Celestial Dreams: Chapter 19

Azula mentally scowled as another burn flashed briefly with pain, though she refused to express the
discomfort by grimacing in front of the Dai Li agents that stood before her. “You will hunt down and
capture the trouble makers in the lower ring. I want them contained before they start up a full blown
rebellion. Am I understood?” she hissed out, eyes narrowing. A hesitant hand went up. She turned a golden pair of eyes on the man. “Yes?” The man swallowed hard, then said in a barely controlled voice, “And if they are impossible to capture?” Azula smirked, turning her gaze to study the crackling energy that she had summoned to her fingers. “Dispose of them.” She looked back over her army of green, satisfied by the solemn nod that rippled through the crowd. “You’re dismissed,” she announced, stepping off the platform and heading out of the throne room. The men bowed their heads to her as she walked past them, then out into the hallway. She growled inwardly as she walked calmly to her room, the burns Zuko had left on her stinging painfully.
  The marks had almost all been removed, but a few still had to be worked on by waterbending peasants Ty Lee and Mai had found living in the city. She frowned for a moment, once again hit with the slightly lonely feeling she had had since sending the two girls after the group her brother and uncle had taken up with. The only firebender in the city, even as a ruler of the city, was almost enough to make her think about asking for a replacement. Almost. A smirk crept across her face as she stopped to look out a window at the city. “Mine,” she breathed, self satisfaction creeping over her. She had taken control of the city. Not her idiotic uncle, not her pansy of a brother, not even her father. She had. The smirk widened into a grin as she thought of it. A single fifteen year old girl had been able to accomplish what armies of grown men had not. She turned on her heel, continuing down the hall for her room, eyes narrowing into slits as she heard pounding feet behind her. “Princess Azula!!!”

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Ty Lee waved energetically at the Dai Li agents as they moved away on earthen slabs. “Bye guys, and thanks!” she chirped, then turned to Mai, who was inspecting her nails with a bored look on her face. “Mai, we should talk,” Ty Lee said, and Mai snapped her eyes to her friend, surprise overtaking her normally stoic face as she heard the seriousness in the other girl’s voice. “What?” Ty Lee lowered herself gracefully to the ground, then patted the grass in front of her. Mai sat without objection, though a slight scowl marred her face. Ty Lee sat with her back straight, face calm and thoughtful. “We need to help them.” Mai shook her head slowly. “Help who? What are you talking about?” “The avatar and Zuko, silly!” Mai jerked back, eyes wide. “Why?” Ty Lee looked away, hand involuntarily moving to a spot covered by her sleeve on her arm, feeling the bandages beneath it.

  Ty Lee bit her lip as Azula’s face twisted in pain. “Oh, Azula, I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, moving   her hand from the burn she had accidentally bumped against as she tried to help Mai carry their injured friend to the palace for healing. Azula’s sharp eyes narrowed at Ty Lee, and seconds later the acrobat screamed and jerked her arm out of Azula’s flaming grasp. “Azula! Why-?” “You need to learn respect for people superior to you. Remember that I am your ruler first, friend second.” the princess spat, glaring at Ty Lee. Azula turned to the nearest doctor that was anxiously following the three girls. “See to it that the wound does not receive any medical care other than preventing infection, I need for her arm to be fully functional for when I send her after my brother. However,” she continued, turning a burning gaze onto Ty Lee, “she also needs a reminder of her place in life. A scar from that should do nicely.” The doctor nodded as Ty Lee stared in disbelief through a flood of pain induced tears at the girl she had considered her best friend for years.


  “Are you insane?! Azula would kill us!” Ty Lee shook her head to clear it when Mai spoke, then nodded, smiling big. “That’s why we get better at running! Now come on, let’s go find those guys and join Team Zuzu!” She flipped over and up, then took off down the hill they had stopped on outside the port town Azula was sure Zuko would stop at to restock the boat, laughing. Mai watched her friend then took back on her normally gloomy composure, thinking to herself, ‘She can’t be serious.’

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Azula fought to maintain her composure as she read the message the Earth boy had brought to her. “He’s where?” “He was just outside the inner wall when he sent me to tell you of his arrival,” the boy answered, breath coming hard from the run he had just made. Azula thought for a moment, then pressed her lips into a thin line as she realized he would not be far behind the boy. Azula turned on her heel, walking quickly down the hall, ignoring the boy as he took her walking off as his dismissal and turned towards the servants quarters. Azula slammed the door to her room behind her, throwing a well aimed flash of blue fire into the fire pit, stalking to her wardrobe, peeling off her earth kingdom clothing she usually wore around the palace of Ba Sing Se and jerking on a red and black training outfit, swearing to herself in the back of her mind. She quickly snapped the Fire emblem into her hair, smirking to herself. He couldn’t catch her off guard; he had never been able to. Even as a young child she had always been one step ahead. “His mistake was sending that boy ahead of him,” she said, studying her reflection in her mirror.
  “And yours was thinking I wouldn’t learn a thing or two by now,” a young man’s voice came from across the room, and she turned glaring at the owner of the voice who was reclining in a chair beside an open window. “How long have you been sitting there?!” she snapped, eyes narrowing for the third time in the past hour. “Hmm, let’s see. . .” the man said lazily, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully as if it would give him all the answers. She growled and tossed a ball of fire his way, rolling her eyes and muttering “Show off,” when he caught it and started throwing it from hand to hand as if it were nothing more than a child’s toy ball. He grinned crookedly and stood, shooting the fire harmlessly out the window with one hand as the other reached to pull out the scroll that was tucked into his belt. Azula eyed his clothing with a harshly critical eye, saying dryly, “Trying to fit in with peasants these days?” He looked down at himself, studying the simple red sleeveless top, gold belt, and black pants with knee high brown boots he wore. He glanced back up at her through a shock of black hair, bright golden eyes flickering with amusement. “Of course not, I just prefer to avoid all the pomp and circumstance.” He tossed her the scroll, then moved around her to inspect the bowl of fruit she had on her dresser. “Just a letter from dear old daddy,” he said, frowning at the bruise on a moon peach.
  Azula read the letter quickly, then gasped and read it again. “He’s doing WHAT?!” she yelled, hands blazing, quickly turning the scroll to ashes as she spun around to face him. The young man shook his head sadly. “Temper temper. And here I thought you were in such control of your emotions.” He sighed. “Oh, well. Guess it’s a good thing I’ll be taking control of the city while you get shipped home to daddy.” She growled. “My father is your Fire Lord, and don’t you forget it! Show some respect to both your ruler and your future father-in-law!” The young man grinned, light glinting off the sharp canines that were the only thing dangerous and intimidating about his physical appearance, eyes taking on a dangerous glint as he spoke in a soft tone. “And don’t you forget who I am, Azula. Show some respect for your future husband.” She snarled, eyes flashing as blue energy crackled around her fists. “We both know who the better bender is here, Zan. Are you really that self destructive?” “And this coming from the girl who was put in the infirmary for two days by her pathetic excuse of a brother.” Zan smirked, then turned on his heel, walking out of the room. “I wouldn’t be so sure of myself if I were you, Azula. Now put on something more suitable. I meet my subjects in one hour, and you’ll be there to introduce their new leader.”