[Avatar: TLA] Burning Mind.

[IIHTARW]

So, I managed to get the first in my series of Avatar fics cleaned up and posted.

So first thing is, I need to explain some inconsistencies with the Avatar Universe. This series was started before "The Search" was published so it diverges onto a very different road from what is now cannon in the Avatar universe. Instead of dropping it and returning to the cannon timeline or rewriting, I've long since decided this can be a bit of an Alt U series. Any further stories I write will take place in this universe.

With that out of the way, I will caution you, this is an incest fic. If that's not to your liking you'd better head back now.
If not,
Please enjoy!

Burning Mind
By IIHTARW

Note: I don’t own any of the copyrighted characters herein they are used in parody.



Sitting in the royal chamber, newly crowned Firelord Zuko contemplates his choices, attempting to arrive at a decision. One that was seemingly the most difficult one he’d needed to make since his ascension to the throne. However, this was no national or political conundrum, this was the subject that rattled him far more than any of the official duties he had. This was a family matter… A subject that could boil his blood at its mere mention. Even now, his contemplation was stirring some very powerful emotions. He was getting better at keeping a handle on his anger, but the blank look on his face as he sat in meditation, was betrayed by the intense, roaring flames encompassing the throne area. The fire was blazing hot, and nearly licked the ceiling. The heat of the inferno went completely unnoticed by the young ruler, as he continued to dwell on the bitter emotions that fed it. Eventually, the sound of rapping against the large entryway door was able to get is attention, causing the fire to die back a bit. The Firelord takes a moment to rest his mind, so as to not sound overly angry when he announces,
“Enter.”

The door creaks open, just enough for his fiancé to poke her head in.
“You gonna brood in here all day or what?”
Mai says, half teasingly, half serious. Zuko doesn’t even react to this, instead continues to sit, eyes closed in meditation. She could tell Zuko was really being tormented by the decision that lay ahead, though she found him cute when he was crabby, right now, she didn’t want to push it. He was truly and deeply upset. Setting foot into the chamber, the rush of hot, dry air out of the door makes it fairly obvious to her that Zuko had been on full blaze just a moment ago. As she gets to the foot of the blazing platform, she remarks,
“Zuko, I don’t get it, I’d think this would be good news to you…”
The young Firelord flinches, and the flames surrounding him rise a bit, as Mai continues,
“I get that you’ve been hurt, she hurt us all. I get that you don’t trust her. ...”
As Mai goes on, she can’t help but feel a little anxious, as the flames generated by her soon to be husband, only gain strength as she speaks,
“But she’s being sincere, she only wants to appolg…”
Unable to sit through another syllable, Zuko cuts her off, roaring as the fire explodes into searing columns.
“MAYBE I DON’T WANT HER APPOLOGY! MAYBE I DON’T CARE IF SHE’S SORRY!”


Zuko’s outburst comes to a quick end, when he sees the hard look on Mai’s face. Any other person would have trembled before the rage of the Firelord; Zuko was one of the few that knew that it was Mai’s rage that one should truly fear being released. Forcing himself to settle down, Zuko carries on,
“Look, I’m not ready to forgive her Mai. I don’t know if I ever will be either. Things are different with us than it was with you and Ty Lee. Azula tortured me my whole life, she tried to kill me Mai…”
Still a bit miffed by Zuko’s blow up, Mai dryly remarks,
“Nobody says it’s going to be easy dear, but I find it a little unbelievable that the man who’s ‘going to restore the honor of the Fire nation, and reconcile with the rest of the world’, is a man that can’t even reconcile with his ill sister. I mean good grief, it’s been six months since you took the throne, you’ve visited your rotten father in his stinking cell several times, but you’ve yet to bother to see Azula”

Offhandedly, Zuko responds,
“I’ve been getting regular updates on her progress from the doctors, she’s doing fine with out my pestering her.”
Finally, unable to keep her opinion bottled up, Mai bitterly remarks,
“She’s your goddamned sister idiot! You can’t seriously believe that she’s ever going to get any better, if she thinks you hate her. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but she loves you Zuko! And, you can bury it deep, you can express it as rage all you want, but the fact is, as her brother, you love her too. You might be able to fool everyone around you, even your uncle, but you can’t fool yourself. Right now, she needs to feel that love you hide from everyone. If you abandon her like this, you’re no better than your father was when he banished you.”

Rising to his feet, Zuko extinguishes the wall of flames as he steps off the platform, explaining,
“You’ll probably be mad at me for a good long time for telling you this Mai, but the fact is, if there was any love for her left in me, I’ve exhausted it. Back at the western Air temple, when it looked like she was plummeting to her death, it didn’t even strike me to try to save her. I was content to watch her die. On the day of the comet, I was fully prepared to kill her in an Agni Kai; it was a stroke of luck on her part, that she took me out of that fight to face a more merciful combatant. Even after I became Firelord, it was The Avatar who convinced me to have her placed in that hospital. I had discussed with Aang, having her bending removed, and tossing her in with father. I had even pondered having her put to death. Does that sound like a loving brother to you Mai?”

