Azula: No Flame Like Home

Chapter 1 - The Girl and the Storm

The sun was still high even as evening approached, and Caspian took the scenic route home from work, passing by the river on the outskirts of town. A nice spot, quiet and secluded, just how he liked it. He had been through this area countless times, but something was off today. He felt a presence, and a persistent urge to look over his shoulder. He finally saw her as he passed through a clearing.

A small girl, black hair running down her shoulders in erratic strands, and a uniform–black, red, and gold. Fire Lord Ozai's reign and, by extension, the Hundred Year War, had only been over for a few weeks. It was plenty fresh in everyone's memory. This was different, though, no ordinary Fire Nation soldier. The uniform alone was clearly unique.

"Excuse me?" Caspian called out. The girl tensed up and jerked her head towards him, and immediately her face was familiar. After a moment, Caspian remembered where he'd seen this face: the wanted posters, and he remembered the stories he heard around town. Azula, the "Mad Princess," daughter of the Fire Lord, escaped capture and went missing. They said she was dangerous, but what struck Caspian was how young she was. She was still a child, and the look on her face, her hollowed eyes, that frightened, almost feral expression, she looked small enough to be one of his students.

"It's not safe out here," he said, voice trembling a bit, despite his best efforts. The Princess said nothing, but she kept those tired, reddened eyes on Caspian. With some urgency he opened his bag and took out what he had. A piece of bread, a skin of water, and a cloth to wrap it up in. He set it down, slowly, on the ground in front of him. As if in slow motion, the girl stood up, and approached him like a dueling opponent, then snatched up what he left.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Caspian asked. She backed up, still in that semi-combat stance, still saying nothing. He tried to think of something to say, but it felt like nothing would be right. He wound up blurting out, "I live a little further west of the river, here. The little house on the beach, the only one there, that's mine. If you need somewhere to stay."

The whole time, she kept her eyes locked on him, like she was waiting for him to pounce. Then, before he could react, she dashed into the woods. She was fast, almost frighteningly so. The way she moved, Caspian lost track of her quickly. He went home.

In the days after that, Caspian took that same long route home every night, and always packed a little extra. He wasn't really thinking, there was just some part of him that wanted to be prepared in case he saw her again, and for the next few days, that's all that it was. Longer walks home with a slightly heavier bag, keeping his eyes open for that worn remnant of a royal uniform.

As the week came to an end, dark clouds loomed over the horizon. There was a storm coming, and the whole town was hunkering down for it. The day before it was expected to hit town, Caspian didn't go to work. He spent much of the day walking up and down the river bank. Eventually, he saw her again. Or rather, he heard her first, a slight rustle in the nearby bushes and there she was, like before, but she looked to be in an even worse state. She looked so tired, so hungry and cold.

"Hello, again," he said softly. "I think I know who you are. You're Princess Azula, aren't you?"

"Stay back," she rasped and Caspian could see her tense up. He had to handle this delicately, but it was hard. His heart was racing, and he just wanted to do something to take away that look in her eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he showed her his open hands. "My name is Caspian. I'm... a tutor at the school."

She stood up as if for combat, but the hunger, cold, and exhaustion probably didn't do any good for her stance. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"Look, there's a storm coming tonight, a really bad one. Please... use my home for shelter, just until it passes and then you can do whatever you want."