To Every Purpose, A Season

by Aircatcher_24

Summary:

Two and a half years after the death of Ozai on the Day of Black Sun, life has settled down considerably for Royal wives Azula and Yue. Though she still struggles with her mental health, Azula is in a much better place - so good of a place that Zuko allows her to join Yue on her trip to the Northern Water Tribe.

Change is afoot in the North Pole, and Yue has been called home to help settle the battered Tribe regain its footing. But she faces challenges - namely, helping to reform the deeply sexist Tribe in ways that truly matter.

Featuring:
Yue's turn to be a real Princess
The Northern Water Tribe's feminist revolution
Azula healing and growing
Azula making a new friend
More economics because we're nerds in this house
Special guest stars (in later chapters)
And More!

Chapter 1: Past and Present

Notes:

Sup folks, I'm back on my Yuezula bullshit.

This fic started out as a cute oneshot about Azula making an animal friend, but has grown into something a lot bigger.

Title is from (me apparently misremembering) the lyrics to "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds.

~ 2.5 years after the Day of Black Sun ~

The air was cold and biting, but as she sat on the back of her mount, Azula felt more fire in her spirit than she had in years.

She had paused on the crest of a hill to gaze out at the broad, unceasing tundra laid out before her. Her mount, a dark brown yaki-bou, stood sure footed on the snowy hill, thoroughly disinterested in the vista as it chewed its cud. Azula had borrowed the beast from the stables of the city of the Northern Water Tribe, leaving shortly after dawn.

It amused Azula immensely to see the men of the Water Tribe scramble to find a method to block her from the activity. Unfortunately for them, Azula had a very solid case for being able to hunt - not only did she have a wife to provide for, but she had also demonstrated herself as a superior hunter when she brought down a sabertooth snow moose on the day of her wedding. So they let her hunt, grumbling the whole time but still acquiescing to her superior logic.

Usually, the men of the Tribe hunted in groups when on the tundra, saving individual activities for pursuits closer to the water, like fishing. But Azula always went out alone, happily.

The tundra was an unexpected haven for the fire bender, but one gladly accepted so far from home. The snowy landscape was completely devoid of sound. Other places were quiet, but never silent, whether it be due to insects or machinery or even the rustling of leaves. But the tundra was bereft of all of that, so silent as to make ones heartbeat the only thing audible.

That silence was what truly drew Azula - it was as though the silence of the environment permeated into her mind. Azula had come to dislike "white noise." Constant, low level noise, particularly that caused by machinery or water, caused anxiety. The sound seemed to contain muffled voices, clear enough to be heard, but never enough to be understood. Azula had received quite the lecture when she destroyed the fountain in her courtyard, but the real voice of her brother was far more tolerable than the fake voices that whispered from the water.

Silence, true silence, was rare. Combine that with that the freedom of movement and solitude that the snowy wastes offered, and it was the perfect environment for a still, stable mind.

As she and her mount wandered farther out into the white expanse, Azula went through her breathing exercises - she had done a lot of those in the last two and a half years.

Most were drawn from her firebending training, but she had learned several new methods in the past few years from a variety of sources, including, to her moderate chagrin, the Avatar.

I wonder if the Air Nomads ever came to the tundra to meditate? Azula mused idly. They might not appreciate the weather, but the peace is unbeatable.

Azula had been in recovery for the better part of a year before they risked allowing the Avatar close to her. A fair precaution, she allowed, but not really necessary at that point - her fire had been broken on the Day of Black Sun, and had not rekindled until a full two years after that awful day. As much as she was loathe to admit it, it had been for the best.

The Avatar, still so young, had spoken to her with a wisdom that far outstripped his years. Azula hadn't spoken the first few times the Avatar had visited, but had listened with sharp mistrust and a dull curiosity to his words. The boy had filled the silence in the room with stories of his people, the Air Nomads, from before they had been exterminated.

And what interesting stories they were - the Air Nomad way of life was so fundamentally different from anything Azula had ever studied or lived. The non-heirarchical culture challenged her notions of how a society could function and interact with the world, which she first met with disbelief but eventually genuine curiosity.

It was that curiousity that drove Azula to break her self-imposed silence, the question bursting out unbidden, to their mutual surprise.

"Did non-benders get sky bison too?"

"What?"

"You..." Azula started, surprised at her own words. "You said that bending and non-bending children were raised together in the creche. When the Airbender children received their sky bison, did the non-benders get them too?"

The Avatar grinned widely. "Yeah, everyone had the chance to bond with a bison, though some never found a match."

"... quit grinning at me, Avatar."

He did not.

Over the course of several visits, Aang taught Azula a lot more about the bygone Air Nomad culture. Though she still couldn't quite wrap her head around the non-economy of the monks, Azula came to appreciate the wisdom that her great grandfather had nearly wiped from the world.

Aang had taught her one of the breathing exercises after Azula had remarked on the needlessness of the Air Nomad genocide from a tactical standpoint, about how it was all so pointless and distasteful and terrible--

Aang had interceded before she could get into a real spiral, but Azula couldn't help but notice that his breath had been equally ragged as they sat together and gathered themselves. They stayed silent for the rest of their session, but the silence, so rarely allowed before, was peaceful.

Peace.

Peace was a concept that Azula had never really appreciated in the time before. She had regarded those who sought peace as naive as best or fools at worst, before. But now, peace was something she not only tolerated but also sought out.

Oh how time changes... Targeted medical treatment also helps.

In targeted medical treatment she indeed had received. It turns out, while there were no medicines effective in treating the mind, there was treatment available. After about a month of keeping Azula locked in her crypt like a beast, a doctor had been brought in to see her. Azula was rather surprised, having had assumed that her imprisonment was intended to help her isolated from people.

Azula's uncle escorted the doctor that day. Iroh's companion was introduced as Doctor Ra-Zhe, a non-bender from a settlement close to the Earth Kingdom desert. Iroh hadn't explained how the two knew each other, but Azula assumed the doctor was part of Iroh's boring old man club.

The doctor, a short, balding non-bender, claimed that he ran a hospital on the edge of the Si Wong desert. While Azula stared him down in silence, Doctor Ra-Zhe had explained that he was a general practice physician, but that he had a particular interest in injuries and illnesses of the mind. Apparently, he had studied at the university in Ba Sing Se, as well as some prestigious library Azula had never heard of. Needless to say, she was not impressed with the doctor, a feeling that only grew in the coming days.

Over the course of a week of daily visits, Doctor Ra-Zhe had outlined his theories on consciousness to a silent Azula. There were three souls within a person, the doctor claimed, one that controlled the automatic processes of the body, one that focused on basic survival like an animal, and one that housed the conscious, rational mind.

Discord between the three souls, the doctor claimed, led to diseases of the mind and body. One had to gain a full understanding of the needs of all three souls to balance their heart and mind, which allegedly required a lot of "hard" work. Most of that work, it seemed, was talking, and not even in a fun way, like negotiating.

Azula had finally broken her silence to tell Doctor Ra-Zhe exactly what she thought of his theories. There were a lot of bad words used in that explanation, but for some reason, the doctor seemed overjoyed.

When the man cracked a smile, Azula finally stopped her rant. "You were baiting me!"

"Not really," the Doctor responded with a shrug.

"Then why did you talk for days about all that ridiculous business, if not to break my will?!"

The Doctor raised his hands. "I was going to have to explain all of that anyway, so I just went ahead while you were being stubbornly silent." Ignoring Azula's indignant breath in, Doctor Ra-Zhe continued, "All of that 'ridiculous business' is what I actually use to treat my patients."

"What?" Azula asked, confusion overtaking her rage. "Do you actually believe everyone has not only one soul, but three total? I thought doctors weren't supposed to go in on that superstitious soul nonsense."

"Yes, I do believe that," he responded, "though 'soul' might not be the best word for it in this case."

"Saying I'm soulless, doctor? Very original," Azula scoffed.

"No I'm not, Azula," the doctor corrected with a tone. "I just meant that I use the word 'soul' for the ease of understanding of my patients. You are obviously far more educated than my average patient, so I need to change my vocabulary accordingly."

Azula harrumphed. "That's Princess Azula to you," she spat, unable to refute anything else in the statement.

"Your brother, the Fire Lord, gave me full permission to treat you as I see fit. I feel that calling you by your title will not help in the therapeutic process."

"Ugh!"

Azula had resolved to never speak to the Doctor again, but Yue interceded after a week, pleading to her wife to at least pretend to try. Once Yue mentioned that Zuko was considering moving her to a different facility, Azula graciously decided to cooperate.

Progress had been slow at first, but after nearly two years of daily sessions with the good doctor, Azula did admittedly feel better. She had learned a lot, though most would not be of benefit in matters of state like her other educational topics. One had to be well-rounded, after all.

Overall, Azula still had bad days, but they were now outnumbered by the good.

And today was a good day. Azula rode on, her path approaching a small stony hillock.

I am pretending to be hunting, Azula mused, dismounting the yaki-bou. She strode to the top of the hillock, surveying the surrounds for any signs of game.

As she scanned the distance, she saw nothing, but as her gaze returned to the area immediately in front of her, Azula noticed something that stood out. Below her, in the shelter from the wind provided by the hillock, was a depression mostly cleared of snow. Instead of snow, the ground was thinly coated in white feathers, which surrounded three small orbs.

Eggs. It was some sort of nest.

I'm surprised that the feathers are enough to keep the eggs warm... The parents must visit the nest frequently to keep the eggs viable.

There were no parents present currently, but Azula could see that the nest was well-cared for. The parent birds would be back soon enough.

I'll have to ask what type of bird nests like this, Azula thought idly, returning to her yaki-bou.

She mounted and turned the beast, pointing the soft-furred muzzle to the west. She clicked her tongue, and they set off.

Azula returned to the Water Tribe capital city, Agna Qel'a, three hours later, near sunset. Her yaki-bou now carried an additional burden - an arctic hare-verine. It wasn't the biggest catch, but the fur was very thick and attractively patterned. While Azula was a guest of the Water Tribe, contributing to the collective was never a bad strategy (especially when your invitation as a guest was very, very grudging).

After delivering her kill to the Palace Kitchens, Azula made her way to the guest wing. She slipped into her room unnoticed, and removed her parka.

The parka was a unique piece, mainly black with fur lining and rich golden embroidery on the shoulders, sleeves and edges. A red sash went over the left shoulder and hung down to the knees, also richly embroidered with gold. There were none like it in the Tribe, nor probably the whole world.*

Azula smiled softly as she hung the garment, running her fingers lightly over part of the embroidery - her favorite part. Azula's favorite part of the parka was the sigil that adorned the right breast and the bottom of the sash - the golden flame of the Fire Nation, being held in a silver crescent brazier. The sigil emblazoned Azula's armor and most of her clothes, by her own insistence.

While Azula had a stated strategic reason for wearing the sigil (personal branding and authentication), the real reason she wore the sigil over her heart was not quite so dispassionate. After all, Yue had designed the symbol. For them - for their marriage, for their family of two.

Yue, Azula's wife of four years. Azula's closest confidant and companion, who had hand-made the beautiful parka Azula wore, stitch by meticulous stitch.

Yue, who was currently working downstairs to develop the future diplomatic relationship between her Tribe and the other nations of the world.

Yue, who was finally receiving the respect she was due from her Tribe as a leader and stateswoman.

Yue, who held Azula's heart in her hands, and who somehow - somehow - loved Azula back.

--

"Why are you still here?" Azula had asked one particularly terrible day. It had been the morning after a week of sleepless nights.

"Because I love you, Azula." Yue told her that every day, though Azula hardly believed it sometimes.

They sat across from one another, Azula staring at her hands, which were jarringly cold. Once a princess, now Azula lived in a converted crypt with bent earth walls and no windows. Her accommodations consisted of a threadbare bedroom and a small sitting room that served as her living room, dining room, doctor's office, and everything in between. Zuko had moved her down there after the events of the invasion.

It was always cold in the crypt. The sun simply could not penetrate the thick stone that lay above her head. Azula missed the sun, though she would sooner be eaten alive by ants than admit it aloud.

Azula's state of constant cold was a curse - before... the event... the cold had never bothered her. But now, she could not warm herself - her inner fire was broken. She could no longer bend. At all.

"But... how?" Azula hadn't meant for the question to come out so weakly. Her voice was scratchy from disuse. "How can you love me like this?"

"What do you mean, how?" Yue wore only a simple dress that day, hair in one long, messy braid down her back. Despite the unpolished appearance and the hauntingly dark circles under her eyes, Yue was still the most beautiful woman Azula had ever seen.

Azula was allowed visitors twice per day, with one reserved for Yue and the other open for others, though usually Yue took that slot as well. Azula, for some reason, didn't attract many visitors.

"I am a violent monster from a hostile nation, one who stole you from your home and locked you in my keep... I betrayed you."

"You betrayed me?" Yue asked. "What are you talking about?"

"On that day... I- I chose my Father, not you. He told me to choose, Yue, and I chose him... How could you possibly forgive me for that betrayal?"

"Forgive you?" Yue asked, stunned. "How can you forgive me? I... I forced you to choose!" She looked at her clenched hands. "If anything, I betrayed you."

Azula was silent, reeling.

Yue took the silence negatively. "I just had to open my stupid mouth. If I had stayed quiet, everything would have been different. You wouldn't hav- you wouldn't have had to-"

"Stop," Azula ordered. Azula didn't remember standing, but somehow, she was crouched in front of Yue.

"But it's true!"

"No, it's not," Azula argued. Azula cut Yue off as she started to respond, " I've been locked in here for months now, Yue. I've had nothing - nothing - if not time to think about this. "

Yue looked at Azula expectantly, eyes suspiciously wet.

"I spent my whole life doing my best trying to understand my Father and his goals," Azula started. "I always thought I was rather good at it, all things considered.

"If the invasion had gone differently, and somehow, my father had survived to lead another day, his next moves were limited. Zuko defecting with Iroh limited his moves even more.

"With Iroh leading an invasion against his rule, my Father would have needed to consolidate his power base as soon as possible. To do this, he would have done two things: leverage assets and get rid of liabilities.

"The assets portion would be easy, as he had the entirety of the Fire Nation at his disposal. He had decades of suppression of dissent on his side, should anyone within our borders think of working against him."

Azula chuckled wryly. "Not to sound too self-centered, but I know that I would have been an asset on my Father's balance sheet. Or, I would have been, if he knew he could control me. I had started to rebel against him, however minorly, because of the whole crown incident.

"So my father would have had to improve his leverage on me, his favorite little tool, by removing the source of my rebellion. Luckily enough for him, the source was a liability to him anyway."

Yue gasped softly.

"Yeah," Azula nodded bitterly. She had to swallow and blink forcefully before she could speak again. "I was so obsessed with protecting you from threats from the outside that I couldn't see the biggest threat of them all right in front of me.

"There... there was simply no scenario where he would have let you live."

"Oh, Azula..." Yue choked out. "I'm so sorry."

Azula held Yue's hands gently in her own. "Don't be sorry, my sweet moonbeam."

 "How- how could you choose me? Over your life, over your Nation, over your Fat--"

"How could I not?"

This, apparently, was not the right answer, as it only drove Yue into full out sobs.

Through the sobs, Azula pieced together a question that Yue was trying to ask - "Why?" Why her? Why did Azula care so much? Why was she worth killing for?

"Because you love me," Azula started, the tear she had been desperately trying to contain finally slipping out of her right eye. "Because you made me things and genuinely laughed at my jokes and stayed by my side, even when everyone else worked against me. Because you made me feel safe and happy and valued beyond being strictly useful."

Azula softly grabbed Yue's face, so that they looked eye to eye. "Because I love you, Yue. Because I didn't even think I could feel love until you entered my life, and yet, here I am, a crying mess on my knees on front of the woman I love more than I thought was ever possible."

"I love you too, Azula," Yue eventually managed. "So much." She sniffed loudly, making both women smile at the sound.

"Look at us!" Azula was overtaken by a laugh, which was embarrassingly wet. "We're a mess!"

"You're my mess," Yue joked.

"Always and forever," Azula responded, a promise.

--

Azula reunited with her beloved wife at dinner that night. The couple ate with Yue's father, Arnook, in his private rooms.

Dinner was a quiet affair, with minimal small talk, to Azula's great relief. Yue and Arnook seemed tired, likely from the long day of diplomacy, but not unhappy.

Azula and Arnook were awkward with one another, especially since Azula had far less bravado (and political power) on this visit to the North. Arnook still struggled with the whole non-traditional marriage thing, though he could see and appreciate the genuine care that existed between the wives.

Oddly enough, Azula's newfound interest in hunting had seemed to ingratiate her to her farther-in-law, as compared to his Tribe-mates, who still grumbled at the allegedly unnatural activity. Azula thought that he was grateful for the mutual interest, since it broadly expanded their range of small talk.

Arnook also seemed unsure around his daughter, Yue. Long gone was the lonely, demure girl he knew, and in her place was a confident and self-possessed young woman. Arnook was adjusting to the change well enough, but sometimes still surprised when Yue spoke with a wise, clear voice.

Arnook was not the only one who struggled with this change, though he admittedly took it far better than others in the governing structure of the Tribe. Azula found it very entertaining to watch the stodgy elders try to balance their respect for royalty with the natural impulse to ruthlessly suppress a woman with an opinion. But, as Azula took immense pleasure in reminding them, they were the ones who invited Yue there in the first place.

The two and a half years since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai had not been kind to the Water Tribe. A particularly hard winter had followed the victory, and just as everything had started to thaw, a new threat had entered the scene.

Zhao, the former Admiral of the Fire Navy, had raised a revolt against the fledgling Fire Lord Zuko's government. Zuko had quickly learned that while toppling a monarch was easy enough, maintaining a solid enough government to keep your new, traumatized nation in one piece was more of a challenge.

Zhao had (somehow) risen to the top of the rebels, who mostly consisted of the top leadership of Ozai's cult of personality. Zhao leveraged his military experience, access to ships, and complete willingness to use violence as a tool whenever and wherever necessary to "convince" a room full of wasp-vipers that he was the most venomous.

Yue had been ordered not to tell her anything about the fighting by Azula's doctor, but Azula was far too skilled of an interrogator to let something like that stop her. Therefore, Azula lacked full details on the events of the attempted revolution, as she had been locked in her underground prison/private mental ward, but she was caught up on the essentials.

Zhao had used his penchant for violence to commit attacks against military posts that were loyal to Zuko, though he very quickly expanded his range of targets to anyone and everyone who supported - or was suspected to support - the "Usurper" (Azula attributed the name to the former Admiral's penchant for drama).

After a (disappointingly) long amount of time, Zuko had finally ordered that Iroh handle the problem with the remaining loyal military. Zuko claimed that his delay was caused by "attempts at diplomacy," but anyone with a functioning brain knew that that wouldn't work. Even Azula, who had an objectively non-functional brain, knew it. But, she was still mad at Zuzu at the time, so she said nothing (as if he would listen anyway).

Iroh, with support from the Avatar and his allies, routed Zhao's forces fairly quickly, but the former Admiral was able to slip away with three quarters of his ships. While Zhao was a sub-par commander of ground troops, he had been made Admiral of the Fire Navy for a reason (beyond being obsequious).

The rebel forces were quiet for a while, but soon enough, Zhao, who now fashioned himself as the "Field Admiral of the True Fire Nation Naval Fleet and Rightful Lord of the Seas and All Who Sail Upon Them," popped up again. This time, however, Zhao aimed his forces at the Northern Water Tribe, as they were the greatest naval power outside of the Fire Nation.

And so, the Invasion of the North began. In a bold first attack, Zhao sent a small force to burn all the ships they could reach while simultaneously setting up a blockade to stop all Water Tribe ships from leaving the walled city. The blockade held for months, stopping Water Tribe access to valuable fishing grounds. Though the Water Tribe could survive without fish, belts tightened and morale flagged.

Then, on the night of a new moon, balls of fire rained down on the walls of Agna Qel'a. No one slept that night, as the waterbenders of the Tribe tried desperately to repair the holes in the walls that kept leaking enemy soldiers into the city.

Though only a small force of Rebel troops breached the walls, they did immense damage to the city, and, unfortunately, its inhabitants.

During the fighting, the gender restrictions on offensive waterbending only hampered the defense of the city. While many of the female waterbenders fought valiantly, they were hurt or killed in far greater numbers than their male counterparts.

Eventually, the sun rose again, and the tide of the fight shifted. With the rising sun came the Avatar on his flying bison, his small team of allies at the ready. Azula was told that the small Earthbender was particularly effective on the all-metal ships, though it was the Avatar that truly ended the fighting.

Reports were unclear on exactly how, but the Avatar stopped Zhao. Allegedly, Aang took the Field Admiral of the True Fire Nation Naval Fleet and Rightful Lord of the Seas and All Who Sail Upon Them's ability to bend away. Since then, the disgraced Zhao had not been seen, allegedly placed in a prison by the Avatar.

Azula, personally, thought that was all a load of propaganda komodo-rhino dung, and that Zhao was dead at the bottom of the ocean, right where he belonged. She was partial, however, to the rumor about the giant fish monster, as the idea of Zhao giving the beast indigestion was too hilarious to fully rule out.

Overall, the Invasion of the North left the Water Tribe battered and bruised, but still able to recover. Chief Arnook, however, was shaken by the experience. Many of the systems that had stood strong for generations were crippled, or were shown to be on far thinner ice than once thought.

Further, the women of the Tribe reached their boiling point with the slaughter of their sisters during the Invasion. The women of the Tribe had fought alongside their menfolk, shed blood just the same, but were still being treated as second-class citizens after the fighting thought. Equality, it seemed, only came in death.

One of the surviving female waterbenders spied the Avatar's female companions in combat, and saw what had been denied to her and her sisters by the men of the Tribe. The female waterbender made a particularly big impression.

If she had been taught to bend properly, cried many female waterbenders, her sister/mother/daughter/aunt would still be alive!

If she had been trained equally to her brother, exclaimed the non-benders, she would still have her leg/hand/arm/ability to walk!

It was unfair, and wrong, and the women of the Tribe were DONE. You don't build an igloo on rotten ice, and the ice foundations of the Water Tribe had more holes than a piece of coral.

It was this confluence of factors that led Arnook to pen a letter to his daughter, which arrived a month after the end of the Invasion. The Avatar had delivered it himself, giving Yue her correspondence before dashing off to be with his good buddy the Fire Lord.

To say that Yue was shocked by the letter was an understatement. In fact, she had been stunned into silence, which lasted all the way to the basement suite that housed Azula. Instead of greeting her wife or speaking a single word, Yue just held out the paper to Azula.

"Are they serious?" Azula asked eventually.

"It seems so," responded Yue.

Azula laughed. She couldn't stop herself.

"What?" Yue asked, testy. "You think I couldn't be of use?"

"Of course not, my love," Azula gasped out, still laughing.

"Then what's so funny?!"

"Someone literally had to beat some sense into the old fuddy-duddies in your Tribe!"

Yue snorted, in spite of herself.

"It's just a shame I couldn't do it myself," Azula sighed as she quenched her laughter. "Or watch you do it, Yue."

"That would have been fun..." Yue agreed. "I wish I could have just set you on them at full power, with no stupid treaty to hold you back."

Azula smirked, (purely theoretical) visions of fire and bloodshed dancing across her mind's eye. It would be glorious...

"I..." Yue began. "I just can't believe they're actually asking for my help."

"I can," Azula responded. "You're the obvious choice!"

"I guess," Yue muttered.

"Of course you're the obvious choice, Yue. Not only are you a) a woman and b) the literal Princess of their tribe, you-- " Azula stopped herself.

"What is it?" Yue asked.

"I was about to say something that is 'negative and/or cynical' that could potentially 'unintentionally cause emotional harm.'"

Yue smiled. "Great job, Azula! You recognized a harmful behavior!"

"I'm not a circus animal, Yue," Azula muttered. "Between you and Doctor Ra-Zhe, it feels like I'm being trained like a performing monkey-bear. Next thing I know, you'll be giving me peanuts for every slightly positive thought!"

"I'm sorry, Azula. I didn't mean to be condescending," Yue apologized. "I'm just really proud of you - you're doing so well in your treatment!"

"Thank you," Azula ground out, staring at the (suddenly very interesting) wall. Her face was a completely normal temperature and color, as well, not at all red or hot.

"... What were you going to say?"

Azula turned to Yue, eyebrow raised.

"It's okay," she reassured.

"You make an exceptionally convenient advisor to your Father and the elders because you are not there to speak for yourself."

"Say more?"

"Your Father or whomever can ask for all the advice they want from you, but then selectively choose what to enact. They could even have 'you' suggest things that are politically advantageous to themselves, rather than the Tribe at large."

"So they can ignore me as much as they want but still use my name as a banner to hide under," Yue concluded, fury in her voice.

Azula swallowed. "I apologize if I caused you anger, Yue."

Yue raised a hand. "I am not mad at you, Azula. I'm mad at them, because you are absolutely right." She stood and started to pace. "Ugh!"

Azula just stared, unsure how to react. Usually, she was the one who was angry. It was odd being on the other side of the table, so to speak.

"I emphasize with your feelings of frustration, and wish I could do something to help you," Azula attempted after a moment, statement becoming a question towards the end. While Azula was excellent at identifying emotions, reacting to them in a non-manipulative way was another thing entirely. Overall, she thought that was a good effort.

Yue flashed a glance at Azula, small smile briefly gracing her features before she returned to her pacing. Vindication!

Yue is rather lovely when she's angry, came a (traitorous) thought, unbidden.

With a noise of frustration, Yue sat back down, hands clutched to her head. "Ugh!"

Azula observed Yue's hands run through her thick hair, partially clenched into claws that evidenced her fury. Gently, Azula lifted a hand and patted Yue's head in a rough approximation of a comforting gesture.

The light pressure from Azula's touch seemed to snap Yue from her angry reverie, instead sparking a giggle. Yue's giggle grew into a full laugh, which quickly turned from mirthful to bitter and a touch sorrowful.

After taking a moment to regain her breath, Yue raised her head and gave Azula a small smile. "Thank you, Azula."

"The patting wasn't weird?"

"A bit weird, but nice," Yue responded. Her small smile faded after saying that, however.

"What are you feeling?"

"I'm... I feel disappointed," Yue sighed. "For a second there, I really thought that the elders truly wanted my assistance. But no, they just wanted me to do what I always did - act as a figurehead. A pretty, silent, female figurehead," Yue said, waving her hand to frame her face. "I was foolish to believe that they actually cared about what I thought."

"May I offer a slightly differing opinion?"

"Okay?"

"While I stand by my earlier analysis of the motivations of the tribal elders, your father was the one who wrote the letter. He was the one who seemingly thought to bring you on board. In my experience, your father is a fairly decent man, and one open to new ideas, albeit begrudgingly."

"Meaning?" Yue asked, sadness still present in her voice.

"While the tribal elders will likely try to dismiss your ideas, I feel your father would be more willing to stand by them."

"That's fair," Yue muttered. " I just worry that he will get overruled. Chief is not the same as Fire Lord - he actually has to listen to the elders."

Azula was struck by an idea, a terrible but brilliant idea. "You should go to the North Pole. It'll be a lot harder for them to ignore you if you're in their faces."

"Go there?" Yue went silent, considering it. "It could work," she eventually said, "but I would be away for so long... you would be all alone."

"Frankly, Yue, that's ridiculous. I'll be fine," Azula stated almost instantly. "Your Tribe needs you."

"I... I know," Yue admitted, "but you need me too."

Azula took a deep breath, but soldiered on. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... especially if the few is just one brain-sick girl."

"Azula," Yue chided.

"Really, Yue, you should go," Azula urged. "I can survive being a bit lonely."

"But you shouldn't have to!"

Azula reached out and held Yue's hands. "You are truly the sweetest person in existence, my love." She pressed a kiss to the back of one of Yue's hands. "The North needs your compassion," she kissed the other hand, "and your intelligence."

Yue looked down, ears suspiciously red. In a small voice, she said, "But what if I need you?"

Azula snorted. "What do you need a mental patient for? Certainly not for advise on being an effective Princess!"

"Stop being so mean to yourself, Azula!" Yue exclaimed. "It's mean and wrong and not helpful to anyone."

"Sorry," Azula muttered. "But I'm serious - you don't need my help. You can do this, Yue."

"What if I don't want help? What if I just want my wife?"

"Oh!" Azula exclaimed, the coin finally dropping. "You would miss me!"

Yue laughed then, a beautiful, happy sound. "Yes, sweetheart, I would miss you terribly."

"Because you love me!" Azula's face was definitely not doing a weird thing right then. "You would miss me because you love me, not because you would need my advice or intimidation factor."

Looking back, Azula realized she sounded like a lunatic, talking out her emotions like that. But, that was one of the strategies that Doctor Ra-Zhe had recommended. Azula had been encouraged to identify and verbalize when her underlying assumptions were proven wrong in a positive way. He insisted that saying such things aloud would (for some reason) help the lessons stick better.

Yue laughed again, not unkindly. "I mean, I would definitely miss your intimidation factor when dealing with stubborn old men, but yes, I would miss you most because you are my wife and I love you very much."

Yue had met Doctor Ra-Zhe shortly after he had started sessions with Azula. Though he refused to speak about many of the things they had discussed, the doctor did make sure to go over the various strategies and tasks that he had given to Azula, so that Yue could help reinforce his teachings.

The good doctor had also recommended that Yue find someone to talk to about her own feelings. Yue, he had said, was in a position that would very likely lead to emotional exhaustion, being one of the main pillars of support for an unstable loved one. The astute observation had left good impression on Yue, which should only grown in the years since their meeting.

"Do you think I could convince Zuko to let you come? You're so much better now!"

Azula snorted. "I highly doubt it. He knows the safest place for me is in this crypt, far away from anyone and everyone."

"You haven't had any incidents for almost a full year, Azula. You're doing so well!" Yue set her jaw. "I think I can convince him."

"Good luck with that," Azula quipped.

"You know what," Yue said, "I know I can do it. It'll be great practice for our trip up north!"

Azula smiled at her righteous wife. "If anyone can, I believe it's you." She was barely even lying.

Planning a trip halfway around the world was not a fast process. At least during the War, there had been a sense of urgency (and the ability to threaten violence with absolutely zero consequences) to speed things up, but during peacetime, it took a while to organize a long journey. For that reason, Yue's ship to the North Pole was scheduled to depart two months after the initial letter arrived.

Somehow, by some miracle, Yue had managed to convince Zuko to allow Azula to go on the trip. When Zuko first suggested that Azula join Yue on her trip to the North Pole, her mind rushed to figure out his angle. Azula had been strictly limited to her crypt for almost two years at that point, but Yue had lobbied long and hard to have her wife accompany her on her journey to her homeland. It had come as a shock to (nearly) everyone when Zuko agreed.

Azula's immediate thought was that he wanted to kill her, using the "accidental" sinking of the ship headed North as a convenient and clean way to be rid of his burden of a sister. But Azula caught that thought, and recognized it for what it was - a negative thought pattern born from paranoia. The thought pattern identification training (as Azula had renamed the inane task) had been on of Ra-Zhe's strategies. Paranoia was one of her most common thought patterns, followed closely behind by self-deprecation due to being "useless."

Despite all of the talking and work and negative thought pattern identification, Azula still felt like she wasn't living up to her potential. No, she knew for a fact that she wasn't doing as much as she could be!

"Azula?"

No, Azula couldn't even engage in small talk with her farther-in-law, too worried about accidentally insulting the man. It's not that Azula cared about his opinion of her, but she worried that he would look upon Yue negatively for Azula's actions.

"Azula?"

I am just a porcu-pig in a world full of balloons! I've wrong step and I'll ruin every-

"Azula!"

Azula jumped, startled from the trance she hasn't realized she'd been in. "I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you had any luck today while hunting," Yue said patiently.

"Yes," Azula offered. "I was able to track and kill a hare-verine. I used the spear you gifted to me, sir," she finished, nodding to Arnook. "The pelt was rather eye-catching."

"Good," Arnook nodded, "that's very good. Hare-verine fur is valuable to the community."

"Mothers use it for baby blankets and cots," Yue jumped into explain. "The fur is very soft but repels liquids and other mess."

"Oh," Azula commented stiffly, "that's good. Babies are... important for the future of the Tribe."

"Indeed," Arnook added even more stiffly than Azula, eyes very specifically averted from his daughter. Azula had noticed that Arnook took pains to never bring up children in their presence. He probably didn't want to make Yue sad about the... unique limitations of her marriage.

They fell into silence then, no one able to think of what to say to keep the conversation going.

In the silence, Azula remembered an exchange with the Avatar.

"What happened to the Nomads who fell in love?"

"What do you mean?" Aang had asked, fascinated at the unprompted question.

"The Nomads had no concept of marriage nor a traditional family structure in their culture. What happened to the Nomads who fell in love? What if they wanted to start a family?"

"Oh," the Avatar responded. "Airbenders would often pair off and travel together. Some spent lifetimes exploring together."

"And that was allowed?"

"Of course!" Aang chirped. "Love is the foundation of all humanity."

"What if they wanted children? And if they wanted to raise the children themselves?"

"Well, many chose to give their children to the creche where they were themselves raised. Some did choose to raise their own children, or chose a child or children to raise and mentor, but those cases were rarer."

"Chose a child?"

"Like, adopt, or mentor for a while."

Azula hadn't known what to say after that, sitting in a thoughtful, unpleasant silence like that she sat in now.

"I did see something interesting today," Azula remembered an uncomfortable amount of time later. "I wanted to ask - what type of bird nests on the ground? I found a nest on the ground, with feathers to warm the eggs."

"That depends," Arnook said, squinting. "Where did you find the nest? Were you close to the water?"

"No, I was out on the east tundra. I found the nest in the wind shadow of a small pile of rocks."

"What color were the eggs?" asked Yue.

"White, about the size of a man's fist."

"Ah, that was a snowy owl-gull nest you found," concluded Arnook. "They nest all across the tundra, though most live to the west of the city."

"Those are the birds that deliver correspondence, correct?"

Yue nodded. "Yes, we have a rookery of trained birds up along the western cliff of the city."

"Fast birds, but temperamental," Arnook commented. "The city birds have been domesticated over the generations to be more friendly. Still, they have sharp talons and they know how to use them."

"Fascinating," Azula said, appreciating the mental image of an owl-gull swooping gracefully over the tundra.

That image stuck with Azula through the rest of the evening, which ended mercifully soon.

As she prepared for bed, Azula reflected on her day, and how the Azula of three years prior would have died of boredom three times over it forced to endure the same. Funny how one's worst nightmare can become their idea of a pleasant day.

Yue sat up in bed, reading a scroll in High Water, glasses perched dangerously close to the end of her nose. She smiled at Azula and Azula was struck at just how beautiful Yue was, in body and soul.

Seeing Azula's suspiciously soft expression, Yue asked, "What are you thinking about, dear?"

"Just appreciating me fortune, moonbeam, and how it led me to you."

"And you can me the sweet one?" Yue asked rhetorically. She patted the bed next to her. "Why don't you come get and get comfy?"

Azula returned her smile and slipped in next to her wife. "What are you reading?"

"An essay from the archives that explains the justification for a law that we'll be discussing tomorrow."

"So some light before bed reading?"

"Exactly," Yue agreed with a chuckle. "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I think I'm going to go check in on that owl-gull nest again. Maybe the chicks will have hatched by then."

"That sounds far more fun than my day, dear."

"Fun is debatable, but current company notwithstanding, the companionship is hard to beat."

They both laughed at the joke, and Yue put her scroll and glasses. Settling in for sleep, they assumed their normal sleeping position, with Yue front pressing along Azula's back and her arm over her waist.

"Goodnight, Azula."

"Goodnight, my love."

Notes:

* Azula's parka is the Ember Shirt from "Legends of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" (that game rocks, btw).

A snowy owl-gull looks like a normal snowy owl (ala Hedwig) but with a long forked tail (like a kite bird).

Notes on the mental health care in this series:

1) I have arbitrarily decided that the Avatar world has not invented anti-depressants or anti-psychotics (or their predecessors) at the time of the end of the 100 Year War.

2) while I am in no way qualified to diagnose Azula, I am writing her as a teen showing signs of paranoid, obsessive-compulsive and autistic behaviors. As she is still a teen, she is too early to diagnose, and could theoretically be positively affected by intervention. Please see a real doctor, folks.

3) Doctor Ra-Zhe and his ideas are heavily inspired by real-life ancient Persian physician Abu Bakr al-Razi, who was one of the first people in recorded history to practice therapy for mental illnesses. Absolutely fascinating figure, highly recommend looking into him. Though rudimentary, many of his treatments are reminiscent of modern therapeutic practices.

4) the emotion naming thing is absolutely real with regards to therapy (I would know)

Chapter 2: Meetings, Reunions and Gratitude

Summary:

The Princesses have an eventful couple of days.

Azula was writing a letter to Aang (he loved hearing about life at the North Pole, and Zuko would end up reading the letter anyway, so two birds one stone) when a voice broke her concentration. 

"Azula, can you please look at this?"

Azula took the proffered scroll and skimmed it. "You know I shouldn't be helping you, Yue. This is Tribe business." 

Azula, as a rule, tried to avoid Northern Water Tribe politics nowadays. While she once would have been the first person in and last person out of the ongoing negotiations, Azula now stayed as far away as possible. Not only had she been broken of the all-consuming arrogance that had once fueled her every action, but also, Azula knew her council was wanted by exactly one single person in the entire tribe.

"You are a citizen," Yue pointed out. 

"On the most stringent of technicalities," Azula responded. 

Turns out, men - or in this case, people - who married women from the Northern Water Tribe were automatically made citizens. In a completely unsurprising turn of events, the opposite did not apply to foreign women who married Water Tribe men. Something to do with bloodlines, Azula figured. 

"Still... Look, I know you want to stay out of all this, Azula, but I still appreciate your opinions on the issues."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "But this is your opinion on the issue, isn't it?" she asked, gesturing with the scroll. It contained a brief rebuttal to one of the long-standing tribal policies that Yue opposed. 

Yue nodded, sheepishly. "Yeah, but I'd still like you to review and see if it makes sense."

"Alright," Azula shrugged, opening the scroll up again. A few moments later, she said, "As per usual, your reasoning is sound and your grammar impeccable, my Moon."

Yue gave a small smile as she collected the document. "Thanks."

Azula frowned. "You shouldn't tell people that I review your documents, Yue."

"I know..." Yue sighed. 

"I'm serious," Azula replied. "I can't be associated with your reform work at all."

Azula had done a lot of thinking on the trip North, and had quickly come to the conclusion that Yue's greatest political weakness, in the eyes of her Tribe, was not Yue's status as a woman, but rather Azula. To ensure that the dunderheads at the reins of power had one less stone to throw at Yue, Azula determined that she could not be anywhere near the reform negotiations. 

It was part of the reason she went out to the tundra every day. She literally couldn't be farther from the action. 

"I just wish you could be there too."

Azula grasped Yue's hand. "If your Tribemates think that any of your ideas come from me, it will call all of your work into question. At best, they'll think I'm pushing you to be more 'non-traditional...'"

"... And at worst, they'll think I'm a Fire Nation plant meant to undermine the status quo that enabled the survival of the Tribe throughout our entire independent history, including the Hundred Years War," Yue responded by rote. Azula had gone over her reasoning with Yue many times.

"It has to be from you, my dear, and unassailably so. Your work is too important - I can't be an anchor, dragging it down with the stain of my association."

Yue squeezed Azula's hand. "I hate that it has to be like this."

"It is what it is, my Moon. My pride can stand the injury," Azula joked. "The Water Tribe needs your reforms far more than I need my ego stroked."

"Careful, Azula," Yue joked in return, "you're sounding awfully noble there. Can't have that getting out!"

"And stain my sterling reputation? Never."

--

The next morning, as Azula diligently avoided being politically active, she decided to check the nest again. Turning her yaki-bou's head, Azula began navigating to the hillock. 

As she rode, Azula allowed her mind to wander. 

Truly, Azula had never been further from power in her life, but, somehow, she couldn't muster up much negative emotion about it. 

Zuko hadn't let Azula out of her crypt unguarded before this trip to the North Pole, let alone let her near the reins of power. Never once during his scattered visits had Zuko ever discussed his efforts as Fire Lord, despite Azula's prodding. It was a heroic effort, one that Azula had resented immensely.

When she brought it up to Doctor Ra-Zhe, the old man had said that Azula "didn't have to be in charge anymore" and could "just enjoy being a young woman."

Apparently, the doctor had also opinions about Zuko being forced to rule the Fire Nation as a teen, but Azula didn't really care. 

