[fic] Matched Set
Title: Matched Set
Author: ali_wildgoose
Pairing: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Azula's favor is precious, and Ty Lee holds it close to her heart.
Note: Written for the atla_ladyfest! Many thanks to jlh for the super-quick beta.
***
Ty Lee has six sisters - three sets of twins, one before and two following her own birth. Once grown out of their babyhood, all seven of them look identical to those outside their family, and the astonished wives of visiting governors wonder at how their mother could have carried so many new lives in her womb at once. She laughs kindly and explains, as if she has not had to do so countless times over the years.
Her girls are a charming curiosity at court, cheerful and outgoing but always so well-behaved, always knowing exactly how much to say and how broadly to smile, when to laugh and when to sit quietly with their hands in their laps. They each learn a different instrument, and their small concerts delight their parent's friends. They embroider flowers on rich silks; sketch trees and classical landscapes with ink and brush. They are cultured and accomplished and perfectly uniform. They move through the house in a tight little knot of sisterhood, giggling and whispering to each other as their parents smile indulgently. To the world, they are a matched set - a row of dolls on the shelf, to be taken down and admired.
When there is no one to perform for, the girls drift apart to their own corners of the garden, absorbed in their separate pursuits. But even then, the twins stay close to one another, slipping into the private language of those who entered the world as one. They build castles from twigs and leaves, weave flowers into crowns and place them on each other's heads, concoct elaborate fantasies in which they are kidnapped by Earthbender bandits and rescued by handsome princes in gilt armor. Ty Lee goes to find a patch of soft grass and practices her tumbling, her small body hurtling through the air. She practices until her skin is slick with sweat and her limbs tremble from exhaustion; until her braid is half-undone and grass stains are ground into her clothes. The twins murmur behind their hands and watch her with wide, gray eyes. When their mother scolds her later, they stand and listen and press their lips together, their own tunics crisp and perfect.
Ty Lee has six sisters, but among them she is alone.
***
The celebration for Princess Azula's sixth birthday is a lavish affair. Every girl her age from an acceptable lineage is invited, though most are strangers to her and to each other. Children this young rarely socialize outside of close friends of their family, but Lady Ursa seems more concerned with finding companionship for her daughter than worrying overmuch about such conventions.
Ty Lee and her sisters are put in their best robes and told to behave. Ty Lee, in particular, is reminded that young ladies keep their feet on the ground and their hands out of the dirt.
Azula has many attendants, of course, but it's Ursa who herds them all out into the sunshine, beaming as they exclaim over the long table that has been laid with tea and plates of sweet buns. She organizes games of "four seasons" and "catching seven pieces," and soon the walled garden rings with laughter and the cheerful arguments of play. Ursa moves between the circles of children, crouching down to settle disputes and to ask the names of those girls she has not met before.
Ty Lee is very good at games. Her nimble fingers toss a little bag of rice into the air, snatch the next from the ground and catch the first with no trouble at all. Soon all seven bags are in her palm and the other girls are frowning, not bothering to disguise their irritation at her skill.
Her sisters are playing a game all their own, uninterested in the company of outsiders. They would let her join if she asked, but today she doesn't want to. Instead, she waits until the adults are occupied and then slips around the edge of the turtleduck pond, through a clump of bushes to the small clearing beyond. There's just enough room for cartwheels, and the damp grass feels good between her fingers.
When she hears movement in the bushes, she rights herself quickly and straightens her clothes, her smile a well-practiced balance of friendliness and blank cheer.
Princess Azula emerges from the greenery and narrows her eyes in suspicion. Behind her stands a tall, sullen girl whose name Ty Lee does not yet know. "What are you doing here?" Azula asks, the question itself a command to answer.
"Playing," says Ty Lee. Then, "Your highness," because her mother had told her that was important.
Azula frowns at her thoughtfully, and Ty Lee feels as if she's being looked through - a scroll pulled open and examined. "What can you do?" Azula asks finally, arms crossed over her chest.
"Do?"
"I can Firebend and I can tell if people are lying," says Azula. She points to her friend. "Mai can throw darts and move without anyone seeing her." She arches her fine eyebrows. "So what can you do?"
Ty Lee considers the question. She can sew and play the flute and recite classical poetry, but so can any noble girl her age. She can sense, even then, that the princess has no patience for ordinary. "I can do three cartwheels in a row," she says. "And I can walk on my hands, even up and down stairs."
Azula's smile is sharp and hungry. "Show me."
***
The Earth King's chambers are an extravagant prison, his perfect isolation as important as his comfort in the eyes of men like Long Feng. Now that he is gone, whisked away by the broken remains of the Avatar's forces, Azula turns his quarters' purpose on its head. They are as well-suited to keeping out unwanted company as they are to containing a King, and the latter is of no concern to her. She knows that no man in this city can hold her; that none would dare besides.
