” Azula painfully admitted the truth. She struggled to speak as she felt the words catch in her throat. She could still hear the chants of her worthlessness ringing in her ears. Azula looked down at the ground as she spoke again, “But I thought you were abandoning me and that hurt more than my loss of bending ever could.”

Suki pulled Azula closer, tears welling up in her eyes, “I’m sorry, I never intended to hurt you like that. I wanted to do the right thing for the world, for balance, but that meant I couldn’t put you first.”

“I failed you, I’m sorry,” Suki sincerely apologized, “I won’t make that same mistake again. I’ll be better. You’ll be my priority for the rest of my life.”

Azula desperately wanted to believe those words. She could already feel herself start to give in. “You’ll stay?” she asked, no she begged, as her gaze flickered over to her firefly.

“I’ll stay,” Suki promised with watery eyes as she stared at her princess’s hope-filled eyes.

“You’ll get it back,” Suki vowed when she spoke again, “Even in the remote chance it’s permanent, your bending doesn’t define you Azula. I love your flame, but your firebending isn’t even in my top five favorite things about you.

Azula’s expression turned disbelieving and childlike, “Really?”

“Really,” Suki reiterated, “Not even top five.”

Azula smiled softly, wiping away the tears that had started to run down her firefly's face.

Suki's heart raced as they settled into a comfortable silence. Yet, she couldn’t linger there for long — not when she still had something so crucial to say. Suki passionately declared, “I forgive you for everything.”

Azula reached over and entwined her hand with Suki’s. It was her way of expressing gratitude. It was her way of both accepting and granting forgiveness.

“I’m not all there,” Azula continued after a moment of silence, “I hear things that aren’t real. I see glimpses of Mother and Father standing before me. Mother likes to give useless advice. Father prefers taunts. Can’t you see? I’m not worthy of a relationship. I won’t be right for you.”

“In some ways neither am. I lost control of my mind before, I may again,” Suki said before she recited the events of Lake Laogai.

“How about this, we’ll figure it out together. My ancestors were fairly progressive in terms of mental health. Well, progressive in the fact that they at least recognized that it exists and studied various treatments. I’ve never really paid much attention to it, but we have a therapy building on Zin Ha. As soon as we can, we’ll make a trip out there?” Suki asked.

“Okay,” Azula weakly responded, it seemed to be the only word she could get out of her mouth.

“Okay,” Suki repeated softly.

The silence between them was renewed for minutes longer until Azula spoke again, “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll date you,” Azula clarified as she stared into those unique bluish-bronze eyes.

Suki's heart surged with joy, “You mean it?”

At Azula’s answering nod, Suki tackled her in a hug slamming her princess’s back into the ground with the sheer force of her happiness. The hug transitioned into a mock grappling match on the cold dirt, yet beneath it all, love radiated.

Chapter Text

“You're not taking Aang off alone with the two people that spent almost a year hunting him down!” Katara demanded.

Aang tried to placate Katara as she passionately argued against him joining the search for the Sun Warrior ruins, “Maybe you could come?”

“The ruins are sacred. It’s not a good idea to bring non-firebenders,” Suki spoke up.

“You really want to go?” Katara asked. At Aang’s eager nod, she reluctantly conceded. The fierce waterbender glared at everyone promising retribution if Aang was harmed in her absence before stalking off.

Zuko awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as the Avatar started bombarding him with questions. He was at a complete loss as to why someone he attacked multiple times was so comfortable around him.

“Isn’t he a good babysitter?” Azula whispered to Suki as Aang chatted Zuko’s ear off while they loaded supplies onto Appa.

Suki punched Azula on the shoulder. Despite her efforts to contain it, she could feel the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.

“There’s something I need to take care of first, hold the bison for me,” Azula sent an uncertain look at the giant beast before following the path Katara had taken.

Suki agreed, but she stared at Azula’s disappearing form in confusion.

Azula tracked the waterbender to the docks at the First Lord's Harbor. Katara was practicing her forms, spinning the water into all different kinds of shapes.

The young Fire lord slowed as she approached, purposefully heaving her footsteps to announce her presence.

Katara whipped around with a growl, “What do you want?”

“To talk,” Azula raised her arms placidly.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Katara dismissed.

Azula nodded slowly lowering her arms, “I’ll do the talking then.”

“I—” Azula paused the words getting stuck in her throat, “Thank you.”