Out of a morbid curiosity, Azula had asked all of her visitors about what an average young adulthood meant to them. No one, however, seemed to have a good answer, as everyone was either a soldier, banished prince, unwilling bride, or some flavor of savior of the world. 

Doctor Ra-Zhe didn't have a good answer either.

"Maybe, in this new world, we can make a new definition of what being a young person means. We don't need child soldiers anymore. We just need children."

"A beautiful sentiment, doctor, but I don't know how that applies to me."

The doctor snorted. "What I'm saying is that you should try to figure out where you want to be, what you want to do, how you can be of use but still happy."

Azula had thought about that sentiment many times in the past year. Where did she fit in? Azula had fit perfectly into the old world, carved perfectly into shape. But now? She was useless. 

Uh-uh! Negative thought pattern. Reframe.

Azula wasn't sure where she fit anymore. If she would ever fit again. But time would let her grow into someone new?

Better. 

As she pondered her place in the world, the yaki-bou approached the hillock. With a snort, it shook its head, snapping Azula from her musings. 

"Ah, we are here," Azula said, dismounting. "Thank you, yak-ibou." She patted the beast's furry side. 

Climbing the hillock, Azula once again looked over the polar vista. It, as always, was barren and white, always changing but never different. 

Crouching down, Azula looked down at the nest. Or, rather, what remained of it. The divot was now mostly empty, devoid of the feathers that once insulated the eggs. Scratch marks were visible in the snow and dirt, as well as discolored areas that had once been damp. The nest had clearly been found by predator.

Azula grimaced but did not look away, instead looking at the claw marks, noting the five claws per paw and wide spread.  She was no expert, but Azula would guess this was the work of a polar-bear-wolf, the wild cousins of the polar-bear-dogs that accompanied the hunters. 

Azula was pulled from her crime scene analysis by the sound of the yaki-bou snuffling loudly nearby. Turning to her left, Azula saw the beast of burden sniffing at a crevice in the hillock. 

"What is it?"

Kneeling, Azula got in close to the crevice. Deep in the crevice was a white mass - one of the eggs! The predator had seemingly sent the egg careening into the crevice and then tried and failed to retrieve the concealed treasure. 

Reaching in with her slim human arm and nimble human hand, Azula succeeded where the polar-bear-wolf had failed, grasping the egg. As she pulled it out, Azula observed that the egg was dirty but otherwise unharmed. 

Using her teeth, Azula removed her mitten and freed her hand, delicately touching the eggshell. To her immense shock, it was warm. 

"How?"

Buffeted by a blast of wind, Azula moved to protect the miraculous egg, and then slid it into her mitten. The egg was just small enough to fit, thanks to the generous arm allowance in the mitten, which was designed for parkas. 

Turning to her mammalian companion, Azula rose and searched the yaki-bou's tack for any other insulating material. Finding none, Azula removed the sash from her parka, wrapping it around the mitten and then tying the loose ends around her middle. Once the parka was returned to its normal position, the egg was not only insulated from the cold but also close to the warmth of Azula's body. 

Making an effort, Azula raised her body temperature in a move reminiscent of her first trip to the North Pole. Generating that much warmth was taxing on the body, a tax Azula no longer cared to pay, especially when she had a wife hand-making her winter gear. 

Then, carefully - very carefully - Azula mounted the yaki-bou. "To the city!" Azula ordered, kicking the beast's sides for emphasis. The sun was getting low, and they had far to ride. 

--

"Yue!"

Yue dragged her head up from where it was more or less embedded into the pillow. "What?" she asked, blearily, "What's going on?"

"We have a situation."

"Ugh, it's the middle of the night," she grumbled. Yue scrabbled for her glasses, and finally finding them, put them on and moved over to Azula. "Oh my!"

"What do I do?" Azula asked, tone very slightly edged with panic. "Do I need to do something?"

The egg, which had been pristine when Azula had placed by the hearth the previous night,  now sported a large crack. As the pair watched, the egg shook minutely.

"I think we just have to let the chick hatch, dear," Yue said.

"Should I take it to the rookery?" 

"No," Yue interjected, forestalling Azula's attempt to grab the egg. "We can't disturb it now."

"Okay..." Azula muttered, eyes locked on the egg, which gave another small shake.

And so they watched. Contrary to the depictions in Azula had seen in plays, eggs apparently took quite a while to hatch. It took so long that Azula caught herself falling into a meditative breathing pattern as she watched, completely enraptured. 

Yue also started to breath more evenly, but Azula suspected that was due to Yue being more interested in the inside of her eyelids than the miracle of life going on in front of them.

After what seemed like years, the chick had finally escaped its white prison. It was wetter than Azula expected, eyes shut and oddly proportioned.

Another brief lifetime later, the chick raised its misproportioned head and opened its oversized eyes. Azula felt a jolt of... something... when she saw the baby had eyes of burning gold, just like her own.

They held eye contact for a while, until the weight of its head exhausted the little chick. Azula was about to ask Yue for what to do next when a small snore rang out. Instead, Azula smirked and thought about what to do. 

The little bundle of feathers was still damp, so Azula pulled its pelt nest closer to the fire, which she also encouraged to burn hotter. Looking at the little nest, she also grabbed an undershirt from the floor (the closest piece of fabric, thanks to her own lax housekeeping standards) and tucked it around the baby bird.

"Sleep well, little bird. I will take you to the rookery in the morning. The accomodations there are more fitting of a bring of your... species."

"I can't take your bird, your Highness."

"What? Why?" Azula asked. "It's a snowy owl-gull. This is the owl-gull rookery. Seems simple to me."

The birdmaster, a hunched old man, pointed to the chick Azula had brought in. The little ball of feathers was sitting in the open bag Azula had held the small being in on the way to the rookery. "You've held the chick, correct?"

"Yes."

"The chick carries your scent. The owl-gulls here will reject a chick that smells of a stranger."

"Then you hold the chick for a while! Or rinse it off with some water and soap! I don't see why this is so hard," Azula exclaimed.

"It's not just the scent, your Highness. Did you make eye contact with the chick after it hatched? Did you feed it?"

"Yes..." Azula had fed the little bird a strip of jerky that Yue had instructed her to let sit in a cup of near-boiling water until soft. It was less gross than she had expected, though Azula wished she had used chopsticks. 

The old man sighed. "Then the little thing has bonded to you. Imprinted."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

The old man sighed again. "It thinks you are its mother." When Azula was too stunned to respond, he continued, "The chick would reject care from anyone else."

"What?!"

To illustrate his point, the old man moved to lift the chick, but was met with the small click of its snapping beak. With surprisingly fast hands, the old man lifted the chick and inspected it. The little bird squawked indignantly, but was put down soon enough.

"At least she's healthy," the birdmaster grumbled.

"So... I can't leave it here?"

"No, you cannot, your Highness. The chick, a female by the way, has fully imprinted on you. Either you take her to raise or you go drown her - she'll starve before she accepts food from another person."

More silence. Azula was reeling. Eventually, "... Why would I drown it? I could just snap its neck. It's a bird."

"Owl-gulls can turn their heads all the way around. Neck snap wouldn't take," the old man responded. "Drowning is the fastest way to do it. Most humane."

"I- I- I can't deal with this. Goodbye," Azula squawked, turning to leave.  She grabbed the bird bag and left.

When Yue returned to their shared room that afternoon, she found Azula staring at the bird numbly. "Didn't you go to the rookery this morning, dear?"

Azula jumped minutely, snapped from her stupor. "Yes. I did."

"Could they not take the chick?"

"No," Azula responded shortly.

"Why not?"

Azula sighed. "Apparently, the stupid thing thinks I'm her mother, so they couldn't raise her."

"Okay..." Yue said. "Are you going to raise it?"

"It's either I raise the chick or drown her to death."

"Drown it?" Yue asked, alarmed.

"Drowning is apparently the preferred way to euthanize birds," Azula stated stiffly. "Isn't that fun?"

"That's horrible!" Yue exclaimed. 

"Agreed."

They watched the chick sleep in silence for a while.

"... So what are we naming her?" 

"Name her? The bird?"

"People generally name pets, Azula," Yue chided teasingly.

"Can't I just call her 'Bird?'"

"That's hardly a name," Yue laughed. 

"Snowy? Iceberg? Gull-y?" Azula suggested lamely. "... I've never had the need to name something before."

"Too basic," Yue complained. "What's a name you like?"

"I could call her Yue Junior?"

"Yue Junior?" 

"You said to choose a name I like! Besides, you have white hair, she has white feathers, it's perfect!"

"While I'm flattered," Yue laughed, "why don't we go with something else? It might get confusing with two Yues in the metaphorical roost."

"What do you suggest then? I don't like anyone else enough to name the chick after them."

Yue thought for a moment, and then said, "How about Kallik?"

"Colic?"

"No, Kallik, like kah-leek. It means 'lightning,'" Yue explained. "Snowy owl-gulls are very fast, and have white plumage like lightning."

Azula considered for a moment and then said, "That works for me." She crouched and lightly poked the little head, waking the bird. "Good, you're awake," Azula whisphered to her feathery charge, who she lifted to chest level. 

In a louder voice, she said, "Bird, you shall hereafter be known as Kallik, first born animal companion of Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and Princess Royal Yue Moon-Chosen of the Northern Water Tribe. We welcome you to our clan, and look forward to your great deeds."

Yue giggled at the overly-formal speech, which she was sure Azula lifted directly from a Fire Nation baby naming day ceremony.

"What?" Azula asked, affronted. She held the newly-named Kallik to her chest protectively. 

"Nothing, my dear," Yue reassured. "I just love you a lot."

"I love you too, moonbeam," Azula responded with a small smile. Looking down at her charge, she asked, "Now how does one raise a bird?"

--

As Azula pondered her new, feathery responsibility, Azula thought back to the turtleducks at the Palace. 

She had never been fond of the little creatures, who peeped and waddled and kept the attention of Zuko and her mother far more easily than Azula ever did. Their shared love of the turtleducks had been one of the earlier examples Azula could remember of the close relationship that Ursa and her son had kept, and kept Azula out of. 

With a pang of sadness and also pride at recognizing the emotion in her past self, Azula realized that the rage she remembered was clearly misplaced jealousy. How dare Mother not appreciate Azula like Father did? How dare she love Zuko more?

In the few months before Ursa's supposed death, the Fire Lady had made attempts to bond with Azula. Though a surprise, Azula appreciated the efforts, despite the extra care Ursa seemed to heep on Yue. 

Now, however, Azula still had trouble believing that she had a better relationship with her Mother than Yue did. 

To be completely fair, Azula had reacted poorly to the discovery that Lady Ursa was not, in fact, dead.  Very poorly. 

In her own defense, the first time that Lady Ursa had visited Azula, they had been alone. Azula learned later that Lady Ursa had been instructed to wait for Doctor Ra-Zhe to visit her daughter, but had not listened. In her impatience, Lady Ursa had snuck down to Azula's crypt and awoken her daughter. 

"Hello, Azula. I've missed you."

Azula had said nothing, staring at her mother like the ghost that she genuinely believed the older woman to be. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't come visit earlier, sweetheart. It's just been so busy recently."

Azula raised a hand to look at. Seeing nothing happen, she whispered, "Not asleep..."

"What was that, honey?"

Face breaking, Azula had started to physically crumple. "Now you too? Can barely handle him on his own..."

"Azula, who's 'he?' What are you talking about?"

"Stop it!" Azula cried, holding up her hands.

Ursa drew backwards at the outburst. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Leave me alone!" Azula managed, sounding more like a sob than words. She gripped at her hair and shouted, "Go away!"

"I'm sorry, Azula," Ursa said, crushed. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop it!"

Ursa turned to leave. As she exited the door, she called, "I love you, Azula! I'm so sorry!"

"STOP!!!" What Ursa couldn't hear, however, were Azula's next words. "You're not REAL. Stop lying to me!"

For the better part of a week, Azula was convinced that the older woman was a hallucination, a notion that Lady Ursa didn't help disabuse her of, not mentioning her disastrous late night visit. 

It was Yue who finally figured out what happened. 

Azula had regressed immensely that week, and Doctor Ra-Zhe and Yue were left scratching their heads. 

During one of her daily visits, Yue had been brushing Azula's hair when Azula fell momentarily asleep. When she sprang awake a moment later, Azula cried, "Leave me alone!"

Yue stepped back, giving Azula her space. 

Desperate  look in her eyes, Azula cried, "Not you!" and clutched at Yue's sleeve. 

Stepping back to her place behind Azula's chair, Yue asked, "Who, love?"

"My mother!"

"Your mother? You've been dreaming about her?"

Azula nodded frantically. "It used to be just him, but now she's there too! And when I'm awake, too!"

"When you're... Tell me what happened, Azula."

"I see her in the real world, too. I checked to see if I was dreaming, but I wasn't!" She hugged Yue desperately around her middle. 

"To be clear, you saw your mother when you were awake?"

"Yes!" Azula said to Yue's stomach. "And now she won't leave me be."

In possibly the most surprising moment of Azula's life, Yue snarled, "That bitch!"

Azula made a confused sound. 

"I'll be right back," Yue growled. 

"Yue, wait--"

Ten minutes later, Azula sent her chair crashing to the ground when she stood up in shock. Yue had reentered her chamber, dragging someone with her by the arm. It was not a gentle hold. 

"What is happening?!"

Yue yanked Lady Ursa into the room fully and then turned to shove something into Azula's hands. 

Azula looked down. It was a mirror. 

Doctor Ra-Zhe had worked with Azula for many weeks on identifying what was real and what was a waking dream. The way that Azula found the most effective (and comforting) was the mirror trick. 

When they were girls, long before any betrayal, Ty Lee had told Azula and Mai a ghost story. While Azula couldn't remember most of the story, one element had stayed with her - things that weren't real couldn't appear in mirrors (Ty Lee had spent a while talking about reading in dreams and also bats? Ghosts? Something that drank blood... Ty Lee was a bad storyteller). 

While Azula knew logically that the mirror thing was stupid, it still comforted her anxious mind. 

Azula gasped as understanding filled her mind. She raised the mirror and turned slightly, not letting the seated (potential) Lady Ursa out of her sight. Upon seeing the confused face in the reflection, Azula let out a jagged breath. 

"See, Azula?" Yue asked, relief coloring her features. 

"But... but how?" Azula stepped forward hesitantly and touched the top of Lady Ursa's head, jumpy as a wading bird. Her hair was soft and devastatingly real.

"It turns out that somebody faked her own death and didn't tell anyone about it."

"So that we wouldn't be able to betray her under torture," chirped the part of Azula that was not currently swamped in a tsunami of feelings. Based on the expression on her mother's living face, Azula had said that aloud. Oops. 

"And instead of waiting like Doctor Ra-Zhe said," Yue continued, "she apparently snuck down here, scared you, and didn't think to tell anyone about it!"

Ursa raised her arms in surrender. "I didn't know she was this bad," she quavered. "I thought she knew! Why didn't you tell her?"

Yue glared at the former Fire Lady. "She wasn't this bad until she thought she had hallucinated her dead mother!"

"You should have told her!"

"Doctor Ra-Zhe was going to tell her, but she suddenly regressed for no reason, or so we thought," Yue growled. 

"You knew?" Azula's small voice broke through the argument. 

Yue turned to Azula, and bent to look her in the eyes. "Yes, I did. I found out about six hours before you did. I was waiting until the Doctor said it was okay to talk about it."

Azula started a deep breathing exercise, too overwhelmed to speak. 

"Azula, I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Clearly," Yue snapped. "You should have told me! Or the doctor! Or literally anyone!"

"I said I was sorry, Yue." Tears started to stream down her face. 

"Please stop," Azula managed. 

"Look what you did," Yue snapped. "Do you want us to leave, Azula?"

"Just her."

Yue didn't stop glaring until Ursa had left the crypt. 

Though she had avoided Yue like the plague, Lady Ursa had returned to the crypt the next day, waiting to catch Doctor Ra-Zhe. After some pleading, the good doctor decided to help reintroduce mother and daughter, slowly. 

"You look younger. Act like it too," Azula had said some days later. "You move like you did before you were injured in the fire."

"Oh," Ursa said. "Master Katara has been healing me."

"Who?"

"She's the Avatar's waterbending master," Ursa explained. "Master Katara is also a healer."

"Ah, the one from the Southern Tribe," Azula responded. "But I thought she was just still very young?"

"She is, but she is very talented. She has given me great relief with her skills. I am still scarred but the pain is nothing compared to what it used to be."

"How wonderful," Azula responded mechanically. "This Master Katara must be a true prodigy."

Ursa grimaced. 

Azula rolled her eyes. "Calm down. I meant nothing by it."

"The doctor said that we shouldn't bring up that sort of thing with you."

Azula rolled her eyes again. "Doctor Ra-Zhe means well, but you'd think I was made of glass sometimes with how he goes on."

"You deserve delicate care, Azula."

"Because I'm fragile?" Azula asked sharply. 

"Because you're precious, my daughter."

It was awkward going, but Azula and her mother were on decent enough terms, now that Azula was 100% convinced she was real. 

Yue though... Yue was another story. Yue barely spoke to Ursa anymore, when before the Day of Black Sun they were fairly close. The white-haired woman always arrived late when Ursa was scheduled to visit Azula. 

Azula hadn't seen this side of Yue before, the unforgiving, resolute side. She knew her normal emotion meter was "calibrated in a vastly different manner than a standard person," but Azula couldn't help but find Yue's attitude toward Ursa rather flattering - no one had ever defended Azula's honor like this before. Admittedly, Azula would never have let an insult to her honor persist so long prior to her current circumstances, but still, it felt nice. 

You like your wife, Azula jokingly chided herself, internally. What a loser. 

--

Raising a bird, it turned out, took a lot of effort. After another trip to the rookery, Azula had been directed to a treatise on bird husbandry by the increasingly annoyed birdmaster. 

The treatise had been written fifty years prior, by a birdmaster named Akenta, and was far heavier than most of the works in the library. Pleasantly surprised, Azula had set to studying the text with a fervor that rivaled her early studies in firebending. 

"Was the book helpful, your Highness?" asked the librarian at the end of that first study session. 

The treatise covered the necessities of bird care from egg to adult, with copious notes on each step and the reasoning behind every choice. The level of detail was impressive - the author was clearly very passionate. 

"It will do."

Over the next few days, Azula incorporated her newly-gained bird husbandry knowledge into her care routine for Kallik.

The little chick accompanied Azula everywhere, tied to her chest in a little sling, which provided warmth and constant companionship, which was apparently vital for a fledgling owl-gull. 

Akenta, the birdmaster who authored the text Azula returned to daily, wrote that owl-gulls were born in clutches of three or more, and would huddle together for warmth against the arctic winds.

Lone chicks rarely survived.

--

One evening, in their chambers, Azula asked Yue a question while feeding Kallik. 

"Do Water Tribe chiefs serve for life?"

"Not necessarily," Yue answered, curious at the question. "While we've had a fair share who have died in office, none have ever died of old age, if you catch my meaning."

"The ones who do reach old age - do they retire or something?"

"Yeah. My great grandfather stepped down in his sixties, and my grandfather took over from him."

"So the son was the designated heir?"

"Yeah, if there is a son who can take the position. But if the chief has no son, or his son is unfit, the chief can designate a new heir," Yue explained. "Generally, the heir is a nephew or grandson, but sometimes the chief looks outside of the family."

"Hence, Hahn," Azula concluded. 

"Exactly."

Azula had another thought, and asked, "Has your Father adopted Hahn?"

"No? Why would he adopt Hahn?"

"To legitimize Hahn's claim," Azula explained. "In the Fire Nation, businesses are usually inherited along family lines, so if the owner has no children or needs to declare a different heir, then the business owner adopts the desired inheritor."

"Huh." Yue considered the idea. "I guess that makes sense, though it seems a bit complicated to me."

"Fair," Azula conceded. "In the Fire legal system, it just makes the inheritance situation easier, and makes it a lot harder for any jilted parties to sue."

"Maybe that's the difference - the Fire Nation has a lot more legal infrastructure than the Water Tribe. Less ability to sue."

Azula snorted. "Many would consider that a blessing." Sobering, she continued, "So has your Father officially named Hahn as heir? Like, in a binding way?"

"He's stated the intention to the elders," Yue said, mildly confused. "That's as good as binding, here."

"But it's not written down?"

"N-- Azula!"

"What?" 

"Azula," Yue started in a serious tone, "what are you plotting? You promised you would stay out of all this."

"I'm not plotting anything!" Azula protested. "Well, kind of, but it's not for me!"

"I don't want to be Chief of the Water Tribe, Azula."

"But you could be! You have a very strong claim!"

"I'm a woman, Azula!"

"So what? You're rewriting the Tribe's legal system as we speak - why can't you make it that the eldest child automatically gets to inherit, regardless of sex?"

Yue looked down. "I mean, we are."

"What?"

"I've been lobbying since Day One to make inheritance of all kinds include all children, including daughters and adopted children," Yue said. Quietly, she added, "That includes the Chief-hood."

"Then what's stopping you from asking your Father to make you heir again?!"

"I..."

"You what, Yue?"

"I already promised the elders that I would deny my claim."

Azula blinked for a long moment, suppressing her indignant rage. "Why?"

"It was the only way to get the elders to consider the idea."

"... They didn't want you to be able to take power."

"It's understandable."

"Technically," Azula growled. 

"Think about the optics, Azula. The moon-touched Princess in the unnatural marriage to my people's worst enemy comes home with new ideas and a scary firebending enforcer. She then uses those ideas to manipulate her poor, loving father into giving her the power she never should have had in the first place?"

Azula grimaced. "For all they know, you're just a Fire Nation puppet, dancing on the strings of a known madwoman."

"Exactly," Yue agreed sadly. "The elders think that I already have too much power as it is. Using my own pet issue to 'grab power?' That'd go over as well as a lead canoe."

"Oh, Yue," Azula murmured. Azula hated to concur, but she saw the logic in Yue's words.  

"It's fine. It's not like I ever expected to be Chief, anyway."

Azula was struck into silence. Slowly, she reached out and held Yue's hand. 

"But this way," Yue said, brightening minutely, "a woman can and will be made chief someday. And that, equal rights under the law for everyone in the Tribe is far worth more to me than power."

Azula raised the hand to her lips, placing a small kiss. "You are the most noble person I've ever met, Yue Moon-Chosen."

Yue looked away and sniffed. "Stop it."

"No, I don't think I will," Azula said in a light tone. "It's an objective fact, my love."

Yue sniffed harder, sounding wetter. Her grip on Azula's hand tightened.

"Yue?"

No response. 

"Moonbeam?"

Nothing but another wet sniff.

"Did I say something wrong? I apologize, my love, I meant no harm."

To Azula's horror, Yue swiped at her eyes with her free hand. Her breathing seemed almost ragged. "It's," sniff, "not you."

Azula attempted to remember Doctor Ra-Zhe's teachings. "It must- it must be very frustrating, all of the negotiations...?"

"It's not that - or, well, not all the negotiations," Yue managed. "It's the elders."

As Azula wrestled with her instinct to destroy the elders, Yue continued. "They... they all look at me like a stranger. I've known these people for all of my life, but now they look at me like I'm an enemy!"

Azula, sensing that this was not the time to call Yue's tribesmen a group of idiots so stupid they would need a map and compass to find their own rear ends, said nothing. 

"I mean, I know I'm bringing in a lot of changes and new ideas, which can be scary, but they were the ones who invited me!"

"They say they want change, but what they actually want is to get their women in line," Azula muttered. 

"Yes!" Yue cried, tears threatening to escape her glittering eyes. 

Azula squeezed her wife's hand again, and thought about what to say. "A question," Azula prompted. 

"Yes?"

"When you go to work every day, it's you, the elders, your Father and...?"

"There's two legal scholars and the lead healer, Lady Chanak."

"And what is the average age of the people in the room when you go to negotiate?"

"What?"

"How old is everyone?"

"On average, I'd say about 40?" Yue replied, question in her voice. 

"And how old are the people who oppose you the most?"

"Older. Maybe 60?"

"And let me ask - what sex are your opponents?"

"... Male." 

Azula put her finger to her chin in an exaggerated motion. "What an interesting coincidence. Those who most oppose you are those who benefit the most from the rules remaining unchanged." 

Yue snorted. "I mean, I figured that's why they were opposing me - they're old and stuck in their ways. They can't imagine things being better for them, since things are already pretty good." Yue sighed again. "I just didn't expect them to be so..."

"So what? Cruel? Aggressive?"

"... adamant in their opposition. They seem to have forgotten that we're all on the same team."

"Idiots, all of them. Are you sure you don't want me to depose the whole government and put you in charge? It wouldn't be hard!"

Yue laughed then, deeply.  Azula joined her. Eventually, they fell into a comfortable silence. 

But Azula kept thinking about it, all throughout the night. 

When Yue arose the following morning, she was alone. With a shrug, she rose to ready herself for the day. Yue's preparations were stalled when she spied a scroll on her desk/vanity. 

Unfurling the document, Yue recognized Azula's handwriting. The first page was a note:

Dearest Yue,

Last night, I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about the inheritance issue, and how you cut yourself out of the line of succession for the good of your Tribes-women.  I replayed our conversation in my head for hours, until I was struck with an idea. That idea is spelled out in full detail in the rest of the letter. 

My love, please read the document in full before you reject it. I present this proposal in good faith, with no motive beyond the best interests of the Tribe and its future. I promise. 

Your wife,

Azula
Princess of the Blood
Fire Nation

Yue smirked in spite of her confusion at Azula's formulaic sign off. She loved Azula immensely but by the spirits was that wife of hers particular!

The smirk was quickly replaced by a thoughtful squint. 

--

"What is this?!"

"My proposal?" Azula asked, balking at Yue's tone. "Did you read it?"

"Yes I read it!"

"Why are you upset?"

Yue lifted the paper and read from it. "I, Yue Moon-Chosen, Princess Royal of the Northern Water Tribe, daughter of Chief Arnook and Lady  _______--"

"I don't know your mother's name."

"Her name was Kella, but getting back to the point: "daughter of Chief Arnook and Lady Kella, now past, do hereby waive my claim to my birthright, the Chiefdom of the Northern Water Tribe. Upon the time of the death or retirement of Chief Arnook, I reserve the right to put forward an heir of my blood and/or family line, who shall be considered as heir before any other candidates."

"That is what I wrote, yes."

"'An heir of my blood and/or family line?'"

"Yes, in case you have any children in the future. This way, the elders get their way but you can still influence the future of the Tribe leadership. Besides, your children should not be denied their birthright."

"What children?!"

"If you decide to set me aside and take a man to husband, you can have babies."

"Excuse me?"

Azula cocked her head. "I don't see what is confusing you."

"'Set you aside?' What does that even mean?"

"Is that not a thing in the Water Tribes?" Seeing Yue's exasperated expression continue, Azula explained, "If a marriage cannot create heirs, a husband may 'set his wife aside' and seek another wife to give him children. It's an old practice in the Fire Nation, but it still happens, though only among the rich and landed.

Technically, any spouse can be set aside, but it's almost always wives. Limited fertility windows and whatnot."

Yue took a deep breath and steepled her fingers. "Okay. Okay. I can do this." She raised a hand and started to count on her fingers. "One: no, there is no equivalent practice in the Water Tribe. Two: that is very messed up and I hate it. Three: isn't divorce legal in the Fire Nation? And four: I wouldn't set you aside, no matter what."

"Huh," Azula said with surprise. "Interesting cultural difference. You'd think a more patriarchal society would have something similar. Neat.

"To the rest of your points, yes, divorce is legal in the Fire Nation, but setting a wife aside is generally reserved for political marriages with large land interests involved. I also find it slightly distasteful, but it is a functional workaround for a tricky situation."

"Not for the poor wife who's set aside!"

"Fair," Azula agreed. "But why wouldn't you set me aside? You would make a wonderful mother... and it's not like I'd just leave. I'd never leave you, my Moon. You and the father and me and baby make four!"

Yue's face went soft and gooey. "Oh, my dearest. You are so brilliant but also so silly. I don't want or need a husband. I want and need you." She kissed Azula's hand. "I want you to be my wife forever, Azula."

"But... what if you want a baby? I- I can't give you that."

"Well, that's a long time off, my love, and not a decision I get to make alone. If we want a baby someday, we'll figure it out."

"Really?" Azula couldn't meet Yue's eyes. 

"Really."

Azula kissed Yue then, a soft, gentle kiss that Yue smiled into. 

"Then you should give the elders my proposal!"

Yue laughed again, but eventually agreed, once she had regained her breath. 

--

The next morning, the proposal was conspicuously missing when Azula checked. 

Instead, Azula found a note addressed to her. 

Dear Azula,

Ask the librarian today for the book on bird-sport. I think you'll find it very interesting. 

Yours,

Yue
Princess Royal
Northern Water Tribe

When Azula asked for the book, the librarian gave a confused smile. "Bird-sport?"

"That is what the note said..."

The librarian shook her head. "Oh, I know what you mean, your Highness, it's just a funny choice of words."

"How do you mean?"

"'Bird-sport' is the literal translation from High Water. You would know it by it's common name, 'Falconry.'" 

"Oh, indeed."  Azula looked down to her small companion, who lay cradled her sling across Azula's chest. "A noble sport. How fitting for you, Kallik."

"Kallik is the bird's name?"

"Yes."

"A good name, Your Highness. Did her Majesty suggest it?"

"Yes, she did."

"She is very intelligent, that wife of yours. I assume she told you about the book on bird-sport, as well?"

"Correct," Azula said, eyes slightly narrowed. 

"I knew it was her when you told me the High Water term. Her Majesty must have read the book in her youth... One of my best readers, her Majesty was, way back when," the librarian trailed off, looking fondly at a memory. 

Azula relaxed. Just an old woman reminiscing. "Yue is truly a great woman, well-rounded in a way so few are."

The librarian smiled wide, displaying her strong teeth and millions of wrinkles. It was a very good smile. 

Emboldened, Azula continued, "My wife lives up to the name my countrymen gave her: Jewel of the North."

"Really? They call her that in the Fire Nation? How lovely a name."

"Only a quarter so lovely as she," Azula replied, quoting some play or another. 

"Come here," the librarian whispered conspiratorially, motioning for Azula to lean in close. 

Doing so, Azula raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Give this to the Moon-Chosen," the old woman whispered, pushing a wrapped bundle into Azula's hand. "It's from all of us."

"What is it?"

"She'll know."

Azula examined the old woman's face, and found her earnest. The librarian did not seem to be hiding any bad intentions in the gift, despite the cloak and dagger treatment. 

Azula slipped the bundle next to Kallik in her sling, obscured from view. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but Kallik seems to be asleep. We can introduce you two another day."

Catching Azula's intention, the librarian responded, "Oh well! She will need her sleep if she wants to grow big and strong for bird-sport!"

"I look forward to it," Azula responded. 

"Anyhow, bird-sport was very popular before the War, especially among the wandering camps of the western tundra. Legend has it that the largest birds could take down a yaki-bou by themselves."

"Fascinating."

"I'll fetch that text for you, your Highness, right away."

"Thank you, Librarian."

Laden with a new book, Azula strode into the arctic sunshine and breathed the cold air deeply. 

"Let's go, Kallik. We have a lot to do."

--

"Where did you get this?" Yue asked in a quiet voice. 

"The librarian gave it to me this afternoon. She said it was a gift for you, though she was very cagey about it."

Yue didn't respond, staring intently at her gift with glittering eyes. 

"What is it, anyway?"

Yue lifted the object for Azula to see. "It's a spool."

"A spool?" The spool was six inches in length, and wrapped very thickly in multi-colored yarn. The spool itself seemed to be made of carved bone or antler. 

Yue played with the edge of the wool thread. "It's... it's a thank you gift."

Seeing that Yue was far more affected by the spool than she would be by any other sewing implement, Azula murmured, "I think I'm missing some context here."

Yue pulled the end of the yarn away from the spool and wrapped it around her hand. In a few wraps, the yarn changed colors. "This is a very old custom, from back before the Tribe had built the great city. In those days, we were wanderers, following the flows of nature.

"People had very little in the way of personal property back then, and what they did have was often precious. It didn't make sense to hold onto superfluous things when you had to carry them around with you everywhere.

"Spools were always useful objects, so men would never look twice if you had one. Women would take pride in their spools, and the thickness of the yarn they carried. More yarn means more useful yarn crafts, more they could contribute to the community. 

"So precious was the yarn of a woman that the gift of full spools of yarn was seen as a great honor, and was usually reserved for great occasions. Thus, women would give one another short lengths of yarn as gifts of thanks, which the recipient would add to her spool."

"... That's a lot of yarn," said Azula, the implication hitting her as she stared at the thickly wrapped spool in Yue's hands. She could see many colors interwoven.

"Yeah," Yue breathed. 

"And they gave you the spool, too, which I assume is an even greater honor?"

"Yep," Yue whispered wetly. "There's enough here..."

"The whole Tribe," Azula concluded with a rushing breath out. 

"They're thanking me," Yue croaked out, voice thick. Azula moved her hand to Yue's shoulder. 

"They're thanking me," Yue repeated, tears finally slipping down her face. "All of them."

"Oh, moonbeam," Azula whispered. "Of course they are."

Yue didn't answer, instead hiccuping on her tears. 

"Please don't be sad, Yue," Azula soothed. 

"I don't deserve this," Yue cried. "It's too much. I could never do enough to deserve this!"

"You already have," Azula argued gently. "You've done more for your sisters in four months than any man ever has, like ever. That's why they're thanking you, my love."

"But--"

"This is their way of showing their support. Every time one of those idiots in the reform negotiations says something mean, something to hurt you, know that you have a hundred Tribes-women saying the opposite."

Yue flashed Azula a despairing look. "How can I ever repay them, Azula?"

"Continue your work. Pass the reforms. Be the hero your sisters need, the ones your mothers and grandmothers dreamed of. Be the hero who knows what that spool means, and who tries every day to earn it.

"Just keep being yourself."

Notes:

1) you'll see that their titles are a bit different in this. Yue is the daughter of the ruling monarch, but is not in the line for the throne herself. This would make her a "Princess Royal" in the UK, so I used that title. Since Princess Consort technically outranks Princess Royal, Yue went by the former in the Fire Nation. Since she's back home, her native title is upheld.

2) I gave Yue's mother the name Kella. This is a reference to the Incan deity Mama Killa, which literally translate to "Moon Mother" or "Mother Moon." I thought it was a fun reference and a clear choice for her name, lol

3) I picture a snowy owl-gull to look like a lean snowy owl with a long black-tipped tail that is forked, like that of a kite bird.

Chapter 3: A Day in the Life

Summary:

Yue has a big day.

A slice of life chapter from Yue's POV.

Notes:

I had fun with this one, though it does get a bit heavy towards the end. Happy ending, though.

Yue groaned as she felt Azula shake her shoulder gently. "Are you kidding me?" she grumbled, covering her eyes with an arm. 

"Sorry, moonbeam, but it is indeed morning," Azula replied. 

With a groan, Yue rubbed at her eyes, dragging herself closer to a sitting position. "Already? Howwww?"

Azula, who had returned to her previous business outside of Yue's circle of clear vision, merely chuckled. 

Yue grabbed her glasses and inspected what had prevented her wife from her normal quip about how rising with the sun was healthier. 

Azula held a piece of meat using a pair of chopsticks, and was speaking in low tones to Kallik, who sat on a small table by the window. The chick followed the meat intently, swaying back in forth as Azula moved the morsel in space. 

Kallik was now five weeks old, and was finally starting to look like a bird, rather than a small bundle of feathers and indignation. Her feathers were coming in sleek and snow-white, replacing the light gray fluff that never seemed to obey the laws of gravity. 

"Good morning, Kallik," Yue said as she rose from their soft, warm bed into the chilled air of their bedroom.  To Yue's delight, the little bird cheeped in response. 

"Excellent," Azula praised, feeding Kallik her morsel. 

Yue dressed quickly, donning a blue dress with a quilted dark gray overlayer, which resembled a long vest. The vest featured extensive embroidery and large pockets, which made the garment very functional and beautiful - and Yue's favorite. 

Yue had purchased the vest at a Moonlight Market a few weeks earlier. The Moonlight Markets took place during the full moon, and featured artisans from around the North Pole. The creator of the vest was from the eastern coastline settlements, a middle-aged widow who scraped by off of her talents with the needle. She had been surprisingly resistant to accepting payment, but Yue had been able to talk her into accepting it eventually. 

Finishing off her outfit with a wide leather belt, Yue returned to the table to watch her wife's hijinks. 

"Would you like me to braid your hair?" Azula offered. The dark haired princess was proud of her ability to braid, a relatively new skill taught to her by her wife. Once, Azula could only manage a simple three stand braid, but now her repertoire included fishtail, four strand, and waterfall braids. 

Yue had been happy to teach Azula, finding it hard to believe that the Fire Princess's extensive education had skipped something so basic. The weirdest part is that Azula didn't find it weird at all - apparently, there wasn't a lot of time for social braiding at fancy Fire Nation girls schools.

"No thank you," Yue replied. "One of the laundry matrons has a daughter who more or less begged to do it the other day. I think the daughter wants to become a hairdresser."

Azula hummed. "It's always good to have a trade."

Yue barely stopped her eyes from rolling. She knew Azula meant the comment with good intentions, but Yue's wife had a real talent for making things sound condescending regardless. 

"What's on your docket today?" Yue asked. 

Azula smiled. "Kallik is approaching the developmental window for learning to fly, so we will be standing on the city walls to feel the wind and work on talon grip strength."

"And the gauntlet is thick enough?"

Yue had adapted one of Azula's leather bracers to become a bird gauntlet, though she had plans to commission a proper glove once Kallik had finished growing. 

"So far, so good," Azula responded, now rooting around near their bed for her padded armor capelet. Originally, the garment had been designed to provide extra padding for Azula's shoulder armor, but it had been perfect for protecting Azula's shoulder from Kallik's talons when the bird perched on her shoulder. 

Azula had insisted on packing her armor for the trip to the North, despite being specifically banned from any aggressive action by literally all of her loved ones and doctors. Yue had wanted to argue against bringing the armor, but then realized that it was a harmless solution that made Azula feel more secure. Was it a bit paranoid? Yes. Was it hurting anyone? No. Therefore: no big deal. Azula even carried the crate herself. 

It brought Yue no end of joy to see the armor transformed from the proverbial sword to a plowshare. Instead of protecting Azula from threats of a more dangerous time, the armor now helped to carry her beloved pet. 

Kallik had been an unexpected asset to Azula's assimilation to the Northern Water Tribe lifestyle. Not only did caring for the chick provide Azula with a schedule and positive outlet for her energies, but watching the young woman talk gently to the little bird warmed many a heart. 

It also didn't hurt that the shoulder pad and bracer were not visibly Fire Nation in design, as Yue herself had made them. Though not her original intention, Yue had subconsciously designed the garments to be as neutral as possible, with no markings at all beyond stitch work. Once Yue had received permission to take Azula with her to the North Pole from Zuko, Yue had turned a more intentional eye to designing Azula's wardrobe. Not only did Yue have the opportunity to keep Azula warm and comfortable with the new garments a long-term polar trip would take, but also to shape the perception of her Tribemates towards her wife. 

Clothing was a very important part of life in the Tribe - besides the fact that it kept everyone from freezing to death, clothing was the primary manner through which people could non-verbally communicate important information, like age, family group and class. Women took the obligation to clothe their families very seriously, and single garments often took weeks to create. 

That was why Yue spent a solid week coming up with designs for Azula's parka. The parka was the most visible and vital outer garment, and could carry immense explicit and subliminal impact for people interacting with the wearer. 

After a full month of labor, Yue was very proud of the finished product, which she finished just barely a week before they landed at the North Pole. Not only was the craftsmanship excellent and functionality assured, but every design choice was specifically designed to be nonthreatening but also to inspire respect. 

The color, black, was abnormal for parkas in the Tribe, but primarily because blue dye was very easy to make or acquire due to an abundance of a special dye-moss along the shoreline. Black dye was only available via trade with other nations, but not exclusively the Fire Nation. This meant that the color was eye-catching, foreign, but not immediately threatening. 

The red sash was a reference to the Fire Nation, of course, but also displayed embroidery in golden thread and cyan beads. It bore a resemblance to the ceremonial belts that healers would wear during certain festivals, which featured extensive embroidery and beadwork, though admittedly not the red color. The sash indicated high status and wealth, with the red color referencing Azula's homeland while also being very eye-catching. 

The cut of the parka was also a specific choice. Men's parkas generally had a straight hem at the knee or mid calf, whereas women's were curved. The curve was symbolic of feminity, and also didn't lie weird if the wearer was pregnant. Straight hems were not forgiving to a curved stomach, but were better for running. 