With that, Zuko makes his way to the door, leaving one last comment to a shocked Mai,
“If she needs to hear anything from me, you can tell her this, that fact that she’s still breathing, is the most compassion that I can grant her right now.”
As Zuko finishes, he shuts the door on Mai, whom still stands at the foot of the platform. Still in shock, a tear runs down her cheek as she asks to the empty room,
“Oh Azula! What did you do to him, to cause this much anger?”




As Zuko stoically walks down the hallway, he passes the royal portraits. Though the war had given his family an abysmal dishonor to bear, Zuko had decided he was not going to take down the portraits of those responsible for starting and carrying on the war, he didn’t want to make it look like he was trying to forget the past, and didn’t want to make people think he would rewrite history, like some of his predecessors had done. Zuko makes it as far as the section of hallway reserved for the future heir to the throne. He stops, and glances up at the empty wall space. This wall was, following the removal of his uncle’s picture, in Zuko’s heart, the spot where only the most honor-less of his family had been portrayed as of recently. The wall had sat empty during his banishment, only after his return had Ozai allowed his son’s likeness to be displayed. When Zuko had returned to the palace following the passing of the comet, he was sickened to find that his sister had taken down his portrait, replacing it with her own. He couldn’t find his own portrait in storage, so he was certain that she had probably burnt it, no doubt, deriving sick pleasure from watching her sibling’s image consumed by the flames.

Just down the hall, was his sister's room. Though he was still full of bitterness, he found himself walking toward the door. The room within was dark and soulless, many of Azula’s possessions had been taken to the hospital, to make her more comfortable. To Zuko, the atmosphere of the room was still thick with her presence. The last time he’d been in this room… Zuko shakes his head, but the thoughts just keep coming.
He had been truthful when he’d said that he’d been keeping close tabs on her treatment, but for reasons that he dare never reveal.
Most of the doctors reports were just updates on her disposition, but one report, which he’d gotten about two months into her treatment, had made his blood run cold when he read it. Zuko could recall the message word for word…

“My lord, it is my solemn duty to report news of a disheartening nature. It was brought to my attention that three days ago, the patient, you’re sister, began experiencing significant stomach pains. After a treatment of herbal remedies had failed to relieve her discomfort, I was obliged to perform a closer examination. It was during this exam that I discovered the cause of the pain. I regret to inform you that your sister has miscarried. Upon questioning, she has revealed that she had no knowledge of her pregnancy. Furthermore, she would not disclose who the child’s father may have been; she also quite forcefully insisted that this matter be put to rest. As I write to you, your sister is recovering from the trauma, and seems in fair spirits considering. For her own well being, I will not pursue uncovering the circumstances of this failed pregnancy, unless, of course, you demand it. As such, I cannot determine whether this condition was a result of a consented coupling, or if someone had taken advantage of her diminished mental state. If you wish to have this matter looked into, I can tell you that the pregnancy appeared to have been only a few months along, that should help to narrow the field for your agents.
Despite this set back, I have no doubt that your sister’s treatment will continue to bring her closer to a healthy state of mind.
I remain your humble servant.
Dr. Cho”

Zuko was quick to have this matter put to rest, going so far as to have all written mention of it destroyed, and to have anyone with knowledge of the incident sworn to silence, under penalty of imprisonment.
Zuko’s actions, as much as they made him feel like his father, were necessary to preserve the peace that he was working so hard to maintain and nurture. He was careful though, he knew that if he came down too hard on the staff, they would start to fit the pieces together.

At first, Zuko himself was not sure of his assumption, but as the months had gone by, and he began to get word that, ever increasingly, Azula wanted an audience with him; the more he started to see confirmation of his fears.
Whatever reason he could get Mai to buy for his avoidance of his sister, it would be a fallacy, his real reasons, were his sister revealing to him that his fear was justly founded.
In frustration, Zuko sends a blast of fire across the room into the metal hearth, which ignites the logs piled within. As the glow of the fireplace illuminates the room, Zuko stares at the flowing curtains situated at the corners of the large bed. Hanging his head, Zuko mournfully cries,
“That stupid crazy bitch! What the hell was wrong with her?”





“Brother… can you hear me?”
Zuko grumbles at the sound of his sister’s voice, as he barely stirs from his slumber.
“Zuzu… Rise and shine…”
That crap again? He thought, she had told him, not three weeks ago on the way back from Ember Island, that she wasn’t going to bug him with that stupid nickname anymore. It seemed that she had gotten bored with treating him with respect. Hoping she’d give up, and let him sleep, Zuko remains unresponsive and attempts to drift into a deeper slumber.
“Oh brother Zuuuukoooo…”
Damn she was persistent, and by the sound of her giggles, she was having her fun too. Zuko remains silent, his eyes closed, trying to fall back to sleep. It was then that something struck him as odd. His bed seemed much softer than it had been; he also noticed that it had a scent to it, the scent of a girl’s perfume. The scent of Azula’s perfume… Opening his eyes slowly to adjust to the light, Zuko sees a blurred form above him.

