Azula rolled over in her bed, and felt that the spot that her fiancé usually occupied next to her was empty. She opened her eyes and noticed the late morning sun peeking through the massive windows in the bedroom of the Firelord. She smiled a wide grin as she stretched out on the red satin sheets that adorned her bed. This morning would be the third since she came out of exile from the Southern Air Temple, and more importantly her third day as the Firelord.

She swung her legs over the side and stood up to walk over to her desk where she saw a short note from Aang. She read it quickly and then shrugged her shoulders at the news that he would be in the Earth Kingdom trying to smooth things over with the other nations, who were not very pleased with her coup. She laughed, if she had her way his mission would be an abysmal failure.

Azula walked to her door and opened it up and summoned her hand maiden and ordered her to prepare a bath and then have a summons sent out to general Mutsu to appear for an audience with her in an hour in the Firelord's War Room. Her servant bowed and then went off to complete the tasks appointed to her. Azula waved over a second hand maiden and ordered her to prepare her most formal armor to be worn after the bath. The second girl rushed off as Azula walked back inside of her bedroom and grabbed all of her bathing supplies and stripped into her robe. She then left and headed off to her personal bathing room and entered to see her hand maiden emptying some salts into the steaming hot water. Azula looked at the girl and asked, "Have you sent a summons for General Mutsu yet?"

The girl bowed her head and answered, "Of course my lady."

Azula replied, "Excellent, you may excuse yourself for now, but wait outside I'll need you to help me into my armor."

The girl bowed even lower and backed out of the room as she said, "Of course my lady."

Azula watched as the girl closed the door and then she slipped off her robe and lowered herself into the hot bath water. She leaned back and relaxed with a smile on her face. All those months spent at the Southern Air Temple with Aang made her forget how awesome it was to have servants. She then thought about Aang, in particular she thought about the past two nights where he had spent most of them congratulating her on becoming Firelord. In the short time the two of them had been intimate the avatar had really become quite the impressive lover.

While many of his boyish and naïve traits still annoyed her at times, she had become content with the idea of him as her future husband. The negatives she did see in him were far outweighed by the raw power he could summon, and perhaps what she liked most about him was how easily she could manipulate him. She looked at the ring he proposed to her with and thought about her view of marriage.

Early in her life she accepted the fact that being a princess meant her marriage would most likely be of a political nature. She never thought that love or feelings mattered, and just as long as the groom would further her own goals of ruling the Fire Nation she cared little about who he was. Now that she was a little older, and experienced, she was mildly bothered that she did have some sort of actual feelings for Aang. Times like this when he was completely away from her and she could look at the situation more rationally, she didn't like that he had a hold on her. However she could not deny that when he touched her, and when he kissed her, hell even when he just looked into her eyes, she felt things, and she knew that she wanted more.

All that meant, she thought to herself, was that if she was to be distracted when he was around she would have to make the most of times like this when they would be apart for a week. Thinking back on her original plan when she broke out of prison, she knew that becoming Firelord and seducing Aang was only the beginning. She still had the dream of her father, and his father before him, the dream to unite the entire world under the banner of the Fire Nation.

She could not allow the incredible success she has had to this point lull her into a false sense of confidence. Manipulating Aang and Zuko was one thing, but now she had to manipulate the leaders of the entire world, and she could not afford to have any of her under handed scheming brought to the light of day. She was pleased with where she was now, and the power that she had reacquired, but she was also very aware that her hold on her position was very tenuous, and almost entirely dependent on Aang's trust and commitment to her. The rest of the world was much too wary of her, that without the support of the Avatar even her most ardent supporters would be forced to give up on her.

Azula hated being so dependent on someone else, but it calmed her greatly that she had almost absolute influence over him. Still she was not sure how he would react if the truth about her actual intentions ever came to light, but she doubted that she had a strong enough hold on him yet for it to survive such a betrayal. It didn't matter, there was no way that she would allow herself to fail now that she had made it this far. She finished lightly scrubbing and cleaning herself, and then she stood up and exited the tub. She then dried herself off with a towel and put on her robe.