Azula's parka had a straight hem, but the sash that fell down in the front had a round hem. Yue had designed it that way to show that Azula was still a woman, but also a capable warrior.  

Overall, the look was striking. 

That wasn't to say that Azula was beloved in the Tribe - she was still merely tolerated most of the time - but Azula was no longer seen by the majority as a dragon in a muzzle made of twine. No, the lone polar-bear-wolf was now starting to become a member of the pack, albeit very slowly. 

--

After walking Azula to the Palace gates, Yue went to the laundry area and found the prospective hairdresser and her mother.  Yue was quickly ushered to a back office, where she sat on a spare crate and held a hand mirror. 

The hair stylist, a twelve year old girl named Sitka, asked in a quiet voice, "What do you want?"

Yue smiled at the direct question. "Your mother told me you have quite the talent for hair styling, which is clearly true." Yue gestured to Sitka's hair, which was appropriately complex. "I think it might be better to ask what you want to do."

Sitka seemed surprised. "I get to choose?"

"I don't see why not," Yue responded. "What do you think would look good?"

Sitka didn't answer immediately, but set to brushing Yue's hair with care. "I... I've been thinking about this for a while, actually."

"Oh?"

"You wear your hair different now than you did before you left," Sitka murmured. "Do you not like it any more?"

"Well, no. The style was lovely, but it was a bit too hard for me to keep doing on my own. I used to have servants help me with it."

Instead, Yue now wore her hair in a high wolftail, which she slipped through her crown. Once it passed through the crown, she would split the hair into two even plaits, which she  pulled forward to lie on her chest. 

"I thought so," Sitka replied. "It was very pretty, but definitely not a one-woman job. Why don't you let them help you now?"

Yue frowned. "I... sometimes, I feel like I relied too much on the servants before I went to the Fire Nation. They are a lot more utilitarian - practical, I mean - when it comes to hair."

Sitka hummed. "I guess. Your wife is definitely on the practical side of the debate for hair."

"She is nothing if not practical," Yue chuckled.

"It's very shiny. Is it very smooth in texture?"

"Yes, and straight as a pin. That seems a lot more common in the Fire Nation than here at the Pole."

Sitka made an interested noise.  "So would you like your hair to be practical or more elaborate?"

"Ummm... I guess more practical. It'd probably be better for my meetings later, more professional."

"Professional? What's that mean?"

"I want them to take me seriously, so they listen to me. If I come in looking too elaborate, they'll think... They might think I care more about my hair than the Tribe or something."

To Yue's mild surprise, Sitka responded, "That's stupid."

"What?"

"Why would your hair change how they think about your work? It's not like you're braiding your paperwork together."

Yue snorted at the mental image, but quickly saddened. "You know how boys and girls aren't treated the same?"

"Yeah? That's also stupid."

"Well, I'm trying to change that. But to do that, I have to work with a bunch of grumpy elders. They'd think it's silly to put so much effort into pretty hair. I don't want them to think I'm silly."

"They're probably just jealous - they barely have any hair, let alone enough to braid!"

Yue laughed at that. "You're not wrong!"

"It's not your fault that Water Tribe women have luscious locks," Sitka joked in a silly tone. "We might as well do something about it and make it pretty. We've been doing it for centuries!"

 "Centuries..."

"Yeah," Sitka said, "I found a scroll with old pictures from like a million years ago. There's all sorts of ladies in there with all sorts of hair styles. Seems like people have been doing fancy hair for forever. I actually got a lot of ideas from there."

"You are absolutely right, Sitka," Yue said thoughtfully.

--

"Thank you, Princess, for sitting with Sitka."

"I should be thanking you, Auntie, Sitka did an amazing job." Yue used the familiar, polite title as she gestured to her hair. It was very beautiful, if Yue did say so herself. 

"She really likes you - Sitka never speaks that much, Princess, not to anyone!"

"Really?" Yue asked. "We had no trouble talking - your daughter is very bright."

Sitka's mother's eyes glistened. "Thank you, Princess. You have no idea how much this means to her... and to me."

"It's no problem -"

"No, your Majesty, I truly mean it. Sitka is a quiet girl, but loves braiding and styling hair more than anything. She used to ask me about your white hair all the time when she was little. This is a dream come true for her."

Yue was struck silent, bringing a hand to cover her mouth.  Her eyes stung a little bit. 

"If there is anything - anything - that I can ever do for you, Princess, please let me know."

"Actually, there is one thing, Auntie."

"What?" she asked quickly. 

"I wanted to ask if I could hire Sitka to come braid my hair again. I don't want to take her away from you too often, Auntie, so maybe every week or so?"

"Really?" 

"Absolutely!" Yue said happily. "And here," Yue added, pressing a coin into Sitka's mother's hand. "I wasn't able to give this to your daughter before she ran off. For a job well done!"

--

"Good morning, your Majesty," greeted Lady Chanak, lead healer and Yue's close colleague in the negotiations. 

"Good morning, Lady Chanak," Yue replied. "How have things been going at the hospital?"

One of the first concessions granted in the negotiations was the restructuring of the Tribe healing infrastructure. No longer were healers relegated to "healing huts" scattered throughout the city, but were now operating clinics that fed into a larger hospital system. 

The hospital was run by the new Healer's Guild, which set standards for quality of care as well as compensation for the healers. Previously, people would give whatever they bartered to pay to the healers, but now, prices were set and subsidized by the government. 

Healing education was also opened to non-benders, where they head previously been limited to indirect roles, like apothecaries. Many in the Tribe didn't see the point of training non-benders in healing, but as the population grew, they would need more healers than ever. In an emergency situation, any healer is better than no healer.

The system was still working out the kinks, but had so far been positively received by the majority of those giving and receiving care. 

(As it turns out, everyone gets hurt or sick sometimes and appreciate being cared for. Who'd have thought more respect to those people taking care of them would result in better care outcomes?)

"We are monitoring a few cases of a particularly nasty flu, but otherwise, all is going well," Lady Chanak reported. 

"Excellent," Yue chirped.

The healing system reforms had been the test case for larger reforms in the Water Tribe, in more ways than one. Despite universal acknowledgement that reform was needed, the actual process of negotiating was painstaking. 

The topic of that day was law reform, though focused on the actual process of practicing law. As it stood, there was a severe lack of law practitioners and scholars within the tribe, with a good portion being present at the meeting today.

When the Water Tribe first unified from separate wandering communities around the North Pole, there was little legal infrastructure. As time went on and the Tribe grew larger and more complex, more issues arose, resulting in laws being created as needed. A small group of scholars, who became known as the "law-speakers," memorized every law and became a living knowledge bank for the Tribe. These people would often advise Tribe leadership, as well as act as judges or mediators during issues.

Unfortunately for the tribe, however, many law-speakers had died during Admiral Zhao's siege of the city, resulting in a large loss of knowledge and experience. While most laws were now written down, some of the oldest were not, and knowledge of the application of the laws throughout the centuries was lost forever. 

Today, the reform council was discussing how to make a more resilient, modern legal system that also honored tribe traditions. In particular, they were discussing the issue of the law-speakers, and how they fit in with modern society.

Yue's position was that law-speakers were valuable members of the legal system, and more should be trained. This training, however, should have more focus on legal precedent and practice. While this was already a bit of a controversial opinion, Yue knew that the elders on the council would make the most fuss about her demand that any citizen be able to train to be a law-speaker. The citizenship of the Water Tribe, of course, included women, which was assuredly going to cause an argument or three. 

"Lady Chanak, were you able to look back through your records like I requested?"

The older woman nodded. "Unfortunately, I was not able to find any paperwork that had been signed off by someone that could unequivocally be proven to be female."

In the debates yesterday, one of the council members had argued that there was no precedent for a female law-speaker. How, then, could they know that a woman would be able to do the job of a law-speaker? The law was not a place for those who were ruled by emotion (Yue had to suppress a gag at that argument).

Yue grimaced. "That's a bummer. I really thought we could find record of a female law-speaker that way."

"It was clever, Princess, but unfortunately, our ancestors had rather gender-neutral names."

"Gender-neutral by our standards, anyway," Yue commented. "Besides, it doesn't matter if there hasn't been a female law-speaker before. The whole point is to train new ones!"

"I'm sorry, your Highness," Lady Chanak said ruefully. "I like your hair, by the way."

Yue smiled. "Thank you. I just found a new hair stylist, very talented girl from the east side of the city."

Lady Chanak nodded. "Talented indeed. Maybe I should pay her a visit, if I could ever find the time," she joked. The Healer's Guild took up the vast majority of her time.

"Absolutely," Yue replied. "Her name is Sitka. She was telling me about how she gets inspiration from historical scrolls..." Yue trailed off. 

Lady Chanak lifted an eyebrow. 

"I think I might have an idea," Yue said. She stood and walked to the door. "Excuse me," she called to a passing servant. 

"Yes, Princess?"

"Can you get someone to run over to the library really quick?"

"Of course, ma'am. What do you need?"

Yue turned and rifled around for a piece of paper. Once she finished her short note, Yue turned back to the servant. "Can you get everything on that list? And ask if the librarian has anything else?"

"Yes, Princess, immediately," the servant said, giving a short bow and departing. 

Lady Chanak smirked at Yue. "What have you got up your sleeve, Princess?"

"Just an idea," Yue replied. "It probably won't work, but it's worth a shot."

The meeting of the reform council had started by the time a servant came in with the pile of reading material that Yue had requested. Quietly, Yue accepted the materials and started flipping through them. 

A cough interrupted her hurried review. "Do we need to reconvene this meeting later, Princess?"

Yue squinted up at the elder who spoke. "No, Councilman. I'm just looking for a reference before it's my turn to speak."

"What are you reading?" asked a different councilman, who leaned over in his seat to look at Yue's scroll.  He scoffed once he got a better look. "Are you really looking at hairstyles right now, your Highness? Is this conversation boring you?"

"No--"

"It's only natural for a young lady to be interested in her hair, and what lovely hair you have, Princess. It looks very nice today. But this is a very important meeting that we are in right now," his tone was equal parts condescending, faux-concerned, and gleefully vicious.

"I assure you, Councilmen," Yue gritted out. "This meeting is very important to me. This is actually a reference for later."

"Forgive me, but I fail to see how that's possible, your Highness," said the first Councilman.  

"If we return to the meeting now, it will soon be my turn to present my position. At that point, you'll see what I mean," Yue replied, voice as defiant as she dared. 

There was a chorus of harrumphs around the room, and the Chief shot his daughter a concerned look. She met his gaze levelly. 

Soon enough, it was Yue's turn to speak. She quickly outlined her position, that law-speakers are important and that the Tribe needed more. It would be foolish to exclude any interested  students, regardless of sex. 

"But how, may I ask," piped up one of the Councilmen, "does your text on hairstyles relate to this, your Highness?"

Yue smiled. "I'm so glad you asked," she replied. She held up one sheet of paper from a scroll, which displayed the side profile of six women in differing hairstyles, each of which had a short description underneath.

"If you look at my document, you'll see collection of hairstyles, yes. But if you look underneath, you'll see not only a description of the style, but also of the woman who wore it. It includes her name, her family, and her position in society."

"Fascinating," drawled one of the Councilmen. "But--"

"You'll see that the bottom right portrait is of a woman named Ankha. She is wearing what scroll creator calls a cascaded waterfall braid. Ankha's position is what is of interest, however." Yue held out the scroll to Lady Chanak. "Can you please read what her role was, Master Healer? My glasses are rather smudged."

Chanak smiled. "Of course, your Highness. It says that Lady Ankha was a master law-speaker. Why, Princess, the date on the scroll is more than 300 years ago."

"Indeed it is, Master Healer," Yue replied. "Here, you can all review it," she said, passing the scroll to her right. "Please be careful though, it is rather old.

"I believe that this evidence stands in opposition to your previous statement, Councilman, that there have been no female law-speakers before. I guess tradition cannot be a limiting factor in this argument, gentlemen."

"Alright, Princess, you've made your point," ground out the ringleader in reply.  

Yue nodded, suppressing the vicious grin that threatened to split her face, instinctively baring her teeth to the enemy. "Now that that's out of the way, does anyone have any other arguments against female law speakers or can we move along to something more important?"

Yue was startled from her thoughts by Azula's shout. "Yue!" She had been walking from the Council meeting room to the library. 

Looking up, Yue saw her wife on a nearby wall, waving. Yue returned the wave with a grin. 

Azula, in a move to this Yue had still yet to grow accustomed, leapt off her perch, landing fluidly and starting toward her wife. Yue suspected that the flip that Azula had incorporated into the leap hadn't been strictly necessary. 

"Hello, moonbeam," Azula said as she met Yue, giving her the briefest kiss on the cheek in greeting. "Are you done for the day?"

"The council meeting is finished for the day, which is a relief. I need to do some research, though, before dinner, and get a little bit more reading done after dinner," Yue replied. 

"Busy," Azula replied. "When is the next council meeting?"

"Day after tomorrow. We'll be discussing the process to remove laws that are out of date or should otherwise be removed from the legal codes."

Azula smirked. "Sounds like a riveting process."

Yue chuckled. "Yeah, but once we settle on a method, I can start getting particularly stupid laws off the books, like the one that says you can't tie yellow ribbons into the hair of any person over 6 years old."

Azula's face scrunched in confusion. "How odd. I wonder how that came to be."

Yue shrugged. "No clue, but it's real. There's a lot of weird laws like that, about all sorts of things."

"... And if you get rid of the very silly ones at first, you can attack the ones based on other stupidity more easily," Azula realized. "Very clever, wife!"

Yue smiled, blushing slightly. "That's a more, uh,  aggressive way of putting it, but yes."

"When do you think you'll be able to start removing the weird laws?"

"Once we settle on the law removal process... maybe a week? I'm not very involved with the details of the methods for removal - more of a legal scholar thing."

Azula squinted in thought before donning a sly grin. "So what you're saying is that your next meeting isn't for two days and even then you won't be too actively involved?"

"Yes...?"

"That means that your research can wait for tomorrow!"

"Why, Azula," Yue said, bringing a hand dramatically to her heart, "are you suggesting that I skip out on work? Well I'd never!" she exclaimed jokingly. 

"Well, I am the crazy foreign witch who intends to corrupt the North's favorite daughter," Azula replied sarcastically.  "Why not start that corruption with a little bit of playing hooky?"

"'Playing hooky?' I've never heard that before."

"The Avatar is fond of the phrase. I have no idea where in his travels he picked it up," Azula explained. 

Yue grinned. "Who would have thought Princess Azula, the greatest workaholic of all time, would be encouraging me to take the afternoon off?"

Azula put the back of her hand to her forehead, like a fancy, overdramatic lady would in Court. "How far I have fallen."

Yue grabbed her have gently. "Only half so far as would jump to stay beside you."

Azula's face did something funny, and she raised their joined hands to kiss Yue's hand. She didn't say anything, but Yue could feel the affection through the gestures. 

Taking mercy, Yue asked, "What shall we do then, my dear? Take a walk on the city walls? Peruse the markets? Read quietly in our room?"

"I'd like to look around the markets. The chie- your Father said a new trade caravan came in yesterday," Azula replied. "Could be interesting."

"Let's do it," Yue agreed. 

The market was at a mid-afternoon lull by the time Yue and Azula arrived. They had quickly stopped to retrieve Kallik from her mid-day nap in their rooms and to freshen up. 

Owl-gulls of all ages tended to rest during mid-day, Azula had read. The bright sunlight reflecting against the snow hurt their eyes, so the birds naturally evolved to sleep during the brightest time of the day. The high light sensitivity was one of the similarities between owl-gulls and other owl-type birds, which were mostly nocturnal at lower latitudes. During the long winters with minimal sunlight, owl-gulls could hunt at any time of day, an advantage in the harsh environment. 

Yue kept hold of Azula's hand as they wandered through the market, out of a mix of pride, shyness and a bit of rebellion. 

"Excuse me, are you Princess Yue?" came a voice from behind the pair of Princesses. 

"Yes?" Yue asked, turning around to seek out her addresser.  It was a tall woman, maybe thirty years old, eyes cautiously curious. 

"And this is the Fire Nation Princess? Your... wife?"

"Yes," Azula responded shortly. "I am Princess Azula, lawful wife of your Tribeswoman and Princess Royal, Yue. What do you want?" Azula's tone was sharp. 

"Oh!" the woman exclaimed. "I meant no offense, your Highnesses," she said with an rough approximation of a bow. "I just had to see if it was true, with my own eyes."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Yue said. "What is your name?"

The strange woman dragged a hand over her face. "Oh, no, I'm messing it all up," she groaned quietly. Straightening, the woman said, "My apologies, Princesses. My name is Kam. I'm part of the Eastern Hare-verine Clan. We're here to trade."

"Nice to meet you, Kam. How can I help you today?" Yue responded, relieved that the stranger was awkward rather than hostile. Mild to moderate hostility was a common reaction from people seeing Yue and Azula together. 

"I, uh- I- we are- Are you really married? Like, in the eyes of the Tribe and the spirits?"

"As I already said, Trader Kam, yes, we are wed," Azula stated stiffly, rage not quite in her tone but close. 

"That's awesome!" Kam exclaimed. 

Surprised, Yue blinked. "Thanks?"

"I didn't think they'd ever let two women get married," Kam gushed. "I didn't think the Tribe would let it happen. But look at you! The Princess!"

Azula turned her face from the rambling woman, raising an eyebrow in Yue's direction. 

"I'm glad you're happy," Yue chanced, last words raising into a question. 

Kam smiled widely. " I can't wait to tell Kiki about this! She'll be so excited! We can... She'll be so happy!"

Ah. 

"Is Kiki your...?"

"Yeah," Kam said with a dreamy grin.  "Uh... I should stop bothering you. Thank you so much, your Highnesses." She spoke very quickly.

Azula forestalled the woman's exit.  "Is your Kiki here in the city?"

Kam nodded. 

"And you love her?"

"More than anything."

"And I assume she feels the same way?"

Kam nodded again, blushing. 

"Go and get her. I have an idea."

As Kam more or less sprinted away, Yue turned to Azula. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, if the woman's blush was any indication, they're in love. Kam was clearly overjoyed to hear of our nuptials, implying that she wanted something similar," Azula explained with a smile. "I think we might be able to help with that."

"No!" Yue exclaimed. "Really?"

"Of course," Azula responded. "I'm a Princess of the Blood. Considering some of the things I did before the end of the War, overseeing a wedding barely even registers as an exercise of power.

"And besides, you'll be there too. You won't be doing the actual ceremony, but your presence will confirm to anyone the legitimacy of the marriage."

"Progressive but with enough plausible deniability to keep people happy..." Yue mused. 

"And you say you're not a proper politician, my Moon!"

Half an hour later, they gathered in an open courtyard that Yue had commandeered from the single merchant who had a set up there. He had been open to moving when Yue asked (and definitely not because Azula was standing behind her being menacing).

Kam had retrieved her woman, Kiki, who was a full head shorter and rather voluptuous compared to her stick-like lover. Kiki was a member of a clan that lived near Kam's, and was a talented singer, as indicated by her beaded belt. 

In total, there were eight people in the courtyard: Kam, Kiki, Yue, Azula, Kiki's sister and three other people who knew the couple. Kallik was also there, perched on Azula's shoulder, adding a decent amount of gravitas. 

"Hello, all, I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, and we are gathered here today to join Kam and Kiki in marriage. Before I proceed to the official binding, would either bride like to say anything?"

Kiki spoke. "Kam, if you had told me yesterday that we would be legally married by the Princess of the Fire Nation in the capital of the Northern Water Tribe, I would have called you crazier than a jay-loon bird.

"But here we are, and I couldn't imagine anything more perfect than this moment. I love you, and have loved you with my whole heart for years. I feel so incredibly blessed that we can be married in law as well as our hearts."

Kam was openly crying, but choked out, "Kiki, I love you so much. You've been all I ever wanted, and today feels like a dream I never want to wake up from. 

"I-" her words were cut off by a loud sniff. 

"Please don't cry, sweetie, or you'll make me cry!" Kiki complained, eyes already leaking. 

"Sorry, Kee, I'm just so happy."

"Shall I proceed?" Azula asked, face a mask of professionalism cracked only by a tiny lifting of the corners of her mouth.

The brides managed to choke out their assents, and Azula sprung into the shortest Fire Nation marriage rites she could remember. 

Yue stepped forward to interrupt the ritual before the final, sealing kiss. Azula motioned for Yue to speak. 

"I, Yue, Princess Royal of the Northern Water Tribe, do hereby acknowledge this marriage, and pray to the spirits of the ocean and the Moon to bless your union with joy, love and peace forevermore." 

She stepped back, and the brides kissed, sealing the marriage. Applause rang through the courtyard - the little ceremony had apparently grown in audience during the rites. 

Yue met Azula's eyes as everyone rejoiced, smiling with love and joy. To her immense delight, Azula's eyes shown back with the same energy.

It really was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. 

--

Dinner that night was a subdued affair. The emotional high from the wedding had worn off, leaving Yue and Azula surprisingly drained. 

Chief Arnook has also been quiet, picking at the food the wives had brought home from the market. 

When Azula and Yue rose to retire to their rooms, he spoke up. "Can I have a word, Yue?"

"Of course," Yue responded, shaking her head minutely at the concerned frown on Azula's face. Yue knew that Azula would eavesdrop regardless. 

"Yue..." Arnook started before trailing off. 

"Yes, Father?" Yue prompted. 

"I... I know you have found happiness in your marriage, which is wonderful, and that Azula is a Princess in her own right," he said slowly, not meeting his daughter's eyes, "but... was there really a wedding today at the market?"

Ah, of course, Yue thought with a pang of sadness. "Yes, there was. It was lovely," she said with a purposeful tone. "Everyone was so happy."

"That- that's good, Yue. Very good. But..."

"But?" Yue was using the face and tone she used extensively in council meetings, one of professionalism with just the slightest hint of a challenge. It was all in the eyebrows, which had to be raised just the slightest bit in the middle with the rest of the face fully neutral. 

Azula had taught her the expression, telling her to imagine that Yue was the one being eminently reasonable and that she was allowing the others to speak out of the goodness of her heart. The key, Azula said, was to act as though your idea was the most obvious thing in the world and that everyone else was being oddly stupid about the matter at hand. The dark haired Princess had developed the face very young due to the rigors of the Fire Nation court. 

"I didn't know Azula could officiate weddings."

"She can do all sorts of things as a Princess," Yue responded pointedly. 

"Yes," he said, rubbing at his forehead with two fingers - a bashful gesture. "Indeed."

"I think she was very kind to offer to marry the couple," Yue said, pointedly not referring to the point which clearly made her Father uncomfortable. 

"Very kind," Arnook replied. "I just wonder if the rest of the Tribe will accept the union, since the Fire Nation Princess was the one to officiate."

"Oh," Yue smiled, "it's all perfectly legal! The Treaty means that each government has to respect the legal processes and practices of the other, including marriages. It's all so convenient!"

"And you had to bless the union?" He was more exasperated now. 

"Well of course," Yue gasped in a show of faux surprise. "How could I deny a union performed by a legally empowered official, let alone one that caused so much joy?"

"You can't just go around acknowledging unions, Yue! You do realize that you aren't actually a member of the government, right?"

"So helping rewrite the Constitution of the Tribe doesn't make me part of the government?"

"You're an advisor, Yue, not a government official! You can't just run around and do whatever you want!"

"I am the Princess of the Tribe! I know that Princess means something different elsewhere, but I figured that it at least qualified me for this!"

"You know that's not what I meant," Arnook muttered. 

"No, Father, I don't think I know what you mean," Yue challenged, eyes slits. 

"Is that so?" Arnook asked heatedly. 

"Yes," Yue growled. "It sounds to me like you only want me to be a quiet little doll for people to position as needed! I should just buy you a statue - it'd do my role better than I ever did!"

Tears threatened to escape Yue's eyes, but she kept them in with a truly massive effort as she stood, panting.

Before her Father could speak, Yue turned and stomped out of the room. As Yue suspected, Azula was waiting just outside. 

"We're going to bed," Yue ground out. Yue felt like she might melt the ice around her with sheer rage. 

Azula nodded silently and led the way to their rooms. 

The second the door closed, Yue started hyperventilating. Azula maneuvered her to the bed and crouched in front of Yue. 

"Moonbeam?" 

"We had a fight," Yue said wretchedly, face now drenched in tears. 

"You sure did," Azula agreed, holding Yue's hands. 

"I yelled at my father..." Yue choked out. 

"Oh, love," Azula said, rising to hug Yue on the bed. "That must have been distressing."

"Nev- nev- never done that before," Yue managed between sobs.

"About time," Azula muttered from the side of her mouth. She focused her energies on Yue then, rubbing the sobbing woman's back. 

"Sorry," Yue eventually managed. 

"You obviously needed that," Azula responded. "What happened?"

"Didn't you hear it all?"

"Most of it, but you should tell me anyway. It is beneficial to talk through emotionally upsetting events with a trusted loved one."

Yue laughed a little. "Whatever they pay Doctor Ra-Zhe, they should double it."

Azula nodded, a tad sheepishly. 

"Pa- Father wanted to talk about the wedding."

"Ah," Azula said, "of course."

"He said," Yue started before sniffing loudly, "he said that I can't do things like that. That I'm not a part of the government."

"That's a load of garbage," Azula snapped.

"Yeah, but then he said that I was overstepping my roles and that I should stop."

"I assume that's when the yelling started."

"Uh huh. I just got so mad! It felt like I was fifteen again, all quiet and demure and powerless." Yue started crying again. "I can't go back to that, Azula, I just can't! I know the Tribe needs me, but I can't just be a quiet little dolly for old men to position as needed!"

"Yue," Azula started seriously, "they invited you here. It's too late to un-ring that bell, to silence you. You're making a difference, and they cannot stop you."

"But what if they all want me to stop?"

Azula rose abruptly, almost making Yue topple to the side. Yue sat in confusion for a few moments until Azula returned. 

"Those old losers might want you to stop," Azula said, raising her hands to show what she was carrying. "But they don't want you to."

Azula held the spool gifted to Yue by the women of the Tribe. She lifted the spool and rubbed the soft yarn that wrapped around it thickly. 

"There are a lot more people, a lot more women, that want you to keep going than stupid old men who want you to stop."

Yue nodded, eyes still on the spool. It was the most meaningful gift she had ever received, heavy with a gratitude that Yue worked every day to live up to. 

"Thank you, Azula," Yue rasped. "You're right, as usual," she said, looking up to her wife with a smile. 

"It's a terrible burden," Azula joked, bending to peck Yue lightly on the lips. 

Yue had just started to laugh when a knock rang out from the door. 

Azula's eyes sharpened. "Your Father, I assume."

"Yep," Yue agreed.

"I can tell him to go away," Azula offered. "Tell him to go row to the Earth Kingdom for all we care."

"No, it's okay. I'll go talk to him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Azula opened the door, Yue behind her a step. Based on Arnook's expression, Azula was probably glaring at him something fierce. 

"Azula, dearest, will you run and get me some headache tea from the kitchens?"

Azula nodded sharply, eyes cutting to Arnook as if to ask if Yue were absolutely sure she wanted to be alone with her father. At Yue's minute nod, she stalked away. 

"Chief," Yue greeted formally. "How can I help you this evening?"

"Yue..." Arnook started before he groaned and ran a hand down his face. 

"Yes?" she said, trying and failing to inject venom into her voice. 

"I'm sorry."

"What?" she asked softly. 

"That was out of line. I'm sorry."

Yue looked at her Father suspiciously. She had never fought with him enough to see him apologize, but found herself suspicious of the attempt nonetheless. 

"Uh," Yue grasped for something to say. "Thank you?"

"I let my feelings get the best of me. I said cruel things as a result. I shouldn't have done that."

Yue was speechless. 

Arnook continued. "I... I am just worried. About you."

"Why?"

"I- I'm worried about how the Council will react. They barely accepted your marriage to Azula, and that was when the stakes were a million times higher. Now? This couple? They're... they're going to be mad."

"... I know," Yue responded. "I know they're going to be mad. Why do you think I got Azula to do the ceremony? They already hate her, and they can't do anything about the Treaty."

"It's not just this one wedding, Yue. What if they start to ice you out during the Reform Council meetings? You're working so hard."

Yue snorted. "Yeah, but here's the thing: I'm already iced out."

"Yue, please."

"I am being serious - you and Lady Chanak are the only ones who talk to me most days. But I don't care. I don't need them to like me. I just need them to listen to me. 

"My words are strong enough that personal distaste cannot overrule them."

Arnook smiled, sadly. "My sweet little cub, now defending the pack so fiercely."

He walked over and hugged Yue.  "I am so proud of you," he whispered into her hair.  "Your mother would be too."

"Papa..." Yue choked out, smushing her face into his shoulder. 

They stood in that embrace for a long while. It was nice. 

Eventually, Azula returned, small tea pot in hand. "I have your tea," she said as she walked in. 

"Thank you," Yue said from the small table where she sat across from her Father. "Would you like a cup, Papa?"

Arnook smiled at the word. "A quick one, yes."

Yue started to stand, but Arnook rose faster. "Where are your cups?"

"They're in that cupboard," Yue responded while pointing. 

She sat in silent wonder as her father gathered the cups and took the tea pot from Azula, who refused a cup. 

Taking the freshly poured cup, Yue thanked her Father. 

"Of course, my little cub."

They sat and enjoyed that silent tea for longer than strictly necessary, soft smiles on their faces. 

Once Arnook had left, Azula took his seat. She looked at the empty tea cup and asked, "He served the tea?"

Yue nodded, still glowing a bit. "He really meant it when he apologized," she offered in explanation. 

"Good," Azula said with finality. "Now let's go to bed."

"Indeed," Yue agreed. "I've had quite the day."

Notes:

The law-speakers are inspired by the law-speakers of ancient Scandinavia, who would memorize whole legal codes. Very neat subject, definitely recommend taking a look.

Yue uses the term "Auntie" as a term of respect, like in many cultures.

I went a bit hard on the fashion history for Inuit parkas and a little loosy-goosy with the whole wedding thing. I'm here for a good time, not a legally accurate one, lol.

Chapter 4: Enter: Team Avatar

Summary:

The Northern Water Tribe is hosting a lot of familiar faces at the first international trade conference since the War. The first wave arrive today.

Notes:

Sorry it's been a minute, but that's depression for ya. This chapter is a bit short, but perfect is the enemy of done, so here we are.

I have a whole bunch of ideas for this, so hopefully it'll be fun.

A note: of the Gang, only Aang has met Azula face to face outside of battle. None of the others have. I think I cover this well in the chapter, but I want to make it clear from the outset, lol.

Azula stood on a rise facing southeast when she finally saw a shape in the sky approaching. As it neared, she saw was indeed what she was waiting for - the Avatar's flying bison. 

She sent a flare of blue flame above her head to signal to the Avatar her location.  A few moments later, the beast set down with a surprising amount of grace for something so large. 

"Hi Azula!" the Avatar cried as he flung himself off of the bison. Thankfully, he stopped short and bowed in greeting, clearly remembering Azula's preferences concerning touch. 

Azula returned the bow, impressed with how tall the young Airbender had grown in the year since their last meeting. "Hello, Avatar Aang. I see you've brought guests."

Three guests, to be exact, slid off the sky bison's back. Two, a man and a woman, wore Water Tribe blues, and the third wore green. 

While Azula had heard many stories from the Avatar, she still had not met any of his companions. It turns out that being locked away for the safety of one's self and others really limits your networking potential. 

Still, she did remember the key details. The Water Tribe youths were siblings from the Southern Tribe, with the woman being the Tribe's last waterbender. The other woman was the Earthbender, as indicated by her clothes. She was likely affluent, Azula noted based on the bright shade of green she wore, which could only be achieved with a specific dye (the book Azula had briefly stolen from Yue on plant-based dyes had been actually been fairly interesting). 

Though she had faced two of these people in battle before, Azula had not noted their names at the time. After, when Aang came to visit, he threw around names so blithely that Azula couldn't keep up. She had been in a prolonged mental crisis at the time, so as Azula gave herself a bit of grace on the matter.  

"Yeah!" the boy grinned. "You've already met Sokka and Toph--"

"Yes, from the worst day of my life, of course," Azula interjected in an attempt at a joke. 

The joke did not land. The others grimaced. Whoops. 

"And!" the Avatar said louder, "this is Katara!"

"Your romantic partner, yes. You've mentioned her many times," Azula said. She eyed the waterbender carefully, as she would for any bending master. The woman was reportedly very skilled, and she carried herself with an appropriate level of confidence. Katara returned the appraising look, Azula noted with distant approval. 

Azula bowed in the Fire Nation style. "Greetings. I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. I believe you know my brother."

"Zuko?" asked the Water Tribe boy, who was named either Sokka or Toph. 

"Yes," Azula said, closing her eyes so that the others could not see them rolling. That was a relatively new behavior acquisition, since the gesture (from people who did not hold absolute power) would be interpreted as 'rude.'

"Not to be rude, your Highness," asked the one in Earth Kingdom green in an irreverent tone, "but why is the Princess of the Fire Nation greeting us here at the North Pole?"

"Oh!" Aang exclaimed. He started to respond when he was interrupted. 

"Wait..." The Water Tribe man interjected as his eyebrows shot up. "You're Zuko's sister!"

Azula didn't try to hide the eye roll this time. "Yes, as we have already established."

"You're here at the Pole! The North Pole!"

Azula turned to squint at Aang, wondering if the older teen was serious, and, if so, why the Avatar kept such poor company. 

The waterbender seemed to be on the same wavelength as Azula. "Did you get hit on the head, weirdo?"

"No!" he squawked indignantly. "It's just that Zuko told me about his sister a while ago."

"Only terrible things, I assume," Azula quipped. 

"Yea-- well, wait, I mean--"

The Earth Kingdom teen snapped her fingers. "Skip the blathering and get to the point, Captain Boomerang!"

Though he looked offended, the youth gathered his wits and asked, "If you are here at the North Pole, does that mean Yue is here?"

Azula was set on edge by the question. "I am greeting you on the request of Princess Royal Yue Moon-Chosen of the Northern Water Tribe," she said in her icy-but-polite voice, stressing each word in Yue's proper title. "Her Majesty is indeed at the Pole, but is temporarily unavailable due to her service on the Tribal Council."

"Oh, great!" chirped Aang. "I can't wait to say hi!"

Azula softened slightly. "She, too, is excited to see you again, Avatar."

"Wait," asked the Earthbender, "I don't get it. Why wouldn't the Princess be here? Doesn't she live here?"

"And why would it matter if you were here anyway?" continued Katara. "No offense, Azula."

"You couldn't if you tried," Azula replied smoothly. "What I assume your companion is getting at is that Zuko told him about our marriage and is asking - very unsubtly, by the way - if the marriage still stands."

The tall man nodded sheepishly. "Its just with the whole end of the War and everything, I figured you might have wanted to dissolve the marriage is all."

"Hold on a sec," the Earthbender interjected. "Who's married to who?"

"Azula and Yue are married!" Aang replied happily. 

"Two women? Is that allowed?" she asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me that's allowed!"  To Azula's amusement and mild surprise, the Earthbender seemed rather excited by the news. 

"Same sex marriage is not legal in the Earth Kingdom, though the Kingdom acknowledges unions created in jurisdictions where the marriage is performed," Azula replied, slipping into fact recitation mode. 

"To the best of my knowledge, the law prohibiting such unions was written about forty years into the 100 Year War and almost exclusively aimed to force more reproduction amongst noble families in the city of Ba Song Se."

The Avatar's three companions seemed slightly stunned by Azula's facts. It wasn't, Azula reminded herself, about the fact Azula knew the facts and they were, as a result, adjusting their threat assessments. That's what she would do - would have done, before. 

"So your wife asked you to meet with us?" asked the waterbender, cutting through the minute tension. 

"Yes," Azula responded, relieved to move on from the subject. "Yue was pulled into a meeting about an issue with the Weaver's Guild. She will rendezvous with our group when we return to the city."

"Great! Let's go!" Aang gusted himself onto the bison's back. 

"One moment, please," Azula said as the others boarded the beast. 

Azula let out a piercing whistle that carried fast and far over the tundra. 

"What was that for?" the Earthbender groused, rubbing at one of her ears. 

Azula didn't respond, instead holding out her long-gloved arm, hand clenched into a fist. 

"What is she doing?" asked the Water Tribe man in an attempt at a hushed tone, presumably to his sister. 

Azula wasn't really paying attention, though, but instead was listening intently. After a moment, she smirked and braced herself. 

To a chorus of gasps from the Avatar's group, Kallik flashed over the sky bison to land on Azula's forearm, letting out a screech as she went. Azula couldn't help but smile at the bird's penchant for drama. 

While the others cried out in wonder, the Earthbender asked with great frustration, "What was that!?" 

"'That' was my companion, Kallik."

"It's a bird?" the young woman asked. Azula remembered then that the woman was blind. 

"Kallik is a snowy owl-gull. She is my messenger, hunting partner and companion."

"She's so big!" cried Katara. "None of the birds at the South Pole grew so large!"

Azula smirked again. "Kallik is large even among her own species."

"She's gorgeous, Azula!"

"Don't say such things, Avatar, they go straight to her head," Azula joked. This time, the joke had the desired effect, being met by laughs from the whole group. 

--

"Congratulations on your engagement to Master Katara," Azula said to the Avatar as they walked with their group through the city. She said it quietly, slowing slightly to make the conversation more private. 

"What?" Aang looked mystified. 

"I saw the betrothal necklace she wears. Based on our conversation earlier, it is obvious that you would have been the one to give it to her."

"That's her mother's necklace," Aang replied quickly. "Katara wears it to honor her memory." 

He peered over to where Katara was talking animatedly with her brother and the Earthbender. "Wait," he said in a hushed tone, "what do you mean by betrothal necklace?"

"The necklace is the traditional gift given to women when they are betrothed. They are traditionally carved by the intended spouse, though pre-existing jewelry is also acceptable in some cases," Azula explained, fondly picturing the necklace Yue wore every day. 

"I guess her Father made it for her Mother..." Aang muttered. 

"That's the logical assumption, yes."

A few moments later, Azula asked another question. "Why haven't you asked to marry Master Katara? She is a great warrior and healer, not to mention very beautiful."

Aang flushed scarlet. "Us? Married?" he squeaked. "We're way too young!"

Azula furrowed her brow. "I thought you were 15?"

"Almost 16..." he muttered. 

"I was married for almost two years by that age," Azula responded.

"I'm not sure that's something to brag about," Aang said in a half-apologetic tone. 

"While the circumstances of my marriage are abnormal in your cultural contexts, the strength and peace the union has brought me would be considered an asset by any person."

"That's great for you. I don't think either of us is ready for that step yet, though," Aang said politely. 

"That's fair," Azula mused. "But don't be surprised if everyone in the Tribe thinks the two of you are already engaged."

"Good to know."

"I have one more question, Avatar Aang."

"Yes, Princess Azula?"

"Toph and Sokka - which one is which?"

--

"Avatar Aang," greeted Chief Arnook. "Welcome back to the Northern Water Tribe."

The Airbender gave a bow to the Chief. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Chief. Thank you for inviting me for this grand occasion."

Azula had brought the Avatar and his friends to the formal throne room of the Tribe, where Chief Arnook now stood, Yue to his right and Master Pakku to his left. Azula stood to the side of the Avatar's group, to the Chief's right, like Yue. 

"We are glad you are here - the first post-war International Trade Summit would be incomplete without you," Arnook remarked. "Not only are you the Avatar, but you are also the representative of your people and their ideas. It would be wrong to not include the perspective of the Air Nomads in a truly international event."

Aang gave a soft gasp. "You- you honor me, Chief Arnook. Thank you."

Azula smirked. She had lobbied the Chief directly to let Aang represent his bygone people at the Summit. 

Her argument had three parts:
1) Aang would already be there and contributing, so it would cost nothing but words.
2) An outsider perspective would be invaluable.
And 3) at the very least, the Avatar is extremely well-traveled and will have valuable knowledge of potential and historic nomad travel routes. 

There was a secret fourth prong to her reasoning, one that she had not told Arnook. During their many talks in Azula's ersatz asylum, Aang had taught the Princess much about the unique way of life of the Nomads. Azula could tell that the Avatar was burdened by the necessity to operate in the way of the other nations, which were so different to the way he grew up. 

Azula had not mentioned the fourth reason because it was a strictly emotional reason, which she had been taught was never the good basis of an argument. Emotion undercut serious persuasion, her tutors had drilled into her.

To Azula's moderate surprise, the Chief had immediately accepted her proposal. Usually, he would need an entire dissertation on everything that Azula suggested, but this time, he had merely cocked his head, smiled, and agreed. 

