A.N. So I'm back with some more chapters! This is an OC chapter since there's no reference to canon but the two after this are The Beach episode! Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting as always!

Azara sighed as she held out her arms, the seamstress making notes about her measurements again. She rolled her eyes as she was prodded in the back. Lowering her arms obediently, Azara waited for the next set of measurements to be completed so that she could just move on with her day.

Preparations for her engagement were apparently in full swing, not that Azara had any say in any part of it. She didn't even have a say in who she was marrying, so why would she expect to be able to pick out the flower arrangements or the fabric of her dress?

"Are you finished?" Azara asked as the seamstress stepped away, writing down some notes.

"Yes, Princess Azara."

"Good," Azara sighed, jumping down from the pedestal.

She nearly ran across the palace, wanting to get back to her room as soon as possible to block out her reality. And her room was quickly becoming the only room in the entire palace, if not the entire Fire Nation, where she felt even a semblance of peace.

Pushing open her door, Azara narrowed her eyes as she noticed the three girls lounging around the room. Her room. "What are you doing in my room?" she snapped as Azula rolled her eyes.

"Where I'm from, we exchange a pleasant 'hello'—"

"—What are you doing in my room?" Azara interjected, cutting off her sister.

"We wanted to offer you some girl time," Ty Lee smiled, moving to stand next to Azula. "All of us haven't had the time to get caught up because of . . . well, you know."

"And it has to be in my room?" Azara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but you spend all your time in here. We knew it would only be a matter of time before you returned," Azula drawled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine. You've already made yourselves at home anyways," Azara huffed, walking over to her desk to pull of the stupid accessories the seamstress had wanted her to wear during her fitting. "What do you want to do anyways?"

"Let's all catch up!" Ty Lee suggested, kneeling on the bed. "We haven't all been together since before . . ." Ty Lee quieted down suddenly as Azara sighed.

"Since I left," she supplied, pulling her hair out of her top knot, and brushing it out. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"All of it!" Ty Lee smiled as Mai sighed from beside her, laying back.

Setting down her brush, Azara got to her feet and walked over to the privacy wall to change. "I don't know. Zuko and I started out looking through all the old air temples. Then when those didn't pan out, we just went all over the place. Never got a warm reception, though I'm assuming you knew that already," Azara sighed as she tugged on simpler clothes.

"Ended up in the South Pole. Zuko tracked Aang down to a small village and 'captured' him. Then I helped Aang escape. We went all over the place—the Southern Air Temple, Omashu, the Fire Nation colonies—and eventually ended up in the North Pole for a bit. Then Zhao and Uncle tried to invade it. I died for a bit. Came back. Then I—"

"—Wait, wait," Azula cut in, waving her hands around slightly erratically. "You died?" she asked, her eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean you died?"

"I died," Azara replied simply with a shrug. "Took a fire blast to the chest. Hurt like a bitch. Moon Spirit got involved, and brought me back," she explained nonchalantly, as if dying and coming back to life was a regular occurrence. Azara glanced between Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai, who were all staring at her oddly, their eyes widened in shock.

"Anyways," she continued, wanting to move the recap along, "then we traveled around again. Ran into you guys in Omashu, obviously. Picked up a new friend, and then ran into you guys again. Uh . . . went to a Spirit Library for a bit—won't be going back. Wandered around the desert. And then we went to Ba Sing Se and ran into you guys for the third and final time."

"That's wild!" Ty Lee gasped as Azara shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"You really died?" Azula asked in a quieter tone, her gaze studying Azara again.

"I mean, that's what everyone else said happened. Don't really remember much of it after I lost consciousness," Azara spoke, shrugging again as Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai shared looks.

"Well, what was your favorite part of all that?" Ty Lee cut in, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't know," Azara sighed, even though she knew exactly what her answer was. She was still a little on edge from her conversation with Izen. "Probably the freedom."

"Freedom?" Azula scoffed as Azara nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, the freedom. It was nice to just be a normal teenage girl for a bit. No rules, no expectations. Being able to slouch when I sit without someone smacking my back. Getting my clothes dirty without someone complaining about the fabric. Just . . . getting to be free," Azara sighed, leaning on her desk. "I mean, come on, you've all thought about it too."

"I've never," Azula replied, studying her nails as Azara rolled her eyes.

"I have," Ty Lee agreed as Mai and Azula shot her a look.

"You ran away to join the circus," Mai pointed out in a deadpan.

