Fire Fountain City 135AG
The night was early. Izumi sat in her hotel room writing letters to her parents with her son in her lap, sleeping. Two imperial guards flanked her in her hotel room, two flanked the door outside, two were on the roof above her hotel room, and at least a dozen were on the ground covering all points of entry to the building.
They were on tour. Hisoki was representing Fire Lord Zuko and announcing several new decrees regarding industrialization, small business taxation, and education along with answering the questions of local city mayors and island governors. Izumi was tagging along and making public appearances at libraries, parks, orphanages, schools, and theatres. It was boring at times, but a nice break from the snake pit that was the Council of Ministers and Council of Generals in the Palace.
Dear Father,
I am pleased to report that we have arrived safely in Fire Fountain City. Our reception was mostly positive. Only two people threw food from a crowd of an estimated ten thousand. I find it odd why some people in poverty think it reasonable to waste such a precious commodity by using it as a weapon against their governing body. It accomplishes nothing but waste…
Izumi heard footsteps and subconsciously shifted Iroh from her lap into her left arm while still writing with her right. Hisoki never liked to find her with their baby in her lap unsupported. He was afraid Iroh would roll off and get hurt. Izumi on the other hand, knew that when her son slept, he didn't move. She could put him in his cradle, but preferred to keep him near; the warmth from his little life was comforting.
Just then, there was the sound of a scuffle outside the door and a body being thrown against it. Izumi's eyes shot up and her pen fell down, as she instinctively clutched her son to her chest. Both her guards bent into bending positions. There was the sound of a fight on the roof. One guard turned to the window in time to see one of the imperial guards falling.
"Princess, get under the desk!" the guard ordered. Izumi pushed the chair out and climbed under, holding her one year old son to her chest.
The sound of splintering wood filled the room as the door was kicked in. One guard ducked but the other was not so lucky. The slab of wood flew across the room with such a force that it decapitated the guard facing the window, taking its head with it into the night.
Izumi gagged at the sight and covered her son's eyes.
The remaining guard sent a fire blast, but that was not enough to hold the intruders back and he was stabbed with a spear.
Izumi covered her mouth.
"The imperial guard has officially fallen!" one man yelled.
"Finally!" another exclaimed with a sigh of relief, wiping his sword off on a leather belt.
"Is the Princess here?" a third asked.
"Checking now," the one with the spear said rounding the desk he tossed the spear aside and unsheathed two equally bloody dual swords. He pointed one under the desk, ready to spear whatever might be lurking under there.
The swordsman paused. "Did the master want her dead or alive?" the swordsman asked.
"Didn't matter to him," the tired one replied.
The swordsman pulled back to thrust the sword under the desk, but before he could push, an arrow came through the front of his chest, and he fell revealing an Archer in the window.
"Huh?" the tired one and the enthusiastic one gasped. The archer notched two more arrows and shot the two accomplices of the swordsman. The swordsman wore regular clothes and a face mask. The archer wore all black with an amber band around his left arm.
"We have the golden tangerine," the archer said into a radio. He turned to the window and whistled then jumped into the room through the window and walked towards Izumi.
Izumi's heart was beating out of her chest, yet somehow, Iroh still slept.
The archer turned his bow and arrow away and bent down. His face had a red tattoo around his eyes and on his forehead, the mark of the Yuyan Archers.
"Hey there, Princess. We need to get you to your husbands before the others make it up," the archer said. Wait! A female archer! The Pohuai Stronghold never accepted females into their school, let alone into their ranks! How did she get these tattoos?
"Others?"
"Assassins."
"Who do they fight for?"
"They're extremists that want to end Fire Lord Zuko's Legacy. They fight for the Phoenix Society, formerly called the New Ozai Society," the archer said, looking up at the door.
"And how do I know you're not just one of them trying to gain my trust?"
"You're a smart woman, Princess, but if I were one of them, I would have killed you already."
"Are you part of some secret force of my husband or father?"
"No."
"So who do you fight for?" Izumi asked.
"Like you, I fight for the Fire Nation. And it can't afford to lose its Princess. Now, we have to hurry!" The archer pulled Izumi out from under the desk and tore off her skirt, using it to tie Iroh to the Princess's chest. "You'll need to be able to climb onto the roof!" There was yelling in the hallway and the thundering of feet.
The archer whistled out the window and a cable came down, latching around Izumi's waist. It yanked her up into the air. She held onto Iroh and braces herself for a hard fall, but instead was caught by somebody.
"Are you alright?" the metalbender asked in a low hoarse voice.
"Yes," Izumi replied standing.
"And you still have your baby?"
Izumi touched his head. "Yes,"
"Good, let's go!" the archer said reappearing. She drew an arrow with a rope tied to it and shot it down at a building across the way and then tied it taught to a pole on the top of the building. The metalbender then fashioned a part of his cable into two handles.
"Princess, you come after me," the metalbender ordered jumping. Izumi grabbed on and the archer pushed her off the roof. They landed and looked up as the archer cut the rope.
