2 Chapter 1: The Unexpected

Land of Fire. The palace of the Fire Lord. The Princess's chambers.

When I open my eyes in a dark room, the first thing I do is fill my lungs with cold, feel the taste of fresh air on my tongue, and exhale. Then I repeat it again and again. The simple act, which I hadn't been able to do in quite some time, sent a wave of pleasure coursing through my body with every breath I took. How nice it is to feel the world again with all the human senses. As I sat up on the big, soft bed and let the blanket slide down, the first thing I did was enjoy my newfound feelings, breathing deeply.

It was great.

To feel alive again, after a long stay in the spirit, is a dizzying pleasure. It was easy to breathe, even a little pleasant. No signs of bad habits, no pain in the lungs, no joint pain, no back aches... and other once-familiar disadvantages for me.

The new body was magnificent, young, healthy, full of life and strength. Something I've needed for a long time.

Relaxing, I try to feel all the parts of my body now. My muscles ached pleasantly, as if they'd been trained hard. The previous owner took good care of it. Everything felt great: arms, legs, fingers, neck. I could even feel my heart pumping through my veins. And it was so beautiful! A smile appeared on her lips by itself, I've never felt so beautiful. This is my second chance. Now everything will definitely be different.

Yes, it's been a long time since I've felt alive, and I've probably been in the spirit world a little longer than I thought before, if I'm so emotional. Unfortunately, in that place, day and night change from anything but the rotation of the planet around its axis. Therefore, it was simply impossible to count the days. I can only guess how much time I spent in the spirit world as a spirit, but that's all in the past now. The path of suffering and deprivation has come to an end, and now I can taste the fruits of my work.

Everything worked out! How can you not be happy when you got a second chance at life? After saving all the experience of my previous life, I actually invented a method of mind immortality! It's hard to contain your emotions when you realize what you've achieved.

Touching my face only confirmed this truth. It's nice to be alive again.

But you can't just lie on the bed and enjoy life, I'm waiting for a whole world with many secrets. It's time to get up from the soft spot, there should be a mirror somewhere. Unfortunately, there were no windows in the room, so I could only look out into the pitch darkness. I move to the edge of the bed and find the floor with my feet, but I'm not going to wander around in the dark looking for a way out. Especially when there is a decent alternative. Holding my hand out in front of me, I focus on the inner Qi energy that I could feel calmly in my body.

Instantly, a blue flame lit up the room, forcing me to close my eyes against the sharp pain in my eyes.

Despite the strange feeling of energy, I felt great. Interacting with the Qi Energy was much easier than I thought. Perhaps my experience of being a spiritual entity is affecting me. It was only by the color of the fire that I began to guess whose body I had so hastily occupied, but I was too happy to be alive again to let it cloud the moment of my second birth. After getting used to the light of the fire, I began to enjoy the slow dancing flame in my palm, it was mesmerizing with its beauty.

Finally, finally, I have bending! It's been a long time since I could have dreamed of this, but now it's different!

A moment of elation has passed and, pulling myself together, I start looking for shoes. I had to walk around the bed to find my slippers on the other side. Along the way, I appreciated the luxury apartments, which looked somewhat sinister in the blue light of the fire. I've seen worse places, though. From the bed alone, it was safe to say that I had fallen into a very high-ranking person. The rest of the room matched the bed, just as luxurious and made of expensive materials. In places, there were symbols of the Fire Nation, confirming my guesses about my location.

I carefully scanned the room thanks to the small blue light that burned above my palm, not burning my hand in the least. Surprisingly, there was a dummy with armor in the room, there were also a lot of things besides it, but the armor was the most eye-catching. So I continued my search until I found a large mirror. Looking into the reflection, I saw confirmation of my fears. Long black hair, golden eyes that glinted slightly in the light of the flames, perfectly aristocratic features and ... just covered with a robe chest.

The nightgown was rumpled from a long sleep, so it was practically open, barely covering my chest, and I could see it in all its glory. Cute, not too big, not too small, feels good in the palm of your hand, soft to the touch, my own breasts. Yes, this is my fly in the ointment. Given the prospects, a beautiful healthy body, position in society, the power of bending and bloodline ... it's not as bad as it seems at first glance, but it's not as good as I would like.

With a woman's body is better than without a body at all, and I understand this very well. As I continued to examine my new body in the mirror, I couldn't stop thinking.

