Chapter 35: Plots Within Plots

High General Xia's eyes widened in surprise as Qing Xi entered his office. Not only had the High Minister failed to announce his coming, but Xia couldn't remember him ever willingly entering the wing of the palace set aside as military headquarters. Even now he was looking disdainfully around himself at the weapons and old campaign maps that served as decorations- it was well-known that he preferred the more subtle warfare of politics over that of physical combat. Xia knew that something most unusual was going on here, and even his guards were tensed, gripping the hilts of their swords tightly.

"High Minister," he finally said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

"A matter of grave importance," Qing Xi replied smoothly. "I have been giving it thought over the past few days and I've come to the conclusion that you should know of it." He glanced at the two guards out of the corner of his eyes. "Dismiss your men, and we'll talk."

"My guards are loyal. Anything you have to say to me, you can say to them?"

"Indeed?" the High Minister's voice was politely disbelieving. "Forgive my caution, but I feel that what I have to say should be kept to as few listeners as possible. Besides, what have you to fear? You are a trained warrior and firebender- I am not. Even if I intended you harm, you know that I am not a threat- and besides, in that case I would not have come myself."

Xia nodded. "You have a point, I must admit." He motioned at his guards; both saluted and stepped outside the door. Qing Xi shut it behind them and seated himself before the High General's desk. "Now then, High Minister," Xia said quietly, "what is it that is so sensitive you couldn't risk my most loyal men hearing it?"

Qing Xi was quiet for a moment, studying his fingers intently. Finally he looked up and spoke. "You remember that the last time we talked I asked you if you had any knowledge of your forces making secret supply requisitions?"

"I do," Xia nodded. "I take this to mean you have solved the mystery?"

"Solved is, perhaps, too strong a word. However, my agents have discovered something that I find most disturbing. The missing supplies were taken by members of the Empress's Chosen."

"The Chosen?" Xia asked. "What does this mean?" He had a fairly good idea where the conversation was going now, and why the High Minister had wanted his guards dismissed, but he wanted to hear it from Qing Xi's own lips.

"You understand the penalties for impersonating a Chosen, or for one betraying her oaths, are most severe. Therefore, I can see no other conclusion than that the Empress herself is directly behind this matter."

Xia shrugged, feigning nonchalance despite his growing unease. "She is the Empress- her will is the law. If she wishes to steal supplies from herself, why is it any concern of ours?"

Qing Xi gritted his teeth, anger flashing in his eyes. "It is our concern because I control the bureaucracy I have kept it running smoothly for years; my loyalty is unquestioned. The army answers to you, and despite our personal differences I must admit that you have performed your duties competently. Supplying the Imperial forces is our responsibility, and we do it well. What motive does the Empress have for sending her fanatics out behind our backs? I can think of only one- there is something afoot that she does not want us to know about." The High Minister paused to allow that to sink in.

Xia nodded slowly. "I begin to see your concern," he said reluctantly. "If the Empress feels she can act in this way without informing us, perhaps she will also begin to feel that she no longer needs us." He didn't need to speak his next thought aloud, because he knew that Qing Xi echoed it- those who the Dragon Empress did not need had a remarkably short life-expectancy.

"I fear the danger may be even greater. You and I both have devoted our lives to maintaining the integrity and order of the Empire. What if Azula keeps her plans secret from her inner circle because she knows we would not approve of them?"

"And since when exactly has the Empress ever sought our approval?" Xia asked. "We may advise if called on to do so, but in the end she orders and we act. That is how it has always been between Fire Lords and their courts."

"Perhaps I spoke too mildly. I fear that the Empress plans some form of massive restructuring of the Empire- she clearly requires the services of troops throughout the world for this plan. Whatever it is, I fear that it will render us obsolete, and she knows that we would fight that." Qing Xi shook his head. "I know nothing for certain- I have agents pursuing more concrete information even now. I would desire nothing more than to be proven wrong. But if I am right, then we may need to rely on each other to survive."

"And perhaps in the meantime I might choose to curry favor by turning you over to the Empress myself?" Xia asked mildly. "Had that not occurred to your scheming? I don't believe it's a secret, after all, that I consider you to be a treacherous, self-serving coward."

"And I consider you to be a self-righteous boor, lacking in both subtlety and an ability to appreciate the world as it really works," Qing Xi returned in the same mild tone. "But at this point personal like and dislike does not enter into the equation. You fear for your position- and perhaps your life- just as I do. You will not turn me over to the Empress until you yourself know for certain what is going on."

"Agreed," Xia sighed. "So, then, what is your plan?"

"To wait and watch until more details become apparent. Only then can I act- or not- based on what I've discovered. I merely thought it prudent to acquire a second set of eyes in high places, and an ally in case I needed one."

"I see." Xia looked at the High Minister intently. "Do you know if the girl Jiazin has any role to play in this scheme? You and the Empress both have invested so much in her…"

Qing Xi shook his head. "I do not. In fact, I am beginning to think that she is only a small part of this game- perhaps even a distraction. It is difficult to predict the moves of someone who is both brilliant and… eccentric." Xia knew what was meant the last statement- those closest to Azula knew of her gradual descent into madness, though as it had never seemed to impact her ability to rule they seldom spoke of it, and never to her face. Still, they knew that the Dragon Empress did not look at the world in the same way as others did, and that made her unpredictable.