As things come into focus, he is subjected to the sight of Azula leaning over him, with that annoying little pouty look she’d give him, when she wanted something from him, and from the surroundings, he can tell this is not his room.
“What the…”
He blurts out, as he attempts to sit up. Only to finally notice that he has been restrained by the wrists and feet.
Looking up at his wrist, he sees that it’s been tightly lashed to the corner post of the bed with one of the draperies that had hung from its top. As if this wasn’t humiliating enough, His night shirt had been removed. Angrily, he snaps,
“WHAT IS THIS?!”
Azula, dressed in her silk night clothes, is reclining on the bed next to him, she giggles again before speaking up,
“There there Zuzu, no need to get bent out of shape.”
Struggling with his bonds, Zuko angrily retorts,
“Quit calling me that, how many times do I have to tell you to stop it with that stupid nickname! How did I get here?”
Azula grins in sadistic joy, as she watches her sibling’s feeble attempt to free himself. Toying with him, she comments,
“Zuko, I’m surprised, have all those times as a child, when I tied you up taught you nothing? You know I’m the better of us at making knots. Anyway, I had some of my Dai Li agents slip you a sleeping herb at dinner, and bring you here while you were asleep. They’re so sneaky, I just love it!”

Finding that his struggling is only further entertaining his sister, Zuko stops and gruffly addresses her,
“What do you want Azula, this is embarrassing and it’s beneath you.”
Azula’s sadistic smile gives way to a more pleasant smirk. Though, from the hungry look in her eyes, Zuko can hardly feel at ease, especially with her cryptic response.
“Oh don’t worry, it’ll be beneath me soon enough.”
Annoyed, Zuko replies,
“No more of your stupid games Azula! You want something. Now, what is it?”
Azula rolls her eyes at him as she starts to explain,
“Boy are you thick, I’m surprised Mai even tries with you. Well, I suppose I need to spell it out for you, so I’ll talk slowly. Okay?”
Zuko angrily pulls at his restraints in response to the insult, only to hear Azula continue,

“For a while now, I’ve been aware of how my beauty and grace is too good for any of the men around here. It’s quite revolting to think that the day will come that I will be expected to pick a mate from these dregs.
I thought for a while that I may be partly to blame for my feelings of inadequacy around men, after that toad Chan refused my charms at that party, I came to realize that even amongst the upper echelon of the ruling class of the fire nation, I’d be stuck selecting a mate who was either, a pompous windbag, on whom my stunning good looks would be completely wasted, or a dense ignoramus, whose sole redeeming features are their muscles and their families money.”
Yawning, Zuko then comments,
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Her rage glowing in her eyes, she snaps back,
“I WAS GETTING TO THAT BROTHER!”
As quickly as she rises to anger, Azula becalms herself, and clears her throat as she continues,
“Ahem… As I was saying, I came to the realization that I don’t need a mate to satisfy the traditions of our people, all I really need, is to produce an heir…”
After a moment, the realization hits Zuko, and he verbally assaults his scheming sister,
“Have you lost it? Can you actually hear yourself talking? Not only is this the most repulsive thing I’ve ever heard you say, It’s complete idiocy! If Father heard you talking like this, he’d banish us both.”
Without a sign of concern for what she has just heard, Azula calmly replies,
“Yes, I expect that’s exactly what he’d do. Seems to me a perfect reason for you to cooperate and keep your mouth shut.”
“Cooperate?! You’re my sister! As much as I’d love to be able to degrade and humiliate you for a change, I’m not going to despoil our family of its honor by laying a finger on you in an impure manner, let alone siring a child with my sister.
Again with the pouty face, Azula lays down and curls up next to her brother and lays a kiss on his cheek as he recoils in horror at her touch, then, with a sauciness in her tone, she says,
“Ohh Zuzuuuu… You don’t like my body? Mai might be my friend, but let’s face it, compared to me; she’s about as alluring and inspiring as a dress shop mannequin. Besides, with all of your refusal, you seem to forget that you don’t have a choice in this.”
Wishing he could will himself into his own bed again, Zuko makes one last attempt at getting through to his disturbed sister,
“Azula, you know this is wrong and you don’t really want this. Now, why don’t you untie me, before I’m forced to burn my way out of these restraints.”
Taking offense, Azula retorts.
“DON’T TRY TO TALK TO ME LIKE A NAUGHTY CHILD ZUZU!
And, as for the restraints, if you find it absolutely necessary to set fire to this palace, this ancient national treasure, then be my guest. I’m sure Father will love to here about how you lost your temper, when I refused your advances.

