Azula had learned to hate and fear the water. It took from her.

It took everything.

It took her crown. It took her victory. It took her dignity. And with its help se was left chained like an animal.

She hated the water since she was a little girl and it almost took her life.

It probably would have had her if not for her father. After he had pulled her out of the water she had clung to him as though the waves would find her and sweep her up again if she didn't.

Now it drenched her through and through, adding discomfort to her humiliation. They, Zuko and Katara had left her alone. Alone and chained up with the sound of water rushing beneath her, mocking her. It was practically whispering in her ear, words of the unkindest sort. Words that remind her of her defeat and her frayed mind.

She shivered to herself. The water had been cold and it still was. A bead of it trickled from her sopping hair, down her back leaving a tickling sensation. It was torturous because she couldn't move her hands to scratch it. Her feet were growing numb under the weight of the rest of her body and she could feel her legs locking up. The water drips down into her eyes and, again, she cannot swat it away.

She hated water so much.

She almost wished that it would be depleted out of the world.

She let herself fall completely, albeit uncomfortably, to the ground. It is only after doing so that she remembered that the water was beneath her. She was now closer to it and it seemed to roar in her ear. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed just to drown out the sound which was so faint but sounded so loud to her ears. Her frantic brain seemed to amplify the sound tenfold so she screamed again and again.

That was how they found her.

That was how they carried her off.

She was far from the water rushing under the grate, but the noise still churned and echoed in her ears.

.oOo.

For the longest time, that's how it was; water was her enemy and she refused to have anything to do with it. When it was offered to her with meals, she let her throat run dry. Baths and showers were out of the question. Unless they could find a way to cleanse her without water, she would rather be dirty.

She didn't know how long she remained in such a state, it must have been a very long time because the nurse came in with a needle. When she woke up, it was to a faint floral fragrance. She knew that they had bathed her and she didn't know what she liked less; that they had disrobed her without her consent or that they had soaked her in the water.

She shuddered, it was in her now, it had seeped in, the water had. She had to get it out, somehow, she had to get it out. But she was at a loss as to how to accomplish that, her skin had probably absorbed it like a sponge.

She was shaking and shuddering all over. It might have been the product of her mind but she could swear that she heard the water rushing beneath her skin. Swear that she saw it moving in waves, beneath the skin on her arms.

She cried out until the nurse came by again.

The flash of a needle put her out again. She had a parting thought. A comforting one. She considered that, perhaps the water would be out of her by the time she woke up.

.oOo.

Her aversion to water was still very potent even upon her release, with her mind mostly in check once more. She would drink water again and she would bathe without being forced. But she would never go near the palace pond. Would never join Zuko when he vacationed to Ember Island. He would ask why that was and she would lie. Lie and tell him that Ember Island had too many tarnished memories and that she liked the buzz of the palace more. The latter was true enough. But the deeper truth was that she didn't want to be near the ocean. It was much too vast. It was more horrifying than any other body of water. It would swallow her up without mercy.

So long ago she had told her ship captain that the tides had already made up their minds about killing him. She knew that the same held true for her. In fact, the tides seemed to be waiting for her. They actively wanted her to drown.

The water hadn't claimed her as a child.

It hadn't claimed her when Katara entrapped her in it.

It was there, lapping at the shore, waiting for its next opportunity.

She would do everything in her power to not give it one.

So Azula watched as Zuko left for his vacation with everyone save for Katara. Katra, who had other matters to attend and didn't want to go to Ember Island either. Katara, who Azula hadn't spoken to since the Agni Kai.

In fact, Azula went out of her way to avoid the waterbender and her ungodly abilities.

In general she made a point of staying far from waterbenders.

But now she was alone with Katara on the dock, sort of anyhow. She wasn't exactly on the dock herself as it was too close to the water and too rickety. But she was near the dock, close enough to wave Zuko off.

Katara met her eyes and Azula's face twisted into a scowl—the product of a mixture of fear and rage.

.oOo.

As it were, it wasn't the water that would end her.

It was a sword.

One that plunged deeply into her back.

Zuko had a large crowd of enemies, no doubt because he had appointed her as a co-fire lord of sorts. If he were to vacation she would take the throne. If he didn't have what it took to make a final decision on something, she would. It was strange to think that they had mended their relationship that well.

But it was so short lived with her blood flowing so freely and plentiful from her. She found it hard to understand, hard to fathom, hard to cope with—that, just when she was starting to change for the better, someone had come to end her. To repay her for all of her wrong doings. She was trying to be better and now she never would be.

Her body felt so hot yet so cold all at once and she knew that her spirit-energy was departing from her physical body. Through the darkness, she recognized that her physical body was being moved. But the sensation was growing duller.

The sound of dripping, flowing water follows her into the night.

.oOo.

Her body was wrapped in bandages by the time she came to. She was still faint and woozy. Her focus constantly wavered. She seemed to drift in and out of alertness and sleep, sometimes she remained in a state in between.

But there was one constant.

Water.

The sound of water.

It was different this time. Coupled with a humming, it was an almost soothing background noise. It wasn't roaring nor crashing, it was bubbling and gurgling pleasantly. When she opened her eyes, fully awake for the first time in a while, the source was apparent.

Katara leaned over her, water flowing around her palms. She was humming. She was working with the water, moving it slowly along Azula's back in circles. With each loop, more pain seemed to fade away. She closed her eyes, this time the sleep was more or less induced by a sense of ease.

She could feel the waterbender's touch on her back.

The warmth of her hand through the more chilly water.

.oOo.

The water had stolen from Azula her crown, her victory, her dignity, and her sense of power and security.

The water had given her love and healing. It had given her peace and a second chance. And then the water had given her dignity back and much of what it had stolen.

The water had given her Katara.

Katara had spent much time with her during the healing process, constantly checking in and adding an extra kick to her natural healing. She made pleasant conversation and told many fascinating tales. She brought Azula things to do, documents to read over and sign and new policies to check over and change. She helped Azula feel useful even while bedbound. And eventually she accompanied her for her first walk since getting impaled through the back.

She was rather slow at first, unused to doing much more than laying and recovering. Katara was patient with her, in fact she seemed rather content going at such a slow pace. It allowed her to take in the beauty of the palace garden more fully.

Azula was growing quite comfortable with the waterbender. More than comfortable really. She found that she actually rather liked the woman, a lot. She was intelligent and gentle. Firm and supportive. She had come to find, in their various small talks, that they had more in common than she had thought initially.

The motion was absolutely absent, she hadn't realized what she was doing until her hand was in Katara's. The waterbender didn't jerk away, as Azula expected. No, instead, she returned the gesture. The silence was light and untroubled, leaving the princess to take in the sounds of the garden.

It left her to dwell on things. It left her to take note of how far things had progressed, mostly for the better. She savors the feeling of Katara's hand in hers. Savors the feeling of the hand that had imprisoned her and chained her to a grate. Savors the feeling of the hand that took away her pain and her fear.

"Katara?" She broke the quiet.

Katara tilted her head. "Hmm?"

"Come with me to the pond? I haven't been by it in such a long time."