Chapter Text
The first thing Azula managed to realize in months was that she was running.
Running from the Avatar.
Running from his stupid friends.
And that included her own brother.
Zuzu had locked her in an asylum, left her there to be tortured for who knew how long. Then, when he needed her, he took her out — only because she demanded it — just so he could chase after his precious mother. And in the end, when they finally found Ursa, Azula learned the truth.
She had been replaced.
Replaced by a brat.
By a girl who wasn’t broken.
It hurt more than she had ever expected.
She attacked. Rage took over. She nearly killed Ursa.
And then she ran.
She had been running ever since.
Azula despised being in anyone’s debt. Truly despised it.
Oksana — a hired assassin — had saved her life. And for some unfathomable reason, one that could only be described as a catastrophically stupid decision, Azula asked what she wanted in return.
A terrible mistake.
The favor was simple: find a boy named Yan in a filthy city called Kólashi-yun — also known as Infernal City. A place crawling with crime, rebels, and fugitives, where the most repulsive things were disturbingly normal.
It made her sick.
The streets stank of vomit and urine. Azula’s stomach twisted with every step she took.
When she entered the bar, the overpowering stench of cheap liquor assaulted her senses, forcing a grimace of pure disgust from her face. A few drunken men grinned at her.
— Do you even know what hygiene is? — she snapped.
She sat on a stool far from them, masking her revulsion as she took a slow breath, fighting the urge to vomit.
The bar owner approached — a middle-aged man, somewhat overweight, with a gentle face and calm manners.
— Good afternoon, miss — he said politely. — Pretty girls like you don’t usually come here. Looking for information?
"At least the old man is perceptive" Azula thought.
— Do you know a boy named Yan? Around twenty. Black hair, brown eyes, tanned skin. Tall.
— Ah, young Yan. He comes here on weekends — the man replied. — But he’s far too old for you.
Azula failed to hide her grimace. The man chuckled and let it go.
He set a steaming bowl of noodles in front of her.
— He’s staying at Aunt Jihyun’s inn. And the noodles are on the house.
Azula shrugged and ate as politely as she could manage.
That night, she returned to her inn only long enough to gather her few belongings. She would leave before dawn. There were too many bounty hunters in the city. The next one was smaller, quieter — a place where they might not even recognize her face.
She wrote to Oksana and sent the message by raven.
Before leaving, she stole a bit of food and money from the inn — enough to survive, but not enough to be noticed.
Three days passed as Azula followed the trail.
When she finally reached the next region, she slipped into the forest and made her way to a clearing, a constant sense of being watched crawling along her spine. She set up camp as night approached.
She had enough food for two days — if she limited herself to one meal a day.
And she would.
The days went by. Strangely, the food lasted longer than it should have. Small rations kept appearing near her camp.
Azula didn’t understand how.
But she didn’t refuse them.
Eventually, she decided to hunt. She bought a bow and a few arrows with what little money she had left. Still, the feeling of being watched never faded — not in the forest, not in the city.
"Hallucinations" she told herself. "It had to be."
Until one night.
The shadows began to shift.
The wind whispered cruel words.
— I love you, Azula…
The darkness shaped itself into her mother’s face.
Light brown eyes, hollow and sad.
Perfect hair.
A porcelain smile with no warmth behind it.
— I love you…
— SHUT UP!
— Monster… — the wind hissed.
— LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!— Azula screamed, sobbing as she clutched her head.
— Azula…
She was done.
Her fury erupted, flames tearing through the clearing in every direction.
Then, a hand pressed against her forehead.
And everything went black.
When morning came, part of the clearing lay scorched.
Beside the remains of her camp sat a sandwich and a mug of tea. A note rested atop a stone.
“You’re welcome for saving you, princess.
I assumed you’d be hungry, so eat well.
There are many dangers out there.
— White Lady"
Azula frowned. Whoever this woman was, she had been watching her for days.
Suspicious, yet starving, Azula ate and drank the tea.
And wondered who the White Lady was… and what she wanted from her.
The days passed. The sense of being watched no longer felt oppressive. It was… different.
Almost protective.
Azula didn’t know how to feel about that.
But, against her will, she liked it.
Then another nightmare came.
She stood inside a cave high atop a mountain. Below her stretched an endless forest of fire. From the shadows emerged a man. His face was hidden, but his presence was suffocating.
The kind that whispered only one command: "run or die".
— Little phoenix… — he spoke, his voice ancient, layered with countless whispers. — You are running out of time. Do you truly believe you can stop me?
— I don’t even know who you are — Azula snapped.
— But you will. And when you do, there will be no escape. You will be either the fall… or the salvation of the world. Choose wisely, Daughter of the Sun.
The ground split open beneath her feet.
She fell.
Azula woke with a sharp gasp.
Sleep did not return.
Then she heard the crunch of footsteps in the leaves.
She grabbed her bow and stepped out of the clearing, only to find a golden hairpin — shaped like laurel leaves — resting on the ground beside a note.
“One blessed by Chaos and born of Agni needs protection.
You will need this, Princess of the Sun.
— White Lady and Purple Demon"
Wonderful.
Now there were two of them.
Not understanding why she would need a hairpin, Azula still placed it in her hair.
Only one thing remained.
To uncover who the White Lady truly was…
And who the so-called Purple Demon might be.
And she would.
Sooner or later.