I was recently reading some historical fiction on Cleopatra and this came to mind. Plus Lady Ilah needs some love. We'll see where it goes if anywhere.
As if in celebration of the military victory, the sun shone especially bright after a week of rain. Fire Lord Azulon had accomplished a military conquest that had eluded his father. It had put him in an extraordinarily good mood. The city of Tiehuyu, rich in iron and other precious metals, had posed a problem for Sozin from the very beginning of his conquest. Unlike the other Earth Kingdom cities, it simply refused to fall, and its strategic value as well as riches made it undeniably important. An army needed to be paid, and sacking Tiehuyu as well as having access to its iron would be more than useful. However, Tiehuyu's king had proven to be incredibly battle ready, and his armies had fought well. They were not fighting for wealth or for invasion purposes. They were fighting to protect their homes and families. The initial attempt to conquer them had been pitiful. Sozin never spoke of it. King Okami, the ruler of Tiehuyu, would bow to no man, not even the Fire Lord. He had earned the moniker of The Iron Wolf-Snake as a young man, and it only grew more popular after sending the Fire Nation army into a hurried retreat. Sozin would never forget the embarrassment, nor would Azulon.
Okami thrived in battle, but he was not a wise man. He had thought Sozin would lose interest in Tiehuyu, and for a while, he was right. There were other Earth Kingdom cities to conquer and plunder. Even though the rest of the world was under attack, Tiehuyu was left in peace and that was enough for Okami. Such disillusioned peace could not last for long. The Fire Nation would return and would do so with such an intensity that barely a memory of Tiehuyu would remain. The beautiful architecture, art and refined culture of Tiehuyu had been burned to cinders. Nothing remained of the fabled city. Azulon had made sure of it. Or at least, he'd ordered it's complete and utter destruction. Supposedly, they had even salted the fields so nothing could ever grow again.
Ilah had heard that Okami had begged for his life on the battlefield like a coward, but she doubted it. There had been worse rumors. Some said that the Queen of Tiehuyu had tried to offer herself to the conquering general to save her life. Some said she'd offered her daughters. Ilah doubted those rumors as well. What she did not doubt was how pleased her husband was as he stood, gloriously bathed in sunlight, at the Royal Plaza as the triumphant march took place. Hundreds upon hundreds of Fire Nation citizens crowded the plaza as the returning soldiers marched through the middle of the cheering crowd. They brought with them the spoils of war. Pieces of gold, jade and silk were being carried in piles to be presented to the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation people.
It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Ilah did not have the stomach for war. Bloodshed unnerved her, and she did not believe in the total superiority of the Fire Nation. However, these were not thoughts to be spoken aloud. Ilah did love her husband, and she did value her life. The Fire Lady played her role with finesse and charm, sitting elegantly by her husband and seemingly just as enthralled by the glory of his army.
All was going as planned and with great festivity until the final prize was marched forward into the crowd. The child's face was smeared with ash and dirt with the remainder of tear trails on her cheeks. She was perhaps eight years old and struggling to walk with the weight of chains about her slender shoulders. King Okami's youngest daughter kept her gaze on the path before her – ignoring the enemy soldiers and crowd. Her mother and older sisters had taken their lives in rebellion, but her mother had sent her and her youngest brother with their nurse in an attempted escape. It had failed. The general had killed her brother to keep him from growing into a possible threat. However, the general had thought it would be a fine gift, an excellent way to demonstrate the Fire Nation superiority, to display a princess in chains. The only royal family was that of the Fire Nation. Imposters should be punished and humiliated. The general had not thought that instead of seeing an imposter princess the crowd would see a frightened child. The cheering turned to boos and sympathetic pleas and something was thrown at one of the soldier's who spurred the child forward when she stumbled.
Ilah muffled her gasp of shock with a hand. She could not bear to see the child suffer, dressed in the ragged remains of silk robes. The corner of Azulon's lip twitched in dissatisfaction. He didn't care about the child, but he cared about the people's reaction. The general had made a mistake. It would not be forgotten, but it would have to be dealt with later.
At last, the general reached the Fire Lord and knelt, "I present to you the treasures of King Okami, and his youngest daughter as a prisoner of war."
"You have done well, general," His voice was terse, and the general's expression registered a hint of knowledge that he'd displeased his Fire Lord in some way. "Although, I am not quite certain what you would have me do with the child."
The general cleared his throat, "I thought…perhaps she could be a servant to the Fire Lady. A former princess serving true royalty…"
Ilah sat up straighter, glancing at her husband with an almost pleading expression. "That would please me greatly, husband, to be waited upon by an Earth Kingdom princess."
Azulon dipped his head, "then it is done." He spoke to the general and his wife before walking away from the two of them to address his people and salvage the festivities with a heartening speech of Fire Nation supremacy.
The Fire Lady paid little attention to this speech, instead focusing her attention and the shaking child for whom she now felt responsible. The child was taken away with the rest of the more valuable treasures, including Okami's crown, and Ilah wanted to go with her but knew better than to leave the celebration of Tiehuyu's destruction.