Chapter 52: The Death of Trust
Qing Xi sat within his palanquin, hands folded in his lap, as he watched the slender, knifelike black ship come in to the Capital's dock. The High Minister had seen the vessel only a handful of times in his life, but he knew very well what it signified- there was only one ship like that in the entire Empire, and only one who had the authority to sail it. He shifted uneasily in his seat. She made him nervous in a way that few others did, and the fact that Azula had pulled her off her little island could well prove problematic to his plans. Still, protocol was protocol, and if he wasn't at the docks to greet the new arrival, there would be… problems.
The ship's ramp slowly lowered, and then five figures processed down it, their bearing at once martial and regal. Four of them were ordinary Chosen, almost indistinguishable from one another in their identical facepaint and black armor; from this distance only their heights gave proof that they weren't one person copied four times. The fifth, who marched slightly in front, was something else entirely- a long black cloak flowed from her shoulders and billowed out behind her as she walked, her armor was trimmed with rich golden designs, and her headpiece was more elaborate than any of the others', almost looking like a crown. Indeed, the woman held herself as if she was a queen in her own right, but in truth she was the Mistress of the Chosen, most enigmatic and personally deadly of the Dragon Empress's inner circle.
Qing Xi stepped out from his palanquin as she approached and gave a polite bow, as from one equal to another, and was pleased to see her twitch irritably at the gesture. "Greetings, Mistress," he said, for she had no other name; when she took her position she surrendered her entire identity to the Empress. "This is an unexpected pleasure. What brings you from your seclusion back to this part of the world?"
The Mistress regarded him coldly. "Unexpected?" she asked icily. "I had thought that the great High Minister would have known to expect me- you certainly pride yourself on knowing everything else. But I am directed in this, as I am in all things, by the will of our glorious Empress."
"As are we all," Qing Xi replied, hoping she didn't hear the slight note of sarcasm that slipped out. Fortunately, the Mistress gave no sign of it. "Shall I have another palanquin brought to carry you to the palace?"
The Mistress shook her head. "I shall walk," she said, and without further word she and her guards strode off down the street in the direction of the Palace, Qing Xi's startled bearers struggling to keep up. The leader of the Chosen spoke no word as she walked, and the High Minister took the opportunity to study her in silence. This one had always been the most difficult of the inner circle for him to read- Yuan had been driven by pride, and Xia by honor, but the Mistress's inner fire came from pure zeal, tempered by a predator's cunning and that made her easy to predict, but almost impossible to control. She was a living weapon, pure and simple, who waited patiently for the chance to be unleashed upon Azula's enemies. There was little humanity left in her, and that alone made Qing Xi uneasy.
After a long, uncomfortable march through the city, they finally arrived at the Palace. There the Mistress stopped and regarded Qing Xi imperiously. "I will take my leave of you now," she said. "I know the way from here, and the Empress and I have important matters to discuss. You may continue with your duties." Without a backward glance she turned in a swirl of her cape and marched into the palace, guards trailing behind her.
The High Minister did not return to his duties- he sat in his palanquin silently for some time, at first seething at the casual dismissal, though his nimble mind quickly moved on to more pressing matters. Whatever Azula and her minion were discussing in there, he would bet his title it had something to do with the plot he'd been tracking, and that was something he knew could not come to pass. Something had to be done, and he, Qing Xi, was the only one in a position to achieve this part of it. His considered his options carefully, and a plan began forming in his mind.
/
The Mistress knelt before Azula and pressed the Empress's hand to her forehead. "I am here as you commanded, Great Mother," she said, giving her sovereign the title that she alone was favored enough to use. "What is it that you wish of me?"
The Empress withdrew her hand. "Rise," she commanded. "We have much to speak of, daughter. The culmination of all our works draws near." The Mistress rose and followed her sovereign to a corner of the throne room where a small table had been set; on it rested a large pitcher of tea and two cups. They seated themselves on either side of it, and Zhi, the Chosen warrior who was Azula's constant aide, stepped silently forward and poured for each of them. The Mistress took her cup but did not drink; the Empress took hers slowly through the mouth-slits in her mask. Finally she spoke.