“Thank you?” Katara asked in disbelief.

“For saving Suki, she means the world to me,” Azula continued. She hated every moment of this conversation, but she needed to force her way through it. If the waterbender hadn’t been there that faithful day, her precious firefly wouldn’t still be here.

Katara frowned, “Some way to show it considering you’re the one who practically killed her.”

“I know,” Azula responded.

“You know?!” Katara shouted, “I’ll never understand what she sees in you.”

Azula simply agreed, “Suki has always deserved a lot more than me.”

“Then why do you force your presence on her? Why stay if you know you’re no good?”

“Because she doesn’t want me to leave,” Azula replied, her eyes softening.

Before she left Katara alone, Azula spoke once more, “I’ve tried to let her go. She always pulls me back.”

The words “she doesn’t want me to leave” would ring around in Katara’s head for hours.

Appa had been flying for hours. It shouldn’t be long until they reached the Sun Warrior’s ancient city in the Northern Fire Islands.

“Akino, Stop,” Zuko groaned as the bird added another twig to his hair. Suki’s dragon hawk had been trying to make a nest in his hair for practically the entire trip.

“Did you train him to torment me?” Zuko grumbled as he shot a glare at Azula who was still chuckling at his misfortune.

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Azula denied. When Akino flew closer to her, she snuck him a handful of treats for his service.

“Of course you don’t,” Zuko sighed as he resigned himself to his fate. He flopped down in Appa’s saddle, “Does this thing go any faster?”

Appa growled in displeasure at being referred to as a “thing”.

“I know you’re new here Zuko, but the best way to start a mission is with an upbeat attitude,” Aang said with a smile.

“Where’s your manners Zuzu,” Azula teased.

Zuko let out another groan in response as a collection of leaves was added to his hair.

To Azula’s disappointment, Suki eventually took mercy on the poor Fire Prince and called Akino to her.

Aang shouted an exclamation of amazement a few minutes later, as the ancient civilization came into view. The stone ruins still appeared remarkably intact despite the significant vine overgrowth.

“It’s truly impressive,” Suki said as Appa came in for a landing.

With Zuko and Aang guiding the way, the group trekked up the stone incline which led to the massive temple in the city’s center. As they walked, the Fire Prince gave the Avatar an impromptu history lesson on architecture.

“And he’s a teacher too,” Azula joked as she lingered with Suki a few paces behind.

Suki rolled her eyes.

A loud cry shocked the group. Aang screamed as he airbent to prevent himself from falling into a spiked boobytrap. “I think the past is trying to kill me,” he called out when he landed on the other side of the trap.

Azula crouched beside Zuko. They both admired the boobytraps that must have been centuries old.

Suki shook her head as she watched the siblings bond over deadly devices. At least they had something in common.

A few acrobatic moves later, the entire group made it past the trap.

“They wouldn’t set all this up unless they had something worth protecting,” Zuko said trying to alleviate Aang’s worry.

“No fair!” Aang shouted as he stared at the closed golden doors, “We have to come back on the solstice?”

“Maybe we can speed up time a bit,” Zuko said as he unsheathed his blade and tried to trick the celestial calendar.

Azula raised an eyebrow, impressed by Zuko’s ingenuity as the gates to the chamber opened.

She was perhaps too quick to judge. An hour later, her dum-dum of a brother redeemed his idiocy when he picked up the golden egg-shaped stone delicately placed in the center of the ornate chamber.

“Who invited you?” Azula complained as green glue-like sludge froze her place, it was clear the ancient Sun Warriors did not take kindly to visitors. Thankfully, she was pressed up against Suki and not the obnoxious airbender.

“You did,” Zuko bit out in response.

“Nothing that can be done about it now, let’s try to figure out a plan,” Suki interjected before the siblings could start a heated argument.

The group's exhaustion from their sticky confinement was palpable as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow across the landscape. Yet, just when they thought their predicament couldn’t get any stranger, an ancient sun warrior materialized before them, his gaze intense and unyielding.

As Azula assessed the figure before her, a dormant ember of childhood wonder — a fascination with dragons and the people who revered them, flared to life.

“Facing the judgment of the firebending masters will be very dangerous for you. Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragon’s disappearance,” The Sun Warrior chieftain declared as he glared at Azula and Zuko.

