The day past slowly. The assassin was being healed, and Zuko's hands were now feeling much better after proper care. The new gloves helped, too. Better than the bandages, they kept the healing paste against his burns, protected the vulnerable skin, and prevented him from accidentally flexing his hands too much.
Azula was off with Ty Lee doing whatever it was those two did for fun. He could hear the acrobat giggling as he walked by, so it couldn't be that bad. Mai had excused herself and was off talking with her uncle about her little brother and how dull life in Omashu was. He couldn't help but eavesdrop a little, she sounded so different with her uncle. They really were alike.
He stepped through the door with a little extra noise to let them hear him coming. "What do you want, Zuko?" Well didn't she sound irritated. How... unlike Mai. "I need to borrow the warden for a minute. You can have him back soon." He couldn't resist smirking just a little. She frowned as her uncle stood, gave a brief bow and followed after the prince.
"Prince Zuko. How may I serve you?" He explained what he required, and watched the poor man balk, shake his head as if to clear his ears, and stammer out a baffled "You want me to what?"
"To let all the prisoners that can firebend out in the yard, and leave me with them as long as I wish. You may keep guards posted on the walls and lookouts, but after the first few minutes I will dismiss all guards in the yard itself. Was I unclear the first time?"
"No-no, Prince Zuko. But you must understand the d-"
"So my understanding is faulty now, is it?" Zuko paused for a moment to let that sink in. "I understand perfectly what I ask, and the dangers you fear. They are not your concern. I have ordered you to do this, and you will obey me."
"Y-yes... Of course, your Highness. Right away." He gave the proper bow with palm resting on fist, inferior to superior, and gave the necessary orders to the closest guard. "Do you require my presence? I would be-"
"That is not necessary. Go back to Mai, I am sure you two have more to catch up on." He turned and followed the subtle markings that directed those few who knew them towards the yard. The guards reacted much like their warden, but they recovered much faster and followed their orders. Soon enough Zuko was standing in the yard flanked by a dozen guards, staring at hundreds hardened criminals.
It was a little intimidating. All of them were dangerous enough to earn a place here, and all of them firebenders. Toughened in ways he wasn't, and didn't want to be, they each carried a touch of savagery, or something he couldn't quite define. But he had faced far worse then them. He took a deep breath.
"I am Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa. You will follow my instructions or be sent back to your cells. Obey, and you might find something to your benefit. Divide yourselves into groups based on your worst deed."
They hesitated a moment, but soon shuffled along into different groups. None left. Murder, theft, arson, extortion, mutiny and its like, and other groups were formed. Rapists were non-existent, having been dealt with by other prisoners. These crimes he could work with, though he would go through each of their files anyway.
"From this moment on, any here who wish to participate in my proposal will spend their days practicing with their firebending and weapon skills , and training as they see fit. Any attempt to escape, any purposeful harming of another outside of sparring, any excessive damage dealt, will be met with deadly force. Those who prove their power and skill will have a second chance."
He waved the guards off, dismissing them. All hesitated slightly before leaving, and those on the walls became that much more watchful. The prisoners on the other hand didn't know what to think. The Prince wanted to be alone with them, unguarded? Opportunity? Trap? Chance to escape? Zuko could read it all on their faces. He waited for the guards to leave the yard before continuing, walking a little closer.
"I am offering you a chance to leave this place. Any and every one of you who prove skilled enough, and trustworthy enough, can become my new personal guard. You would travel with me, follow me into battle, and follow my commands. You would train, with and without me, every day to better serve the Fire Nation. You would fight in deadly battles against dangerous foes. You would be my guards, and given whatever I decide you need to fulfil that duty. You would have the chance to serve our country, instead of wasting away here. You would live as long as your skill lets you, then die in battle, or you might live to retirement, rather than stay locked behind these walls.
"So, what will you do? Any who wish to join my guard, stay. The rest will return to your cells."
Murmurs and whispers moved through the men and women as all considered their option. Permission to firebend? To train? A chance to leave? Some didn't want to serve, others didn't want to go to war, but all wished to firebend again. Properly. And the chance to be free? None passed it up. One stepped forward.
He was a tallish man, thickly built and powerful. The lack of tattoos set him apart as one of the few unmarked, but the straight lines crisscrossing his arms worked just as well. "Why shouldn't we just take you hostage? The Fire Lord's firstborn son, you ought to be worth our freedom." Several of the others nodded along with him, most refused to show their opinion one way or the other.
Zuko smiled. "Then try."
The tall man rushed him suddenly and sent all the fire he could form straight at him. Forming fire was a little more difficult through his gloves, but not by much. Blue overwhelmed red, and before the stunned man could recover, Zuko sent a blunt fireball to knock him back against the wall, out cold.
"As you can see," he announced to the wary onlookers, fire held for a moment in his palm, "I wield the blue flame, as does my sist-" An attack!
One of the men had inched around and lunged at his left side with a blazing fist, thinking to catch him in a blind spot that didn't exist. Zuko reacted with his most practised manoeuvre and shot the man full of lightning before he could blink. He hadn't even pointed fully in his attackers direction, all the games of 'catch' with Azula had apparently given him more control than he realised.
He could make it arc away from him now, too.
Just like with fire, it needn't follow his fingers or fist exactly, just the path of energy. Which he could bend.
At least at the beginning. Nobody could bend the lightning anywhere but towards themselves once it had been cast, and that was just making yourself a better target by manipulating your energy to draw it in.
The man was twitching on the ground, lightning flickering out with each spasm. It had not been enough to kill him, or even knock him unconscious, given how little time he had to charge it. But he had been quick, overpowering and accurate in an instant, and with more practice that could become a kill shot if needed.
"I also wield lightning, again like my sister. You cannot beat me. I do not need guards. I want them. I want people I can train and sharpen my skills against, people I can teach new techniques to who won't scoff at using steel as well as fire. I want a squad I can lead into battle who will make our enemies tremble at the thought attacking us! You might have heard how the Avatar lead an invasion during the dark day. Our nation was invaded! For the first time since before the war began, our enemies stepped foot in our home and dared think they could defeat us!
"We defeated them soundly, but they made it to the edge of the Capital. The Capital! Were it not for early warning, the Avatar would have attacked my father, the Fire Lord, and all the court while we lacked fire. I would have you powerful and deadly enough to frighten them away by the very thought of you! Let alone the rest of our might!"
He looked around once more. "Sozin's Comet is returning soon. By then I will take the best of you as the first of my guard, and we will burn down our enemies where they gather against us."
The prisoners looked around uneasily. No one moved to help the two flat on their backs, groaning. Someone else stepped forward, a woman this time. The tattoos on her shoulder and brow marked her a murderer. "If we agree, could we train somewhere else? The walls are high and the steam kinda blocks the sun. Get me out of here and I'll do whatever you want." Murmurs of assent and nods rippled through the crowd.
Zuko paused to consider this. It was true, this place was not exactly ideal for firebending practice. The atmosphere was oppressive and the sun had little presence. But it was secure, covered in metal, and on an island where they could not escape to harm his people...
An island. Of course! "I will not let you loose where you might make me regret giving you this chance, and there is no other prison large and secure enough to hold you properly. What if I set you free on the island of the Sun Warriors? It is a nearby island that once sustained our ancestors, the first human firebenders. You would have to feed yourselves, but there should be shelter in the ruins..."
No one could have missed the way their eyes lit up.