"You know that the hour of my death approaches," she said. "I can feel it coming for me, stalking me like some predatory beast, but I am not some helpless victim to go to the slaughter without a fight. Soon I shall be dead, and the Empire with me."
"In old days, a Fire Lord's material possessions went with him into the next world," the Mistress observed. "Since you are far greater than they were, it is fitting that a greater sacrifice should accompany you."
Azula regarded her from the black holes in her mask. "Then I have your guarantee that the Chosen support me in this? It is not, perhaps, your ambition to wait until I am gone and then ignore my commands, giving your service to whatever new ruler might arise?"
"We could not do so," the Mistress said. "We are your Chosen- created by you, and without you, we have no purpose. There are some, perhaps, of the younger ones who might balk at what you ask, but all of those who I have brought into the fold are absolutely loyal. Whatever you request, it will be done."
"As it should be," the Empress said.
"But there are those I do not trust," the Mistress continued. "High Minister Qing Xi, for one. He seeks only his own advancement- I don't trust him, and never have. He could be a danger to us. If I may ask a bold question, why haven't you killed him already?"
"Because he is useful," Azula said coldly. "Never cast a tool aside until you're done with it completely. If I had killed him, it would have merely meant that others would begin jockeying for his position, and that would be a distraction I can't afford now. I have no doubt he is clever enough to uncover what we are doing, but that is why I dangled the girl Jiazin before him- to provide a plan that would make sense to his mind, and keep him focused on it, rather than the truth. He likely sees that now, at least partially, but it doesn't matter anymore. It is too late for him to stop us.
"I have dispatched High General Xia to rebellious Long Du Shi, to reclaim it- or so he believes. In truth, I shall declare him and his men traitors and rebels (which they very likely are, at heart- he never did have the stomach for what must be done), and travel there myself, at the head of my elite forces and commanding the greatest weapons in the Empire, to destroy him. In that battle we shall all perish in fire, and Long Du Shi with us, so that the Empire will lose its ruler, much of its military, and one of its great cities in one blow. Then the war shall begin, and the smoke and fire of that great sacrifice shall rise to the heavens, so that the Spirits themselves will mourn at the Dragon Empress's passing."
"A fitting end, as much as any death of one so great can be fitting," said the Mistress, eyes glinting. "No Fire Lord has ever had a world for their pyre. But what task do you have in mind for me?"
"You shall remain here, as custodian of my throne until I return," Azula said. "But when you receive news of my death, you will kill Qing Xi and decapitate the bureaucracy, so that they will make no misguided attempt to hold the Empire together beyond its time. After that, go where you will- your duty will be complete."
The Mistress rose and bowed. "As you command," she said. "I am proud to have such a great role to play in these last days."
Azula waved her hand. "Leave me, both of you," she said to the Mistress and Zhi. "I am tired, and I must rest and meditate. I don't think I will launch my attack for another few days yet, and I will need all my strength."
Both Chosen bowed to their Empress, and then turned and departed from the great chamber.
/
When Azula was alone, she removed her mask and stood, pacing back and forth before her throne. Wrapped in the darkness of her own thoughts, it took her several moments before she realized she was not alone, and she spun towards the source of the strange clicking sound beside one of the pillars.
There she saw a girl in her late teens leaning up against the stone; the clicking came from the folding knife she was idly toying with in one hand. The girl's robes were well-made but dully colored; her hair was pulled up in two buns and her face was expressionless. When she saw Azula was watching her she looked up, and something that might have been an ironic smile flitted across her face. "Hello, Azula," she said tonelessly. "It's been a long time."
"Mai," the Empress spat. This ghost appeared seldom, but when she did, she was one of the most terrible. "How long have you been watching, old friend?" She put an ironic emphasis on the last word.
Mai shrugged. "Long enough," she said. "You like that, don't you, having your praises sung by all your mindless little fanatics? Because you know they're only loyal because they've been brainwashed since they were kids to be that way, and that's the only kind of really loyalty you'll ever get."