Zuko stares in disbelief, as she continues,
“The only guards in this part of the palace are my Dai Li agents, whose side of the story do you think they’ll give Father? Banishment has been known to do some messed up things to people, why, I’ve heard it can even make a person so screwed up inside, that they’d try to rape their own helpless sister.”
Zuko cannot believe that Azula has devised such an escape proof situation for this purpose. Then again, he’d noticed since their return from Ba Sing Se, she’d been getting more and more reactionary and manipulative. Making sure she always had an escape plan, or at least, that anyone that dared try to bring her down, would themselves take a much harder fall.
In bewildering silence, he listens as she adds,
“So Brother, the way I see it, you can either cause a scene, ruining our family reputation; you can sit there and be belligerent, while I simply take what I want; or, you can resign yourself to enjoying the gift, that is my perfect body, which I’m so generously offering you.”
With that, Azula puts her hand on her brother’s waist band, and he simply says,
“Azula… Please.”
To which she callously replies,
“Zuko, you should know by now that pleading with me never works.”
With a tug of his sister’s wrist, Zuko’s silk bottoms slide down to mid calf, he looks away in disgust, while Azula remarks in surprise, as she gazes at his exposed manhood,
“Why Zuzu! It looks like you‘ve done quite a lot of growing while you were gone!”
The feeling of her soft hand taking hold of him sends shivers up and down his spine. Zuko knew he wouldn’t be able to put a stop to this. Through his training he had been able to attain a higher control over his own body, but he knew, this was one function of nature he would never be able to control. He silently cursed his own body for its betrayal, as he felt his member growing within the grasp of his sister's delicately smooth palm. Encouraged by Zuko’s physical reaction, Azula begins to stroke the ever stiffening rod.
Fighting to ignore the pleasuring stimulation, The Crown Prince attempts to distract himself by asking her,
“Why me… why did you feel you had to come after me?”

Finding herself getting hot as she watches her brother's erection build, Azula lays a hand to her breast, as she replies,
“I chose you Brother, for the simple reason that all the other eligible men in the fire nation are unsatisfactory. I’m not about to sully the lineage of my offspring by mixing it with inferior blood.
Therefore, the only hope I have of having a child truly worthy of succeeding me, is if it’s of pure, noble blood. I couldn’t go to Father for this, for obvious political reasons. And, thanks to Uncle’s treachery, not that I’d ever consider him anyway, and Lu Ten getting himself killed, it seems you’re the only option left available to me.”
Azula can tell her brother is trying his best to suppress the sensations that she is providing. On some level, she feels a little hurt that he’s fighting her. In an attempt to get him to pay her some attention, she stops fondling herself thru her nightshirt, and grabs her brother’s shoulder, sinking her razor sharp nails into his flesh.
“Ahhgh!”
Zuko cries in pain, opening his eyes for the first time since his sister had first touched him.
“Serves you right! Now, if you don’t want to come away from this a pint low, I suggest that you start showing a little interest in me!”
With that, she scoots up against his head, and unbuttons her top, presenting her pert, young breasts to her brother. Using her free hand, she grabs Zuko by the scalp, and forces his face into her chest.
“Now Zuzu, why don’t you stop your whining, and put that mouth of yours to a better use!”
Azula demands. Unable to believe that even Azula could sink to this, Zuko tries to pull away, only to feel the sharp points of his sister’s nails prod at his sensitive shaft, as she threatens,
“It’ll still do what I need it to do if it’s bleeding Brother. Though, I bet Mai might wonder about the injury.”
Taking his sister's threat seriously, Zuko finds that he has no choice but to submit to his sister’s demands. Reluctantly, he takes one of her buds into his mouth, and begins to tickle it with his tongue.
“Ahhhh… That’s more like it Zuzu! You’re pretty good at that, I guess you aren’t a complete incompetent after all.”
Letting her brother’s tongue work its magic on her tender nipple, she tests his compliance, by letting go of his head. When he doesn’t instantly pull away, Azula praises him,
“Yes, that’s it. You’ve come to understand that things are going to be much easier on you if you cooperate.
Don’t fret brother, I’m not really that cruel, I want you to get as much enjoyment out of this as I do.”
As she says this, she gently squeezes his now fully extended manhood, milking a few drops of precum from the tip. As much as he may try, Zuko cannot prevent himself from reacting to this. Wincing, the stiff nipple falls from his now open mouth, as he releases an irrepressible moan.
“Unnghaah.”

Azula beams with satisfaction at being able to get her brother to react in such a way. All the while, she has been nimbly working the bottoms of her sleepwear down her legs, before kicking out of them.
With an enthusiastic chuckle, Azula springs up, and in one fluid motion, she goes from being curled up next to her brother, to straddling him, her naked hips atop his own, his rigid pole resting against her neatly trimmed bush. Zuko, at his sister’s mercy, can only wait for the inevitable. She leans forward, feeling the wet tip of his hard cock make contact with her abdomen, leaving a slick wet trail leading from her short black pubes.
As the two sibling’s faces meet, Azula plants a lustful kiss on her brother's lips, before saying in a breathy voice,
“Ohhhh Zuzuuu! We’ll make such beautiful music together!”
Unable to move, and fearful that, if aggravated, his sister’s peculiar behavior may become even more erratic, perhaps dangerously so, Zuko finds himself in a very vulnerable situation.
For his own safety, he does his best not to do anything that might upset his sister.
With a fevered look in her eyes, she starts to lick at his face, as she gyrates her hips against his swollen member. Within a few moments, she has raised her hips up, allowing her brothers cock to rebound back to an outstanding angle directly below her moist mound. With her hands gripping his shoulders, she locks eyes with Zuko, as she slowly lowers herself onto him.
After an attempt to avert his eyes from her intense and piercing gaze results in her again digging her nails into his shoulders, Zuko returns his attention to her haunting stare. It seemed the moment was upon them, and soon Zuko would have to carry yet another disgrace with him, for the rest of his life. The frightening part was, the feeling that the soul behind his sister’s steely, gilt eyes, seemed, unfamiliar. It was as if it were a total stranger behind them. Zuko looses his train of thought, as he feels the tip of his manhood make contact with the area of hot wetness between his sister’s legs. He felt himself slip between her lips, and sink into her depths, his dishonor was now complete. Azula’s eyes actually close, as she lets her brother enter her. The slender rose lips of her mouth part, allowing a long silent breath to escape. Her hips come to rest on Zuko’s, as she takes in his entire length. She again opens her eyes to her brother, this time though, Zuko could see it was really her behind them, giving him a very rare, honest smile, she then comments,
“See Zuko, this isn’t something for you to fear, why don’t you just try to have a little fun with me.”

