Hi everyone. This has been a story that's been swimming around in my head for quite some time, and I've decided to put it up here on to see how people like it. The story's main pairing isn't one you would often see around the ATLA ff archives, but I hope you'll give it a chance, so please read on and remember to review to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

As a heads up, this story will be updated every Saturday (GMT+8) so I can take some time to develop each chapter over the week.

Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA or any of its characters.

Finding My Way

1

For a fleeting moment, she had the world at her feet.

For a moment, she was infinite. She was the daughter of the great Fire Lord Ozai, the princess of the Fire Nation—Azula of the Sapphire Flame, the firebending prodigy everyone acknowledged, feared and respected—but her titles lost their meaning the day she lost to her first and last Agni Kai with the banished prince. No, perhaps it happened even earlier than that. Perhaps she had begun to lose her control the day Ty Lee and Mai turned their backs on her. Or maybe, she never had control at all. She couldn't even have her mother's love, and used firebending to impress her own father, so she would become his favorite while Zuko was loved and cared for every minute, every second of his life—

The sapphire flames escaped from her mouth as she let out a cry of pure hatred and anguish, searing the space where the faces of the people she hated should be. Her fists were clenched so tightly, her own nails sunk into her skin. But the pain could be ignored. There was no greater pain than the pain of betrayal, loss and helplessness. Even her blood burned as it trickled down her hands and wrists, falling in little droplets onto the concrete floor. Everything burned inside her. Everything inside her yearned to die, but no one would give her the pleasure of dying and escaping her life sentence.

"Kill me," she muttered under her breath. Hearing her own voice so weak and soft and so very unlike the woman she used to be brought tears to her eyes as she hung her head, even though she knew that no one could see her. "Kill me, please…"

The pleading in her voice was so pathetic. How long had she been like this? She couldn't remember. The day she was admitted into this place seemed so long ago, and yet, she didn't feel any different. The scars and marks of her defeat still haunted her every night. Her dreams replayed her last Agni Kai with Zuko and the girl from the Water Tribe, showed Ozai's face twisting into that of a dragon's, his words cutting into her heart like a steel blade, and ultimately gave her illusions of her mother's love, illusions that shattered like her world did when she awoke every morning.

All she had left were her own failures and losses, while Fire Lord Zuko lived his life hiding the fallen princess from the rest of the world. She missed her power, her reign of terror. Even if no one truly loved her, they were still under her control. She had everything in the palm of her hand, and if anyone dared to step out of line, intentionally or not, she would be most demonstrative in terms of showing the rest of her subjects the consequences.

Ruling by fear had its advantages, and she was willing to believe they outweighed the opportunity of being loved. Love was for children, and she wasn't a child anymore. She never was a child, for she was born a woman, born with great power and potential. She didn't need childhood. She didn't need love.

"Azula…" Ursa's voice crept up on her, and the former princess twitched. "My daughter," Ursa whispered, looking at the young woman that was chained to the ground. Azula looked away almost immediately, and closed her eyes tightly.

"Get away from me!" she screamed, "I don't need your pity!"

"You do need me," Ursa said quietly. There was a brief moment of silence and Azula thought her mother had gone again, just like the last time before her coronation, but threw her head back when she felt her mother's fingers stroking her cheek. She didn't need love.

"Get out of here," she hissed, glaring at Ursa, "Go bother little Zuzu instead! He's your favorite."

"Don't talk like that," Ursa pleaded, "You know I love the both of you equa—"

"Shut up!" Azula screamed again, and from her mouth escaped her trademark blue flames, engulfing her own mother. She watched in horror as her mother disappeared in the flames, and felt something else breaking inside her as she let out another anguished cry and stopped fighting her tears, and everything else inside her.

She planned.

Being isolated from the rest of the world had its advantages, and she was willing to take what she could and make the best of it. Every single day she sat in silence in her room, listening to the footsteps of the guards that patrolled the corridors, and took note of when they changed shifts, or when they took a break. It wasn't that hard—the guards usually never whisper, their arrogance blinding them to the fact that Azula was still the same cunning and intelligent prodigy as before. The former princess delighted in their carelessness and slowly gained back whatever was left of her confidence, knowing that soon, freedom would be at hand and true liberation would begin.