"Fool," Azula said. "I am the Empress- my people revere and fear me all at once. What do you know of that?"
The specter turned to face her full on, eyes glinting though her expression didn't otherwise change. "More than you, I'd say," she whispered. "Do you remember what happened that night, Azula? The night you murdered me?"
"I do," the Empress hissed. "I remember it well."
It had been a few years after the destruction of Ba Sing Se and the rise of the Fire Empire; she'd still been the Princess, then, and her constant companions had been Mai and Ty Lee. She thought of them as friends, though she knew it was whispered behind her back that she didn't know what a friend really was. Azula simply ignored them- a friend was someone who you could count on to do what you wanted when you wanted it. That was patently obvious.
But Mai had become strange and distant ever since Zuko died- Azula knew she'd had a crush on him when they'd been kids, though she'd thought nothing had ever come of it. In hindsight, though, it became obvious why Mai had grown even gloomier than before, and why she would sometimes vanish for weeks at a time- she was tracking Zuko's killer down. Mai was stoic, but Azula had made a rare mistake, confusing stoicism for apathy. But then, Mai found her target.
Azula still remembered the night when Mai entered her quarters, guards lying dead behind her, knives drawn. "Murderer," she said in a flat voice, but a terrible gleam was in her eyes; Azula barely had a chance to defend herself. But she'd been quick then, even quicker than she was now, though Azula the princess lacked the Dragon Empress's true power, and they'd battled. It had been long and difficult, for though Mai was not a bender she was a master of mundane weapons, but in the end, the outcome was in no doubt. Mai fell dead to the ground, smoldering.
Azula had looked up triumphantly to see Ty Lee silhouetted in the door, a look of horror crossing her face. The acrobat turned and ran, and from that day forward Azula never saw her again, and her ghost did not torment the Empress. But it had been then that she had realized that true loyalty was even rarer than she'd thought, and had to be carefully nurtured and controlled. That was when she'd taken her first Chosen, then little more than a club of noble-born female warriors in Azula's service, and slowly but surely remade them into a cult dedicated to herself, so that she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that they would not betray her.
"You think you're so clever, Azula," Mai's ghost said. "But even you can't see everything. You never realized that I might turn on you until it was too late. Now you're going to your own death, but in your heart you know it will come in a way you haven't expected, and all your big plans will fall apart, because no matter how much you know, no matter how hard you plan, there's always that one little detail you missed. You like think you're perfect, but in your heart, you know you're not."
"Pretty words," Azula said, and she smiled. "But soon you'll be silenced, along with all the others, and this world will never again forget my wrath or my power. The final act has begun."
/
A quieter chapter, but one that reveals quite a bit of important stuff. First off, it's been a very long time since we've seen the Mistress of the Chosen, though she's been namedropped quite a bit. She's everything Shiyan wants to be when she grows up – powerful, elegant, deadly, and utterly loyal. She sees Azula as more like a god than a person, which probably helps explain how she can justify this plan to herself, but she's also supremely confident in her own abilities. I definitely wanted there to be something more than a little "Vaderesque" as it were about her, at least outwardly.
The backstory here is also incredibly important; I think that Mai's death is one of the defining moments that turned Princess Azula into the Dragon Empress (the other big one being Ozai's death). At the very least, betrayal by one of the only people she was certain was loyal sent Azula on a downward spiral of paranoia and nihilism, the fruits of which include the existence of the Chosen, her tyrannical rule, and now her apocalyptic plans for the Empire. I will note, though, that having killed Mai, Azula was not able to go through with killing her only other friend, Ty Lee. Ty Lee definitely escaped, and I like to think she eventually ended up running her own circus, had a family, and generally managed a fulfilling life away from Azula and the Fire Nation. I never found a good way to work her into FotFE, but maybe she's still alive out there…
And of course, QX has plans. Lots of plans. But it's not quite time to find out what they are yet, though it's safe to say that standing back and letting the Mistress execute him isn't on the agenda…
-MasterGhandalf
