To a scary Biology teacher who played by her own rules and is no longer with us…

oooooooooo

Here I am with the last chapter…

I added some flashbacks this time, and they're all clearly titled, so they last from the tile to the first text break… And I know I'm a lazy author for using those instead of making it clear from the text, I just didn't want it to end up confusing. There's a lot of timeline jumping in so few words.

Just a reminder from two chapters ago, Zyra and Ozai met as kids when she pushed him into a pond and kicked his ass, so that's what the first part is referring to… Enjoy :)

oooooooooo

Chapter 6

FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (10)

Prince Ozai was forced to sit on a bench with her, while they waited for the headmaster. They were both soaking wet, after all that's what happened when one went for a dip in the pond, willingly or unwillingly. But what really boggled the young prince's mind was the fact that that girl was just wet, while he was completely covered with mud. He currently held the only towel the school had. It was a little thing, but he was determined to use it to wipe the mud away and get somewhat dry. And he wasn't planning on sharing.

"You know, my father will hear about this! I can't believe they'd just let anyone go to this school now! If I don't do something, they'll start bringing beggar kids off the street, maybe a pup or two… Why not?!" He was talking more to myself, since Zyra didn't look like she was listening. She was hugging her knees on the bench, her dress dripping water onto the wooden floors.

"I'll tell my father everything that happened! You'll be punished. Your whole family!" Ozai continued.

"Oh, Daddy, don't let them bring any more girls to school, they hit too hard. I'm scared." Zyra mocked, while smiling at Ozai.

"You're not even a girl, no, I've seen girls…" He patted his head, realizing there was a patch of hair missing. "You're more like a wild beast." He turned to her then for a response. She just stared at him calmly, until she suddenly jerked towards him, baring her teeth and growling. He flinched back and she laughed.

"I just don't want to catch your rabies." He relaxed.

"I already said I wasn't aware of who you are. It's not like I want to be here, my Prince." Zyra gathered up her long hair and twisted it to drain the water onto the floor faster. "I was perfectly happy back in my school where I knew everyone, but we can't always get what we want."

"Yes, why did they transfer a girl here, anyway?"

"Why are you asking me? You were the first, weren't you?"

He chose to ignore her childish comment. "I could order you to tell me, you know. What did you do? Bite someone?"

"Not yet." She let go of her feet, put them down and stretched. Ozai didn't know what he expected when they told him a girl was coming to their school, but definitely someone who looked more like a boy. Zyra…didn't. "If you must know… They don't really teach us anything there. We just recite poetry and learn proper noble conduct over and over again. But I taught myself a lot from books alone, so they determined I was gifted and sent me here to actually learn something."

"That's a lie. They wouldn't do that no matter how smart you are."

"I'm not lying, but it's not the real reason. The real reason is that it looks like my parents won't have a son."

"Who's your father?"

"Admiral Ren Omori."

"He's important."

"And once he's gone, I'm going to be important. No male cousins, no uncles… Even if I eventually get a brother, he'll need time to grow up while I'll be managing things. And you can't run a noble family on poetry alone."

"They could've gotten you a tutor and not broken every rule we have."

"I asked, believe you me. They said, since all tutors are men, neither of them can be trusted alone with me."

Ozai said nothing.

"You see, I'll actually be someone, second son."

Ozai felt his face go red. Who did this girl think she is? He was still her prince, even if her family was the second most important in the nation.

"Once I tell the Fire Lord what you did, you'll get expelled and it won't stop there. You won't be inheriting anything. We'll see who you'll be then."

"Fine, do that. If you can't see why that's stupid…"

This got Ozai's attention. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged.

"Spit it out, Omori."

"Everyone just witnessed me, a girl, absolutely destroying you out there."

"You didn't-"

"That will lose you some of their respect. I know how to get it back."

"Well, tell me."

"You really don't see it? Maybe I am gifted…" She smirked. "You tell the headmaster we were just joking around, that you suggested it. You won't get punished. We get out of here and you challenge me to a proper rematch. Then you beat me in front of everyone. I'll let you win, don't worry, I'll even cry… And you get their respect back."

"And you get to stay here?"

"I don't plan to for much longer. I've been causing enough trouble, my father will probably ask for a transfer back. If not, I'll steal something, or cut my hair or whatever... It's not like I want to stay here with you, boys. Just make sure the Fire Lord doesn't hear, he was testy about this thing with me from the start."

"I accept," Ozai said. He heard how the other boys laughed when Zyra took him down and he never wanted to hear that again. "We'll have the fight today. I hope I can at least expect you to keep true to your word."

"To never seeing each other after today..." She put out her hand. He shook it.

"To never seeing each other after today."

oooooooooo

Zyra was caught in a dilemma, no matter how hard she tried to assure herself her choice was easy. At first, she tried to convince herself that letting Ozai send her away was the only solution, which meant she tried to rationalize leaving Azula with that instable man she talked to the previous night.

She didn't even know Azula that long. She was nothing to the girl, not her mother, not even related to her. She had no rights to decide on how the girl was brought up, yet she couldn't make her peace with Ozai turning her into… Well, into Azulon.

