TRIGGER WARNING : violence, abuse
MIIZUMI STARES AT the portrait of her and kaizo. she looks into her own eyes, how the light that used to sparkle can't even be seen anymore.
she can see kaizo's evil intentions in his smirk. she should've known from the beginning he was no good.
kaizo ripped through one of her favorite dresses the day before. it was sewn by her mom before she left the palace.
miizumi wishes she knew where ursa went. sometimes she even wishes for ursa to come back. the girl feels lost, even when zuko and ursa are gone miizumi still struggles to be seen.
the girl didn't realize but she had started to cry. she moves her hair out of her face, putting some of it in a bun as she grabs her sword that rested on her wall in its holster. her eyes dart to the mirror next to her and she hates how much she looks like ursa.
miizumi takes her sword, softly piercing the material of the canvas. she vertically drags the blade down the portrait which makes a neat split between her and kaizo. a short intake of breath follows her lips as she looks at the ring with a blood red rhodonite in the middle.
she tears the ring off her finger, tossing it across her room with a loud cry. she collapses to the ground as her bangs stick to her face, wet with her own tears. she wraps her arms around herself and imagines it to be ursa or ozai comforting her through such a hard time.
the sunlight reflects off the sword that is a few inches from miizumi and she shields her eyes from the light. she grabs her sword and looks at the painting as she attempts to regulate her breathing.
"what have i done?" miizumi whispers, gently touching the spot on the painting that her sword cut.
"have you been firebending?" ozai asks as he walks into miizumi's room. she looks at him and quickly wiped her eyes.
"father. n-no, i haven't." she stammers as she stands up.
"i received an anonymous letter saying my daughter has been going against my wishes." ozai explains. he circles miizumi and looks at the sword on the floor. he then looks at the portrait. "what is this?" he asks.
"im sorry." she replies.
"answer me!" ozai shouts.
"i-i didn't mean to!" miizumi exclaims.
"this is disappointing to see." ozai says and stands in front of miizumi. "you're a firebender, aren't you?" miizumi feels hot tears prick at her eyes yet again.
"yes, sir." she whispers.
"i thought i forbid you from bending eight years ago! so why have i gotten a message that you have been doing so behind my back?" ozai asks.
"i am sorry. i never meant to disrespect you." miizumi says.
"who taught you? because it couldn't have been me." he responds. "was it your sister?"
"no. it wasn't azula. it was..." she begins. "it was zuko."
"your brother who i have banished?" ozai laughs in disbelief. "you are not worthy of bending, you know that, right?" he asks.
"i know." she sighs. she feels ozai put his hand on her shoulder and then grab her bicep.
"since you have allowed zuko to be your teacher, you will receive the same fate as him." ozai explains.
"father, you're banishing me?" miizumi begins to panic.
"not at all." ozai replies. the flame that was already in his hands begins to grow larger, fueled by his anger. he glares at miizumi. she looks so much like ursa that it's painful.
his flaming hand flies to the side of miizumi's face, but she can already sense it happening before it even happens. she can barely move but she turns her face away from him, causing ozai to strike her neck. the impact causes her to fall to the ground and she grabs her neck in pain.
"how dare you?" ozai shouts, towering over her.
"im sorry!" miizumi exclaims, her voice heightening as tears stream down her cheeks.
"i cannot even look at you." ozai sighs. she can hear his heavy footsteps leave her room and she cups her hands over her neck to try to soothe the antagonizing pain radiating through the core of her neck. the wound reaches her jaw and barely grazes over her cheeks, stretching all the way down to her collarbone.
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"miizumi." ozai says and she looks at him as he sits across from her at the dinner table. "i have decided to allow kaizo to marry you sooner."
"how soon, father?" azula asks with slight concern.
"however soon he wishes." ozai replies.
"but he'll basically marry her the next time he sees her." azula explains.
"azula, im fine." miizumi sighs. any other day, she would be annoyed when kaizo's name appears into the conversations, but when azula looks at her sister, she can't pinpoint what she is feeling which is unusual because they are twins.
"oh. okay." azula mutters.
"that's exactly what i expect from the future of the fire nation." ozai smirks. he excuses himself from the table and leaves the two girls at the dining table alone.
"what is this about, mii?" azula asks her sister.
"someone told father i've been secretly firebending." miizumi responds. "why else do you think he wants to marry me off sooner?"
"i-i didn't know." azula says.
"well, now you know. because of this anonymous tip, he's more disappointed than ever with me." miizumi explains.
"do you know who did it?" azula asks and miizumi looks to her. "you think i did it?"
"who else, azula? you're the only other person who knows how much i want to firebend, and you're sneaky enough to figure out that zuko was my teacher before he was banished." miizumi exclaims.
"i don't know what you're talking about, but i didn't do it!" azula replies.
"i dont wanna hear your lies. you're a monster, just like mom said! you just want to ruin everyone's lives so you can be the greatest child ever!" miizumi yells. azula's features soften for a second but she doesn't let that bother her.
"i didn't ruin anyone's lives. you ruined your own life by firebending. you knew the consequences if father would've found out and you still took the risk!" azula shouts. "you should've just accepted the fact that you're only good for being married off to kaizo!"
"please, i've heard that enough. tell me something new." miizumi scoffs, standing up and walking out of the room.
she wipes her tears before they spill from her eyes and as she turns the corner, she sees ozai standing there with an evil, conniving smirk on his face.
"im sorry for what she said to you, my daughter." ozai says. "you know you are way more important than that. don't listen to her."
"it's fine." miizumi replies before she storms off. ozai walks into the dining room where azula still is and sees her with a frustrated look on her face.
"you and your sister had an argument?" ozai asks.
"she thinks im out to get her. because one thing happened, it's suddenly all my fault!" azula exclaims.
"don't listen to her. she can see how important you are, and she is obviously jealous." ozai explains.
"i never thought she'd ever be jealous of me. that's a new low, even for her." azula scoffs.
"i know, but people who have less power than us will always be envious. they want that power, and you must never give it to them." ozai says. "you must never give it to her."
END.