Hidden

[sears]

After "Ty Lee" had started talking about coming and grabbing her, Azula wasted no time in finding a place to hide. She finally settled on a big wardrobe in the corner of the unfamiliar bedroom she had found herself in. She climbed in and pulled the doors shut behind her, wiggling to the very back and curtaining herself with some of the strange-looking clothes that were hanging inside.

This was probably just some weird nightmare. A bunch of peasants who had no idea what the Fire Nation was? Grown-up Ty Lees and Zukos, who had things like gross-looking scars and foreboding-sounding fighting skills (Azula had no idea what "chi-block" meant, and she didn't really want to find out)? Definitely a nightmare. It was all Zuko's fault, probably. He'd been having bad dreams for about a week-- ever since their mother had disappeared-- and now he was passing them on to Azula. Stupid Zuzu.

Agitated and upset, Azula pulled her knees to her chest and sniffed. The wardrobe was a dumb hiding place. She wondered if maybe she should have gone to another room entirely-- but then how would her father ever find her when he came to pick her up? And besides, if she left now, she might run into the big Ty Lee in the hallway or something.

Azula shifted around a little, pulling at the clothes hanging in front of her to make sure there were no gaps. Then, getting an idea, she yanked some of the ones that were hanging on the other end and tucked them around herself, trying to make it look as if she was just a pile of laundry. She curled up underneath the clothes as tight as she could, sat very, very still, and waited.

Comments

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"Could a kid bring down Ba Sing Se?" She continued brushing Azula's hair, ignoring the anger.

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"Uncle Iroh almost did. Then he gave up."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"But you eventually did defeat it."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

Azula sneaked a look back at her. "... Really?"

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"Yep! And with only two elite soldiers, too." Ty Lee gave a smile.

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

She looked pleased. "I always knew I'd do something like that someday. Even if this is a dream I bet it'll really happen."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"It did."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." She looked down at her lap. "I want to go home."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"No."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"I don't like it here. It's really weird."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"You act like weird is bad."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"It is bad. I probably won't be able to sleep here because it's too weird."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Ty Lee ignored her, focusing on the act of brushing her hair. One, two, three...how many strokes was she supposed to do again? A hundred?

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"You should've kidnapped Zuko instead of me. He wouldn't care; he hates it at home now."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

She continued to ignore Azula.

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

Azula turned her head slightly, looking at Ty Lee out of the corner of her eye. "My mom used to sit and talk to me at at bedtime," she lied. "That was part of the routine, too."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Ty Lee put down the brush. One hundred strokes, done. "Alright. I'll do that once I get some tea."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"Okay." Azula looked at her. "... I still can't move."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Ty Lee shrugged. "It'll wear off, don't worry about it."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

"It's annoying. I'll fall over when you get up."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

"Not if I lay you down."

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

She scowled. "I'm not a baby."

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Ty Lee began to lay her down anyways. "You'd prefer to fall?

[peoplesprincess.livejournal.com]

The scowl deepened. "Yes," she said stubbornly.

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Ty Lee let go, letting her drop. "There."