Disgraced, Used, and Abused

Father

Azula takes a deep breath as she walks down the stairs of the palace, her brother, Aang, and Ty Lee close behind her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zuko asks, looking at her with worry. "He's not the man he once was. You might be disappointed with what you see."

"I know I will be," Azula answers with a sigh. "For a fire bender to lose his firebendng is a cruel fate. Especially if the fire bender's entire identity revolved around his bending."

"He deserved it," Ty Lee declares, raising a brow. "The amount of war crimes he committed makes Sozin look like the good guy."

"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," The Princess states harshly. "I'm saying that he probably would've chosen death if he could."

"Taking away his bending was the only way to ensure that he wouldn't hurt anyone else," Aang responds, frowning at the look on Azula's face. "I did what I had to do."

"You could've chopped his head off," She answers nonchalantly. "I would've rather died."

They reach the end of the stairs. Azula folds her hands together, trying her best to stop them from shaking. She holds her breath as Zuko takes a key from his pocket, sticks it in the keyhole, and opens the door. It led to a long hallway full of jail cells. This prison locked up the most dangerous criminals known to the Fire Nation: serial killers, kidnappers, child rapists, and war criminals.

They gradually walk down the halls. "Ay, the Firelord comes to visit lil old daddy again?" A criminal hollers.

"You've visited him before?" Azula asks with genuine curiosity.

"Yes," Zuko sighs in guilt. "I hate to admit it, but Father is one hell of an advisor."

Azula lets out a chuckle, "I know, he taught me. You have to admit, I'd make a good Advisor."

"You'd make a good Firelord,"

"Ha," Azula scoffs. "I would hate it."

Zuko looks at his sister with curiousness. "You would hate to be Firelord? Wasn't that your entire mission in life, to become the greatest Firelord?"

"It was Father's mission," Azula rolls her eyes. "Why would I want to be Firelord? That's too much work."

"Huh," Ty Lee responds. "I remember a time in your life when all you would talk about was being Firelord."

The Princess moans as she stops in her tracks. She turns to look at the acrobat. "Of course, I wanted to be Firelord. But it wasn't because I wanted to rule a nation. It was because I wanted my Father to be proud of me, to love me. To me, his pride equaled love. I was wrong."

The Princess turns away from Ty Lee and starts walking down the halls. Zuko and the Kyoshi warrior stare at each other with dismay. They have never seen Azula so open about her emotions, nor admit that she knew her father didn't love her. They both look at the Princess again, a look of sympathy flashing in their eyes.

"We don't have all day!" Azula yells as she motions for them to start walking again.

Aang quickly followed the girl's orders, pulling Zuko and Ty Lee with him as he went behind the Princess. They continue walking until the Firelord stops them at a small locked cell. "This is it," Zuko declares as he takes another key from his pocket. "Do you want me to go in with you?" He asks his sister, giving her a soft smile.

"No," She says as she looks intently at the cell. "I think... I think I need to do this alone."

Zuko gives her an understanding nod. He unlocks the cell with the key, slowly opening it and letting Azula in.

The Princess carefully walks into the dark cell. She glimpses at her father for the first time in 10 years. She steps closer to the iron bars keeping her father captive. She sighs as she sits down in front of them. "Father."

"Azula?" He questions, looking up from the floor to look at his prodigy. "What a pleasant surprise."

"I wish I could say the same," She taunts, looking her father up and down. "You look..."

"Pathetic? Weak?" He spits. "Are you here to mock me, traitor?"

"Traitor?"

"I have connections all around the palace," Ozai smirks as he sits up and moves closer to his daughter. "I heard that you passed out and got hospitalized."

"Hm," Azula raises a brow. "Should've known that you'd have spies in the palace. What else have you heard?"

The old Firelord smiles mockingly at his daughter, tilting his head to the side. "You're a whore."

Azula sits there, unsure how to respond. She looks at Ozai with a sense of embarrassment. She tries her best not to show it, but her father can read people like a book. Even she can't disguise her true emotions around him. "I am." She says, inhaling a deep breath and waiting for the verbal beating her father would surely bombard her with.

"What a disgrace," He starts. Azula smirks as she leans on one arm and tilts her head. "Knew it," She thinks. "How could a member of the greatest dynasty known to man become a prostitute?"

"Well," Azula sighs. "One makes choices when one has no other options."

"No other options?!" Ozai yells furiously. "No other options is an excuse weak people use. I didn't raise you to be weak. I raised you to be Firelord, but seeing as your pitiful brother is, I failed."

"Or maybe your teachings were just damaging,"

"What?"

"I trained day and night to be a perfect prodigy. Ever since I was young, I was held to incredibly high standards. I was told that I had to know every minuscule detail about our history and be able to perform the most complex moves in Fire bending, all while maintaining the image of a perfect daughter. Do you think a 14-year-old could handle all that? That a fourteen-year-old could handle being put under such immense pressure. I was 14! I shouldn't have been conquering cities. I should've been at malls with my friends, hanging out, going to festivals. You ruined my childhood. You ruined me."

"You ruined yourself!" Her father yells, slamming his fists to the floor. "If you'd had won the Agni-Kai, this very nation would be yours!"

"You mean yours,"

Ozai laughs, "Yes, I do. I mean mine. You lost the Nation I worked so hard to build. You should've succeeded!"

"I was clinically insane!" Azula scoffs, looking at her father in dismay. "I was insane because of the pressure you put me under. "

"Don't blame it all on me I-"

"You what?" The Princess rolls her eyes. "Taught me how to lose all my friends? Do not trust anyone? Hurt the people who loved me? In my opinion, those aren't valuable lessons to teach a child."

Ozai stands up and turns away from his daughter, walking closer to the corner of his cell where his bed is. "What are you here for? To beg for an apology? Well, you're not getting one from me."

"No," Azula sighs, still looking at her father. "I came here to tell you that you don't scare me anymore. You don't have any control over me."

To the Princess' surprise, Ozai starts laughing manically. He places a hand on his stomach as he chuckles. "You are your mother's daughter."

"What does that mean,"

"That means," He calms down. "That your mother came here to say that same thing. You know what, you look a lot like her now that you got older. I always thought you and I held the greatest resemblance, but I see now that you are the perfect image of your mother."

"Ha," Azula snorts, standing up and heading to the cell door. "My friend told me the same thing. But I suppose you've never had one so you'd never know what it's like."

"Do you actually care for your friend?" Ozai scoffs. "How naive."

"I love her," Azula smiles softly at her father. "And I know you won't accept it, but I love you too."

Azula leaves the jail cell, not looking back.