In Zyra's mind that man was a symbol of everything she despised and hoped to destroy. Yet, Ozai was just like him now. Maybe on some level he always was… No, she couldn't believe that. Not the little boy she knew. He was always proud, always determined and ambitious, but never this cruel. Never this monster.

And if she left Azula with him, in a few years there may be nothing of the little girl left there either. She couldn't leave her.

But the only alternative was to marry a monster in her friend's body.

Maybe she could make him remember… Maybe if she just stayed with him, he'd go back to being her friend… No! Her Ozai was dead and dead people didn't come back no matter how much you wanted them to.

She couldn't marry that man. She couldn't give him what he wanted…

That meant there had to be a third option.

It took Zyra the better part of the night to come up with it, but as it turned out there was one. A desperate one that led her right back to the palace tomorrow.

Late in the morning, Zyra snuck in by the same route she used when she was young, only this time she didn't go to Ozai's room. She entered one in the opposite side of that wing, and as soon as she did, the strong stench of alcohol hit her.

"Iroh?" She cleared her throat. "Prince Iroh? Are you here?"

There were no servants, luckily, but the large bed by the wall was empty. It didn't look like anyone slept in it last night. That would have meant that the Prince was away, at war, if not for the state the rest of the room was in.

The mess was mostly empty bottles, big and small, undoubtedly the source of the alcohol smell. Zyra recognized the Royal Family's legendary sword sticking out of a map on the wall. She remembered Ozai being so angry he wasn't the one to inherit it and this was how his brother was treating it.

"Prince Iroh? You'll never guess who it is!"

She inspected the table in the middle of the room, since it was covered in scorch marks, when something moved behind it. Taking a step to the side, she found Ozai's older brother Iroh, lying on the floor face down and reaching for the only bottle in the proximity that wasn't empty yet.

"Spirits, Iroh!" She rushed to the man and with some difficulty, and despite his protests, hoisted him into one of the chairs at the table. Then she sat down opposite him.

Iroh stared at her, blinking wildly.

"Zyra? Little Zyra Omori?" He found another bottle that had a few drops still left and clumsily tried bringing it to his mouth. "What am I? Dead?"

"No, but not for a lack of trying." She took the bottle from him with ease and he looked at her like a toddler who just witnessed something he wanted being placed on a high shelf.

"You don't wake a man up, while he's dreaming about his dead family. You never do that…" He mumbled, pushing a few empty bottles off the table so he could lean on one hand.

"I heard about Lu Ten. I'm sorry."

"You're in the wrong room. Your boyfriend's on the top floor now… So he brought you back for himself?" Iroh looked around, looking for any drop of alcohol he could reach. "I can't say I blame him. If I could bring back my-"

"I'm actually here because I need a favor. And I need you sober enough to think, so how about some tea?" Zyra stood up and looked around for a tea pot. "Still jasmine?"

"You won't make it right." He kicked a bottle into a bunch of others, making a lot of noise.

"I'll tell you what, if you can get up and stand on your own, you can make the tea."

"Fine." He grumbled and Zyra turned her back to him as she poured water into the pot. "Shouldn't you be away, marrying my brother or something? What's this favor?"

"Look, I know you're grieving, and you should be left alone to deal with everything in your own way even if it's this. But I kind of got myself into this situation…" So she told him everything that happened with Azula and then with Ozai, everything up to the choice he gave her.

"I think you should just marry him." Iroh took the first sip of her tea. From his expression she could tell it was at least decent. "After all, that's what you wanted since you were about this big…"

He raised his hand to the height Azula currently was.

"I know I did, but a lot of things changed since then. I mean, back in those days you were the incredibly handsome, perfect-bodied, young future Fire Lord…" She noticed how her words weren't exactly kind. "And now you're not as young…"

He chuckled, then sipped some more tea.

"I did let myself go a little bit, didn't I?" He patted his belly.

"Only to give the other guys a chance… I remember when I was a kid every girl had a crush at you, young or old."

"Every girl except you. I think half the reason Ozai loved you was that you weren't impressed by me."

"He changed too…" Zyra looked down. "What happened, Iroh? I came back to find a monster had taken his place."

He reached out slowly and put his hand over hers.

"Then run. He's not your responsibility… You run and you find yourself someone who's worth it."

"I can't leave Azula with him. Her and Zuko are the future of this nation, and how will that future look like if I leave them to him? I made this mistake already, I should have taken Ozai with me all those years ago, but I left him. I won't do that again."

"Zyra, dear… You may not believe me, but that monster was always inside him."

"No, no… You don't know what he was like with me."

"I'm sorry, but what you see up there in that throne room, that is my brother. Same as my father and Azula now. They all have this thing inside that just makes them do unspeakable things… It's not our fault. And we can't kill ourselves trying to help them."

"And if you'd been asked than about me? If I could change, what would you have said years ago?" That ought to shut him up, at least for a little while. Ozai she got, but Azula was still so young. She still had the capacity to become whoever she wanted. Nothing was set in stone yet, Zyra believed it with everything she had.

"I… I would've said the same thing. But I never knew you that well… I know my brother. I know Azula."

"No, you don't. I know her."