Azula gasps, as she lifts herself up off his hips, and then slowly seats herself on him once again. Razzeld by the sensations she’s subjected to, she coos,
“Ooohhh Zuzuuuu! You’re so big! You fill me up to the brim!
Working herself up to a steady rhythm, she rides the firm cock, her ample breasts rebounding as she bottoms out on him. Zuko meanwhile, desperately tries to think of anything he can, to keep himself from reacting to the pleasure he is receiving. As Azula bounds up and down on his rod, Zuko finds himself staring at the hypnotic motion of his sister’s tits. She had really developed nicely since he had been forced to leave the Fire Nation. His own first impression, upon first seeing her a few months back, was that she had quite a nice pair. He had needed to stop himself from thinking about what they might look like, beneath her royal garb. He certainly knew now… he wished that he could have never known his sister like this, but it was far too late now.
Azula takes notice of her brother's focused attention saying,
“uh uh uh… You like those royal treasures Zuzu? Ah ah ah ah… if I wasn’t certain... ungh… Th that you try to get away ummm… I I’d undo your hands, and let you p…play with them.”
His mind racked with pleasure, and is eyes transfixed on her rebounding bosoms, he begins to slip, until finally, his mind completely unaware of his actions, he gives a buck at her thrusting hips. Azula’s eyes go wide in shock in reaction to this, and she nearly stops. Then, a wicked smile fills her face, as she looks down at him, uttering,
“Brother! Such a naughty boy! You really are enjoying yourself, aren’t you! “

Finding he can no longer fight his own body, Zuko decides that the best thing he can do is to get himself to finish as soon as possible, and put an end to this maddening nightmare.
“You want royal seed Azula? Then do your best to take it from me!”
With that, Zuko again thrusts into his sister, trying his best to match her movements. All the while, filling his mind with every lewd thought that he’d ever had, trying to mentally drown out the sound of his own sister’s moaning voice, and supplant it with those of women he’d lusted after. Anything that could bring him closer to his climax.
“Oh oh oh Z Z Zukooo… Ahhhh Zuuuuukoooooooo”
Azula was losing herself in pleasure. And, though Zuko didn’t want to think about it, he was certain that, the fact that he was now fully participating in this impure joining, was causing her even more pleasure than the stimulation alone provided. Azula was now no longer in control, her body was desperately seeking its release, and Zuko alone was the one that had to make that happen.
“AHHHHHH ZUUUUZUUUU!”
Azula’s body tenses up with the arrival of her orgasm, gasping for air; it’s only an instant later that she feels Zuko join her on the pinnacle of pleasure.
“AHHHHGHHH”

The young prince roars, as his royal seed blasts free from his throbbing member, embedding itself deep within his blood relative’s receptive insides. As the hot discharge rushes to fill every available recess of her burning depths, Azula basks in the feelings of pleasure and of accomplishment.
Zuko however, feels as though he’s reach an all time low. And, as soon as he has recovered, demands,
“There, you’ve gotten what you wanted, NOW GET OFF!”
Still clouded by euphoria, Azula barely reacts to this heated order. But, as she comes down, she begins to realize that Zuko would never feel the way she did about their joining. Upset, but feeling strangely conflicted, Azula wordlessly climbs off her brother, and buttons up her top.
“Now, get me out of this, and let me get out of here!”
Uncharacteristically, Azula silently obeys, and unties her brother's right hand. He then slaps her hand away, and finishes untying himself. He pulls his pants back up, before making his way to the edge of the bed.
In an extremely unusual show of, what appears to be concern, Azula speaks up,
“Zuko… Don’t worry about it… I won’t tell anyone...”
Zuko turns to face his sister, and for a change, his burning expression startles her.
“This never happened Azula! And, it’s never going to happen again! What kind of a sicko does that to their own brother?! You’ll be lucky if I ever speak to you again after this.”
Azula’s heady fog and uncertainty instantly vanish, as she bitterly chastises him,
“DON'T LIE TO YOURSELF ZUZU, IT BROUGHT YOU PLEASURE, AND YOU KNOW IT!”
Zuko doesn’t even react, instead, gets to his feet, and storms out. Slamming the door behind him, and leaving his sister to stand at the foot of her bed, fuming in rage.