Azula opened the door of her bathing room and motioned for her servant who was waiting patiently outside to follow her. She got to her room and saw the stand that had her battle armor in the middle of the room. She stripped out of her robe and put on her underwear, and her padded cloth suit to wear under her armor. Then she stood straight, holding her limbs out as her two attendants strapped her armor together around her. It took about fifteen minutes for the girls to strap and buckle everything together. When they finished Azula gave a contented nod and then put on her ceremonial dragon head helmet and with a motion of her hand dismissed the servants. She stared at herself in the mirror, allowing herself a moment to bask in the grandeur of finally being the Firelord.

Azula only let about thirty seconds go by before she pulled herself away from her reflection and made her way out into the hallway. She walked confidently towards the War Room which was located on the opposite side of the palace from her bedroom. She confidently made her way through the palace, reveling in the looks of awe all of the inhabitants of the palace were giving her. Eventually she made her way to the door and said to the two guards standing there, "When General Mutsu arrives show him right in and then allow no one to disturb us."

The guards nodded and said, "Of course."

Azula walked in and approached the throne sitting above the large table in the center of the room that they often laid maps on to discuss strategy. She sat down in the throne and casually crossed her legs. A few minutes passed in silence as she waited, eventually the doors opened and General Mutsu, an old white haired veteran of many wars who was one of her father's most trusted advisors, came into the war room and stood before her. He looked up and said, "You summoned me Princess Azula?"

Azula cleared her throat and said, "Well first off Mutsu I am no longer just the princess so you can start addressing me as the Firelord."

He bowed his head and answered, "Of course My Lady, I'm sorry."

Azula continued, "As you are aware many of the other nations are uneasy about me replacing my brother as the Firelord. They fear that I share the same goals as my father and you do to unite the world under the banner of the Firelord. My fiancé the Avatar has gone to the Earth Kingdom to try and quell their suspicions, but I want to inform you that I do in fact share the same ambitions as my father."

The general looked puzzled as he asked, "I thought you said the Avatar was on a mission to dissuade those rumors."

Azula answered with an arrogant smile on her face, "You see general that is the brilliance of my plan. My father failed in our previous war because he fought against the Avatar. The Avatar is just too powerful of a force; to battle against him is madness. This time however he will be my husband and eventually we will use him to bring the other nations to their knees."

The general asked again, "Congratulations on your engagement to the avatar. While it may be true that he will be your husband, that doesn't change the fact that he is an Air Nomad and a lover of peace. No matter how powerful your womanly charms may be Azula, I highly doubt that you can turn him into a bloodthirsty conqueror."

Azula said, "Ah that is where you come in general. I know you were my father's most trusted military advisor so I am going to leave you with the most important task in the upcoming war."

The general asked, "And what may that be, my lady?"

Azula answered, "I need you to run a spy and propaganda program among the rest of the nations. In order to fight a war and keep the Avatar on our side we need to convince the other nation's that I'm much too dangerous to keep in power, and make them come after me. However while doing that I must stay here and pretend to be a reformed peace loving Firelord so that Aang does not abandon us. I think the more we can incite the rest of the world against me, and the more innocent I look on the outside we can make Aang angry at the rest of the world. He has fallen hard for me and would grow incredibly frustrated at the other nations if they continue to refuse to accept me. So I need you to make sure everyone outside of the Fire Nation thinks I'm a war hungry despot."

The general looked interested and said, "That is quite an ambitious plan, but I am not so sure the other nations would be quite so easy to manipulate. The Earth Kingdom is a like giant boulder; it needs a great force to move it to any action. The water tribe are generally a stick to themselves peace loving folk, to have them start a war is quite a task."

Azula smiled and said, "I know it will not be easy, that is why I have entrusted you with this duty. Plus I don't think it will be as difficult as you imagine. The wounds from the last war are still very fresh, and I was a very frightening figure during the war. Many of the old earth King Generals still feel a great sense of shame that I the Princess of the Fire Nation sat on the throne of Ba Sing Se. I think they will not be so hard to prod towards war."

Mutsu answered, "My lady I am quite impressed with your idea, and it puts a great smile on my face that you have replaced your brother on the throne. It was what your father always wanted. I will excuse myself and begin to make preparations to carry out your plans."

