Book I, Act VI: Lost and Found, Chapter IV

Edited by: Bieverdog AO3: GalavantingGoose

Book I, Imbalance

Act VI: Lost and Found

Music:

Hoshino Rensei - FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos OST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXcWUCgFUkI&list=PL74CFC6AD7F66860F&index=11

Chapter IV

Every blow Azula gave was now precise. It had been a long time since any soldier dared to practice with her. Instead, she unleashed her fury against lines of straw dolls, nearly incinerating them. She tried to maintain her composure; for she had long ago noticed that when she became tired, the intensity of the fire decreased.

The outer courtyard now looked like a war zone, dotted with small fires. The soldiers stationed around looked askance at her. She could feel that they feared her, but it did not bother her. On the contrary, it pushed her to hit harder.

She had lost track of time; she didn't know whether minutes or hours had passed. All she knew was that she would continue until she fell from exhaustion. She noticed the soldiers had stiffened. Looked around to notice her father silently judging her. He stared, expectant, and she bowed to him before she continued. Already drained, she mustered whatever energy she had left to continue her relentless attack.

She had spent restless days battering herself, pushing the limits, her goal never escaping her mind. She'd be the greatest firebender the world had ever seen. The princess jumped towards her targets, slashing them with fire before closing in to punch blasts at their chests and kick an arc of fire engulfing them all. At the end of the form, she jumped and flipped back to her starting position and looked back to her father, who crossed his arms. "Again."

She took her breath, pouncing on her targets again. Her whole body burned, but it didn't deter her as she continued to beat the dummies to dust. Sweat falling from her brow, she turned again to see her father. Dissatisfied, he gestured to her for another go. Numbly punching at a target, she collapsed to her knees, not daring to look back at her father.

"Get up. Is that how you are going to face the enemy? On your knees like a disposable peasant?"

"I'm just–"

"You are what? Do you think they will let you catch your breath on the battlefield? They would have buried you by now. We are of the line of Sozin. We do not reach boundaries and stop; we destroy them!"

She clenched her fists and stood up, her legs trembling. Taking a firm stance, she exhaled, jumping back to the fight; but she felt as if all strength had left her, failing to produce even the faintest of flames. She couldn't move but could feel her father nearing and turned to see him. He was unrecognizable, covered in shadow , and his furious eyes burning blue. She closed her eyes in anticipation; but it all stopped. No sounds, no sensations, nothing.

Azula opened her eyes, breath heaving. She knew it was just a dream; but it felt so real. She looked around. She was in a windowless room with a lone door. She sat alone, chained to a steel table.

A small, flickering light hovered in the center of the room. Azula tried to move but couldn't. The chains bounding her were strong, the metal cold. She shivered and tried to ignore the fear that was slowly coursing through her. Where was she? What was going on? She tried to remember what had happened before but couldn't. She didn't remember anything… Well, the shadow… and running… and blackness. What had happened? The door opened, and Azula tensed. A figure entered the room, shrouded in darkness. She couldn't see its face.

Her voice trembled. "W-who are you? W-where am I?"

The figure didn't answer. It simply stood there, silent and motionless.

"Why am I here? What do you want from me?"

Azula felt her heart racing. She was scared, so scared, and didn't know what was going on, or what was going to happen to her. The figure finally moved. It approached, stopping in front of her. She tried to back away, but she couldn't move. The figure reached out, its hand coming to rest on her forehead, and her mind was filled with images.

She saw herself as a child being tutored by her father, as a teenager being trained. Saw herself as an adult leading the invasion of the Earth Kingdom. As the Fire Lord ruling the world with an iron fist. Old and weak, being overthrown by her own children. Dying alone, unloved, betrayed.

Azula shut her eyes, unable to stop it. The images were too much; she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted it to stop, wanted to forget. The figure removed its hand, and the images vanished. Azula was left trembling and sobbing on the floor. Her voice shook. "W– why?" Why show me that?"

Its voice was cold, matter-of-fact. "Because that is your future."

Azula woke up with a start. She was covered in sweat, the echoing voices still in her mind, and her heart was racing. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that something bad was going to happen. She jumped out of bed and made her way to the small circular window in her room. She looked out and saw only darkness, hearing only the wind. She decided to take a walk to clear her head. Maybe if she got some fresh air, she would feel better. She crept out of her room, past the empty corridor, sliding the door outside, and the cold of the night greeted her. She only had a moment of solitude, for she could faintly hear the scraping of the soil. As she peered around a corner to investigate–

"Akari?" She turned her head to see Nari kneeling in the crops. Working in the middle of the night?

