Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Flakes ❯ Of Blue Flame ( Chapter 8 )

Title: Of Blue Flame

Author: Sephira jo

Rating: G

Warning: Focuses on Mai and Ty Lee and Azula.

Author's Notes: On this chapter, I kind of took from the Spanish meaning of Azula's name and modified it a bit for Fire Nation use. It's a liberal translation, but I hope no one minds. After all, it makes a good story.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar; I'm not making any money off of this.

 

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Her name meant `Of Blue Flame.' And she could always feel it, burning under her skin, setting her thoughts ablaze, even lighting her dreams. But as of the tender age of five, she had yet to actually cup it in her hands, create it from nothing.

 

She was starting to wonder if she ever would.

 

She always felt lost, trailing behind her elder brother and their cousin. Tutors assured her it would come; teachers coached her to make it so, but not so much of a spark could come to her fingers.

 

She was only five, and already starting to lose hope.

 

Her brother and her cousin would brush her off from time to time, and she found ways to vent her frustration when they - and her parents - left her alone.

 

A second child with no talents was useless, after all. Worth less than nothing. Sometimes, when he would forget his games, her beloved older brother would play with her and he too would try to teach her.

 

“Look, watch me… like this…” And he would make fire that sputtered and danced. And she would try as hard as she could only to make nothing.

 

She loved him for helping her and hated him for being able to do it. The heart of a five year old was fickle.

 

One night a nightmare woke her, and she padded softly to her brother's room, crawling underneath the crimson sheets like she did whenever her dreams were bad.

 

She fell back asleep, clinging to him and dreamt of fire. She made it in her hands, commanded it to dance, and watched it grow and consume, all the while ringed with blue. Blue flame, like she was named for.

 

Two things woke her: the smell of smoke and the sound of screams. Her brother shook her too, and she came alive to a world of fire. The room was ablaze. She watched, silent as her brother cried for help. Only five, the danger escaped her and she wondered, did I do this?

 

When no one else moved to save them, afraid of the fire, burning bright and blue in places, their cousin charged in and carried them to safety. Once in the arms of their parents her brother said, “She tried to kill me! She did this!”

 

She shook her head, but words didn't come and her elder brother looked back at her like she was a monster, her father asked, “Did you do this?”

 

“I dreamed it,” the five year old answered, “I didn't mean it…”

 

“You did, I saw it. It all came from you!” Her brother glared, “You tried to kill me, Azula!”

 

Tears came to her eyes, “I didn't mean it, Zuzu!” But she hated him for thinking so.

 

Their mother comforted both of them, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father smile a strange smile. The next day, he took her aside, and made her better. Made her the best.