Azula stared down at the piece of the eternal flame she cradled between her palms. She was thrilled to have this opportunity to meet the masters. She could have never imagined it was still possible after what her family had done. As Azula lost herself in her excitement, fear kicked in. How could she possibly be considered worthy?

As if she read Azula’s thoughts, Suki shifted the piece of the eternal flame she was holding into one hand so that she could place a reassuring touch on her princess’s shoulder.

Azula’s worry deepened for if she went down, she couldn’t drag her firefly with her.

“You disappeared for a hundred years allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world,” the Sun Warrior continued as he focused on Aang, “the decline of the dragons is your burden too.”

“And you,” the attention shifted to Suki, “Hmm, you they may be pleased to see.”

Suki’s chest puffed up a little with pride before she tempered her enthusiasm. If they had a problem with Azula, they also had a problem with her.

As the group approached the steps, Zuko tried to reassure a nervous Aang once more, “I think we could take these guys in a fight whoever they are.”

Azula glanced at him with a frown, “I didn’t know you were so eager to fight dragons, Zuzu.”

“Dragons?!! What are you talking about,” Zuko hissed back.

“The masters Ran and Shaw are dragons, obviously, who else would the Sun Warriors revere,” Azula rolled her eyes.

“Dragons?” Aang whimpered, “Maybe we should turn back.”

Suki looked at the Sun Warriors who were already starting their chants, “I think it’s a little too late for that.”

Aang gulped as he started up the stairs. His flame weakened with every step. Everyone else trailed closely behind him.

“Cut it out,” Suki muttered to Aang and Zuko as they fought over the fire in the prince’s hand. It was no use, soon there were only two pieces of the external flame remaining.

“Give me some of yours,” Aang begged Suki.

“No way, we’re not risking another one, get behind us,” Suki demanded forcing Aang and Zuko into the middle. She and Azula faced the caverns with their flames held out.

Rumbling noises grew louder until two dragons burst out of their dens and flew around the group in intimidating flight patterns. The sky became a swirl of blue and red.

Azula stood with her head bowed and flame positioned as an offering. Despite her suspicions, the reality of living dragons remained unfathomable. Iroh, it seemed, did not kill the last one after all. This revelation failed to alter Azula’s feelings towards her uncle since she did not doubt that he came here to do just that.

The red dragon flew closer, his tail swiping inches from her head. Azula didn’t flinch. Her eyes darted back and forth following the dragon’s display, but her body never budged from its statue-like pose. In the distant background, she could hear Zuko and Aang’s footsteps moving behind her in a coordinated almost dance-like flurry. Gradually, even the sound of their steps faded as Azula tuned out all outside noise and focused on what she could control — stabilizing the flame she was cradling in her hands. Inhale. Exhale. The flickering flame synced with her breathing.

Overhead, the two masters completed several more circles around the group before the red one landed directly in front of Azula with a massive roar. Against all instinct, Azula’s body remained rigid and composed as if the massive beast’s proximity to her was not a cause for concern.

Heat scorched her face as she was suddenly surrounded by a swirling ring of fire. Azula’s vision was overtaken by streams of color.

Her mind raced through a vivid reel of images. Everything she had read in the dragon book, the true meaning of fire, unfolded in front of her very eyes. She saw visions of families cooking over crackling flames, lovers seeking solace by warm embers, furnaces ablaze on steamships, and a blacksmith’s skilled hands foraging a farming rake over an open flame. Amidst these flickering images, Azula caught a glimpse of her younger self on the day she discovered her flame. She witnessed her fire transition from a deep orange to a warm yet powerful blue glow.

Among the chaotic visions, a single sequence of images stood out with startling clarity. Images that as soon as they appeared it was like no others existed. She saw a young Suki joyfully running through basic firebending katas. She watched herself modeling the proper form of a kata for her appreciative bluish-bronze-eyed audience. She observed Suki form a dancing dragon in her flame while she looked at Azula with gentle loving eyes. Almost as if she was back in the moment, Azula felt warmth envelop her entire body as a vision of Suki cradling her frozen body filled her mind.

As the roaring rainbow flames disappeared, what remained was understanding. What remained was life. What remained was love.

Azula grasped the profound truth that beyond all its potential uses, the true source of firebending was life itself. In the eyes of the young Fire Lord, nothing else was more central to her life than Suki.