"I was there when she was born. She was rotten from the start." Iroh shook his head like it pained him or something. Like he didn't just say those words willingly about his own flesh and blood. About a child.

"I know her." Zyra repeated, slower this time. "She's changing, she just needed someone to show her."

"Did you get a chance to see how she treats her brother? How they both treat him? That poor boy has a good heart and Ozai just can't forgive him for that…"

"I've seen it. He's only tough on his son, because Zuko reminds him of himself at that age."

Iroh actually laughed at her words. "He calls him weak, a naive fool, spineless-"

"That's Ozai's whole thing. I think I figured it out yesterday. He hates how weak he used to be. The second son, the youngest… He's not yelling at Zuko, he's yelling at himself. And he wants Zuko to get strong faster, to avoid the suffering he had to endure." Zyra sipped her tea. "It's still wrong and despicable to treat a child that way, but it's coming from a place of great pain. That's why I keep thinking, if I could just sit them both down and talk all of this out, maybe… Maybe I could fix it."

"So you're marrying him then?"

"I have a plan, but I need your help." She took a deep breath. "I am going to get married, but not to him."

"You can't drag an innocent man into this, Zyra… Ozai will kill him without mercy, or send you both away, so it would all mean nothing."

"You're absolutely right. That's why I have to marry someone who's off limits, even to him."

It took Iroh's hung-over brain a few seconds to connect the dots.

"No… What are you thinking? He'll seriously kill me this time!" He jerked in the chair, almost falling out of it.

"He won't." She waved him off. "Just think about it."

"Hm. Do I want to marry the love of my psychotic little brother's life? I'll go with no."

"If we do it quickly and do it publicly, then he won't be able to do a thing. If he hurts us, then everyone will know he did it because he can't control his emotions. He's still a new Fire Lord, he has to look strong. And he can't send you and your wife away, you're the Prince. It would look pathetic, people would stop supporting him and start supporting you."

"This is mad…" Iroh rubbed his head.

"And I assure you the marriage would only be that in name. You'd go on with your business and I'd go on with mine."

"And what exactly would your business be?"

"Just… Ending the war, fixing the Nation, erasing Azulon's legacy, while also saving my best friend."

One way, or the other.

"That's awfully ambitious."

"Well, it's better than sitting around, watching horrible things happen and doing nothing about it."

He looked to the empty bottles once, then turned to look right into her eyes.

"I have no one and nothing to lose. Let's do it."

Zyra knew she was supposed to be happy at this outcome, since if he'd said no, she would have been forced to marry his brother, yet she wasn't. It was hard seeing Iroh like this for some reason. She never liked him growing up, just like Ozai never did. She distinctly remembered pulling countless pranks on the older prince. She hoped this wasn't going to end up like that, with Iroh regretting her trusted her.

"You know, he still won't leave you alone." Iroh interrupted her thoughts.

"I know… But it'll buy time."

oooooooooo

FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (14)

Prince Ozai stared out towards the school's chemistry lab. It was a Saturday, what was she doing in there? What could possibly take her this long?

Then he saw Zyra run out in an awful hurry. Neither the fancy dress nor the slippers she wore stopped her from sprinting towards him at a formidable speed.

"Get down!" she yelled, but Ozai was sure he wasn't hearing her right.

Then she reached him, finally, and tackled him to the ground with a jump, just as the building behind her exploded. The shock wave washed over them, but they were perfectly fine. The guards behind them, however, were knocked off their feet.

"What did you do?" He asked, amused. That girl brought chaos wherever she went. He loved it.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" She rolled her eyes then and stood up. "That blast was way bigger than I thought it'd be. I might have a knack for this."

As soon as Ozai straightened too, he realized that since she landed on him, his clothes and hair were all grassy and muddy, while Zyra was as perfect as ever.

"Oh, good. You're alive too. We have to get out of here. The sooner, the better." She was speaking to the personal guards now. How should he have known this was what she had in mind when she asked him if they could take his carriage to school.

"You coming, Prince?"

"Huh?" When Ozai turned, his best friend was already in the carriage, ready to leave. He just gapped at her for a second, thinking.

"Oh, Your Royal Highness, would you venture to accompany me in this four-wheeled vehicle as it is propelled forward with the purpose of increasing the physical distance between us and the architectural structure I just cordially demolished."

"I don't think you used cordially the right way." Ozai got into the carriage.

"I don't think you were using your feet the right way."

Then the carriage started moving and the two teenagers sat in silence for a few moments before Ozai blurted out:

"You blew up a building."

Then they were laughing. Hysterically.

The Prince wanted to go straight home, but Zyra wished to take a stroll through the woods, so, of course, they stopped in the woods.

"There's just one thing I don't get. Where'd you hide the explosive?" Ozai asked, slyly looking back to the personal guards who were following exactly ten paces behind, just as the rules demanded.

"Under my dress."

"But how?"

"Lady's secret." She smirked sideways at him briefly, then continued looking forward.

"All this because he made one comment. Zyra Omori, you are criminally insane…"

"Oh, give me a break, you'd drop dead of boredom without me." She drew closer to him, but not so close as to cause the guards to say something about propriety. "But we aren't doing anything else fun today until we..."

