Well, I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and I know a lot of people didn't like it but I thought is was f***ing awesome, especially the Mad Hatter. And Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky - that was excellent, even if he didn't say too much.
Anyway, on with the chapter.
Vivisection
Chapter 54 - Off With Her Head
Zuko straightened in his throne, looking at the admiral who'd risen from his seat.
'With respect, Fire Lord Zuko, this has gone on long enough!' The man spoke vehemently, looking around at the rest of the council. 'You must decide what to do with her. There was enough of a delay with the Kamaitachi girl. We cannot continue to postpone the sentences of criminals.'
'I must agree with Admiral Zheng, Fire Lord.' The speaker was a general, a man in his sixties with grey in his beard. 'Determining the sentence of the Earth Kingdom assassin took up enough of this council's time. We need to decide the fate of Nemi Turunen.'
Zuko brushed his forehead with his head, feeling the beginnings of a headache. It was tempting to exaggerate the complaint and excuse himself from the meeting, but he made himself stay.
They're right, he thought to himself. This has gone on long enough.
If only the decision was easier to make.
The obvious solution to the problem of Nemi was to simply throw her in prison, perhaps the Boiling Rock since she had been the one to suggest that Ozai spend the rest of his days there. Zuko knew none of the council would object. None of them liked her or harboured any sympathy for her. They'd made that very clear, even in the days before she was a criminal. He could sentence Nemi to life imprisonment and no one would speak a word in her defence.
The only thing stopping him from doing it was her face in his mind. Zuko supposed it was only to be expected. He'd grown emotionally attached to her - he refused to think fallen in love - and had believed the feeling was mutual.
Perhaps his mother would know what to do.
Zuko dismissed that notion as soon as it appeared in the forefront of his mind. Princess Ursa was still recovering from her injuries, and the tisanes the herbalist had given her ensured that she spent most of each day sleeping.
She was finally back, and yet he couldn't speak to her, or even hold her hand. Zuko felt momentary sorrow, but blinked it harshly away. He needed to make a decision, and soon.
He remembered holding her after one of the nightmares and letting her cry into his shoulder. He remembered kissing her for the first time, the smell of smoke and people in the air.
I slept with her, for Agni's sake, he thought angrily. How can I decide what sentence to give her?
He couldn't think clearly. What would be the right thing to do? he thought, and instantly regretted the question. Right and wrong were steadily merging into each other in his head, like two heavily used colours in a child's paintbox.
'No one would object if you sentenced her to death, Fire Lord,' Admiral Zheng said finally. 'It would be the quickest and easiest solution. Imprisoning criminals costs money over a long period of time. An execution is over in a day.'
'I must object.'
Zuko turned to his right. Iroh was standing, the fire of the throne room behind him. The orange light playing over his face added a cold sternness to his features. Zuko was suddenly very conscious of who Iroh was - his kindly uncle persona had faded away, leaving the Dragon of the West. Iroh's face held all the steel of the man who had very nearly brought Ba Sing Se to its knees.
'The death penalty is given only to those guilty of attempted - or successful - regicide. It has been written in Fire Nation law for hundreds of years. It was written that way for a reason.'
One of the councilmen stood up, and spoke. 'I agree with General Iroh that an execution is out of the question, although not primarily for the reason he has given.' He stepped into the light, and Zuko recognised General Aizen. The man's face was grave.
'Our alliance with the Earth Kingdom is on treacherous ground,' he said. 'The Kamaitachi family are well respected within the Earth Kingdom, wealthy and powerful. We are already responsible for the death of their youngest daughter.'
'She was an assassin!' Admiral Zheng interrupted, inflamed.
General Aizen glared at him. 'If you would allow me to continue, Admiral, I was going to explain. Lin Su Kamaitachi's death was unquestionable in the eyes of Fire Nation law, a certainty. But in the eyes of the Earth Kingdom, it was unjust murder.' He paused, his eyes fixing on Zuko's. 'I received correspondence from my daughter some days ago. There is talk of an uprising.'
'Doubtless it was the kind of talk that comes out of discontented men when they have had too much rice wine,' one of the generals said, eliciting a few laughs from the other councilmen.
'This is no laughing matter!' General Aizen scowled, and then seemed to visibly take steps to calm himself. He breathed in slowly, then out, and turned to face Zuko again.
'It is important that you tread very carefully here, Fire Lord,' Aizen continued. The firelight shifted over his skin, ageing him just as it had Iroh. 'Nemi Turunen is Earth Kingdom-born. She was well-liked by the people of the Fire Nation as well. Even now some of them are beginning to question your judgement in imprisoning her.'
'The Fire Lord's judgement is beyond criticism,' interjected another councilman.
'Be that as it may, this is a delicate situation.' Aizen pressed his hand to his forehead as Zuko himself had just moments before. 'Our legal system says that the terms of Nemi Turunen's sentence may be arbitrarily decided by the Fire Lord and his viziers. Politics say otherwise. If you kill Nemi Turunen, the Earth Kingdom will see it as another of their own brutally slain by the Fire Nation, and will seek justice - maybe even retribution - for her.' Aizen's face tensed, and he looked strangely desperate. 'Do not make Nemi Turunen into a martyr, Fire Lord Zuko. She will be your downfall if you do.'
'Be that as it may,' Admiral Zheng said, imitating Aizen's words with a sneer on his face, 'I believe executing her would be the best solution.'
The old pressure was back on him again. Zuko could sense how precariously close he was to making an irreparable mistake, but had no idea which path would lead him into the abyss.
Restless, he stood up, and the council fell silent.
'I will make my decision tomorrow,' he said, making his voice loud and clear so that there could be no mistake. 'This meeting is adjourned until then.'
'Of course, Fire Lord.' The councilmen all rose and bowed, leaving the room one by one until finally Zuko was left alone with his uncle.
Zuko waited, expecting his uncle to say something, maybe offer some advice. The silence in the room, thick and heavy but for the crackling of the flames behind the throne, remained unbroken for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually Iroh sighed heavily, leaving his chair and the throne room.
Zuko couldn't find the energy to move. He closed his eyes, listening to the hungry licking and burning of the fire behind him. It was the sound the fire feeding on Lin Su Kamaitachi's flesh had made.
Was he capable of doing the same to Lisana? Zuko didn't know. He didn't particularly want to find out.
It feels good to finally write General Aizen's speech. I've had that in my head for the longest time, particularly the 'martyr' line.
Please accept my humblest apologies (and sad face - D:) for ending on another, albeit slightly less dramatic, cliffhanger. All I can say is that I'm still making everything up as I go along, and hence haven't decided properly what's going to happen next.
Oh, and since the next Humans vs Zombies game is due to begin at my university in a few days, I was thinking of writing an A:TLA zombie apocalypse fic to celebrate. Tell me what you think.
