It was a fine lovely morning in the Fire Nation capital, clear and sunny but with a few hours yet before the Great Sun Spirit would ascend to scorching noontide. Through the lively bustle of the marketplace strode a young man with golden eyes and an easy grace in his step. Although obviously someone of noble rank, he had forgone the ornate robes of his station and instead donned a simple, dark red vest and trousers, elegant yet understated. It wasn't often he could escape the swarm of courtiers at the Palace in order to mingle among his people on their own turf.
Today he intended to come to eye level with this metropolis in the heart of a living sea of flickering flame-red, with its faces as many as Koh's masks. Sure, the mighty Fire Lords of the past had been content to rule in distant austerity, but the young firebender found himself looking for a more hands on approach to suit the changing times. To tell the truth, he had always rather admired the natural gift of his betrothed for connecting with the people, understanding their everyday cares. Not one to give up upon discovering a skill he had yet to master, the golden-eyed noble relished the challenge of giving a face to the shadowy Crown.
"Get him!"
"Come on, he's over there!"
Jolted out of his strategizing by a waist-high blur of motion speeding past him, the young royal glanced up to see a diminutive mob of schoolboys fast approaching. Unfortunately, this particular brand of chaos had broken out in a narrow alley between a vendor of paper fans and one of pottery, giving the firebnder precious little space in which to defend the "everyday cares" (or wares) of the Fire Lord's subjects. Then, of course, the boy that had first fled past—presumably the victim of this youthful stampede—might want a little defending too.
Heaving a sigh, the young warrior slapped down some coins at the fan vendor's stall and grabbed the first fan that came to hand. It snapped shut easily, and weighing the fan carefully in his hand, he determined that it would make an excellent (and non-lethal) makeshift throwing dart. He had picked up a few pointers—no pun intended-on the Art of Pointy Flying Things from hanging around his betrothed and her girlfriends.
Aiming carefully, the golden-eyed royal let the closed fan shoot from his fingers, well over the boys' heads, until it struck a wooden post behind them with a dull thud. The sound got their attention, along with his martial theatrics, and that was what he wanted.
Quarry forgotten, they skidded to a halt, gazing up at him in a mix of awe and fear. Allowing himself an amused half-smile, the firebender folded his arms-
-then stopped, and instead squatted down so he could see them eye to eye (maybe that whole business about meeting the people at eye level wasn't just a metaphor).
"Good morning, my young friends. And where might you be rushing to on this fine summer's day?"
Although most of them gawked as him in silent admiration, a tall, strong-looking boy, presumably the leader, got up the courage to speak.
"Well, uh, we were chasing after—I mean, following Kuzon over there. Sir," he amended hastily at a nudge from his fellows.
"Now, would Kuzon be the lone warrior taking cover behind the fruit stall?" inquired the royal thoughtfully. When a top knot and a pair of wary eyes became visible around the corner of said stall, the firebender called, "The coast's clear, soldier. I've got this battalion under control."
A reluctant smile teased out of him, Kuzon made his way over to them as the others crowed delightedly at the army metaphor.
Pleased at his taming of the crowd, the noble casually revealed, "I'm really rather curious as to your reasons forfollowing, as you say, our friend the loner. It's never smart to make an enemy of the stoic silent type, you know. If it were me, I'd make him an ally instead."
Taken aback, the tall boy fumbled to defend their exploits. "He's just...different. He never talks, and all he does is sit in the corner and read all day."
"He reads boring old military books, about ancient battles and stuff," piped up a voice in the back. When Kuzon's eyes began to flash, the young royal laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"That's too bad," he mused. "I'd be in trouble too, in your school. I'm entirely too fascinated by old military texts for my own good."
"You like that stuff?" asked the boys, agape.
Clearly starting to reconsider the merit of historic battles, the leader queried, "Say, mister, have you ever been in a fight—like, for instance, in the Earth Kingdom? We learned a lot about the War in our history class, you see..."
