text: Azula fires another blast of fire with every punch. She imagines a new Avatar, unlike that one who died generations ago, standing in front of her. Each blast burns off more of his face until he's nothing but a screaming skull. She would laugh at the sight, but she needs to focus. Her breathing is already...  what was the word her teacher used? Impeccable. That's the word. Her breathing is impeccable.
  
  "That's enough for today." Her teacher's words make the girl stop. She wipes the sweat from her brow and glances at the sun. It warms her aching limbs. As always, she pushes herself the very hardest to make Mommy proud. Not good enough. I must be better. Maybe Mommy will like it more.
  
  Her mother moves from the chair she and the teacher sit at. She rushes past Azula and coddles Zuzu, struggling for breath. That dum-dum hasn't come close to mastering breathing, let alone firebending. She knows she should feel pride. Already, she is better than Zuzu, but that hasn't done anything for making Mommy like her. Why isn't she good enough now? No, that doesn't matter. She'll become the best. That way Mommy must love her. Who doesn't love the bestest of them all?
  
  But...  she is already better than Zuzu. He is nice to her, but Mommy doesn't like her. Even if she becomes the bestest ever, what if that doesn't work? I need two plans. Maybe, if Zuzu does bad things too, like burning tapestries, then maybe Mommy wouldn't mind the bad things Azula does. But Zuzu doesn't do bad things. He is nice.
  
  She scratches her head for a moment before smiling. Zuzu doesn't do bad things, but Azula does. Mommy only needs to think Zuzu did those. Maybe then she'll be nice and love her.
  
  What does Mommy like? Mommy likes plays, the beach, Zuzu, and Turtle-Ducks. Azula can't destroy the beach, plus the beach is fun. There aren't any plays around, thank goodness. She doesn't want to hurt Zuzu. But... 
  
  She decides to do it at night. Night is dark, so most firebenders sleep. That means no one will see her, right? The girl waits until night. She refuses to let herself fall asleep and counts to six hundred before sneaking out of her room. She sneaks from corner to corner in the darkness.
  > stay on the Ground to Sneak
  The guards in their red armor are on the lookout for people going inside the palace. They wouldn't expect someone to be sneaking into the palace's pond, right?
  
  It turns out, she was right...  or perhaps lucky. It doesn't matter. She made it by sneaking from shadowy corner to shadowy corner. Standing by the wall, she knows that the pond will be in the open. She'll have to do this fast. After breathing in and out a few times, the girl sets her sight on one duckling. Unlike the others, that one sleeps away from her mother. The others all cuddle under the mother's wings.
  
  Azula rushes forward. Some of the turtle-ducks wake up when she arrives, but not her target. She plucks it out of the water. It squawks and bites her hand. She lights her hand on fire while still grasping it. She keeps the blaze cold enough to make it a painful death for the creature. When it stops struggling, she drops it in the water and flees.
  
  Blood drips down her pointer finger, but the elation of victory drowns any of the pain. Tomorrow, she will blame everything on Zuzu. Then, Mommy will forgive him because she loves him. Mommy will then forgive her since everything Azula had done before wasn't as bad a murder.
  
  When she reaches her bedroom, she wipes the few trickles of blood on her nightgown. She falls asleep with ease. Uncle Iroh always said killing something made him feel sad. Now, she knows he's a coward. She doesn't feel bad at all, yet she's only three.
  
  She falls asleep with a smile on her face.
  
  When she wakes up, she puts on her normal clothes. Zuzu has servants who do it. So does Mommy. Mommy hasn't given Azula any servants though.
  
  She sprints to the dining room. Mommy always eats dinner at sunrise, and Azula always wakes up with the sun.
  
  "Mommy! Mommy!" she calls doing the best to sound anxious. She pushes open the dining room doors. She sees Mommy and Zuzu, as expected. She also sees two others. One is her father. He seems curious about something. The other is being held in Mommy's hands. It's a baby Turtle-Duck, the same one she killed.
  
  "Azula." Mommy's voice sounds cold. "Why did you do this?" Why does she know I did it?
  
  "I did not." She crosses her arms.
  
  "I see the bite mark on your finger."
  
  Zuzu tugs on Mommy's sleeve. "Mom, maybe she didn't."
  
  Using the temporary distraction, she comes up with a story. "I wanted to pet the Turtle-Ducks last night. They don't like me, so one bit me. I left, but I saw Zuzu. He sneezed, and it burnt one. I wanted to tell you before you thought it was on purpose." She will believe that.
  
  "How could you kill an innocent creature, Azula? Why must you always lie?"
  
  Mommy marches up to the girl and grabs her by the ear. As she gets pulled to a day full of yelling and spanking, she looks back at the two males in the room. Zuzu looks hurt, maybe fearful. Daddy...  Daddy looks proud.
  
  The next morning, Azula wakes up with a sore bottom and salty stains streaking down from her eyes. She also doesn't dress herself. Three servants come in and do it for her. Azula doesn't have any doubts over who sent them.
  
  Azula learned a powerful lesson that day. She lost any chance of Mommy's love and lost Zuzu's trust, but she still won. Azula could always win. Yesterday, she won Daddy's approval.
  > 4
  Azula feels nothing. Fire needs emotion to burn from her body as it needs wood to burn in a fireplace. No firebender can bend without emotion.
  
  The prodigy decides she will bend fire anyway.
  
  She uses determination. It's the one thing she and Zuzu have in common. She will be the best bender ever and Fire Lord. Being fifth in line for the throne is simply a puzzle to solve. While her brother is determined to take all of Mother's love, Azula will become lord. Once she's old enough, she'll challenge her uncle and his son to an Agni Kai and win. Then, Azulon. That'd let Father be the Fire Lord. She could challenge her father to an Agni Kai. He loves her, the only one who does, but love profits no one. Then, she'll challenge Zuzu and kill him too.
  
  She shakes her head. She'll burn him, not kill him. He...  He should live to see how amazing she is and then feel bad. That's why. Nothing else.
  
  Stupid emotions. I have no emotions. I am determined. I will bend fire without emotions! Emotions are bad. Father said so. Emotions cloud her judgement.
  
  She jabs another burst of flame at the guard. This time, she gasps. The man doesn't deflect this one. Instead, he stands there awestruck. The blast hits his head and he tumbles to the ground.
  
  Azula looks around. Her instructor stands with his mouth agape. She looks at her hand again as if it became a new appendage.
  
  She lights her hand aflame, though the fire doesn't burn her. It sooths her, like the sun. Unlike the sun, this flame is now a brilliant, beautiful blue.
  
  It's too splendid to hide from others. Everyone should see this. It's so...  "Perfect," she mutters. Looking down at the guard with his armor still smoldering, she demands, "Tell me where Zuzu is! I wanna show him this."
  > 5
  Azula inspects the knife. "What are you doing with that?" Everything about the girl seems normal, except the knife she uses to carve her fruit. It's a throwing knife.
  
  The girl doesn't move to acknowledge Azula's words. Instead, she sighs. "I'm taking off the skin." Azula shakes her head. She picks up another fruit from the ground and bites into it. Maybe this will get a reaction. It does, since the girl raises one of her eyebrows before shrugging.
  
  "You're that politician's daughter." It's a statement, not a question. Azula likes to know who's who in her palace. Well, it'll be her palace one day.
  
  "Tragically."
  
  "Yet they gave you a throwing knife."
  
  The girl takes a bite of the fruit. Some of the juices fall onto her clothing before her dull companion wipes it off. "Why not?"
  
  At this point, Azula realizes that the girl has spoken in nothing but a bored drawl. Perhaps this is all a waste of time, but there could be a benefit remaining.
  
  "Do you throw it much?"
  
  Instead of answering her, she girl stands up. With perfect form, she thrusts her hand outward. The knife flies straight an into one of the tree's fruits. Azula didn't know that the girl was aiming for a different fruit, but it looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.
  
  "How much do you practice?"
  
  "Whenever I'm bored." Judging from her character, she feels boredom every day.
  
  "You're going to be my friend now."
  
  "Whatever." After retrieving the knife, she sits down and proceeds to carve more skin off the fruit.
  
  Azula nods, happy to gain an ally. If she has that girl's accuracy along with her sheer power, then it will be one step closer to being the best firebender ever and the best Fire Lord the world has ever seen. It will be-
  
  "Excuse me?"
  
  She speaks without prompt now? Why? "Go ahead." Is she...  blushing?
  
  "Is your brother...  nice?" This girl has a blush, no doubt about it.
  
  "Nice?"
  
  "Yeah, he's...  he looks nice."
  