Every window faces the same courtyard, a private garden at the heart the palace. Ty Lee sits beside one, now, watching moonlight glint off the scales of koi and the dew-damp leaves of trees. She can only see a narrow strip of sky, but she watches that, as well. For the last two nights a cloud has risen above the tiled rooftops - thick smoke tinged red with reflected fire. The hot, summer breezes smell of ash.
Ty Lee rests her chin in one hand. "It's kind of strange," she says. "I didn't think they'd be so helpful."
"Who?" asks Mai. She is lying on the bed a short distance away, one knife balanced on the end of her finger as she stares up at the ceiling.
"The Dai Li." Ty Lee frowns a little, chewing on her lip. "I mean, of course the smarter ones would know that things are better this way. But it's weird that none of them fought back, isn't it?"
"You give them too much credit," says Azula. She rises from her seat on the couch and pads across the room, toward the window where Ty Lee is perched. "They aren't even men, really. They're dogs. They need to be told what to do."
Mai chuckles as she sits up. "You have them trained pretty well."
"Think about it, Ty Lee," Azula continues, her hand on the window frame. "If an Earth Kingdom princess tried to convince you to burn down our city, would you let her?"
"Of course not!" says Ty Lee, her eyes wide.
"Most people in this world are dogs. They crave discipline. They aren't happy unless they're put in their place. They want to be like all the other dogs, and know how they fit into the pack." She lifts her shoulders in an elegant shrug. "We're different from them."
"Oh, no, Azula, don't say that!" Ty Lee's giggle is nervous, her cheeks flushed. "I'm not like you, that's silly! You're the most amazing and smart and powerful girl in the world."
Azula smiles. "That may be," she says. "But the distance between you and me is nothing like what's between you and them." She says the last word as if it were a curse, unfit to pass her lips. "We're dragons. We eat the dogs that don't behave."
Ty Lee glances over at the bed, and Mai looks up from the knife in her hand. For a moment, they hold each other's gazes, and Ty Lee can see the flicker of a question behind Mai's eyes. Both of them remember all it took to earn that "we," and both know how easily they could lose it again. Azula's favor is precious, and Ty Lee holds it close to her heart.
Mai lowers her eyes, and Ty Lee looks out the window again to watch the smoke as it drifts. She has two sisters, now, in spirit if not in blood. Together, they stand apart from the world.
***
Author: ali_wildgoose
Pairing: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Azula's favor is precious, and Ty Lee holds it close to her heart.
Note: Written for the atla_ladyfest! Many thanks to jlh for the super-quick beta.
***
Ty Lee has six sisters - three sets of twins, one before and two following her own birth. Once grown out of their babyhood, all seven of them look identical to those outside their family, and the astonished wives of visiting governors wonder at how their mother could have carried so many new lives in her womb at once. She laughs kindly and explains, as if she has not had to do so countless times over the years.
Her girls are a charming curiosity at court, cheerful and outgoing but always so well-behaved, always knowing exactly how much to say and how broadly to smile, when to laugh and when to sit quietly with their hands in their laps. They each learn a different instrument, and their small concerts delight their parent's friends. They embroider flowers on rich silks; sketch trees and classical landscapes with ink and brush. They are cultured and accomplished and perfectly uniform. They move through the house in a tight little knot of sisterhood, giggling and whispering to each other as their parents smile indulgently. To the world, they are a matched set - a row of dolls on the shelf, to be taken down and admired.
When there is no one to perform for, the girls drift apart to their own corners of the garden, absorbed in their separate pursuits. But even then, the twins stay close to one another, slipping into the private language of those who entered the world as one. They build castles from twigs and leaves, weave flowers into crowns and place them on each other's heads, concoct elaborate fantasies in which they are kidnapped by Earthbender bandits and rescued by handsome princes in gilt armor. Ty Lee goes to find a patch of soft grass and practices her tumbling, her small body hurtling through the air. She practices until her skin is slick with sweat and her limbs tremble from exhaustion; until her braid is half-undone and grass stains are ground into her clothes. The twins murmur behind their hands and watch her with wide, gray eyes. When their mother scolds her later, they stand and listen and press their lips together, their own tunics crisp and perfect.
Ty Lee has six sisters, but among them she is alone.
***
The celebration for Princess Azula's sixth birthday is a lavish affair. Every girl her age from an acceptable lineage is invited, though most are strangers to her and to each other. Children this young rarely socialize outside of close friends of their family, but Lady Ursa seems more concerned with finding companionship for her daughter than worrying overmuch about such conventions.
Ty Lee and her sisters are put in their best robes and told to behave. Ty Lee, in particular, is reminded that young ladies keep their feet on the ground and their hands out of the dirt.