Azula wasn't quite sure why, but the Chief seemed to be a little warmer with her after that. Yue perceived the difference as well, only smiling when Azula would comment on it. 

Arnook then inclined his heads to the Avatar's guests. 

"I greet you, children of our sister Tribe. We welcome you as kin and as emissaries of our Southern counterpart."

The Southern Tribe siblings bowed. 

Sokka spoke first. "Thank you for welcoming us, Chief. I am Sokka, and my sister is Katara. Our Father, Hakoda, will be arriving in a few days. He led the Southern forces during the War, first acting as War Chief and then as the confirmed Tribal Chief upon his return home."

"Wonderful," Arnook responded. "It has been at least a generation since the Chiefs have met. Let us hope that our meeting is fruitful."

Katara stepped forward. "I am the last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. I hope that I may study bending during my visit."

Azula's eyes narrowed, watching Master Pakku. The old master had been a staunch opponent of many of Yue's reforms, but had eventually ceded the point about female waterbenders learning non-healing bending, reluctantly. 

Chief Arnook also turned to look at Pakku. 

"I've seen you bend, young lady, when you and your companions helped to stop the Invasion."

The whole room seemed to take in a breath, worried how this would progress. 

"By my estimation, you are already a Master. "

Azula shot a glance to Yue, who gave a small shrug. She was as taken aback by the remark as Azula was, it seemed. 

Katara spoke up after a moment. "Thank you, sir. I would still like to learn more, learn the ways of our sister tribe. One can never master everything, after all."

Pakku gave a small smile. "A good answer, Master Katara. Of course you may come to my school and study. Maybe teach some respect to my lazy students."

Katara grinned. "Thank you, Master."

Arnook spoke again. " And you, Sokka, you are welcome to train with our warriors at any time."

Turning to Toph, Arnook seemed unsure what to say. "You are, of course, welcome here as well, Master Earthbender. Please let me know if there's anything we can do to help you or facilitate your stay."

"Thanks," Toph said flatly. 

"Master Toph?" Yue cut in. 

"Yeah?"

"The Avatar explained that you use your sense of touch to perceive the world around you, often better others can."

"Yes...?"

"I understand that the North Pole has a decidedly colder climate than other locations, which necessitates footwear. I am of the understanding that normal Water Tribe-style boots would impair your senses greatly?"

Toph seemed caught out. "Uh, I mean, yeah, but I'll be fine."

"The Northern Water Tribe is home to some of the greatest leather workers in the world. I have no doubt that they would be able to craft footwear for you that would enable your senses with minimal impairment. If you are interested, I can send for one of the boot makers post haste."

"Really?" Toph sounded incredulous, seemingly more confused by Yue's effort than the proposed product.

"It would be no trouble. I can send for someone now, if you'd like."

"Oh! Uh, that's - I'm fine for now. Thank you."

Azula looked to Yue again, who glanced pointedly at Aang. 

Ah, he had told her about Toph then. 

She nodded at Yue, impressed. The offer was very thoughtful and insightful - it showed that Yue was both intelligent and caring, a deft move of states-woman-ship. 

My wife is the best wife. 

--

After the introductions, Arnook called for an early dinner/feast. 

Looking around at the table full of her fellow young people, Azula felt an unfamiliar warmth. She watched them talk and laugh and felt... something. It was a pleasant something, though, and Azula felt like she could sit and watch all day. 

I am like an emotional voyeur, Azula mused. I enjoy watching other people have a good time, even if I am not directly involved in the ongoing conversations. How odd. 

Best of all was seeing Yue happy. She absolutely lit up the room with her smile, which made Azula feel even warmer.  Her inner fire always burnt hotter near Yue these days, but right now, it could rival the roaring hearth in the world's busiest kitchen. 

"I'm going to use the restroom," Yue whispered to Azula about halfway through the night. 

Azula nodded and moved so Yue could slide out more easily. As she sat back down, Azula noticed Sokka was looking at her. 

"You know," Sokka started. "I also have a pet messenger bird."

Azula cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's a messenger hawk from the Fire Nation. I won him in a game of dice!"

"You mean I won him in a game of dice," Toph corrected. "You just held the cage as we made our getaway."

"Hey!"

"Getaway?"

Katara groaned. "Yeah, those two had the brilliant idea to go scam gambling games while Aang and I were trapped in meetings last year."

"It's not my fault that the games are so easy to rig in the Fire Nation. If anything, I was un-rigging the games!"

"Yeah!" Sokka crowed in support. "We were supporting your efforts to open up relations between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom."

"With crime?!"

"We were simply encouraging the exchange of Fire Nation currency with people from other nations!" Sokka said in a way meant to be convincing. 

"Besides, cheating a cheater is hardly a crime," Toph scoffed. 

Azula hummed appreciatively.  

Katara shot Azula a dismayed looked. "Oh, not you too with the crazy moral compass!"

Azula bristled slightly at the remark. "My moral compass may be rather new, but it's anything but crazy."

The silence hung for a moment until Toph broke it. "So anyway, I let Sokka keep the bird, since what use am I going to get out of it, right?" She waved a hand in front of her face. 

"That makes sense," Azula responded. "You don't need the bird to provide visual guidance--"

"Damn straight!"

"-- and it holds no strategic value to you, since you are illiterate."

"Excuse me?" Katara asked, enraged. "Illiterate?!"

"Illiteracy refers to the inability to read or write," Azula responded levelly. 

"I know what it means, your Highness," the waterbender responded with derision. 

"Katara..." Sokka said cautiously. 

"Then what is your issue?" Azula wasn't trying to get a rise out of the waterbender, but every word seemed to be making her angrier. 

"My issue?!"

"Cool it, Sugar Queen," Toph interjected. "She's right."

"What?" Katara asked, losing some of the wind in her sails. 

"Azula is right. I am illiterate."

"Don't say that about yourself, Toph," Katara chided. 

 "Why not? I literally can not read. That's the definition of illiterate!"

While Katara sputtered, Azula smirked. 

Toph smiled. "That's kind of funny, actually."

"What?" asked Sokka. 

"I've never thought about it like that before! Oh, man, I'm going to get so much milage out of this!" she said excitedly. 

"Oh," Toph started in the affected tone of a rich snob. "That Avatar chooses such poor companions! Why, I heard one of them can't even read! Great goodness, what is the world coming to?"

Sokka and Toph laughed, while Azula's smirk widened into a smile. 

"Are you sure you're okay with calling yourself that?" Katara asked quietly. 

With that comment, Azula figured out why the waterbender had had such an outsized reaction. 

Katara was defending her friend from what she interpreted as an attack on said friend's character. 

 "I did not call Master Toph illiterate as an insult," Azula clarified. "I was merely confirming my understanding of what Toph was implying. Hence, since she cannot read, she would have little use for a messenger hawk."

Azula turned to Toph. "I did not mean to insult you, Master Toph. I sincerely apologize if you were hurt by my words."

Toph snorted. "You're good, Princess. I knew what you meant."

Azula turned back to Katara. "You are a good friend, Master Katara."

Katara looked taken aback.  "Thank you...?"

"May we all be so lucky as to have so staunch a defender."

Once that conversational thread was over, Azula began a new one. 

"Tell me about the messenger hawk."

"Yeah, okay," Sokka smiled after a startled second.  "Hawky is a Fire Nation red-tailed catfish-hawk, about this tall." He held his hands to show the height, barely avoiding knocking cups to the floor in his eagerness. 

"I can't believe you named your hawk Hawky," Katara joked. 

Azula shrugged. "Hawky is a fine name."

At that moment, Yue rejoined their group. 

"Don't listen to her," Yue warned playfully. "Azula is good at a great many things, but naming is not one of them."

Azula squinted at Yue, betrayed. "That is not true."

"Tell them what you were originally going to name Kallik, then."

"'Bird' is a perfectly fine name for an animal companion." 

The others erupted into laughter.

"And what was her other potential name?"

Azula looked at the table. "... Yue Junior."

The laughter was even harder now. 

"You said to choose a name I liked!" Azula defended. Despite herself, she smiled. She was... having fun? Being made fun of? Was that a thing?

"Okay," Katara said, eventually, "we know who not to include on any naming committees in the future."

Sokka met Azula's eyes and then groaned with exaggerated exasperation. He, too, was smiling slightly. Seeing this, Azula felt reassured in her own feelings. 

--

When formalities finally concluded, Arnook requested Azula escort the Avatar and his companions to their temporary lodgings.

Aang and his friends seemed comfortable conversing amongst themselves, but Azula couldn't help but feel a bit awkward with the group. While she was familiar with Aang, the others were strangers. Small talk was more an art of saying nothing than the subtle, pointed interrogations with which Azula was more comfortable. 

Aang seemed to sense Azula's unease, and asked, "So you'll be at the conference, right?"

Azula nodded. "Yes. I will officially be Yue's aide, but I suspect I will be running interference between the Tribe and the Fire Nation officials."

"You said that you helped with the Treaty from before the War?" Katara asked.

"Helped' is one way of putting it..." Azula scoffed. "As it stands, I'm only the person in the Fire Nation in the last hundred years to make a treaty with the Water Tribe. And," she continued, "I was the only one to make an international peace treaty until Zuzu signed that farce of a document with the Earth King."

"What?" Katara asked in a sharp tone. 

"I read a copy of that so-called treaty. It would hold less water than a sieve if someone wanted to challenge it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing, the text is absurdly vague. It set everyone's borders back to what they were before the War, but doesn't describe or cite a map of what that means. Who defines where the borders were before the war?"

"Either Nation could say a different thing..."

"Exactly. It would be in each nation's best interest to claim more territory than they had previously. And oh, there's no map? It was destroyed in the War, of course!"

"And the colonies," Toph added. "What about the colonies? Who gets them? They're Fire Nation cities on Earth Kingdom land."

"Exactly," Azula responded. "And that's just one of the issues."

"Well, that's great!" Sokka exclaimed sarcastically. 

"We'll have to talk to Zuko about it when he gets here," Aang said pensively. 

What. 

Azula blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You and I should grab Zuko and the Earth King's representatives when they get here. Hopefully, we can work on a more substanti--"

"Zuko's coming?"

"Yeah?" Sokka responded questioningly. 

"I was under the impression that Zuko would not be attending," Azula said, tone kept level by an iron will. 

"Oh drat!" Katara hissed. "We forgot!"

Azula cocked an eyebrow mechanically. 

"We were visiting him before we came," Aang explained. "He said that he figured out how to make it after all."

"How wonderful," Azula responded in an even, if quiet voice. "I assume he asked you all to tell us?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Aang said with an apologetic smile. 

"Did he," Azula started before she coughed to clear her suddenly thick throat. "Did he mention who was in his travel party?"

"Uh, he said it would be him, the trade officials, the scribes and the ships crew."

Azula started to minisculely relax when Sokka added, "Don't forget about Suki!"

"Oh, yeah, he's bringing his personal guard, the Kyoshi warriors."

FUCK. 

"Excellent. Great to know. I will inform Yue and her father immediately. Here are your rooms, Avatar and friends, have a good night." Azula almost stumbled over her words in her haste to leave the conversation, more or less running towards her rooms once out of view. 

Making it to the door, Azula knocked once but then immediately entered anyway. 

"Az--"

"Hello, dearest. The Avatar just informed me that Zuko would be joining us at the Conference."

Yue stood. "Did they--"

"They were overjoyed to say that his Fire Lordship would be accompanied by his personal guard."

"Crap." Yue grimaced. "And if they're there..."

"It's only reasonable to assume that she'll come too."

Yue punched the bridge of her nose. "Spectacular."

"My thoughts exactly."

Yue sucked in a breath and cleared her expression. "Okay. Great. Cool. What are you thinking?"

"That I don't want to see them," Azula responded immediately. After a beat, she added,"Also that I kind of want to flee to the Earth Kingdom?"

"Reasonable," Yue mused. "Are we 100% sure that they're part of his party?"

"Not 100%, but we have to assume the worst in this situation."

"Okay," Yue said thoughtfully. "We should make a plan."

Azula nodded mutely. 

"First, though, I think you might need a hug," Yue said, raising her arms. "Thoughts?"

Azula nodded after a beat and stepped gingerly into Yue's arms, resting her head on her wife's shoulder. Azula found herself appreciating Yue's warmth and softness. 

For all that Azula was sharp and tall, Yue was pleasantly soft and solid. Azula now stood a few inches over Yue, and would likely continue to grow. Yue, on the other hand, had seemed to reach her final height a while ago, but was full-figured where Azula bordered on skinny.

"Thanks," Azula mumbled into Yue's hair as she started to disengage. 

"Any time," Yue responded, lightly guiding Azula's face so she could kiss her brow. 

"I'll send a message to Father about our unexpected guests, and then we can think about how the Fire Lady-to-be and her dutiful acrobat guard will fit into the conference."

"And how I can avoid them."

Notes:

~Dun dun dun~

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 5: A Bonding Montage (or something like one)

Summary:

Azula is in charge of showing Team Avatar around. She has... mixed results getting along with them.

At Yue's request, Azula became "Team Avatar's" main escort/tour guide in the days before the rest of the trade officials arrived for the Summit. Thankfully for Azula, the Avatar and his companions were all fairly opinionated on what they wanted to do at the North Pole. That meant that Azula didn't have to try and think what teenagers did for fun. 

After a morning watching Katara beating up the Northern waterbenders, Yue joined the group for a short lunch and then a guided tour through the Palace. As Azula expected, the Avatar and the Waterbender were fully enraptured in the tour, but Azula was mildly surprised to see the non-bender also hanging on Yue's every word.  He had also sat next to Yue at lunch, on the side not occupied by Azula. 

The young man's interest was not a one-off, either. He made sure to keep close whenever Yue was with them, and asked Azula questions about the Northern Princess when she was not. The questions were not surface-level, either. 

The tall young man asked about many things, inquiring about Yue's opinion on this, if the Princess had ever said anything about that, even what her favorite food was. 

Azula observed all of this, and was irked. At first, she answered Sokka's questions evenly, but quickly became short with the man as he asked more and more personal questions to and about Yue.

But what really ground Azula's gears was how the man would act obsequious around Yue, always laughing a bit too loud, agreeing a bit too quickly, always opening doors and walking on the outside of paths. Those were Azula's jobs, by right, and he was sliding into them like oil into a pitcher: slickly, quietly, but inexorably. 

Over the course of the three days after Aang and his friends arrived, Azula felt more and more like a block of wood being rubbed by the carpenter's rasp. 

On the third day, Katara requested that Azula and Aang accompany her to a handful of clinics around the city. These clinics were one of Yue's achievements, an organized system where once "healing huts" languished, scattered around the city. Yue had worked with what would become the Healer's Guild to make the Water Tribe healing system a pillar of excellence for both the community and the world. They were still working at it, admittedly, but the improvement in results and care quality were unquestionable. 

Besides Azula's familiarity with the Capital City, Katara also explained that she wanted to learn more about how the Water Tribe system differed from the Fire Nation military and civilian hospital network. 

It was a fascinating conversation, which mostly made up for how boring the rest of the afternoon was. It turns out that the intricacies of waterbending healing are, indeed, very intricate and supremely uninteresting to someone who could not bend water. 

They returned to the Palace so that everyone could regroup and prepare for dinner. It was set to be a small feast, as the day was a minor holiday in the North. Azula had the vague idea that it had something to do with a polar-bear-wolf and a set of lost twins that helped establish the city? 

As she approached Yue's office to retrieve her wife before dinner, Azula heard laughter. One voice belonged to Yue, but the other was that of the Southern Tribe warrior and friend of the Avatar, Sokka. The man was sitting close to Yue, with his back to the door as Azula stalked into the room. 

"Hello, my beloved wife. How was your day today?" Azula asked pointedly. She was pleased to see Sokka tense up at her voice. 

Yue smiled brightly and accepted Azula's kiss to the cheek. "It went really well! We are almost done with preparations for the Summit."

"Excellent," Azula started, still keeping her body angled away from the third occupant of the room. 

"Oh, and Sokka and I had an interesting discussion about potential upgrades to city utilities this afternoon."

"Did you?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow at the man in question, who seemed suitably disconcerted. 

"Uh, yeah," Sokka stammered. "We took a walk and looked at the city lighting set up."

"And?"

"What?" Sokka asked, fear in his voice. 

"And what upgrades did you identify?"

"Oh," Sokka breathed. "Well, I know this mechanist in the Earth Kingdom who--"

"Sounds fascinating," Azula said dismissively with a  flick of her hand. "Yue, Moon of My Life, shall we go prepare for dinner?"

Yue, who had been writing something in a little notebook, looked up and said, "Oh, yes, we should." Turning to Sokka, she added, "I asked the cooks to prepare you and your sister some sea prune stew specially!"

"How..." Sokka started before he noted Azula staring at him intently. "... thoughtful of you."

"Shall we?" Azula asked, offering her arm to Yue, coincidentally placing herself between the Princess and the Southerner. 

After a wishing a short goodbye to Sokka, Yue took Azula's arm and they left the room. 

"Laying it on a little thick there, my love," Yue commented. 

"I have no idea what you mean," Azula replied, innocent as an unhatched egg. 

Yue smiled. "There's nothing to worry about with him. Trust me."

"Oh, you are not the one I distrust," Azula muttered. Her tone was only just short of a growl. 

Yue chuckled softly. "My fierce dragon, so protective."

Azula didn't know how to respond to that, so instead she squeezed Yue's arm where it was held against her body. 

"Please don't try and scare him again. Sokka is a sweet guy, if a little misguided."

Azula hummed angrily, purposefully not making a promise. 

"Azula, use your words."

"... I don't like him."

"You two were getting along so well the other night, talking about Kallik and Hawky."

Azula scowled. "It seems that birds are not our only shared interest."

"Well, there is exactly one bird that I care about, and one bird keeper, and she's with me right now." 

Azula squeezed Yue's arm again, for lack of adequate words to describe the swell of love and appreciation she felt towards Yue. 

--

Dinner that night went well enough, with no sharp words and minimal glares aimed at Sokka. 

Part of the credit for that, however, had to go to the performances during the feast. The festival did indeed celebrate the founding of the City by a pair of twins, though there was no polar-bear-wolf involved, to Azula's mild disappointment. 

Instead of the excessively formulaic (and boring) structure and performance of plays in the Fire Nation, the Northern Water Tribe incorporated song, dance, waterbending and shadow puppetry during their performances. Azula had seen a few such performances during her time at the North Pole, but was still impressed with how not-boring the events managed to be each time. 

Even Toph seems to enjoy the show, though, she admitted, a lot of the waterbending and puppetry went over her head. Literally and figuratively. 

Azula liked the Earthbender, as much as one could like a stranger they met less than a week ago. It was for that reason Azula insisted that Toph accompany her on a trip to the tundra to exercise Kallik. 

"You realize your bird is essentially invisible to me 80% of the time, right?" Toph asked, grumbling. 

"That's the thing, Master Toph - I cannot see Kallik most of the time either when she's in the air," Azula explained. "She is the same color as the snow, and Kallik small enough that she becomes invisible when she's more than 100 paces away."

"Huh," Toph grunted thoughtfully. "So how do you hunt together?"

Azula smirked. "I'm just Kallik's ride, really. I take her to somewhere with good game, and she brings me some of her kills."

"How do you know she'll come back?"

"I have trained her to return to my arm with a whistle. You sa- experienced that the other day," Azula explained. 

"But what if she just decides to not come back? Just fly away and be a free bird?"

"She could," Azula replied, a bit uncomfortable. "Kallik would probably be fine on her own."

"Then why does she stay?" Toph asked bluntly. 

"Well, it's most likely that she simply hasn't thought of it yet," Azula said with a sigh. "But I raised her from when she was a chick, so I think she would stay to be with me? And her nest box in the city is very nice, which probably doesn't hurt."

Toph let the conversation end, so they stood in silence for a while. 

"... sorry."

Azula blinked. "Why are you sorry?"

"I don't think Kallik would leave," Toph said quietly. "I didn't mean to plant a bad thought in your head."

"Because you think I can't control my own mind?" she asked sharply, eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"No," Toph replied in a put-upon tone. "I just realized that telling someone that their pet could run away was kind of messed up."

"Oh," Azula said, unwinding a bit. "It's..." She sought desperately for words, but eventually just settled on, "it's okay."

"Cool, great," Toph said lamely. She then punched Azula's arm lightly.

Azula blinked at the gesture. It seemed to be one of affection, but not one she'd ever encountered. Not terrible, Azula thought. 

A few moments of companionable silence later, Toph's head shot up. "Appa?"

Azula looked over her shoulder, where the sky bison was indeed rapidly approaching. 

"How could you hear him?" Azula asked. 

"He grumbled when he saw us, I think," Toph explained. 

"Neat," Azula remarked. "Cover your ears, I'll recall Kallik."

Azula's whistle was cutting across the tundra when Appa landed. Sokka leapt (tumbled, Azula thought unkindly) from Appa's neck, where he had been steering the beast. 

"You guys need to come back to the city! There's a huge storm coming in from the sea!" he cried. 

Azula kept her eyes peeled on the skies for Kallik while Toph was boosted into Appa's saddle. 

"You too, Princess," Sokka said snappishly. 

"Just a moment," Azula replied.

"No, now!" He approached Azula from behind, about to tug on her arm. 

Unfortunately for Sokka, however, Kallik chose that moment to land on Azula's arm. Before she landed, however, Kallik released her catch from her talons, which flew forward on its own momentum and smacked Sokka in the face. 

"Ew!" he screamed, batting away the carcass, which left a decent blood stain on his chin, neck and shirt collar. 

Azula said nothing, instead bending awkwardly to gather Kallik's kill from the snow - a snowshoe vole-rabbit. 

"Let's go, then," Azula said with a smirk, kill in hand. 

Sokka scowled up at her from where he had been wiping his face and neck with snow, but made no other complaint. 

In fact, he was blessedly quiet for the majority of the short ride back to the City. Azula let Toph feel the fur of the vole-rabbit before ripping off a leg for Kallik to eat as a snack. 

Kallik's facial feathers were still bloody when they were walking back to the Palace, a sight that made Sokka look a bit queasy. 

Azula said nothing, concealing the satisfaction she felt at the little accident. Besides, it wasn't her fault that Kallik dropped her prey just so. It was a genuine accident. 

The rest of that afternoon and into the evening, the storm raged, meaning all of the people were forced to remain inside. Yue, Azula and Team Avatar were sequestered a study next to the dining room where the adults were all talking about "boring adult things" as Toph deemed.

Aang and his companions seemed antsy at being locked up, so Yue eventually asked if they had any games. 

This made the Southern Water Tribe siblings perk up, and Katara rushed over to the room where her Father relaxed with the other adults.  When she returned, she held up a small bag and a small box like trophies. 

"Dice?" Toph questioned. 

"And cards," Sokka added. "It's time to play the best snowed-in game in the entire South Pole!"

"If not the world," Katara added joyfully. 

Aang, however, looked less excited. "Is this that one game from when we were--"

"Yes!" the siblings crowed in unison. 

"Great..." Aang muttered out of the side of his mouth, so that only Azula (and Toph) could hear. "The game with the million rules that all make so much sense." His tone was very sarcastic, but the Water Tribe siblings didn't seem to hear. 

"Okay, so," Sokka started as he began to explain the game. Katara interjected every so often, which made the seemingly complicated rules even more murky. It seemed to be a game with a lot of cooperation, but only one winner, meaning that betrayal was part and parcel of the experience. 

After a storm of questions, Sokka and Katara declared that they, "just had to play it and you'll figure it out!"

And play they did. It took Azula a shameful amount of time to get a working idea of the rules, but after the first four rounds of so, she started to be a real competitor. But once Azula started playing for real, she started playing for keeps. 

Zuko had once accused Azula of being a "hyper-competitive freak," which offended Azula. She wasn't hyper-competitive, she was simply hyper-competent and hyper-motivated to win, like any normal person. So what if she got a bit blood-thirsty to win? No ruler could be successful without some level of bloodshed. A good ruler made sure that the bloodshed was someone else's. 

Yue was looking more and more concerned as the night went on, though Azula assumed it was because she was so bad at the game. Taking pity on her, Azula made an alliance with her wife during the game, protecting her whenever possible. Azula was proud of herself for being so giving - she could have saved her dice rolls to get a shirshu play. 

But then, one round, Azula wasn't fast enough to become Yue's ally. No, Sokka pulled the Earth King card early on, which entitled him to an ally of his choosing. And he chose Yue. 

Azula clenched her jaw and made it her mission to destroy Sokka at all costs. She spent her sevens and her earthbender cards to chip at his defenses instead of attacking the other kingdoms. It wasn't a winning strategy, but winning was not the point. 

Sokka, of course, did not go quietly. He fought back hard with his Spirit recruitment from the discard pile and managed to give Azula a hard time on the first match. 

But with each successive round, Sokka lasted shorter and shorter, until he finally sprung up in outrage after Azula combined her six roll with a full set of benders (which made an Avatar). "What the frick, Azula?!"

Azula stood to meet his challenge. "Stop whining, I hear you fair and square, water boy!"

"Guys, remember the no fighting rule!" Aang cried, suddenly understanding why Katara had said that rule was so important during the instructions. 

"Water boy?!" Sokka cried, so indignant that he completely ignored Aang. "You don't call me water boy, you- you- you hot mess!"

Azula's rage hit new heights. "So you're calling me a mess? That's rich coming from you!"

"Azula," Yue warned, reaching for her wife's hand. 

"Chill, dude," Toph said at the same time to Sokka. 

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You call me a mess, but at least I can win a card game!"

"You were after me the whole game and you know it," Sokka accused, finger pointed into Azula's chest. 

"Sokka!" Katara chided, standing. 

"So what if I was?" Azula snarled. "You've given me plenty of reasons to want you out of the game."

"Hey," Aang said, also standing. He slid an arm between Sokka and Azula. 

"What is your damage?" Sokka growled. 

"My damage?!" Azula said, anger now giving her a manic tone. "I'll show you damage, you--"

Yue grabbed Azula's hand from where it was starting to rise up into a strike. 

At the same time, the room exploded with voices, the majority of which were aimed at de-escalating the situation. 

The noise was just another layer that added to Azula's rage, like an extra splash of hot sauce in a stew. She met Yue's eyes furiously, then returned her eyes to Sokka in a heated glare. 

"Sidebar!" Yue demanded. "Now!"

Azula tore her gaze from its target slowly, but acquiesced, following Yue out of the room. 

Azula merely raised her eyebrows in question when they were safely alone. 

"Why are you acting this way?"

"What way?"

"You know what I mean, Azula. You were acting like you were about to hurt Sokka. Just punch him then and there!"

"He certainly was asking for it," Azula growled. 

"Azula!" Yue cried. "What's going on with you? You're better than this!"

"I'm better than him, for sure."

"Ugh!" Yue groaned angrily. After a sharp breath, she adopted a level tone and said, "You are being very inhospitable to the Avatar's guest! Our guest!"

"Some guest," Azula scoffed. She opened her mouth to continue, but Yue cut her off. 

"We talked about this! You're being cruel, and needlessly so. I know you know better."

Azula blinked, cocking her head sharply. "Needlessly?" she asked with indignation.  "That stranger waltzed in with his bright ideas and acts like he's the smartest man to ever live, but has no idea how anything here actually works. He's an arrogant fool, Yue!"

It was Yue's turn to blink and cock her head incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" 

Azula lifted an eyebrow in response. She was not, in fact, kidding Yue. 

"That description really doesn't remind you of someone?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean," Azula responded, face set in her Court expression. It was a blank face except for the slightly raised eyebrows, one Azula had cultivated for years. The face was a mild challenge, but one dripping in condescension, as though Azula was just humoring the person facing her.

Yue gestured in frustration, throwing up an arm and conclusively clenching her fingers closed over an open palm. "Sokka is here to help, Azula, like the diplomat he is!"

"Diplomat?! He's the non-bender son of a Chief who rules a single village! You could fit his entire 'nation' into a single Fire Nation steamer!" Azula wasn't shouting, but her frustration was clearly adding to her volume. 

"He could represent one person for all I care! He is intelligent, compassionate, and a delegate at 
here for the Summit. The first two should be enough to make us listen, let alone all three!"

Azula felt the rage licking up her spine, like barely-contained dragon fire. "That buffoon is no delegate - he's only here because he clung to the Avatar's beast like a tick and his sister was too soft to water-blast him off the side!"

Azula scoffed. "Compassion," she growled contemptuously. "I'd bet everything to my last coin that that 'compassion' is only evident when you're around, Yue."

"Are you calling me stupid, Azula? That I can't tell a aura of kindness from the genuine article?"

"Normally, I believe you're one of the smartest people I've ever met, but clearly he duped you and dulled your senses. Why else would you use the word 'aura?' What are you? Some treacherous circus idio-"

Yue clapped as she positioned herself to respond. "So THAT'S what this is about! You are unbelievable!"

"Excuse me?!"

"No, you are not excused!" Yue snapped. With a sharp breath, she pinched the bridge of her nose. In a more level (but not necessarily calmer) voice, Yue continued. 

"I can't handle this right now. I need to go try and salvage a relationship with the Southern Water Tribe, and you are not invited."

Azula made an offended sound, but growled out a, "... fine."

Yue raised her hand. "I'm not done yet. You are also not invited to speak to me until you figure out what's going on with yourself."

"What?!"

"I don't have the time or energy to deal with this for you. You have to face this yourself."

"Yue-" Azula was properly angry now, something she hadn't felt in quite a while. 

"No! You are acting deplorably, and I don't want to be around you right now." Yue held up a finger to forestall any complaints. "I'm not done yet."

She took a deep breath, and then, in a quieter voice, Yue added, "I am upset and I need my space. I think you do too. I'll sleep in my father's quarters tonight."

"Yue-" Azula's anger was being rapidly replaced with a dawning horror. It rained down from her shoulders like a frigid downpour, quelling her internal rage-fire. 

"Please don't talk to me unless it's an apology. Not just for me - for me and Sokka."

Azula could find nothing to say, putting all her effort into keeping her face frozen. 

Yue held out a hand as though to shake Azula's hand. Eventually, Azula took it for lack of anything else to do. 

"Goodnight, Azula," Yue said in a voice that seeped finality, shaking Azula's hand.

Azula could do nothing but shake Yue's hand in return, muttering a barely level "goodnight" in return. 

--

Azula didn't register traveling to the city walls, but there she sat, huddled in the wind shadow of a pillar, breathing heavily. The storm had mostly died down, but the air was painfully frigid. 

Her thoughts were an incoherent whirlwind. Later, she would only remember the grip of panic like an octopus made of razors and a few phrases:

I ruined everything. 

Please don't leave me. 

She hates me. 

What's wrong with me?

I'm a monster. 

Please don't hate me. 

Please don't leave me.  Please don't leave me. 

Please don't leave me. 

Please. 

Azula didn't know how long she sat there, huddled like a penguin-seal against the wind and the consequences of her actions. Eventually, her head returned enough that she could control her breathing. 

Slowly, she dropped into a meditative breathing pattern, one of the first she ever learned as a child. It lacked elegance, but it did let air into her body to blow out the choking smoke of anguish that clogged her mind. 

Over time, Azula became aware of the distant chop of surf and the sound of the fat snowflakes hitting the ground.  She had never thought that snow made noise before this visit to the Pole, that it fell silently, but the soft patter of the snow was a  small yet pleasant surprise. 

Azula twitched her fingers in her mittens, feeling the soft cloth against her fingertips. Most Water Tribe mittens were lined with fur or felted wool, but Azula found the fur sweaty and the felted wool an unbearable texture. Yue had lined the mittens with a thin layer of cotton over the felt.

Rubbing the cloth minutely, Azula reflected on Yue's small touches to make Azula's life a little better. Some special stitching here, a cut up peach there, a soft kiss to the temple when Azula finally released her hair from its topknot. 

And that was just the little things. Yue had made the outfit Azula was wearing, including the beloved parka unlike any other in the world. Yue had convinced Zuko to let Azula out of her ersatz mental asylum to visit the Pole. Yue had kept Azula's company and confidence for the two years of healing after the Day of Black Sun, the day of breaking bonds and minds. 

Yue had loved her. Hopefully, she still did. 

Fat chance, moron. Yue will finally see how much of a dead weight liability you are and be rid of you forever. The voice in Azula's head was harsh, mean. It was a familiar, horrendous voice. 

Azula felt a stab of fear.  No. Yue loves me!

You fool, the terrible voice sneered, she pities you. Yue is a noble woman, one who values duty above all. You are just a part of that duty. 

Azula tried to grab at her hair, to pull it enough to bring mental clarity through pain, but her mittens just made her hands slide off her slick black hair. After a few abortive tries, Azula settled on pressing the back of her neck, pushing her head into her knees. 

You're lying to me!

You're lying to yourself! You are nothing but a useless child, unworthy on all levels. 

Azula's breathing picked back up, careening towards the hyperventilation she had just escaped. 

"Stop it," Azula groaned quietly, wretchedly. "Remember what the Doctor said."

I'm not talking to him. I'm just talking to myself. 

Worthless fool!

It's not real. It's not!

"It's all just me," Azula whispered to herself. "It's just me!"

What have you become, Azula? Once, you were a soldier, a hero! Now, you're a pathetic little creature hiding from her problems. 

I was never a hero, Azula thought bitterly. 

No, you were always just a fraud, pretending to be strong, all the while rotting on the inside. 

Stop.

A traitor to the core. 

Stop!

It's about time you finally betrayed Yue. I'm surprised you held back your own nature for so long!

"Stop!" Azula cried aloud. She slapped her hands against the ground, leaving amorphous outlines in the snow. 

Seeing the dents in the snow, Azula got an idea. She used her mittened left hand to scoop snow and then slapped it against her face. Azula held the burning cold handful to her face, sending a shock to her system that finally gave her a second to breathe. 

When she finally released the snow from her face, Azula gasped and rubbed at her eyes with her free hand. Then, she stood and paced a few steps and back again. 

"I am freaking out," Azula said aloud. "I panicked and now I need to calm down." She sounded crazy to her own ears, but Azula was falling back on her training from Doctor Rha-Za. 

"I am alone and no one else is here. I am the only one who has been berating me. I am being mean to myself because I am scared and I regret my actions."

She slowed her pacing gradually while continuing to mutter basic statements about what had happened. Eventually, Azula felt her heart rate reach a semi-reasonable level. 

With a sigh, Azula leaned against the pillar, exhausted. 

Her peace was shattered, however, a few moments later. 

"Princess Azula!"

Crap.

The Avatar's waterbending Master and beloved approached Azula, looking very mad. "I need to talk to you!"

Craaaaaapppppp.

"Leave me alone," Azula snapped, tired. She kept her eyes locked on the water, trying to forestall the inevitable confrontation. 

"No, we need to talk about how you've been treating my broth--"

"Waterbender, it is not the time!" Azula snarled, anger bubbling up like a geyser. It startled her, how quickly she got mad after her earlier incidents. 

"Oh, I think it is time, actually," Katara responded sharply. "What is your problem?!"

"You, currently," Azula ground out, rage and exhaustion in equal measure fighting to consume her. Nevertheless, the torches within forty paces all flickered menacingly. 

"Why?! What did I do? What did any of us do?!" Katara asked, gesturing broadly toward the palace. 

"For one, you won't leave me alone! Actually, that's the problem with the both of you - always being there when you aren't wanted."

"We were invited to this conference!" Katara squawked. 

"No - only Aang and your father were. You and your brother are just hangers-on!"

"How dare you! I am the last and only Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe!" Katara snarled, snow now paused in mid-air. "If anything, Princess, you're the one who's the hanger-on!"

Azula ground her teeth. "I'm a Princess of not one but two of the four nations. Not only have I 'hung on' to those titles, but also, I'm the only reason your beloved Aang is even here today!"

"Of course he's here, he's the Avatar!"

Azula rolled her eyes. "I mean alive, genius. I saved his life and everyone else's on the Day of Black Sun, so instead of whining about me being a bit mean to your lech of a brother, you should be worshipping the ground I walk on!"

Katara scoffed, indignant, and then scoffed again. "Are you serious?!" The snow now swirled around them like a vortex. 

"As a heart attack."

"You are unbelievable!" Katara cried.

"I've heard, thanks."

"You are an arrogant, self-centered jerk! I don't know what Aang sees in you!"

"Likewise," Azula quipped darkly. The torches all went down to ominous embers. 

Katara stewed in her anger, sputtering for a moment but never stringing together a thought.  

"... what did you mean?"

Azula rolled her eyes. "You'll have to be more specific, Waterbender. I'm too self-centered to understand others, remember?" She was so tired. 

"You called Sokka a 'lech.' What did you mean?"

"As in the definition or why I think he is one?"

"Why you think he is one," Katara snarked with a glare. 

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because he circles around my wife like a moth to a flame!"

Katara looked taken aback. "Sokka?"

"Yes! Sokka is far too familiar with her, always in her space and at her ear."

Katara looked away, face still more confused than regretful. It was infuriating. 

"I don't know what he's saying or doing, but he's driving a wedge between Yue and I, and I will not take it lying down," Azula said. "I don't care if your Tribes lack respect or understanding of our type of marriage, but I will not allow him to threaten it."

"... we do respect it," Katara said, in a quiet tone Azula almost read as sad.

"What?" A bit of the wind was taken out of Azula's sails. 

"We do respect your type of marriage," Katara stated. "At least in the Southern Tribe."

Azula raised an eyebrow. 

"It's not common, but it happens," Katara explained. "People usually like to keep it to themselves, but that's how most relationships are anyway."

"So it's fine so long as you do it in the privacy of your own... igloo? Tent?"

"Usually tent, but yeah, I guess. The Southern Tribe doesn't really do individual marriage celebrations anyway - usually, new couples are celebrated at the summer solstice festival, along with any new babies or whatever."

"Your people are more nomadic than Yue's, right?"

"I don't know how it was before my time, but now, yes," Katara said with a minute grimace. "We have- had to follow the fish, since we had too few people to hunt most of the animals. They were too large and dangerous for us to hunt by ourselves. We simply didn't have enough people."

"Had?"

"When my Father and the other men got back, I assume it got better. I... I haven't been back yet." 

For some reason, Katara looked ashamed. Azula knew that untying that emotional knot would be well beyond her abilities, so instead she offered, "I assume you've been quite busy since the end of the War."

Katara chuckled gratefully. "You could say that, yeah. We've been going nonstop since I found Aang in that iceberg..." Katara trailed off. "That was five years ago." She wrung her mittened hands. "I've been away so long... I hope Gran Gran has been handling everything okay. I- I hope she doesn't resent us for leaving."

"Healthy family relationships are not my strong suit," Azula hazarded, "but I assume it's safe to say she'd have to be very proud of you, Master Katara. You mastered your element and are the tutor of the Avatar.

"Further, you are here to represent your people at the conference. Or, at least half of them, anyway. I don't know about your Tribe, but in the North, a female representative, let alone a female Waterbender, is quite the rarity."

Katara huffed a laugh. "I didn't quite get why Gran-Gran wanted to leave the North until I actually got here. It kind of sucks, no offense."

"Not my Nation," Azula shrugged. "And actually, it's gotten a lot better in the last year."

"Really?"

"Definitely," Azula said. "Before Yue got back here, I wouldn't have trusted any of them to pour a cup of water, let alone run a government. Now, at least, I'm fairly certain they don't drop the pitcher. No guarantee on the cup though."

"Wow," Katara said in perverse wonder. 

Azula sighed. "Hopefully, the Northern Water Tribe will become somewhere your grandmother would be less eager to leave."

"I didn't even know she was from the Northern Tribe until yesterday," Katara stated. "Master Pakku recognized my necklace. Apparently, he gave it to my Gran-Gran before she left!"

Azula snorted. "Does that mean he's your grandfather?"

"No. My father is too young, and an only child."

"Some small mercies, then," Azula muttered. "Well now I know your grandmother won't have any hard feelings toward you - you're better than Pakku now."

"You think?" Katara asked, eyes eager. Azula noted how hungry the woman seemed for praise, feeling a dim kinship - great deeds and greater expectations were their shared burden, one invisible to others.

"I know you're better. I've spent my fair share of time watching the benders train, and none of them have your strength or fluidity of style. They fight by moving from kata to kata. You move like someone who's actually fought and won."

"Thank you, Azula," Katara said, tone pleasantly surprised. 

"I'm just stating facts, Master Katara. Your bending ability would impress anyone, even someone as hateful as my dearly departed Father."

Katara cringed, much to Azula's annoyance. Why does no one ever understand when I'm joking?

"I'm sorry about what happened," Katara said softly. 

