Trial and Error~ An Azula Redemption

Chapter Eight

This one's been done for ages, sorry. After this though, I'll actually have to start writing again.

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Ursa jolted awake. Something was deeply wrong. She didn't know what it was. She just knew that all her maternal instincts were screaming at her to get up.

She jumped to her feet, waking Ikem, who was sleeping next to her. "Ursa-"

She didn't hear the rest; she was already racing down the halls. Past Kiyi's room. Nothing felt wrong there. Past Zuko's. She almost slid into Azula's door, which she quickly threw open.

Horror filled her as she looked into the room. The window was open, wind blowing the curtains. The bedsheets were pulled back like someone had carefully gotten out of bed. Scorch marks were scattered across the walls. Shivers went up Ursa's spine as she saw blood on the floor. There had been a struggle here. And Azula, her beautiful little girl, had clearly lost. She was nowhere to be seen.

Ursa started to sob, sinking to the floor. No, no, no. Not this again. What were the chances of having two of your children kidnapped out of their beds in the ROYAL PALACE?! How could it happen again?!

There was a blur. Ikem ran past her, climbing out the window. Ursa was shocked by his actions before realizing that he was going after them. Trying to find her daughter.

She shut her eyes tightly. Tonight of all nights Azula was taken. Just as she was starting to bond with her daughter, something that she had wanted for so long, it was snatched from her.

She felt arms wrap around her. She looked over at Ikem, who looked stricken.

"You couldn't find her?!"

"Take a deep breath, Ursa. If anyone could be ok in this situation, it's Azula. We have to find out who it was, and then we'll get her back, safe and sound. You'll see."

Ursa nodded, but she didn't fully believe it. "Go... go tell Zuko. He'll... he'll want to know."

Ikem nodded, and ran off to Zuko's room. Ursa sobbed. She couldn't loose Azula again. She just couldn't. But she had. It was so awful, it couldn't fully process.

She got up, rummaging around the room. There had to be a clue as to who took her somewhere. Who would take the Fire Nation princess? And why? Worst-case scenarios flashed through her mind, but she tried to silence them. Assassination? Why not just do that in the palace? If they had time to take her, they certainly had time to kill her. No, it mustn't be the princess' life they were after. So what was it?

Then she saw it. An off-white corner sticking out of the blankets. She pulled it out, revealing a slip of parchment. Her eyes quickly scanned the kanji, looking for answers.

Her head whipped around as hands landed on her shoulders. Zuko snatched the paper out of her hands, reading through it as quickly as he could manage, running his free hand through his loose hair. He muttered an unflattering word and started pacing. "They can't have gotten far. Aang is coming in the morning, when he gets here, we can take Appa and-"

"Won't it have been too long?"

"I..." Zuko huffed. "Maybe the basilisk hounds? They're faster than Appa, but they can't travel in the air... whatever. I'll send a team out." He ran off.

"What's the letter say?" Ikem asked.

"Basically? Ozai has her." Ursa's voice was hard. "He said that he had heard that Zuko took her out of prison to soften her up. Ozai couldn't have that happening to his little golden child." For the first time in years, Ursa felt so angry that she wanted to break something. Preferably, that something would be her ex-husband.

"Isn't Ozai in prison?"

"Not anymore, apparently!" Ursa was starting to hyperventilate. Ozai had Azula. Ozai had Azula. Azula always listened to her father. If he could rebuild her loyalty to him... they would have no chance at saving her. Ursa would loose her forever. Azula would loose herself forever. And that couldn't happen. Not now, and not ever.

They had to find the lost princess, and they had to do it fast.