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Fault

They all think different of her, but most of them are right in thinking what they do.

The acrobat thinks she's broken and it's probably true. The prince thinks she's lying and that's probably true too. The warrior thinks she's dangerous and that's true. The chosen thinks she's a monster and that's definitely true. The blind thinks she's hurt, but there aren't any wounds, so she doesn't understand (it's probably still true). The healer thinks it's not her fault.

The healer is stupid.

(It's all her fault, just ask her mother.)

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Happily Ever After

Once, and only once, he asked the prince, her brother, about her. She was that girl who seemed like a monster but managed such grace/poise/dignity/replication-of-humanity in her step. He asked if she had ever been anything but the creature of hate and fire and destruction that they knew.

The boy laughed, "Once upon a time, perhaps she could've been something else, but now she's that person."

The other sees the itch of pain across his eyes at 'once upon a time' because he had lived long enough to see every kind of pain (that was a lie. You can't hide your feeling from the earth). He catches the hitch in breath that could, just could be pity for the devil.

"One time, she asked me if we could have a happily ever after. I told her that people like us—" (people like them: killers, warriors, monsters, monsters) "—don't get them like the saints do, not real, true ones. I warned her"

He chokes on the bitter taste of irony, "She thought I was lying, but that's her job."

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Fault, II.

Her uncles begs, "Princess, Princess, it's not too lat—" but it is, it's always been too late. Too late to save her mother and it's far too late to save her grandfather and now it's too late to save Zuko, too. She doesn't mind nearly as much as she knows she should. Just another pawn gone and another station moved up—she'll be Fire Lord sooner this way.

"It's far too late to save Zuko, uncle," she states, coldly, standing on the loading deck of a very find ship, overseeing the preparation of her exiled brother's ship, "his ship is already packe—"

"Not Zuko, child, youself!" She chokes on nothing in particular. She doesn't need saving, but he goes on, "It's not to late: have your redemption in your mother eyes by saving your brother. It's not too late to—"

"You would've tries yourself if possibly, besides, why would I possibly want him around—to get in the way?" she laughs.

"It's not your fault your like this, Azula, he molded you, but save your brother and find your heart."

Azula smiles and, if only for a moment, Iroh hopes, "Didn't you listen to my mother, uncle? It's all my fault, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

She turns to leave as the last of the supplies are hauled onto the ship.

"Send Zuko my good wishes for a fun trip."

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NOTES:

1. 4/1/09: Fixing up all old fanfiction.

2. Ty Lee, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Toph, Katara: that's the order of people thinking about Azula in the first one, in case you were wondering.