"She's not going to make it!" Izumi said, looking up at the archer's silhouette in the moonlight as she took a spear, two swords and a dagger to the chest.
"She is not important. YOU ARE!" the metalbender said, grabbing Izumi's hand and dragging her through vacant streets and alleys until they reached the back of the convention center in the city, where two imperial guards stood flanking a door.
"You must go in alone. We cannot be seen," the metalender said, urging the princess forward towards the guards assigned to Hisoki.
"May I have your name so I could at least issue proper thanks when I return to the capital?" Izumi asked.
"No, Ma'am. It is forbidden," the earthbender replied.
"But that archer gave her life for me and my son. And you risked everything!"
"She gave her life to her country and her country needs its princess and prince," the earthbender said. "NOW GO!" with that, he buried himself underground.
Izumi turned and walked over to the imperial guards.
"Princess Izumi?"
"You're supposed to be at your hotel resting!"
"My guard at the hotel has been completely decimated in a blatant attempt on my life," Izumi replied.
The guards glanced at each other. "Come on," they said, linking arms behind her, leading her into the building to a secure room. Izumi refused to sit while she waited with Iroh still messily but securely tied to her body. She looked down at him and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"Izumi!" Hisoki exclaimed, embracing her and checking on the well-being of the baby. "You've blood on your face! Were you fighting too?" he asked.
Izumi touched her face. She didn't even notice.
"And your skirts!" he said noticing the outermost layer torn off completely.
"I'm fine; stop fussing. An archer and a metalbender came and saved me," Izumi said pushing his hand away.
"How? Who were they?"
"I don't know who they were. They wouldn't tell me. The archer made a zip line so we could escape off the roof of the hotel and then she cut the line and took four blades to the chest."
"And the metalbender?"
"Accompanied me here and told me to go in alone. Said he couldn't be seen,"
"Sounds like he's the assassin to me. He could have just wanted us together and placed a bomb,"
"Hisoki, he's not the assassin! The assassins trying to take my life were dressed in regular clothes and killed all of the imperial guard assigned to me. These two people wore all black with an amber armband,"
"That means nothing! It could have all been staged, Izumi. Anyone can put on a change of costume and say anything. I KNEW you shouldn't have come on this tour. You've endangered us all!" Hisoki yelled.
"How could you blame me for this? We are a part of the Royal Family! We are ALWAYS in danger!"
"You should have stayed back at the palace!"
"Maybe you should have stayed back on whatever TINY ISLAND you hailed from!" Izumi shot back. Hisoki stepped away and turned.
This is not good, Izumi thought. She looked down at Iroh and held him a little tighter.
The next morning at breakfast, a familiar face arrived.
"Kei Lo!" Izumi leapt up and hugged her mother's best friend and advisor.
"Hello Princess,' Kei-Lo chuckled, returning the hug and patting the princess on the back as if she were still just a little girl. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.
"A little shaken but otherwise fine. Devastated that the guards were killed but glad at least Iroh is alive, and Hisoki is… well…as Hisoki always is."
"Hello sir," Hisoki said, waving.
"Hello, Hisoki. Izumi, if you don't mind me asking, and if you're ready to speak, your mother would like to know the full details of whatever you witnessed last night. The captain of the imperial guard back at the capital doesn't believe that all of his best men could be slain by just a couple of assassins-"
"It wasn't just two against the imperial guard. At least five made it onto the roof by the time I escaped with the metalbender. A spear, two swords, and a dagger pierced the chest of the archer, and the fifth person just stood back watching. There were certainly others in the building fighting. I could hear them from outside even if I couldn't see them with my own eyes."
"What were they wearing?"
"Just regular clothes. The archer and the metalbender wore all black with an amber collar on their left sleeves, though," Izumi recalled.
"Amber, you say? Yes, that should be enough." Kei Lo thought aloud.
"Yes, is there something special about amber?" Izumi inquired.
"Not particularly. It is just not typically a color you would use to describe a matte fabric. Most people would say orange. But the fact that you recognized amber… never mind. I am probably only confusing you. I should report back to your mother, and YOU," Izumi raised a brow. "You need to finish breakfast, feed Iroh, and not forget about the orphanage visitation at eleven and then the firebending school visitation at five in the afternoon."
"I won't forget," Izumi reassured Kei-Lo.
"I know you won't." He said, kissing the top of her head as he passed. "As soon as I finish the report to your mother, I shall return to your side and guard you until the new escort arrives."
"But what about my mother? Doesn't she need you back at the capital?"
"Your mother is more concerned with your survival than my advising. She can handle a few days on her own," Kei-Lo replied with a warm smile.
Kei-Lo always was so kind and for that, Izumi was grateful.
In some Nondescript building
"Your report?"
"The Golden Tangerine has been secured,"
"And what is the status on Emerald?"
"In the hospital with two fractured ribs after the hostage exchange went awry,"
"And the Jade?"
"Recently passed her metalbending exam, and is an excellent dancer, I must confess."
The Master smiled. "Thank you, for your sacrifice, risk and time, protecting the peace and balance of this world."
