Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or dialogue from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don't make any profit from writing this story.

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Father seemed distant lately. He seldom spoke to her outside of firebending lessons and more than once she had to practice on her own when he claimed to be busy. She refused to let any of the royal firebenders near her, they would only hinder her progress, and even Zuzu was never to be found when she needed someone to practice on.

Mother always came to watch her though and her smile and encouraging words were helpful, even if Azula would never admit it to anyone. It was Mother she missed the most while she was away at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Mother, who was raised by peasants, could never tolerate ladies of the court and the two of them spent endless hours in Azula's room mocking their inane chatter and trivial ambitions.

Ty Lee and Mai were alright though. All the other girls tried to get on her good side at first, until she taught them better. She would not let anyone use her to elevate their family, not that Father would ever be influenced by someone's child being her 'friend'.

Ty Lee, on the other hand, was friendly with everyone even though most students and teachers despised her obviously flawed heritage. It was easy to deal with anyone who dared to taunt the girl. They should have asked Azula's permission first after all.

Mai always seemed indifferent and never approached anyone, not even Azula. While Ty Lee showed her proper respect ever since that first day, Mai was impertinent and had to be taught a lesson like the others. But the girl never made a sound and never showed anyone her burn afterwards only letting Ty Lee wrap it up, so Azula let her join their group too.

But her Academy days were over and now she and Zuko were having another firebending lesson with Father. He had them doing the same katas in perfect sync over and over again. It was strange experience for Azula but to her surprise Zuzu kept up and his orange flames burned as brightly as her blue ones did. Finally, father made a motion for them to stop and they finished perfectly with a spin, crouch and a long burst of fire. Father's face was impassive.

"You may go, Azula," he said. "Prince Zuko, your lesson is not over."

Zuko bowed and stepped aside to let Azula pass. She hesitated.

"May I stay, Father?"

"No." Father's voice held hidden warning. Azula bowed too, keeping her anger and disappointment inside, and retreated. Everything had changed. How could Father choose Zuko over her? She was better, smarter and more powerful than her brother.

Maybe Mother would have the answer. She was the only one Azula could trust now.

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Ty Lee tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't because her cot was uncomfortable – it was, but she slept on worse. It wasn't because of the pain in her chained leg and the rest of her body – she knew how to deal with pain. It wasn't even because of the water tribe man they put in her cell. He turned out to be alright – despite all the stories she heard about his kind, all savages, murderers and rapists, according to her sister. He never told her his name, but she didn't expect him to. He looked a lot like the cute guy who traveled with the Avatar, but much older. She didn't tell him her name either – no reason to risk it in case he heard about her.

But how could she sleep in this cage? It was so small, barely three steps across and the ceiling would not even allow her to jump without hitting her head. There was no window to let sunlight in, the air was stale and the food was terrible. She couldn't stay here for long – she would go mad!

She so hoped Mai would be able to do something. She remembered seeing her in the throne room earlier, but not much else. She was weak and delirious at the time. She probably said something stupid because she could remember Mai looking scared. She also thought she heard Fire Lord saying something about getting rid of Azula, but it was probably her imagination. Everyone knew Azula was the crown princess and it's not like Fire Lord had any more children to spare. She didn't know if Azula would try to free her though when she returned. So far princess had never argued with her father.

Ty Lee sighed. She hoped her family was alright at least. Most times they managed to forget she ever existed and that was fine with her. But last she heard her father went missing somewhere in the colonies and she didn't get the chance to visit and find out how everyone else was doing.

She almost fell asleep when suddenly the lock started rattling. The door opened to reveal a young woman in an officer's uniform who was flanked by two men – soldiers, not prison guards. The woman had short brown hair, thin lips and a menacing looking eye-patch. Ty Lee's eyes widened and she scrambled away from the door until her back met a wall.

The woman stepped into their cell and sneered down on the water tribe man who was already awake. The man rose to his feet and looked calmly at the officer. Her eye narrowed and Ty Lee tried to squeak a warning, but she was too late – the woman suddenly threw a fist engulfed by fire in the man's face. He was able to dodge the punch but not the kick that followed. He hit a wall and lay there breathing heavily. Ty Lee winced in sympathy – his back was probably killing him right now, as it didn't have time to heal properly.

"Question him and then take him to the infirmary," ordered the woman. "Fire Lord wants him alive for now." The soldiers bowed and dragged her cell mate away.

The woman closed the door and motioned for Ty Lee to stand. She did so, cautiously. She didn't know what to expect.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble, little monkey," said Toshi and opened her arms. Ty Lee darted forward and clung to her sister with all her strength, feeling tears in her eyes. It was the first time Tosh hugged her since she was a baby and it felt wonderful.

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A/N: Yes, I'm changing some things about Ty Lee's family, even though we don't know much about them to begin with. Come on, there can't be six sisters who are exactly alike.