She stood motionless but managed to mutter, "Oh… hi."

"Can't sleep?" Nari got up, dusting her clothes.

"No…"

"It happens to me often. It's the dreams for me, but doing some work usually helps."

"Can't hurt to try…" Azula knelt next to the woman and focused. Her methodical work from the day before had stripped the ground of weeds; nevertheless, scrutinizing the soil at the light of a lantern was a soothing balm for her mind.

"I know this must feel weird to you, but having you here has been good for us; It's not often that we get visitors around here. It's hard to get used to the loneliness. I can't imagine what being on the road must be for you."

"It's... similar; but with my parents, I'm not alone."

"Ah I see. Then you must miss them a lot, don't you? That's why you can't sleep, isn't it? Your parents?"

"Something like that..."

"I'm sure they miss you a great deal too; I'm telling you from experience." Azula looked away.

"Yes…"

"Don't worry, they will do everything they can to find you. 'There is nothing stronger than a parent's love,' my mother would say." Azula stopped and stood up. "Are you okay dear?" In the dark, she could still see the concern on her face.

"I, uh… I feel better now, thanks."

* * *

The next morning, she woke up a tad later than normally and feeling slightly lighter. At least, she wasn't plagued by voices. It was just an ordinary day. The farmer had already loaded his wagon and was waiting for her outside while he fed the ostrich horses. Nari gave her and Jong some freshly baked buns for the trip into town, waving them goodbye as they went. At least, she could scout the place out for the day. If someone had orders to capture her, she could make a run for it, for now she had some resources.

"Here; it will take us a while to get to town." The man passed her a hat from the back of the wagon.

"You know, I think it helped Nari a lot that you were with us. Maybe it will seem stupid, but–"

"I understand." The trip continued for a while in an uncomfortable silence. Not that she minded–in fact, she preferred it–but she could already tell that he was looking for a topic of conversation.

"And where were you headed? You know…when you were with your parents?"

"We were going to the capital."

He chuckled lightly. "Oh. Well, you took a pretty big detour; and it's not the best time to go there anyway, I've heard. All this stuff that's been going on lately, it's got everyone on edge over there."

"I really didn't know. What's happened?"

"Well... It's just rumors; but I heard that someone tried to assassinate the Fire Lord. Since then, the capital has been under military lockdown. If you ask me, abandoning the colonies was not a good idea."

"Abandoning what?!"

He stared at her incredulously. "You didn't know? You really must have been traveling in some pretty remote places not to know. When the war was over, the Fire Lord made a deal with the Earth King. Our Fire Lord. Dealing with Earth Kingdom scum. Those pieces of–" He looked at her and cleared his throat. "Anyway."

"Y– What about the Fire Lord, Ozai? Didn't he do something?" She stared at him perplexed, angered, disbelieving.

"No, they say the Avatar defeated him. I couldn't believe it at first either. The Avatar had disappeared, nothing more than a legend; and all of a sudden he pops up, decides to attack the Fire Lord. It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe… Oh, what do I know?"

"Then is he..." Her face paled, and her body chilled to the core. She had never weighed that possibility.

"I don't know, girl. I wondered the same thing myself. All I know is that the prince took the throne."

She wanted to ask another question but remained silent as they walked almost at a snail-sloth's pace down the abandoned road. Too shocked to think, she could not–did not want to–believe what the man was telling her; but she could not find another explanation. She knew that her father would never have given up... And Zuko?--

"Hey, are you all right?" She tried her best to compose herself; it was a wonder the man had noticed her distress.

"Yeah... I'm just a little worried about my parents."

He turned his eyes back to the road. "Ah, you'll see everything will be fine. Worst case scenario, you can stay another night with us, no problem."

Azula noticed that the street now looked better arranged; there were even some banners along it. She saw no signs of soldiers in the area; so for now, she was safe. The town was not unlike the one she had encountered with Nozomi, for it was just a few farms surrounded by shacks. However, nothing assured her that the army hadn't visited. Just in case, she decided to maintain a low profile. Sooner or later, these people would realize her ruse when her "parents" were found to be empty air. At least, she had a couple more days before they started to suspect her–

"Here we are. You can come with me if you want. I have to settle some business, and then we'll go see if anyone has asked for you."