As the Firelord sits in a chair in the corner, listening to the slow sizzle of the dying embers in the hearth, he glances over at the doorway, where his fiancé has been silently standing an unknown length of time.
He tries not to bring any attention to himself, as he wipes away the remaining tears, only to hear Mai comment,
“A hard hearted, and uncaring brother wouldn’t be sitting in his sister’s vacant room, weeping in the dark.”
Mai walks up to her beloved, and lifts his chin, giving him a light kiss before continuing,
“I know that you and Azula have a lot of messed up stuff between you. More than, even I know about. I know that, just thinking about her, dredges it all back up. But, right now, she’s the one in the vulnerable position. Her whole world has come crashing down Zuko, and if you can’t see your way to at least talking to her, for her sake. Then, would you please do it for all those who love her? Me, Ty Lee, your Uncle, your Mother.”
Zuko sits in silence for a moment contemplating. Then, rising to his feet, he looks at his fiancé and speaks,
“She did some things more horrible than you could possibly imagine, and she smiled at me the whole time.
She and I will probably never be reconciled Mai, but for your sake, I’ll talk to her. I might not accept her apologies you understand, but, as I once heard a friend say, we need to let out all the anger and grief, and then let it go. So that we can make a fresh start.”
A smile comes to Mai’s normally glum face and she hugs her man before telling him,
“I think that’s what both of you need. Anyway, I found you because I was going to tell you, we have company for dinner, you coming?”
Zuko nods, and walks with her through the doorway into the hall, he pauses for a moment, looking back into the darkness as he shuts the door.


As the two approach the dining room, Mai announces,
“I’ll be right with you dear; I’m going to make sure the tea is ready.”
Zuko gives her a funny look as he opens the door, commenting,
“Tea, what are you Uncle now?”
Then, a familiar voice replies,
“I wish I was still that young!”
“Uncle!”
Zuko says, startled, yet pleased, as he sees Iroh seated at the table. His beard covered in crumbs, and a half eaten bread loaf in his hand.
“I was in town seeing some old friends, I had to come and congratulate my nephew on his engagement!”
Iroh then produces a small package from his sleeve before continuing,
“This is a very rare, and very special tea, it’s alleged to bring harmony of mind to the couple, and prosperity to their family.”
Iroh then nudges Mai, as he directs his next words at her,
“It’s also rumored to give the drinker vitality, and prowess in the ways of love.”

Mai quickly puts a hand up to her face to hide a blushing smile, Zuko however, face palms, and grabs his uncles shoulder leading him away, as Zuko grumbles.
“Ok Uncle, we get it… that’s quite enough.”
Recovered from her embarrassment, Mai then announces,
“Well, I’ll go see what’s holding up dinner, and leave you two boys to catch up.”
After Mai leaves the dining area, Zuko lowers his head as he speaks.
“Thank you for the gift Uncle… But, I know you didn’t travel all the way here from Ba Sing Se to deliver a package and visit to your old veteran friends, the date is too much of a coincidence to fool me.”
Iroh’s normally gregarious face becomes very serious as he speaks,
“Yes Zuko, I’ve also journeyed to the Fire Nation to visit with your sister on her birthday. Mai tells me you’ve yet to decide if you will do the same.”
After showing his uncle to his chair, Zuko takes his at the dinner table, responding,
“I’ve decided just a while ago that I’ll go. I still think it’s not wise, but Mai won’t let it rest.
I’m sure it won’t be a pleasant visit, for either of us.”
Once again getting a chance to advise his beloved nephew, Iroh remarks,
“Conflicts between siblings seldom can be healed by time only. You must both make an honest effort, if you wish to resolve your differences. Zuko, I know you’ve kept you distance from Azula these last six months, but without her father's influence, she has begun to sort out her own thoughts and feelings, from those Ozai instilled in her.”

As Zuko listens, he can’t help but reflect on that terrible night. Filled with mixed feelings, he replies,
“Azula was not a mindless puppet under Father’s control Uncle; there were things she did, that were purely her own twisted agenda. I’m not buying into the thought that Father’s conditioning of her, left her completely unable to see her wrongs in some heavily ingrained moral issues. I don’t understand all the mumbo jumbo her doctors rattle off, about her fractured mental state either.
Nodding, Iroh answers this,
“Whatever the cause Nephew, your sister has shown a truly honest desire to try to make amends for her past behavior. You should not distance yourself from her at this poignant time in her recovery. Her receptiveness to your apparent lack of kinship, may close doors that can never be reopened.”
Zuko attempts to counter this, but Iroh doesn’t give him room, instead adding,
“With all my hope, Azula will recover, and then she will have to make a life for herself. Whether it will be a life, in which you are included or not, is totally up to how you approach this opportunity.
If you choose to let stubbornness and personal resentments cloud you’re mind and heart, I fear you’ll have lost your sister completely. Nephew, I do not believe that you would want anymore family members taken away from you.”