She glanced back at the men following them.

"I was thinking of shaking them too." He lowered his voice. "They look new, it shouldn't be hard."

"Run for it in five, four, three…"

"No." He pretended to cough. "How about we play the embarrassed maiden?"

"Ozai… I didn't know you wanted to see what's under my dress that bad." She wiggled her eyebrows at him, then giggled at the face he made.

Then in a few second as they passed a wild bush, Zyra purposely caught her dress in it. Then as she was pulling it out, she made sure to rip the fabric, exposing a small part of her upper thigh.

"Oh, no!" Zyra screeched. "I can't be seen like this! What about my family's honor?!"

Ozai hurried to her with an expression of fake concern.

"Lady Omori, are you alright?" One of the guards stepped a bit closer. Close enough to see what happened. They had him.

"No! Stay back!" Zyra feigned hysteria. "Don't look at me!"

"Who do you think you are, looking up a noble woman's dress?!" Ozai stepped so he obscured the man's view of Zyra who pretended to start crying.

"I… I didn't… I wouldn't… My Prince. It's not-"

"For shame! Go fetch the lady something to cover herself with from the carriage immediately! All of you!"

The men obeyed reluctantly, leaving the two teenagers alone.

"The Fire Lord will be hearing about this!" He yelled after them.

"I'll tell Daddy…" Zyra mocked.

"Shut up."

"Make me, Daddy's boy." She chuckled.

Ozai checked to make sure the guards were far enough now.

"Race you to the stream?" he asked.

"Sure." Zyra gave him a warm smile before kicking his shin and running off at full speed to take advantage of her head start.

Ozai knew then, that girl was going to be the death of him one day…

He ended up catching her before either of them reached the stream. She just laughed.

"You want to spar?" he asked as he let her go and they started strolling towards the stream through the high grass.

"Not really. I already look like enough of a mess. I don't want to add your blood to it." She walked holding up her dress with one hand, while she held the other up to touch all the low hanging branches.

"Then what do you want to do? Right now, first thing that comes to mind."

"Something illegal."

"We already did that."

"Please... That was nothing. I plan on doing something even more illegal by the end of the day." She stopped walking and let go of her dress. "I'll need your help, though. I can't do it without you."

"I'm in. What is it?"

He barely had time to finish before she kissed him. It was the first time either of them did that so understandably Ozai needed time to think. When she pulled back, he had somehow forgotten how to blink. The smile on her lips snapped him out of it.

"See? I assaulted a prince of the Fire Nation. Illegal," she said and continued walking forward.

"Zyra? That was a pretty pathetic assault." He blurted out, before pulling her back to him and kissing her for a long, long time. Not that she was complaining.

oooooooooo

The twenty-four hours Ozai gave Zyra were almost up, but her decision had been made hours ago. As she walked the corridors of the palace, it finally dawned on her that she was technically a princess now. She'd wanted that almost her entire life, so it was strange it felt so incredibly wrong. It wasn't only because she was married to the wrong prince, although that didn't help.

It was time to face Ozai. He had to know what she'd done already. She'd finally find out if her plan was any better than the two choices he'd given her.

She didn't plan on it, but Zyra made one last detour and stopped at Azula's room. She slowly opened the door and almost didn't notice the little girl sitting on her bed facing away from her.

"You try any of those paints yet? I'd love to see-"

"Dad told me what you did." Azula didn't turn to her.

Of course, he did… He could never resist such an opportunity for emotional manipulation.

I bet he didn't tell you about the impossible choice he gave me…

"And how are you feeling about that?" Zyra was close enough now that she could see the girl was not crying. She didn't look far from it, though. It wasn't fair that she was the one suffering most from this whole mess… That was the last thing Zyra wanted.

"I thought you'd want to be my family…"

"I do." Zyra sat by the girl, but Azula scooted away slightly. "Can't you see I only did this because I wanted to be your family, but not your father's wife? And it doesn't make any difference if I'm your stepmother or your aunt, I still care about you a great deal."

"But Iroh's so…"

"I'll explain everything to you later, I promise. I just need to go now."

"Will…" The girl started, then stopped herself.

"What, dear?"

"If you're not going to be my mom, are you at least going to be at school tomorrow?"

Zyra had to admit, that question hurt. She really needed to have a good, honest discussion with the girl sooner rather than later, but right then and there she really needed to be somewhere else, so it had to wait just a little longer.

"I'm not sure, if your father will let me, but I'll ask him. I'm actually heading over there right now."

She didn't want to lie.

"No!" Azula leapt from the bed to bar Zyra's way. "You can't… He's mad at you."

If Zyra didn't already have a hundred reasons to not love Ozai still, this look in his daughter's eyes would have been enough. The strong and brave girl she knew looked absolutely terrified.

"It'll be alright, Azula. I can handle him."

"No, you can't!" Azula caught Zyra's sleeve as the woman tried to walk past her. "I know what I'm talking about... Please, just go home."

Zyra stroked the girl's cheek with her other hand.

