"Shall I start from the beginning?" Azula asked with a half smile.

"Yeah."

"Listen, Ayame." She looked at me square in the eye. "With me, everything around her comes with a price. I'm not giving you this information for free. One day when I need your help, you'll help me. And when I start, the deal will be struck."

"Whatever," I jutted out my chin, crossing my arms over my chest. "Will you please start?"

"Of course. Basically, your mother grew up in the Wter Tribe—"

"Northern or Southern?"

"She grew up in the Northern."

"Was she a waterbender?"

"No." Azula said, annoyed. "Now let me finish."

"Okay."

"And your father worked for my grandfather, Azulon."

"But I thought you said—"

"Sozin?" Azula laughed. "I was wrong. And so were you. Your father would've been a child in Sozin's time. He was but a teenager when Azulon became Fire Lord. Around the same age as my father."

"Ozai?"

"Fire Lord Ozai," she corrected.

"Whatever." I scoffed. "And then?"

"And then he found out that my father was going to kill his own son—"

"Zuko?"

"Yes. Your father thought that was insane."

"Well it was! And what did my father even have to do with it?"

"Will you let me finish? Your father was close to mine alright? And then, he left. He just ran away to restart his life, thinking that the Fire Nation was messed up and cruel. And he married your mother." Azula smirked. "Isn't it a sad, sad world? She left you behind and ran away."

"But . . . but she went with my father, right? He went after her since she thought that he found out about her and since he was Fire Nation he brought them here," I said. "But they died together. She believed him at the end."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you heard?"

I could almost feel my heart sink to the pits of my stomach. "What did you hear?"

"She never died there." Azula laughed. "She escaped, remember?"

I was so confused. "Is that what you meant when you said—"

"That she ran away? Yes. She left him there to die."

"No she didn't," I said, my eyes filling up furiously out of anger. "You're a liar."

"Why would I lie to you? How is it going to help me." she rolled her eyes.

"Exactly." I gritted my teeth. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"Look." Azula said, standing up. "You're a smart girl, I can tell." She put her arms behind her back, circling around me. I watched her, hawkeyed, ready to attack any second. "And I can tell you have something against the Fire Nation—our nation. But you're blind to the things that go on around us. Your own mother betrayed her husband's nation, letting him die as a traitor, and I'm betting everything I own that she even got remarried. That shows that the Fire Nation are treated as the weaker nation, and that's why my great-grandfather Sozin started this hundred year war. Don't you understand? Your mother was the traitor. She betrayed your father."

"I understand that you're wrong, Azula." I snapped. "I'm part Fire Nation and I have respect for them, but they are just cruel. I've seen so many victimized by your nation. I'm not falling for your tricks."

Azula sat down at the base of the statue. "Very well." She was still smirking. "Don't come crying to me when they shun you out just because you're part Fire Nation. They'll ignore you're other side and focus on you as the bad one. That's what always happens."

"I trust them," I said.

I do, I do, I do.

I trusted them.

♋♋♋

The letter said statue. They were meeting at the statue.

Katara still couldn't believe this was happening. "I trusted her. She was like my sister."

"You can't ever trust the Fire Nation." Sokka stated. "That's what always happens."

"She was part Water Tribe," Toph pointed out.

"Bad always overrules." Sokka shrugged.

"That's not true." Aang frowned. He hadn't talked much since they'd left on Appa. 

"There's the statue. Land there," Katara said, pointing.

They slowly walked towards it, hiding in the shadows. Every second Katara tried to convince herself it wasn't true. She was hoping and praying and everything. But if they saw her there, their suspicions would be confirmed.

Everything bad that had happened to them, everything; was that her? The act she had put on with Zuko . . . that didn't seem fake. The anger towards Zuko seemed genuine. She was disappointed. She had trusted him. 

But then why did she send Azula letters? Why had she disappeared right before that metal man had attacked? He was looking for her, that was true.

But it just didn't make sense.

But then she saw her and Azula. Azula reached out and put a hand on Ayame's shoulder, and Ayame had said something to her. They were discussing something. Katara pushed Aang back, mouthing lie low. Katara wasn't sure if Azula knew that he was alive.

And then Katara knew it was her time to confront her.

"Ayame," Katara said. No one followed her and Katara stood alone.

Ayame whipped around. "Katara? Katara!" A smile broke out across her face. "Thank the spirits you're here—"

"Why are you with Azula?" Katara spoke quietly. "Why her, of all people?"

Confusion replaced the look of delight on Ayame's face. "She had some information—"

"Information? Ayame, did you and her send that man after us?" 

"Man? What man?" Ayame said, confused for a second. "Oh! You mean the guy with the eye on his forehead—"

"So you do know." Sokka. He was there too. "I knew it. You sent him after us. I told everyone you couldn't be trusted. What could be expected from the Fire Nation?" he scoffed.

"No, you're wrong!" she said, her cheeks turning red. She looked angry. "You have to believe me. I swear I had nothing to do with it."

"Then what . . . " Sokka reached forward and pulled a small familiar pouch from Katara's hand, " . . . is this?"

"That? That's mine."  She reached forward to grab it but Sokka pulled it back, spilling it's contents onto the floor. The papers flitted everywhere. "You've been communicating with her through my own messenger hawk."

"But I swear . . . just ask Toph. She can sense when someone is lying, can't she?" Ayame begged almost. "You have to believe me."

Toph appeared. "You've been acting strange all day and yesterday. I really don't know what to say."

"I told you." Azula put a hand on her shoulder. "They'd never believe you. Now you're stuck and have no where to go, and they're blaming it on your Fire Nation side."

"No." Ayame's fists clenched. 

🔥🔥🔥

I couldn't believe them.

"I thought you were my friends," I said through gritted teeth.

"Friends? Who'd be friends with the enemy?" Sokka said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Katara . . . " I tried, but she looked away. "It's not my fault!" I finally exploded. "That guy came to me! Yes I know him! I'm sorry my fire was acting up. I'm sorry I brought the teachers over at the cave. I'm sorry I almost got you guys caught. I'm sorry I met Azula. She had information about my parents. How was I supposed to turn her down?"

"Azula's a liar. We all know that. No one's buying your story," Sokka scowled.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. They didn't believe me now. They never believed me. They never wanted to help me. 

They just felt sorry for me.

I was only a mutation in their eyes, someone who needed help, someone who was pitied. Anger flared inside me. Fire flared.

I tried to keep it in, I did. But then Katara spoke.

"You brought them to the cave, and you knew the metal man? You lied about everything? You didn't think he was worth mentioning? And if all that was fake, all that was an act at the Crystal Catacombs?"

Boom.

Everything erupted around me.

Blue flames. Blue fire.

"You never believed me," I hissed. "None of you ever cared. You just used me. You needed another person on your stupid team. You know what?" I laughed humorlessly. "Azula wasn't the liar. She knew exactly what was going to happen."

"I told you." Azula said behind me in a sing-songy voice. "Come with me, Ayame."

Don't do it. The voice in my head said. The tears spilled over my eyes and down my cheeks.

"She'll do it," Sokka said.

"I can't believe you," Katara shook her head in disappointment.

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore," Toph said.

And I said it.

I said it.

What did I say?

I said what I thought was right. I was right my life was going to be changed tonight, just not this exact way.

You wanna know what I said?

I said, "Take me home."