"Exactly! And Azara's right. It was a lot of fun! You could do whatever you wanted! You would have loved it, Mai," Ty Lee nudged, though Mai looked away.

"I'm perfectly content where I am now," Mai sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You ran away from your parents in Omashu," Azara countered as Mai shot her a look. "I'm just saying what I did isn't as drastic as you're all making it out to be."

"Well, they didn't commit treason by running away," Azula stated, as Azara groaned getting to her feet.

"Come on, Azula. Admit that you've thought about what it would be like if you weren't a princess," Azara prodded, walking over to her sister.

"Just because you enjoyed playing peasant for a few months, does not mean that I would, Azara," Azula snapped as Azara sighed dramatically.

"Think about it. No guards, no annoying tutors, no rules, and no perfectly folded hands," Azara listed off, wrapping an arm around her sister. "You've thought about it, I know you have, Azula."

"Why does it matter?" Azula scoffed, pushing her sister's arm off of her. "It doesn't matter. We're still princesses, Azara. You can't change that."

"Why not?" Azara asked, taking a step back. "What's so wrong about dreaming of a life outside of this stupid palace?"

"Something did happen while you were away," Azula stated, her eyes narrowing as she studied Azara's face. Azara scoffed, shaking her head, as she walked back to her desk.

"I'm just saying, maybe being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"You'd rather be a peasant?" Azula demanded as Azara rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather be a free peasant than trapped in this stupid palace forced to marry some stupid general's son because a bunch of old guys want to control my life," Azara corrected, turning around to face Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. "I survived as a peasant for a while. Who's to say I can't do it again?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Azara sighed, staring at the ground.

"So that's what this is about? Izen?" Azula replied, sounding mildly bored. "What's so wrong with him that's gotten you into such a tizzy?"

"He's an asshat."

"Well, yes, we already knew that, but you're going to have to be more specific."

"I don't love him. He only likes me because I'm a princess. We're only getting married because his dad and our father want to mess with my head. Is that clear enough?" Azara snapped, throwing her arms out to the side as Azula shrugged.

"Azara's right. Marriage should be about love," Ty Lee agreed, getting up. "I couldn't ever imagine getting married to someone I didn't love."

"Here we go," Azula sighed, rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you're still caught up on that stupid Water Tribe peasant, Ty Lee?"

Azara eyes widened at Azula's words. She glanced over at Ty Lee, who laughed off Azula's words as she shrugged. "What's wrong with thinking he's cute, Azula?"

"He's got a girlfriend," Azara blurted out before she could stop herself. Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee turned to Azara, who froze slightly at her own outburst.

"Who?"

". . . You don't know her," Azara lied lamely, waving off the question, before turning back to Mai and Azula. "But yeah, same sentiment. What's wrong with wanting to marry for love?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. Except you're setting yourself up for disappointment," Azula scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Love is a teenage fantasy."

"We are teenagers," Azara replied as Azula rolled her eyes.

"Since when did you become such a sap, Azara?" Azula shot back at her sister. "Spending all that time with those peasants really took a toll on you it seems. You should be thankful that your life was spared and that you can live your life as it was before. Albeit with an unwanted addition."

"Right, sorry I'm not thrilled at the prospect of being forced to marry someone I can't even hold a conversation with before it dissolves into an argument!" Azara huffed sarcastically before heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Well, I was thinking I could hide in my room but apparently we have no concept of boundaries in the Fire Nation!" Azara yelled over her shoulder, before leaving through the door.

Azula sighed before she walked over to the door as well. "I'll handle this," she told Ty Lee and Mai, before following after Azara. She knew where her sister would be going anyway; there was no need to rush.

Azara sat by the koi pond in a rather abandoned courtyard on the edge of the palace, staring into the clear water. Watching the koi swim around calmly, Azara's thoughts drifted back to the North Pole for a moment. Her chest started to burn as her head began to pound once more.

Azara . . . you must . . .

"It's not real, Azara, it's just all in your head," she told herself, trying to steady her breathing.

Azara . . . the time . . . has come . . .

Azara shook her head, holding her hands against her temples. "Get out of my head," she demanded quietly, her eyes clenched shut.

The pain in her head suddenly dissipated, but Azara did not have a moment to collect herself before the sound of approaching footsteps drew her back to reality. Turning around, Azara stared at Azula, who walked calmly into the courtyard.