"I'll be back before you know it. And we'll finish that wall painting whether I'm your teacher or not."

oooooooooo

FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (20)

Prince Ozai stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, almost hurting the guards who stood in the hall. Once it was just him, her used a fire fist to completely destroy one of his cabinets. He almost wished it was harder to turn into flaming rubble, because he still felt like he had more anger to take out on his room.

"I take it, I shouldn't get fitted for a dress just yet?" He wasn't alone. Zyra stood all the way in the corner of the room, looking through a window. She smiled when he looked over. Spirits, she was a gift after the fight he had with his father…

"How do you keep getting in? It's the middle of the day." He unbuckled his sword belt and laid it on a chair.

"I think I'll hold onto that information in case you ever think about bringing other girls here." She walked to him.

"What girls? You're the only one worth the trouble."

"So what did he say, exactly?" She took his hand. It crushed him to disappoint her. He'd hoped to get at least one more try, before he had to tell the woman he loved his father wouldn't let them get engaged yet. Spirits, it made him feel like a toddler.

"He said no. Then I mentioned that Iroh got married at our age, and he completely lost it. How dare you compare yourself to your brother? You're not even the same species-" Zyra interrupted him with a gentle embrace.

"Don't listen to him."

"He said four years. At least. Until we can even talk about announcing the engagement. He wouldn't even say why. Then who knows how long before he lets us get married… I can't take it, Zyra. He even mocked me by saying he'd do it now if I can kill a dragon, like Iroh. Prove I'm at least half the man he is."

"But Iroh killed the last dragon."

"I know, that's the joke. It would be a farce. A fool's errand."

"Tell me, you're not thinking of going…"

"I'm not sure, I want to prove I'm serious-" He hugged her tighter and suddenly she made a quiet whimper of pain. She tried to conceal it, but he knew what he heard. He pulled away to look at her. Her face was guilty.

"Zyra…" He reached for her shirt, but she darted to the right, then shook her head. "Zyra."

After a short chase around the room, he caught her by her shoulder finally, then pulled her shirt slightly up, revealing her bruise-covered ribs.

"I swear, I'll break his arms one of these days…" Ozai turned away, allowing her to fix her shirt back the way it was.

"It's nothing. It's my fault."

"Did you ask your father to do it to you?" He sat down onto a sofa next to the still burning pile of wood that used to be his cabinet.

"No, but I asked him about the engagement. I just couldn't wait…" She sat next to him, taking his hand and the fire extinguished. "I knew he'd been called to speak to the Fire Lord, I thought that was it."

"He battered you just for that?"

"I would've probably been fine, but then he… He started saying stuff about you. How even though I had a brother now, he still didn't want his only daughter marrying a useless second son. How he could have made a better match if the Fire Lord wasn't preventing him, and I…reacted." She leaned on his shoulder.

"Reacted?"

"I defended you verbally, of course, but in the moment I also…shoved my father."

He whirled. "Zyra, you could be seriously punished for that."

"Oh, I know…"

"I can't believe how pathetic I am." Ozai leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "You have to go around, defending my honor. My father thinks I'm a joke…"

"It's not you, it's them."

"You might be right. If you could've defended yourself, we'd be at your father's funeral right now… It's not fair. I'm a Prince, I should be able to do something." He sighed. "I surpassed my father in combat years ago. It should mean I don't have to ask for permission from him anymore. It should work like that… Once a child bests their father, they should control their own life."

"I wonder if you'll be saying that once our son is as strong as you are now…" Zyra smirked at him. "If we ever have one."

"I'd let him fight me, fairly, and if he wins, he'd be in charge of his own life from then on."

"And if we have a daughter? Would you fight her?"

He winced slightly. "Of course, I would. Same rules."

"There's just one thing you didn't think of there, Prince." He turned and met her eyes. "If you ever try something like that with my kid, I'll march right into the arena, slap you both on the back of the head and make you apologize to each other in front of everyone and-"

He cut her off with a kiss.

"I'm not going dragon hunting. I have everything I need right here." He kissed her again, careful not to place his hands anywhere it might hurt her any more than breathing probably already did. How her smile remained the warmest thing he'd ever seen, no matter what life threw at her, he'd never know. "I want you to promise me something, Zyra. If I ever get like that… Like your father or like my father…"

"Ozai…"

"If it happens, I want you to kill me."

They locked eyes for a long moment and then she pretended not to have heard him.

"I just realized…" she started. "Four years is not that long. Not compared to the rest of our lives together. Not compared to how long we already know each other. They can't ruin it, so let them try."

oooooooooo

When Zyra entered the throne room, Ozai wasn't on his throne. He was in front of it, staring at it, like it could somehow stare back. Against herself, she sighed, relaxing. It probably meant her words made him think. She allowed herself the slightest bit of hope that he might be her Ozai today.

"Enjoying being married to my brother, are we?" Ozai turned to look at her.

"Can't complain…"

She noted he wasn't dressed in is usual Fire Lord robes, rather he looked like he just came back from firebending training. Or like he was ready for a firebending fight. Zyra suddenly regretted wearing the long, black dress. In a verbal confrontation, it would bring her the advantage of being distracting, as she looked dashing in it, however in a physical fight it would constrict her movement too much. The fact she let her hair out also wouldn't help. Maybe it wouldn't come to that…

"I have to admit, I couldn't predict what you'd do."

