𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦. 𝗍𝗒𝗓𝗎𝗅𝖺

fifteen years of torture

  toph woke up slowly, she yawned and scratched her head. the girl hopped up and rubbed her eyes while changing into her normal green attire.

  she trudged downstairs, still half asleep, her feet lead her into the main room. something's off. wrong, no, different. she was too tired to feel the vibrations, she walked into a table, stubbing her toes.

  "ow! next time you decide to decorate a room, inform me." she grunted, her toes still aching.

  aang gasped and ran to toph's aid, he chuckled nervously and helped her sit down.

  "sorry, toph, we forgot you were coming. we'll try to be more careful," he reassured her, standing up straight.

  katara groaned, her patience was thinning. she ruffled her hair and nudged zuko.

  "hey, when is azula coming down?" she whispered impatiently.

  zuko shrugged and kept his gaze staring straight ahead. then they all heard the sound of footsteps. ty lee came down the stairs, also half asleep.

  "mnh, hey guys," ty lee mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

  zuko put his finger to his lips, he heard someone coming down. sure enough, azula came walking into the main room, she widened her eyes when she saw everything that the gang had done to the room. she smiled and looked down, the tears in her eyes started well up. they rolled down her cheeks slowly.

  everyone cheered and hugged azula, they were overjoyed. the fire nation princess was now fifteen.

  ty lee was the last to hug azula, but she was the first to see that azula was crying. she wiped the taller girl's tears away with her hand and cupped the girl's face in both of her hands.

  "happy birthday, your majesty," ty lee whispered. azula blushed slightly and smiled, she put ty lee's hands down and hugged the girl again.

  "oooooo! the two girls are bonding!" sokka called out and grinned. he winced as a sharp blow from suki hit his head. "ow! suki!"

  "leave them alone! never get in the way of two lov-- i mean friends!" suki corrected herself quickly, hoping that the two hadn't heard her. unlucky, suki. they did hear her. ty lee and azula both went red, mauve, pink, any colour close to red. azula glared at suki and sokka, ty lee just chuckled nervously.

  zuko broke the tension by clapping his hands together, he reached over to a table and picked a medium-sized box, he handed it to his sister. azula opened it, to see many little paintings of zuko and her, she tried to keep her tears back. she hugged her older brother and smiled, burying her face into his chest.

  mai smiled and gave azula her present, a cute bracelet with the fire nation logo engraved into it, with the hems of it covered in a gold lining. katara beamed and gave the birthday girl her own present, a silver hairpiece for azula's signature bun. azula smiled and thanked the two girls, she looked at aang as the boy approached.

  aang whispered in azula's ear quietly, while the others waited, trying to hear what he was saying.

  "i was hoping a nice ride on appa would do the trick, maybe we can talk... or vent?" aang whispered, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. azula nodded and bowed to the avatar.

  suki came forward along with sokka, they were both holding large, beautiful bouquets of roses and poppies, it was red and black, azula's favourite colours. azula bowed and grinned, taking the flowers gently and placing them on the table with the rest of her presents.

  toph came up to azula, in the little girl's hands was a beautiful garment. it was mainly red and maroon with little bits of black, there was a small print of a dragon that snaked around the waist of it. toph smiled sheepishly, she had no idea what she was holding.

  "like it?" toph asked. azula grinned and raised an eyebrow.

  "you have no idea what it is in your hands, do you, little missy?" azula questioned, taking the garment from the earth bender.

   "nope, not a clue! katara helped me pick it out since my idea for a present was a birthday beat down," toph stuck out her tongue at azula and hugged the taller girl. azula smiled and hugged her back.

  ty lee hung around the back, trying not to be spotted. she didn't want everyone to know what her present would be. sokka saw the girl lurking around, he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

  "she hasn't given you a present," sokka said quickly, backing away from ty lee in case she decided to chi block him in anger. ty lee side-eyed him and laughed nervously.

  "i'm gonna give it to her later tonight, i promise!" ty lee said, rubbing the back of her neck. mai nearly choked on her tea.

  "mnh! you what—?" mai asked. "what are you gonna give her?" ty lee elbowed mai and smiled nervously.

  "i've already told you," ty lee said through gritted teeth. it all came back to mai now, she rubbed her side where the other girl had hurt her. she nodded and tried to smile through the pain.

  everyone started eating and joking around, like a real birthday celebration. azula couldn't help but smile. fifteen years of torture has finally passed. now, for all of the foreseeable future, azula shouldn't have to be put under the same strain and pressure that she had gone through with ozai.