Azula put up a hand. "Save it. I've heard the speech a million times, you made an impossible decision blah blah blah it's a shame you had to do that blah blah blah you were pushed to do something terrible blah blah. I appreciate the sentiment, though." She slapped her hand like she was controlling a puppet to really sell the point. 

"Can I say something?" Katara asked furtively. "It's... not something I can say around other people, but I want to say it to you."

Azula was grimly fascinated. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Katara said solemnly. "Thank you for saving the world, but more importantly, saving Aang from having to do something that would break his morals. He's-- he's too good, and I was so scared to think what would happen to him if he took a life, even one so evil as your Father's," Katara explained. "No offense."

Azula blinked, stunned. Gratitude wasn't the usual emotion knowledge of Azula's actions garnered. "... You're welcome?"

"I mean," Katara rushed to say, "I'm sorry. I know it was horrible and that you weren't doing it for Aang, and that it was horribly traumatic--"

Azula broke through Katara's stream of guilty conscious. "I mean, I definitely wasn't doing it for Aang or for the world, and I know my doctor would have an aneurysm is he heard me say this, but I'm glad I did it."

Seeing Katara's stunned silence, Azula continued. "If I had to relive that day a million times, I'd do it every single time."

"What?" Katara asked in a tiny voice. "Why?"

"Did Aang not tell you? Or any of the other idiots who broke into that throne room?"

"Tell me what?"

"Why I killed Ozai."

"Sokka said that Yue switched sides and that Ozai threatened her."

Azula snorted. "In the barest possible sense, yes, that is what happened. But Sokka undersold it. Ozai wasn't threatening Yue - he was about to kill her."

Katara gasped. 

"I saw Ozai move to strike her down, so I struck faster," Azula explained sharply. "So no, I do not regret killing Ozai. In fact, I would do it again in a heartbeat, to anyone who threatened to harm my wife."

Overwhelmed, Azula broke eye contact."I am not a good person, Katara. Not like you or Aang or Yue." She stared out over the ocean.  "I am a manipulative, self-centered murderer with a hole where a moral compass should be."

"Azula-"

Azula gestured to the Moon in the sky. "The Moon gives you power, Master Waterbender, does it not?"

Confused by the non-sequiter, Katara nodded. "... Yes? It was the first Waterbender, pushing and pulling the tides. I always feel stronger fighting when the Moon is out."

"Yue is my Moon, Katara. But I don't draw power from her - she draws humanity from me. She pushes and pulls me into a shape approximating human, as inexorable as day becomes night and summer becomes winter. 

"Without her... without her, my life would be dark and empty, colorless but for the occasional red of my rage, utterly meaningless. I would be no better than a rabid coyote-hyena, cackling into an empty sky. 

"So really," Azula said, turning to face Katara again, "your brother should be thankful I'm only being a bit rude. I've been far worse to people who try to separate me from my wife."

Katara gave Azula a complicated look. "I... I don't think Sokka wants Yue, at least, not the way you think."

"Oh?" Azula queried, tone requiring an answer. 

"For one thing, he's already spoken for," Katara said. "I'm sure you've seen how eager he is for the Fire Nation ships to get here."

Azula felt a tiny flicker of hope, but stomped on it. "But they're not here yet, and being in a relationship already has never stopped anyone before."

"Fair," Katara conceded, "but there are a lot of people who would take offense to Sokka straying, let's say. A lot of very passionate, very strong people."

"I am very passionate and strong, and yet he still pursues my wife," Azula responded. 

"Pursues, yes. But not romantically, I think," Katara mused. She continued before Azula could ask for clarification. "I think he's trying to court her support for his new idea about the colonies."

"Colonies?" Azula was lost now. 

Katara sighed. "Sokka wants to make the old Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom into an independent nation."

Azula was going to respond with derision, but the idea snagged in her mind. "That's... interesting."

"Exactly," Katara responded. "But so far, it's been very unpopular, so I imagine Sokka is--"

"Reaching out to high-level diplomats to shore up support for his proposal."

"Bingo."

Azula hummed. "Makes sense, then, why he's been buttering her up, then. He wants to establish a good relationship before making the big ask. A smart, if ultimately unnecessary, move."

"Ultimately unnecessary?"

"Yue is an intelligent and forthright stateswoman. If she finds his idea to hold water, she'd support it, even if she hated him."

"Wow," Katara responded. "That's... refreshing."

Azula puffed with pride a bit. "That's Yue."

"She's a wonderful woman," Katara said. "I can see why you hold her so close."

"Calling Yue wonderful is like calling the Moon a light source. It completely fails to capture the majesty, the mystery, the sheer importance and raw power - a nature that cannot be fully described but only experienced and appreciated."

"Zuko never said you were a poet," Katara mused with a soft, sly smile. 

"I'm not?" Azula responded, slightly confused. 

Katara laughed a bit. "Okay, I'll tell you what - I'll tell Sokka to chill around Yue, and you promise not to charbroil him?"

"I reserve the right to throw him from the city walls if I ever see him hitting on, annoying or otherwise bothering my wife," Azula stated. 

"If he does that, I'll help carry him up here," Katara promised. "Deal?"

"Deal."

--

Azula found Sokka early the next morning, as the youth was returning from his morning ablutions. Thankfully, he was dressed. 

Approaching him this early would ensure that Sokka was off guard and tired when Azula spoke to him, which would put him at a disadvantage in the conversation. With the youth on his back foot, Azula could make a surgical strike with minimal resistance, then disappear. Not only would this strategy allow Azula to complete her objectives quickly and discretely, it would have the side benefit of leaving the enemy confused and intimidated. 

"Warrior Sokka."

The youth jumped, accidentally flinging his towel and comb into the air. Azula caught them both. 

"Holy crap, you scared me," he admonished while clutching his chest. 

"My apologies," Azula responded, handing the man his dropped items. "I wanted to speak to you this morning."

"I can see that," Sokka quipped. "Can I go put this stuff down?"

"Of course." Azula followed him to his room, which he shared with Aang. The young airbender was asleep, snoring quietly in his bundle of furs and blankets. 

Possessions returned to his pack, Sokka turned back and started again when he saw Azula directly behind him. "Yue- the Princess needs to put a bell on you!"

"She has remarked on my stealth skills before," Azula mused. "Shall we speak in the ice garden?"

"Is that a garden in the ice or a garden made of ice?" Sokka asked, already distracted. 

"A garden with statues made of ice," Azula clarified, gesturing Sokka in the right direction. "Waterbenders show off their artistic skills there, I assume."

"That's cool. I wonder if they have a rotating roster or if..." Sokka responded, eyes distant. Quickly, he returned to himself. "What do you want to talk about?" His tone was tinged in anxiety, which made Azula preen and then scold herself for preening at. 

Azula didn't respond until they were in the gardens, which were deserted this early in the morning. It was a short walk, but long enough to give Sokka some time to stew in his nerves. 

"First, I am here to apologize for my conduct last night. It was reprehensible and completely unbecoming of a Princess."

"I wasn't much better," Sokka sighed. "I should apologize too."

"I accept your apology," Azula replied. "Now I need to provide some context for poor treatment of you and why I have been... particularly hostile. Once you've had your chance to respond, I will apologize for those actions as well."

"Oh," Sokka said, taken aback, "okay. Thanks?"

Azula took a breath to steel herself. "To start with, I need to clarify an issue. Are you or are you not interested in my wife, Princess Yue, as a romantic and/or sexual partner?"

Sokka blanched. "No! Absolutely not! That's not to say that Yue isn't great and beautiful-" he stuttered when he noticed Azula's glare, "but I'm not interested. Even if she were interested - which she isn't, because she's already married, to you - I'm already seeing someone!"

"That's what your sister said," Azula confirmed. "I needed to hear you say it to my face."

"I like Yue, but not that way! In another life? Maybe, but not this one that I'd really like to continue living!" Sokka squeaked, voice hitting an uncomfortably high register by the end of the sentence."

"Good." Azula nodded sharply. "So long as that remains the case, we will no longer have a problem."

"Deal!"

Azula took another deep breath, but Sokka cut her off before she could speak. "That's why you were so scary! You thought I was after your girl!"

"Mostly correct," Azula responded. 

Sokka ran a hand through his hair. "Why only mostly? Did I do something else?"

"No. I was..." Azula trailed off, loath to admit it. Swallowing her pride, she continued, "I was... upset... about something else, and you were an easy target." She made eye contact with Sokka. "That was wrong, and I am sorry."

"I accept your apology," Sokka said. "I'm glad you told me why - Katara never tells me why she's mad at me, like she just expects me to know!"

Azula blinked. She had not expected emotional reciprocity in this conversation. "... That sounds very frustrating."

"Ugh, you have no idea! She's the worst sometimes."

"You and Zuko must get along very well then," Azula joked, "You both share frustrating younger sisters."

To Azula's utter shock, Sokka laughed. Aloud. Like a real, genuine laugh. People never get my jokes. 

"Yeah, Zuko and I get along just fine," Sokka said with a lopsided grin. 

"That's good," Azula said for lack of anything else to add. "It's good for people to have friends."

Sokka laughed again. 

--

After escaping her conversation with Sokka, Azula made her way to the markets. For all the she believed him to be a fool, Uncle Iroh had allegedly had a happy marriage, and he had once claimed a gift was a good way to sweeten an apology. 

That guidance, however, did not actually say what a good apology gift was. Azula had the vague notion that flowers were a wife-gift, but being in the arctic tundra killed that idea in the cradle. 

Azula stood debating over knives when a voice interrupted her increasingly desperate brainstorming. 

"Sup?" greeted Toph, who moved to stand at Azula's elbow. 

"Hello, Master Toph," Azula greeted, still staring at the knife case forlornly. Azula liked that she didn't have to look at Toph while talking to her. 

"What are we shopping for?"

"'We?'"

"Everyone's busy and I've got didly squat to do, since I'm not a diplomat or whatever," Toph explained. "Heard your heartbeat nearby, so I came to see what's going on."

"Right now, I am attempting to find a gift for my wife, Princess Yue."

"For last night?"

"Excuse me?"

Toph scratched her elbow. "It's not a special occasion, and you don't seem like the random gift type. Therefore, you're in trouble and need to buy your way back into Yue's heart."

Azula snorted, impressed. "Not bad."

Toph shrugged. "No big deal."

"What do people give each other in the Earth Kingdom to say they're sorry?"

"My dad gave my mom a hair clip thingy once, but they're not exactly the best example of a healthy couple."

"I'm fairly certain Zuko has outlawed the type of 'gifts'  my father gave my mother, so I'm not much better," Azula responded grimly. 

"That sucks," Toph responded plainly. 

"Yep."

Conversation now dead, they moved onto the next booth, which sold pottery. 

"Dishes are useful," Azula offered. 

"I guess," Toph responded, "but they don't really feel like an apology gift."

"Maybe a... fancy cup?" It was a nice gray color, with a uniformly smooth surface. 

"It doesn't really scream 'romance'..."

"We'll keep looking then."

Four stalls later, the unlikely pair had still not figured out what easily-purchased item was the epitome of apology. They sat on a bench to brainstorm ideas, or, more accurately, bemoan their situation. 

In her boredom, Toph took off her meteorite bracelet and began to bend it into random shapes. 

"Aang said you could bend metal, but I didn't realize it could move so fluidly," Azula commented. 

"It takes a certain finesse," Toph said. "I haven't been able to teach anyone to do it yet. I don't know if they could learn."

"That's what they said about lightning bending at first," Azula said. "My great great grand-whatever invented it like 300 years ago. Allegedly, only prodigies can learn it."

"Prodigies like you?" Toph asked jokingly. 

"And you," Azula responded. 

"So you're just really good at firebending then?"

"Yes," Azula said plainly. "I am very good. You cannot see it, but my flames are blue. It is a once-in-a-generation skill."

"... What color is fire normally?" Toph asked, suddenly unsure of herself. 

"Red or orange."

"Huh. The more you know."

They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a moment, until Azula had an idea. 

"Hold out you hands in front of you, like you would at a fireplace," she told Toph. 

"Why?"

"I can demonstrate blue."

"I'm not sure that was a real sentence, but okay."

Azula then moved to the bench across the corridor, so that she now sat a few feet away, facing Toph head on. 

"Do you feel that?" Azula asked. "This is red."

"Are you firebending?" Toph asked, confusion mounting. 

"Yes," Azula replied. "I am currently bending a small amount of fire. It's red."

Toph hummed, feeling the warmth of the fire. 

"Now, I will make the fire blue. You will feel a difference."

Toph's face split into a grin. "It's so much warmer!"

"Blue fire is hotter than normal red fire. Only the very best firebenders can focus their heat to that level."

Toph hummed appreciatively. "That's really cool."

"The opposite, if we're being literal," Azula joked. 

Toph laughed. Azula joined her, briefly. It was nice. 

After a moment of companionable silence, Toph spoke. "I think we should go out there again."

"Oh?"

"We have to find Yue a gift, right?"

"I do, at least. You're a free agent... you don't have to help me, if you don't want to."

Toph smiled. "I mean, I was just helping you before, but now I want to get something too. Might as well go together."

"I guess so," Azula mused, tone not betraying her gratitude. 

When they reached the main market area again, Toph took the lead, moving to a booth that sold cloth and assorted accessories. 

"Okay, Fire Hazard, I need your eyes for a minute."

Azula paused at what Toph had called her. The words themselves were mean, but the tone was even and light. A nickname, then. 

"How may I be of service?"

"I need to tell you which of these is blue," Toph said, gesturing to a ribbon display. 

Azula blinked but complied, pulling two options - one in a sky blue and the other a deep, royal blue.  She proffered them to the Earthbender, who took a moment to inspect the texture of both. 

With a gesture, Toph summoned the shopkeeper and purchased the sky blue ribbon. 

As they walked to the next stall, Azula offered to tie the ribbon on Toph's wrist, since the Earthbender's anorak lacked visible pockets. 

"Is it a nice blue?" Toph asked quietly as Azula was bent over to tie the ribbon. 

"Yes, it is." It was rather similar to Azula's fire, actually, but she wasn't going to bring that up. 

"Good," Toph sighed. "Even if blue is my new favorite color, I don't want my new hair tie to make me look bad. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm tacky."

 --

Azula was relieved when Yue opened the door. When she had knocked on Chief Arnook's door, Azula was afraid Yue would send her away. 

"Hello," Azula said softly, all other words fleeing her like oil from a broken jar. 

"Hello, Azula," Yue responded, her face guarded. 

"I... I want- I came here- uh, I- can I come in?"

"Only if you are here to apologize," Yue responded. When Azula nodded, Yue allowed her to enter. 

"Is--"

"Father is not here."

"Good, good," Azula muttered, looking at the table. 

"Well?"

Yue's comment startled Azula from a mini-trance. Azula had been staring at the table. 

"Sorry. I was... gathering my thoughts." Azula straightened her back, adopting a regal posture that belied her nerves. "Yue, I apologize for my outburst yesterday, as well as the behavior I displayed before that."

Yue raised an eyebrow, promoting Azula to continue. 

"I let my nerves about Mai and Ty Lee seep into other aspects of my life. It made me... overreact to Sokka trying- to my perception of Sokka trying to seduce you."

"Did you really think he wanted to 'seduce me?'"

"... Sokka was a convenient strawman for me to attack. I let out my  nerves and angst from the Mai Ty Lee situation as misplaced jealously."

"Have you spoken to Sokka?"

"Yes. I met with him this morning and offered my apologies."

Yue nodded. "Good," she said with a sigh. 

As Azula observed her wife, she saw the exhaustion in the lines of Yue's form. The weariness was pervasive, a story Azula read in the small details of Yue's presentation. 

The limp white strands framing her face unevenly. The ink stain on her left sleeve. The dullness of her skin. The chips in her nail polish. 

The frown that still remained on her face. 

Not a normal, neutral face, but a frown. 

"Are... are you okay?"

"Huh?" Yue asked. "I'm- I'm fine. Why?"

"Uh... I don't know how to say this delicately." When Yue waved her hand, Azula continued, "You look like you're ill. Or like a half-thawed piece of meat."

Yue chuckled. "You truly have a gift when it comes to turns of phrase, Azula." Sobering, she continued, "I'm just tired. It's been quite the day."

"Quite the week, really."

"Exactly," Yue sighed. "The Summit is a demanding undertaking."

Azula grimaced. "And having your wife have a jealous temper tantrum in the middle of everything doesn't help, I assume?"

"No," Yue confirmed. "But you haven't had a great week either."

"Stop it," Azula chided. "Stop giving me so much grace."

"What?"

"I acted like a spoiled child when someone else wants to look at her toys," Azula said, "while you had to manage me and the preparations for the first major international trade Summit in centuries."

"I mean--"

"No," Azula chided. "You get to be mad sometimes too. Now say it."

"Say what?"

"That I was being unreasonable! That you're mad!"

"You were unreasonable, but- but I'm not mad, Azula."

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm just not, I don't know," Yue responded plaintively. "I'm not mad or sad or anything. Just... exhausted."

Azula reached slowly for Yue's hand, leaving her plenty of time to escape. But she didn't, so Azula lightly squeezed Yue's soft hand. 

"More and more often, I just feel... nothing. Just like I want to sleep and be done with the day."

"But then when you wake up, there's always more to do?" Azula hazarded. 

"Yeah," Yue said, looking up in surprise. "It's always just one thing after another. Even things I like to do feel like work now."

"Oh, Yue," Azula said sadly, consolingly. "That is a horrible feeling."

Yue nodded. "Yeah... You know it, then?"

Azula nodded. "It came and went a lot before the War. It got a bit better when you came along, but I always knew it would be back."

"Did anything ever help?" Yue asked, hope a dim thought. 

"Not really," Azula replied sadly. "Though I did notice that it helped when I changed up routines." And then her eyebrows shot up with a miniature gasp. 

"What is it?"

"Your gift! I forgot!" She stood and went to rifle through the pockets of her parka, which was hung on a peg by the door. 

"You brought me a present?" Yue asked, tone a bit brighter with amusement. 

"Yes. It is best practice to bring a gift during an apology to one's wife."

"Who told you that?" Yue said through a small laugh. 

"Uncle. And Master Toph, though she was a bit less sure."

"Toph?"

"Yes," Azula replied, finally pulling out the bundle. It was wrapped in a bundle of black cloth, tied with a length of twine. "We visited the markets together. It was pleasant - she helped pick a gift and I taught her what the color blue felt like."

"I don't 100% understand what you just said, but I'm glad you've made a friend," Yue said as she took the bundle. 

"Is this-?"

"Yes, I didn't have anything else to wrap the present with," Azula said apologetically as Yue removed her gift from the undershirt that served as wrapping paper. Azula made sure to discreetly tuck it into her belt later, since she only had so many clean undershirts. 

"What is this?" Yue asked, rotating her present every which way to see it better. 

"It's called a yo-yo. It's a toy."

It wasn't much to look at, made of light brown carved wood, sanded smooth. It was well made, however, by an Earth Kingdom toymaker. The yo-yo had traveled far on its journey, trading hands many times until it finally made its way onto a north-bound Water Tribe ship. 

Yue looked befuddled, so Azula gently took the string loop and slipped it onto the tip of Yue's middle finger. She then pantomimed pushing the string to the base of the finger, which Yue did, still unsure.

"Now go like this,"Azula instructed, flicking her wrist as though she were playing with the yo-yo. 

Yue gasped a bit when the yo-yo returned up its string a bit instead of just staying at the bottom. 

Azula then showed her how to move her hand to make the yo-yo spin again, and finally how to rewind the toy all the way. 

While Yue was enraptured with intuiting the intricacies of yo-yo form, Azula spoke more about her trip to the market. 

"So after we looked at all of the tools and fabrics and such, I pretty much gave up. My thought was to ask Master Toph to make you a fancy pen with her metalbending, but I saw this and... I don't know, it just looked like fun?"

Yue smiled at Azula briefly, but then scowled when the distraction made her drop the yo-yo spinner slack. "It is fun," Yue agreed. "A bit of a learning curve, but fun."

"Master Toph asked me good questions at the market. She asked, 'what was your best gift?' but also 'what was the most fun?' And that made me think about gifts and how all I've ever really gotten were useful things... except the little toy duck Zuko gave me.

"I must have only been four or five, but Zuko gave me a little carved turtleduck for my nameday. It wasn't anything special, but I really loved it? It was the only fun toy I had ever really latched onto. 

"Eventually, Father found it and made me burn it, but it was fun while it lasted."

"Remind me to go spit on your Father's grave plaque again when we get home," Yue growled, eyes still locked on her yo-yo. 

That makes 18 since our last visit, Azula mentally tallied. If we add the 51 prior, that makes 69 spits total. Nice. 

"I guess I felt like we don't have a lot of fun?" Azula was unsure of her words, though not the sentiment behind them. "Fixing my mind and your Tribe are all important, but they're not exactly fun and fancy-free."

"... I guess," Yue hedged, reluctantly. She giggled a bit when she then managed to get the yo-yo to fully return to her hand after a cast. 

"I'm glad I went with the yo-yo," Azula concluded. "After what you were saying, I feel like the pen wouldn't be the best idea... would just make you feel worse."

"I still would have loved it," Yue responded, facing Azula. "Even if you gave me a neat rock or a chip of ice, I would love it, Azula."

"I have seen some interesting rocks by the shoreline..." Azula mused.

"You don't need to give me anything, Azula, now or whenever. I only want your hand to hold and your footsteps next to mine."

Azula was hit with a wave of strong emotion, one made of a mix of love and relief and appreciate and gratitude, but not a wave of inspiration for what to say in response. 

Instead, she just settled on, "Always."

--

The following day, Azula made Yue show her yo-yo to the Avatar's companions at afternoon tea. 

Suddenly, Toph's head shot up. The yo-yo demonstration was a bit lackluster to her, so she had been listening and zoning out. "Took 'em long enough," she muttered, shaking her head with a smile. 

Aang grinned. "Really?"

Toph nodded. 

"Let's go!" the Airbender all-but-shouted. 

"Where are we going?" asked Yue. 

"Zuko's here!"

Yue blinked with confusion at Toph. "How..."

"Master Toph has a superb sense of hearing," Azula whispered. Straightening, Azula asked, "So his ship used the signal horn then?"

As the words left her lips, Azula finally registered what had been said. Her body felt as though every muscle had contracted instantly, leaving her a clenched mass held up only by inertia and bones. Thankfully or not, she had plenty of experience with this feeling, meaning Azula looked normal from the outside, as unbothered as a beaver-duck in rain. 

"Yep," Toph responded, popping the "p." 

"That is wildly impressive," Yue complimented.  Toph shrugged modestly. 

Azula barely heard the exchange, mind filled with a soundless buzzing, like the feeling of walking through a dense, sharp hedge. 

They all rose then, with Aang more or less herding them out of the room. Azula felt like a log being dragged across the forest floor, helpless but to watch as it approached the saw. 

As they walked, Azula returned to the previous topic of conversation. "I've noticed that sound travels farther in the North, particularly on the tundra." It was a weak attempt to distract herself. 

"I think it has something to do with the lack of life away from shore," Yue offered, kindness a welcome (if largely ineffective) balm to Azula's soul. "One of the older hunters might know."

"I wonder how far you could hear something on the tundra, Master Toph," Azula mused in monotone. 

Toph hummed. "I dunno. Would probably depend on the wind..."

"Why don't you two conduct an experiment?" Yue suggested with a smile. "Go out to the tundra on a day with calm weather and test it out?"

"Could be fun," Toph responded.

"Azula?" 

"What?" Azula asked. Her mind was simultaneously empty and crammed to bursting, delaying her response. "Oh, yes, an experiment. An interesting idea."

The proposed experiment kept their attention for the majority of the walk down, which Azula appreciated. 

Toph gently tugged on Azula's sleeve, startling the firebender from her gallow's trance.  

"Are you, uh, good?" the small Earthbender asked quietly. "Your heart did a thing."

"What?" Azula asked blankly. 

"Your heartbeat has been crazy since I heard the ship."

Azula blanched. "Sorry. I'm fine."

Toph's blind eyes widened over the next few seconds. "How did you do that?" she asked, amazed. 

If Azula was the monster she had been accused so many times of being, she would have smirked. Instead, she pushed away all of the memories and stepped into the single spotlight of calm in her mind.

"Let's call it practice."

"Holy crap!" Toph exclaimed. "I didn't know people could do that so efficiently. Aang can slow his heart rate quick, but not that quick."

Azula shrugged numbly. "I believe it's what my Zuko-mandated doctor would call 'extreme compartmentalization.'"

"Does Zuko really freak you out that much?"

Azula huffed a dry laugh. "No."

"Fair," Toph replied, musing about the Fire Lord. "But what is so scary on that boat?"

Yue, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation a few steps behind Toph and Azula, cut in. "Sorry, that's her personal busin--"

"Two living reminders of my worst days and greatest mistakes."

"... fun," Toph muttered eventually. 

Yue grabbed Azula's hand and politely dragged her to walk a ways from the earthbender. 

"You can still leave," Yue whispered. "Just go hide in our rooms. It's okay!"

Azula squeezed Yue's hand and shook her head no. 

By that time, the group had finally reached the greeting platform for visiting ships, which was built into the city walls ten feet above the normal water level. 

As the first of their group (Aang) reached the top of the steps, a clamor arose. It was composed of happy voices saying greetings, and grew as the rest of the group reached the platform. 

Azula remained silent, but did her duty and stood at Yue's side. For a while, she deluded herself into hope, only seeing the Fire Lord and his guards. 

But that delusion died like all the others when she heard a set of heavy footsteps clomping down the gangplank. 

Azula took a deep breath to steel herself as Mai came into view, Ty Lee only a few steps behind. Despite the woman's ridiculous outfit, Ty Lee moved as silently as Mai did not. 

Azula saw when they saw her, their eyes widening and then locking on to her like hunting beasts. Thankfully, the clamor of the greetings around them prevented any further interaction. 

At least it did, until Zuko and Aang started to walk together into the city, flanked by Sokka, Toph and Katara. Zuko's Kyoshi guards followed, silent and vigilant. 

Yue had reported the arrival of the Kyoshi warriors to the Palace after a third assassination attempt got close enough to Zuko to leave a mark. The women replaced the royal guards as Zuko's immediate protectors, and Azula assumed it had been to great success. The lack of dead brother and/or people asking if Azula was the one who wanted Zuko dead implied a certain level of success. 

Azula was still unclear on how Ty Lee joined the group, however. Apparently, nationality and previous allegiance to enemy powers were not disqualifying factors. It was weird. 

Ty Lee had already been acting as Mai's de facto lady-in-waiting and guard, so the change in outfit seemingly formalized the position.

Fake it until you make it, I guess. 

Eventually, only Mai, Ty Lee, Yue and Azula remained in the landing area, standing in an awkward silence, heavy as lead and just as healthy. 

Hating herself, Azula nodded for Yue to leave. This wasn't her battle, after all, so why let her suffer as a bystander. 

To Azula's surprise, she glimpsed Ty Lee giving Yue a little wave as the Princess left. This caused Azula's face to contort minutely, but which finally moved Mai to break the silence. 

"Azula."

"Mai. Ty Lee."

Notes:

Who should Sokka be dating? I haven't decided, lol. I love Suki but I find Zuko/Sokka very fun.

Suki will still be around, no matter what. She's my fave.

Also, I don't want to have them curse too much, and also there's no Jesus, so I made Sokka say 'frick' because I thought it was funny.

Chapter 6: Trying to Achieve at the Summit

Summary:

It's Summit time, but Trade is not top of Azula's mind.

At least it begins well...

Notes:

So this chapter was getting super long, so I split it in two. This is part one.

Mending relationships is not done in a day.

CW: paranoia, discussions of domestic violence, mental health episode, dissociation, minor injury, minor suicidal ideation

Sorry I stopped updating for so long. Inspiration struck elsewhere. Also real life or whatever, but mostly the inspiration thing lol.

 

"... hi, Azula."

It was Ty Lee who had broken the tense silence, her greeting quiet and half-hearted.

Despite all of her new trappings, Ty Lee was still as readable as ever to Azula. The acrobat was, and always had been, more physically expressive than anyone Azula had ever known. The trait has served her well in the circus, where Ty Lee's physicality was another part of the performance.

Right now, Ty Lee looked anxious, lips ever so lightly pursed and large eyes slightly squinted. Her body was tense, Azula observed, unconsciously ready to respond to threats with a burst of movement.

A distant part of Azula's mind was pleased that Ty Lee was still registering her as a threat, that Azula was still more dragon than lizard in her subconscious. Despite everything, Ty Lee still respected Azula, even if as a threat.

"It's good to see you," Ty Lee continued as Azula's wary silence stretched.

Lie.

Azula nodded, eyes cutting away from her former friends. Her head was a whirlwind of thoughts, none strong enough to form a coherent sentence.

Unsurprisingly, Mai and Ty Lee stood shoulder to shoulder, despite being technically a Lady and her sworn guard. Azula wondered if Mai engaged with that archetype as a cover in court, playing the seemingly-weak non-Bender.

The Fire Lady was an active political player in the Caldera, or, at least, was supposed to be. The now-Dowager Princess Ursa had been completely cut off from politics by Azula's father as a method of control and abuse. Azula suspected, however, that her mother would not have been an strong candidate for the job under any circumstances, regardless of spouse.

Mai, on the other hand, was like a trick mirror version of Ursa - tough where the other was soft, guarded where the other was unwillingly expressive, high-born where Ursa had been a peasant before being selected as Ozai's plaything.

Another thing that the once and future Fire Ladies had in common, however, was their rocky relationships with Azula. While Ursa had only started making a real effort with Azula after her daughter's marriage, Mai hadn't spoken to Azula since the revolution. Imprisoning someone had that effect, it seemed.

"... Are you going to say anything or are we just going to stand here all day?" Mai asked, dry voice breaking the silence that Azula had neglected to fill during her mental rambling.

"No," Azula responded, startled from her reverie. "Of course not. Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe."

"Thanks," Mai responded, word dripping sarcasm like acid. "It's as cold and desolate as I remember."

Azula heard the barb, but did not react to such low-hanging fruit. She steamed ahead, driven to fulfill the social contract of an unenthusiastic greeting. Next step: a compliment.

Azula grasped wildly for a compliment that was actually complementary. "It- you- you both look healthy," she eventually managed.

Ty Lee offered a weak smile. "You do too, Azula!"

"The North agrees with you," Mai added, in a tone. "Must be all the fresh air."

Ah, an aylum dig. Didn't take her long.

"I have indeed come to enjoy the North. The people are as warm as their environment is not," Azula retorted in a sharp tone. If Mai wanted sharp, she'll give her sharp.

"How wonderful to hear that you found such a place, so far from home," Mai responded. "Zuko was worried if the Tribe would welcome you, but I knew you would be able to slip right into their hearts like an arrow."

Still good with wordplay, then.

When Azula had arranged for Zuko's arranged marriage, nepotism was not the only factor behind her choice of Mai as the bride. Mai had always had a way with words, honing them even more sharply than her knives.

Ty Lee grimaced minutely at Mai's remark, and tried to change the subject, quickly interjecting, "I like your parka! It's so unique and pretty!"

"Thank you, Ty Lee," Azula responded, eyes still locked on Mai. "My lovely wife made it for me by hand. She is very talented."

"How is Yue?" Mai asked. "Still as tender-hearted as always?"

Azula knew what Mai was doing, so Azula took a beat to steady herself. "The Princess Royal is a beloved reformer, changing the hearts and minds of her people for the better."

Mai made the micro-expression that on her was a smirk.

"There has been great progress since your last visit," Azula replied levelly. "She spearheaded the preparations for this conference, as well."

"How nice for her," Mai monotoned. "Finally allowed to be a real Princess in her own Nation, and immediately set to organizing an event for the Men."

"It wasn't like she just folded napkins," Azula scoffed. "Yue is one of the leaders of the Water Tribe delegation."

"How wonderful for her. I wish her strength - I know she has her work cut out for her."

"Indeed, especially when there are so many malcontents who come to the table with a hostile attitude."

"That's silly of them," Ty Lee said. "If people are going to talk, everyone needs to come to the table with an open mind and heart."

"You are absolutely right, Ty Lee," Azula responded. "For negotiations to be for the benefit of all, everyone must be willing to be open and honest. Forthright about their strengths and sins."

Mai snorted. "And here I remember you saying to never reveal one's full truth at the negotiating table... always be ready to strike them when they're not expecting it. You are quite the master at it, I recall."

"I see that you have taken my words to heart," Azula gritted out. "And while they were accurate in wartime, I have adjusted, just like the world we live in, to a posture of peace."

"Really?" Mai asked, polite disbelief like a grater to Azula's patience. "And here I was, thinking a dragon couldn't change its scales. How silly of me."

"You'd be surprised." Azula barely kept from snarling.

"Maybe I will," Mai agreed. "But I am so rarely surprised."

Before Azula could respond, Mai turned to Ty Lee, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else on the planet than here, and said, "Come on, Ty Lee. Let's head to the Palace. We wouldn't want to keep the Princess Consort from her duties any longer."

Mai didn't wait, leaving without a glance back. Ty Lee offered an apologetic look to Azula before she rushed off to follow her friend and nominal guard client.

Azula stood there for a while, feelings clashing like an orchestra with mismatched sheet music. The horns of rage rang discordantly against the bass of grief and misery. The self-recriminations over how the conversation turned to argument were shrill strings, while an odd note of respect for a worthy sparring opponent swirled through the noise as well.

Not ideal, Azula mused after a moment, but could have been worse. At least there was no bloodshed...

Her wry thoughts shook Azula from her stupor. With a quick glance around, she exited the dock structure and meet her way towards the palace.

--

Somehow, Azula had survived the walk back to her chambers without running into anything or, vitally, anyone. Her next engagement was at dinner, which was hours away, so Azula had time to collect herself.

Or, rather, stare blankly at a wall for an hour and then get bitten on the ear by Kallik when the bird got too restless to remain in their room.

The pain - sharp but not all that painful - helped Azula return to herself. It also spurred her to take Kallik on her "early evening constitutional" - AKA a walk along the city walls before dinner.

While watching the white bird joyfully dive off the hundred meter wall, Azula considered the upcoming days.

One part of her - a traitorous, cowardly part - wanted to take a hunting trip onto the tundra for the length of the conference. The quiet and solitude would do her well, though hanging out with a yakibou for that long would do less good for her nose.

Another part of her mind wanted to attend every event and appear completely unaffected. A mask of strength and smug satisfaction was with which Azula was intimately familiar, and therefore very comfortable. But acting like her old self - the perfect Princess in an imperfect world - would do little to convince Zuko of her improved mental state. Mai would see right through it, and whisper in her beloved's ear all sorts of poison.

"She looks confident," Mai would say in her monotone voice. "She's really getting back to her old self."

Zuko would hear the indictment in those words, reading the screaming subtext of "BACKSLIDE!" from those innocuous statements. And he would worry. And worry. And worry.

And he might ask someone from the Tribe about her. Given exactly two people in the Tribe could reliably stand Azula, the odds Zuko would ask someone with a positive opinion were not in her favor.

Fears stoked, Zuko would brood on the issue, waiting for Azula to say anything out of line. And he would inevitably find something to cross that invisible line, once he arbitrarily drew it.

He would--

He wouldn't.

He couldn't.

He could.

And Zuko would, if he thought it was the best for the most people. Azula had never been part of his category for 'most people.'

They'll have to drag us away in chains! snarled a particularly vicious voice in Azula's mind. He would not even live to regret it!

Yue wouldn't let him take us, a softer, more vulnerable voice added. She'd keep us here. She loves us!

But does she love us more than she loves her people? the mean voice snarled in response. The Tribe is the only reason she married us in the first place!

"Yue loves me," Azula murmured aloud, contributing to her internal argument.

But would she have the authority to go against Zuko? He's a essentially a King, and she's just a Princess.

It could start a war, piped a cold, logical voice. Like the epics of old.

Azula caught herself on that last comment. She was... catastrophizing? Yes, she was!

"I am considering whether or not I should avoid my old friends," Azula said to herself. "Worrying about starting a war is unreasonable?"

That sounded right.

"Zuko is not an enemy," Azula grumbled. "And I shouldn't treat Mai as one either. It's not productive."

But she will--

"Just because the worst thing could happen doesn't mean they will," Azula recited. In her old life, Azula's ability to foresee possibilities was an asset, especially during complex missions. But now, it worked against her when Azula was dealing with the struggles of everyday life. Strategic foresight, or as Doctor Rha-Ze called it, "catastrophizing," was not an asset when fighting against non-corporeal enemies like fear.

Still feeling antsy, Azula shook out her body like she would before training. Weirdly, it worked to reduce stress. If she was feeling particularly anxious, Azula could do simple firebending katas to center herself.

Kallik returned a while later with a small ocean bird. Dropping her kill at her hunting partner's feet, Kallik rose, did an aerobatic roll for fun, and then landed on Azula's outstretched arm.

Azula chuckled at the bird's antics, and accepted the headbutt that Kallik used to express affection.

"Shall I prepare your kill for dinner, Kallik, or will you be dining at the rookery with your fellows?" Azula asked with good humor, starting back towards the Palace.

Maybe it would be okay.

--

"Master Toph," Azula greeted as she sat down for dinner.

"Hey Azula," Toph replied around a mouthful of food.

"I have something you may find interesting," Azula stated.

"Oh?" Toph asked after swallowing. "Gimme."

Azula handed it over. "Kallik caught this bird an hour ago. The feather was unexpectedly pleasant to the touch."

Toph ran a gentle finger along the edge of the long wing feather, which was the same length as Azula's forearm between wrist and elbow. "Very nice," she commented. "What color is this? she asked jokingly.

"The shaft and bottom three quarters are white, like snow, and the top is brownish black, like good planting soil."

Toph nodded, slightly surprised at the quality of the description. "So, uh, what was the deal earlier? With Zuko and his guards?"

Azula sighed. "Zuko's fiance and her bodyguard were my friends during the War, but... not anymore."

"You said they were a reminder of your mistakes? That doesn't sound the same as not being friends anymore," Toph pressed.

"Uh," Azula started, unsure. "I... misinterpreted their actions in a high-stakes situation and reacted... poorly. Very poorly."

"Gotcha," Toph replied, not wanting to go more in depth. "... did you at least get to see Zuko?"

"We saw each other, on a purely literal level," Azula reported flatly. "Nothing else. We're not... we're not close like your friends are."

"That's fair - Katara and Sokka are always up each other's butts. It's crazy. And, hey, Sparky isn't everyone's cup of tea," Toph joked.

"Sparky?" Azula huffed in laughter. "You certainly have a way with names, Master Toph."

"I try," Toph said in a silly, overly-nonchalant manner. "Also, I forgot his name for a while after we met."

Azula laughed properly at that.

"What's so funny?" Yue asked lightly, sitting down next to Azula.

"Zuko," Azula chuckled. "We--"

Azula was cut off by a loud scoff from Mai, who had been making her way to the Fire Nation delegation's table.

"Mai- "

"Whatever," the woman replied witheringly before stalking off to her table.

"Superb," Azula commented. "Absolutely excellent work, Azula."

"It's just a misunderstanding," Yue soothed. "I can go explain."

"You shouldn't," Azula replied. "Mai won't think it's genuine. She'll think you're covering for me."

"Yikes," Toph commented quietly.

"No kidding," Azula agreed. "You should go sit with your father, Yue. Dinner will start soon."

"Are you sure?"

Azula smiled wryly. "As your political advisor, I'd say you should go no matter what. As your wife, I'd say that I'll survive your absence with no issues and minimal complaining."

Yue huffed a laugh but asked, "If you're sure?"

"Yes, my Moon, I'll be fine. Go be a diplomat and save the world."

"'My Moon?'" Toph teased after Yue stepped away. "That sounds like a pretty good nickname there, Fire Hazard."

"Many thanks, Nickname Master Toph."

--

After dinner, there was time scheduled for general mixing, mingling and "congenial activities." According to a wiry trade representative from Ba Sing Se, it would be called a "happy hour" in the Earth Kingdom. Azula would have called it an "informal reception," but the Fire Nation was not the world's leader in happy things, so she didn't comment.

The Fire Lord had been mobbed by various persons as soon as dinner came to a close, but was now playing court to a much smaller crowd. Chief Arnook sat with him, slyly glancing at the scowl Mai wore unabashedly. Her face seemed to be keeping the crowd small.

As usual, the Avatar's group gathered in the small lounge near the dining area where they had previously played that disastrous card game. This time, however, they were joined by a few of the Kyoshi guards that were off duty.