Azula answered, "Excellent, but remember it is of the utmost importance that as few people find out about this as possible. It is incredibly important that the Avatar never find out about this."

The general answered, "Of course, I will make sure that he never learns of our plans."

Azula nodded and said, "That is all now general, I will meet with you in a few days to discuss strategy at a greater length."

The general bowed again and then backed out of the room. Azula stayed on the throne thinking for another minute but then she stood up and exited. She had one more stop she wanted to make this early afternoon, and that was to the royal prison. She felt like a visit to her father was long overdue.

Azula got to the exit of the palace and then ordered the guards to summon her palanquin. She waited for about five minutes for her servants to bring it, and then she mounted it and ordered them to carry her to the prison. The trip through the city took about fifteen minutes, and when she arrived outside the prison she ordered the palanquin crew to wait for her outside as she waited for the warden to meet her.

The warden of the prison came out and asked, "Yes Firelord, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit."

Azula answered, "I would like a private audience with my father. Remove all of the guards from that area please."

The warden bowed and answered, "Anything you wish Firelord Azula, I will lead you to him now."

The warden then opened the door and led her through the prison, all the way up the stairs to the very top of the prison. He dismissed the guards outside the massive door to her father's cell and then opened it. He said, "I will be waiting at the bottom of the stairs when you are done."

Azula nodded and then walked into the cell. She saw that her father was lying on a slab with a mattress. He said, "You already brought me my lunch, why are you bothering me now."

Azula laughed and then said, "I'm sorry to bother you father."

Hearing her voice he sprung up from his back and stared at her. He looked surprised and he asked, "Azula, what are you doing here, why did your brother let you out?"

Azula laughed again and said, "Zuzu didn't let me out of anywhere father. In fact he no longer is allowed in the capitol. I have put him into exile again, and I am now the Firelord."

The expression on his face grew into an even bigger state of shock. He asked, "What did you do about the Avatar, he has become extremely powerful, I can't believe that you defeated him."

Azula walked towards the front of the cage with a wide smile and held out her hand that was adorned with her engagement ring as she said, "That is where my rise to power gets even more interesting father, the Avatar is my fiancé."

Her father said, "You're marrying the avatar?"

Azula answered, "Yes I am."

Her dad asked, "So Azula did you come here to get me out of prison?"

Azula laughed very loudly as she answered, "Oh no father. I've only been Firelord for three days. Freeing you from prison would be far too bold of an act. I need to look like a good girl for the Avatar. Fear not though, I do intend to let you out of this cell when it suits me."

He started to get angry as he shouted, "When it suits you? Damn it Azula, don't forget who I am, you will listen to me!"

Azula continued to cackle in his face as she answered, "Do not worry father, I have not forgotten that you are a pathetic bitter old defeated man who now holds as much power as the poorest hobo on the corner. And when I said I was going to free you, don't mistake it for any amount of sentimentality. It has nothing to do with any sense of loyalty or love for you father, I intend to free you for my own reasons at a time when it will further my goals. I just came here to show you that you were right when you favored me over Zuzu. I have bested him, and in the coming years I will prove to be the greatest Firelord the world has ever known."

Her father looked at her with a strange mixture of awe, anger, and bewilderment as she turned and headed towards the exit. When she reached the door she turned back and said in a sarcastic voice, "Don't worry father I'll make sure to have them improve your accommodations. That mattress does seem rather tattered." Then she slammed the door closed behind her.

AN: There was the third chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to set the tone in this chapter that Azula is still very much a villain. In Dreambending she spent most of her time by herself or with Aang so her arrogant scheming nature didn't appear often. Now that she is Firelord her dark side is going to be out in the open much more often. It will be a delicate balance she'll have to strike whenever Aang is around. I hope to update again somewhere towards the end of January. I have a definite idea about the end of this story, but I'm still trying to figure out the path to get to that ending. I'm not really sure what's going to happen in the next few chapters, but I'm going to try and do a lot of brainstorming in the next week to come up with some ideas. Anyway thanks for reading, and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts.