Azula looked out from the balcony of her palace bedroom. Before her stretched the afternoon vista she'd viewed innumerable times since childhood. Most of the red roofs were of the traditional designs; hips and gables on the roofs made even the grandest structures open and free to sunlight. Homes and businesses dotted the landscape. Down below her, dark-haired people scurried about, like little ants, selling wares, eating at restaurants, and going about their lives. As a child of the Fire Lord, she'd rarely ventured into the city, and never unattended. What must it be like to be a commoner?

  "Do you enjoy what you see?" Avatar Roku said.

  "You again," Azula said. "This must be a dream."

  The man who held the Avatar spirit before Aang was more substantial in the world of dreams, almost corporeal. She looked up at his tall form and dark hair. He looked down at her with his sharp, golden eyes.

  "Well?" she said. "What do you want? I'm tired of you always showing up to tell me what I'm doing wrong."

  "Familiarity does breed contempt," Roku said, wryly.

  She snorted. "That's right."

  She waited for a retort of some kind. Instead, Roku gazed out at the city. "In my day, this was a vibrant city, full of warmth, joy, and beauty. Now, look at it."

  "We're wealthier now," Azula said.

  "But at what cost?" Roku said somberly. He pointed over to the industrial district. Smokestacks belched out dark, sooty clouds.

  "The price of progress." That's what her teachers at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls had said.

  "Progress toward what?" Roku answered. "A cold, mechanistic, materialistic future, unbalanced between the spiritual and physical worlds?"

  "You sound like those old Fire Sages that used to come to the palace. Father put a stop to them once he took over."

  "Our people have neglected the spiritual world. All they believe in now is matter...matter that can be bent to their will."

  "We believe in the spiritual world," Azula said.

  "When was the last time your father mentioned the spirits? When was the last time you did?"

  "I—" Azula began. She didn't know what to say to that. "Why are you telling me this? Do you think I care?"

  "Without your help, our people will descend further into tyranny."

  "But why me?" Azula said. "I have the least bit of authority in my entire family. I have power over nothing."

  "Fate has touched you."

  She laughed bitterly and brought her hand to her burn scar. "You mean my father touched me."

  "Your destiny was shaped by the choices of others. It will now be shaped by your own."

  "I couldn't even choose to kill the Ava—to kill Aang." It probably wasn't a good idea to talk of killing the new Avatar in front of the old one.

  "The ability to kill doesn't make you free," Roku said. "Often, it eliminates other choices you could have made."

  Azula said nothing to that. She looked back out to the city.

  "Come," Roku said. He touched her shoulder, and Azula floated into the air.

  "Where are you taking me?"

  "To see the future," Roku said. "Or rather, to see a future."

  Immediately, the world spun and twisted and turned in on itself. Azula lost all sense of time or direction. Just as quickly, however, the world solidified once more.

  Azula gasped. "What is this?"

  Fire Nation soldiers were stomping down the streets of the capital, dragging men, women, and children out of their homes. They bended fire at the helpless group of people, who screamed in terror before the fire consumed them.

  A gaunt woman yelled in fear. "Why are you doing this?"

  "You have protested against Fire Lord Zuko," the soldier said.

  "But we're starving!"

  In answer, the soldier raised his hand, and Azula cringed as she was reduced to ash.

  The world twisted once more, and they'd returned to the balcony. Azula's mind continued to whirl from what she'd seen.

  "I don't believe you," Azula said quietly, trying to wrap her mind around the horror she'd just witnessed. "My brother's too much of a wimp to kill anyone, much less order a massacre."

  "A sensitive soul perverted by evil is a terrible thing to behold."

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  Roku turned to her. "Because your brother is coming for you."

  ***

  Azula snapped awake. Could it be true? Was her brother coming? She threw on a robe and rushed out the door of her hut.

  Where was her uncle? Happy sunlight clashed with her forboding feelings this morning. She blinked and strained to remember her uncle's plans for the day.

  She remembered and then rushed down the steps toward the front building of a resort. This was where she and her uncle had been sent by the fisherman who rescued them from their ill-fated voyage. Though on the Earth Kingdom continent, it was technically a small colony of the Fire Nation. This resort was supposed to be safe harbor. Her uncle had taken to it at once, as he did any time comfort got in the way of common sense.

  She straightened the dark bangs on either side of her face as she walked into the room where her uncle was receiving a massage from a kind-faced, middle-aged woman.

  “How are you?” he said, his eyes half-closed in relaxation.

  “Not well,” Azula said tersely.

  “You should get a massage. It would help relax you.”

  “I hate being touched, Uncle.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Iroh said. “Today is the anniversary.”

  “Anniversary almost makes it sound like a happy day,” she said, her golden eyes wincing. She touched the flame-shaped scar around her eye. “And it has nothing to do with that. My brother's coming."

  Iroh sat up. "How do you know?"

  ***

  Zuko stepped out onto the deck of his ship and smiled at his men. They had lined up on either side of him. At sixteen, his body had begun filling out with muscle. His long, dark hair was tied with a topknot. With his strong, angular jaw and tall frame, he stood every inch the handsome prince.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  He nodded to them. “You have been chosen for a great purpose. You are here to fight for our great Nation, for Fire Lord Ozai, and for me, his heir.” He pressed his lips together. “I know some of you might have reservations about attacking members of the Royal Family. I want you to know: this brings me no joy at all.” He looked each man square in the eye. “Rest assured, this is for the greater good of the Royal Family and for the glory of the Fire Nation.”

  He raised his hands and smiled grimly as the men cheered his name.

  The captain stepped forward and dismissed the men. He then approached Zuko and bowed. “Prince Zuko, it is late in the day, and the tides are against us. We won’t be able to make port until tomorrow.”

  The corner of Zuko’s mouth rose slightly. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “It’s disappointing that you have so little faith in your men. I personally have higher expectations of them.”

  The captain swallowed. “I…”

  Zuko placed a gentle but firm hand on the captain’s shoulder. “A truly courageous captain would hazard all to accomplish his mission. Perhaps I need to replace you with another leader who can show more fortitude?"

  “No, sir, that won’t be necessary.”

  Zuko grinned kindly. “Good. I would hate to be forced to question the courage or loyalty of so fine an officer.”

  Implicit was the threat of the Fire Nation's secret police. Subtly invoking them provided Zuko with his desired effect. The captain stepped back, the fear in his heart almost palpable. He pivoted on his heel and began to order the men with much more urgency.

  Zuko nodded with satisfaction.

  ***

  “Look at this beautiful shell, Azula!” Iroh said, handing her a conch.

  Azula rolled her eyes. “How can you still collect these things after what I told you this morning? We need to go, now!"

  “Doesn’t the beauty of the world excite you?”

  “What would excite me is finally leaving this place,” she said. “You can’t take all this with you, you know. I certainly won’t be carrying the useless things.”

  In the corner of the room, a young man cleared his throat. “Today is an auspicious day, then."

  Iroh paused. "Prince Zuko!"

  "Hello, my dear sister. Honored Uncle.”

  Her brother’s voice sent chills down her spine. She spun to face him. “Zuzu! How did you find us?”

  He grimaced a little at the hated nickname she’d used on him as he rose to his feet. He bowed to them and then clucked a little with his tongue. “A very uncivilized greeting. The years have not mellowed your tempestuous spirit. I shudder to think what Father would say.”

  This time, it was Azula’s turn to grimace.

  Iroh crossed his arms and glanced at Azula. “You were right.”

  "I told you!" Azula said.

  "Right about what?" Zuko asked.

  She glared at her brother. "Nothing."

  Zuko sighed. “I'm here to deliver a message. Since our loss at the North Pole, Father is…reviewing his past decisions. And with the Avatar returning, he needs every ally he can get. I convinced him to end your banishment and bring you home.”

  Azula blinked several times. Her heart began to beat wildly.

  “I heard about your destroying the waterbenders' wall," Zuko said. "Father needs your sharp, tactical mind and your raw talent with firebending. I know I have always admired them. I told him that.”

  “I’m sure your sis—” Iroh said.

  Zuko glared at him slightly over his shoulder. “This is between my sister and me.” He returned his golden-eyed gaze to Azula. There was unexpected warmth in it, which startled her. He and his sister seldom got along. “You are free to return, Azula.” He hugged her.

  She froze for a moment before tentatively returning it.

  Zuko released her. “I can see you have much to consider. Why don’t you take the night to think about it?”

  “We won’t need that long,” Iroh said. “We—”

  “By the way, Uncle,” Zuko said. “There’s a new young man at court. He claims to be a protégé of yours.”

  Iroh normally had an answer for everything, yet at the mention of the protégé, he fell strangely quiet.

  “I thought that would get your attention.” Zuko bowed to them once more and walked out the doorway, leaving her mind racing.

  “I'm beginning to think that Avatar Roku did visit you last night,” Iroh said, clearing his throat. “On the day of your banishment, suddenly your brother appears?”

  Azula wasn’t going to let her uncle evade that easily. “Who was Zuko talking about?”

  The muscles in Iroh’s jaw twitched. “After my son…died…I thought I’d found a second son. I poured my life into him, and he proved himself unworthy.”

  Perhaps that had been why he’d been so reluctant to teach her lightning bending!

  Iroh said nothing further, and Azula’s mind returned to the other things Zuko said. She started pacing back and forth. “He said we were going home."

  “I heard. I just don’t believe it.”

  “Zuzu always tells the truth.”

  Iroh shook his head. “His father’s had too much influence on him.”

  Part of her suspected that her uncle was right, but another part desperately needed the offer to be true. She hammered her fist into her other palm. “We'll find out tomorrow."

  ***

  Azula slung her small bag of belongings over her shoulder. “Are you ready, Uncle?”

  He nodded to her. “I do believe I am.”

  She frowned at him. “You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to.”

  “We’re family, right? We stick together.”

  “I guess so,” she said, with a slight smile. Her uncle was one of the few people in all the world whom she trusted.

  They left the small cottage and made their way to where the ship was docked. Azula could hardly contain her jumbled emotions: hope to go home, fear of her father and brother, concern for her uncle. She felt as tossed about as a lone sparrowkeet’s tailfeather in a strong wind.

  They reached the dock and met a line of Fire Nation soldiers, led by the captain of the ship. At the end of the dock was a metal gangplank. Zuko stood at the other end of it, waiting calmly.

  “That’s an awful lot of soldiers for a greeting party,” Iroh said.

  “Possibly,” Azula said. “That could also be the right amount for two members of the Royal Family.”

  “If you say so.”

  She gritted her teeth. After they passed the soldiers and started walking up the plank, the men began to flank them, blocking their escape. Azula narrowed her eyes. That was definitely not proper protocol. She glanced back over her shoulder and then up at her brother. There was a small tightness around his mouth. “Let’s go home, Azula.”

  The captain barked out orders. “Prepare to raise the anchor. We’re taking the prisoners…” He froze, having just then realized what he said. His panicked eyes flitted up to Zuko. “I’m sorry, my Prince.”

  Zuko sighed. “I’m sorry, too.”

  Iroh shoved the guards to his left and right, firebending them off the dock. Anger rushed through Azula from head to toe. She charged her brother. She was going to kill him.

  “You…you lied!” she said, punching a couple of fireballs at him.

  He dodged one and blocked the other. He gave her a sad smile. “You are going home, just not to freedom.”

  "And what about Uncle?"

  "Uncle attacked Admiral Zhao. There's nothing I can do. He has to face justice."

  Azula knew that meant execution. She screamed and attacked Zuko with a fiery frenzy. Blue flame punched, slashed, and burned at him. He blocked with his traditional orange fire. His moves were slower than hers, but more deliberate. He’d obviously been training with the best masters in the Imperial City.

  “Think about this rationally, Azula,” Zuko said, sending her a fiery kick. “How could Father allow the two people responsible for the Fire Nation’s greatest defeat in twenty years, even worse than Uncle’s failure at Ba Sing Se, to come home as heroes? It was all I could do to not have him imprison you.”

  “You said I was the one who opened the walls of Agna Qel’a,” she said. She sidestepped his fire and punched forward with both hands. A giant ball of fire flew at Zuko.

  “And Uncle attacked loyal soldiers of the Fire Nation while you failed to capture the Avatar,” Zuko said. He split her fireball on either side of him. They took a moment to rest.

  "Zhao was a maniac who thought he could kill the moon spirit! He tried to have me killed."

  Zuko shook his head. “Uncle is a traitor, and you are too chaotic to be allowed to roam the world. You only disgrace the family.”

  His words cut her to the bone. And then he went on the attack with powerful blasts from his hands. She was so distracted that she almost didn’t get out of the way. Part of the blast knocked her to the deck of the ship.

  “Azula!” Iroh called. “We have to get out of here!”

  She glared at her brother and started charging up her lightning.

  Zuko’s eyes widened. From where he stood on the bow of the ship, he was completely exposed. “This won’t help anything.”

  “Shut up, Zuzu,” she said. She pointed two fingers at Zuko.

  At that very second, Iroh grabbed her hand and channeled the lightning into a nearby cliff. It exploded into a shower of rocks. "Are you trying to kill your brother?"

  Zuko, though obviously relieved, gave them a mournful look. “Don’t do this. There will be no place where I won’t track you down. There’ll be a price on your head.”

  Iroh then extended both palms, sending a powerful stream of fire at Zuko. Zuko did his best to block, but the sheer power knocked him into the water.

  “Run!” Azula said.

  They did just that.

  ***

  They fled until they reached a small river crossing. Iroh grabbed Azula’s arm.

  “Let’s stop here,” he said, gasping for breath.

  She was winded as well. She stood there for a moment, her chest heaving. She glanced back at the ship in the distance. “How could I have been so blind to even hope we could go home!”

  “Your brother told you the truth. It was just the truth you most wanted to hear,” Iroh said.

  She bit her lower lip. "Yeah."

  “Do you have that knife the men gave you?”

  She reached into her bag and handed it to him. “What do you want with that?”

  He pulled the knife from its sheath. The beautiful kanji were still there. “Goodbye.”

  She nearly cried out as he brought the knife to his white ponytail and cut it off. He threw it into the river.

  “I have lost honor today,” Iroh said, tears streaming down his face. “Goodbye, my people.” He bowed his head and handed the knife back to Azula.

  She looked down at the knife, sheathed it, and returned it to the bag. She felt it too, but it was not the custom of Fire Nation women to cut their hair when dishonored. She took the ribbon that held her hair up and untied it. Long dark hair flowed down around her face. She released the ribbon into the water. She stepped over to her uncle and hugged him.