First Year
Reign of Fire Lord Zuko
Outskirts of the Capital City
Imperial Sanatorium
Morning, the following day
"Do you actually have any formal qualifications?"
Though the tone of Princess Azula's chief physician is condescending, it only takes me a fraction of a second to assure myself that he is guided by his concern… Not exactly for his patient, but certainly for the good conduct of his offices. He thinks that I may be a fraudster, but am more likely just a well-intentioned waste of time and the fact that he has been ordered to put up with me offends his sense of order.
After her defeat, Princess Azula was held in a.. specialist prison, close to the capital. Given the risks of a potential military coup using her as a figurehead, the decision was taken to move her to somewhere a little more remote. It is true that imprisonment seldom has a healthy effect on the minds of those who undergo it, but I'm sure that Princess Azula simply regards this as her brother trying to get her out of the way. Out of sight. Out of mind.
We're walking through the corridors now to the place where I will be granted my audience. As a highly skilled fire bender -a curious descriptor which apparently indicates that she possesses an innate ability to manipulate both fire and electricity- keeping her somewhere she doesn't want to stay is no easy matter. The rooms she is kept in are lined with high pressure hoses and whenever she is taken out of them she is chained hand and foot, particular physical actions apparently being required to activate her abilities.
"I am the spiritual leader of my order, my learned friend." Still true, though I am no longer the only member to have attained enlightenment. "Though it is true that my medical knowledge is fairly basic-" Though quite possibly more advanced than his. The people here are essentially Human after all. "-I have decades of experience in counselling people with.. similar backgrounds to the Princess."
A slight narrowing of the eyes. "Hmm." Ah, I just confirmed myself as someone who scrounges off aristocrats. If only he knew. From the brief glimpse I got yesterday it was clear to me that Princess Azula is in a bad way, but not more so that those poor souls who were once held in the Blue Cells on Maltus. I am an old hand at undoing the harm that can be caused by orange light exposure, literal or metaphorical. Now, even Larfleeze is.. nearly a fully functioning member of society.
We approach a door, and the guards standing by it open it at a nod from the doctor. Outside is a.. courtyard, a flame-blackened stone area in the centre surrounded by mostly recovered grass and edged by a flowering border. In the stone area, one heavy stone bench has metal rings set into it, designed to have manacles attached to them. Looking up, I see several guards dressed in blue Inuit-themed clothing… Ah, those would be water benders. A.. necessary precaution, I suppose.
"Sit down there-" The doctor indicates a seat on the opposite side of the stone area. "-and don't approach her. She'll be brought out in a few moments. The Fire Lord has sent you here, and I suppose I should tolerate one priest. But if I think for a moment your presence impedes her recovery-."
"Please, my learned friend. Such hostility is not necessary. If I am impeding her recovery, I will leave myself with no prompting required. My sole desire -and that of the spirit I serve- is to help her."
A combination of my own obsequiousness and the fact that he actually can't get rid of someone who has the authorisation of the Fire Lord to be here appears to placate him. "Very well." He turns, and heads back towards the door.
Taking a moment to arrange my robes, I sit myself on the bench indicated. Now, whereabouts..? Ah, of course. The chaotic tangle of orange that is Princess Azula's soul stands out clearly from her surroundings. Despite her angry and violent outbursts there actually isn't a lot of red, not inside. Plenty on the surface, a common enough response from people who believe that the world should be one way and are forcibly confronted with the fact that it is actually another. The buzzing mess appears to be in accordance with some of the descriptions of their upbringing Fire Lord Zuko gave me yesterday, as well as the more recent information the young lady Ty Lee was able to provide. Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her actual brain. I'm actually feeling a little optimistic.
The door on the far side of the courtyard opens and Princess Azula is pushed through first. The guards behind her have some sort of staff attached to the chains around her torso and use them to push her along while staying out of arms reach. Or what arms reach would be if her arms weren't bound, folded across her chest and chained together. The Princess herself… A few bruises, and I think they're feeding her a weak herbal sedative. Compared to the portrait I saw yesterday her hair is much shorter, most likely shorn due to the impracticality of keeping it in good condition due to her violent outbursts. Her eyes go to me first, then disregard me, flicking from place to place as she tries to spot potential attackers or escape routes.
Cautiously, the guards with the staffs manoeuvre her in front of the bench opposite me. She doesn't bother giving more than token resistance. Enough to remind them that she is a threat, but not enough to provoke a strong response. They push a little and she sits, not deigning to look at them as two other guards scurry in and one by one hurriedly transfer her bindings to the bench and then detach the staves. Their task complete, they pull back to the far wall to wait.
Without rising, I bow, my hands clasped to my chest. "Highness. It is an honour to meet you."
Her body is turned slightly to her left, indicating as best she can that I am unworthy of being in her presence. She regards me from the corner of her eyes, taking in my robes and trying to work out who or what I am. After a moment she returns her gaze to directly in front of her. "Are you supposed to be an air bender?"
"No, highness. I am a.. sage, one familiar with the ways of the spirits."
"I am not possessed." She snarls, but she doesn't look at me.
"I know, highness. But I do have some small insight into Human behaviour which I believe may.. help you."
She snorts. "Haven't you heard? I'm a monster."
"Oh, I don't believe that for a moment, highness."
Immediately her head snaps in my direction. "You should."
"No, highness. Though -please don't misunderstand- I'm sure that you believe it. And I'm sure that if you could right now you would gladly kill both me and everyone else here." A small sneering smile appears on her lips. "You're affirming your identity as a monster because it's the only freedom left to you."
She rolls her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"The people who surround you every day these days want you to behave in the ways they consider conducive to good order. By opposing that in a way you consider consistent with your nature, you are able to protect your ego. The fact is, monsters aren't capable of learning the degree of self control you.. were famous for."
"My mother disagreed with you."
"I think your physician does as well. But that doesn't mean they're right."
"Ty Lee and Mai think I'm a monster."
"That's three people you've named whose opinions matter to you. A monster wouldn't care like that."
"So tell me about this total fantasy non-monster version of me who lives in your head."
I smile. "Alright then. At a young age, she showed great talent at fire bending. As a result, her father showed her particular favour and as a dutiful daughter she strove to keep him happy. She focused on her studies, trying with all her might to make him proud of her. Because… Wasn't that what she was supposed to do? And he in turn showered her with… Not affection, exactly. But he demonstrated pride as she got stronger, and made a particular point of encouraging certain behaviours which he believed useful. Viciousness, so that she'd push away all confidants but him. Cruelty, so that none would dare cross her. Aggression and assertiveness and a sort of domineering charisma. Useful traits for a Fire Nation noble. Her mother turned from her in horror, but that was fine. After all, she had her father."
"And when her brother failed to capture the Avatar so hard that an entire fleet was destroyed, she left the Fire Nation and took over the mission from him. Though she didn't quite manage to kill him, she did capture the Earth Kingdom's capital through stealth and guile and returned home in triumph. And when her brother betrayed her country, that was fine. She didn't think much of him anyway. Now her father would only have her!"
"And her friends turned from her, but that was alright, because she was doing what her father wanted. And they were traitors and they had to be dealt with as such. And then she came back to the palace to be told that she was to be made Fire Lord! The pay off had finally arrived." I smile. "All that pain, all that suffering, all that hard work, and here was the reward." My face falls. "An empty title as he promoted himself to King of the World, showing not the slightest regard for all of her efforts."
Her eyes are locked forwards, unseeing. She's shaking slightly. "You built your identity, your concept of the good, around a man who cared for you not at all. You pushed away everyone -just like you were supposed to- and you were left with nothing. And fixing that is what I am here to help you with."