"Indeed I have," the firebender confirmed. "I journeyed for quite a while in the Earth Kingdom, and had to do my share of fighting along the way."
"Did you ever see any earthbenders?" the group wanted to know, transfixed by visions of blood and glory.
"I did. Once I almost got beaten to a pulp by one of them—until I started firebending."
"Wow, you're a firebender? I am too!" the leader exclaimed proudly.
"And I'm sure you taking your bending lessons very seriously," the noble admonished him good-humoredly. "Now listen, I want you to answer a couple questions for me. Unlike that earthbender who almost got me, do you suppose Kuzon here is from the Earth Kingdom?"
"Of course not," the boys scoffed, looking surprised at the question.
After pretending to consider very intensely for a moment, the royal allowed his eyes to light up.
"I've got it!-You're a waterbender, aren't you, Kuzon?"
A trifle bemused, the boy simply shook his head no.
"In that case," the firebender deduced, "you must be an airbender. Anyone think I'm right?"
"That's silly—Fire Lord Sozin wiped out all the airbenders!" the group laughed, looking to him expectantly for the joke's conclusion.
"Except for the Avatar," the leader put in importantly.
"See? Maybe history isn't so bad after all," the royal suggested amiably. "Well then, seeing as how our friend here isn't from the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribe, or even a fugitive from the Air Temples, I suppose he'd have to be Fire Nation, like you and me. Correct?"
"That sounds about right," the tall boy agreed.
"And if that's the case, doesn't it seem a trifle silly to be squabbling amongst ourselves?" the young noble questioned mildly. "We have enough of that among the aristocrats and ministers of state—and believe me, I should know." Persnickety nobles aside, it would be years yet before the rest of the world's nations recognized and accepted the efforts of his own to build them up to greatness.
Glancing at the sun's position in the sky, the firebender regretfully told them, "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me—I promised to meet someone for tea."
"Who are you meeting?" the leader asked, amid disappointed grumblings of "Aw, man!"
A trifle smugly, the young royal posed a question in return.
"You've learned about the Avatar, right?" When they nodded, he further explained, "The Avatar before him was Avatar Roku, from the Fire Nation, and-"
"Are you meeting him?" one of the boys interjected, looking impressed.
Chuckling softly, the firebender replied, "Sad to say, Avatar Roku isn't around any more. But his granddaughter is, and it's her I'm meeting. Now move along to wherever you're going, and maybe you'll reconsider an alliance with the lone warrior here."
"Sure thing, mister!" cried the leader enthusiastically. As the group stumbled and skipped away, Kuzon in their haphazard midst, the tall boy hesitated a moment, and then turned back to the royal.
"Sir, I'm gonna tell my mom an' dad about meeting you, and how awesome it was, and—and everything."
With a gracious nod, the firebender accepted the boy's fumbling esteem.
"I'm happy to hear it. Tell your parents that Prince Ozai sends his greetings."
A/N: Bet you were expecting Fire Lord Zuko, weren't you? I wouldn't blame you, as that was the idea. Last night (well, a few days ago actually, but last night a midnight the idea so caught me up that I almost got out of bed to write this...), I got the inspiration to write this little oneshot, where all the wording seems to point to a postwar scenario, but is actually vague enough that it could be taken two ways. 'Twas a fun challenge.
And it's very interesting that I've actually written a oneshot, and in ONE SITTING, since I never ever write that short or that fast. Well anyway, I suppose that in addition to hopefully introducing the possibility one or two more Avatards that Ozai (well, his younger self anyway) might possibly have an awesome, non-cruel side, this brings me closer to my goal of a massive fanfic repertoire devoted to young Urzai! Yay. ^-^ (Taking over the world in an entirely different fashion...)
...And I WILL finish Blood and Flame and Fire Lilies, just to reassure my faithful readers of that fic. ;) I'm sorry it's taken so long to post the next chapter. It's been written up in rough draft form for a while, but Real Life and so forth kind of sapped my inspiration/energy—until now, perhaps...