  Azula holds back a laugh.
  
  "Does your silence mean he's mean, like everyone else here?" The girl looks down.
  
  Azula sighs and looks at the sun. "He's nice." She shifts her gaze back to the girl while making a stern looking face. "But he's still a giant dum-dum. Maybe you could talk to him."
  
  "But, he's so old looking. Is he eight?"
  
  "Seven."
  
  "His name is Zuko, right? You're Azula, the one who bends blue fire?"
  
  "Yes."
  
  "I'm Mai."
  > 6
  "Who was that?" She didn't think Zuzu was paying that much attention. He seemed much more focused on that sand...  sand mound? Perhaps it was supposed to be a palace or castle. That dum-dum has no artistic sense.
  
  "A new friend."
  
  "Like Mai?" His eyes shimmer with that word. After a moment of contemplation, she decides it's a shimmer of fear. Poor Zuzu's afraid of girls, herself included. That's good.
  
  She nods. "Uh huh, this one's flexible and jumpy. I'm gonna be so good, no one could shoot me in an Agni Kai, even if I don't bend."
  
  "And she wants to be your friend?"
  
  "Of course."
  
  Actually, Ty Lee, apparently from a family with a surname, seems to do this out of selfish reasons. She has a bunch of sisters, so being friends with a princess would differentiate her. All her actions scream "look at me" anyway. She'll be easy to control.
  
  Zuzu crosses his arms. "Will that one be heading to the palace?"
  
  She raises her eyebrow. Why would she not? I wouldn't befriend people who won't be around. "Yes."
  
  "Oh."
  
  She puts her hands on her hips. "It's not my fault if I have more friends that you."
  
  He smashes the sand mound with his fists. Mother would've yelled at me if I did that. She didn't even notice her precious son doing it. Even if she did, Mother would coddle him. She doesn't see regret in his eyes. If it wasn't for Mother, maybe Zuzu would've had a small chance at being a warrior.
  
  "It's not fair." He stands up. "How come you have so many friends?"
  
  It's Azula's turn to cross her arms. "I have two friends. That's not much."
  "More than me."
  
  She shouldn't be so surprised. He either flounders in his training or gets coddled by Mother. Is he capable of doing those boy game? Probably not. She should've put two and two together. Her brother's isolated. Azula has broken free.
  
  "Zuzu, how many kids have you ever talked to?"
  
  "Um... " He stares at the sand as if it has become the most interesting thing in the world.
  
  "Let me guess... " She talked to him. Mai...  Has Mai? Maybe. It's hard to tell. "Two."
  
  He doesn't say anything, but his fist clench and he takes a quick breath of air. I'm right, as expected.
  
  "Do you even know how to play Hot Rocks?"
  
  "No."
  
  Of course, you wouldn't know. I made it up, just now.
  
  "You heat up a rock like this one." She runs to the edge of the beach where there's a stone, probably sandstone. She uses her flames to make it hot, but not enough to make it explode. She found out how painful those can be. "Then, we throw it at each other." I can let the heat flow through me. Can you, Zuzu?
  
  She tosses the rock at him. He caught it and gave a very feminine yelp. Why am I behind him for the throne? He tosses it from one hand to another before chucking it back at her. She catches it and glances at the sun. From that angle... 
  
  She tosses it at Zuzu, but she lobs it at a high angle. Her training with Mai will reap some fun rewards. He looks up but can't see it. The rock is falling in his eyesight to the sun, a blind spot made of light. Of course, a warrior or anyone with common sense would move out of the way, yet Zuzu's too stubborn for that.
  
  The rock hits his head, and he falls into the sand. Would Mother believe a bird would've dropped a stone on his head? Probably not. Did anyone see this? Mother and Father are down the beach sitting on the sand. The guards are back at the house, since it's safe here. No one else dares come close to part of the royal family, except Ty Lee, but that girl has already wandered off.
  > lie Down next to Him... Just to Make Things Look Normal
  She walks up and lies down next to her dazed brother. She pokes his shoulder without a response. He's unconscious. She snuggles closer to her brother feeling the burning warmth of the sand on her back and the rhythmic breathing of her brother. Maybe he's playing dead to make Mother upset, but it won't work. They'll think we're lounging around in the sand if they see my lying with Zuzu.
  