"I'll wait."

"As you wish. I won't be long."

The man tied the ostrich horse to a post and walked away, carrying a bag over his shoulder. Azula looked discreetly at the villagers. Fortunately, they did not seem suspicious. Nevertheless, she hid her gaze under her hat whenever someone looked in her direction. She took a stroll down the main (well, only) street, looking to and fro at the shops and vendors. There were no signs of guards, either, or any indication of her presence. But still, she did not want to let her guard down. Nothing was catching her atten–

A girl carrying a jug passed her by. It was only for a second; but... could it have been Nozomi? She had to be sure. Short hair, straw hat; she couldn't see her face. She followed her from a distance and began to hurry her pace, struggling to tail her. The girl walked to a field and stopped with her back to Azula. Had she realized that she was being followed? She approached, already assuming her cover was exposed, and put her hand on the girl's shoulder...

"Akari! Akari! Hey, what are you doing?"

"I was–" She was standing in the field, grasping… nothing. All of the farmers tending the crops were staring at her like she was only a bear.

"Come; let's go see a friend. I left word for him that, if anyone asked for you, to let me know."

"Right."

The man led her to one of the stores. She was relieved that he didn't ask any questions about her behavior; he probably hadn't seen it all unfolding. They stopped by an over glorified, wooden hovel painted pink. A sign limping from the canopy stated that it was the local merchant. The place had not caught her attention before; it still didn't, but only its hideous color stood out. The man only sold trifling peasant fare and a few trinkets; but apparently, that was enough to give him high standing in such a low place.

"Yong! How's it going? Ah, you must be Akari. Nice to meet you; I'm Kuro."

"Hello." Azula waved uninterested, her eyes more focused on the various pieces of merchandise laying around in disorder. As the two friends chatted, she glanced at a torn map. Anyone else would have considered it junk; but yet, here it was. It only showed half of the main island. She ambled over to its display case. She didn't have to think about it twice–she needed it. Glancing around for potential witnesses, she casually folded it into her sleeves.

"Any news?"

"I wish I could tell you, 'yes,' but I really don't. I only have bad news today." She joined them at the counter.

"Is it…. about me?"

"What? No, nothing like that. News from the capital."

"Bah! Don't come with that. It's not like anything coming outta there affects us."

"What do you mean? A stroke of some bureaucrat's brush, and our grain quotas go up. Besides–"

"What happened?" Azula interrupted the man, and Kuro stared at her, slightly annoyed.

"I have it on good authority that someone tried to assassinate the Fire Lord again, or maybe someone wanted to assassinate the Earth King. Oh! That, too. Can you believe that viper-lizard dared to visit our country?

"I can't believe it. How dare that fool set foot on our soil? Does he now think that we are part of his shoddy kingdom?" Azula's eyes widened, for now he had her full attention.

"Ha! Don't even get me started..." Yong crossed his arms.

"What happened next?" If she let the two of them chatter, they would spend all day in that store.

"I was just getting there. Now, that cowardly Earth King ran away as soon as his life was in danger. Anyway, no one knows who did it. A noblewoman was wounded; I don't remember if it was someone important."

Yong held his hands to his head. "It's unbelievable! That's twice now. Who would even dare..."

"Indeed." It was already outrageous to hear that someone had attempted something so reckless. No one in his right mind could order something like that; at least, no one would have dared to do something like that to her father.

"So… No travelers asked for her?"

He shook his head. "None at all. There weren't many, just the one."

"Well, that's too bad. If anyone comes asking, you know where to point them to. See ya, Kuro."

"Of course. Take care, you two." Azula followed Yong back to the tied ostrich horse, which lightened up as it saw its owner. She was still thinking about what had happened, having a hard time wrapping her head around the news. She didn't know what to feel about her brother's actions; he was destroying everything their family had built upon a century, yet it failed to itch her. She had become numb to it all, indifferent, but she still felt the tingle of revenge in her fists.

Yong placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you couldn't find your parents yet. The door's open if you'd like to stay; you know it isn't a problem." She thanked him, and they rode back to the farm. Was that how she would continue to live now? With a false identity, a false family? Running away from everything? One part of her wanted to forget it all, maybe start over… But that part wasn't the one that called the loudest. With the fate of her father unknown, she now knew everything rested on her.

It all was hers; they took it; and they would pay for what they did to her.