Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the brainchild of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is owned by Viacom. I own none of the characters in this story, but I did think up the dragon, which I don't expect to be a huge surprise to anyone. What do you figure that egg-shaped golden object that felt alive to the touch in The Firebending Masters episode was? The rest are all lovingly used without permission. This story is written solely for my personal amusement (and posted for the amusement of others) and to keep the crazy idea from boring a hole in my head, so I can get on with my life. I make no profit from this other than peace of mind!
Forgotten Ones: Lieutenant Jee
It wasn't even an hour later when Jee found himself being marched through the docks by two guards and the warden. He didn't think much of the company, but at least the walk was refreshing. He hadn't been outside his dark, solitary cell much in the past months, after all, and it gave him plenty of time to think and observe his immediate destination: the Firelord's royal flagship.
The ship was easily ten-times the size Prince Zuko's tiny ship had been. That little dingy (compared to this behemoth) had been over 20 years older than its owner, definitely outdated, but this ship spoke of the latest technologies and the newest designs, apart from the airships Jee had heard about. The command tower resembled a pagoda, complete with red roofing plates and golden edging, and the prow boasted a gold-plated stylized dragon, making this ship the epitome of royal sailing ships. In a distracted moment, he wondered what it must be like to serve on a ship like that, but he quickly extinguished that thought. This was the ship of the new, upstart Firelord, a man who'd been put into place by the Avatar and ignored the laws of succession, the laws which would rightfully have Zuko be the Firelord, if he still lived. And this man and his advisors had . . . had laughed at the prince's death!
Jee could feel the anger rise in his throat like fire from a dragon's lungs as he watched the familiar form of a sky bison lift off the royal flagship and disappear into the distance. How dare he! That little kid, no matter how powerful, shouldn't have been able to put whomever he wanted on the Fire Nation throne. Even with Zuko dead, there were still laws to follow, paths of succession to tread, even if it meant putting Zuko's sister in charge instead. The prince wouldn't have been able to argue with the legality of that, even if he hated his sister as much as Jee had gathered from the few times he'd even speak of her.
Not for the first time, the old veteran wondered what the purpose of this "private audience" would be. Maybe sentencing him to death immediately after his defiance wouldn't have been in line with the Firelord's "new peace" but throwing him overboard while wearing heavy manacles in a quiet manner would be? Only the two of them would ever know about it, and who would miss a former lieutenant who'd bordered on being a rebel? It's certainly what previous Firelords would have done.
When they finally reached the top of the gangplank, there was no one there to greet them. As a matter of fact, the ship looked practically deserted. The magnificent palanquin sat in a place of honor on the top of a platform at the base of the command tower, but the curtains were parted, and it appeared devoid of any occupant save for a collection of rich red, black and gold fabric.
"You guys are early," came a cold voice from one side of the palanquin, and out stepped the elegantly-coiffed young woman from before, "Nobody sent for you yet."
"Apologies, my lady," started the warden somewhat nervously, "you didn't specify what time you wanted to see the prisoner, so I thought—"
"Oh that's cute. You thought. Alert the scribes, we've got a thinker here."
Jee did his best to hide his smile, and one of the guards behind him less-successfully hid a snicker. The warden glanced around sharply to glare at the offender, but the three taller men behind him all wore straight faces.
"Did you also think that the Firelord wanted an invited guest chained up?" even with the emphasis on the word "think" the young woman's voice hadn't heated up. She remained cold as ice. Despite himself, Jee started to feel a little intimidated. He got the impression this girl wasn't one to be trifled with.
"But—he's a prisoner! He's a dangerous firebender, and he could—"
"So's the Firelord. You think he can't handle himself against anyone foolish enough to attack him?" the woman's cold expression was now a glare straight at the warden. Her pale gold eyes drilled into him like daggers, and the warden visibly squirmed, his armor seeming five sizes too large for him now. "Lose the shackles."
The two guards looked at the warden, then Jee, and back again before the warden squeaked, "You heard the lady!" and then in a more controlled, if strained whisper pitched for the ex-lieutenant, "Just don't try anything funny, Jee."
As the guards removed the manacles, the serious young woman seemed to lose interest in the newcomers for the moment and turned to investigate the contents of the palanquin. She picked up the heavy fabric from the chair and sighed in either exasperation or resignation (it was hard to tell the difference with her) and muttered something about housewives the veteran barely caught. When she held the fabric up and folded it over one arm, it quickly became apparent that it was actually the Firelord's heavy outer robes, which had been dumped across his even heavier black and gold collar. She carefully lifted up the collar just enough to look underneath and cracked a ghost of a smile. "Building a nest already, little one?"
There was a mewling growl from beneath the collar, and a small, whiskered reptilian head poked out and yawned sleepily. It puffed out a small flame and licked the girl's hand before retreating back into its makeshift den.
"Come on, I know he left it nice and warm for you, but I've got to put his stuff away before some idiot tries stealing it, or you burn it. Up you get, Fang." The girl unceremoniously lifted the royal collar and balanced it over the robes, fully revealing the baby dragon who squeaked in protest. It was a wondrous little thing, mostly red with golden eyes, budding golden horns, and golden highlights along its jaws and down to the hairy tip of its tail. When she reached down to grab said tail, the little dragon snapped at her hand, which she pulled back quickly.
"Fang! Don't you do that! Really, you should know better by now." It was surprisingly easy to hear the annoyance in her voice when she scolded the little thing.
Fang cringed and whimpered a little at the girl's voice, but appeared to be completely awake now. Despite the creature's obvious youth, it seemed to know exactly what she meant with her tone. It lifted off from the cushioned palanquin to snake around her shoulders and lick her cheek, growling and squeaking apologetically.
