The Night of May 29th
“He’s gone, Azula.”
Azula freezes, much like the group watching them. She stares at Ursa, stunned and shocked, and then she reacts, angrily. She lifts a hand and smacks Ursa across the face, hard, and the sound rings through the room. She feels the twitch; all at once, all present shift forward or gasp, but none move more than that, knowing they’d be killed.
“No. Call him here right now,” she hisses, “don’t lie to me. Call him here.”
She refuses to believe that Zuko is gone by the castle’s choice. She wants to be the one to get rid of him. She wants to be the one to eliminate him from the castle forever. He wasn’t supposed to come back from the dead, and he was supposed to leave on her terms
Ursa has a hand to her cheek, and she is looking off to the side, stunned. There are tears in her eyes, but when she turns her head back to face Azula, there is defiance in that look, the same defiance that Azula herself carries on occasion.
“Your brother’s not in Paradisa anymore,” Ursa tells her, calmly.
Azula moves into the offense again, and Ursa can do nothing but lean back and put an arm up to shield herself. Azula seizes Ursa’s wrist, holding it out of the way, and slaps her again with her other hand. Ursa cringes. Azula raises a hand to do it again.
“AZULA! Stop it! She’s telling the truth!” Katara shouts, and Azula whips her head around to glare at the girl.
“Prime,” she says, order in her voice. Superboy-Prime tightens his grip on Katara’s shoulder, and the girl lets out a gasp of pain. The reaction is instantaneous -- Sokka and Jet both start forward, and Prime’s hand shifts to grip Katara’s throat. Both boys stop dead in their tracks, and Azula can see them shaking, they are so angry. Katara swallows dry, her hands against Prime’s wrist, as an awkward means of support.
“Move a muscle and you die,” Azula snaps. “Any of you. Don’t even think about it.”
She rounds on Ursa again. Ursa is staring at her, golden eyes narrowed, eyebrows sloped.
“If you want to talk, Azula, we’ll talk. You don’t have to involve the rest of them,” Ursa says, diligently. Her voice grows firmer. “You’re acting like a child. If you want to discuss this, we can go elsewhere and do it, in private.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Azula snaps. “I want to talk to Zuko.”
She turns on her heel and storms towards the stairs, but Ursa reaches out and grabs Azula by the forearm. Azula comes to a halt almost immediately, turning and ripping her arm out of Ursa’s grip, at the same time as Prime gives Katara a warning little choke.
A multitude of things happen at once. Ursa’s head turns to Katara, and her hand stays in the air, close to Azula. The Avatar moves forward by a half-step, but he puts his foot down again when Sokka puts a hand on his shoulder. Jet lets out an angry growl. Katara tries to breathe, and tears well at the corners of her eyes as she tries to keep on her tiptoes. Azula looks at all of this with a mix of pride and anger, and then she turns her golden eyes on Ursa again.
There are tears in Ursa’s eyes when she says, “You won’t find him, Azula. He’s gone. That’s the absolute truth; your brother is no longer in Paradisa. Hurting these children and striking me won’t change that.”
Azula pauses, and with all the cold and calculated madness in the world, turns to look at Prime. That look gives a silent order, and when she turns back to Ursa and says, “You’d swear it on the peasant’s life?” Prime reacts appropriately; he lifts.
Katara lets out an angry, strangled noise, and Ursa is on her feet in an instant. She is taller than Azula still, and desperate to protect whoever her daughter might attack next. Her anger is barely disguised under a thin veil of sadness, and she says, firmly, “Zuko is GONE. Go to the castle and check his door for yourself.”
Azula lets a few beats pass before lifting a hand. Prime drops Katara, and the girl lands on the floor in a heap, gasping and clutching her throat as she greedily sucks back oxygen. Sokka can’t resist anymore, and he rushes over, falling to his knees beside her and putting a bracing arm around her shoulders. Prime lets him, smirking over it all, and Azula turns her eyes to him.
“We’re leaving,” Azula says, calmly.
“Alright,” Prime replies, but his eyes are on the other teenagers, who itch to race forward and kill them, but don’t dare. His posture still suggests he will rip them limb from limb if they even breathe.<
Azula turns away from her mother and exits past Prime to the streets, where Ty Lee is waiting. Ty Lee looks almost nervous, under that smile, the one that encourages and doesn't criticize. Azula feels the entire room breathe an angered sigh of relief, she hears Katara rasp and cough and say something about irrationality. She tastes the night air and heads back towards the castle, Prime falling into step beside her, Ty Lee hurrying to her other side. Last of all, she sees Jet reappear in the doorway, so angry he is shaking.
He screams after her about cowardice. Azula looks back over her shoulder, and gives him a knowing smirk.
She feels the sting of loss vanish and the bliss of victory surge up as they return to the castle.