"I thought dramatic storming away sequences were Zuko's thing," Azula commented offhandedly as she moved to sit beside her sister.

"What do you want, Azula?"

"I'm only checking on you, Azara. Calm down."

"You know, the last thing you want to tell someone who's trying to calm down is 'calm down'," Azara huffed, shooting Azula a look. Azula was silent for a moment, staring at the fish, before turning back to Azara.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you—"

"—You did insult me," Azara interjected, causing Azula to huff.

"Fine, I'm sorry that I insulted you." Azara rolled her eyes as the two sisters sat in silence for a moment. Azula sighed again before turning to her sister. "I understand wanting to be happy, Azara, but right now you need to focus on staying in Father's good graces."

"Which inevitably means that I'll be miserable," Azara pointed out, her eyes still trailing over the koi swimming around in front of her.

"You're alive. And for now, that's all that matters," Azula stated gently as Azara looked away.

Azula glanced down at Azara's wrist, raising an eyebrow when she noticed something missing. "You're not wearing that bracelet anymore."

"What bracelet?" Azara snapped defensively as Azula rolled her eyes.

"The golden band. On your wrist."

"It broke," Azara lied, looking away. "Was just part of my Earth Kingdom disguise anyways. I threw it out."

Azula turned to stare at the water for a moment, the two sisters sitting in silence. "How is the planning going for your engagement?" Azula asked, trying to stir up conversation.

"Wouldn't know, I'm not involved in any of the planning," Azara replied stiffly as Azula nodded, pursing her lips.

"I know you're upset about all of this, but the alternative would be much worse, Azara."

"What alternative?"

"You could be dead," Azula reminded her sister, her expression calm despite the topic at hand. "An engagement is by far a less severe punishment."

"It's worse than life in prison."

"How so?"

"At least when you're sitting shackled in a cell, people recognize that you're imprisoned. I'll be forced to strut around like some stupid peacock monkey pretending like everything's just fine," Azara muttered, glaring down at the water.

"I see," Azula sighed, glancing over at her sister. "Izen's not . . . horrible."

"You know, labeling everything as 'terrible-but-not-the-worst' isn't really working with me right now." There was a moment of pause before Azara spoke again, her head lowered slightly. "I don't want to marry him, Azula."

"I gathered that fact." They sat in silence for a moment again before Azula turned to her sister. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Azara sighed, thinking back to her conversation with her father about Azula. "You've already done enough to help me, Azula. So, for that . . . thank you."

"So . . . are we alright then?" Azula asked as Azara stared down at the water.

"You still murdered one of my best friends," Azara pointed out as Azula scoffed at her words. Even though Azara knew that Katara had the Spirit Oasis water with her, didn't mean that she was fully confident that Aang had made it out of Ba Sing Se alive and well.

"You always act like you're so far above me and even Zuko with your moral compass, Azara," Azula muttered, shaking her head. "Which is especially amusing after you tried to kill the both of us in the Catacombs."

"I didn't try to kill you! I was defending my friends!" Azara snapped as Azula rolled her eyes.

"Right, you and your white fire were just—"

"—What are you talking about?" Azara interjected, glaring at Azula. "What white fire?"

"What do you mean 'white fire'? Your white fire!"

"My flames are orange. Like normal people, Azula," Azara pointed out, creating a flame in the palm of her hand to demonstrate her point.

"Well, they turned white!"

"No, they didn't!"

"Yes, they did!" Azula growled before realization suddenly overcame her. "What do you think happened in the Catacombs?" she asked in a quieter tone.

"You blasted Aang out of the sky. Uncle and I blocked Katara's escape. Then you captured Uncle and threw me back into a wall. I woke up in a metal cage. End of story," Azara recounted, resting her head in her arm as she glared over at her sister.

"That's all you remember?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Azula?" Azara nearly yelled, growing agitated. "Yes, that's all I remember, because that's all that happened!"

"You don't remember," Azula gasped out as a servant walked into the courtyard.

"Princess Azara, you're needed for some more fittings," the servant spoke as Azara sighed and got to her feet.

"We're talking about this later," she muttered to Azula before following the servant out of the courtyard, leaving a stunned Azula behind her. 

A.N. So, to clarify, Azara doesn't remember anything that happened between Uncle getting trapped in the Catacombs as Katara and Aang escaped and getting knocked out by the Dai Li. Which will be explained in due time, so stick around! Hope you liked it! The Beach episode is next!