Suki, their leader, had unexpectedly struck up a conversation with Azula about Palace defenses. Azula found the discussion interesting, especially considering the different tactics the Kyoshi warriors had trained with as non-benders. She also let Azula inspect her paper and metal fan, a weapon Azula had never seen in person. It was rather satisfying to snap open and closed.

"Azula," Sokka eventually whined, "stop hogging Suki!"

Azula barely even bristled at the comment, merely replying with an eye roll. To her delight, Suki shared the gesture.

Social convention met!

Ignoring her friend, Suki leaned in to speak more softly. "So I heard you almost knocked Sokka on his ass the other day?"

"Yes," Azula confirmed. "It was immature and unbecoming of an adult, let alone someone of my station."

"Oh, you're fine," Suki laughed. "I love Sokka, but sometimes he needs an attitude adjustment!"

Teasing. Implies a level of comfort in their relationship, Azula noted. Is she his paramour? That would be an impressive pull for Sokka if so.

"That's how we first met, actually," Suki continued. "He and Katara and Aang visited our village, and he could not believe the famous Kyoshi Warriors were a 'bunch of girls.'" She used air quotes on the last few words.

"So you set him straight then?"

"Yep," Suki agreed. "Multiple times, though I don't think it really sank in until Zuko showed up and burned down my village."

Azula snorted in spite of herself. "What?"

"We kicked his butt too, though Aang, admittedly, helped out."

"Zuko burned down a village? I didn't know he had it in him!" Azula said, slightly impressed.

"He's apologized since," Suki added.

"I assumed, since you're his bodyguards," Azula replied. "And seemingly good ones at that, since I haven't been accused of attempted murder in years!" She laughed, but Suki looked slightly taken aback.

I really need to stop making jokes...

"To be clear, I have not tried to kill Zuko, nor will I ever, given current circumstances continue," Azula reassured. "Well, actually, I haven't seriously tried to kill him. Well, not recently." Her equivocation was sounding bad, even to her own ears.

"What Azula is trying to say," Yue cut in, like a blessed lighthouse in a hurricane, "is that she's impressed with your abilities, and those of your group."

"Of course, Princess Royal Yue," Suki replied automatically.

"Just Yue, please."

"Yes, ma'am." It was clear this was an old debate based on their shared tone of affectionate consternation.

Azula nodded approvingly to Suki when Yue turned back to her other conversation. Suki winked in return.

After a moment's pause, Azula worked up the nerve to ask about Ty Lee.

"She's great," Suki responded. "Good team player with a strong skill set to complement our other Warriors. Good for morale, too."

Azula nodded, sad smile ghosting her lips. "That's good. I am glad she is doing well."

"You two were friends, right? You two and Lady Mai?"

"Yes," Azula responded tersely.

Sensing that Azula wanted to avoid the topic, Suki moved on to firebending counter strategies. Azula was relieved.

--

"That went well!" Yue said as she climbed on to the bed to sit behind Azula.

Azula shrugged, eyes downcast as Yue began to comb her hair. "I was within ten feet of Mai twice today and managed to screw it up both times," she replied.

"The second time was just a misunderstanding," Yue reassured. "Just bad timing, really."

Azula merely shrugged again.

"Well," Yue continued, "I thought you did very well today. It was a very busy and stressful day with some hiccups, but you handled it like a champ!"

Azula turned her head to lift an eyebrow at Yue, who smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, I heard it," she said with a light laugh. "That came out way more condescending than I meant it. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," Azula replied with soft humor. "If I don't, who else will braid my hair?"

Yue giggled and tied off the braid with a piece of ribbon. "If all else fails, I can introduce you to Sitka."

"The hairdresser child?"

"The hairdresser savant," Yue corrected. "When she gets old enough, I'll be first to invest in her salon."

A beat passed.

"... can we add 'savant' to the word list?" Azula asked quietly.

"Of course," Yue replied seriously. "Do... do you want to talk about it?"

Azula shrugged. "It's just... bad memories." She pulled on the shoulder of her night dress to show her upper arm. "One of my instructors thought 'savant' meant perfect every time, even the first time."

Yue took a steadying breath, eyes closed, and ran her fingertips over the slightly raised patch of skin. It had a faintly rough texture from the crisscross scar tissue.

"Every time I learn something new about your childhood, I am more amazed by how resilient you are," Yue said somberly.

Azula made a quiet noise of acknowledgement, feeling uncomfortable with the compliment.

"It also makes me want to gather all the adults who were responsible for keeping you safe and put them in a rudderless ship in an iceberg field," Yue added in a darker tone. "And an angry polar-bear-wolf. As a treat."

"Thank you," Azula whispered, blushing crimson.

Kind, beautiful and creatively cruel to those who have wronged me? She really is the perfect woman.

--

On the first day of the Summit, Azula and Yue ate a quick breakfast together in their room.

The Summit was taking place in a large, purpose-built ice structure on the glacier on the Western edge of the city. Initially, they had planned to use the main gathering place for the Tribe in the Palace, but found that the large space had lacked sufficient rooms for more private conversations.

The new Pavilion, as it has been informally named, was essentially a giant rectangle, with a large auditorium in the center, with small and large meeting rooms for private or formal conversations ringing the outside walls. Despite the name Pavilion, the structure had thick walls to keep out the cold, as well as fireplaces throughout.

Azula had found the construction process fascinating - building a building from ice was not so simple as bending some walls into a roughly box-ish shape. The Northern Water Tribe had made an art from the careful consideration of how to make stable and comfortable dwellings in the harshest of environments.

Most fascinating (to Azula) was the great importance placed on ventilation. At first glance, you'd think a shelter with zero holes would be ideal - nowhere for the cold to leak in. But, as the apprentice architect Azula had interrogated/questioned had explained, a shelter with a fire but no holes would result in death. Indeed, the ventilation holes had to be placed just so to encourage the smoke and noxious gases from fire to escape and for fresh air to enter.

Designing the roof of the Pavilion had taken immense effort, the apprentice explained, no longer shaking from fear. Structural stability and ventilation were key considerations that often ran against one another.

Waterbending also helped, since ice was a preferable building material to snow, though both were used extensively. Ice was denser, and was less likely to collapse under the weight of an unexpected storm.

Azula appreciated the explanation, and the apprentice appreciated escaping her clutches, so it everyone got what they wanted in the end.

So now, about a hundred people gathered in the auditorium of the Pavilion, representatives from every nation in the crowd.

Azula found Aang before the proceedings began and led him to the side of the speaking platform.

"Was this what it was like?" Azula asked quietly, gesturing at the colorful, noisy crowd. "Before?"

Aang nodded. "I never really went to events like this, um, then... but this was what the ports would look like." His voice was a little wobbly at the end. "It's... it looks great."

"A little light on the yellow and orange?"

Aang could only nod.

"I think we all appreciate the color you bring to this metaphorical palette, Avatar," Azula said in as gentle a tone she could muster, which is to say, not very gently. "Or should I say, Air Nomad Representative Aang?"

Azula handed Aang the item that had been burning a hole in her pocket for hours.

"Every Nation's lead delegate is requested to wear these medallions, for ease of identification."

Aang held up the amulet, which was a large stone circle hung on a generous ribbon of orange silk, long enough so it rested on the wearer's sternum. On the medallion was carved the triple curve of the Air Nomad symbol.

There were two lengths of heavy ribbon hanging from the amulet. One read, "Voice of Harmonious Winds," in vibrant, steady embroidery (和风之声). This was written in the common language script. 

The other, however, was different. It read, "འབྲེལ་བཞིན་དོ་བདེ་པ།." Despite being a few weeks old, the ribbon seemed ancient by nature of its script. 

"Those are Airbender characters!" Aang exclaimed, pointing to the characters. "I didn't realize our special characters were... still around."

Azula repressed a smirk. 

The title in the common script literally translated to "Voice of Harmonious Winds," but could also be interpreted as "sound of the breeze." The symbols 和风 also carried a connotation of balance and unity. Perfect for the Avatar.

"Thank you, Azula," Aang whispered wetly. His eyes hadn't left the second title ribbon. 

"Don't thank me - I'm just the courier," Azula responded wryly.

"Who...?"

"My wife was unsure what title to put on your amulet," Azula explained. "Zuko and the Earth Kingdom people had their own titles, so they were easy. You, on the other hand, were a bit trickier.

"In a move I initially questioned, Yue wrote to my Uncle Iroh for inspiration. You see, he had studied your people for quite some time. Based on your reaction, it seems that I was wrong to question Yue's judgement.

"Do elucidate me, though - did we manage the translation accurately?" Their little translation team had settled on an interpretation of the script (འབྲེལ་བཞིན་དོ་བདེ་པ།) as, "one who coordinates/facilitates harmony/peace for mutual benefit and joy."

Aang ran a finger over the special script. "Yeah, pretty much. It's an old title for diplomats, particularly those who advocate for peace and everyone's well-being."

"How beautiful," Azula said softly, honestly. 

"It's perfect," Aang said earnestly. "I was happy acting as the Avatar for this event, but this..."

"Well, we couldn't have the first international trade summit in one hundred years without a representative from the Air Nomads," Azula said blithely, trying not to step in the private sentiment Aang was nearly drowning in.

"Can I hug you?" the boy asked suddenly.

"Uh," Azula said awkwardly, "okay?" The word had barely left her mouth before it was joined by all of the remaining air in her lungs. The Avatar was a very enthusiastic hugger.

Not the best hugger in the world, but definitely number two, Azula mused awkwardly. Not that there would ever be any competition for first place...

Once Aang released her and Azula had regained her breath, she slipped to the back of the room. Since Azula was not a representative for any nation, the peevish Seating Arrangement Committee had placed her seat for the opening day at the top of the auditorium. Azula had only snuffed a laugh when Yue told her the news, rolling her eyes at the pettiness. She literally could not care less, as she had told Yue multiple times.

It was during one of the interminable opening speeches from some Earth Kingdom representative that Azula was joined in the last row of seats.

"Did I miss anything?" Suki whispered.

"Just a lot of posturing and grandstanding," Azula reported. "Everyone wants to say that they're happy to be here, that their Nation is the best and that trade is very important."

"So nothing groundbreaking then," Suki replied sarcastically, to which Azula merely shrugged.

"I have a message for you," Suki said in the lull between speakers, some ten minutes later.

"Oh?" Azula asked in her cool, unbothered voice. It hid the little jolt of adrenaline that hadn't decided if it were anxiety or excitement yet.

Suki handed her a folded piece of paper, then made herself busy inspecting her boot straps. They were nice boots, Azula had noted absently the night before.

Lunch?

The note only held the one word, but the handwriting was unmistakable - Zuko. He was always one for nice calligraphy. (He said it helped with sword work. Azula was no expert on swordplay, but that sounded wrong.)

Why does Zuko want to see me? Azula was truly baffled.

She raised an eyebrow at Suki in question, but the Kyoshi warrior only shrugged in return.

--

Azula made her way over to the main Fire Nation meeting room with wariness more appropriate for a minefield. Eventually, however, she made it to the door, where pride beat out cowardice and the door was knocked upon.

One of the Kyoshi Warriors opened the door, eyes sharp under the war paint they pretended was makeup. But Azula knew those eyes.

"Hi Azula," Ty Lee said softly as she stepped out of the way for Azula to enter.

Azula gave Ty Lee a curt nod before she surveyed the room. Besides Ty Lee, Zuko, two other Kyoshi guards and the Avatar's companion Sokka were the only inhabitants of the room.

"Zuko," Azula greeted levelly.

"Azula," Zuko said in a tired voice. "Thank you for joining us."

Formality seems to be the name of the game, then.

"I was not expecting at your invitation," Azula replied.

"Please sit," Zuko requested, gesturing to the seat across from him. He sat at the center of the table, rather than the head, which Azula found atypical for trade negotiations.

Azula did as bid and then nodded to Sokka in greeting. Then, she settled into silence. Silence was an excellent way to get people to talk, particularly those with temperaments as awkward or boisterous as the men in front of her.

The Kyoshi guards remained standing, primed and ready to intercede if Azula made any moves. Azula felt faint approval for their piercing gazes. Ty Lee's eyes betrayed no nerves, just resolve.

It was Sokka who broke first. "So, uh, how's your day been, Azula?"

"So far so good," Azula shrugged, still looking at Zuko.

Silence fell again.

Eventually, Zuko made a frustrated noise and rubbed at his forehead. "This was a social invitation, Azula. Can we please socialize?"

Aren't social invitations for people you actually like?

"Why would you want to socialize with me?" Azula asked, genuinely curious.

Zuko moved to rubbing his temples. "Because you are my sister and we haven't seen each other in a very long time?" he offered with slight exasperation.

What?

"I'd miss my sister if I went a while without seeing her," Sokka added in an attempt at helpfulness.

"Okay," Azula responded, tone level despite being slightly on the back foot. "It's... good to see that you are alive and leading our Nation."

Zuko seemed to accept the attempt. "It's good to see you too. You seem healthy. That's also good."

Azula nodded, but lacked a rejoinder, so she settled into silence.

"Do you want some tea?" Zuko asked suddenly, as if he had forgotten a step in a process.

"No," Azula responded. With a heartbeat's hesitancy, she added, "I don't like tea."

Zuko huffed a little laugh. "I didn't either for a long time."

"Hot leaf juice!" Sokka exclaimed, apropos of nothing.

With a pained smile at his companion, Zuko nodded. "It took years, but Uncle finally broke my spirit and converted me to tea."

Azula's nosed twitched at the mention of their shared Uncle, which for her was equivalent to a grimace. Azula... had mixed feelings about Uncle Iroh.

Zuko's awkward voice jarred Azula from her sour thoughts. "I hear you have a bird now?" He winced as he spoke, a result of an elbow jab from Sokka. "Why don't you tell me about that?"

Azula's nostril twitched again, but she answered. "Yes, I have acquired an animal companion since our last meeting. My bird is a snowy owl-gull named Kallik, which means 'lightning' in the old tongue of the Water Tribe." It was more of a report than a casual bit of conversation.

"That's nice," Zuko responded weakly. "I don't have any pets."

Azula clenched her teeth, trying anything to burn off excess nervous energy. "You were fond of the turtleducks when we were children. Do they still live at the Palace?"

"Yes," Zuko replied. "They were doing well when we left." He grimaced minutely. "They're not really pets, though."

"More like tenants then?" Azula joked. "Coming and going at all hours and paying rent by being cute?"

Zuko laughed lightly. He had been good at discerning Azula's jokes, befo-- when they were children.

And again they lapsed into silence.

"So what's for lunch?" Sokka asked loudly. His voice was equally startling and welcome.

Zuko, looking slightly relieved, responded, "I'm not sure. Mai went to go check. She should be back with food soon, I hope."

"I'm starving!" Sokka replied, too loudly. He seemed to hate the awkwardness in the air more than anyone.

So Mai will be here. As if anything could make this lunch more uncomfortable, Azula lamented internally. Maybe I'll get lucky and there'll be an earthquake.

This reminded Azula of Toph, inspiring some mental calculations that, tragically, didn't turn out in Azula's favor.

In the silence, Azula's thoughts returned to her Uncle. For the first three months of visits, Azula had ignored Iroh, acting as alone as ever. But then, on one visit, Iroh had knocked his cup over (by accident, he alleged after the fact). The hot tea had slid over the table like a flood, wetting Azula's knees and whetting her rage.

No longer did she ignore Iroh - instead, Azula raged. Every fortnight for a year, Azula would scream and yell at Iroh, using whatever heat she could manage from her broken inner flame to fuel her ravings.

At first, Azula detailed each and every indignity heaped onto her by her forced confinement in her crypt. Appetite sated on that topic, Azula moved on to his military efforts, ripping each of his multitude of martial failures apart detail by detail. It would have been fun if she weren't so all-consumingly angry.

Normally, Iroh took the abuse (and it was definitely abuse, Azula had reflected with a likely inadequate level of regret) on the chin, never saying a word in his own defense. If anything, it made Azula angrier - how dare he use her to punish himself?! Was this martyrdom just a selfish attempt at absolution?!

Azula finally broke Iroh on one particularly cold morning in the bunker.

The hole in the old man's armor?

The last straw?

His son.

Azula had just snarled about how Lu Ten's death was Iroh's fault, and that maybe he always been one for indirect kinslaying when the man stood, slamming his hands onto the table.

Azula had cackled as the old man fled her crypt, triumphant and totally empty inside.

It had been a long time before Iroh spoke to her again. She no longer yelled during their visits, and he no longer offered tea. Uncle's face was indecipherable. Silence reigned, and many things stayed unsaid.

When asked by Doctor Rha-Ze, Azula could not find enough regret within herself to seek Iroh's forgiveness. There was too much hurt, too much resentment for her to honestly seek absolution from her Uncle.

But.

But while she resented him for many, many things, Azula also, in her darkest heart, appreciated his visits, silent as they were. It was something. Not something perfect, or even very good, but it was... something.

The silence Azula found herself in now, however, held far more tension. Not in the traditional sense of tension, where a party waited for another to reach a breaking point and act, but rather, a tension in which no one wanted to act at all.

It was like tic tac toe. The only way to win is not to play at all.

The decades (five minutes) until Mai arrived with the food were painfully silent. Azula nearly shot to her feet when the door opened, though to defend herself or flee she did not know.

Mai was not there, however. Instead, a Kyoshi warrior manhandled a pushcart topped with steaming bowls into the room.

"Where is Mai?" Zuko asked the guard.

"Her Ladyship started talking to someone and sent me along with the food. Kari is with her, My Lord."

"Okay," Zuko shrugged. "Thank you."

The food, a hearty stew with Earth-Kingdom-style noodles, provided a welcome excuse not to talk. It made the silence much more pleasant.

Zuko broke the blessed silence, always the annoying one. "Azula, are you happy here? In the North?"

What a leading question. So he does have an ulterior motive then...

"My time here has been satisfactory," Azula said carefully. "I appreciate your generosity in allowing me to accompany my wife to her homeland."

"Uh, you're welcome," Zuko said awkwardly. "I'm glad to hear that."

Azula waited, but Zuko did not press.

Why is he doing this? Azula wondered. What is his move? I knew it was ridiculous that he would just want to catch up.

If Zuko wasn't going to make a move, Azula would. "I have finished my lunch," Azula announced. "I'll be going."

"Wait, don't leave."

Azula turned and decided to act. Cowardice was for the weak. "Why?"

Unfortunately, the Water Tribe man spoke. "There's no need to rush - there's still like half an hour left for the lunch break!"

Azula kept her gaze on Zuko, unimpressed. "What do you want, Zuko?"

Zuko's face was complicated. "Nothing," he said. Somehow, the burn on his face was the least puckered part of his mien.

Unconvinced, Azula asked again. "What do you want? It must be something bad if you had to break it to me in front of three and a half warriors."

"- a half?!"

"I don't want anything, Azula," Zuko responded firmly. "I just wanted to see you."

"But why?" she pressed. Her confusion was increasingly sporting an edge of paranoia, of fear of conspiracy.

"Do I need a reason to want to see my sister?"

"There's always a reason for everything," Azula protested. "Stop being coy and just tell me!"

What is his motive? Everyone has a motive!

"Has it occured to you that I might have missed you?" Zuko asked, temper high.

"No." Azula answered honestly. "Why would you miss me?" Despite her best efforts to school her expression, Azula's face was nakedly confused.

"Because you're my sister and I love you?" Zuko cried.

What a load of shit.

"Zuko, be serious," Azula snapped, only letting herself feel annoyance at Zuko's loaded statement, and nothing else.

"Azula-"

"We've never exactly been model siblings. I don't think anyone in our family has ever had a good sibling relationship!"

"I am being serious," Zuko more or less shouted. More quietly, he repeated, "I am being serious. I missed you, Azula."

"But you hate me," Azula responded, stunned.

"No I don't," Zuko responded.

"Yes you do," Azula argued. "You said so!"

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do," Azula repeated. "You said so!"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"When?!"

"Once when I was seven, twice when I was eight, and four times since Mom got hurt!" Azula counted them off on her hands, one by one.

Zuko rubbed at his forehead. "That was when we were kids, Azula."

"And?" Azula asked. Children are just smaller, weaker adults, not stupider ones.

"People change," he replied levelly. "People change and grow. You of all people should know what."

Azula just stared at him, overwhelmed by a mix of confusion, indignation and discomfort.

"Okay," Zuko said. "I would like to make a new statement for your record: I no longer hate you, Azula. I never did. I was just being an angry, stupid kid."

Azula blinked. "... okay. That, uh, still doesn't answer my question. Why would you want to see me?" In a lower voice, she added, "I'm not the kind of sister people would want to have."

"You're the only sister I have, Azula, so I guess we'll just have to make do," Zuko replied, trying to lighten the tone.

... This can't be real.

An ugly possibility entered Azula's mind. "Did Mom put you up to this? Or Uncle?"

They'd always had weird ideas about how siblings should interact. Or maybe they were the ones who wanted something from her, and Zuko was just the messenger.

"No," Zuko responded. "All me."

Sokka, who had been hiding as much as someone can while sitting at the same table as the people he was hiding from, spoke then. "He's telling the truth. We talked about it back at the Palace."

Azula shot Sokka an angry, confused look. What is with this guy?!

"Sokka-"

"He saw how Katara and I interacted and felt sad," Sokka continued. "Believe it or not, but he misses you."

How close are these two?

Azula took a breath, and squinted at Zuko. "Tell me truly, brother. Is this true? You visit me for your own satisfaction?"

"You always phrase things so weird, Azula," Zuko muttered, rolling his eyes. But he met Azula's gaze once more and said steadily, "Yes. It is true."

"Really?" Azula asked softly. "You'll swear it?"

"I'll spit shake swear it," Zuko offered.

"But you hate that!" Azula rebuffed out of weak awe.

"I still do," Zuko grumbled. "I don't understand why you liked them so much."

"You wouldn't do a spit swear if you didn't mean it," Azula explained distantly. "The grossness is the point."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course it is."

"I'm with her, Zuko," Sokka added. "The mutual disgust seals the swear!"

Zuko mumbled something unintelligible while running his hand across his face. "Okay, fine!"

"You'll do it?"

"I'll do it," Zuko agreed solemnly.

--

"That was really sweet, Azula."

Ty Lee's soft voice is stalled Azula's strategic retreat from the lunch conference room.

"Thank you," Azula replied. "'Sweet' wasn't what I was going for, but I appreciate your meaning."

Ty Lee met Azula face to face. Her makeup was stark but well-painted, agreeing with her features.

"I'm really glad to see you," Ty Lee said with quiet earnestness.

Azula inhaled a bit too sharply, but replied evenly enough, "I'm glad to see you too."

They stood awkwardly for a beat before the spoke at the same time.

"Ty Lee, I want--"

"Can we--"

Azula chuckled and gestured for Ty Lee to speak.

"Can we talk?" she asked. "A real conversation, in private. More than just this little corridor chat?"

Azula nodded. "I would like that. That was my question, actually."

Ty Lee smiled then, a sight Azula had almost forgotten.

"I want to speak with you both. I... There are a lot of things that need to be said."

"Both of us. Of course," Ty Lee's smile dipped slightly, but recovered quickly. "I'll talk to Mai."

"Thank you, Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee."

Ty Lee grinned and shook a finger at Azula. "No, no, no! We got past your weird title thing ten years ago! No 'Kyoshi Warrior' or 'Classmate' or whatever. I'm just Ty Lee!"

Azula smirked. "Alright, Just Ty Lee."

Ty Lee's giggle stayed with Azula for the rest of the afternoon.

--

"That's wonderful" Yue exclaimed after hearing about Azula's eventful lunch period. They stood on one of the sheer cliff faces near the Pavilion, watching the sun set. It was a sublime view from the top of the glacier.

Azula nodded, but then shrugged. "I just hope I don't mess it up."

"You won't mess it up," Yue reassured.

Azula shrugged again, scanning the horizon.

Yue sighed. "It's not going to be perfect and make you three best friends again."

"Like the horizon, perfection can never be reached," Azula recited. It was an Air Nomad proverb Aang had taught her.

"But they were important to you for a long time," Yue continued. "You owe it to them and yourself to set things right. Or at least try."

Azula sighed, turning to rest her forehead on Yue's shoulder. She had recently reached the perfect height to do so - no neck straining, tip toes or stooping required.

Yue patted Azula's shoulder with her mittened hand, settling it there to form a sort of half hug. They stood there as the sun sat in a quiet, comforting companionship for a long while.

When the winds started to whip a little too aggressively, they readied to return to the city. Azula whistled for Kallik, shrill noise splitting the rapidly descending night.

Kallik heard, and, as usual, turned gracefully in the air to return to her friend. As usual, she found the small black speck of her friend's parka and determined that her landing arm was deployed. As usual, she dove, rapidly approaching her friend.

But unlike usual, Kallik's friend was not as sturdy as stone when she landed. Instead, the large, dark-plumed friend was knocked afoul by Kallik, as though she was a prey animal. Kallik was able to flap and save herself from hitting the ground, but her friend was not.

Ice.

Azula hadn't realized that the snow under her feet was only a shallow dusting that hid slick ice. When Kallik tried to land, Azula was dragged off balance as her feet refused to remain rooted in place.

She only realized what happened, however, when she found herself crouched in a defensive stance moments later, surrounded by steam.

Azula took stock of her situation quickly, breath heaving as though she had run a sprint. All of her body parts were still attached and she could still breath, which was a good start. The adrenaline dulled the ache of her left wrist, held close to her chest. 

Any thought of her own situation was ejected instantly when Azula caught sight of Yue. Half a heartbeat later, Azula kneeled next to her toppled wife, pulling her face from the snow.

The red on the snow stopped Azula's heart.

"Are you okay?" Yue asked, though Azula did not hear. Yue touched her hurting face, where a small cut bled. "Ow! I think there was a rock in the snow!"

Azula still did not respond, mind a blizzard.

"Honey?" Yue asked softly when she noticed Azula's pale face. Instead of her healthy pinkish beige, Azula's skin was gray.

No response.

Kallik alit on the ground next to Yue. She offered the bird a mittened hand, which Kallik head-butted in recognition.

"Azula," Yue said more firmly, growing worried. "Everything is okay."

The woman in jumped as Yue touched her shoulder, but her eyes focused. "What?"

"You fell, sweetheart," Yue explained. "Everything is okay."

Azula looked at her wife's face and stiffened, expression crumpling. "I hurt you," she whispered.

"No, you didn't," Yue assured. "We fell and I scratched my face. That's all."

Azula's hyperventilation begged to differ. "But I knocked you over, and now you're bleeding!"

"It was an accident," Yue assured fervently.

Azula shook her head, eyes starting to fill. "I hurt you."

Yue shivered as a lash of wind crashed over them. Lying on the snow wasn't helping either. "Azula, it was not your fault. Now we need to get up and go back home before we freeze."

But Azula was locked in a cycle of self-recrimination, too upset to notice anything so banal as the cold.

With a fortifying breath, Yue took control of the situation. After a failed attempt, she stood and then pulled Azula up alongside her.

With a loud smack to her own shoulder, Yue summoned Kallik, whose sharp talons dug into Yue's parka and the flesh underneath. Gritting her teeth, Yue pulled the ornamental red sash from Azula's parka and tied it around her wrist, tying the other end to her wife's arm. The way Azula grimaced when Yue touched her wrist was not promising.

Tying themselves together was not strictly necessary, but with Azula's head in a bad place and darkness rapidly falling, Yue was not taking any chances.

Securely fastened, Yue started to lead her party back to civilization.

--

They had made an odd tableau when they stumbled into the medical clinic nearest to the Pavilion; a bleeding Princess with a huge bird on her shoulder and a dissociating firebender towed along behind.

But the clinic's healers were unruffled and professional, quickly seeing to Yue's face and talon-stabbed shoulder. One even gave Kallik a fish. 

When removing the nearly catatonic Azula's gauntlet for Yue to better carry the bird, they discovered another injury. When the Princess had fallen, Azula landed badly on her wrist and then immediately aggravated the injury by falling into a defensive position. The result - a linear fracture of the lower left radius.

Though the Water Tribe healers were talented, not even they could fix broken bones in one session.

Thus, Yue had to help Azula undress that night in their rooms, being careful to avoid jostling her new sling.

"I'm sorry, Yue," Azula repeated for the fiftieth time since they returned to their rooms. "This whole mess is my fault."

"No, it's not," Yue replied for the fiftieth time. "It was an accident. You did nothing wrong."

Azula sighed heavily. "But... you got hurt. I hurt you."

"Please--"

"I vowed to myself I would never hurt you, but I did," Azula said wretchedly.

"Stop-"

"Everyone I know, I hurt. Mother and Father and Uncle and Zuko and now you," Azula cried, growing more upset with every word. "The best person in the world, I hurt!"

"Azula, you need to-"

"Why do you even bother with me? You must know I'm just a disaster waiting to happen," Azula lamented, deaf to Yue's protests. "You can't just put corks on a porqu-pig's quills and call it a pillow!"

"Azula," Yue said, her tone harsh enough to catch her wife's attention. "Stop it."

"See! Even the most patient woman in the world can't handle me!" Azula said, laughing mirthlessly.

"Azula," Yue warned again. She used her harsh tone to try and snap Azula out of her spiral. 

"Stop saying my name!" Azula shouted, eyes starting to steam. "I'm no better than wild beast - I don't deserve a name!"

Azula laughed sharply again. "A wild beast. How fitting! I was in a cage for years after all!"

Yue kept trying to interject, but couldn't make herself heard through Azula's increasingly frantic ramblings.

"Zuko was a fool to try and take me! A beast in a cage. Unable to be handled except by the beautiful, sacrificial Princess!"

Azula gestured wildly as she paced. "Look how well that turned out. My beastly nature finally slipped, and I hurt she who loved me most!

"Iroh should have killed me when he had the chance. It would have made everything safer for everyone!"

"No--"

"Maybe I should just save everyone the trouble and--"

Azula's anguished rant was cut off by the liquid contents of a forgotten mug hitting her face. Thankfully, the fluid was tepid, but the shock of it still snapped Azula out of her negative spiral.

"Never say something like that again!" Yue ordered, voice hard as steel.

Azula was frozen, mouth slightly open, stunned.

Yue grabbed Azula's good wrist firmly and stared into her eyes with an intensity that frightened Azula.

"I'm serious, Azula. Never even think something like that again, or I will shackle you to the bed until Doctor Rha-Ze gets here on the Avatar's bison."

"What?" Azula croaked.

"You threatened to do something Very Stupid, Azula, and I will not let that happen."

Azula's eyes were very wet as she managed a weak, "I'm sorry."

"Good," Yue said. Then, like she was shedding a leaden cloak, Yue softened in demeanor. "Come here," she whispered as she pulled Azula into a hug.

Once in Yue's soft embrace, Azula broke. Her sobs were intermixed with apologies and promises, none of which were particularly coherent. Nevertheless, Yue petted her hair the whole time, making her breathing loud and even for Azula to eventually copy.

Eventually, Azula let more air enter her body than sorrow escape it, resting her head against Yue's shoulder and panting. They sat in that semi-quiet embrace for a while, just breathing.

"I'm sorry I splashed you, Azula," Yue eventually murmured.

"It's okay," Azula replied, voice rough as gravel. "I was being hysterical and blowing everything out of proportion. You needed to get me under control."

Yue breathed in sharply, and pulled back to make Azula meet her eyes. "Azula, don't say it like that."

"But it's true?" Azula responded, tone almost fragile.

Yue grimaced. "Honey, no. Don't be so mean to yourself. You sound like... oh." Her last word sounded very defeated.

"'Oh' what?"

Yue looked at nothing and fell silent, face in a pained expression. Azula felt hollowed out by that face. 

After a moment, Azula broke the silence. "I'm sorry I made you mad," she offered softly.

Yue looked down at her, eyes distraught. "Oh, sweetheart, no. I'm not mad at you. Please don't think so."

"But--"

"Azula, I was not and am not mad at you. I was scared, and I reacted poorly."

Azula was confused, which fed into her body's lingering tension, reawakening the trembling that had accompanied her earlier tears.

Yue pressed a kiss to her hair. "I just need a second to collect my thoughts. I don't want to say the wrong thing."

"Okay," Azula breathed.

After a moment, Yue spoke again. "I want to tell you what was going through my head, and why what I did was wrong. And why you might not think it is."

Azula have a confused look, but nodded.

"When you started talking about how Iroh should- should have... taken care of you while he had the chance, I was scared at where your head was going.

"Doctor Rha-Ze once told me that a distraction was a good way to snap someone out of spiraling thoughts, so I knew I had to try something.

"But then, you said what I was afraid you'd say, that you might 'finish the job' yourself.' In that moment, I panicked. I just tried the first thing I could think of."

"The water," Azula supplied.

"Yes, the water. But it was a bad idea, and I shouldn't have done it."

"But it worked?"

"Still, it was wrong. People should never throw things at each other, especially when emotions are high. It sets a bad precedent."

"I guess," Azula muttered, not convinced.

"It does, Azula. I- I know you don't have a great reference point for conflicts during a relationship, so let me spell this out."

"I'm not stupid," Azula griped, but didn't move.

"Please just hear me out," Yue pleaded. Once Azula nodded her acquiescence, she continued.

"Throwing things is disrespectful and violent. It starts a slippery slope. Every day, I hear stories from women in the Tribe about how their men started with something small, like a slap or a thrown cup. It was always done in the heat of the moment, so the women forgive them.

"And the men, they apologize and promise to be better, but it only ever gets worse. What was once a slap turns into a black eye, into a broken bone, into- into a dead woman."

"Or a burnt one," Azula murmured, realization dawning.

"Or a burnt one," Yue confirmed, single tear sliding down her cheek.

Azula stared at Yue, eyes also watering. "But... but you're not like that. You're nothing like him."

"I know that," Yue said, "but when you just apologized and said you were being 'hysterical,' I could hear the same self-blaming words in the voices so many others. In her voice, too.

"The women I speak to, they always blame themselves. Believe that they deserved the abuse. Do you think that they're right?"

"No."

"Then don't for one microsecond think that you do either," Yue ordered sternly. "No matter how badly you act, I should never hurt you. No one you love should."

Azula couldn't do much but blink back her tears. "But... I'm not like your Tribeswomen. I've done so many terrible things. Don't I... deserve it?"

"Absolutely not," Yue snapped. "Nothing you could ever do would make it okay for me to hurt you, embarrass you, or make you feel like you'd be better off dead. Not me, and not anybody."

"Even if I hurt them?" Azula asked. "Even if I sent them to prison or banished them from their homes?"

"Mai and Ty Lee are allowed to be mad at you. They're allowed to never talk to you again, tell you to leave them alone. They're even allowed to tell you how you hurt them," Yue explained. "But what they are not allowed to do is be cruel. To hurt you for hurting's sake. Do you understand the difference?"

Azula winced. "... not entirely," she eventually whispered.

"Think of it like prison. You're allowed to punish people within the rules of law, but not torture them. Even the worst prisoners - you can't just torture them to get even. It doesn't solve anything."

"You sound like the Avatar," Azula mused.

"That's a great idea - we should talk to him about this."

"I'd rather not..."

Yue humphed. "Tell you what - sleep on it, and if you're still confused in the morning, we'll ask him. Deal?"

Azula smirked in spite of herself. It was not a real smirk, of course, as her face was still too tired to really approximate a positive expression, but nevertheless, she tried. "You drive a hard bargain, wife, but deal."

Notes:

1) I'm like 85% sure I got the Chinese characters right. I asked my Mandarin native language friend to verify, and she approved, but that's not a guarantee of accuracy.

1.5) so commenter Arlnoff brought up the extremely good point that Chinese script for an airbender-specific set of characters was... not ideal. So I edited the script to include a version in Tibetan and one in Chinese (the two name tags on the amulet).

1.75) as I don't know any Tibetan nor anyone who speaks/writes that language, I used multiple translators and dictionaries to make the title for Aang, drawing heavily from Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It might not 100% be grammatically/culturally accurate, but I tried really hard. If anyone has a better translation, please let me know!!!

2) I mentioned the spit swear thing because i felt it was something childish enough to underline that all these characters are teenagers. Also, it's funny.

3) paranoia + self hate sometimes = paranoia about your own actions. 0/10, not fun.

4) while domestic violence can happen to anyone of any age or gender, I believe that it makes the most sense in story for Yue to only meet AFAB survivors of intimate partner abuse. The sexism and macho culture of the Water Tribe leads me to believe that abuse against male or AMAB victims would be extremely underreported and misunderstood (as is the case in many countries today in our own world). No one deserves abuse.

Chapter 7: Extenuating Circumstances

Summary:

Azula has a rough day, and reflects about her life.

Notes:

This turned out a lot more angst-y than I thought it would.

CW: mentions of domestic violence, self-hatred, reflection on trauma, possible suicidal ideation (sort of?), absurd amount of detail about boots, overuse of the term "extenuating circumstances"

Having a broken arm sucked. There was nothing else Azula could say about it. 

Once, I could command armies and defeat benders four times my size! Now...

Azula glowered at her boots. They were made of fine, dark leather and a removable fur liner, reaching all the way to Azula's knees when worn. They were also nearly impossible to put on with one hand. 

The boots were made in the Fire Nation style, rather than the Water Tribe, for which Azula counted herself lucky in this case.  Traditional Water Tribe boots were actually a set of three foot covering that were layered when worn. Ingeniously, the layering combined the best qualities of fur, hides and leather for a breathable, warm and waterproof foot covering. That layering, however, took a skilled set of hands to master. 

While Azula was right-hand dominant, the temporary loss of use of her left arm was more impactful than she had imagined. 

Thankfully, it'll only be like this for three weeks. It'd be six weeks anywhere else, without waterbender healers. 

But three weeks was a long time to go without shoes. Or, worse, ask Yue to help her every day. Azula's pride was beaten into a much more reasonable size nowadays, but it still surged in her breast when considering such an indignity. 

She helps with your clothes, a mental voice argued. What's another small assistance?

The other 95% of Azula's mind recoiled in disgust. 

Clothing is completely different from boots, swelled an angry rebuff. 

In Azula's long years as a Princess, she had been dressed by a multitude of other people, the vast majority of which being servants. Royal fashion, especially for major events, was meant to display power and opulence - what was more indicative of status than clothing so intricate that one needed help dressing?

But the last time someone had put shoes on Azula was when she was a toddler. 

It was... viscerally uncomfortable to think of someone else assisting with shoes. 

And she had never worn shoes that needed assistance to be donned. Or worn. That was... impractical. 

Other people wore impractical shoes. Not her. Not her... family. Though opulence had its place in the Palace, practicality had ruled ever since the days of Sozin. No one of Royal Blood wore shoes they could not fight in at any time.

Fancy clothing was a minor inconvenience in a fight when you were a firebender (you could just burn it off), but bad footwear could be a death sentence.

Or, at least, that was what Ozai had said the one time Azula tried on a pair of heeled pumps from an abandoned storage closet. She hadn't meant any harm - the shoes were a pretty silver color with sparkles and lace. 

Azula's balance was excellent, but even she tottered at first in the overly-large and unusually tall shoes. Unfortunately for Azula, one of Ozai's spies - some random servant or another - had seen the stumble. 

The shoes - and Azula - did not remain their original color for long. When Ozai had finished his "lesson,"  shoes were black and Azula was blue.

Azula grimaced. I'm fairly certain that that memory falls under the category of, "Unreasonable Childhood Discipline." I can practically hear Doctor Rha-Ze grinding his teeth about it. 

Yay, progress, Azula thought sardonically. She was getting pretty good at recontextualizing her childhood memories now. It was super fun and not at all depressing in any way. 

And so Azula glared at her boots. She didn't have any other shoes that were warm enough for going outside, onto the tundra. The walk to the Pavilion was short, but but short enough. 

I must not be late for the Summit. Today is the first day of actual negotiations!

Azula stood. I'll just increase my own warmth, like I did the first time I was here. I'll put on three pairs of socks and then my house shoes, and then--

"Good morning," Yue interrupted, appearing like the hidden figure in a optical illusion to the startled Azula. 

"I thought you went to the Summit already?" Azula asked in lieu of a proper response. "To do whatever errands you needed to do?"

"Oh good, you got my note," Yue replied, moving into the room and removing her shoulder bag. "I was surprised I was able to sneak out without waking you, but I'm glad you got some rest this morning." She smiled compassionately at Azula. 

Azula shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "Have you finished your errands?"

"Yep," Yue said, rooting in her deceptively small looking bag. "Had to do a little shopping," she added playfully. 

"Oh?"

"Just a little something," Yue teased, holding out her purchase. 

It was... a piece of wood?

 "It's a boot jack," she explained. 

Azula blinked. The boot jack was a wedge of carved wood with a u-shape carved out of the tall end. "Forgive me, but what?"

Yue chuckled at Azula's expression. "You use it to put on and take off boots easier."