Azula freezes, much like the group watching them. She stares at Ursa, stunned and shocked, and then she reacts, angrily. She lifts a hand and smacks Ursa across the face, hard, and the sound rings through the room. She feels the twitch; all at once, all present shift forward or gasp, but none move more than that, knowing they’d be killed.
“No. Call him here right now,” she hisses, “don’t lie to me. Call him here.”
She refuses to believe that Zuko is gone by the castle’s choice. She wants to be the one to get rid of him. She wants to be the one to eliminate him from the castle forever. He wasn’t supposed to come back from the dead, and he was supposed to leave on her terms
Ursa has a hand to her cheek, and she is looking off to the side, stunned. There are tears in her eyes, but when she turns her head back to face Azula, there is defiance in that look, the same defiance that Azula herself carries on occasion.
“Your brother’s not in Paradisa anymore,” Ursa tells her, calmly.
Azula moves into the offense again, and Ursa can do nothing but lean back and put an arm up to shield herself. Azula seizes Ursa’s wrist, holding it out of the way, and slaps her again with her other hand. Ursa cringes. Azula raises a hand to do it again.
“AZULA! Stop it! She’s telling the truth!” Katara shouts, and Azula whips her head around to glare at the girl.
“Prime,” she says, order in her voice. Superboy-Prime tightens his grip on Katara’s shoulder, and the girl lets out a gasp of pain. The reaction is instantaneous -- Sokka and Jet both start forward, and Prime’s hand shifts to grip Katara’s throat. Both boys stop dead in their tracks, and Azula can see them shaking, they are so angry. Katara swallows dry, her hands against Prime’s wrist, as an awkward means of support.
“Move a muscle and you die,” Azula snaps. “Any of you. Don’t even think about it.”
She rounds on Ursa again. Ursa is staring at her, golden eyes narrowed, eyebrows sloped.
“If you want to talk, Azula, we’ll talk. You don’t have to involve the rest of them,” Ursa says, diligently. Her voice grows firmer. “You’re acting like a child. If you want to discuss this, we can go elsewhere and do it, in private.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Azula snaps. “I want to talk to Zuko.”
She turns on her heel and storms towards the stairs, but Ursa reaches out and grabs Azula by the forearm. Azula comes to a halt almost immediately, turning and ripping her arm out of Ursa’s grip, at the same time as Prime gives Katara a warning little choke.
A multitude of things happen at once. Ursa’s head turns to Katara, and her hand stays in the air, close to Azula. The Avatar moves forward by a half-step, but he puts his foot down again when Sokka puts a hand on his shoulder. Jet lets out an angry growl. Katara tries to breathe, and tears well at the corners of her eyes as she tries to keep on her tiptoes. Azula looks at all of this with a mix of pride and anger, and then she turns her golden eyes on Ursa again.
There are tears in Ursa’s eyes when she says, “You won’t find him, Azula. He’s gone. That’s the absolute truth; your brother is no longer in Paradisa. Hurting these children and striking me won’t change that.”
Azula pauses, and with all the cold and calculated madness in the world, turns to look at Prime. That look gives a silent order, and when she turns back to Ursa and says, “You’d swear it on the peasant’s life?” Prime reacts appropriately; he lifts.
Katara lets out an angry, strangled noise, and Ursa is on her feet in an instant. She is taller than Azula still, and desperate to protect whoever her daughter might attack next. Her anger is barely disguised under a thin veil of sadness, and she says, firmly, “Zuko is GONE. Go to the castle and check his door for yourself.”
Azula lets a few beats pass before lifting a hand. Prime drops Katara, and the girl lands on the floor in a heap, gasping and clutching her throat as she greedily sucks back oxygen. Sokka can’t resist anymore, and he rushes over, falling to his knees beside her and putting a bracing arm around her shoulders. Prime lets him, smirking over it all, and Azula turns her eyes to him.
“We’re leaving,” Azula says, calmly.
“Alright,” Prime replies, but his eyes are on the other teenagers, who itch to race forward and kill them, but don’t dare. His posture still suggests he will rip them limb from limb if they even breathe.<
Azula turns away from her mother and exits past Prime to the streets, where Ty Lee is waiting. Ty Lee looks almost nervous, under that smile, the one that encourages and doesn't criticize. Azula feels the entire room breathe an angered sigh of relief, she hears Katara rasp and cough and say something about irrationality. She tastes the night air and heads back towards the castle, Prime falling into step beside her, Ty Lee hurrying to her other side. Last of all, she sees Jet reappear in the doorway, so angry he is shaking.
He screams after her about cowardice. Azula looks back over her shoulder, and gives him a knowing smirk.
She feels the sting of loss vanish and the bliss of victory surge up as they return to the castle.