Lu Ten – Orders
The sunset would have been beautiful except for the corpses. The battlefield was littered with dead soldiers, rotting in the evening light, waiting to be dragged away by their comrades.
Silhouetted by the orange rays, a young Fire Nation sergeant closed the eyes of his own soldiers. Lu Ten silently prayed for their wives and children, thinking that he was blessed to not have a family waiting for his return at home. He felt strangely calm when he was alone with the bodies.
He heard a crunch of leaves behind him, but did not turn around. Even enemies could agree that no war should continue between sunset and sunrise.
Lu Ten did not anticipate one of his own soldiers piercing his back with a short Earth Kingdom blade. He gasped, falling to his knees.
The soldier did not come into his view, but stood shaking behind him.
His voice was thin and wavering, "Sir, please forgive me, sir. It was an order, sir. It said-- it said that my family would be killed if I didn't-- the letter said I had to kill you. I had to-- my family would have been killed..." Choking, he fled, leaving the betrayed sergeant to die with his soldiers.
As the sun rose on the Fire Nation the next morning, Ozai received a scroll at his large desk.
He did not bother suppressing a smile when he read that his nephew had been gutted on the battlefield of Ba Sing Se.
Iroh was devastated. His only son was dead.
Ozai was pleased. His only competition was murdered. The Fire Nation crown belonged to him now. He leaned back in his chair, wondering why he let the boy live so long in the first place.
A well-written order had solved so many of his problems.
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A/N: I always thought there was more to Lu Ten's death than the show was explaining. Ozai had him killed in my opinion. Read and review.