Iroh looked at Azula with a sad smile playing on his lips as they walked towards the city. The sun that had risen lit Azula and Iroh's bright gold eyes as she looked at the old man in contempt. But there was something softer about her in her eyes. She looked older, but also more... sane. Iroh knew there was something grounding her, and he guessed what, or rather who, it was.
"Azula. You talked about having an Avatar in your custody. Is she in the palace?"
"You'll never get in there. The guards have orders to shoot you and Zuzu on sight." Azula smirked. "You two are traitors."
Iroh didn't say anything. "What is her name?"
"Korra." Azula couldn't stop a genuine smile on her face when she said the young avatar's name.
"Korra. That's an interesting name. She's changed you, hasn't she? You look at her as if she is your daughter." Iroh said this as more of a musing than a question.
Azula's smile faltered, and she tried to regain her steely composure. "I have no idea what you're talking about. She is a weapon, and only a weapon."
Iroh only nodded, not believing her. "So, this weapon of yours. Has she shown any skills yet?"
"Yes, actually. She can already bend 3 elements." Azula chuckled. "Ironically, the only element she can't bend is air. But she's still young. I'm sure the ability will come soon enough."
"I see. What are you going to do when she figures out your history, and that you killed her in another life?"
"She won't find out. The guards and her teachers are under strict orders not to tell her any of my past history, or her past lives."
"She is going to find out when she goes into the avatar state for the first time. Avatar Aang will definitely tell her everything you've done."
"Well, she won't be able to until she unlocks the spiritual side of bending, and how is she going to do that without a teacher?" Azula looked unsure, and surprisingly, a little scared.
Iroh saw the softer side to her and decided to go to a different approach. "You know, when Lu Ten was taken from me, I realized that everything I had done was wrong. The war on Ba Sing Se, letting Lu Ten come with me. All of them were mistakes. I fixed those mistakes by helping Zuko and the Avatar. I only wished that you had accepted my help as well."
"Your help? I shouldn't have needed your help! My own mother thought that I was a monster. She was right of course but it still hurt. She should've helped me, but she was too busy sacrificing herself for Zuko." Azula looked at the old man with something resembling hurt in her eyes. "You were too."
Iroh looked away from her, refusing to acknowledge the truth behind her words. "Your mother," Iroh began in a strange, soft voice. "sacrificed herself for you too. If she hadn't left Ozai would've killed all of you, and if she left with you, the same thing would've happened. So she made a choice. I'm sure she regretted it until her dying day, but she did love you. She loved both of her children."
Azula looked at her uncle, trying to hold back tears. What was wrong with her?!? Why was she becoming so emotional over someone like mother, or anyone in her family, really. She knew now that Ozai only ever cared about her because she was a weapon for him. Because Zuko wasn't as powerful as she was, he was banished at 13 after an Agni Kai with the most powerful firebender in the world.
Her mother had left her and died when she was very young, and she only remembered bits and parts of her, the rest of the blanks filled in by her father, who taught her that Ursa was a horrible person. She had believed him, but what if that wasn't true?
No. She couldn't trust her uncle. She couldn't trust anyone. But.... she didn't want to turn into her father. She did want a family one day, but she didn't want to become a monster like Ozai. Was that really what she was doing with Korra? Manipulating the little girl from a young age for Azula's own needs?
Her train of thought was interrupted when an old man jumped in front of her and Iroh. He seemed to have arrived from underground. He closed up the hole and embraced Iroh like an old friend. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was the King of Omashu.
Iroh and Bumi chatted a bit about unimportant things until they got to the subject of the young woman beside Iroh.
"So, this is your niece, huh? I can see the resemblance. But she seems angry for some reason. Maybe it's because of the rope." Bumi looked at Azula closely.
"You're right. Maybe we should take it off." Iroh's eyes twinkled as Bumi compiled, giggling.
Bumi started untying the rope around her wrist. Confused, Azula stared at her uncle with a questioning gaze.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Iroh gave her an encouraging smile, and before Iroh could change his mind, Azula jumped on the rooftops and tried to find her way back to the cave.
Iroh and Bumi watched her leave and sat down on the alley and shared tea and stories about their life since they'd last seen each other.