Azula blinked again, investigating the device. "I... may require a demonstration."

It took a moment of pantomime, but Azula quickly grasped the fundamentals of the device and its use.  The boot jack was similar in shape to a door stop, essentially a wooden right angle. On the top of the shortest side of the wedge was a curved mouth.  The curved mouth of the jack caught the heel of the boot, which the wearer would then step out of.  The jack was kept in place by the user's other foot on the flat part of the wedge. 

She was struck by the device's practicality - it was so simple, but yet something she never would have thought of. 

While the device was originally intended to be used to remove shoes, the boot jack could also be used to put on boots. The wearer simply had to place the toe of the boot under a ledge (like a dresser), move the tongue of the boot out of the way with one hand, keep the other foot on the jack, and step in. 

"Isn't that clever?" Yue asked, rising to stand once more. "The merchant said they were invented by ostrich-horseback herders in the Earth Kingdom."

"Very clever," Azula replied, suddenly unable to meet Yue's eyes. "... this is a very thoughtful gift, my Moon." Her face was hot and her insides squirmed uncomfortably. 

Though Azula could not see, Yue grinned like the pygmy puma who got the cream. Azula was so cute when she was flustered. "Of course. And here."

"What is this?" Azula asked.

"Another gift," Yue replied. 

Azula looked at her wife, expression delicate. "You're too generous," she said softly. "I have done nothing to deserv-"

"Disagree," Yue rebuffed. "But if it makes you feel better, know this is also a bit of a gift to myself."

Azula raised an eyebrow and unwrapped the bundle.    

Yue grinned again at the soft gasp. "I ordered you a whole case."

Azula held up the small tube to the light, removing the cap.  The lipstick was the exact right shade.

"I know you don't like the type we use up here, so I might have stretched my international mail privileges to add another crate or two to the shipments heading up for the Summit."

Azula almost cried as she swiped a coat of lipstick on.  It was perfect - the smell, the texture, the smooth little tube the clicked in such a satisfying way. No alternative she'd ever investigated ever compared. 

Lipstick in the North Pole was more similar to a colored lip balm than a traditional cosmetic, as it was originally used as a shield against the elements. That meant the texture was thicker and slightly more sticky than a Fire Nation lipstick, which Azula strongly disliked. The berry-based color was also less pigmented than a traditional lipstick. Azula only wore Northern lip balm out of practicality now, opting for the colorless formula. 

Overcome, Azula hugged Yue as tightly as she could with one arm. "Thank you," she whispered into Yue's white hair, taking pains not to stain it. 

Yue hugged Azula back even harder. "You're welcome."

"... not that I doubt you, but how exactly does is this a gift for you?" Azula asked lightly, pulling back a few moments later.

"How do I benefit from having my wife feel and look beautiful?" Yue asked rhetorically. Her tone was flirtatiously smooth, but her red cheeks told a slightly more earnest picture. 

"If we weren't already married, I would propose right here and right now," Azula 'joked' with complete honesty. 

"What if I wanted to be the one to propose?" Yue laughed. 

"Then somehow, I'd be even more impossibly lucky than I am now."

 

--

 

Luckily for Yue, people were too distracted by Azula's arm to notice the suspicious red tint to her lips. They barely made it five steps into the Pavilion before being mobbed by the Avatar and his friends. 

Sokka - of course it had to be Sokka - noticed first,  asking why the left sleeve of Azula's parka hung limply. 

Azula's explanation had barely left her lips before Katara shoved to the front and demanded to see the injury. The waterbender, as stubborn and stoppable as a tsunami, disregarded Azula's assurances of having had already seen a healer and forced Azula's parka over her head in short order. Aang was gang-pressed into being Katara's assistant, since he "needed to practice his healing."

As Katara and Aang did an impromptu scan of their patient, Azula answered the questions of the less pushy members of Aang's friend group. 

"It doesn't hurt that much now that it's in a splint."

"Are you still going to take Kallik for hunts or wait until you're healed?" Toph asked. 

Trying to ignore the two benders noisily inspecting her wrist, Azula answered, "Kallik is trained to ride on my shoulder, so I can still exercise her."

"But won't that mess with your balance?" Sokka asked. 

Shrugging with one shoulder, Azula replied, "I'll manage." Indeed, walking on snow and ice took more balance than other terrain, and having only one arm available was sub-optimal. And a walking stick was untenable due to Kallik (and definitely not pride).

The next question was interrupted when Sokka and Azula simultaneously caught sight of Zuko and his small entourage. The Fire Lord squinted at the group crowded around his sister and raised a hand in question.  

What's this?

Azula waved her hand dismissively in response. I'm fine. 

Despite Azula's silent reassurance, Zuko moved to join them. Because the universe was a cruel place, Mai and Ty Lee were at his heels.

Perfectly in line with her personality and at complete odds with her rank, Ty Lee immediately bustled to Azula's side, slipping seamlessly into Katara and Aang's healing lesson. 

"Training accident?" Zuko asked dryly. An old euphemism, one used many times as children at the Palace. They had many, especially when Ozai was around. 

"If only," Azula sighed. "That's a far nobler story than slipping on ice."

"You didn't just slip," Yue corrected. "You got knocked over."

"Who?" The question rang out like a shot. To everyone's surprise, including her own, it was Mai who had asked. 

Azula blinked, face steady. Slightly heartened by the response, she said, "Just Kallik. An accident."

"The bird?" Zuko asked, helpfully forestalling Mai's next question. 

Azula shrugged. "I was unknowingly standing on ice when she landed."

Mai huffed. "So I guess it's barbequed wings for dinner for you two then?"

"What?" Azula asked. Mai was joking? Huh. 

"What?" Yue asked simultaneously, though more aggressively. 

"Your bird betrayed you," Mai replied simply, acidly. Not joking, then. Ugh. 

"Mai-" Ty Lee and Zuko began to caution at the same time. 

Azula put on a razor blade smirk. "Ah, I see."

"Azula-" now it was Yue (and Aang's) time to caution. 

"And here I was, thinking you were so smart, Mai. But it seems you can't understand the difference between an unfortunate accident and a purposeful act of treachery."

Mai crossed her arms. "I seem to remember you saying that accidents are acts of the subconscious mind exercising laziness, insolence or stupidity. Which one was your little 'accident,' then?"

Azula glared. "Kallik is a bird. She holds no subterfuge in her heart."

"I never said it was Kallik's mistake," Mai spat back. 

Azula growled as quiet gasps rang around her. Yue gripped her uninjured shoulder, which Azula wrenched away. Yue stumbled slightly from the force of it, making Azula's heart stutter. 

Mai seized on Azula's concerned micro expression. "I must say, Azula, I am surprised that, of the two of you, it was you who had the little accident." 

Azula audibly growled this time. "And what makes you believe that?"

"Your lovely wife has always reminded me of your Lady Mother. It's fitting, considering your resemblance to your dearly departed Father." Mai inspected her nails in a cruel mockery of Azula's favorite move. "Lady Ursa was always so kind and demure. So... accident prone."

"Enough!" Ty Lee snapped, tone sharper than Azula had ever heard. 

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, with much clamor from the group around them. "That's enough from the both of you."

Both arguers leveled Zuko with a withering glare, which, for the first time, failed to cow the man. Perhaps being Fire Lord has its benefits after all, even if they were just in demeanor. 

"We're done here," Zuko commanded, voice steely. Turning to Yue, he gave a shallow bow. "My apologies, Princess, but my group must get going. We have actual productive work to do."

Yue bowed in return. Her tone was equally professional, like a flint dagger wrapped in wool. "Of course, Fire Lord. Please don't let us delay you any further."

With a haughty, satisfied snort, Mai turned and strode away, Zuko and company following close behind. 

Azula made brief eye contact with Yue, who nodded slightly. Shaking off the various members of the Avatar's party, she stormed out of the Pavilion, barely taking the time to tug her parka back to its normal position. 

 

--

 

"Why are you asking me about them?" Azula asked sharply, arms crossed. 

"Besides Yue, Mai and Ty Lee were strongest positive relationships," Doctor Rha-Ze responded. 

Azula snorted. "Positive? Hardly."

"I understand that you had a falling out," Dr. Rha-Ze said, "but until that point, were they you friends?"

Azula glared at him, despite knowing it didn't seem to affect the doctor at all. The damnable man was even more level headed than the Avatar. It couldn't possibly be natural - Azula theorized he must be under the influence whenever they spoke.

"Weren't they?" he prompted. 

"... they were very good at acting like my friends," Azula grumbled after a moment's silence. "Very good at toadying up to me and pretending they were loyal.

"And they had me," Azula admitted flatly. "I never saw it coming."

"Saw what?"

"I know you know what happened," Azula snapped. "You know everything about my life, it seems."

"Tell me anyway," the doctor requested. "I want to hear what happened in your own words."

"Ugh!" Azula groaned. She hated this part. She'd tell a story, then he'd ask pointed questions that were painfully insightful. The terrible ordeal of being known. "Fine."

She straightened from her slouch and spoke. "Mai and Ty Lee were accompanying me on a mission to the Boiling Rock prison. The objective was to determine why and how Zuko had broken in and got himself caught like an idiot. 

"We arrived, I interrogated Zuko--"

"Where did Mai and Ty Lee go?"

"I told them to investigate the office of the prison, under the guise of Mai visiting with her uncle, the Warden."

"Okay, then what happened?"

"After interrogating Zuko, I returned to the Warden's office and rendezvoused with Ty Lee. She told me Mai had gone to speak to Zuko. I was going to go find her, but at that point, the screaming started." 

"Oh?"

"My brother and his gang of cronies started a prison riot," Azula explained, shrugging. 

"A riot?" Rha-Ze asked, eyebrow raised slightly. 

Azula rolled her eyes. "I know. He needed a distraction, so he went for the most dangerous one possible. Idiot.

"Anyway, Zuko's group captured the Warden, Ty Lee and I attacked, battle ensued, etc. etc.," Azula waved her hand dismissively. 

"But where was Mai?"

"She arrived just after we trapped the escapees on the Gondola. Apparently," Azula said icily, "she took umbrage with my plan to cut the wires."

Rha-Ze squinted thoughtfully. "I assume the fall would have killed everyone on board?"

"Yes," Azula replied. "It was very efficient."

"Why do you think Mai stopped you?" 

"Here we go," Azula muttered under her breath. "I don't know why Mai stopped me. I cannot see into her mind, as you have so often stated, Doctor."

"But what would be your hypothesis, if you were to make one?" the doctor pressed. 

Azula only glared in response. 

"I'll make a guess," Rha-Ze said. "I think she didn't want Zuko to die. They are engaged, after all."

Azula huffed. "Only technically at that point."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he was a traitor to his nation?" Azula replied incredulously. "And she hadn't seen him in months?"

"Sure, sure, seems reasonable," the doctor said. "But love rarely inspires reason. Didn't she say something about that, when it all happened?"

That snake had talked to Mai! Azula growled internally. She's primed him to judge me negatively.

"Yes," Azula ground out. "She said she loved him. More than... her feelings for him led her to betray me."

"So she did love him, then," Doctor Rha-Ze concluded. "That's nice. Romance is good for the soul."

Azula barely contained her barbed comment about old men and their love of silly things, but then-

But then Doctor Rha-Ze hummed. 

Ah shit, Azula thought. 

That hum was his tell, used only when he had painted Azula into a philosophical or moral corner. With a sigh, Azula braced herself for whatever the man would throw at her. 

"But there's just one thing," Rha-Ze started. "One thing I don't understand."

Azula gestured for him to continue, glare reaching new heights of iciness. 

"You say you don't understand why Mai betrayed you, but yet, you explained it was for love?"

He continued on before Azula could respond. "I understand why you'd be mad - no one likes being betrayed by a friend, after all.

"But Azula," he said, leaning forward, "I think you do understand why she did it. Or, at least, you can now."

"What?" Azula asked testily. 

"A young woman sees her beloved in mortal danger, and does what she must to save that love, even if it means hurting her allies. That story seems familiar, right?"

Azula felt like she had been kicked in the gut. "I don't understand what you mean," she growled defensively. 

"I think you do," the doctor replied levelly. 

"How dare you presume to know me!" Azula snarled, slapping her hands against the table as she rose. 

Doctor Rha-Ze did not react. Not even a flinching blink. He was a very good doctor, though Azula not being able to firebend at this point in her recovery probably helped. 

Driven by the silence, Azula continued, "She attacked me and convinced Ty Lee to do the same!"

The doctor crossed his arms.

"They humiliated me in front of my troops and let our enemies escape!"

Such hypocrisy.

Azula wrenched her neck around, seeking the source of the voice. That impossible voice. 

"No-"

Look how far you've fallen, Azula. Once, you led armies, and now you're losing arguments with a bald old man in a prison cell.

Azula gripped the top lip of her chair tightly, ready to heft it. "It's not like that!"

The invisible voice seemed to circle around Azula like a carrion bird as it dropped lower and lower. You're nothing now. Not a Princess-

"No-"

- not a leader of your Nation-

Azula clapped her hands over her ears.  It didn't help. 

- not a free woman-

"Don't!"

and not even a daughter anymore.

"Stop it! Stop!" 

Az-

Azula screamed, poisonous words echoing in her mind louder than any outside stimuli. 

And screamed. 

And screamed. 

And scr--

Clap. Clap. Clap clap clap. 

And then Azula... clapped in response? The same pattern, in return; it was as if she her hands were being commanded by someone else entirely. 

Clap. Clap. Clap clap clap. 

And she did it again, without even thinking. It was as automatic a response as breathing. 

A few more rounds of clapping later, Azula regained her composure enough to listen to the words said between the claps. 

"Hello, again, Princess."

"H- how... how did you do that?" she asked shakily. 

"I've found that when a person is stuck in their own mind by fear or anxiety," the doctor replied, "that a distraction can help. The more random the better."

Azula sniffed, but replied, "It confuses them enough to... snap them out of it... I assume?"

"Exactly right," Rha-Ze confirmed.

"The clapping... I replied to you while not even mentally present. What is it? Some sort of magic trick?"

The doctor laughed then, heartily. "Oh, no," he puffed. "Nothing like that. The clapping thing is just a thing they do at Earth Kingdom schools. I figured the Fire Nation might do something similar!"

Azula thought for a moment, and then it struck her. "Mother! She did it when we were little and being noisy!"

 "I also could have tried dancing a little jig," the doctor joked, "but these knees-" he slapped the joints in question "- would protest too much."

After a moment of silence for composure to be gathered and breath to even out, Azula sat back in her chair. Standing up from her huddled crouch in the corner made her knees protest as well, though she would never admit that under anything less than weeks of torture. 

With an apologetic, wry smile, Doctor Rha-Ze asked, "Was it him again?"

Azula merely nodded. 

"Is it just the voice? Or did you see him again?"

"Just the voice," Azula answered, rubbing at her forehead with a palm. "I haven't... I haven't seen him since my first week."

"That's good," the doctor replied. "I suspect the stress of the Eclipse and your lack of sleep were what caused you to see him."

"I'll have to sleep for a month straight to get him to shut up, then," Azula groused. 

The doctor sighed. "I don't think you'll ever be rid of the voice, Princess. They might be said in his voice, but they're your own words."

Azula could only sigh. "So I'll never be free of him."

"We need to work out why you have such negative thoughts about yourself," Rha-Ze corrected. "And then figure out ways to help you quiet them."

"That's going to be a lot of work," Azula said dryly. "But all I've ever done is work, so I guess I'll just have to persist. Ugh."

The doctor smiled sadly. "Persist you shall, Princess. Persist we all shall."

 

--

 

The rocky core of a formerly icy outcropping was glowing orange when Toph called out to Azula. 

"Hey, you found me some rock! Thanks!"

The unexpected thanks pulled Azula from her flame-y reverie. "Master Toph?"

The earthbender strolled up, joined by Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors. "That's my name."

"What do you want?" Azula snapped, eyeing Suki. 

"Well, originally, I was coming out here to see if you were okay, but now I'm more interest in playing with the rock you uncovered!"

Stepping forward, the Earthbender pulled a chunk of rock from the larger boulder and hung it between her outstretched hands. Her hands did not touch the rock, which retained a peachy orange tint. 

"What?"

"Oooooh, this is nice," Toph continued, rotating the hot stone in mid air. "Maybe we should sell these - people would love a portable heat source!"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Suki added, sidling up to the Earthbender. "It's freezing out here!"

"Then go back inside," Azula replied, anger being rapidly replaced by mental fatigue. "I'm fine."

"Sure," Toph said sarcastically. "And so is that hill."

Azula glowered at the two others, who wore matching expressions of innocence. This enraged her, prompting another one-handed blast at the poor stone hill. 

To Azula's surprise, however, her display was met by polite clapping. Whipping around, she raised an incredulous hand in question at Toph and Suki. 

As the only one able to parse the silent gesture, Suki answered with a shrug. "Firebending is cool when it's not aimed at you."

"I'm not out here to perform for you," Azula growled. "Just leave me alone!"

"No can do," Toph replied in mock apology. "I can't just stand by and let you abuse these poor, cold rocks."

In spite of herself, Azula flinched minutely at Toph's choice of words.

"Princess," Suki began, stepping forward. "We just want to make sure you're alright. That was pretty intense back there."

"Why do you care?" Azula sneered at the Kyoshi warrior. "And why would I tell you anything? You're Mai's."

Suki scoffed. "I am no one's."

"Ugh," Azula groaned. "You are on her retainer. Your loyalty lies with her. Not me. Anything I say can and will be used against me in Court."

"What is this? A crime and punishment play?" Toph scoffed. 

"Master Toph, you are an independent entity, but your companion is duty bound to the woman who just made disgusting accusations against me," Azula ranted.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Suki interjected. "I am here as a private citizen, not as a Royal guard."

Azula merely gestured to the Warrior's outfit in rebuttal. 

Suki sighed. "I am off-duty. So right here, right now, I'm a private citizen."

"A private citizen who might be pressed to reveal information to her Lord and employer," Azula retorted. 

"Fair," Suki reasoned. "How about I offer some collateral?"

"Explain."

"I'll say something I don't want to get back to Lady Mai as well. That way, if one tells, the other can inflict damage in return."

"Mutually assured destruction?" Azula asked rhetorically. After a beat, she agreed. "Fine. You go first."

"Mai is not well-liked at the Palace, including among the Kyoshi Warriors. She's only nice to Ty Lee, and that's stretching the definition of 'nice,' a lot."

"Completely unsurprising," Azula snorted, "but I accept your collateral, Warrior Suki."

"This is all fascinating," Toph drawled, "but can we go back a bit? Who made what accusations?"

Azula breathed out of her nose sharply, ejecting steam. "You were there. You know what she said."

"I couldn't hear," Suki offered. "It was kind of loud in there."

With a deep breath and control right enough to press coal into a diamond, Azula spoke. "Mai- She implied that I would- I-" Azula struggled to speak the words. "Implied that I would consciously and purposefully cause harm to my wife, Princess Royal Yue."

Suki sucked in breath through gritted teeth. "Ah," she said lamely. 

"Yeah, I figured that's what she meant," Toph agreed. "That's... rough. That's really rough." She sounded like Zuko. 

"It is indeed 'rough,' Master Toph," Azula gritted out. "And completely false. I may be a monster, but there are depths even I would never plumb."

"I don't think you're a monster," Toph offered quietly. 

"Me neither," Suki added. 

That's... unexpected.

Azula blinked, but recovered quickly. "You can only thank Yue for that belief. She is the Moon of my life, my North Star - without her, I would be lost. To harm her would be anathema to my whole being."

Toph sighed. "I'm sorry Mai said that to you."

Azula sagged, anger ebbing. "I know she was trying to hurt me, and that I deserve it, but..." She sighed. "To compare me to my Father in that manner struck very deeply, like one of her knives finding its place in my heart."

Azula turned away, blinking entirely too hard to only be keeping the light snowfall from her eyes. 

Suki spoke then. "I never met your father, Princess, but I've heard many, many terrible things. I may not be the most knowledgeable person to say this, but I can confidently say you're nothing like him. Your words prove it."

"I met him," Toph said, spitting on the ground to show her esteem for the man. "The fact that you care enough to worry about hurting Yue makes you as unlike him as a person could be."

Azula gave a pained huff of laughter. "For the majority of my life, I molded myself to fit his image. But for the past few years, I've tried to stretch myself as far away from that ideal as possible.

"But you know what happens when you stretch a rubber band? Given the slightest slip, it'll snap back to its old shape. And that hurts."

"Hate to break it to you, Fire Hazard," Toph chirped, "but you're not made of rubber. As far as I know, you're made up of flesh and bones and goo, just like the rest of us."

Azula chuckled in spite of herself. "Perhaps my metaphor needs some work."

Suki stepped closer to Azula. "Why don't you work on a better one back at the Pavilion? It's cold out here."

"Okay," Azula allowed. "But one thing before we go. 

"If I ever were to treat Yue the same way my Father treated my Mother, I beg you put me under the deepest mountain you can find. You two are the only ones around here I can trust to actually finish the job, should the need arise."

"Uh... thanks for the vote of confidence?" Toph replied eventually. "I mean, I think I could build a pretty good underground prison..." she trailed off, thinking. "... would probably need a granite base..."

Azula opened her mouth to correct Toph, but Suki spoke first. "She can dig the hole, and I'll put you in it," she said significantly. "Just like you said."

Azula bowed to Suki. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Suki responded. "May it never come to pass."

"May it never come to pass."

 

When they returned to the Pavilion, Suki sent Toph ahead to find their friends, staying back with Azula. Face dark like thunder, she dragged Azula in front of one of the huge, crackling fires. 

"How dare you ask Toph something like that," Suki hissed, sound almost indecipherable against the noise of the fire.

"Because I know she could do it," Azula responded, volume low as well. "Everyone else is too weak."

"Toph is a child," Suki spat. 

"I'd killed by her age," Azula responded weakly. 

"That sucks for you, but Toph hasn't," Suki snapped. "Not to her knowledge. And now that the War's over, hopefully she'll never have to."

"She is as much a soldier as we are. She knows what it means to do the right thing, even if it's terrible."

"But she shouldn't have to!" Suki cried. "I am an adult. I know what it means to take a life. You shouldn't try to make someone else, especially a kid, learn that lesson.

"I know you're going through a lot, but you can not assuage your own guilt by making a child promise to murder you!"

"If it came to that point, it wouldn't be murder," Azula stated. "It would be a public service."

"One that I will do," Suki growled. "But if I ever hear you say something like that to anyone, let alone a kid like Toph or Aang, I'll move up the date of that public service. Got it?"

"Got it," Azula echoed, hollow. 

 

--

 

Azula reflected on the exchange for the rest of the morning, trying to understand. Not logically, but in her heart.

Suki had asserted that making her request to Toph was wrong because Toph was a child. Children, therefore, should not be asked to kill. 

Doctor Rha-Ze had agreed, repeating a similar sentiment hundreds of times during their various sessions over the years. His definition of a child was far more flexible than the term implied, including teens like Azula and even older youths, like her brother. Azula's argument that Zuko was the Fire Lord had fallen on deaf ears - the Doctor believed Zuko was still a child and should not be forced into such grave powers as Fire Lord afforded. 

But, he admitted, extenuating circumstances prevailed. 

Azula came to understand that even the harshest of rules could be circumvented in extenuating circumstances. 

And what had the world experienced for the last century except for a series of extenuating circumstances?

Many, many things had been justified that way during Azula's life. That was the justification that military leaders made when recruiting new soldiers from schools across the Fire Nation, after all. The excuse for food shortages across the archipelago. The genesis of the draconian legal code that had been initiated under Sozin and expanded in the decades following, a code that made anything not explicitly productive illegal. 

Azula had not been exempt - if anything, she was pushed even more aggressively into a life of aggression than any of her peers. As she had told Suki, Azula had taken a life by the time she had reached Toph's age. Many, if memory served her correct. She hadn't enjoyed it, but extenuating circumstances... right?

But if extenuating circumstances meant ordering a child to kill, how could that be wrong? 

It was like in mathematics:

 

If given 

• No-kill rule 

• Dire circumstances

 

And:

• Death was the best option to solve threat

 

Then:  what was the right thing to do?

 

The answer to that proof was always to kill, right?

Perhaps Suki meant that Azula falling back into a violent madness was not enough to qualify as adequately dire circumstances?

That couldn't be right.

Azula may be better than she once was, but only a fool of the highest order would consider her a non-threat. And that was under her current, mostly stable mental state. 

The only way I would come to harm Yue would be if I had well and truly lost my mind.

Azula shivered to think what would happen if she truly lost control. The closest she had ever come was  the Day of Black Sun, when Ozai had moved to kill Yue. The lightning had left her fingers before Azula was fully aware of the action, and she had stopped it as soon as reason returned to her. A few seconds at most, but time enough to kill the most powerful man on the planet. 

The Doctor said that her bending never actually broke, after Ozai. Instead, he suggested that Azula's fire was instead being snuffed out by her own fear of losing control again. 

What if she lost control for even longer? What if her fear no longer kept her flames from flowing through her veins?

... extenuating circumstances indeed. 

So why was Suki so mad?

Toph and she were the only people that could be trusted to finish the job, both on a power level and on a personal mental level. They would be able to detach the Azula they knew now from whatever wretch crawled out of Azula's head and heart in that dark future. They would be able to see the hole where the human was, and fill it with blade or stone. 

It made perfect sense to Azula to ask them. 

Suki was smart - she knew how big of a threat Azula could be. Why would she try to keep a potentially powerful ally from the field? She said it was because Toph was just a child, but...

Extenuating circumstances. Azula definitely represented them. 

If Azula were in Toph's position, she would finish the job if asked. Without hesitation. 

And if Azula were in Toph's position, she would have been asked. 

Of course Azula would have been asked. 

Azula met extenuating circumstances with a straight back and a steely smirk. She did as asked, and did it well.

Because she had been asked.

Because Azula's life was nothing but extenuating circumstances. 

And she couldn't imagine it otherwise. 

But... maybe she could. For Toph, anyways. Toph wouldn't have to face extenuating circumstances. She wouldn't be asked. 

Not like Azula. 

Toph would not have to make exceptions to rules. 

Not like Azula.

Who always did what was asked. No matter what rules she had to ignore. No matter what she had to sacrifice. 

No. Toph would not be like Azula. 

Or, at least, she hoped. 

 

--

 

"Can we talk?" 

Azula nodded, suspicious of Ty Lee. The acrobat had appeared within seconds of lunch break being declared, seemingly shirking her duties as guard to Mai. 

After stepping into an empty conference room, Ty Lee turned sad eyes on Azula. They were bloodshot, though her makeup was pristine.

"I'm so sorry about that happened earlier," she said, voice earnest as always. "Mai shouldn't have said that."

"Thank you," Azula replied softly. "Though it's hardly your sin to apologize for."

Ty Lee frowned. "I should have stopped her earlier. I should have pulled her away before she said... that."

"You are not Mai's keeper."

"Even so," Ty Lee sighed. "I... I'm sorry."

Azula shrugged, and sighed as well. "Thank you for your condolences. It is kind of you to give them in person."

"Of course," Ty Lee agreed solemnly. But then a smirk appeared on her face. "Besides, coming in person was my best bet. I might have been kicked out of our delegation's room anyway."

"Oh?" Azula asked with a light tone. "Pray tell."

"Someone, and I won't say who, did not appreciate my comments on their interpersonal conduct. Admittedly, my feedback might have been a little loud. And... emphatic."

"You yelled at Mai?" Azula asked, impressed. Ty Lee wasn't the best at negative interpersonal confrontations. 

Ty Lee nodded. "I might have asked her what, exactly, was her problem."

Azula nodded in deference. She was very impressed with this new Ty Lee. Perhaps the Kyoshi warriors were good for her after all. "Hence you being kicked out?"

Ty Lee nodded. "Her Ladyship did not appreciate my stance, and I did not appreciate how suffocating her aura had become. The other girls - the other Warriors - told me to go walk it off."

After a beat, Azula quietly asked, "Why did you defend me? I remember being just as... unpleasant... to you as I was to Mai."

Ty Lee sighed. "Because Mai was being cruel."

"It wasn't exactly unwarranted," Azula said, ashamed. 

"Her dislike of you? That is warranted. Everything else was too much," Ty Lee explained. "Not helpful."

Azula stared at Ty Lee for a moment then. "You don't need to be an acrobat for me anymore," Azula said. 

"What?"

"You've always bent and contorted yourself for my purposes. Warped yourself into someone who could be my friend, or at least a favored pet," Azula explained. "Even back then I knew it was a survival tactic. Now I truly understand how despicable I was to make you do so.

"What I don't understand is why you still do it. You have every right to never speak to me again, but here you are, trying to comfort me. Me! When you should be the one who is upset!"

"I am upset, Azula. What you did really hurt me," Ty Lee responded. "But being mean won't solve anything."

"... you really want to solve this?" Azula couldn't quite keep the hope from her voice. 

Ty Lee managed a smirk. "I do. Despite everything, Azula, you are my friend, and I love you."

"A mistake, I fear," Azula joked. 

To her immense relief, Ty Lee chuckled. "One mistake I want to continue making."

 

--

 

Ty Lee more or less threw Mai into the small conference room, slamming the door behind them. "What the FUCK is wrong with you?!"

Mai blinked at Ty Lee's shout. And then glared. "Excuse me?"

Ty Lee poked Mai's chest. "That was completely out of line and you know it!"

Mai crossed her arms and scoffed. "As if."

"I know you are mad at her - I am too - but that was too much!" Ty Lee cried. "Did you see the look on her face?"

Mai smirked. "Yeah, that was the point."

Ty Lee scrunched her nose in distaste.  "You compared her to her Father, Mai."

"That was a good thing to her for a long time," Mai snarked. "How was I supposed to know that had changed?"

"She always loved Yue, though. We were there the whole time."

"How can you be sure it's love and not just obsession?"

"Because Yue is the one thing Azula has always been good about. Since the beginning!"

"Yeah, but then we were in jail, Ty Lee. How do we know if Azula is still so good about her now?"

"What?" Ty Lee cried indignantly. "She loves Yue so much she killed her Father for her!"

"He tried to touch one her favorite toy," Mai snarled.  "Lady Ursa was Ozai's favorite toy once. Look what happened to her." 

"I know you're upset about what Azula did to us - to you - but you're going too far, Mai," Ty Lee said imploringly. "Your aura is red with hatred, Mai. Anyone else, it'd be its normal black. But for Azula, it's red.

"Hatred... it's an evil emotion. It only causes harm to everyone involved."

"I don't care about my aura, Ty Lee. I care that Azula sent us to prison and is now just off playing the victim in winter wonderland! Why don't you care? Why aren't you mad?!"

"Of course I'm mad," Ty Lee snapped. "But at least I'm not an asshole about it!"

"Get out."

"Don't mind if I do!"

 

--

 

Yue found Azula after lunch, tugging her wife into a small conference room. Ironically, it was the same one as earlier with Ty Lee.

Not in the mood to talk, Azula simply leaned into her wife, sighing softly when the other woman enveloped her in an embrace. 

"I messed up," Azula mumbled. 

"What happened?"

"The head Kyoshi warrior, Suki, is mad at me," Azula said, not explaining.

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Azula sighed. 

Yue pulled back a bit. "Did something happen?" 

"Nothing aggressive," Azula clarified. "I asked something I shouldn't."

"Was it a personal question?"

"No," Azula replied. "Or, sort of? A personal request?"

Yue hummed. "Did you ask her out? She's probably pretty under that warpaint."

Azula stood straight, equally aghast and indignant. "I would never!"

"Teasing, my love," Yue reassured. "Just teasing."

Azula rested her head down again with a huff. Her head was heavy on Yue's shoulder. 

"... Suki and Master Toph came after me, earlier, on the Tundra. I was upset about Mai and what she said."

Yue growled. "I could have smacked her in that moment I was so mad."

"I was mad, but I- I was scared, too."

"Scared of what, honey?" Yue asked, hoping she would be wrong in her guess. 

"That she was right," Azula whispered. "That I'd hurt you."

"Damn it," Yue muttered to herself. She had been correct. "That must have felt terrible," she said to her wife supportively. 

"It was like last night, but worse," Azula admitted. "I... asked them to- to, uh, to Finish the Job. If I ever hurt you."

"Azula," Yue breathed. She hugged her wife closer, trying not to cry. 

"Suki said I shouldn't have asked Toph. That she was too young."

Yue shivered. "You shouldn't have asked anyone," she whispered. "You need to stop thinking like that."

Azula met Yue's eyes, golden brown irises surrounded by red veins. "I can't," she whispered wretchedly. "I can't."

 

--

A shrill whistle brought Kallik down from the sky with a silent rustle of feathers. She landed softly, not at all bothered by the dark of the night around her. 

A message was quickly slipped into the band on her leg. With delivery instructions whispered and an affectionate headbutt accepted, Kallik rose back into the cool night air. 

Hunting would always be her favorite activity, but her task now was also gratifying. Slitting her eyes, Kallik spotted her target. 

Time to make a delivery.

 

--

Most Esteemed Fire Lord Zuko,

 

I, Princess Royal Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, hereby request a formal, one-on-one meeting. This meeting should occur as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow, the third day of the International Trade Summit. 

We have shared interests that urgently need to be discussed. 

Please respond at your earliest convenience,

Princess Royal Yue Moon-Chosen

 

P.S.  This meeting is intended to be a personal discussion. The future Fire Lady need not attend, nor any of her personal guard

Notes:

Just to be clear, while Mai is being kind of shitty this chapter, I feel it's in character. We'll hear more from Mai soon.

Also, if you're struggling to picture the boot jack, look it up. It is a lot easier to understand from a picture.

"Extenuating circumstances" no longer sounds like a word. Sorry lol.

Chapter 8: Stories, Omissions, and Revelations

Summary:

Zuko has a LONG day.

Once upon a time, an old man told a girl a story.

 

It went like this:

 

Once upon a time, there was a Kingdom, and in that Kingdom, there was a castle. The castle was beautiful and strong, but held a secret: it was cursed. 

 

The curse struck the castle without warning, and all of the sudden, a Monster came to lurk within the castle dungeons. 

 

If you listened closely, you could hear its roars of anguish and fury through the floors as it lurked in the dark below. Whispers told of warm spots in the floor, where the beast's fiery breath bloomed below. 

 

The people of the castle suffered, though none came to harm at the Monster's claws or teeth. Tension turned humans to stiff automata, creaking and groaning through their day's business. Tempers ran high while voices were kept deathly low. Fear reigned. 

 

There was a Monster in the castle, and something had to be done. 

 

And who better to save the castle than the King? A brave, virtuous King who defeated evil and returned balance to the world. A King with the power of fire, gifted from the dragons themselves - a man tested in flames and found worthy. 

 

There was a Monster in the castle, and the King had to make a decision.

 

There was a King in the castle, and he was afraid to become the Monster. 

 

But in the time the King was held back by fear, someone else tried to deal with the Monster - a Princess from a foreign land. Afraid but determined, she charged into the Monster's den without a word. 

 

But she did not return.

 

Aghast, the King decided to act. But first, he sought out wisdom from friends and councilors, people of great knowledge and trust. And so gathered a council of seven:

 

An Old General

 

An Immortal Soul

 

A Healer

 

A Warrior 

 

A Tactician 

 

And a Bandit. 

 

And the Council agreed: the King had to save the Princess. 

 

And he tried to, storming down into the basement with swords and armor. 

 

But instead of seeing a damsel in distress, he saw the Monster holding the Princess gently, curled around the woman like a snake curled around its eggs. Instead of pleading for rescue, the Princess hugged and clung tight to the Monster, which snarled at the King and roared at him to leave. 

 

"Leave, oh good King! You have caused great upset." cried the Princess. "You be gone and I shall remain!"

 

Baffled, the King returned to the Council of Seven and asked again for their wisdom. Unlike before, the opinions of the Council were not unanimous. 

 

The Old General told the King that he must rescue the Princess and return her to her homeland safely. The Princess may care for the Monster, but the Monster could still hurt the woman so very easily. 

 

The Immortal Soul begged mercy for the Monster, saying that it was just a scared beast, and that the Princess be allowed to remain with her new friend. 

 

The Healer feared that the Monster had done some sort of spell on the Princess, and urged the King to rescue her from her insidious captor. 

 

The Warrior advised that the King trust the Princess, who definitely seemed to trust herself. The Princess would not stay if she felt in excess danger, the Warrior reasoned. 

 

The Tactician agreed, and added that the Castle had been quieter since the Princess joined the Monster. Would it not benefit the most people to allow the Princess to continue her efforts to calm the beast?

 

The Bandit, however, had a completely different question for the King. That was the role intended for the Bandit - to think differently than the others. Bandits lived outside the law, and thought outside the box. 

 

And so, the Bandit's question was asked: Had the King asked what the Princess wanted to do?

 

When asked, the Princess merely replied, "Because I want to."

 

When the old man asked the girl what the moral of the story was, she answered that it was important to listen to others. That other people had valuable opinions, even if they were weird. 

 

The old man smiled, but knew she had misunderstood the story. 

 

The next time he told her the story, the girl wept. But she still didn't understand. 

 

It was only years later, on a cold day, did the truth of the story reach the girl. The understanding gave her more warmth than the coat on her back.

 

With help, she crafted the end of the story, which would go on to be a favorite of children everywhere, including the girl's own. 

 

And so, the Bandit's question was asked: Had the King asked what the Princess wanted to do?

 

And he did. 

 

And she simply answered, "Because I want to."

 

"But what of the Monster, oh Brave Princess? Do you not fear for your safety?"

 

The Princess answered, asking "Foolish King, why do you speak of a Monster? There is no Monster here!"

 

With those words, a curse was broken, and the King could finally see clearly:

 

There was no Monster. In its stead and wrapped in a cloak made of scales was a scared child, no greater threat than a thimble. 

 

"I was scared," the child said, "so I hid in this dungeon. I'm sorry, oh King."

 

"You are no fell beast," the King said to the child. "A curse was lain on mine eyes, and I saw what I was told, not what was true. I must be the one to apologize, little one."

 

And so the King and the child shook hands and made right by each other. 

 

Hand in hand, the King, the Princess and the Child left the dungeon. The King ordered the dungeons shuttered forever, and threw a lavish ball in honor of his new friends and the Bandit's wisdom. It was a wonderful party, enjoyed by the whole kingdom, who had come to apologize to the Child. 

 

And somehow, they all lived happily ever after. 

 

--

 

Dawn broke in the sky over the Northern Water Tribe, painting the clouds with a vivid palette of red.

 

As Zuko looked up at the daybreak sky, clouds the color of a crucible, he tried hopelessly to dismiss the omen as nothing but a striking sunrise. Though it was beautiful, the crimson sky was not a sight greeted with joy, for Zuko knew the old wisdom of the sea:

 

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. 

 

A red sky meant a storm was coming. A bad one. 

 

Little did he know, there would be no ice storm that day, nor even a dusting of snow. A rhyme was not a law of nature, after all. 

 

But that red sky was indeed a warning for a coming storm; Zuko was just being a bit too literal when fearing the weather. A storm was coming, and soon. But by looking at the sky, Zuko was looking in the wrong direction. 

 

--

 

"Princess?"

 

Yue blinked wearily, escaping her quiet reverie like a insect trying to escape a flow of sap from a tree - slowly, with a struggle and an unpleasant residue remaining. 

 

Looking up, she saw a young woman in blue. The dark hair and bright blue eyes were vaguely familiar, but Yue's mind struggled to connect the face to a name. 

 

"... what." Yue's tone was flat, not really a question. 

 

"Can- can I heal your hands?" the woman asked. 

 

Yue blinked slowly again, information slowly bubbling into her mind. This stranger was a waterbender, some ally of the Avatar? "What?" she asked again. 

 

The waterbender glanced meaningfully at Yue's hands. "Your hands, Princess. They're all torn up. Let me help you."

 

Yue followed the healer's gaze downward at her hands, which throbbed stringently at the attention, seemingly annoyed at being ignored for so long. The hands, which Yue could barely comprehend as her own, were covered in blood, which oozed perpetually from torn fingertips and ripped nails. 

 

They hurt, so Yue held them out to the other woman. 

 

Gently, the woman - who couldn't have been more than 16 - used her bending to gently clean Yue's dirty and battered hands. Distantly, Yue noticed the water was warm - healers in the North usually used cool water. 

 

"How- how long have you been here?" the woman asked, hands aglow. 

 

Yue glanced at her surroundings - a wrecked passageway strewn with rubble. It looked like a battle had happened here. 

 

It had. 

 

"Dunno..." Yue murmured, shaking her head slightly. "A while? What... what time is it?"