Azula has many attendants, of course, but it's Ursa who herds them all out into the sunshine, beaming as they exclaim over the long table that has been laid with tea and plates of sweet buns. She organizes games of "four seasons" and "catching seven pieces," and soon the walled garden rings with laughter and the cheerful arguments of play. Ursa moves between the circles of children, crouching down to settle disputes and to ask the names of those girls she has not met before.
Ty Lee is very good at games. Her nimble fingers toss a little bag of rice into the air, snatch the next from the ground and catch the first with no trouble at all. Soon all seven bags are in her palm and the other girls are frowning, not bothering to disguise their irritation at her skill.
Her sisters are playing a game all their own, uninterested in the company of outsiders. They would let her join if she asked, but today she doesn't want to. Instead, she waits until the adults are occupied and then slips around the edge of the turtleduck pond, through a clump of bushes to the small clearing beyond. There's just enough room for cartwheels, and the damp grass feels good between her fingers.
When she hears movement in the bushes, she rights herself quickly and straightens her clothes, her smile a well-practiced balance of friendliness and blank cheer.
Princess Azula emerges from the greenery and narrows her eyes in suspicion. Behind her stands a tall, sullen girl whose name Ty Lee does not yet know. "What are you doing here?" Azula asks, the question itself a command to answer.
"Playing," says Ty Lee. Then, "Your highness," because her mother had told her that was important.
Azula frowns at her thoughtfully, and Ty Lee feels as if she's being looked through - a scroll pulled open and examined. "What can you do?" Azula asks finally, arms crossed over her chest.
"Do?"
"I can Firebend and I can tell if people are lying," says Azula. She points to her friend. "Mai can throw darts and move without anyone seeing her." She arches her fine eyebrows. "So what can you do?"
Ty Lee considers the question. She can sew and play the flute and recite classical poetry, but so can any noble girl her age. She can sense, even then, that the princess has no patience for ordinary. "I can do three cartwheels in a row," she says. "And I can walk on my hands, even up and down stairs."
Azula's smile is sharp and hungry. "Show me."
***
The Earth King's chambers are an extravagant prison, his perfect isolation as important as his comfort in the eyes of men like Long Feng. Now that he is gone, whisked away by the broken remains of the Avatar's forces, Azula turns his quarters' purpose on its head. They are as well-suited to keeping out unwanted company as they are to containing a King, and the latter is of no concern to her. She knows that no man in this city can hold her; that none would dare besides.
Every window faces the same courtyard, a private garden at the heart the palace. Ty Lee sits beside one, now, watching moonlight glint off the scales of koi and the dew-damp leaves of trees. She can only see a narrow strip of sky, but she watches that, as well. For the last two nights a cloud has risen above the tiled rooftops - thick smoke tinged red with reflected fire. The hot, summer breezes smell of ash.
Ty Lee rests her chin in one hand. "It's kind of strange," she says. "I didn't think they'd be so helpful."
"Who?" asks Mai. She is lying on the bed a short distance away, one knife balanced on the end of her finger as she stares up at the ceiling.
"The Dai Li." Ty Lee frowns a little, chewing on her lip. "I mean, of course the smarter ones would know that things are better this way. But it's weird that none of them fought back, isn't it?"
"You give them too much credit," says Azula. She rises from her seat on the couch and pads across the room, toward the window where Ty Lee is perched. "They aren't even men, really. They're dogs. They need to be told what to do."
Mai chuckles as she sits up. "You have them trained pretty well."
"Think about it, Ty Lee," Azula continues, her hand on the window frame. "If an Earth Kingdom princess tried to convince you to burn down our city, would you let her?"
"Of course not!" says Ty Lee, her eyes wide.
"Most people in this world are dogs. They crave discipline. They aren't happy unless they're put in their place. They want to be like all the other dogs, and know how they fit into the pack." She lifts her shoulders in an elegant shrug. "We're different from them."
"Oh, no, Azula, don't say that!" Ty Lee's giggle is nervous, her cheeks flushed. "I'm not like you, that's silly! You're the most amazing and smart and powerful girl in the world."
Azula smiles. "That may be," she says. "But the distance between you and me is nothing like what's between you and them." She says the last word as if it were a curse, unfit to pass her lips. "We're dragons. We eat the dogs that don't behave."
Ty Lee glances over at the bed, and Mai looks up from the knife in her hand. For a moment, they hold each other's gazes, and Ty Lee can see the flicker of a question behind Mai's eyes. Both of them remember all it took to earn that "we," and both know how easily they could lose it again. Azula's favor is precious, and Ty Lee holds it close to her heart.
Mai lowers her eyes, and Ty Lee looks out the window again to watch the smoke as it drifts. She has two sisters, now, in spirit if not in blood. Together, they stand apart from the world.
***