β | | πππππππππ ππππππππ : Azula & Hair .
β | | ππππππ πππ π
πππ ππππππ , ππππ πππ ππππππ ππππ ππππ as a status symbol . It represents nobility , class . The longer the hair , the better γ off γ that someone was . Azula's entire life , everyone β everyone that was γ important γ to her β had long hair . Her grandfather , her Father , her birth - giver , and even her brother . Even Azula , herself , had long hair . They all had long , obsidian hair that was luscious , and cared for using the most γ expensive γ , imported soaps one can imagine . Everyone was jealous of them β as they should be . They looked untouchable .
-- They γ were γ untouchable .
During day - to - day operations of the palace , one would often find the youngest royal held within her Father's arms during his meetings , while she γ studied γ the map sprawled in front of her , covered in figurines representing various segments within the Fire Nation military . While her amber eyes silently watched her Father's hands as he commanded armies from the palace, the young Princess twisted her little hands within her Father's hair. Not for any malicious reason , but simply for the reason that playing with her Father's hair brought her comfort , and eased her restlessness . While perched on his lap , Azula's polished boots steadily γ kicked γ over the edge to the rhythm of her hand in her Father's locks . In no time at all , Azula would drift to sleep on her Father's shoulder . Dare to pry her hand from its hold , and she would begin to γ cry γ as her source of comfort was removed .
At night , the story was far less pleasant . Beginning at the age of six , Azula began to have frequent nightmares . The topics varied , as they do , but that did not mean that she felt anything γ less γ than horror from her dreams . As the lanterns dimmed throughout the late hours of the night , Azula would run through the halls of the grand palace until she found the bedroom doors of her older brother . The handle may have been above her head , but that γ never γ stopped her from reaching up , yanking it down towards her , and running as fast as she could to Zuko's bed .
Regardless of their differences , or how frequently she γ teased γ him during the sunlight , beneath the glow of the moon , when it came to nightmares , her mind knew not the definition of mercy . She would tuck her trembling form against Zuko's side , buried beneath his blankets where she could hide from her mind . All that could be seen , was a small hand γ tangled γ within Zuko's ponytail until the dreams had gone , the crying had stopped , and she was asleep .
This pattern continued until she turned eleven . At eleven , she watched her brother leave on a ship far too small for his honor , leaving the house he once knew behind . Never a home , however . Homes were γ welcoming γ , and did not turn families into enemies . On that day , while Azula would never γ speak γ of the change , she mentally noted the way the palace grew to feel . . . Emptier . Her brother was banished for disobeying the only Father they would ever know , yes , but simultaneously this was the day that her older brother officially , and γ fully γ abandoned her . At least , while he was in the palace , despite them being pitted against one another for love survival , they continued to have moments where they communicated in private . During those times , Azula saw the faint γ glimmer γ of the brother that loved her . While those moments were few , and far between , they still existed .
Now , they were nothing but γ far γ distant memories .
On the day of her brother's banishment β the day her last sense of comfort sailed away β Azula's shift in comforting herself began to come γ internally γ . Throughout the next handful of years , Azula changed a lot of things about herself . How she walked , carried herself , spoke , and γ waltzed γ through her Father's shadow , but she never changed her hair . Her entire life , Azula's long , obsidian strands remained the exact same . Sure , they made her look more like her mother , when she hoped they would remind the world of the status and class that her Father possessed ; meanwhile , Azula found that her hair was now the γ only γ consistent thing within her lifetime . Her hair never left , unless by natural reasons . Her hair never spoke out against her Father , and thus was banished ; nor , did her hair say that all she says is γ lies γ. Azula's hair was perfect , untouched , and neat . It was brushed daily by the servants who strived to uphold the perfect , porcelain doll that the Fire Lord had raised .
Beneath the surface , that porcelain exterior was γ crumbling γ , but the world would never know that . Externally , her hair was perfect . Her smile was selective . Her nails were clean . Everything was perfect . Internally , Azula's thoughts γ swallowed γ her into the belly of a whale while she desperately clawed her way to the surface for salvation . Come fifteen , she could no longer keep that shell from shattering . As she stared at her mother's reflection in the mirror , after γ releasing γ every staff member who had dared to challenge her , Azula γ sliced γ her hair with scissors . The more she tried to trim her bangs into perfection , the more γ jagged γ they became .
Her symbol of perfection had finally could no longer hide the way she was falling apart . The mirror γ shattered γ , the Princess screamed in agony as tears streamed down her face . . . Her hands and feet bled from the broken glass .
The image in the mirror now reflected who the Princess truly was .
Before her sixteenth birthday , Azula would be locked away inside a prison that her
γ brother γ would select . Only , she would never know that it was her brother's hand that signed her life away to that wretched place . . . Just that it was a place designed to help her get γ better γ .
What a beautiful lie that was .
By the time Azula turned nineteen , her hair had returned to its previous state of glory . It was just a long , just as full . . . And , just as perfect . Now older , Azula had grown . She had matured . She had found someone to keep her heart intact . While she handled times of mental distress in a variety of ways , one way that would γ never γ fail was the way Azula played with someone's hair . Whether she was swatting at it as she sat behind them while they talked to someone , to ease her anxieties , or , she was twisting it within her fingers while she listened to them read after she woke them with her nightmares , Azula γ always γ found comfort in playing with someone's hair .