 

The waterbender's face moved as fluidly as her element as she experienced and then controlled her emotions. It was uncomfortable to watch. "It's afternoon, Yue."

 

Afternoon? Had it really only been a few hours? That felt... wrong. And how did she know her name?

 

"Have you been sat here this whole time?"

 

"Since they- since- they made me-" Yue stuttered, growing upset. "She's all alone! She shouldn't be alone!"

 

The other woman's face darkened. "The other Princess?"

 

"Azula needs me!" Yue cried, belatedly realizing she was crying again. No wonder she had such a headache. 

 

"It's not safe, Yue," the waterbender said sternly. "She's unstable."

 

"That's why she needs me!" Yue cried, struggling to stand again. 

 

That's what she had been doing - trying to get the wall open again! It had closed after her when they had pulled her away from Azula. 

 

"Stop that!" Katara exclaimed, grabbing for Yue's hands as she beat her fists against the wall. "You're hurting yourself!"

 

"I don't care! Azula needs me!"

 

"Azula is dangerous! She could kill you!"

 

"No!" Yue shouted. "I need to see her! She needs me!"

 

The other woman shouted down the hallway, presumably for someone nearby. Yue didn't care - she had her hands back. 

 

But then a pair of arms grabbed her from behind, trapping her hands against her torso. Despite Yue's pleas for release, she was hefted by the waist and carried, kicking and screaming. At some point, another set of hands grabbed her, trying to control her. 

 

By the time she was deposited into the Palace infirmary, Yue was being manhandled by at least four people. Her demands to be released had lost coherence, all screams now. 

 

"Princess Yue!" came a shout.

 

The familiar voice broke Yue from her mindless panic. "Iroh?" She couldn't see him, still locked in the arms of some stranger from behind. 

 

"Yes, child, I'm here," came the reassuring voice. "Where have you been?"

 

"Tell them to let me go! I need to go back to Azula!" Yue cried. "She needs me!"

 

"You need to calm down," Iroh responded, finally coming into Yue's view. She wasn't in a state of mind to notice, but Iroh looked exhausted. He nodded at Yue's captor, who released her. "Take a breath."

 

"But Azula's all alone!" Yue was nearly insensate from panic and anger, legs trembling under the weight of the situation. 

 

"She's sick, Princess," Iroh said. "You can't be in there with her."

 

"But-"

 

"She needs quiet and rest, and so do you," Iroh urged, tone intended to be soothing. "You've been awake for a while."

 

"Okay," Yue replied desperately. "I'll get some pillows and blankets, and then we can sleep downstairs."

 

"No, Yue," Iroh said sternly. "You need to stay here and get some food and water into you. You're about to collapse!"

 

Yue shook her head, but in doing so caught sight of the window. "The sun's already down? How is it already night?!"

 

"You've been under a very large amount of stress," the old man said. "It's normal for it to seem like time is skipping past."

 

Suspicious, Yue asked, "Wait - what day is it? How long- when was the eclipse?!"

 

Iroh sighed deeply. "The eclipse was yesterday. You've been missing for a day and a night."

 

"That's- what- no, it can't-" Yue struggled. "Wait - I wasn't missing. After your men pulled us apart, I didn't move. I was there the whole time!"

 

Iroh looked chagrined. "No one could find you, Yue."

 

"You mean no one looked," Yue snapped. "Or did you think I just ran away like a coward?"

 

"No one would have blamed you for fleeing," Iroh soothed. He looked up briefly, nodding at someone behind Yue. 

 

Yue scoffed. "I would have never left without Azula. You must not be so smart after all if you thought I'd just run away from my wife and responsibilities!" She was furious now, or more furious, anyway. 

 

"You have had a very challenging last few days," Iroh said, dodging the barb. "Please, Princess, let the doctors look over you and give you something to eat."

 

"I'm fine!" Yue argued. "I don't need a doctor - I need to go help Azula. Who hasn't eaten, by the way!"

 

"Please," Iroh requested while receiving a cup, "at least drink this tea before you go."

 

"Fine," Yue growled, downing the hot liquid entirely too quickly. Her mouth was scalded, but she could literally not care less. 

 

"Nurse Chan," Iroh said, turning to a nearby figure, "will you please help the Princess gather some bedding?"

 

Yue stalked over to the now-bowing nurse and followed him to a nearby supply closet. Over the course of a few minutes, the Nurse removed bedding and stacked it in Yue's arms. 

 

But as he handed her a final pillow, she noticed something was wrong. The pillow was stuffed with feathers, but it might as well have been filled with lead bars for how heavy it felt in Yue's arms. 

 

Confused, she looked back at the nurse and staggered as her vision swam. Lightheaded, she grasped for a handhold, catching a shelving unit. 

 

"Something's wrong," she murmured to the shelf in front of her eyes. But even that proved too much effort. 

 

As her vision narrowed, Yue felt the hands of the Nurse catch her shoulders. They were warm, but not gentle as she was pushed onto a cot. 

 

"I need..."

 

"Go to sleep," the nurse ordered firmly, settling Yue onto the cot with practiced force. 

 

"Azula," Yue whispered pleadingly, eyes watering as she struggled uselessly against gravity and the cot's rough blanket. "Please--"

 

"Prince Iroh will deal with her," the Nurse soothed in a flat monotone. "You must sleep."

 

All Yue could do in the heartbeats before her forced slumber was let her tears slip, the last of many that horrible day. 

 

--

 

Less than an hour after dawn, the storm made landfall. 

 

"Good morning, Fire Lord Zuko."

 

Zuko blinked at the tone adopted by the Princess Royal - it made the tundra outside seem as warm as the mouth of an active volcano. 

 

"Good morning, Princess Yue," Zuko responded carefully as he led her to the small lounge in the Fire delegation's block of rooms. "Please, sit."

 

Yue moved to her seat with quiet swish of blue and gold. Since they were in the Palace, neither she nor Zuko wore a coat or parka. As she settled, Zuko was struck by the thought that he had only seen parkas on people recently, no normal clothes visible. Internally, he cringed at the effort so many people had made to pack nice clothes, only to find out no one could see them. 

 

"You received my note?" Yue asked. She sat with a back straighter than taut rope and the tension to match. 

 

Zuko nodded. "That was Azula's bird, right? Is... is she feeling okay?"

 

"Yes," Yue said to the first question. She did not answer the second, instead saying, "This conversation shall contain highly sensitive information, Fire Lord. In the interest of international security, I must request your bodyguards guard the door," Yue said gravely. "From the outside."

 

After a fleeting glance shared with the two Kyoshi warrior guards on duty, Zuko responded with a subdued, "Of course." The Kyoshi warriors seemed reticent to leave, but obeyed when Zuko motioned them out with a soft, "I'll be fine."

 

Satisfied they were alone, Yue spoke. "Do you know why we're here, my Lord?"

 

"It's just me, Yue," Zuko said nervously. "No need for the 'my Lord' thing."

 

Yue narrowed her eyes. "Nevertheless - do you know why I asked you here this morning?"

 

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "This is about Mai and Azula, isn't it?"

 

"Yes," Yue agreed, then falling silent to encourage Zuko to speak. Her face might as well have been a mask, it was so flat and expressionless. 

 

As intended, Zuko seemed uncomfortable in the silence. "... things got out of hand yesterday," he eventually sighed. 

 

"Indeed they did," Yue agreed pointedly. "And while I would normally allow my wife to fight her own battles, I feel I must now intercede."

 

Zuko sighed heavily. "I agree that something needs to happen, but I don't know what you could reasonably expect me to do."

 

"Oh?"

 

"I do not - can not - control Mai," Zuko argued. "She is her own person and is responsible for her own words and actions."

 

"Nor do I control Azula," Yue countered. "But Mai isn't completely unreasonable. Just tell her to leave Azula alone."

 

"You think she would listen?" Zuko asked irritably. 

 

"To her boyfriend Zuko? Maybe not," Yue agreed. "But to her Fire Lord?" she asked suggestively. 

 

Zuko winced and rubbed his forehead. "You're really trying to get me stabbed, aren't you?"

 

Yue's face tightened. "This isn't a joke, Zuko."

 

"I wasn't joking," Zuko replied, tired. "I'm trying to be realistic. Asking Mai to forgive and forget will go about as well as trying to stop a volcano from erupting by asking nicely."

 

"Mai doesn't need to forgive or forget," Yue argued, tone growing hotter.  "I just want her to keep away from my wife."

 

"It's a conference, Yue. They're going to cross paths," Zuko said, defeated. "The North Pole is a small place."

 

"She has plenty of practice avoiding Azula," Yue said snidely. "Or, perhaps, Mai has simply grown too used to thinking Azula lower than the ground she walks on."

 

Zuko's eyebrows (or, rather eyebrow) shot up. "Azula is not blameless here," he retorted heatedly. "She falsely imprisoned Mai, who suffered at the Boiling Rock for weeks before rescue."

 

"And you imprisoned Azula for two years under your Palace, Fire Lord," Yue replied sharply, returning to her point from earlier. 

 

"That was for her own good and you know it, Yue!" Zuko felt defensive in the statement, despite his full conviction that his actions had been correct. 

 

"Fine," Yue allowed, ceding minimal ground. "But in the here and now, your fiance continually antagonizes my wife, despite the fact that my wife continues to act in good faith."

 

"Azula's going to hate this, you know," Zuko interjected. "She doesn't want a hero to save her."

 

"It's not about what she wants," Yue growled. "It's about what she needs.

 

"As I said, I would normally allow interpersonal issues like this to be handled between the involved parties, but the impact Lady Mai's continued hostility is having on my wife, your sister, has reached a level I can no longer ignore."

 

Zuko quirked his eyebrow. "Was her tantrum particularly destructive?" The question was barbed like a fishhook. "She burnt down a whole wing of the Palace when she was eight, you know."

 

Yue had to take a breath to calm herself. "I do know. I also know that she hasn't 'thrown a tantrum' in years."

 

Zuko snorted. "If not a tantrum, then what?"

 

"Despair." The word hung in the air, leaden. 

 

"... despair?"

 

"Yes, despair," Yue confirmed. "Everything Mai has said is something Azula has told herself for years. That she is bad and dangerous and not worthy of love. And now, those words she used to torture herself are coming out of the mouth someone she used to love. 

 

"And the worst part? Azula fully believes that Mai is right."

 

Zuko winced. "I... I didn't think she'd take it so personally. Azula never cared what people said about her."

 

"Because she was the Princess," Yue emphasized. "The only opinion she cared about was Ozai's!"

 

"And now he's gone..."

 

"And now he's gone," Yue echoed, "and Azula had to figure out a new standard to hold herself to. It's been... a rough adjustment."

 

"A necessary one," Zuko muttered sardonically. 

 

"Indeed," Yue agreed. "But when comparing herself to the measuring stick of normal morality, Azula had found herself horribly lacking."

 

She laughed bitterly. "Do you know what Azula told me after your little lunch date? She couldn't understand why you cared about her. She couldn't understand why anyone would care if she lived or died."

 

"What?"

 

"I can barely convince her that I care, let alone others," Yue admitted. "She doesn't believe herself worthy of love."

 

Zuko rubbed his temples, hair covering his face. His body language was still guarded.

 

"I have had to console and reaffirm Azula every single time your fiance is cruel," Yue continued. She decided to twist the knife. "Not unlike how your Lady Mother would comfort you after a lesson with your Father, I've been told."

 

Indignant anger flared in Zuko's chest. "This is nothing like that, Yue. You don't know what you're talking about."

 

Yue drew herself up even more, the silver crescent in her crown flashing with the movement. "Is that so?" Yue asked harshly. "What does this sound like:

 

"a young person with terrible self-image faces unnecessary cruelty from someone they're close to, someone who they once thought they could trust, and comes out of the experience crushed and blaming themselves.

 

"Of course it's my fault, the youth believes. I am not good enough, though I have worked to improve myself. Why would the aggressor be kind - or even civil? I don't deserve it. 

 

"They run to a woman who loves them for comfort, a woman who also was also close with the aggressor once. But that woman is powerless to do anything. All she can offer is soft words and gentle hands, all the while raging behind her eyes at the indignity she cannot hope to fix."

 

Zuko's countenance had grown grey throughout Yue's speech, teeth clenched. "No," he managed. 

 

"People failed you, Zuko, and I mourn that for you. I wish they could have interceded back then," Yue said earnestly. "But I have the chance to intercede now for Azula, and nothing will stop me from doing so."

 

Zuko looked at the table, silenced. 

 

"I have built my wife back up from nothing once, Zuko, and I don't want to have to do it again."

 

"... is it really that bad?" Zuko asked quietly. 

 

"Three weeks ago, I would have said Azula was unsure of her place in the world, but strong enough to go find it again. Today? Today, I worry if she might not try to remove her place from the world altogether."

 

Zuko took an agonized breath, unable to speak. 

 

"We both care about Azula," Yue said, standing. "Now act like it."

 

--

 

"You're up early," Azula greeted. "Did you bring any of those little bean bun thin--"

 

Yue smiled and placed a steamer basket in front of her wife as she passed. "They didn't have any of the red bean ones, so I grabbed the green ones you like instead," Yue said, sitting at their little vanity desk. 

 

Ignoring her breakfast, Azula instead stared at Yue, who was touching up her makeup in a small hand mirror. 

 

"If you are so insistent on keeping me in the land of the living," Azula said, voice raspy, "you mustn't wear things like that, Yue."

 

"What?" Yue asked sharply, turning her face from her small mirror. Her lipstick was halfway removed, comedically leaving one half a dark red and the other a natural pinkish brown. 

 

"I will be too busy consuming you with my eyes to remember to breathe," Azula explained.

 

Yue huffed, tension leaving her body. "Azula," she chided with a another huffed laugh. 

 

"You think I jest?" Azula said seriously. "I would send for a painter right now if it didn't mean I'd have to look away for even the slightest moment."

 

Yue blushed crimson. "Stop it," she laughed, "you ridiculous flirt!"

 

Azula squinted thoughtfully, and then spoke. "No, I don't think I will." She stepped closer to Yue, running a hand appreciatively over a long, draping sleeve. 

 

Yue wore a three-piece ensemble. The bottom layer was a dark blue floor length skirt embellished with extensive and exquisite golden embroidery that rose to mid thigh.

 

On top, she wore a long-sleeved crimson tunic with square neckline. It split on the sides at the waist and continued down in front and back to the knee, with a curved hem on both sides. The split allowed for the skirt to show underneath on the sides. The tunic also had golden embroidery, but far simpler than the skirt. The tunic had large bell sleeves, like a smaller version of Palace robes. 

 

The final piece was a dupatta made of the same blue fabric as the skirt with further golden embroidery. It was held in place at the shoulder with a slim ring clasp, which held the dupatta's fabric spread enough to display an embroidered symbol.

 

Yue and Azula's family sigil - a golden flame in a sharp silver crescent brazier - adorned the dupatta, as well as the front apron of Yue's tunic and, most importantly, the crown in Yue's snowy hair. 

 

Azula's eyes couldn't seem to catch on any one element, despite her gaze being locked on Yue. There were so many details that demanded her attention. 

 

"It's exquisite, Yue. You're exquisite."

 

Eventually, her gaze came to rest on the triangle made by Yue's necklace, the sigil on her shoulder, and the little lining of gold ribbon on the low neck of Yue's tunic. If her eyes were drawn most often to a spot slightly above the glint of the ribbon, that was no one's business. Without the dupatta, the view was... hypnotizing. 

 

With a small cough from Yue, Azula shook out of the mild trance that had left her lips slightly parted. 

 

"I'm glad you like it," Yue said softly, smile gracing her features. "But I need to take it off now."

 

"Why?" The idea was anthema to Azula's very soul. 

 

"The Summit, my love," Yue explained gently, smirk ruining her perfectly beneficent demeanor. 

 

Azula was going to protest, but her mind engaged before the words reached her lips. "You're not wearing this to the Summit?"

 

"No," Yue agreed, moving away to begin changing. 

 

Why would she wear this outfit if not for the conference? asked Azula's internal investigator. Looking at the dress with newly sharpened eyes, Azula took in the ensemble anew. 

 

Yue got all dressed and ready but now she's changing for the Summit. Therefore, she had early business beyond gathering breakfast. 

 

Yue doesn't wear red during Tribe business. Makes those morons 'nervous,' Azula mentally sneered. So if she wasn't doing Tribe business this morning, where was she?

 

Azula picked up the shed dupatta, rubbing a thumb over the sigil. This look was very intentional. Her business must have something to do with the Fire Nation, hence she needed to remind people of her position as one of its Princesses.  

 

Azula twitched a frown. No one would talk to Yue for Fire Nation business... Most likely not official duties, then. 

 

Why would Yue need to remind someone of her relationship with the Fire Nation AND her power off the books?

 

Relationship with the Fire Nation... Azula's eyes cut over Yue's belongings, observing. She didn't take her outside boots, nor her parka...

 

She didn't leave the Palace. Only so many people bedding here...

 

"You spoke to Zuko?" Azula asked sharply, taking an educated stab in the dark. 

 

Yue's shoulders sagged slightly, face still turned into her mirror. 

 

Hit. 

 

Azula's mind was racing faster than lightning, the world slowing to a crawl, as if Azula were in a fight. Yue seemed to turn around at a glacial pace, shoulders still slumping. 

 

Thumb sliding over the embroidered symbol, realization struck. "It was about me!" Azula gasped, feeling like her insides were suddenly caught in a series of sharp propellers, ripping.

 

"Yes," Yue said, the axe falling.

 

Azula couldn't speak, eyes wide and growing wet. She needed to stand, to get up, to leave, to --

 

"May I explain?"

 

Azula blinked. "What?"

 

"May I explain?" Yue repeated levelly. 

 

"Please," Azula managed, taking a breath. 

 

Yue wouldn't be so forthright if... if it were something bad. 

 

"I needed to speak with Zuko, so I went early to catch him," Yue began. "There was an urgent issue we needed to discuss."

 

"Me," Azula accused. 

 

"Yes," Yue agreed, then equivocated, "sort of."

 

"Oh?"

 

Yue scrunched her nose. "You were the reason for the conversation, but not the subject."

 

Azula blinked, considering. "Was it because of last night?"

 

"The whole day, really," Yue corrected. "And more. I... I believe Zuko has been remiss in his duties of late."

 

"'Remiss in his duties?'" Azula echoed. "His duty to the Nation?"

 

"No, his duty to--" Yue cut off, hand raised to ask for a moment. "I do not refer to his duties as Fire Lord," she clarified in an overly controlled tone. 

 

Azula reached a hand out to Yue. Her wife seemed like a great beam under strain, ready to any moment give way with a snap. "It's alright," Azula attempted to comfort. 

 

Yue breathed in through her nose. "I refer to his duty as head of the Royal Family," she said in that same overly level tone. "Current and future."

 

The clarification did nothing to help Azula. 

 

Yue clearly sensed this as well. "I- uh, I-" she groaned, never able to catch the end of the sentence she was chasing. "Can I drop the formality and euphemisms? It's tiring and makes this a lot slower than it should be."

 

"... sure," Azula agreed, slightly taken aback. She didn't realize that was an option before. All of politics was euphemisms. But this wasn't politics, was it?

 

"Basically, I was angry at Zuko for yesterday and I yelled at him," Yue admitted. "Politely, of course, but... yeah."

 

"Oh," Azula breathed. 

 

"I reminded him that he is your brother, and if he cares for you like he claims, he ought to act like it."

 

Azula took a moment to process. "... but he's been fine?"

 

"He's been passive," Yue corrected. "And that's not good enough."

 

"Passive?" Azula asked, surprised at the word. "Passive about..." Memory of their last group interaction snapped into place. "You yelled at him about Mai?" Azula asked, tone colored in disbelief and dismay.

 

"Yes," Yue answered resolutely. 

 

"You tattled on Mai to her fiance?" Azula flushed with embarrassed horror, putting her face into her hands. "Why would you do that?" she cried.

 

"Mai has been acting atrociously, and as the person who brought her, Zuko needs to do more!"

 

Azula wanted to jump into a hole. "They'll think I'm weak and need my wife to fight my battles!"

 

Yue stood and placed a hand on Azula's shoulder. "It's not like that, Azula."

 

"Yes it is," she grumbled through her hands. "They already think I'm crazy, and now my position is even weaker!"

 

"No," Yue said passionately. "It wasn't about your position as Princess or anything like that. It was about family."

 

"Those are the same thing!" Azula moaned wretchedly. 

 

Yue knelt in front of Azula. "Zuko is your brother before he is your Fire Lord, Azula. Family takes care of family, or at least it should."

 

"Not my family."

 

"I'm part of your family now, Azula," Yue countered sternly. "So we're switching things up."

 

Deciding to change tack, she asked, "How would you react if someone made me feel as terrible as Mai made you feel?"

 

"... poorly," Azula admitted softly, sensing her wife's point. 

 

"Yeah?" Yue asked. "Remind me what you threatened to do to that one rude ambassador's wife?"

 

Azula sighed. "... I would destroy everything she loved and salt the earth with her tears," Azula grumbled.

 

Yue chuckled. "Flair for the dramatic aside, you would protect me?"

 

"I'm not a child, Yue," Azula snipped. 

 

"Still," Yue urged. "You would do it to protect me. And what you're not grasping is that I would do the same for you."

 

Azula blinked rapidly, due to the inordinate amount of dust in the room. No other reason. 

 

"I might not be a firebender, but I can still breath fire when I get mad," she said. "And that's what I did to Zuko."

 

Azula shoved her head into the crook of her wife's neck in a display of affection. Yue scritched her nails in Azula's black hair in response, eliciting a comfortable shiver. 

 

"... did he cry?" she eventually mumbled into Yue's neck. "His mouth looks all funny when he cries."

 

Yue shook her head. "No, but he did look like he'd throw up for a minute there."

 

Azula thumped her head into Yue's collarbone again affectionately. "Good enough."

 

A few beats passed in silence as they held one another. They were pulled back into reality by a sound outside their room a few moments later, Azula squinting angrily at the ruckus that had distracted her from her holy duty to lightly kiss every single square centimeter of Yue's shoulder and upper chest. 

 

Yue stood, then, and sighed. "Summit time."

 

Azula groaned and allowed the injustice, morosely grabbing her hair brush.

 

By the time Yue had changed, Azula was fully dressed and ready. "Please don't tell anyone about the meeting with Zuko."

 

"I didn't intend to," Yue replied gamely. 

 

"Good," Azula smirked. "I can't have people thinking that you're the scary one."

 

Yue huffed a laugh. "For some reason, I doubt they would."

 

"I beg to differ," Azula retorted. "They'll hear about you cowing the Fire Lord and realize you're a dragon, just like me. Only a dragon can mate with a dragon, after all."

 

Yue laughed fully this time. "A family of dragons!"

 

"Eh," Azula shrugged. "I'm not sure Zuko or my Mom count, and Uncle is only a Dragon on a technicality."

 

Yue chuckled, then hummed thoughtfully. "Can I run an idea by you?"

 

"Of course."

 

"I've been thinking about family, and I think I found a good metaphor."

 

Azula raised an expectant eyebrow. 

 

"Think of the Family like the city of Ba Sing Se. You, me, your mom and Uncle and Zuko - and technically Mai - are the city, right, all in one wall. 

 

"But Ba Sing Se has multiple rings, right? The outer ring is all six of us, but then the middle ring is smaller. That ring is more exclusive, just us, your mom, Iroh and Zuko. Essentially, your blood relations and me. 

 

"And the final ring, the upper ring? That's our core family, and that's just the two of us. Cozy and secure."

 

"The most exclusive and shielded area," Azula agreed slowly. "Part of the city, but still independent if need be."

 

"Exactly."

 

"I like it," Azula decided. "But let's kick Zuko out of the middle ring," she joked. 

 

"And maybe your mother?" Yue muttered quietly. 

 

Azula laughed. "Can I be honest? I kind of love how much you dislike her."

 

Yue glowered. "She has failed far too often when it comes to you." Quickly, she recovered. "But she can be in whatever ring you want, sweetheart. My petty grudge shouldn't keep you away from her."

 

"You love me," Azula teased. She was probably a little too flattered by Yue's distaste for Lady Ursa. 

 

Instead of answering, Yue kissed her cheek. And then her lips. And then her lips again. And maybe a few more times. 

 

"So Mother and Zuko are out," Azula eventually said, lips smeared in messy multicolored lipstick. "Master Toph and the Avatar can move in instead."

 

"Deal."

 

--

 

 

Suki waylaid Yue as soon as politely allowable during the Summit's morning session break. 

 

Yue spoke first, however. "I promise I didn't leave any marks."

 

Suki huffed in spite of herself. "That's good - Kari and Peony seemed very concerned after you left this morning. They said Zuko looked really shaken up."

 

"Good," Yue said with grim satisfaction.

 

"I won't ask you what the meeting was about," Suki said carefully. "But can I at least ask if we should be worried?"

 

Yue crossed her arms and took a long exhale through her nose. 

 

Is she... angry?  Suki thought with cautious curiosity.  I've seen her passionate, but not straight up mad. 

 

"On the world stage, everything is fine," Yue said. "Great, even."

 

"Then on the personal stage...?"

 

"Let's just say that Zuko will be a lot more shaken up if he doesn't grab his grab his tiller and make his ship sail straight."

 

Curiousity burned through Suki like a sudden wildfire, but she suppressed it enough to simply nod. 

 

"I have a favor to ask," Yue added sharply. 

 

"Of course, Princess."

 

"Azula is going to apologize to you later," Yue began. 

 

"I will accept, of cour-"

 

"Don't. Don't accept unless you're certain she understands why what she asked for was wrong." Yue sighed, slumping against the wall at her shoulder. "And not just who she asked."

 

"Was it?" Suki asked, words slipping out too quickly to be stopped. 

 

Yue grimaced. "I understand, logically, that Azula is a very dangerous person. I'm not a moron. If she... if worst comes to worst, she could do a lot of damage. But she's not acting out of practicality. It's... self-hatred. And fear."

 

Suki sighed. "I guess... isn't it good that she's doing everything to keep people safe, though?"

 

Yue huffed humourlessly. "That's the thing. Her plan isn't meant to keep people safe, not really. The goal is to punish herself."

 

"Is there a difference?" Suki asked, trying to understand. "Functionally?"

 

"There is when she's asking people to kill her!" Yue exclaimed. "She-" her voice broke, a tear sliding free. 

 

Suki reached out and attempted to comfort the Princess with touch. "Oh, no, shhh..."

 

"She hates herself so much," Yue choked out. "I- I- I can't..."

 

Crushing the awkwardness she felt with ruthless discipline, Suki embraced the crying woman. "I'm sorry," she repeated, a regretful literally litany. 

 

"I can't lose her," Yue whimpered. "I can't!"

 

"I'm sorry," Suki said again. "I shouldn't have said that, Princess. That was terrible of me."

 

To their mutual horror, Yue's tears did not abate quickly. The white-haired woman sobbed for minutes into the Warrior's shoulder, unable to stem their flow. Suki managed to maneuver them to sit on the ground, not interrupting the breakdown. 

 

Yue said as much once she regained some level of composure, apologizing. Her eyes looked startlingly blue surrounded by bright red veins, very bloodshot. 

 

"You don't get to vent very often, do you?" Suki asked softly. 

 

Yue shook her head. "I can't. I'm the Princess."

 

Suki groaned. "I said this to Zuko, and I'll say it to you - having responsibilities doesn't mean you can't have feelings too."

 

"Zuko?" Yue asked. "I didn't realize you were so close."

 

"We're not, really. I just caught him on a bad night." An understatement. 

 

"Why wouldn't he just go talk to Mai?" Yue asked, not really listening. 

 

"... you've been away from the Palace for a while, Princess," Suki said softly. "You've missed a lot."

 

--

 

Zuko looked at Mai and mentally groaned. 

 

This is going to be a disaster. She's already mad at me...

 

"Mai? Can I speak with you for a moment?"

 

Mai's sharp eyes cut over to him. 

 

"Privately?"

 

She raised an eyebrow, but joined Zuko in his temporary office, shutting the door behind her. 

 

"Well?" she asked flatly after a moment of Zuko just staring at her. "What do you want?"

 

"I-"

 

"And don't try to lie to me about Yue leaving your rooms this morning."

 

Zuko actually staggered. "What?"

 

"It's always secrets with you," Mai complained. "What is it now? Trying to make a secret treaty? Planning to heist? Hunting a hidden assassin?"

 

"Mai-"

 

"Oh wait, what was I thinking? You won't tell me. You never tell me about anything!" Mai snapped. 

 

"Mai, please--"

 

"Oh, no, I've got it!" Mai exclaimed. "You wanted to make Yue into your Fire Lady now that the role is empty!"

 

Mai turned away from Zuko. "I get it, though. She's already a Princess, and a good one too. Not to mention pretty."

 

"What?!"

 

"Shopping for a new Fire Lady in the family market is a bit tacky, don't you think?" Mai snapped. "And suicidal, given who you're going up against."

 

Zuko raised a hand and nearly shouted, "Stop it, Mai. You have no idea what you're talking about!"

 

"Because you never tell me anything!" Mai retorted angrily. "This is why I broke up with you!"

 

Zuko groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Can I tell you what's actually going on or do you just want to snarl at me all day?"

 

"... fine."

 

"Yue and I did have a private talk this morning, but not for any crazy political reason, and definitely not because I want to date her - which I don't, by the way, gross."

 

"Mmhmm," Mai hummed sarcastically. 

 

"She's-" Zuko tripped on his words. "She's worried about Azula."

 

This seemed to surprise Mai. "What?"

 

"Yue is really worried about Azula, and she came here this morning to tell me about it," Zuko stated. "Though 'yell' may be the more appropriate word."

 

"'Yell?' Yue?" 

 

"Yeah, Mai," Zuko confirmed. "That's why I wanted to talk to you."

 

This seemed to take Mai aback. "... why?" she asked suspiciously. 

 

Zuko heaved a huge sigh and began, setting his head on the metaphorical block in front of the axeman. "You need to leave Azula alone."

 

Mai shifted her head, bland movement nevertheless screaming of anger. "Is that so?"

 

"Yes," Zuko confirmed. 

 

Mai huffed, a poor facsimile of a laugh. "Are you serious?"

 

"Yes," Zuko repeated more harshly. "Leave her alone."

 

"And that's what Princess Perfect yelled at you to do? Get me to leave her little pet psycho alone?"

 

Zuko frowned, unimpressed. "Remarks like that are why she asked. Your treatment of Azula has been... harmful to her."

 

"How the mighty have fallen," Mai scoffed. "Azula made four of our teachers quit when we were in school, you know. And now, a few harsh words and she goes crying to her mommy-wife to protect her?

 

"Pathetic."

 

"Mai, this is serious," Zuko admonished. "Azula is not doing well, and you're making it a lot worse."

 

"What a load of shit," Mai growled. "The Queen of Mean herself can't take a few insults?"

 

"No," Zuko replied earnestly. "Not right now."

 

"..."

 

"Azula isn't doing well, mentally," Zuko explained. "And now that she's learned not to lash out at others, all her 'mean' is focused at herself."

 

Mai was quiet, dropping her gaze after a moment. "She's... Azula thinks that she's the most perfect person to ever live," she muttered defensively. 

 

"Not anymore... She's changed a lot, Mai."

 

"... how do you know?" The question was sad and tired and actively straining to keep out traitorous hope. 

 

"If you took the time to talk to her, you might come to learn yourself."

 

"... I need to go find Ty Lee," Mai said eventually, withdrawing. 

 

"I'll see you at dinner."

 

--

 

Toph was hanging out with Aang near one of the fires before dinner when she heard a far-away shout of disbelief. 

 

"Shut! Up!"

 

There was a moment of nigh-indecipherable speech before the cry was followed up with another. 

 

"I'm going to kill him!"

 

Toph chuckled and adjusted her seat, getting ready for the show. "Time to use your listening feet, Twinkle Toes. Things are about to get interesting!"

 

--

 

"What do you mean you're not engaged to Mai anymore?!"

 

Zuko surrendered to this horrendous day, head slumping to rest on his desk. Paperwork would have to wait. 

 

"Do you know how much work I put in to get Father to agree to your betrothal?" Azula asked rhetorically. "All for nothing!"

 

"It's a new world, Azula. I don't need to honor agreements Father made."

 

"You're so ungrateful, Zu Zu. I giftwrapped you your Fire Lady of choice and now you're just throwing it away? Ugh, ungrateful."

 

"She broke up with me, Azula," Zuko groaned. "I can't exactly force her to remain engaged!" He interrupted Azula's next question before she could ask, "And don't ask me why not, Azula. You know how well a forced marriage went for Mom and Dad."

 

"Went well enough for me," Azula grumbled. "And you got to pick yours!"

 

"I'm not forcing anyone to marry anyone, ever. I'm sorry you had to, but I'm in the position to make sure shit like that never happens again."

 

Azula shrugged angrily. "... fine

 

"But what about an heir?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"You need an heir to solidify your claim, Zuko." Her tone could almost be confused for concern. 

 

"I know," Zuko replied crabbily. "I'm not stupid."

 

"Perhaps one of your Kyoshi warriors?" Azula pitched. "The Earth Kingdom of it all is sub-optimal, but you could spin an international peace angle from such a union. A non-bender would read better to the public, but a strong bender you could also spin."

 

"... what about the Water Tribe?"

 

"You can't have Yue," Azula snapped. "She's my wife."

 

"I wasn't talking about Yue, chill," Zuko assured with annoyance. "Why does everyone think I want to be with Yue?"

 

"Because she is the perfect woman," Azula responded, "obviously."

 

Zuko blinked. "... uh, sure. But no, not Yue."

 

Azula shrugged. "There are many talented young women at the North Pole. Perhaps one of them could be convinced into dating you."

 

"Convinced?"

 

"Sure, you're powerful, but you're also boring and have stupid hair."

 

"Tell me how you really feel," Zuko griped. 

 

"You need to get a haircut," Azula replied, not noting - or perhaps not acknowledging - the sarcasm. "It looks very awkward at this length."

 

Zuko touched his shaggy hair. "I'm growing it out."

 

"Well, hurry." Not giving Zuko room to speak, Azula returned to their earlier discussion. "It's a shame the Chief only had one daughter. There aren't any other high-ranking, unmarried women close to your age."

 

"I was thinking the Southern Tribe anyway..."

 

Azula studied Zuko for a moment, and then asked, "You don't want Master Katara, do you? That'd be another war in the making - Fire Lord versus Avatar over a Water Tribe woman."

 

"No no no no no," Zuko stuttered. "Not Katara."

 

Azula blinked. "Okay. You'll have to ask Master Katara if she has any age mates, then. Though if I recall correctly, she said she was the only teen girl when she left the Tribe."

 

"Yeah, sure," Zuko managed, relieved that Azula had abandoned the Katara/war thought process. 

 

"You could go younger," Azula said thoughtfully. "Maybe as low as 13?"

 

"No." A flat out refusal. "Absolutely not. I'm not going for any creepy age mismatches."

 

Azula hummed. "Respectable, if highly limiting."

 

"Listen, Azula, I-"

 

Azula's eyes lit up. "You have someone in mind." Not a question but an accusation. 

 

"No- "

 

"You do!" Azula crowed. "You used your guilty voice! And you specified from which Tribe you would recruit a wife!"

 

"'Recruit a wife?'" Zuko repeated, amused by Azula's choice of words. 

 

"Romance a wife, then," Azula corrected irritably. "Who is it?" she presses. 

 

"It's not like that, Azula!"

 

"A young widow, then? That's terrible optics, even if you could spin the story!"

 

"I'm not dating some young widow," Zuko groused. 

 

"Dating?" Azula asked sharply. "You're already seeing her?"

 

"Uh-"

 

"Is it one of the Kyoshi Warriors? They recruit internationally, and you would have the opportunity..." 

 

"No- "

 

"It has to be one of them! Where else would you meet someone from the Southern Water Tribe?"

 

Zuko grimaced, but said nothing. 

 

"Tell me, Zuko!" Azula demanded (whined). "Why won't you tell me?"

 

"Maybe because you won't let me- "

 

"If it's a secret, why bother hiding it?" Azula continued. "Is it a bad match? Is she ugly? Oh, Spirits, is she pregnant?!"

 

Zuko gasped, nearly shouting, "No! No one is pregnant! That's not even possible-"

 

"Oh, no, is she barren? You can work around that, you just need a convenient orphan-"

 

"He isn't barren," Zuko snapped. "Who even says 'barren?'"

 

"HE?!"

 

"Ah fuck."

 

Azula's mind reeled. Male. Southern Water Tribe. Oh sweet fuck no!

 

"Sokka?!" Azula shouted. "Are you insane?!"

 

"Calm down," Zuko urged. "Lower your voice!"

 

Azula gagged. "Why would you be interested in Sokka? You're both men!"

 

"Azula," Zuko said dryly, "you are literally a lesbian in a lesbian marriage."

 

Azula's spiral seemed to stall. "... lesbian?" 

 

"Spirits help me," Zuko groaned as he rubbed his temples. "You love and are, uh, physically attracted to a woman. Your wife."

 

"A lesbian is a homosexual?"

 

"A female homosexual, yes," Zuko agreed.

 

"I've never heard this nomenclature before, though I do not mind it. Is there a corresponding term for a male homosexual?"

 

"Gay."

 

"So you are a gay?"

 

"Just gay, Azula, and no."

 

"Then why do you like Sokka if you are not gay?"

 

"You can like both. I, uh, like both."

 

"So you... you did love Mai?"

 

"Of course I did," Zuko said with a sigh. "I never wanted to break up, but I had to move on after she left."

 

"What happened?"

 

"She didn't appreciate the assassination attempts," Zuko said morosely. "And finding out that I went undercover to find the group trying to kill me after the fact... And a bunch of other state secret stuff."

 

Azula hummed. "Secrets are not a great foundation for trust," she recited, remembering one of Dr. Rha-Ze's lessons. "... that sucks."

 

"Yeah," Zuko agreed glumly. "I get it, but... it really sucked."

 

"Where did Sokka enter the equation?"

 

He sighed again, but a small smile grew. "Sokka... he was there for me. And not just after the breakup, but the whole time since I became Fire Lord. We didn't get together until two months after Mai broke up with me."

 

Azula snorted. "You may have terrible taste in men, but at least you're a gentleman."

 

"He's really sweet, once you get to know him," Zuko laughed. "Sokka said you guys got off on the wrong foot. What happened?"

 

"He was very interested in Yue, which I assume extended to a physical sense." She chuckled. "Guess I shouldn't have worried."

 

Zuko shrugged. "He likes both too."

 

"I knew it!" Azula huffed with satisfaction. "I knew he appreciated more than just Yue's ideas."

 

"Ty Lee calls it 'dancing on both sides of the campfire,'" Zuko said lightly. "Though I think the technical term is 'bisexual.'"

 

"That's not right," Azula frowned. "Bisexual refers to when a plant has both male and female reproductive structures in the same body or area. Like a flower."

 

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know. There's not a ton of literature on the topic in the Fire Nation, you know."

 

Azula hummed in distaste. "Sozin had strange priorities when setting up the modern monarcho-authoritarian legal structure."

 

"Yeah, he was a weirdo," Zuko agreed. "Though you could probably tell from the whole declaring war on the entire world thing."

 

Azula tsked. "Don't forget the genocide."

 

Zuko laughed awkwardly, which Azula joined. 

 

"... Are we cool?" Zuko asked. 

 

"Yeah, I guess," Azula replied. "But we really need to think about how to get you an heir, ASAP. Wife or no wife, you need to secure your reign."

 

"Maybe we could pick up a convenient orphan and call them my illegitimate war child," Zuko joked. 

 

"Now that's not the worst idea..."

 

"I was kidding, Azula, chill," Zuko said lightly. 

 

"But-"

 

"No!" Zuko cut off, laughing again. 

 

--

 

"How'd it go, babe?"

 

A sigh and a kiss. "Better than expected?"

 

"Awesome!" A hug around the middle. 

 

"... I am concerned she's going to show up one day with a random baby for us, though."

 

Laughter. Concern, but laughter. 

 

--

 

A hand paused on a lamp switch.  "But really, Yue, I need you to sit for a portrait in that outfit as soon as possible."

 

"Oh? I was thinking I might give it away - I don't know if it suits me."

 

"Don't you dare."

Notes:

The dress:
https://indiaboulevard.in/product/red-and-blue-combination-heavy-designer-work-lehenga-pant-suit/?v=644d99afb936
(Except the neckline, which is lower in the story)

Notes:

PLEASE let me know who you want to see and if there's anything I could be doing better (re: representation, handling of sensitive topics, spelling)

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 4 of Daughters of Sun and Moon