As well as could be expected

Soon enough, the royal ship reached the harbor of the capital city and Zuko disembark, with Azula following closely behind. At the dock, a komodo rhino carriage awaited them. Entering it, the siblings were soon on route to the palace. While inside, Azula looked outside the window with a look of slight boredom while Zuko looked at her intently.

Eventually, she got sick of that. "If you got something to tell me, just tell me, Zuko.", she demanded of him, her brows furrowed in irritation.

Zuko, feeling a bit caught, avoided her gaze for a moment. "It's nothing, just... your room is prepared for you. Just like you left it... minus the broken mirror.", he told her. He recalled coming across that after things had settled down in the immediate aftermath of the war. He wondered why she had broken her mirror. She had always liked seeing herself in it, he recalled. He guessed there was a story behind it, but he wouldn't press his sister. "It's been replaced, so... yeah, that's it."

"Oh? Well, thanks for that, then.", Azula said simply and returned to looking back out of the window.

Zuko didn't know what it was she was looking for. But he wanted to keep talking a bit more, he disliked the silence between them. "Oh, one more thing.", he spoke up again, Azula turned her attention back to him. "Due to... recent events, the Kyoshi Warriors are in the palace as additional bodyguards for me.", he told her, not revealing the exact circumstances that had led to the arrival of the Kyoshi yet. He was sure Azula would have an awful lot to say about the **** attempt on him and he preferred not having that conversation just yet...

A moment passed, then another, before his sister reacted to the news. "Really now? Isn't that interesting...", was all Azula said in return while inspecting her nails. She tried to seem unfazed, but Zuko did notice her mouth thinning a little. Though he didn't know how to interpret that small sign, he figured that either he had gotten better at reading his sister or her skills at maintaining a facade hadn't entirely recovered yet.

But that reaction wasn't quite good enough for him. "Azula, I know you and the Kyoshi Warriors have a bit of history together.", he began. That was a bit of an understatement. Azula, together with Mai and Ty Lee, had happened across a group of the Kyoshi Warriors in the Earth Kingdom. After defeating them, they had taken them prisoner and impersonated them to infiltrate Ba Sing Se. "I want you to promise me you'll behave. They're my... our friends and allies now.", he corrected himself. He hoped that Azula would see things his way or, at the very least, trust him enough. He knew he could just wish for her to be, but he wanted Azula to be by his side from now on, on her own volition.

"Oh, you won't have to worry about me, Zuko.", his sister assured him. Zuko figured that was probably the best he would get from her and didn't push the issue any further. And so, the silence between the siblings resumed, only to be unexpectedly broken by Azula after about a minute. "But can you really trust them? After all, they're foreigners... inside our palace.", she pointed out.

Zuko didn't miss the fact that she had referred to the palace as 'theirs'. Technically, it was his, as he was the Fire Lord, but as long as Azula lived there and she was family, it was their home. And he wanted her to feel safe at home. "Yes, I do trust them. More than many of our countrymen, in fact.", he admitted.

"At least you're not too trusting with everybody anymore, Zuzu. Guess there's hope for you yet."

He decided not to tell her that her former friend Ty Lee had joined the Kyoshi Warriors. There was no telling how she'd react to that bit of news. In fact, it'd probably be best if he kept Ty Lee away from Azula until he had a better feeling about them reuniting. Their relationship had been... rocky, to say the least and Ty Lee had confessed that she felt a lot happier without Azula in her life. But perhaps, their broken friendship could be mended, some day...

The thought lingered in his head even as they arrived the palace grounds and stepped out of the carriage. As the enormous gates swung open to welcome home the Fire Lord and his sister, Zuko turned to her. "Welcome home, Azula.", he said to her, simply. She didn't say anything in return and turned her head away from him for a minute. As the pair approached the palace itself, he turned to her again. "What do you want to do first?", he asked.

This time, he got an answer. "I want to get changed, I can't stand this plain robe any longer.", Azula replied without hesitation. He couldn't blame her, the robe was still one from the facility where she had spent over a year. Small wonder she wanted to be rid of it.

"Alright then, let's go to your room then.", he obliged and together they walked through the corridors of the palace. On the way, Zuko told a servant to fetch Suki and have her meet up with them in front of Azulas room. As the servant hurried away to carry out the order, he turned back to his sister, only to see her stare up at a painting, hung up on the wall.

Zuko walked next to his sister. Quietly, he studied the picture together with her, even though they both knew it well. It was their family... their father, mother and them, when they were younger. Though far from perfect, not to mention healthy, things back then seemed... simpler, at least to him. They were a family then. Now? He didn't even know anymore.