Suki was the center of her world that she kept running back to. Suki was warm. Suki was gentle. She was compassionate. She was brave. She was loyal. She had taken Azula’s fragile heart in her hands and pieced it back together. Stripping out the burnt bits that still reeked of Father’s touch and replacing them with tender hugs and soft kisses. She filled her soul with love.

Deep within her chest, her inner chi rejoiced. A sense of fulfillment crossed her mind. Azula was whole once more.

Azula didn’t even make it off the last step before she crushed Suki in a tight embrace. Sparks flared in her chest, as she tucked her head into Suki’s neck.

Wrapping her arms around her princess’s waist, Suki returned the hug in full force.

After remaining tucked in that embrace for what felt like hours, Suki whispered, “Are you alright?”

Azula with her face still pressed into Suki’s shoulder mumbled something inaudible.

Zuko’s gaze shifted toward the embracing couple, and then he discreetly guided Aang away to converse with the Sun Warrior chief, granting the pair a moment of privacy.

“Hmm?” Suki questioned growing concerned.

“Thank you,” Azula repeated as she raised her head. In the span of this one day, she had said those two words of gratitude more than ever before.

“For what?” Suki was lost as to what was happening.

“You felt it as well, didn’t you?” Azula spoke her voice ladened with emotion, “The masters they showed us. Fire is the core of our existence. Fire is life.”

Suki nodded, “I did. It was beautiful.”

Azula pulled out of the embrace without responding and took a few steps back. In a seamless motion, she transitioned into an advanced firebending kata. Her spinning kick released a spiraling torrent of blue flames.

“Your fire is back!” Happiness coursed through Suki’s veins as she clasped Azula’s shoulders in her excitement.

“But why are you thanking me? I didn’t do anything,” Suki said in response to her princess’s previous praise.

Rolling her eyes at her humble firefly, Azula replied, “You did everything.”

Azula’s focus briefly drifted toward the dragon’s lair before returning to Suki’s affectionate eyes, “Fire is life, and you’ve always been the center of mine. What did you do? You loved me. After all the harm I’ve caused. All the times I abused your affection and threw it back in your face. You still loved me unconditionally. I can’t even say it back and you —”

“Always,” Suki promised a smile glowing on her face, “I've said it before. I'll say it for the rest of time, I love you, Azula.”

Suki held out the palm of her hand and called her flame forth watching as a fiery blaze danced across her palm. Her fire burned brightly. Its warm orange and cool emerald hues merged in a captivating harmony.

Azula wordlessly answered. She beckoned to her own fire, cradling its strong blue glow above Suki’s. The two flames entwined, creating a brilliant colorful display. Their fires exuded warmth and comfort, neither flame risked burning the other's skin. As fire met fire, two souls converged, becoming one.

Suki lowered her hand, and sent it in a circular sweeping motion, forming a flaming ring around them. Azula copied her movements. The two stood in the middle of a protective wall of fire. The rainbow flames they created mimicked the dragon’s own vibrant demonstration.

In the center of the ring, Suki pulled Azula closer, they met in a soul-searing kiss.

Chapter Text

Several days had passed since they visited the Sun Warriors’ Island. In some ways everything had changed, in others, it remained the same. Azula’s heart felt lighter than ever before, even as she was forced to deal with scheming cabinet members who threatened to topple the Fire Nation back into a war it couldn’t afford. Not that the foreign representatives were much better. It was almost like they preferred to return to a state of violence given how unreasonable their demands were.

In the meeting room formerly known as the “war chamber”, Azula shifted on her throne basking in the few minutes of glorious silence she received.

Shouts from her guards, quickly ruined that silence, and thumbing sounds of bodies falling to the ground echoed from outside the door. Azula’s posture rapidly straightened as she prepared herself for the threat that was about to enter.

Azula watched as the blind earthbender strutted into the room as if nothing happened. “Your guards have decided to take a nap,” Toph smirked, “We need to have a little chat, Mrs. Sparkles.”

Azula glowered. What was Avatar’s violent little criminal going on about?

“Assassins don’t usually talk this much,” Azula narrowed her eyes as she stood up.

“If I wanted to, it wouldn’t be hard. You’re no match for the world’s greatest earthbender,” Toph chuckled.

“You think I’ll make it easy?” Fury overtook Azula’s expression and blue flames started to lick at her fingertips, “Not even close”

“I’ll hold you to that sparing match another time,” Toph was completely unbothered by Azula’s hostility, “Lucky for you, I’m not here to kill you. I’m here for Suki.”

