Absolute power, absolutely [fic]
Title: Absolute power, absolutely
Author: shadowbyrd
Rating: PG - 13
Fandom: Avatar; The Last Airbender
Word Count: 1128
Summary: An AU in which Azula geta her hands on a very useful scroll, unfortunaately for Zuko. Unfortunately for Azula the stronger she becomes, the more vulnerable she seems to be.
Azula has never cared much for history. It has its uses, certainly, allowing one to follow the political intrigues of yesteryear, understand how battles were won and lost, but she doesn't spend any more time on it than she needs to. It's pure chance that she come across the scrolls.
Zuko was never one for history either - not after Mother disappeared. Azula’s curious to know what it was that interested him in Fire Lord Sozin’s death to the point he’d go down to the archives in the middle of the night.
She’s looking through the disturbed scrolls when she finds it. When she realises what it is she forgets all about Zuzu skulking down the halls like a thief in the night. She stares for a long time at the diagrams of the various stances, breaking the katas down move by move, before sitting down to study it in full.
When she emerges in the mid-morning, exhausted but triumphant, she's faintly satisfied to find that the servants started to panic and began a search in her absence. Unlike her older brother their people worry if Azula goes missing. She matters.
She instructs the head guard to send her any Firebenders he feels are need of discipline. She'll probably only have one chance to do this and she needs to make sure that she gets it right. She wants to be able to choose whether or not she kills. Especially when she finally comes up against her brother. She wants him to live in the knowledge that she could have killed him had she wanted to, to know that he would have been dead, that he should be dead, even as he watches the traitors he thinks are his friends die before him.
She doesn’t mention her new training to her father. It’s not that she’s scared of him - she just doesn’t want to disappoint him, that’s all. She wants to make sure she’s got it right before she shows him. And the longer he knows about her new technique the more time he will have to wary and suspicious of her. After all, family cannot be above suspicion, especially not given how their family - their father gained power. She must show it’s use, and her loyalty.
As it happens, she and her brother cross paths long before she's ready. But she's practiced so long, trained so hard - she wants to be able to show him this power, to flaunt it; wants him to know the heights of power that she's reached, doing things that even the Avatar can't do.
She awakens later in the palace feeling weak and nauseous. Her father stands at her bedside and commends her on this new skill, chiding her that she didn't tell him of it.
She learns that Zuko is still alive. Just barely. Her father commands her to do better next time. But the technique - “Energybending” her father calls it - prevents him from reproaching her too much.
Azula says nothing throughout their interview. She doesn't tell him that she never intended to kill Zuko, or what she saw, how terrible it felt, trying to pull the fire from him for good.
It hurt her. Not the flames that she tried to pry from her brother, but knowing that this could be done to her. That the scrolls exits to teach someone else do to this. And she's a worthy target now; not just Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, but the first fire bender, the first bender in living memory to completely remove another’s bending ability.
And whoever would do it would work to make sure they simply removed her bending - she wouldn't be killed. Her enemies would be too keen to see her suffer for that.
It wasn’t supposed to do this - gaining more power was supposed to make her invulnerable, make her feel safer. So why doesn’t it?
She lies in bed, not making a sound, thinking about how fragile her brother's soul was, there in her hands. How fragile her soul might be in another's hands. She curls up on herself, unable even to take comfort in the fact that, whatever may happen, even Zuko were somehow able to overthrow her, he’ll never have the throne. Their people would never accept a ruler who had allowed their Firebending to be taken from them.
*
She keeps up her training, determined to perfect her new signature move. The guards and soldiers around the palace regard her with renewed fear. She can’t wring the same satisfaction from this as she used to; this fear is not tempered with reverence as is proper. She feels curiously uneasy to turn her back on them.
She can already see the suspicion begin to sharpen in her father’s eyes; there is an imbalance of power in the family now. However useful her new bending may prove, as long as she’s alive she’s a risk to him, unless he were to studying the scrolls for himself.
She will not be done away with, not like Zuko. She’s better than him and she’ll prove it if it kills her.
People have always suspected Mai of being power hungry; her parents are notorious in certain, private circles of the court for their lofty notions and it would not take much to convince people that Mai’s attachment to Zuko was part of their plans. If the scroll were to be found in their possession…
By the time the guards have been alerted the scroll has already been reduced to a smouldering pile of ashes on Mai’s bedroom floor, along with a number of incriminating letters between her and her parents.
It’s a shame to do away with Mai - she was a decent friend, very capable, and ever since the execution Ty Lee’s started looking at the same way the guards do. Except that it’s Ty Lee, and so she’s disgusting obvious about it. It’s starting to have an effect on her performance as a body guard. Azula makes a note to find a replacement when she has the time; she is heir apparent to the throne of the Fire Nation, the only known Energybender.
When it comes to her safety she cannot make do with second best.
*
It’s a shock when the Avatar attacks with Zuko in tow.
Under the clothes and the scar Azula barely recognises her older brother; his katas are completely different, his movements more fluid and lyrical.
She has removed his Firebending. What none of them realised is that she had replaced it with something else.
She notes dispassionately that next to the Avatar his Airbending is rudimentary at best - shown up by a twelve-year-old child. But for the life of her she cannot laugh at him for it.