I absolutely do not like the responsibilities of women in this era, even if I did not know them for sure,but I guessed it. The mirror reflected a young girl with an athletic build of about sixteen or eighteen, but I could be wrong. The point is that now I can be married off without my consent and even without taking my opinion into account. This will greatly hinder me and my goals, but if everything is correct and I ended up in the body of Princess Azula, before the appearance of the bald monk. I have every chance of avoiding this fate and more. With this situation, it will be much easier to implement some of your ideas, even if with great risks. And I had enough ideas…

In the worst case scenario, I will become a spirit again and find a more suitable body, without such obvious flaws that will greatly harm my plans. But I'd better avoid that, because I don't want to feel like a disembodied spirit again, and I might be even less lucky with my body. In addition, do not forget about the presence of your own problems in being a spirit. Compared to all this, being a princess doesn't seem like such a bad option.

The game is definitely worth the candle. I remembered a lot about this world, even as a spirit I learned where I ended up after my death. I was lucky enough to come across a non-aggressive conversationalist who told me about the world of the living, the four nations, and the Avatar... yes, that conversation turned out to be productive. Even if I didn't get all the answers from him, for example, how come I could understand that spirit like he understood me? We're supposed to use different languages, but the spirit didn't understand my indignation and couldn't answer my questions.

It remains only to find out exactly what period of time I am currently in. When did Zuko go into exile? How much time do I have before the Avatar appears? Only after I know this will I be able to make my own plans while remembering all the possible ways to become stronger and more powerful. Oh, yes, not to give yourself away in front of your subordinates and your father. The latter will be the most difficult, but after death, there is little that can frighten me.

Smiling at my reflection, I am happy to once again notice my beauty. Yes, Princess Azula is very beautiful in appearance, it's hard to deny it. But it's time to stop admiring yourself.

I was about to go and light the candles, so as not to have to go around with a fire all the time, and think carefully about the situation and what I should do next, when I suddenly felt a strange surge of extreme fatigue.

The flame went out immediately, my legs buckled, and in an instant I was on the floor, my hands on the tiles to steady myself.

What's going on?!

As I struggled to move anything, I realized with horror that I had no control over anything. It was as if someone was pushing me away from controlling my body, pushing me into the background of my consciousness. And the most disgusting thing is, I couldn't resist it in any way! Resisting was like trying to move a huge mountain with muscle power! Futile and useless. Even my feelings began to fade, as if I were becoming a disembodied spirit again. As I felt control literally ripped from my mind's grasp, I felt a growing sense of dread.

"What's going on?!"

These are... not my thoughts!

No, she stayed!

Azula! No, no, oh, no!

My body! I won't give it back! I won't give it back! I won't give it back!

Aggrh…

The last attempt to regain his body ended in severe pain. I felt like I'd been burned all over my body. The pain quickly sobered her, forcing her to pull herself together and think. It forced me to go deeper into myself, to stop resisting, to give way to the real owner of the body. I had no chance of staying conscious, all I had in mind was to hide in the depths of someone else's mind, to hide in her soul, to hide from her attention, to lick my wounds, wondering what had gone wrong…

(***)

Land of Fire. The palace of the Fire Lord. The Princess's chambers.

This morning, the princess woke up not on her luxurious bed, but on the floor next to the mirror. It was dark, but Azula knew exactly where everything was in her room.

Realizing that she was in such an obscene position, she immediately straightened up, trying to assume a proper position for her status, standing on her feet and straightening her back. The sudden movements made her dizzy. The room spun around, but before she could hit the floor again, Azula managed to grab onto the table where she was leaning to keep her position. Frozen in place, she stares at the spot where her reflection in the mirror should have been, hidden by the total darkness of the room, while she struggles with her sudden weakness and dizziness.

Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale…

Pulling herself together, the girl relaxed, no longer leaning on the table, she straightened her back perfectly straight. My state of health quickly returned to normal, as soon as I performed a special breathing technique. Azula bends her arm and snaps her fingers. The candles on the chandelier and sconces instantly burst into blue flames, surprising the princess for a split second.

"It wasn't a dream" flashes through her mind, hazy memories of a recent time that was like a dream.

Under the princess gaze, the candle flames quickly became ordinary. Wanting to make sure that she wasn't imagining anything, she immediately creates a small blue light in her right palm. After making sure of his guesses, he easily dispels the flame with a barely noticeable smile on his lips.