"Whatever happened to us?", Azula suddenly spoke up.

Zuko was surprised. He hadn't expected this introspective outburst from her at all. But now that she had asked, he wondered as well. What had happened to this seemingly happy family? "I guess... we just grew up?", he replied, sounding quite unsure himself. Though growing up for them meant fighting your family and nearly killing them, so perhaps that wasn't the best answer.

"Did we really?", Azula asked. There was not much Zuko could think of to say in return, so he didn't. Instead, they looked at this glimpse into their past a while longer, silently. At least, until Azula got sick of it. "Let's go. I don't want to look at that stupid picture any more.", she declared and marched off. Zuko followed behind her, still mulling over their complicated family history...

A short while later (the palace was stupidly big if you wanted to quickly get around it), they arrived at the door to Azulas room. As he had requested, Suko was waiting for them there, in her full Kyoshi Warrior gear and facepaint. Though she bowed respectfully before him, he saw her eyes darting over to Azula and her jaw moved a little as she gritted her teeth a little at the sight of the princess.

Though he could immediately feel the tension in the air, Zuko thought it best to follow proper protocol. "Suki, this is Azula, my sister. Azula, this is Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.", he introduced the two girls. He had no doubt Suki clearly remembered Azula, but he wouldn't be surprised if Azula had simply forgotten about Suki as an insignificant enemy she had bested.

"Yes, we... met... before.", Suki said tersely. Zuko noticed her fist clenching and unclenching and was thankful for her self-control.

Azula meanwhile seemed only vaguely bemused by the reunion. "Yes, such a small world indeed.", was all she had to say to Suki before turning to Zuko. "I'll be in my room then.", she announced to him and, not waiting for any response, entered the room, the heavy door closing behind her.

As soon as Azula had left her presence, Suki exhaled audibly. "Zuko... is that a good idea? Not just releasing her, but bringing her back here? Can you really trust her?", she questioned Zuko, justifiably so. He had asked himself these very questions. But with his newfound power over her, he was certain he had her under control, if push came to shove.

So he nodded at Suki. He couldn't tell her exactly why he was so confident, so his words and the trust they had in each other would have to suffice. "I do. I understand your feelings, but she is my sister. I believe in her. And I'll keep an eye on her, too.", Zuko assured his friend. "Look, I don't expect you to become best friends, but I believe in Azula. I understand if you can't, but then believe in me, at least.", he implored her.

Suki still didn't look entirely convinced. She wanted to trust Zuko, but this was Azula they were talking about here. She still remembered Sokka telling her that she could even fool Tophs senses with her lies. "Hmmm... okay, Zuko... I just hope you're not making a mistake here.", she agreed with him, nevertheless. But, if he was wrong... well, she wouldn't mind getting a bit of payback on the princess.

Zuko was certain it wouldn't come to that. "I'm not, I'm sure of it. Please, put two of your warriors in front of her room. Just in case.", he requested. Though it could easily be seen as him assigning guards to watch over her, he had a feeling that once word got out of Azulas return, she could use a bit of protection as well. Just in case.

The Kyoshi Warrior nodded. "Alright, will do. Is that all?", she asked.

"Oh, one more thing.", Zuko added, recalling his previous thoughts about Azula and Ty Lee. "Perhaps it's best if you keep Ty Lee out of sight for a while. Give her a week or two off, perhaps?", the Fire Lord suggested, his voice lowered a little. He didn't need to elaborate on the reason for it, Suki was well aware of the past of her newest recruit.

Suki replied in a similarly quiet voice, both wanting to avoid Azula eavesdropping on them. Just in case. "Yeah, that's for the best, I think. Should I tell her why, or...?", she asked, trailing off.

"I'll leave that up to you. You'll make the right call.", he told her, reaffirming his trust in her judgment. With that, the Kyoshi Warrior excused herself and left Zuko alone. For several minutes, Zuko waited patiently for Azula to leave her room again. He wasn't sure what she'd want to do next, but he was determined that today, he'd let her have the run of the palace, just to have her feel back home again.

As more minutes however passed with no sign of Azula emerging from her room, he began to grow uneasy. Had he made a mistake after all? He was tempted to use his new powers, to see what she was up to. But before that, he had to exhaust the more... mundane options available to him. He knocked on the door. "Azula? Are you dressed?", he called out to her. Moments passed with no answer. So he knocked again. "Azula?", he called her name, louder this time. Still no answer. He pressed his ear against the door but heard nothing from inside. Now he was concerned. "Azula, I'm coming in!", he declared and pushed the door open and stepped inside...