  She feels the cool breeze drifting over the ocean carrying the faintest tinge of salt. The waters lap against the sand like a heartbeat. She clenches some of the sand and sprinkles it on Zuzu's forehead. She giggles and some falls into his mouth.
  
  He opens his eyes and groans.
  
  "You should've dodged, dum-dum."
  
  He rubs his forehead, brushing off some of the sand. "There's no honor in running away." And now he's talking about honor?
  
  "There's also no honor is being thunked by a rock. Firebenders break through flame, but our soldiers without bending must dodge."
  
  "But I'm a firebender."
  
  "A really bad one." She pokes his side. Oddly, he hasn't tried to get away from her yet. "Maybe you should act more like a soldier than a bender. Maybe try some swords?"
  
  "No son of Sozin or any firebender would use swords."
  
  "Which's why you should."
  
  Zuzu stares at her, trying to read her expressions. He's trying to decide if she's insulting him or offering advice. Who says I can't do both? She can read others easier than she can read that awful old poetry Mother likes so much. Zuzu couldn't tell if she was sad if she was crying, not that she ever would.
  
  "Why are you still here, next to me?"
  
  "Don't you trust me, big brother?"
  
  He cringes. "No."
  
  Ouch. "Fine. You don't have to, but I'll always be on your side when we're in battle. Well, unless we're in an Agni Kai. I'll just beat you quickly instead."
  
  "We haven't had a princess in battle for centuries, right?"
  
  "Yeah, but I will. You can be my armor bearer or something."
  
  His demeanor darkens. Ug, that sounds like Ty Lee and those auroras. "I don't think I'll ever get to a battlefield. I'd just get in the way."
  
  "Which's why you should be my helper. That way, you'd have a purpose."
  
  They lie there on the beach until sunset. Neither wanted to leave, since both knew what'd happen. They'd revert to their normal ways. They'd fight for their parent's attention. Azula would scheme.
  
  Both were right. They didn't have a quiet moment for the rest of the trip. When they got home, they'd either avoid the other of fight. Azula would come out on top. She had to. Only perfection can reach the throne, and she'll prove she's perfection incarnate.
  
  However, she didn't lie, not when making that promise. Even though their daily lives are like a battle against the other, on the real battlefield, she'd be there for her brother. No matter how much she dislikes the dum-dum, she knows it's the duty of a royal to protect the weaker members of the family. But, that'll happen years from now, maybe a decade. The Fire Lord will probably be her tea-loving uncle by then.
  
  Even Azula with all her cunning could never predict that the battlefield will come so soon. It'll come charging towards Zuzu not from assassins or enemy soldiers. He'll be threatened by his family.
  > 7
  Azula sits at the desk as the teacher tries to teach the class. The girl tilts her head. On second thought, that woman teaches the class but not the princess. She learned these things on her own by staring at Father's maps. Who wouldn't? Tragically, this is also the only class that is remotely interesting.
  
  Other firebending children go to military school or, at worst, a normal school. Alas, Azula has the double-edged sword called royalty. A fire nation princess must know the dullest of things. How does one brew tea? How to sit perfectly still while the men talk? Raising childing? To any other girl, this may be interesting, but Azula knows her destiny is far grander than being a Fire Lady or a princess of the court. She WILL be Fire Lord. Fire Lords don't need to know the steps of brewing tea. That's for her uncle and cousin.
  
  While keeping her eyes on the teacher, she studies her interesting classmates, the only ones worth noting, from her peripheral vision. Mai acts like the perfect lady. Her parents expect nothing less. At least it gives me control over her. What noble family would want their daughter to not associate with the only princess of the Fire Nation? What bored daughter of a noble family wouldn't want to have exciting times with a firebending prodigy? And be closer to Zuzu. Ew. What does she see in him?
  
  On the other hand, Ty Lee bounces her leg up and down even as she sits. She looks almost as bored as Azula right now. Is she even capable of being still? She wouldn't make a good infiltrator, but she could be our distraction. That Chi blocking will be handy as well. Still, does she feel out of place? Like me? Every girl here is a noble, but I am the princess while Ty Lee is technically a commoner. A commoner from a rich family, but a peasant nonetheless. When I become Fire Lord, I will elevate her family to nobility.
  
  Azula nods. Is it unnecessarily nice? I believe so, but I will guarantee the loyalty of a family of Chi blockers. Why hasn't any Fire Lord possessed the intelligence to do that yet? Oh well, their loss will become my gain.
  