"That's better," the girl said, stroking the little dragon's long, scaly neck. She reached into a loose sleeve and pulled out a small treat, which the dragon snapped down eagerly, growling contentment. Then she sighed, looking down at the collar and robes balanced over one arm, "What am I going to do with you?" She then looked up, straight into Jee's eyes, as if expecting an answer.
Jee rubbed his freshly freed wrists, not sure how to respond. Erring on the side of caution, he settled for, "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," she ignored the warden who stood off to the side attempting to catch her attention and approached uncomfortably close to Jee. She didn't seem to be threatening. As a matter of fact, she seemed rather at ease, but she'd have to be pretty dense not to pick up on the nervousness of the men around her. Her glare wasn't hard this time, but it did contain a great deal of boredom, as if she really didn't feel like explaining herself, "You're a guest, but you're early. The Firelord just left, so you can't have your meeting yet. What am I going to do with you?"
Jee certainly wasn't used to dealing with teenage girls, and definitely not ones in positions of power, as this girl clearly acted, so he stuck with the basics, "Well, if I'm a guest, I suppose introductions are in order . . . my lady?"
She raised one eyebrow slightly and appeared to think it over. "I'm Mai," she said finally, then gestured to the dragon curled comfortably around her shoulders, "and this is Fang."
"My name is Jee. A pleasure to meet you, miss," Jee said, and executed a formal Fire Nation bow, knuckles of his right fist held in front of him against his vertical left palm. The dragon made a displeased croaking roar. "And, uh, Fang," he amended bowing quickly again, which seemed to satisfy the little creature.
"The pleasure's all yours," Mai waved dismissively and turned away, then appeared to think better of it and turned back, shoving the heavy robe and collar into Jee's arms. "While you don't have anything better to do, you might as well help me carry this. The rest of you can go."
The warden and the guards exchanged looks, "But my lady," the warden protested, "we're here to escort the prisoner until the Firelord gives him a sentence! We can't just leave him unsupervised on the Firelord's ship! What if he tries sabotage, or attacking you, or—"
"Jee, would it be rude for a guest to attack his hostess or damage his gracious host's vessel?" Mai's faintly annoyed gaze was back on the warden, pinning him like a butterfly. She now had her arms crossed, amplifying the effect.
"Very rude, miss."
"And would you, as a man of honor and former soldier under General Iroh and Prince Zuko, be inclined to be so rude and disruptive to your host?"
"Of course not, miss. You have my word."
"There, you see?" Mai concluded, "He's the perfect officer and gentleman, just like the Firelord said he'd be. You wouldn't be calling the Firelord a liar, now, would you, captain?"
The warden swallowed, clearly intimidated but trying to avoid showing the fact, "Of course not, my lady. We'll just escort him back to the fort, then, and wait for a summons from the Firelord."
"Oh, he won't need an escort," Mai gestured nonchalantly, and the implications of this statement made Jee's blood run cold, and his eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. So they were going to silence him anyway, huh? He'd see about that . . . "Since he's already here, he might as well stick around. And he's not your concern anymore, either. He's a guest, not a prisoner. Like I said, you guys can go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that—"
A streak of red and silver shot past the warden's ear: a superbly-aimed throwing knife. Jee had barely seen the girl move, and the dragon was now also glaring at the warden, growling.
"Ok, now I'm afraid I can," the snively man practically squeaked, "Guards, note that we're leaving the prisoner in Lady Mai's custody, and he's now the Firelord's responsibility!" With that, the visibly shaken warden and his guards miraculously left the ship without breaking into a dead run.
Jee couldn't help but smile, "I've been wanting to put that kind of look on that man's face for months! You've just made my day, miss."
"The day's not over yet, Jee."
Again, the steel-haired veteran was stricken with a sense of foreboding. "So, when do you plan on killing me?" he asked the question that had been nagging him since the palanquin left the fort.
Mai raised her eyebrow again and looked at him. "If there's one thing my mother taught me, it's that killing or maiming your guests is rude, and rudeness to guests can't be tolerated."
"So you'll wait until I'm not a guest anymore?"
Mai sighed, "Look, if you're so intent on dying, the harbor's pretty deep here, and the railing's not that tall. The Firelord wouldn't be happy when he gets back, but I'm sure he'd understand."
"You'd tell him I was a coward?"
"No, I'd tell him he was stupid for leaving before you got here and letting you drown yourself." She started moving to the conn tower while she talked, and Jee naturally followed.
"And he wouldn't blast your head off for it?"
"He'd better not."
Jee blinked, trying to process all he knew about this girl so far. One, she could speak for the Firelord on official business, two, she picked up after him, three, she was intimidating and deadly with hidden throwing knives, and four, she could berate him with apparently no remorse. "So who are you, his adviser, his maid, his bodyguard, or his babysitter?" he asked before he could stop himself. He seemed incapable of doing so today, much to his chagrin.
Mai didn't seem to really mind the question, "A little of all those, I guess. I'm his girlfriend."
He let out an amused snort. One didn't normally think of a powerful monarch to have something as simple or mundane as a steady girlfriend. Courtesans fawning all over him, arranged marriages, or mistresses, certainly, but nothing like a normal relationship where the girl could be on equal footing. Judging by her apparent age, Jee thought, the Firelord must still be pretty young, too.
"What, was that funny or something?" Mai had stopped at the tower door and half-turned to look back at her charge.
A little bit, yeah. "Not at all, miss. The Firelord has good taste: a strong woman who can watch his back, even against himself."
This seemed to satisfy her, and he caught her half-smile before she turned back to the open door. "Maybe. Follow me. Let's put that stuff away."