“Suki?” All the fight left Azula’s body, “What’s wrong? Is she alright?”

“Relax fireflakes,” Toph continued, “Suki’s fine. You won’t be if you don’t answer my questions. I need to make sure you live up to her expectations. Sparkles deserves the best.”

Azula’s expression soured at the distasteful nicknames, but she would answer the questions nonetheless. The earthbender was close to Suki and given that Toph wasn’t actively trying to kill her, Azula decided to extend a trace of hospitality. Her memory flashed to Suki begging her to make an effort to get along with her new friends.

“What do you want to know?” Azula asked.

“You’re not going to break her heart, are you?” Toph inquired,” I won’t stand by and watch her cry over someone who thinks they’re above it all.”

The question was unusually sentimental for the typically blunt earthbender. She couldn’t watch Suki’s tears over the fire princess again.

Azula’s voice carried a hint of steel, her words precise and calculated. “I want her to be happy,” she declared, her gaze unwavering, “I’ll ensure she remains so.”

“Good,” Toph grunted in acknowledgment.

But before she turned away, Toph leaned forward, her voice low and laced with a warning only she could deliver, “If any more lightning bolts come near her, we’ll have a problem.”

The threat hung in the air — a promise etched in stone.

The Avatar’s friends were clearly taking turns at tormenting her because as one left another took their place. Her displeasure deepened as she registered just who entered the room.

The water tribe warrior stared at her with his hand gripping his recently crafted space sword.

“Get out,” Azula hissed. She couldn’t deal with this right now. Not even Suki’s plea for them to get along could sway her.

“Wait,” Sokka declared, “I want to apologize.”

Azula looked at him in surprise.

“I know all our interactions have been hostile. I was so angry that Suki was hurt that I couldn’t consider anything else,” Sokka began.

“I still don’t like you,” he admitted, “I don’t know if I ever will.”

Azula’s jaw tightened but she didn’t say anything.

“But Suki does,” Sokka continued his voice softer now, “And that matters. I want to get along for her sake. I’m willing to apologize if that’s what it takes.”

“No,” Azula spoke in a sharp tone, “You shouldn’t apologize.”

“I did everything I’m accused of,” she paused before speaking again, “We will try to be civil for Suki’s sake.”

It took some effort to get the words out. Father’s voice echoed in the corridors of her mind screaming accusations of weakness. And perhaps, some part of her believed it — a shard of doubt lodged deep within her chest. But the part of her that clung to Suki's love was louder than all the voices in her mind.

“Agreed,” Sokka nodded.

He left the room, acknowledging the new truce. They would never speak of it again.

Suki's footsteps thundered down the hall until she reached Zuko’s chambers.

“Is it true?” she demanded before he even fully opened the door.

Zuko just stared at her with a bewildered expression.

“Your little burning expedition on Kyoshi Island?” Suki growled.

Zuko hung his head, “I’m sorry.”

Suki turned away from him. It took everything in her not to scream. She had never been to Kyoshi Island, but it was a permanent fixture in her childhood stories. Her maternal grandparents still lived there, provided they were still alive.

When she was old enough to understand, her mother had shared that her parents disapproved of her feelings for a Fire Nation Citizen. Suki's parents’ love story was a unique one. Her father stopped on Kyoshi Island due to ship problems on one of his merchant runs. He fell in love with the innkeeper’s daughter, and she ran away with him back to Jin Ha. Her mother would never admit it, but Suki knew that a part of her regretted the actions of her younger self. She regretted the shattered relationship with her parents and abandoning the home she grew up in. It saddened her that her family had never met their granddaughter.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Or destroy their homes. I just wanted the Avatar,” Zuko’s voice trembled, “There’s no excuse. I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

Now Suki wanted to cry because of how much his words reminded her of Azula. Agni, the siblings were more alike than they would ever admit.

“Thank you for apologizing,” she managed to get out before she fled the scene.

Suki laid sprawled out on her back in the royal gardens, bathed in the sunlight. Akino was perched on her chest. Apparently, she was a more exciting resting post than the nearby willow tree.

“You shouldn't frown, you’ll get wrinkles!” Ty Lee’s cheerful voice sounded out behind her.

Suki laughed and a smile unconsciously began to form on her face, “Nice to see you too, Ty Lee.”