She closed her eyes and breathed calmly, feeling the vibrations in the ground. She had always been impressed with that little blind girl—Toph Beifong—and wasn't afraid to admit that her skills would improve her dexterity greatly. It would help in her coming departure from this wretched island. She wished she could see Zuko's face when he finds her room empty, but she decided that seeing him would only make her want to stay and initiate another needless duel—an unnecessary waste of time. She knew he'd also have the Avatar by his side, and she wasn't about to go down that road again and get herself locked up once more.

No, this time, she had to think about her own safety.

Inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, she began watch her surroundings through the eyes her senses gave her.

Feng was a regular man. He was honest, he was hardworking and he was happy that Fire Lord Zuko had trusted him and his men enough to station them in the mental facility that housed the infamous Princess Azula. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't let his nation's leader down, mostly because Azula had been one of the worst people to almost become Fire Lord and Ozai had been a most cold-blooded ruler for a period of time. His family had lived in fear the moment Ozai stepped up to take Azulon's place, so this time, he was sure to treasure the fact that a kinder leader had emerged from the ashes, nearing the end of the Hundred Year War.

He had celebrated so happily with his family when they learnt of Phoenix King Ozai's defeat to the Avatar Aang, and Azula's defeat to her brother, the once banished prince, Zuko and her subsequent mental breakdown. Of course, he wasn't without sympathy. He did feel sorry for the young woman that used to be the gem of the Fire Nation, the firebending prodigy that wowed thousands with her trademark sapphire flames and the princess that could do no wrong. He had heard stories of her loveless childhood, and how she had depended on her skills to impress and find her place as the right hand of her father, all the while believing that Ursa had never loved her.

Feng admitted that he'd understood Azula's emotions once. He never had a great relationship with his father to begin with, and though his mother loved him, his father was always impressed with his older brother. No matter what Feng tried to do to please the man he looked up to, the same eyes always looked away and found his brother instead. He had grown up swearing to be a better man than his father was, and almost lost control of his own marriage when he found the love of his life.

His beautiful wife helped him out of it with her love and patience, and that was where Feng began to feel sorry for the fallen princess. She had no love—she didn't love anyone and no one loved her. She used fear and manipulation to keep people by her side, but everyone knew such bonds were only temporary and extremely fragile, so she truly never knew friendship and genuine love. Feng wondered if the princess had ever felt inclined to open up her heart to someone before, but decided that it was all useless.

The princess was no longer the person she was, and everyone who knew her had already deemed her too mentally unstable for any hope of a proper recovery. These things usually took time, love and an inner spirit that was strong enough to fight such depression and brokenness. Azula had time, but she didn't seem to have the last two things.

What a shame, she would have made a great leader with the right heart and spirit.

He glanced at the afternoon sun and realized that it was time for food to be served to the princess. Usually, he would accompany the attendant that would allow Azula to be free of her chains for the moment, to eat her food and keep a stable diet. He went through the same procedures again today, dreading the look of anger and hatred he would receive from the young woman once they entered the room. She usually never attacked, but when she did, it was usually during breakfast. Feng believed that by the time they visited her in the morning each day, she would have just woken up from a nightmare. The rings around her eyes spoke volumes of how well she rested in this place.

He followed the female attendant to her room and felt for his keys hanging on his belt.

"She's been awfully quiet, hasn't she?" the attendant said suddenly.

Feng raised his eyebrows. He hadn't realized it until that very moment. "You're right," he said thoughtfully, bringing the key towards the door, "Maybe she's thought things through. Maybe she wants to get better now."

"I do hope so," she replied, shrugging, "The Avatar seems awfully concerned about her well-being. I overheard him talking to Fire Lord Zuko the other—"

The loud clatter of the tray echoed along the corridor as the two stood side by side, eyes wide with shock and horror. The silence that followed after was much louder, and Feng found himself wishing that Azula would do something like scream at them and tell them to get lost, if only to fill the silence that eventually filled him with fear and dread.

"The princess is gone. I must tell Fire Lord Zuko."

"…I'm just saying that as her older brother, you need to see her more often and show her concern!"

"And what good would that do, Aang? She hates me. She wanted to kill me—multiple times."

Aang let out a groan of frustration and fell back against the grass. He had taken a day off with Zuko in hopes of convincing him to pay Azula a visit after hearing rumors that her condition worsened while being locked up in the mental facility on the island just off the coast of the Fire Nation. At first, he found the idea of isolating her where she could hurt no one a good suggestion, but afterwards he realized that maybe keeping her locked up with no one to talk to was just about the worst idea to do to someone like her. Aang didn't know much about Azula, but he'd heard enough from Zuko and Iroh and was ultimately convinced that even she wasn't beyond saving—not yet, at least. She wasn't her father.