The hint of a smile vanished as soon as he remembered his strange state and place of awakening. Azula remembered going to the mirror, but it was a strange memory, as if she hadn't fully woken up at that moment. This made her nervous, because nothing like this had ever happened to her before. However, she wasn't going to lose her head, preferring to remain calm.

"It is necessary to find out all the details of the ritual, but first get yourself in proper shape," the princess quickly decided, thinking that her well-being was caused by yesterday's ritual.

Turning back to the mirror and checking her reflection, she throws the dirty robe to the floor, completely exposing herself. No one ever entered her private chambers without knocking, so she wasn't afraid to go naked. Without even looking at her reflection, Azula goes to the closet. She takes the same red-and-gold robe from it and puts it on, glancing at her reflection in the mirror again.

Satisfied with the fresh and perfectly pressed robe, she heads out of the room. Once in the hallway, he turns right. He looks out of the nearest window and looks up at the sky. After learning the time from the location of the morning sun and her sense of bending, she heads down the hall. Straight to the royal hot springs, where her personal maids ' quarters were located side by side.

Before she reached the right door, Azula saw one of the maids yawning down the corridor. As soon as she noticed the monarch's approach, her drowsiness instantly disappeared. The servant immediately tried to look proper, straightening her back perfectly as she waited for her princess to approach.

"Good morning, Your Highness," the maid bends her back in greeting. She was a little nervous and nervous, which Azula noticed.

"Where are the others?" The princess begins coldly.

"They haven't gathered yet."

"I recall that you were hired on the condition that you would serve me as soon as the sun began to rise? Or is it not so? Maybe I'm wrong about something? And it's still night outside?" Azula presses, toying with a lock of hair.

"Nay, mistress," the girl stammered.

"Perhaps the job of serving maids is too difficult for the others?" The question startled the maid. She understood the unspoken words perfectly.

"No, my lady. It is not difficult to serve in the staff of your maids, " the maid assured the princess, not wanting to be chased out of the palace.

"In that case, I want to see all my maids after visiting the hot springs," Azula orders as she passes a girl who is leaning over, slightly trembling with fear.

"I'll take care of it, mistress," it wasn't until the princess was far enough away that the maid could exhale and straighten her back.

On this day, the princess of the fire nation, Azula, woke up too early. Accustomed to their mistress's schedule, the servants weren't ready for work earlier than usual, but no one would dare accuse the princess herself of anything. Everyone was too afraid not even of her anger, but of her simple annoyance. Including the guard patrolling this corridor, who also got from the princess for sloppily wearing armor and poorly polished boots. This morning, the princess got up on the wrong foot, and was more picky about her surroundings than usual.

While the monarch was taking a bath, the servants managed to get ready and put themselves in proper shape. The princess came out of the hot springs, and they greeted her with all the rules of etiquette.

"Good morning, Your Highness," the four maids said in unison as they bowed.

After carefully examining each of the maids, the princess was satisfied and ordered them to serve her. Together they went to one of the many rooms in the palace, where the maids gave the princess manicures, pedicures, perfectly combed hair and fed, for dessert Azula had cherries with carved stones.

From her maids quarters, she emerged clad in armor, with a perfect hairstyle befitting a princess of the strongest country in the world. After finishing her morning routine with the maids, Azula went to train in one of her personal training rooms, where she began to repeat all the fire bending techniques with her new blue flame. The guards who passed by were very surprised by the color of the princess's fire, but they could only share their surprise with other guards while patrolling. The princess herself was busy studying and comparing her new fire with the old one, and she didn't want to hide her new feature, allowing rumors to spread around the palace and then across the country.

After finishing her training, Azula went to see the Fire Lord. She hadn't forgotten what had happened to her that morning. After waiting for her father to be free, she turned to him with the desire to study all the known information about the past ritual, and talk to the fire sage. At the same time, the princess proudly demonstrated the results of the ritual. Ozai was pleased with his daughter's new flame, considering it entirely to his credit.

After satisfying her father's curiosity, Azula went to see the sage who performed the ritual. Unfortunately, he didn't know much about what had happened. Only what the Fire Lord had given her to read from the secret scrolls that she now had full access to. The princess was independent enough to personally seek answers to her questions. After receiving the necessary scrolls, she began to study them, occasionally looking into the palace library.