  She waits diligently until class is over. Patience is a virtue of earthbenders, but even those savages can occasionally have a correct idea. They leave for lunch, which is another class. Here they learn to eat properly which is something Azula knows how to do. Mother made sure of that.
  
  Azula and her two followers sit away from the other girls and eat their meals. Their etiquette instructor occasionally walks by, but they are otherwise left alone. Ty Lee rambles about a cute boy she saw on the street. On the street? Ew. Also, cute boy? Ew.
  
  Her ears perk up. Always listening, she hears a very important word. Ozai. And, it's just Ozai, not the proper Prince Ozai. She focuses on that voice, and its conversation. It looks like two girls to their left. Aren't those the daughters of Uncle's...  something. Is it Captains or Majors? Either way, their fathers are out on that overly long campaign. I would have won by now.
  
  "And why isn't he in the battlefields? I thought he was a powerful bender, like General Iroh?" It's Crown Prince Iroh to you, stupid noble girl.
  
  "Mom said they need a royal in court in case the general and Prince Lu Ten die in combat." You dare insult Father?
  
  "That doesn't seem honorable for Ozai." You no good-
  "It isn't."
  
  "Azula?" Ty Lee sounds worried. "Your hands are on fire a little bit."
  
  I should have more control than that. Azula ends her blue flames. "Mai, Ty Lee."
  
  "Yeah?"
  
  Mai simply nods.
  
  "We have a mission to defend our nation's honor." She pauses for a moment before smirking. "I know exactly what we're going to do."
  > murder Them
  It takes three hours of waiting for the right moment, but Azula has achieved her goal. Those two girls rush into a washroom. Ty Lee accidentally spilled some of her paint on their dresses. How unfortunate. Then, a candle happened to be knocked over. Who could possibly have such precision? Since none of the teachers can bend, a great deal of screaming and panic erupted in the room. It provided ample time for Azula to slip away from watching eyes. She down the halls to the washroom door. If the girls were intelligent, then they may have heard the ruckus, but they wouldn't be at the receiving end of Azula's wrath if they were intelligent.
  
  She opens the door as the girls grumble, cleaning the pigment from their dresses. Oblivious, as expected. She lights her hands on fire. Blue flames dances in her palm. Neither girl notices their impending, painful death. Too bad. There would've been more of a challenge otherwise.
  
  With each hand, she blasts the heads of both girls. The fire burns for only a moment before she snuffs her blue flames. One lets out a short gasp. The other falls without a sound. Too easy. The girl who just fell twitches on the ground but can't say anything. Her vocal cords must've been burned. Either that or the pain is too great. Her head does look like a shriveled shadow of a head. Part of the girl's skin falls off, the left cheek.
  
  Azula smiles. "That's what happens if you insult my father." The twitching girl stops twitching. I guess she's dead now. Pity. I hoped that would've lasted lo-
  
  The princess lets out a gurgle. A sharp pain jams itself from her back into her chest. Falling, she looks behind her and sees the other girl, the one who gasped, staring at her with a hateful eye, since the other one seems mostly melted at this point. Coughing up blood, Azula fells her back, and her hand bumps into a hilt.
  
  Spitting out blood, Azula stutters, "Knives aren't allowed here."
  
  "So is murder." The other girl collapses but won't take her eyes off her enemy.
  
  "Oh well."
  
  Azula blasts fire again this time ensuring that the stabbing girl dies. Her vision grows dark. I won't let Father think I failed him. She looks at her blue flame one last time. It is pretty. Then, she puts all her remaining strength into burning herself. The pain lasts for just a moment until she feels nothing at all. Since Azula doesn't want Father to ever think she failed, maybe doing this will make it seem like some form of assassination where the princess and two hapless bystanders were killed.
  
  She never does find out, but her plan works. The name "Princess Azula" became a rallying call for Fire Nation soldiers as they battled against Water Tribe and Earth Nation. One of those two had to be the culprits, right?
  
  The nation mourned their fallen princess. At the funeral, Azula's father had a stone-cold gaze. His tool was broken too early. Her mother shed tears, five to be exact even though two were just due to the smoke of incinerating the corpse. Zuzu did cry on that day. He cried that night. He cried that week. For the rest of his life, he couldn't look at hot fires for too long. Some of those fire had the faintest traces of blue. Blue fire made him weep.