As typical as it is for them, his uncle’s words ring with a certain truth in Zuko’s ear. After a silent moment shared between the two men, Zuko speaks up,
“I don’t want to lose anyone, I just got Mother back, and I’m not willing to lose both Father and Azula. Not if I can do something about it. Thank you Uncle, but, what should I say? I can’t just make nice, and live like it’s all in the past.”
Iroh instructs his beloved nephew,
“Speak from your heart Zuko, for that is where all the pain and sorrow lies, but remember, within the same heart is the love that you both share for one another.”
To which, Zuko replies,
“I will Uncle.”
Putting on a more pleasant expression, Iroh taps his finger on the table, and asks,
“Where is that lovely girl of yours with the food, I’m getting really hungry!”




The birds out in the trees flitter around busily, collecting bits of grass for their nests, as the young woman sits on the balcony in silent observation. Her hair wavers in the slight breeze. Though now, nowhere as long and flowing as it had been. It had been cut, practically to the length of a men’s cut, to remedy the unsightly butchery she had inflicted on it. It had already had several months in which to grow back, but it would need more than a year before it could be put back into the style in which she had preferred. For now, the short but even bob looked good enough, and she would make due. Dressed not in her royal garb, but in civilian clothes, her beauty is not put off one bit by the common place attire. After a while, she senses that she is being stared at from behind. And, as she turns to face the person standing in the doorway behind her, she doesn’t need to look, to know who it is.

As she gets out of her seat, she gets down on the floor, to bow to the new Firelord. Zuko quickly holds a palm out, indicating for her to halt.
“No no, let’s not have any of that.”
Obeying his wish, she gets to her feet, still remaining totally silent. Zuko clumsily tries to look cheerful, as he says,
“…Happy Birthday.”
Happy to see her brother, but in the same instant, Azula is overcome by tremendous anxiety, nervously she replies,
“Thanks…”
Reaching into his robes, Zuko produces a folded piece of paper, and presents it to her, stating,
“I, ah, brought you this…”
Taking the paper, she unfolds it, revealing the gift within, a long slender silk ribbon, she quizzically remarks,
“You brought me my own hair ribbon as a birthday gift?”
Zuko fumbles for a reply, as he realizes the foolishness of his actions,
“I, ahhh…”
“It’s Okay… I know you thought it would mean more, and it does. I’m just afraid I cannot have something like this in with my possessions.”
Azula’s voice takes a less passive, more manic tone, as she adds,
“You never know, I might just wrap it around my own neck one night, and pull it tight!”
Zuko takes a step back in shock at hearing this, to which Azula addresses, back in her calmer tone,
“It was a joke Brother.”
Zuko holds back the urge to breathe a sigh of relief, as his sister passes the ribbon back to him, and says,
“Still, I’m not supposed to have things like this, someone else might not be kidding about stuff like that.
You hold on to it for me.”
She runs her hand through her short hair adding,
“Besides, it’s not as though I can get any use out of it for a while.”
The two siblings spend an uncomfortable moment staring at each other in silence, before Azula pipes up,
“I… heard about you and Mai… Congratulations…”
“…Thanks.”
Zuko replies, then after shifting in his shoes comes out with,
“Your doctors say you’ve been doing well.”
Azula then finds herself unable to continue to avoid the elephant in the room, as she looks into her brothers eyes, seeing the burning struggle to maintain composure within them, she then asserts to him,
“I know you’ve been keeping tabs on my treatment… I know you already know.
Zuko’s one thought then comes to be spoken,
“Was it…”
The young woman cuts him off, and then reveals that which the Firelord feared most,
“Of course it was… That night was the only time I’ve ever been with a man…”
Brother and sister hang their heads, as the corners of her eyes dampen, and a small tear falls, Azula softly adds,
“The Dr.’s say it was a son…”
Zuko says nothing, only clenches his fist.

