We're All Mad Here

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender nor do I own any of its characters

Chapter 1: A Smiling Boy

She ran, her bare feet paddling against the wet ground. She didn't care. Funny how a few months in prison would change your preferences drastically.

A few months ago, she wouldn't have run without the most expensive shoes there is. Heck, as the new fire lord, she wouldn't need to run at all—she would just sit in her throne room and give orders. But now, after the Avatar took her father's fire bending, after Zuko's betrayal…

…and after her humiliating defeat.

She is now, without a doubt, a wanted fugitive not just in the fire nation but also in other parts of the world as well, at least until they find out she escaped. This is why she can't stop for anything. Not to rest her aching feet, not to satisfy her aching stomach and not to relieve her parched throat.

Azula is sure that it'll be quite some time before they realize that she's gone. She's left, in her place, a very convincing doll replica of herself made out of piles of rocks and a collection of dried leaves. All of which were covered by a dirty blanket. She's made it a habit of not talking and not eating in the cell so as not to arouse suspicion when she left. So yes, she's planned her entire escape since the first minute she stepped into that hell hole.

Still panting, the dethroned princess allowed herself to smirk a little through all her pain. Did they really think a pair of regular handcuffs would seal her blue fire bending? How hilarious! Those metal handcuffs were designed to suppress orange flames not the stronger blue flames. It took some work but she was able to produce enough heat to bend the metal bars to get herself through and reshape it so that it looks like she never left at all.

She looked back from where she came. Already, she has no idea where she is. She's in the middle of a forest in the middle of scenic nowhere. She's been running non-stop for over 5 hours now (she may not have eaten for quite some time but her training certainly gave her enough stamina going through her to make her run for an entire day). As of now, she is probably far off the main capital and into one of the mountainous, unpopulated regions of the kingdom.

The heavy rains should help cover her tracks but her luck is running out. Already, she feels tired, dizzy and weak. Months of not eating is finally taking their toll on her.

"Dammit!" she cursed as she felt herself lurching forward, her vision blurring and, before she knew it, everything turned black.

Tea…it smells like jasmine tea…

She knows a person who loves tea, General Iroh…which means…

Panicked, she sat up, her head instantly throbbing. She looked around, expecting to find the dreary scenery of the dungeon. Instead, she found that she is in the middle of a grand, four poster bed, white curtains decorates the four posts. White and silver silk bed sheets cover her from the waist down…

"Ah, you're awake" a voice called from the doorway. Azula turned around and she found herself looking at an unfamiliar face.

She is looking at a boy-a good looking boy for that matter-around the same age as her. He has dark hair that, in regular lighting looks like black—but under the direct sunlight seeping through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, she can clearly see that it is dark red with a hint of brown and it is messy, clumps of it sticking in almost all directions in a very beautiful way. His bangs fall past his eyes and some curl at the sides of his face. His eyes are light gold, so light that it looks like neon yellow under the bright morning light. He is wearing a set of clothes similar to that of a Bang Sing Se noble resident—Chinese high collar with the shirt being closed with thin ropes and extending towards the ground, covering most of the bearer's trouser—except that it is white and gray instead of Green. His lips are thin and nicely shaped into a small 'M' curving at the edges to form a delicate smile…

"I hope you like Jasmine tea" he interrupted her thoughts once more as he brought her a tray filled with food and a steaming cup of tea. "It's the only plant I have in abundance that can be made into a decent drink"

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously, her golden eyes narrowing towards him. He may be cute but the fire lord (or should-be fire lord) won't let her guard down for some cute smiling, stranger in the middle of nowhere.

He set the tray of food down on her lap and sat at the edge of the bed. He looked at her directly in the eye, his eyes, though soft, seem to cut through her like a razor sharp knife. "That seems like a rude way to address someone who saved you" his smile is still plastered on his lips.

"Save me?"

He nodded "I found you lying in the middle of the forest the other night. The rains were heavy and if I'd left you as you were, you would not have made it"

Azula blushed a little…who would've thought that a fire bending prodigy such as herself would be turned into a damsel in distress. Wait? The other night? How long has she been unconscious?

"For the sake of decency…" he interrupted her thoughts for the third time. "…I did not take off your clothes. I just put a really thick coat on top of it"

She looked down on herself and found out that it is true. Although she has a thick coat wrapped around her, the ragged clothes she wore in prison still clung tightly around her.

"How long was I out? You said you saw me the other night" her voice was ragged and parched so she took the cup of tea and drank from it. She couldn't help it; a relieved sigh escaped her lips as the warm, tasty liquid ran down her throat. If this kid is as innocent as he looks, then maybe she can fool him into letting her stay here for a couple of days. Her time in prison drastically changed the way she looks and with her messy hair, no one will be able to recognize that she is princess Azula—the one that should be locked away in prison.

"Hmm…" he gave some thought into it "…I just saw you the other night and you were out the entire day yesterday and it's almost noon so I would say about a day and a half"

She nodded absentmindedly "Do you think your parents would mind if I stay here for a little while?" she tried to put on her best innocent act.

He laughed a little at that "I don't have any parents anymore"

"Oh, sorry about that…" who would've thought playing nice and innocent would be so difficult.

"It's okay…" he beamed at her as he stood up and headed for the door. He turned to her, his smile still plastered on his face "…you can stay here as long as you like…princess Azula"

To be continued

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