Author: shadowbyrd
Rating: PG - 13
Fandom: Avatar; The Last Airbender
Word Count: 1128
Summary: An AU in which Azula geta her hands on a very useful scroll, unfortunaately for Zuko. Unfortunately for Azula the stronger she becomes, the more vulnerable she seems to be.
Azula has never cared much for history. It has its uses, certainly, allowing one to follow the political intrigues of yesteryear, understand how battles were won and lost, but she doesn't spend any more time on it than she needs to. It's pure chance that she come across the scrolls.
Zuko was never one for history either - not after Mother disappeared. Azula’s curious to know what it was that interested him in Fire Lord Sozin’s death to the point he’d go down to the archives in the middle of the night.
She’s looking through the disturbed scrolls when she finds it. When she realises what it is she forgets all about Zuzu skulking down the halls like a thief in the night. She stares for a long time at the diagrams of the various stances, breaking the katas down move by move, before sitting down to study it in full.
When she emerges in the mid-morning, exhausted but triumphant, she's faintly satisfied to find that the servants started to panic and began a search in her absence. Unlike her older brother their people worry if Azula goes missing. She matters.
She instructs the head guard to send her any Firebenders he feels are need of discipline. She'll probably only have one chance to do this and she needs to make sure that she gets it right. She wants to be able to choose whether or not she kills. Especially when she finally comes up against her brother. She wants him to live in the knowledge that she could have killed him had she wanted to, to know that he would have been dead, that he should be dead, even as he watches the traitors he thinks are his friends die before him.
She doesn’t mention her new training to her father. It’s not that she’s scared of him - she just doesn’t want to disappoint him, that’s all. She wants to make sure she’s got it right before she shows him. And the longer he knows about her new technique the more time he will have to wary and suspicious of her. After all, family cannot be above suspicion, especially not given how their family - their father gained power. She must show it’s use, and her loyalty.
As it happens, she and her brother cross paths long before she's ready. But she's practiced so long, trained so hard - she wants to be able to show him this power, to flaunt it; wants him to know the heights of power that she's reached, doing things that even the Avatar can't do.
She awakens later in the palace feeling weak and nauseous. Her father stands at her bedside and commends her on this new skill, chiding her that she didn't tell him of it.
She learns that Zuko is still alive. Just barely. Her father commands her to do better next time. But the technique - “Energybending” her father calls it - prevents him from reproaching her too much.
Azula says nothing throughout their interview. She doesn't tell him that she never intended to kill Zuko, or what she saw, how terrible it felt, trying to pull the fire from him for good.
It hurt her. Not the flames that she tried to pry from her brother, but knowing that this could be done to her. That the scrolls exits to teach someone else do to this. And she's a worthy target now; not just Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, but the first fire bender, the first bender in living memory to completely remove another’s bending ability.
And whoever would do it would work to make sure they simply removed her bending - she wouldn't be killed. Her enemies would be too keen to see her suffer for that.
It wasn’t supposed to do this - gaining more power was supposed to make her invulnerable, make her feel safer. So why doesn’t it?
She lies in bed, not making a sound, thinking about how fragile her brother's soul was, there in her hands. How fragile her soul might be in another's hands. She curls up on herself, unable even to take comfort in the fact that, whatever may happen, even Zuko were somehow able to overthrow her, he’ll never have the throne. Their people would never accept a ruler who had allowed their Firebending to be taken from them.
*
She keeps up her training, determined to perfect her new signature move. The guards and soldiers around the palace regard her with renewed fear. She can’t wring the same satisfaction from this as she used to; this fear is not tempered with reverence as is proper. She feels curiously uneasy to turn her back on them.
She can already see the suspicion begin to sharpen in her father’s eyes; there is an imbalance of power in the family now. However useful her new bending may prove, as long as she’s alive she’s a risk to him, unless he were to studying the scrolls for himself.
She will not be done away with, not like Zuko. She’s better than him and she’ll prove it if it kills her.
People have always suspected Mai of being power hungry; her parents are notorious in certain, private circles of the court for their lofty notions and it would not take much to convince people that Mai’s attachment to Zuko was part of their plans. If the scroll were to be found in their possession…
By the time the guards have been alerted the scroll has already been reduced to a smouldering pile of ashes on Mai’s bedroom floor, along with a number of incriminating letters between her and her parents.
It’s a shame to do away with Mai - she was a decent friend, very capable, and ever since the execution Ty Lee’s started looking at the same way the guards do. Except that it’s Ty Lee, and so she’s disgusting obvious about it. It’s starting to have an effect on her performance as a body guard. Azula makes a note to find a replacement when she has the time; she is heir apparent to the throne of the Fire Nation, the only known Energybender.
When it comes to her safety she cannot make do with second best.
*
It’s a shock when the Avatar attacks with Zuko in tow.
Under the clothes and the scar Azula barely recognises her older brother; his katas are completely different, his movements more fluid and lyrical.
She has removed his Firebending. What none of them realised is that she had replaced it with something else.
She notes dispassionately that next to the Avatar his Airbending is rudimentary at best - shown up by a twelve-year-old child. But for the life of her she cannot laugh at him for it.