Chapter Text
Azula ran. She ran with her heart beating much faster than it should've, with breath knocking from her lungs at every step. Azula ran like her life depended on it
She ran as fast as she could, away from that terrible place. It was up in flames now, blue charring the white-wood and white tile inside. She could hear the distant crackles of fire as she ran through the forest, delirious. In truth, she hadn't even meant to burn the asylum down. She just couldn't control the flames anymore. It's because of all that they put me on! It's their own fault! Maybe it was guilt forming in her chest, maybe anger. She really couldn't tell right now.
The voices that rung in her head told her she did want it. That she had meant to burn the place to the ground, and that it was okay. Right now, with swimming vision, Azula did not care for the truth. She only needed to flee.
The girl ran until her body collapsed onto the moist, dark soil. Her jagged breathes echoed along the trees, hot and vaporous. She groaned, although the sound that came out was high-pitched like a whine. Wincing, the pain finally panging through her drugged body, Azula used all her strength to push herself to her feet. Using a tree as her handhold, the girl stood up. She began to jog, not run as she did before, as she realized how terrible those chemicals really had her.
And when her head insistently reminded her every time it they drugged her, if she had to beg her mind to just stop talking, no one would know, right? It didn't work, of course, but Azula soon realized it was the least of her worries.
Where had she been running, after all? Right, she had to make it to the coast of Huanhe. Only then would she have a chance of survival. Pausing, the girl looked up. It was the afternoon when she left, and now the sun was low in the sky. The girl's eyes trailed the orange rays, unable to see the blinding circle. It seemed she was going the right way after all.
Azula jogged east, panting as she did so. She was so stupid, the girls mind reassured her as she coughed. It was only a matter of time before this all caught up to her. Before she passed out on the ground and guards who came to collect her, to put her in a much worse asylum, would do just that. Looking from the ground in front of her for just a moment, Azula took a deep breath. She needed to be on Earth nation soil before then.
Eventually, after what felt like days but only could've been 2 and a half hours, she saw what could only be described as a town.
A town, a city, real human-created structures. She could almost cry at the thought, after running/jogging in this god-awful sate for more than an hour. She paused, breathing harsh and heavy. Her knees buckled inwards. A groan escaped her lips as she grasped for the trees, falling into the dirt below her. She was tired. So, so tired. All she wanted was to let her body flop to the side and rest.
But she couldn't. She knew that. She could not rest right now. She had to leave, flee, before the boats at Habasaki were notified, before her brother was notified. Now that she escaped the asylum, there was no going back. She couldn't come back here, to this island, to this kingdom, to her land. ...Even with her spinning mind, Azula knew she might never be able to rest again.
So she began to laugh. Laugh at the absurdity of it all. It was small and quiet giggles that grew to loud, deranged cackles, to chocking on things that she wouldn't admit were sobs. She was supposed to rule the kingdom she was running away from. Azula, the most powerful princess in all of fire nation history, had devolved to some maniac running from an asylum. ...and if she was laughing because of the chemicals in her bloodstream too, well, no one was there to hear her.
The girl stood on her wobbly legs that felt like uneven stilts. Slowly, she began to walk, gripping the trees for any support she could get. Her shoes were thick, wooden and rope sandles which did nothing to protect her from the mud that kicked up as she dragged her feet. It was autumn, and although it wasn't frigid, the thin cloth of her pants and shirt did nothing to shield her from the wind.
It didn't matter, right now anyway. The voices began to speak as she approached the city, to attack someone to test her flame. To heat her body up, they assured her. The warmth and safety... No; no I can't. It was hard to even walk, let alone push those thoughts aside so she could reach the coastal shores.
The girl had stolen some money as she left. Although in the past she may have refused to, that she was above something so low, the coins were just sitting on the warden's desk and she needed money for a boat trip.
Azula gripped the buildings as she stumbled forward. Her hair draped over her as she walked, back hunched as she reached forward like a blind man. That wouldn't be too far off, actually. The cloudy day made the sky a bright pink-orange, and it glared across her lids and burned her eyes. Speaking of eyes, the people who walked by her stared. It burned neck, goosebumps scaling her skin.
Azula wanted to burn their eyes out until she could see their flesh or bone.
She realized, suddenly, that she looks like she just escaped an insane asylum. The girl scoffed at them, at the idea that they were better, before finally making it to the shore. She used all her strength to push herself off the last wooden house, walking as stable as she could as she made her way to the docks.
Walking on the faded, creaking wood wasn't as hard as she expected, only slightly more difficult than the stone pathway. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion hit her. She- she really needed to get on a boat. Now.
Azula faced the first person she saw. He sat in a small wooden canoe, tan with short dark hair. "A- A boat trip to..." Azula trailed off, having a hard time remembering where exactly she was and where she wanted to go. She was so, so tired. "To the earth kingdom. Uh.. please." She blinked at him once, then twice, and it was three or four times before he said anything.
The boy she was speaking to looked no older then 18. 17, maybe. Yeah, 17. It didn't matter. Anyway, he looked up at her skeptical, wary and confused. He opened his mouth to say something, shutting to purse his lips, before looking down. "That's uh... far, right?" He mumbled to himself as he sat in his canoe. "That'd be a gold coin. Or... 8 silver." He must be young, younger than what she thought. Maybe 16, even 15, Azula realized. He's cheap.
She glanced at the coins in her palm. 14 silver. She thought it wouldn't be enough, back when she saw the coins on the white desk. A small smile graced her lips, eyes softening.
"Here." Azula passed the 8 coins. Her legs shook as she slowly sat, but the boy helped her down. Azula didn't hate touch, she simply wasn't used to it. The only touch she was used to now was the touch of the asylum wardens as they pushed and grabbed and took. So if she flinched as he guided her arm, it was no one's business.
"Oh." The boy started, oars rippling the harsh waters. By now the town had become a distant brown splotch surrounded by sea. He was a fast rower.
"Name's Nam." Nam? "Yeah, name-nam, pretty similar, huh?" Nam chuckled. She hadn't realized she said his name out loud.
"Don't forget it. I'm the fastest rower in Huanhe. Even come down to the earth kingdom, quite a lot actually." He whispered the reused advertisement.
Azula's vision began to blur. God, she was so tired. Azula could hardly remember where she was, and where she was going. She was riding with a man, and men weren't known to be the most trustworthy. It was dark, far from shore. How could she fall asleep when if she slept she'd be so vulnerable? She was already vulnerable, her brain supplied. It would be better if she got rest, at least. The sane part of her knew that it didn't matter if she was awake or not. If something happened, she wouldn't be able to save herself if she tried.
And she was so exhausted. Would it be so terrible if she fell asleep? Without an answer, Azula allowed her body to rest, mind slipping unconscious as soon as it was given permission.