Akino displeased that his bed was moving, tried to peek Suki in the forehead. “Hey!” she grumbled to the persistent dragon hawk as she raised a hand to protect her face. With her defensive strategy not working, she moved her other hand and began petting the irate hawk. He calmed down under her touch, letting out a pleased screech.

Yet as her laughter abated, all her tumultuous feelings rushed back in.

“Your aura isn’t looking so good, what’s wrong?” Ty Lee asked.

“Can I even call myself a member of the Earth Kingdom if I’ve never been to my mother’s home? If I’ve never met my grandparents? If I am a representation of everything they despise? I am in love with the sister of the man who burned Kyoshi village.” Suki spoke disparagingly.

“The Earth Kingdom should be proud. You joined forces with the Avatar. You helped end the war. Someone they despise would never do that. The villains in their stories wouldn’t work so hard to save them.” Ty Lee answered, “You haven’t visited Kyoshi Island because of the war. It’s over now, you should go. You’re a good person, Suki, your grandparents would be thrilled to meet you.”

Suki cranked her head as she looked over at Ty Lee with hopeful eyes, “You think so?”

“I know so, you have one of the warmest auras I have ever seen,” the acrobat replied, “they’re missing out if they turn you away.”

Suki gently shifted Akino off her chest as she stood up. Her first move was to hug her friend, “Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

Suki’s brain was already working up plans to visit Kyoshi Island. Considering the lingering turmoil in the Fire Nation, it may take some time, but she resolved to make it happen.

Ty Lee was so inviting she made Suki want to throw all her fears into the universe.

“Is it wrong that deep down I still have pride in my Fire Nation heritage? Not our blood-stained history, but our ancient heritage when we still understood the meaning of honor,” Suki questioned.

“No,” Ty Lee responded, “The Fire Nation is home, it’s natural to still care about it despite its flaws.”

“Don’t think so much. What did I say negative emotions led to?” Ty Lee said.

“Wrinkles,” She continued when Suki blankly stared at her.

Suki shook her head and shoved Ty Lee’s shoulder. Yet beneath all her feigned animosity, gratitude prevailed.

Azula strode down the corridor, clutching a fistful of his shirt, while a seething Zuko trailed behind her.

“Let go! Where are you taking me?” Zuko hissed, anger pouring out of his voice.

Although he cursed her out as they walked, Zuzu admittedly did not try that hard to free himself. Azula found his complaints more amusing than anything else, “Don’t worry dum-dum, you’ll find out soon.”

Azula entered the guest wing which housed all the foreign diplomats including the Avatar and his friends. Azula stopped in front of a door and promptly knocked.

“Hmm, what time is it?” Aang mumbled as he opened the door and rubbed his eyes trying to make sense of who was visiting him at this hour.

“First light was an hour ago,” Azula rolled her eyes. Agni, non-firebenders were so lazy. They didn’t ever rise with the sun. It was no wonder the Earth Kingdom fell prey to so many early morning ambushes. The Avatar, however, was a firebender which made it all the more embarrassing. Still, given what she heard from Suki, he wasn’t much of firebender at the moment. Since they visited the Sun Warrior's Island, Aang was able to generate fireballs, but he still failed to master most of the basic forms. The Avatar’s failures have been taking up more of Suki’s time than Azula liked.

She was definitely not jealous, nor did she wish to hog Suki for herself.

Plans were what Azula did best, and she had a perfect one for this situation.

“Is there a problem?” Aang asked bewildered as to why the two visitors were at his door.

“What’s going on?” Zuko demanded.

Azula ignored Aang in favor of responding to Zuko, “I’m getting you a new friend, maybe then you’ll stop leeching off of mine,” Azula smirked. Look at her, helping her hopeless brother actually talk to someone around his own age. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Zuko’s brain was comprised of only tea after three years on a ship with their tea-loving fool of an uncle.

“Huh?” Aang and Zuko simultaneously spoke.

“See you’re already getting along,” Azula’s mischievous smile deepened. She released her grip on Zuko’s shirt only to shove him forward, causing him to almost crash into Aang.

“Meet your new firebendering teacher, Suki’s retiring,” Azula presented her brother to the Avatar as an offering. She acted as if nothing she said was out of the ordinary.

As Zuko righted himself after his stumble, he stared at his sister at a complete loss for words. He exchanged a look with Aang, but neither of them knew how to react.