"You really should've. You know I've never been good at following rules."

Neither of them moved to stand closer. They simply stared at one another intensely, like they expected the other to pounce if they took too long to blink. Zyra was the first one to break this, and step forward, towards the Fire Lord. If she wanted him to relax, she had to stop acting like either prey or hunter.

"I used to find it charming. But I will have to punish you." Despite his words she noticed a slight bit of tension release from his shoulders as she drew closer.

"Just don't punish Azula."

"What's with you two?"

And really how could he understand? How could he understand why she wanted little girls not to make the mistakes she made, when he wanted his son to turn out exactly like him?

"She's had it hard since her mother left. As well as when the woman was still here, from what I can gather."

"You could have stopped that. If you'd said yes to me in the garden, you would've been her mother in the law's eyes by now."

Zyra clenched her fists, but then made herself relax them.

How dare he?

"I would've said yes, if you hadn't turned into your father while I was gone."

She thought he'd get mad at the insult again, but he just smirked.

"We already discussed this… The war is necessary."

She was silent then, for a while. Looking at him. Then she felt the prickling of tears, and she wished it was a planned manipulation. But it wasn't.

"I spent a long time studying history," she started softly. "Mostly Fire Nation history, because no matter how many times our country made me feel worthless…" The tears broke free. "I still loved it with all my heart. And you wouldn't believe the beautiful customs, the music, the inventions we had. Sozin did his best to erase it, but it can't be done. The whole world knew what we were, brave innovators. You know, once, people from all over the world would come here to watch the Great Comet. There was a festival-"

"Is there a point to this?"

"I'm wondering the same thing. Is there a point to this war if it's choking our nation? When you were younger you could feel it too. The Fire Nation right now is wrong… I just keeps taking people, and I don't just mean their lives, I mean their souls. When I was a teacher in the colonies, often ninety percent of the class would say they wanted to be a soldier when they grew up. They're children and they can't imagine a better future for themselves than to become killers. It's evil, Ozai, and we're feeding it children! Please, you have to stop it!"

Zyra let herself fall to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself as the tears stopped. Since her hair was free, it obscured her enough. She clenched her fist behind her back, two fingers sticking out together, ready to make lightning.

Please, please, please, give me a reason to stop! Do something, say something! Something, anything, the littlest detail! A tear, a touch, a word… Please! Don't make me do this!

The previous night she thought about this moment right here, and she thought about threatening to kill herself, to see if the Ozai she knew was still in there. But she concluded it wouldn't work. Why he wanted her had nothing to do with love anymore, she knew. It was a selfish thing now, a way to prove he'd won. That no one could deny him anything anymore.

She watched him closely as he walked over and crouched in front of her. She waited for the sign. A signal from her best friend that he was still in there. That the Fire Nation hadn't yet swallowed him whole.

"I will end the war." Ozai lifted her chin so she was looking straight at his eyes. "By winning it."

All the secret hope Zyra had for the man she loved died right there and then. It physically hurt to let go of the idea of redeeming Ozai, but she did it. She had to.

"But don't worry, the comet will come soon. Four years is not that long. Not compared to the rest of our lives together." She almost cringed at that, but it gave her an idea. He just kept going. "I'll have to deal with Iroh then too, because of your stunt today, but no matter… You wouldn't be you without your antics. And then everything will go back to the way it was, just like you said you wanted. With the Fire Nation and with us."

"You promise?"

"I do, my love. It's just four years. Although, I can't let you teach in that time, you'll just have to stay in the palace. I'm sorry, but I can't have you spreading these notions of yours to impressionable children… It's dangerous, not to mention illegal."

She laughed then, desperately.

"Oh, I plan on doing something more illegal by the end of the day."

He smiled at her quote and that was all the distraction she needed. It was all she could get. She was ready. She'd been ready for a day, she just had to make sure she wouldn't kill any part of her friend when she killed this tyrant.

Zyra pointed her right hand at Ozai and let lightning flash from her fingertips. Unfortunately for her, he had the exact same idea. She wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but it caused a blast that sent both of them flying in opposite directions. She ended up near the entrance, while he landed near his throne.

"So much for love…" He got up first, but Zyra followed not far behind and dodged a fire blast. "I have to admit, it was a good plan."

He didn't attack again then, he just waited to see her move. He watched as she kicked off her slippers and took a familiar stance. Then he smiled.

"Well, it obviously wasn't that good." She sent a fire stream right for his head. It was smaller than his had been. More precise, but weaker.

Ozai moved out of the way. "I meant after. After you killed me. I didn't see it at first. Iroh would rule until Zuko was of age, and since he's in ruin, that would leave his wife…" He attacked again and she dodged with the grace only a woman of her stature could have. Yet, Zyra knew she couldn't keep this up. Not dressed like this. Her fire wasn't as strong, it never was and he knew it. He counted on it.

She was always fast, though. All her strategies relied on avoiding attacks or redirecting them. That was once something she was embarrassed about, but not anymore. Everyone had to play to their advantages, this was hers.

