Day 7: Night

*

It was the dead of night, but Ty Lee couldn't sleep.

Even though Azula had been decidedly sane for three years, no one knew if it would last after the death of her father. None of their friends and family said it out loud, but Ty Lee knew they were thinking it.

The whispers of the servant girls didn't help, either. Poor Princess, so attatched to that man even after he caused her to collapse back then, they'd say, sighing and tsking with manufactured sympathy that could make a person's blood boil in anger. Maybe Ozai hadn't been a good person, but was it such a crime that a young woman loved her father?

Ty Lee slipped out of bed and walked out to the courtyard. Azula sat by the pond as she had every night since the funeral, tossing pebbles into the water and staring up at the night sky. Tonight was darker than usual, a new moon and not a single star, and Ty Lee shivered as the cold air nipped at her through the fabric of her robe.

"Azula?"

The Princess glanced over her shoulder, briefly, then turned around and stared into the water. Ty Lee knelt down beside her and smoothed a few strands of hair back from her face. When Azula turned to look at her again, her cheeks were shiny with tears.

"I..." Ty Lee bit her lip. Even the most comforting thing she could think of to say didn't seem like enough. She felt useless; the woman she loved was in pain and there were no words she could say to ease the sting even a little.

Finally, she simply wrapped her arms around Azula and held her tightly; almost immediately she felt a tug on her robe and wetness against her shoulder.

"Thank you," Azula mumbled when her tears were finally spent. Ty Lee silently helped her stand and led her inside.