Azula’s once firm and imposing presence has yet to show itself, what stands before Zuko now, seems a broken husk of the woman that so many had feared, for so many years. Zuko could tell that this was not some act she was playing; yet, he also knew that she still had plenty of fight left in her. In fact, he counted on it. Zuko wasn’t going to let her off, just because she seemed outwardly depleted of her vinegar.
With a sudden fit of anger, Zuko coldly remarks,
“It serves you right for your cruel treatment of me and everyone else! It’s preferable that it didn’t survive, than were it to be condemned to be brought into this world and raised by such a monstrous mother!”
Azula shuts her eyes, furrowing her brow in anguish. As his icy words hit her, the tears begin to liberally flow down her cheeks. Zuko takes no pity on her, instead, continues his vengeful rant.
“I don’t really care what the explanation is for your behavior Azula, I only notice the results.
Before that night, I still had a shred of respect for you. I knew you were the way you are, and that was that.
But I couldn’t have imagined that you’d go that far! I never thought you’d choose your own selfish desires, over a basic thing like the love of, and for, your own brother.”
Azula looks up at her furious brother, still in the grip of emotions. She wants to say something in her defense, but she knows there is no defense for her actions. Zuko then continues,
“Did you even think about how I would react to what you did? Did you even, for a moment, wonder, if maybe your relationship with me, was worth just a little more than your egocentric agenda?”
Finally given an opportunity to speak, Azula bemoans to her brother,
“I wasn’t thinking Zuko… I… I couldn’t think about anything… My brain felt like it was on fire, I was consumed by jealousy, I was jealous of you! You could walk around; people didn’t seem to be terrified to talk to you. I knew, I was never going to be able to find someone. I knew, you were going to settle into a life with Mai, and no one would ever take their chances with me. That made me furious. I couldn’t stop… I know I should have Zuko… I know I should have…”
Zuko stands firm as he retorts,
“That’s your explanation?! You think that’s going to be good enough?! Your whole life, you’ve done nothing but hurt me. That, I could accept as a result of jealousy. What you did that night, that was nothing short of selfish depravity. You did what you did, for no other reason than because you could.”
Azula’s inner fire is finally rekindled, as she shouts back,
“I DID WHAT I DID BROTHER! IF YOU WOULD’VE FOUND SOME BACKBONE BACK THEN, I WOULD HAVE LEFT YOU ALONE!”
Zuko slams his fist against the wall, as he counters with,
“GIVE ME A BREAK! Backbone you say?! I’ve been standing up to you for a long time now, and all that does is make you go after me from different angles!”

Azula steps up, and in complete disregard for the traditions of her people, slaps the Firelord as hard as she can.
“You may have stood up to me, but you wouldn’t stand up to Father! You were still the same cowardly little child, clinging to his mother's breast that I grew to contempt! Father told me how you would only face him during the eclipse. Sure, you stand tall against him now! Now that the Avatar has stripped him of his powers and his leadership!”

The attention that their outbursts have garnered has brought in a number of hospital workers. Who, after recovering from the disbelief of seeing their ruler so disrespected, start to move in to restrain her. Seeing them approach, Zuko puts his hand up, commanding,
“NO! Let her Speak!”
With that, Azula continues,
“You ran away Zuko. Just like you ran away all those years ago. You may use your banishment as an excuse, but all that really happened was you abandoned me.”
Azula’s fury strangely changes to remorse, and her speech takes on a very different tone,
“You call me depraved, what do you expect Zuko, after Mother disappeared, you were all I had left to protect me from him. ...then you left, and I was on my own. I didn’t like what I was becoming, but I wasn’t strong enough to defeat myself, to say anything about doing anything about the person that was turning his little girl into a weapon of fear and pain. I wanted you to stop him; I wanted you to stop me! But, you couldn’t. Father scarred us both Brother. He burned your face, but he also burned away my innocence, and those flames have been burning in my mind for all these years…”

Zuko stands in silence, he suddenly felt so ashamed. Azula was right; he had left her to his father's whims. He had managed to redeem himself, only with help from his uncle. Never had he thought that Azula herself, might also have wanted… needed help. He’d always thought of his sister as much more powerful then him. Only recently, had he come to realize that power and strength, were two different things. Azula, after all, was nothing but a little girl when her father had first started molding her into his vision of a perfect daughter.
After their mother had been driven away, there was nobody to offset Ozai’s influence on her. He didn’t think it possible, but after hearing Azula speak, he felt that maybe his grievances against her were not that important after all. Maybe her ordeal had been just as harrowing as his own. Maybe, she did warrant his acceptance of her apology.
He looks at his sister standing before him, her head lowered, her eyes puffy as she sobs. He reaches out, and lays his palms on the sides of her cheeks, tilting her head, and making her look him in the eye, saying,
“Are you ashamed of yourself for your actions?”
Azula nods, as she says,
“More ashamed than you can imagine.”
Zuko then takes in a breath, and then says,
“Then… I forgive you. I can’t stand in judgment over your behavior, when I too faltered when you needed my help.”

Azula’s tear ravaged face lightens a little, and a slight smile comes to her face. Zuko's however remains grim and cold, as he remarks,
“Don’t get your hopes up too soon sister, I forgive you, but I’m still deeply hurt. It’s going to take a long time before I’m even comfortable being around you. I love you, but you’ve tested my love to it’s limits, you're going to have to strive to make good on your apologies, before you can hope to win back my trust. You have a lot of healing left to do here, and I am very aware of how easy it is to slip up.”
Azula reaches out to embrace her brother. Initially, Zuko wants to back away, but decides that, after so bluntly berating her, he probably owed it to her to let her be comforted. He awkwardly puts his arms around her, giving her back a single pat.
Azula can sense her brothers discomfort, so she cuts the hug short. Giving him some space, she sniffles as she comments,
“I really want to get better Brother, I know, I’ve got a long way to go. I promise, I’ll do what ever I can to make amends for the things that I’ve done. Someday, I’ll be strong enough to leave this place. Perhaps on that day, we’ll have been able to work past all that has happened, and there can be peace in our nation, and our household.
Zuko nods, replying,
“We can only hope… I have to leave now, please take care of yourself.”
Azula bows her head, and salutes her sibling, saying,
“I will.”


End.