"That was never my intention!"

"Sure, it wasn't… I was surprised to see you take advantage of my poor broken brother like that."

Attack. Dodge.

"He agreed to help me. You're the one that took advantage, Fire Lord."

Attack. Counterattack.

"He's in mourning, he's in no position to lead us. He'll get better soon, and he'll be proud of what I've accomplished!"

"The only one who would be proud of what you're doing is your father!"

He attacked then, not aiming, just sending fire her way and it almost caught her.

"You were never as good as I was!" he yelled, attacking again. "You can't avoid them forever."

Hearing that she stopped, turned straight towards him and signaled him with her finger to come at her with everything he had. Next thing she knew, there was a wall of fire coming straight at her.

Zyra made it go around her. It was close, but when Ozai ended his attack, she was still standing there, unhurt. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve. His face was priceless… He obviously didn't know she could do that. Neither did she, not really. Redirection was always her specialty and she did focus her training on it, but she had no idea she could do it this precisely with that much fire…

Soon another stream of fire was flying her way. Oh, he was worried now…

Zyra made the fire circle her once, then return right back to where it came from. Ozai barely got away in time. She couldn't help but smile. Always better… We'll see about that…

"Iroh did once say to me that you and I were just too much alike. That we'd end up either killing each other or falling in love."

"Who could have known it would be both…" She smiled and he got it. It was apparent on his face.

With every dodge, she'd been slowly getting closer to him. And if she was close, she could turn his fire on him immediately. Realizing he knew, she started sprinting. He made a fire stream, but it didn't matter with her redirection skill. She was pushing it back as she ran and when she was close, he had to extinguish the fire or be burned by it.

Then as the flames around him disappeared Zyra was just in time to deliver a punch to the face while he was still off-guard. He fell to the floor and she stood over him. He tried to shoot fire up at her, but it was no use, she redirected it away from her.

This was it, she had to kill him now. Her best friend, the man she loved asked her to do this, and she would do it, even if it destroyed her. Then they heard a muffled scream. They both turned to the source. The curtain next to the exit was on fire from one of Ozai's redirected blows.

"Azula!" Zyra forgot everything else, and dashed for the curtains. To his credit, Ozai got up and started running too, before realizing Zyra already had it under control. She extinguished the fire, almost without moving her hands, then pulled the girl out and started checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine." Azula coughed, wiped her eyes, then moved towards her father. "You have to stop this! Both of you!"

"Enough of this, now… Go to your room, Azula!" Ozai pointed. "That's an order."

Zyra took her fighting stance again. "Listen to your father, Princess. Go. Let the adults speak now."

"Yes, we have something to settle." Ozai raised a fist and pointed it at Zyra. "And I'd rather you didn't see it."

"No! No, Dad, stop!" Azula insisted. "Please don't do this!"

Ozai didn't respond this time. Zyra watched his eyes and could pinpoint the exact moment he realized he now had a very quick way to win the fight. He returned the eye contact and slowly moved his attacking hand so that it was pointing at Azula rather than Zyra.

The little Princess was frozen in fear and Zyra didn't even have time to think about it. She reached the girl just in time to put herself in front of the lightning strike.

oooooooooo

A flash. Azula was forced to close her eyes and once she opened then, Miss Omori was on the floor before her. Dead. It took her a few seconds to process this. Then she screamed.

It wasn't words at first, just a general scream of pure horror. Then it turned into calling out for the woman.

"Miss Omori! Miss… Zyra! Zyra! Get up! Please! Zyra!" Azula was shaking the body at that point, but that was all it was now. A body.

"Please… Please… I need you." The tears were making it hard to be talk now. Then Azula felt a hand on her shoulder. Her father. She'd forgotten about him for a time.

"You monster! You killed her! How could you?!" She wanted to scream even louder. She wanted the whole palace to hear her. The whole city even. "Did you kill Mom too?! Where is she?! Where's Mom?!"

"Azula, silence!"

"You tried to kill me! I saw, you were aiming at me!"

"Calm yourself, I knew she'd jump in front of you. You were never in any danger, my daughter." And with that he tried to pull her from the body and into a hug. She struggled, but it was no use with the strength difference. "Zyra was a traitor. You saw it. You know what we do with traitors, Azula."

Azula made herself be quiet then, but her mind was still screaming he was a murderer for days after.

oooooooooo

They never spoke about Zyra Omori after that day. No one did. Azula wasn't really sure how her father explained the woman's disappearance to the public. She knew he had Zyra's brother executed not long after and with that, the family was wiped out. He probably didn't want the mention of it reminding him of what he'd done.

But however heinous it was, wiping our one of the most powerful noble families was a good way to make sure none of the others dared challenge you or ask too many questions.

Iroh didn't lift a finger. Ozai's reign was secure.

Everything went back to normal. Azula went back to normal.

Next day at school she shot fire at the wall painting until it was nothing but black. Then she ordered the room walled away from the rest of the school. She pushed Amaya, no, Mouse down some stairs when the girl came to ask what's wrong, breaking her arm in two places. She slapped Mai when the girl talked back to her, shoved Ty Lee when she objected. She also had Crooked's father transferred to the colonies to get rid of his insufferable daughter, and gave her a burn on her neck as a parting gift.