"Katara told me about her state right after your Agni Kai," Aang said, crossing his arms over his chest, "She was shattered. She's lost so much because of the direction Ozai was trying to take the both of you. Didn't you tell me that she was jealous of you because you had your mother's love? And what about when Ty Lee and Mai betrayed her—"

"Aang, you don't know her like I do," Zuko interjected, shaking his head, "She's sadistic and she's heartless—"

"Are you listening to me, Zuko? She is your sister!" Aang sat up again. "Look, if I had a sister, I'd love her to bits. She's your family after all! She's your only family, and if your mother is still alive, then that's great! But for now, she's your only family. Don't you know what that means?"

Zuko sighed and sat himself down next to Aang. "I know how you feel. I know you lost your whole family a hundred years ago and you feel like you could have done more for them if you hadn't left. But this is different. Azula never loved me from the start. She never saw me as her brother. She saw me the way my father saw me—useless. How do you think that makes me feel?"

Aang scratched his head, looking apologetic. "I know," he said, "I'm just saying that she deserves a chance at love too. No matter what she did to you, me and the rest of the world. I'm not afraid of admitting that maybe—maybe I'm able to forgive her for what she's done."

"What?" Zuko exclaimed, looking at Aang with a bewildered expression, "Aang, in case you haven't noticed, she almost broke the Avatar cycle when she struck you down with her lightning. She almost killed Katara during the Agni Kai while you were off battling my father. She—she doesn't deserve forgiveness. Not now, not ever."

"But you were forgiven," Aang said simply, staring at his friend, "Don't you remember how we forgave you?"

Zuko looked away, visibly ashamed that he had forgotten that he had been forgiven by the very people he tried to hunt down and kill for almost a year. Azula was no different from the banished prince, a ruthless hunter that saw nothing but their targets, oblivious to the world all around them that they were destroying. In the end, Iroh had gotten through to Zuko, but Azula had no one but herself. She was alone for the most part, haunted by her insecurities and buried fears that eventually clawed their way out.

Zuko remembered a time where he loved his little sister. He remembered being only four, taking the hand of two-year old Azula and bringing her around the royal palace as though he had a clue as to where they were going. He remembered how tightly she had held onto his hand and how proud he felt being her older brother. He remembered staying in her room, in the middle of the night, holding her close to him as the storm raged on outside, whispering promises that he would always be there to protect her.

Then, Ozai took him away for training in the art of firebending. He separated him from his little sister—his confused little sister who only wanted to be with someone who loved her as much as her brother—for months, isolating him only to his training. It didn't turn out very well, and Ozai had to let Zuko stop—a child could only take so much.

When he returned, Azula stopped holding his hand. In fact, she had chased away all the servants and even her mother, believing that firebending was the only way to let Ozai notice her. She had forgotten Zuko's love for her and they grew up and apart. She began spending more time with herself and the firebending masters at the tender age of three, with Zuko watching her sadly from the shadows. He had lost his little sister.

"I'm a failure as a brother," Zuko heard himself say.

Aang looked up from the pebble he was playing with. "No, you're not. You can show her you still care."

"But how?" he mumbled, "The moment she sees me, she spits fire at me. Literally."

"Well, you've gotta face it!" Aang sighed. "If it helps, I'll go with you. It's not like she can keep the fire-breathing up forever, right?"

"Maybe," Zuko said, nodding slowly, "I could… we could go see her."

"Really?" said Aang, his face lighting up almost immediately, "We could go right now!"

Aang's enthusiasm brought a smile to Zuko's face. If there was one thing he liked the most about the Avatar, it had to be his cheerful disposition. It was almost as though there was nothing that could wipe that goofy grin off the monk's face. "I don't know how you do it, Aang, but you're something special."

"Well, I guess so," Aang said, grinning from ear to ear, "Now let's go. We can take Appa—"

Aang barely finished his sentence as the officer in charge, Feng, came stumbling through the courtyard and falling to his knees in front of Zuko. The words that escaped from the frantic soldier's mouth shattered all hopes of Zuko becoming Azula's older brother again.

"Fire Lord Zuko! Princess Azula has escaped!"