text: Azula giggles. It amuses her to see so many metal men run around. They always stand still or walk behind her, but now they seem frantic. They bend away the fire from the stupid, ugly painting. fears their red armor and spiky helmets, but not Azula. No, she’s a big girl who doesn’t feel scared.
  
  “Azula!”
  
  The girl feels scared as her mother stands in front of the… What was the word? Tapestry! It’s a tapestry. Mommy trembles. A tear falls down her face. Why is Mommy sad? I bended fire!
  
  “What did you do, Azula?” Azula lowers her gaze. How come Mommy gets so angry at her and only her? She smiles at everyone else, well, except for Daddy.
  
  “I…” Why am I in trouble? “I bended fire, like Daddy and Zuzu.”
  
  “Tell me the truth. You’re two. No one bends fire at two. It was rare for Zuko to bend fire at only four.”
  
  “But I am tellin’ the truth.” She crosses her arms.
  
  “Did you hide the candles? Please tell me the fire you burned this with isn’t still burning.”
  
  “I burned it with my fire!”
  
  “You burned my only reminder of my family. Stop lying.”
  
  “I am not lying. I am your family!”
  
  She stomps her foot on the ground. The rug catches on fire where her foot made contact. Unlike before, pure joy, now she feels afraid. Will Mommy be angry about this too?
  
  Instead of saying anything else, Mommy walks away in a hurry. The metal men, maybe they are called guards, bend that fire away too. She watches. They do it so easily. Why doesn’t Mommy yell at them? They bend, but she doesn’t mind. Why doesn’t Mommy love her?
  
  “A… Azula?”
  
  She turns her head. Zuzu stands in the doorway, eyes wide. Zuzu burned something too when he first bended. It was part of Mommy’s dress, a pretty and black one. Mommy was so happy when that happened even though the fire made her skin look a little red on her hand. She loves Zuzu.
  
  “What did you do, Azula?” he asks, echoing their mother’s words. Again, Azula lowers her gaze.
  > You tell Him
  “I bended fire.”
  
  “Really!” She looks up, and he smiles. “You bent fire? Now, you’re like me!”
  
  But Mommy loves Zuzu but not me. Zuzu is not like me.
  
  “No.” She points to the tapestry. “I bended fire and burned that. Mommy was angry.”
  
  “That was Mom’s picture of her mom and dad.”
  
  “I didn’t wanna.” She crosses her arms.
  
  “I didn’t say that. Was it an accident?”
  
  “Yes, but I do better. I won’t burn more things.”
  
  “Good. Maybe we can practice together?”
  
  “Yes!”
  
  Zuzu will help her. She never got to do big kid things with him before.
  
  They hear a new set of footsteps. She turns and sees someone she only remembers seeing twice before besides their nightly, tense dinners. Mommy stands behind him. She looks angry.
  
  “Daddy?” she asks. Zuzu takes three steps backwards.
  
  “Azula, you bent fire.”
  
  “Yes.” She clenches her tiny fists. Will he be angry too?
  
  “Good job.” He smirks. At this time in her life, it scared her. Eventually, she will learn to desire such approval.