Azula did all those things and they made her cry at night now that she knew there was a better way, but she did them because the opposite got people killed. Her fire was blue now, ever since that day.

Azula went back to normal, and from the outside it looked like Zyra Omori never existed. Until one day Azula had enough.

Zuko had spoken out of turn at a meeting. That was all Azula heard before she was taken into the Agni Kai arena. She was as surprised as anyone when she saw her brother's opponent was to be their father. By the look of him, Zuko was surprised too.

Don't be stupid, don't be stupid…

Zuko kneeled down and started begging. Good. He could never hope to beat their father on his best day. Neither could she, for that matter. She'd thought about it. She didn't want to, but she did consider it sometimes at night. And she wasn't ready yet.

She moved her gaze from her brother to her father then. He didn't look satisfied. He didn't look like he'll let all this end there…

"You will fight for your honor."

Don't listen to him, Zuko. Just stay down.

The Prince begged some more. Apologized. But it didn't seem to be working. Azula knew that look her father had while he stalked closer to Zuko. He'd hurt her brother. Maybe even kill him.

Could he do that?

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."

Only two years ago, she would have enjoyed the sight of this. Zuko humiliated. She tried to bring herself to that state of mind now, but failed.

Something in the back of her mind screamed this was wrong. Not just wrong, but cowardly. Her father was supposed to be the best firebender in their time, but he spent his time scaring a mediocre child. A child who refused to fight back. It was pathetic, really…

"You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher."

Someone had to do something, right? They were in a room full of people. And they all watched as Ozai raised his hand at his son. She looked to Iroh. The general was looking away. They all knew what was about to happen, but they were cowards too. Well, she wasn't. And she wouldn't just stand aside while her father killed another person she cared about.

So she rushed forward, into the arena, and stood between Ozai and Zuko. The Fire Lord froze.

"Azula, what are you doing?!" he snapped. "Get out of my sight!"

"It's not right! He's not defending himself…" Azula crouched down and helped her brother back onto his feet. There wasn't anything wrong with him, yet she could still feel him trembling. He was obviously surprised by what she was doing… Well, so was she.

"It would seem like you need a lesson as well. Now, step aside, daughter, I'll deal with you later."

"No."

"Azula!"

"If you want to hurt him, you're going to have to hurt me first." Her voice betrayed how scared she was. "And I will fight back."

This was it. She was going to die.

"You weaklings are no match for me, even together."

Then Iroh stepped forward.

"Leave the children alone, Ozai."

It turned out, quite a lot of people there had a problem with what Ozai was doing. With many of the things Ozai was doing.

And from there things never got back to normal. They got better.

oooooooooo

Here. It's done… Phew. I'm sorry if the ending was too sudden, but I kind of wanted 'better' to be free for anyone to imagine for themselves.

And I'm sorry, Zyra made a 'definite' decision like five times this chapter, but I'm like that in real life. I make a definite decision and then I rethink it again. It's never definite to me until it's too late to change my mind…

Enough apologizing now…

I had way too much fun writing the flashbacks. I won't apologize.

About the first one, I just NOW realized no relationship in the Fire Nation starts without the couple being dunked in water together (Zuko and Mai had a similar adventure) I really wasn't thinking about it.

As for Zyra and Ozai in the 14 years flashback... I wanted them to be the embodiment of:

Iroh: [about Zyra] That woman is a hurricane.

Ozai: [dreamily] Yeah…

Iroh: Hurricanes are bad, Ozai.

The third one is just :'(

As for me killing Zyra, it had to happen. I'm soft, so of course, I didn't want to do it, but the whole first part of this story wouldn't have a point if Azula didn't have to WAKE UP one day, and use everything Zyra taught her about strength and empathy and sacrifice to inspire others into speaking up. I'm all about that good deed, ripple effect.

oooooooooo

Julyza – You've been saying Zyra's gonna die from like chapter 1, so kudos… Are you happy you were right? XD I'm joking, but you're also right that Ozai is a horrible person and they don't tend to play fair.

And once more thanks for all your support, I hope the final chapter didn't disappoint.

JHLZ. NTL – "farm girl" – I imagined Zyra called Ursa that before when they only found out she existed, so I just wanted to paint the privileged, little assholes her and Ozai were (he still is) and their let-them-eat-cake level of disinterest in what non-noble people got up to. So you're a farm boy/girl if you live outside the capital city, basically, and girl not woman, because Ursa's supposed to be like, what, ten years younger than Zyra.

- Zyra's academic life – You made me realize I didn't really have her explain that to Azula properly, even though I wanted to, so I squeezed it into a flashback as you probably noticed. I'm not sure it's that plausible, but every story asks for a little suspension of disbelief. It was supposed to be more nobles breaking their own rules - like, girls aren't as smart as boys unless it suits us… Proving their own rules ridiculous.

Anyway, of course, I was gonna have them fight! It wasn't an official Agni Kai, but I hope it didn't disappoint.

Thanks for everything and I really hope you're happy with how this wrapped up.