Unusual Informants

By: Shutterfly Simmons

"What do you mean?" Zuko demanded. "I can't miss this! It's the anniversary of the war's end. We've been planning the celebration for months now." If Zuko had been sitting in the throne room, then the flames on his dais would have shot up to match his anger. Luckily for him, his dining room didn't have the same layout.

"I know it seems last minute, but you should consider you own safety, Zuko," Iroh said, pouring himself another cup of tea. Zuko suspected it was ginseng, but he had never been able to identify hot leaf juice the way his Uncle could.

"Last minute? Uncle, it's only two days from now! Where did you get your information from, anyway?" Iroh took a another sip of his tea before answering.

"I believe your friends discovered the plot on their stroll through through the marketplace yesterday evening. It was such a beautiful day yesterday. There was just the right amount of sunlight with a gentle breeze. I wish you had gone with them. I keep telling you that you need to get out of your office and relax a little." Zuko rolled his eyes at the last part.

He sighed before replying, "I've only been Fire Lord for a few years now. There's still a lot of work to be done, not to mention all the preparations for the festival." Bringing up the upcoming event, reminded Zuko of what they were arguing about.

"Speaking of that, I still think that it's nothing to be worried about. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll ask the others what they think and let the guards know to be on alert." He was pretty sure that that had nothing to reassure his Uncle, but by now, Zuko had learned that arguing with Uncle Iroh never ended with his victory. Pushing his plate back, he got up from the table. He walked towards the guest bedrooms of the palace. His friends usually slept in, a luxury he didn't have.

To his surprise he found all of their rooms empty. After asking a few passing servants, Zuko realized that they were eating in the palace courtyard. He was mildly offended that he hadn't been invited but figured that they had just assumed that he was busy. He heard Sokka laughing loudly as he walked closer to their picnic.

"Hey, Sparky. Finally decided to join us, I see." Everyone turned towards him. There were plates of freshly cooked food lying on the soft grass. The scent of it made him hungry, even though he had just eaten.

"I would have joined you earlier if I had known where you were," Zuko said, grumpily.

"Sorry," Katara apologized, "but, you're usually busy working, so we assumed that you wouldn't be able to show up. And, the picnic was just a spur of the moment thing. We didn't plan it or anything. You're welcome to join us, though."

"It's alright, I ate earlier. Actually, I came here to ask you something."

"You want to know more about the plot, don't you?" Sokka asked, becoming more serious.

"How did you-" Sokka shrugged.

"We figured that once General Iroh told you, you'd want to know all the details, so that you could convince him it wasn't a threat." Was he that predictable? Zuko wondered.

"It started with the walk we took yesterday," Sokka began.

Toph groaned, "Hurry up, Snoozles. How long does it take to buy a new sword sheath, anyway?"

"Shh," Sokka hissed. "You can't rush these things." He rubbed his hand against one. Toph huffed and blew on the long strands of hair that fell onto her face.

"Whatever, just finish up. Then, we can go back to annoying Sparky's guards." Zuko's stiff stony faced soldiers were always fun to mess with. She waited somewhat quietly for a few minutes, before getting bored again. Lazily, Toph earth bent Sokka a few inches to the side of where he was standing before. He shrieked in a rather unmanly way as he tripped.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," Sokka grumbled, brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Finally. Let's go find Twinkletoes and his girl friend. I'll bet you 5 gold pieces that they'll be kissing when we find them."

"Deal, let me just buy this sheath." Ha handed a small sack of coins over to the owner before walking out with Toph.

"So, where are they?"

"Near the statue of that old guy with the oddly shaped face," Toph answered. They walked towards it.

"Oh that one. I never did understand how that guy could go out in public with a beard like that. Guess the royal barbers back then had odd tastes."

"I didn't know you were such an expert on beard styles, Sokka," a familiar voice said from behind him. He turned around to see and Aang and Katara holding back laughter.

"Laugh all you like, but even you have to admit that it looks ridiculous," he grumbled. Aang gave up trying to suppress his laughter.

"It does look like he had a koala sheep on his face."

"Exactly! See, he gets it!"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is there a point to this?" he asked.

"I'm getting there, relax," Sokka replied. He sighed, this was going to take forever. Katara seemed to notice his impatience.

"Why don't I skip ahead?" she suggested.

"Please do," he muttered, ignoring Sokka's protests.

"Now that we're at his house, what do we do?"

"Wait, whose house were you at?" Zuko asked.

"Your adviser, Katsu's. Sokka and Toph stalked-"

"Followed," interrupted Sokka. "I prefer the term followed."

"Fine, followed him home."

"Why?" Zuko demanded.

"Do you really want to know?" Katara asked, wearily.

"Probably not, keep going."

"My brother and Toph were about to proceed with their, um, earlier plans, when we heard him mention the festival. We got closer and realized that he was with some other men, discussing the security."

"You know how paranoid the Fire Lord is. Are you sure that we can manage it?" Katsu asked

"It's been made quite clear that he'll be out during the festival. It's our best bet. By taking him out in public, it makes both him and his policies seem weak. It lets the world see the level of our resources and connections. The fire nation may seem at peace now, but we can make this the calm before the storm," another voice answered.

"And, if we're caught?"

"Many still see the fire nation as ruthless. The worst he can do is throw us in prison. Anything more, and he'd only be confirming their suspicions."

"You should go now. You know how the servants get. If you're here to long, they'll spread word of our meeting."

"That doesn't mean he means me," Zuko said, as soon as they finished. They all exchanged a look.

"It kind of does." Before Zuko could interrupt, Sokka continued. "Think about, you're the only one worth going through all this trouble for."

"Are you forgetting that Aang is the avatar? It could just as easily be him."

"They mentioned that you couldn't do anything more than throw them in prison without making the fire nation look bad. Aang's not fire nation, you are." Zuko got up.

"Then, I'll confront Katsu, right now. Then,-"

"Then, they'll continue with the plan, anyway. Look, politicians like him aren't going to do any of the dirty work. They offer the means and information to others, to do it for them. Katsu was probably just an informant. Getting rid of him, now won't change anything."

"Then, what do you suggest?" Sokka grinned mischievously.

"How much do you trust me?"

(A/N): I do intend to continue this, but for now it ends here, because of word restrictions. Written for Round 2 of the Probending Circuit.

Word count:

1,324 words

Prompts:

King

Dialogue: "You can't rush these things"

Character: Zuko

Restriction: Exactly 1,324 words (Not including author's note)