i. 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 ━━ ( azula. )

chapter two.

a party on the edge of being forgotten.

"hm, maybe you are lucky," azula hummed. etsuko let out a soft smile, one that caught the princess's attention despite the noisiness of the other spoiled brats surrounding them. the overwhelming and useless chatter surrounded them, a chatter the two girls contributed to.

"yes, but it's hard for me to see such..." for the first time azula watched as the faraway look in etsuko's disappeared, the island native jabbing her finger to the royal's collarbone. "what i can see is how bad you are at flirting. do you need a teacher?"

"oh, please. you act as if you've never had a proper conversation in your life."

the two teenagers laughed. they laughed as if one did not love being ruthless to all those beneath her, and they laughed as if the other did not look forward to the void that called her. for a moment azula thought maybe etsuko, the joyful child, actually was joyful; that their interaction before had been a fluke.

and it wasn't that etsuko seemed unhappy, it was just that she was overwhelmingly passive. she was a girl that went with what everyone else wanted because she knew what she wanted was something she could gift to herself anytime.

"you've been moping in this corner the whole time. so dreadfully boring. you should be glad i'm so gracious." for the first time in her carefully planned life, azula regretted her words. she watched the forlorn glaze return to etsuko's eyes, and she listened as her words began to loose all solidity once again.

"i already told you, azula. i am beyond grateful."

the princess scoffed as her cheeks turned the same color as her pathetic brother's fire. she suddenly became fed up with etsuko's wistful statements, with the silent plea embedded into each syllable.

"whatever. i'm going back to my friends."

etsuko smiled softly, a smile that filled azula with hatred. she was a peasant and all peasants should have fear slathered across their features when talking to a god as powerful as her— so why was this peasant so happy to be disgraced?

"it was about time for me to go anyways. goodbye, azula."

etsuko had the last word, walking out of the back door and towards where she would rest for the night.