“Less standing there, more practicing,” Azula declared to the wide-eyed boys before she sauntered down the hall with a calculated grace. There was no time to waste, the Fire Lord had duties to attend to.

Royal Palace, 101 AG

The crowd was bustling with excitement inside the royal courtyard. All the Fire Nation noblemen stood in attendance with their families, as well as other high-ranking officials. Representatives from across the nations were in attendance for this auspicious occasion — the start of a new era. Outside the palace gates, Fire Nation citizens crowded in from every direction, eager to catch a glimpse of the ceremony.

Azula straightened her red and gold ceremonial attire and checked her reflection in her mirror. Today was too important, not a hair could be out of place. She readied herself and opened her bedroom door where she was greeted by her favorite face. Suki was also dressed formally, in an elaborate red dress, which was atypical given her preference for more battle-ready clothing.

“Hey,” Suki said softly, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Azula replied.

Suki frowned as she glanced over at Azula, “Having second thoughts?”

“I am apprehensive about what this drastic change will mean for the future of our nation,” Azula admitted. Was she apprehensive about the success of her nation, or afraid about what it would accomplish without her?

“But I’m not having second thoughts. For the past year, I’ve barely been able to leave Caldera for more than a couple of days at a time. I want to spend my time with you. I want to spend it on Zin Ha. Tyn has been telling me for months, that all this time in the palace, dealing with squabbling nobles has not helped my hallucinations. I need to do this,” Azula clarified.

Azula’s words hung in the air, a rare vulnerability that only Suki could bring to light slipped through her stoic facade. The weight of duty and longing clashed within her, and in a rare moment, she allowed herself to submit to her desires. She allowed herself to feel the pull of something beyond power and ambition. She allowed herself to create a new path, not the one she was born with — the royal title that held her in a vice grip. She was finally putting herself first. Or at least that was the reason she told herself. The truth was that Zuko's compassion would serve the Fire Nation better than she ever could.

“The place of your abuse is never a good place to start your recovery,” Suki acknowledged parroting their therapist's words. Tyn had become invaluable to them over this past year.

A commotion happened down the hallway as a nervous royal guard approached, “My Lord, it's time. Prince Zuko and the Fire Sages are waiting outside.”

Azula nodded and started for the royal courtyard, her hand brushing Suki’s as they walked. She would take all the support she could get.

"You remember when you told me you felt bad for making me choose between my loyalty to the Fire Nation and you?" Azula murmured to Suki out of the earshot of the guard.

Suki hummed as she focused on her princess.

"This decision is both. I'm trying to be better for you and the Fire Nation," Azula finished. There was no point in lying to herself anymore.

Suki squeezed her hand tighter.

Suki lingered back with Mai and Ty Lee. Aang and the rest of the gang were also close by. Zuko had taken her place by Azula’s side for the final walk to the stage.

“I appreciate you and Azula pushing all this responsibility onto me,” Mai sarcastically stated with her eyes locked on a certain prince.

“We’re giving it to Zuko, not you,” Suki replied.

“As if there’s a difference,” Mai bluntly answered. Who else is going to make sure Zuko doesn’t get himself killed?

“Hey at least you’ll never be bored,” Suki chuckled dodging the knife flung near her head.

As the sages began opening remarks to the crowd, Suki and Mai’s attention returned to the ceremony.

“Are you sure about this?” Zuko whispered Azula as they approached the sages in center stage.

“Congratulations, you're in charge now Zuzu,” Azula smirked, “All your tea parties with the Avatar better pay off.”

Zuko only looked even more nervous.

“Don’t worry,” Azula soothed, “I’ll be your advisor when I’m bored of retirement. Agni knows you’ll need it.” Azula patted her brother on the back with more force than necessary before she stepped before the sages to perform her part in the ceremony.

“Do you Fire Lord Azula, blood of former Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa, renounce your title as the supreme ruler of the Fire Nation in favor of your heir, Crown Prince Zuko?” the head sage asked.

“I do,” Azula spoke, her voice unwavering.

The sage guested for Azula to kneel and then he gently removed the Fire Lord’s hairpiece.

Azula stood up and stepped back. She was the crown princess once more. Zuko moved to take her place, he was promptly sworn in as the Fire Lord.

“All hail Fire Lord Zuko,” the sage declared as he crowned the kneeling royal.

Cheering rang out across the courtyard as the new Fire Lord rose.