"Do you intend to involve the rest of the inner circle in this watching?" The High General asked.

"I don't believe so, no. The Mistress of the Chosen most likely already knows, and she is as fanatical as her followers in any case- they'd consider this whole idea far too close to treason and would have our heads on platters for it. As for Yuan, he'd either follower your own earlier suggestion and turn us both on for the glory of it, or if he felt threatened enough he'd charge straight into the palace and challenge the Empress to an Agni Kai himself, resulting in her effortlessly charring him to a crisp. Neither situation appeals to me."

"Nor to me." Xia stood and extended his hand to Qing Xi. "It seems we have a bargain, then- watch our Empress closely and see if your suspicions about it threatening us are accurate, and if they are, to… take what action is necessary."

Qing Xi clasped the offered hand. "A bargain," he said.

Xia let his hand dropped and turned away, studying a campaign map from the time of the Great War. "I must admit I have no patience for this kind of shadow warfare," he growled. "Give me an enemy of flesh and blood I can strike with a sword or burn with fire any day!"

Qing Xi gave a slight, rather unpleasant smile. "Perhaps, High General," he whispered, "the time may come soon when I can grant your wish."

/

Zhi put her brush down and stared at the letter she had just finished- the last of several. All were almost identical, with only the names changed, and all had claimed to have been written in the Empress's own hand. That she herself had done the writing did not bother Zhi in the least- the Chosen served as the extensions of the Empress's manifest will in whatever capacity she required, be it as warriors or scribes. After all, one could hardly expect the ruler of the world to lower herself to perform such a menial task as writing, and in this particular case, only the Chosen were loyal enough to be trusted with the task of putting ink to paper.

The warrior woman paused to read over her messages again as she waited for the ink to dry. These were similar to ones she had written and ordered delivered along with extra supplies to a number of generals in command of garrisons stationed far from the Capital or Long Du Shi. The primary difference was that these were addressed to the different admirals of the Fire Navy. The only exception was High Admiral Yuan himself, a fact at which Zhi had wondered. The Empress, though, had only said that Yuan did her bidding quite well without prodding, or even his own knowledge.

"Admiral –" the messages read. "Your record of exemplary loyalty and successful service has come to my attention, and it pleases me greatly that such a one as yourself is in the service of my Empire. It is for this reason that I have selected you for a task of the utmost importance. Rumors have reached my ears of a secret conspiracy that will soon be preparing to make an attempt on my life and seize control of the throne for themselves. I have my suspicions as to the identities of these conspirators, which for the sake of security I shall not put into writing, but I know that your loyalty is absolute. I do not fear for my life, but in the event that the conspirators succeed in slaying me, it is my wish that you return to the Capital and hold the throne until my successor, whose identity is known to my Chosen, may be crowned. Be wary, however, because there are many- and not only the original conspirators- who would use such an opportunity to claim my throne for themselves. They must not be allowed to succeed. I place the fate of the Empire in your hands, for I know that there it will be secure." The message was signed "Azula, Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, Empress of the World, called the Dragon."

Zhi didn't know why the Empress wanted this same message sent to all of her highest military commanders. On the surface it made little sense, but when it came down to it, she didn't care. Though not as skilled or ruthless as some of her sisters, her loyalty was even more absolute than most, without diminishing her ability to think her way out of problems- that was why she had been chosen over the others to personally attend Azula. Zhi could no more disobey the Empress than she could dance in the heart of an active volcano.

Seeing that the ink was dry, Zhi rolled up the messages and placed each one in a scroll case. She rang a small bell that sat on her desk and three younger Chosen- girls just out of their training- came hurrying in and bowed to her. She gave each a handful of the scroll cases, along with the names of the admirals to whom they were to go. The girls bowed again- Zhi's position of closeness to the Empress elevated her even above most Chosen- and then they departed on their missions.

/

As one of the young Chosen messengers hurried down the palace halls, heading out into the city and from there to the docks to find passage to her destination, she passed an unremarkable servant who was scrubbing a statue of great Sozin that stood against a wall. The man turned and watched the girl as she passed, and then he whistled for another to continue his work before he slipped after her. Despite appearances, the man was no more a member of the palace cleaning staff than the Chosen herself was- his training had been every bit as intense as hers, but in an entirely different direction. She had been trained for combat and loyalty- he for the ability to gather facts and blend in to a crowd. Like the girl, he too had a mission from his master that he dared not fail.

The Hidden Flame agent quickly stripped off his servant's robe to reveal a guard's uniform beneath and then, passing his discarded clothes to a real servant for cleaning, he followed her out into the city. Only the most sensitive of messages would be trusted to one of that elite sisterhood, and High Minister Qing Xi was counting on him to find out what it contained, and what it might mean for the future of the Empire.

/

Now that our heroes have all hooked up with each other, we move away from them to return to the Fire Nation intrigue subplot (don't worry, we'll get back to Jiazin, Kanoda, Yue, and the rebels next chapter). There was a fair bit of set-up in this chapter, mostly in terms of finalizing the alliance between Qing Xi and Xia and revealing that Azula is obviously manipulating her own forces, but it won't be too long now before we find out exactly what is going on. Anyone think they've managed to put it together yet?

-MasterGhandalf