When Tai Lung and Azula reached the Lung estate, they went straight to the backyard, or better known as Tai Lungs's training ground. The moment Ty Lee spotted Azula, her face lit up in a wide grin.
"I knew Tai Lung would get you out of there!" she said cheerfully.
Mai's smile was smaller, more restrained, but sincere. "Did the Fire Lord make any fuss?"
"Not a sound," Tai Lung replied flatly.
Azula looked at her two friends, and a rare sense of gratefulness filled her chest. "Thank you, girls. You are the best friends anyone could ask for, really."
Ty Lee and Mai were both taken aback. Sincerity was not something Azula had ever shown so openly.
The two exchanged a quick glance, then Ty Lee said softly, "No need for thanks between us. We're friends." Mai nodded in agreement.
For the first time, Azula took initiative and stepped forward and embraced them, both Ty Lee and Mai. Ty Lee squeaked with surprise, while Mai froze a moment before letting herself relax into it. Off to the side, Tai Lung allowed himself a small smile at the sight.
After the warmth of the moment settled, Tai Lung turned toward Mai. "So what comes next? You got your friend out successfully."
Mai shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't think that far."
Azula spoke to Tai Lung, her voice steady. "You and Ty Lee mentioned before that you wanted to travel around the world. If it's fine with you, I would like to join you. I will act just like any other soldier in your crew."
Ty Lee blinked in shock. "Since when are you interested in travel?"
"I'm not," Azula admitted. "I just don't think I should stay here anymore. Maybe my destiny was never to stand at my father's side. I would like to see the world for myself… and then find my destiny."
Ty Lee's mouth fell open, stunned by the change in her friend.
"That's fine by me," Tai Lung said after a moment. "But I must admit, you are moving way too fast. I didn't expect you to be so decisive."
Azula fell silent for a breath, then spoke with unusual candor. "When I was a child, my mother thought I was a monster. She always showed bias toward Zuko as if he was better than me."
Her tone darkened. "Father always praised me, favored me over Zuko. So I only wanted to prove him right… to prove my mother wrong. But now, seeing how my father acted… maybe my mother was right after all. Maybe I deserved her hatred and bias."
Tai Lung blinked, then shook his head. "Your mother didn't hate you or think you were a monster. She was worried about you. Worried how your father was twisting you into a cruel, vile person like him, all out of spite."
Azula stared at him, her composure cracking. "What? What do you know?"
"Your mother used to come here with Zuko years ago," Tai Lung explained. "She grew close with my mother. She told her how your father, out of spite, punished and mistreated Zuko, while praising you and encouraging you to hurt him. He did it all because he knew it would hurt your mother."
He continued firmly, "Your mother was trying to teach you right from wrong, to shield you from Ozai's venom. But every day, she grew more worried about you and she had no way to stop it. As I told you before, you're a victim of spite, just like Zuko. And Ozai doesn't deserve to be called a father."
Azula's face went pale. Her voice trembled as she muttered, "My mother… loved me? She didn't think I was a monster?"
"You can go ask my mother," Tai Lung said gently. "She was the one who told me this."
Azula's composure shattered. Without another word, she turned and ran into the Lung estate, desperate to find Tai's mother.
Mai and Ty Lee stood frozen, staring after her in shock.
"Tai, Is that really true?" Ty Lee asked.
He nodded in response.
"And you didn't think you should tell us earlier?" Ty Lee asked with clear agitation.
"I was travelling most of the time and Azula's family drama is low on the priority list to what I could care about. And let's be real, if I told her that before today, she would have looked the other way while saying I am sowing discord or something along these lines." Tai replied bluntly.
Ty Lee just stared at him then nodded, his words, as blunt as they are, made sense. She turned to look at the state while wondering what Azula was feeling now, she truly felt sorry for Azula.
On the other hand, Mai's mind drifted to Zuko, he was banished and treated so badly just to spite his mother. Even when Zuko's mom was dead, Ozai continued to torment him all the same. It showed how much of a monster Ozai really is.
——————
That night Azula sat alone in the courtyard as the full moon pale light illuminated the night. She stared at it with a hollow sadness; after her conversation with Tai's mother and the painful confirmation of everything she had been told, she felt unmoored. The woman she had believed hated her, who Azula had convinced herself regarded her as a monster, had in truth been full of worry and love. The father she thought had favored her had in reality used her as a blade to wound the person who truly loved her: her mother.
Her memories looped back at her in a new, cruel light. Every harsh word, every stern lesson, every proud accolade from Ozai was reinterpreted. Her mother's strictness, once evidence of favoritism and bias, now appeared as tough love, an attempt to steer a misguided child away from Ozai's influence. The realization gnawed at her: she had blamed her dead mother for the lies and illusion she had been fed, her mother had not deserved it, and she had willingly become the tool her father wanted her to be.
Ty Lee's soft voice broke through the spiral of thought. "Azula, are you okay? You've been sitting like this since after noon." Azula turned and saw Ty Lee standing a few steps away, eyes wide with worry; even Mai nearby wore an expression of concern.
Azula exhaled, a small, ragged sound. "I have wronged my mother my whole life," she said quietly. "Even after she was gone, I continued to blame her and think badly of her."
Ty Lee moved closer and sat at her side, wrapping her arms around Azula before the princess could stop her. "It's not your fault," she murmured. "You were too young to understand." From behind them Mai's voice, blunt and steady, added, "It is your father's fault. All of this is his doing."
Azula listened to the two friends' reassurances and felt a swell of conflicting emotions, guilt, relief, and a new, bitter clarity. "I always wanted to prove myself to him," she admitted. "I wanted his praise. I wanted to be better than Zuko. If you hadn't sent Tai Lung, I might have stayed his tool forever."
Her hands curled into fists at her sides. A fierce heat flared in her, anger, shame, and a hunger for recompense. "I will storm the palace and demand an Agni Kai," she snapped, voice sharp with sudden resolve. "I want him to pay. I will make him pay."
Mai's voice, cool and practical as ever, cut in. "You don't need to do that. Ty Lee can ask Tai Lungi to skin him if you want. Tai Lung despises your father, and if asked he will…"
"No." Azula's answer was immediate. She shook her head hard enough that her hair stirred. "I will do it myself."
Ty Lee opposed her decision. "You can't, he's still your father."
Azula's face hardened at the reminder. "There was no hesitation when he burned Zuko," she said, the memory of Zuko's humiliation fueling her fury. "If he can do that to his own son, what is wrong if his daughter did the same to him?"
Ty Lee pressed "Even so, it is still too dangerous. Your father is still one of the strongest benders in the world"
Azula recalled Tai Lung's words, that she would eventually surpass her father, then a sudden bright determination lit her eyes.
[ I don't want to wait for years.] Azula thought as she resolved herself.
"Where is Tai Lung?" she asked.
"He went back to his room to meditate," Ty Lee answered.
Azula rose before either friend could reply. "I need to talk to him." She turned and walked toward the house without waiting, steps quick and purposeful, leaving Ty Lee and Mai exchanging anxious looks behind her.
Azula was clearly up to something.