bentflame | Crossroads

Something would have to be done about her father.

Azula did not like having to admit this. Fire Lord Ozai had been an excellent leader-- was still an excellent leader-- and it was a shame to see him brought off course in such a way, like a child distracted with a new toy. Not that she herself had acted much differently, she supposed-- upon her own arrival, she had made the same mistakes; the same miscalculations. However, she hadn't been in her father's position. Had she been at the very top of the tier, with no one to run the show while she was focusing on frivolities... the results would have been far more disastrous. What the Fire Nation needed right now, more than anything else, was an attentive leader-- one who wouldn't be distracted, even for a second, from his goals. Azula didn't know for sure that Ozai's actions would cost them the war, but she didn't want to take that chance.

She wouldn't kill him, of course. He wouldn't even be imprisoned. There would just be a partial, temporary seizing of power, until he came to terms with the discovery of the community (and what it entailed) and was prepared to govern the Fire Nation (and only the Fire Nation) fully and effectively again. If they were both lucky, he would be too busy even notice. And if he did notice... he would be angry; Azula knew this. But she was confident that he would thank her for it later. She knew what she was doing, and he would eventually see that for himself. Unfortunately, right now, he was still effectively blind. That was one of the main reasons that she was choosing to keep certain things from him. Her worldhopping feather, for example, as well as some of the off-world technology she had acquired. He wasn't ready for it yet. And considering some of the things that had happened (the confrontation about Ty Lee, as well as his strange demand that she refer to him as "Fire Lord Ozai"-- not "Father", as she always had in the past), she didn't like the idea of having no real advantages over him.

Pacing across her room in long, purposeful strides, Azula made a mental list. These frivolous things he was asking of her would have to stop, despite his response when she had mentioned it to him. If he was going to waste his own time it was crucial that he didn't drag her down with him. As a princess, her frequent off-world "vacations" were one thing, but she knew perfectly well that if she were Fire Lord (and if she didn't have the means to worldhop by herself) such things wouldn't be possible. She would also have to somehow curtail his suspicions about her relationship with Ty Lee. Despite his apparent acceptance of the situation, Azula hadn't forgotten his warning.

Lastly, and most importantly, he could never find out that she had kept anything from him-- whether it was about the worldhopping, the foreign weaponry, or anything else. If he discovered any of this and moved to take action against her, Azula already knew what she would do-- and it was something that she hoped to avoid for as long as possible.

There was, after all, a difference between wanting to kill your father and Fire Lord, and only being willing to do it if it was absolutely necessary.

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"Thank you, Fire Lord Ozai."

"For..." He trailed off.

"For everything."

"Wrong answer, dearest daughter." He looked at Azula straight in the eyes, trying to see if there was any change. "Try again."

They might have hardened just the slightest bit. "Perhaps not what you were looking for, Your Majesty, but nonetheless true. I owe you for absolutely everything that I have; everything that I'm capable of."

He narrowed his eyes, perhaps she could hear the sound of his teeth being ground. "You do, this is true. I made you, you are nothing without me. You would be orse than your brother. Worse than a servant. Correct?" He was daring her to say 'no'. It wasn't a game anymore.

She could keep her face emotionless, true, but if he was looking into her eyes he would see a different story. Her father had never spoken to her that way before. "Correct."

Edited 2009-03-17 00:15 (UTC)

Ozai, in his twisted mind, had no reason to speak so in the past. Before he was...too lenient. "Is that defiance I see?"

"I have nothing but the upmost respect for you, Fire Lord Ozai."

"Your eyes tell a different story, Princess Azula."

By that point she was struggling to keep her face impassive. "I'm ashamed to appear that way to you, Your Majesty."

"For your sake, you better be." He wanted her to lose impassiveness, to show 'weakness'.

She blinked, keeping her eyes shut for a second longer than was necessary. "Of course. I am better than Zuko--" The slightest of pauses. "-- because of you."

Ozai looked at her hard. "Only. Repeat that sentence, correctly." He turned around, heading back for the throne. Every muscle was tense, waiting to see if she was to make a move.

She was very, very tempted to, but she didn't. Planning was needed before any strike. "Only," she said through gritted teeth.

"The whole sentence." He still had his back turned, daring her. The bitterness was obvious in her tone.

"I am better than Zuko only because of you."

It would happen soon.

Ozai sat back on the throne. "Now that you admit, let's move on to more pressing matters."

((Should Azula (http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/2840002.html) temporarily gain control of the country while Daddy is indisposed for a while?))

"Of course."

OOC: Hoshit. :O She'd probably crown herself Fire Lord.

"You may be seated."

((He's not going to get any sympathy, is he?))

She obeyed.

OOC: No. :|

"Good girl." He drank deeply out of the tea again. "You have something to say?"

((Turtleduck or mouse? I can't decide which he should be. :|))

"Do you have something you wish me to say?"

OOC: OH GOD. XD A turtleduck would be lolzy.

"Speak your mind."

((...a turtleduck it is then. DX ..you can make a post or something with Azula all being "Since it appears my father disappeared, I'm temporarily the ruler of the Fire Nation" or something. XD:))

"I have nothing more to say, Your Majesty."

OOC: Sounds good. I think she'd either use the time to work on her plans to take him out of power eventually, but still give him his crown back when he was back to normal... or she'd just go all-out and declare herself permanent Fire Lord, and not plan on giving him back the throne upon his return ~~and probably getting her ass handed to her and the throne taken away~~. Which would you rather to go with?